Black athletes targeted by racial profiling

Following are excerpts from a news release sent out May 20 by the Committee to Defend the Somerville High School 5 Against Police Brutality with the support of the Women’s Fightback Network in Boston. A growing conspiracy is being carried out by the corporate media, police, Somerville, Mass., School Board and the courts to suppress the facts behind this important anti-racist, anti-repression case. The victims, five prominent African-American athletes, are being falsely portrayed as criminals.

Supporters of the SHS 5 packed a Somerville District Court hearing May 24 to demand that charges against the athletes be dropped and that their unjust suspensions from school be revoked immediately. The hearing resulted in an adjournment until early July. The media boycotted a news conference after the hearing. For more information about this important case, call 617-522-6626 or email [email protected]

The SHS 5 are Calvin Belfon, Cassius Belfon, Earl Guerra, Isiah Anderson and Marquis Anderson. On April 20, these five young Black men were the victims of racial profiling and a brutal, unprovoked attack by Medford, Mass., police. They were beaten, clubbed, maced and arrested.

A massive police cover-up of this abuse ensued, with the police spreading outrageous lies about what happened that night.

In mid-May, in an outrageous decision by Somerville School Superintendent Albert Argenziano and Somerville High School Principal Thomas Galligani, the SHS 5 were suspended indefinitely from school.

In a May 11 letter of protest to Argen ziano, Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner wrote: “They are well respected, serious students, and promising athletes. Coming at such a key and pivotal time in their academic career, these actions of suspension threaten to do permanent damage to their future and their reputation.

“This decision callously disregards the hundreds of people across the U.S. and even the world who called, emailed and faxed Dr. Argenizano’s office all last week demanding the five students’ immediate reinstatement, said Phebe Eckfeldt of the Committee to Defend the SHS 5 Against Police Brutality. “It also callously disregards the 300 SHS students who signed a petition asking for their peers’ immediate reinstatement.

“It can only be seen as a racist, vindictive act as even Massachusetts law does not require Argenziano to suspend—it leaves it up to his discretion. But apparently, the school superintendent and the principal have appointed themselves judge and jury in this case and decided that the five students are ‘guilty until proven innocent.’ What ever happened to due process?

“The SHS 5 were caught up in the dragnet of racial profiling,” Eckfeldt continued. “A dragnet that captures hundreds of innocent young Black men across the country every day, subjecting them to physical abuse, jail and even death at the hands of racist cops. To fear for your life is real. But if you defend yourself this becomes a ‘crime.’

“The SHS 5 were forced to defend themselves and as a result the police, media, courts and school department are conducting an especially vicious campaign against them.”

Robert Traynham of the Committee said: “This must stop. We will not allow the dreams and aspirations of our youth to be stomped out by racism and police terrorism. We demand all the charges be dropped now and an independent investigation be conducted into the Medford Police Department. We will continue to fight until justice is done.”