OAKLAND, CALIF.
'Justice for Donovan Jackson-Chavis!'
By John Parker
Oakland, Calif.
Activists from Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco,
Oakland and other California cities converged on Bobby Hutton
Park in downtown Oakland Aug. 24 to rally support for Donovan
Jackson-Chavis and build a fight-back against racism and police
brutality.
The Caravan for Justice, which traveled from Los Angeles to
Oakland, was organized by the Donovan Jackson-Chavis Justice
Com mittee and included a bus and several cars.
Talibah Shakir from Los Angeles, one of the main organizers
of this event, said the caravan activity brought the fight
against police brutality to a new level of struggle and urged
everyone to stay involved.
The Oakland location was significant since Jackson-Chavis, a
16-year-old victim of police abuse in Inglewood, is just one
year younger than Bobby Hutton, a 17-year-old Black Panther who
was gunned down by Oakland police in collusion with the FBI's
Cointelpro program that targeted Black leaders in the
1960s.
Fortunately, Jackson-Chavis survived the July 6 police
attack. His case gained national and international attention
after a witness videotaped the incident.
Two Inglewood cops, Jeremy Morse and Bijan Darvish, have
been suspended with pay for their role in the beating of
Jackson-Chavis. Morse already had numerous complaints of police
brutality against him before the latest incident. As is
normally the case with racist police abuse, Morse was allowed
to continue his attacks on Black people unhampered. Both cops
now await trial.
Activists at the demonstration said they were well aware
that police brutality is no aberration in the U.S. Many called
for community control of the police and punishment and jail
time for racist cops. Some called for an end to capitalism,
which they said encouraged poverty and police brutality.
Speakers at the event included representatives from the
International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10, the
United Front, Prison Rights Union, Students for Justice in
Palestine and International ANSWER--the Act Now to Stop War and
End Racism coalition.
Reprinted from the Sept. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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