CINCINNATI
Support grows for June 2 March for Justice
By Sharon
Ayling
Thousands of people from Cincinnati and around the country
are expected in that city June 2 for a March for Justice in
solidarity with Cincinnati's African American community and
in opposition to racism and police brutality.
Since the police killing of unarmed Black teenager Timothy
Thomas in early April and the days of protests and rebellion
that followed, Cincinnati has become a focus of anti-racist
activity. Thomas was the 15th Black male killed by Cincinnati
cops since 1995.
A newly formed coalition of Cincinnati organizations and
individuals has called for a mass March for Justice on June 2
as part of three days of education and protest. This
coalition began as an anti-globalization coalition formed
last fall.
The march is significant because it broadens support from
beyond Cincinnati itself for the Black community and because
it is the first time the new post-Seattle youth movement is
joining an action in direct solidarity with an African
American struggle.
Thomas' mother, Angela Leisure, will help lead the march
and will speak at the rally along with Rev. Damon Lynch III,
pastor of the New Prospect Baptist Church and a local civil
rights leader.
After declaring they would refuse a march permit to the
March for Justice organizers, the city authorities finally
had to reverse themselves and on May 29 granted the permit.
March organizers have declared this a victory.
The March for Justice calls on the city to: Stop police
killings and the abuse of police power, end the police
department's racist patterns and practices, and build social
and economic justice. Over 50 groups, community centers,
union locals, churches, and prominent individuals are
endorsing and building the march.
The June 2 March for Justice will gather at 11 am at
Fountain Square at 5th and Vine in downtown Cincinnati. The
march will end in Laurel Park, where it will join an annual
event celebrating the memory of Rev. Maurice McCrackin,
Cincinnati's most prominent practitioner of civil
disobedience for nearly a half century.
Police have continued to insist they will use their
"tools"--tear gas, chemical spray, shot guns loaded with
"bean bags," 40-millimeter "foam rounds" -- against the
anti-racist demonstrators if they decide it's "necessary."
The police used these weapons during the April rebellion
against unarmed and often non-resisting protesters.
Despite this attempt at intimidation, support for the
march is growing. The Cincinnati organizers hope that this
march will be a strong expression of unity against
racism.
"We think that the most important thing people can do in
Cincinnati is show that there are white and black people
together who are opposed to the racist behavior of the police
department and the city government," says Dan La Botz, a
coalition spokesperson.
The coalition's call reads in part: "We will have a series
of educational events and peaceful protests on June 1-3, with
a mass, legal, peaceful march for justice on June 2 at the
center of these events. We invite the residents of Cincinnati
and people from around the country to come to Cincinnati to
protest the killing of Timothy Thomas."
One of the groups coming from around the country is the
International Action Center, which expects to bring 100
people from at least 10 cities. IAC representative Gery
Armsby, in Cincinnati to help organize the march, said his
group "is mobilizing its forces to build this very important
demonstration in solidarity with the Black community
here."
Armsby called on people across the country to "join us to
demand an end to racist police terror, immediate release and
amnesty for all those arrested here in April, and freedom for
political prisoner and death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal."
Some of the anti-globalization collectives are calling for
a mass convergence after the march in an upper class white
neighborhood. They are expecting hundreds of people to
participate in civil disobedience actions, with mass arrests
likely.
Their call reads in part, "While we stand in support with
those who put out the call for this march, as well with those
who started the rebellion on April 9, 2001, we also find it
imperative to place active pressure on spaces and
institutions of privilege... With this action we hope to send
a message of solidarity to the communities in struggle. ...
On June 2nd we call for a convergence into Hyde Park. Hyde
Park is a high traffic, high income, corporate retail
business area."
Cincinnati's Black community and its supporters have
continued to struggle against racism on a daily and weekly
basis. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Rev. Lynch and other
ministers making up the Group of Concerned Clergy called for
a boycott of the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored street
festival to protest Thomas' killing. The Black and white
crowd circled the four-block event for hours over the
three-day holiday.
The crowd of more than 200 carried signs calling for an
end to police brutality, chanted "No justice, no peace, no
racist police," and handed out flyers from Black Youth
Against Civil Injustice.
Regarding the hundreds of Black youth arrested during the
rebellion, Sahith Wickrama of the legal support group told
Workers World that there are about 50 people still in jail.
Some 62 people face felony charges, and one has already been
convicted of a felony.
But the support for the prisoners also continues.
Supporters hold rallies at the city jail every Friday. Among
the demands raised is amnesty for all the prisoners taken
during the rebellion.
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: ww@workers.org
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