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Benton Harbor rally defends African American reverend

Published Jul 1, 2005 9:44 PM

Following are excerpts from an article written by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, who attended the June 25 rally. Email [email protected] to get the entire article:


Rev. Edward Pinckney

“We are here today to let the world know that enough is enough. There is no reason in the world why we should be like we are today.”

These were the words of Rev. Edward Pinkney while opening up a recent rally in this southwest Michigan city. Pinkney, a local African American minister, lecturer and community activist, is the Benton Har bor executive director of the Black Autonomy Network of Community Org ani zations (BANCO). He has been an outspoken critic of the current conditions prevailing in Benton Harbor, a majority African-American city of approximately 11,000 people.


Supporters of Rev. Edward Pinckney.

Police brutality has been rampant, resulting in the beatings, torture, humiliation and even deaths of people at the hands of the local authorities in Benton Harbor, neighboring Benton Township, Berrien County as well as the State Police. In June 2003, youth who are victims of astronomical rates of unemployment rose up in rebellion for three days, effectively making the issues in Benton Harbor symbolic of the overall crisis of the cities in the United States.

The rebellion, which received international press coverage two years ago, was sparked by the death of a young motorcyclist who was chased down to his death by Benton Township police. Over the last two years people have continued to receive harsh treatment from the law-enforcement agencies patrolling the city.

Rev. Pinkney recently led a successful recall campaign against City Com mis sioner Glenn Yarbrough on Feb. 22. In retaliation, he was arrested on April 18 by the Benton Harbor police and charged with four felonies and one misdemeanor.

These counts carry the possibility of a long prison sentence. All of the charges are related to allegations surrounding the voting in the recent recall election against Commissioner Yarbrough.

According to Berrien County prosecutors, Rev. Pinkney illegally influenced voters to support the recall campaign against Yarbrough. He has been accused of misleading voters and paying people to cast their ballots against Yarbrough.

Rev. Pinkney has emphatically denied the charges. BANCO and its supporters around the state contend that the prosecution of this community activist is clearly politically motivated.

As a result of the unwillingness of the local authorities to accept the outcome of the recall election, the Berrien County prosecutor went to court to have the election results overturned. Another election will be held on the status of Yarbrough on August 2. BANCO is attempting to mobilize people to recast their ballots in support of the recall, with a scheduled July 30 rally.

Statements of solidarity

Local activist Rev. Carl Brown of BANCO said that “when the people take a stand great change can take place.”

Rev. Brown also stated that “when a group of people stand up for what is right, and that is all we are doing is standing up for what is right, we can demand that they do what is right.”

Marian Kramer, co-chair of the Michi gan Welfare Rights Organization in Highland Park, said: “These are some of the same tactics that were used in the South to take away our rights. They always want to implement the Constitution to protect the rich. What about our constitutional rights? We are not going to have our rights unless we organize.”

“This fighting that is taking place in Benton Harbor is an economic fight. It is an economic fight over who going to be able to eat, have a home, education and recreation.”

A representative of the Michigan Emer gency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI) as well as the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality (DCAPB) from Detroit stated that “we are here to express our solidarity with Rev. Pinkney and BANCO in this very important fight we are facing in Benton Harbor.

“We were here two years ago right in the aftermath of the rebellion. We drove around earlier today and we saw the vacant houses, we saw the presence of the police, we saw evidence of unemployment and poverty in this city, the same type of issues we are facing in the city of Detroit. So this is our fight as well as the fight of the people of Benton Harbor and Berrien County and throughout the length and breath of the Midwest and the United States.”

Roderick Casey of Ypsilanti Township in Washtenaw County, who is leading a state wide petition drive to enact a 50-50 racial makeup of juries in criminal and civil cases, addressed the Benton Harbor rally. “This is designed to create a balance in our judicial system,” Casey said. The Ypsilanti Township activist was a victim of police brutality and racism, and spent over two month in jail on trumped-up char ges stemming from prosecutorial misconduct.

Local authorities in Berrien County are continuing with their attempted frame-up of Rev. Pinkney. His defense lawyer recent ly filed for a reconsideration of the charges against him. The motion was denied.

In addition, his defense lawyer attemp ted to have Judge Paul Maloney recused from the case since he has been a target of protests led by BANCO. The judge’s name appears on a T-shirt that has been worn by activists in the city entitled: “Benton Harbor’s Most Wanted.” Accord ing to Rev. Pinkney, Maloney claimed that he was not aware of any protest actions against him by BANCO over the last several months, despite the fact that the t-shirts have been worn inside his courtroom during legal monitoring campaigns by local activists.

“We are now going after the prosecutor, James Cherry,” Rev. Pinkney said. He has accused the prosecutor of political bias against BANCO.

Legal fees for the defense of Rev. Pink ney are mounting. It will take approximately $25,000-$30,000 to build a credible defense against the felony and misdemeanor charges.

Send donations for the legal defense to Attorney Tat Parish c/o Rev. Edward Pinkney, 1940 Union Street, Benton Harbor, MI 49022 or call (269) 925-0001.