BLM March for Elijah
Morris Park residents and others organize Black Lives Matter march July 6
Attendees at the BLM rally in Morris Park Monday Photo by Jason Cohen Rapper and Bronx resident Mysonne speaks to the people at the rally.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR JULY 10-16, 2020 3
BY JASON COHEN
A couple hundred people
assembled on July 6 in Morris
Park for a Black Lives Matter
rally and march, in a continuing
effort to fi ght the injustices
of police involved killings of
Black people.
Children, teens, young
adults, activists and politicians
gathered at Bronx Park East
and Allerton Avenue prior to
walking through the neighborhood.
The event, which was organized
by the Allerton Allies,
NYC Action Lab and Strategy
for Black Lives, was held
in honor of Elijah McClain, a
Black man who, a year ago, was
arrested in Colorado for wearing
a ski cap and died in police
custody. Now, a year later, the
governor of Colorado has reopened
the investigation into
his death.
“I’m not a politician, I’m
just a regular person from the
neighborhood,” said Jen of the
Allerton Allies. “When George
Floyd died I could not sit back
and do nothing anymore. The
fi ght doesn’t end with George
Floyd.”
Among the people who got
the attendees fi red up was rapper
and Bronx resident Mysonne.
The musician said he
is getting tired of hearing and
speaking about Black people
getting killed by cops.
Whether it’s Sandra Bland,
Tamir Rice or George Floyd,
enough is enough, he said. He
stressed that if people can say
“Blue Lives Matter,” but not
“Black Lives Matter,” then they
have a problem with Black people.
He questioned how it was
possible that after nearly four
months, not one of the four cops
who killed Breonna Taylor has
been charged and only one was
fi red.
“Today is a good day to arrest
the cops who shot Breonna
Taylor,” he shouted. “We’re not
going to watch police continue
to brutalize us. The time is for
white supremacy to die.”
One person who spoke with
passion was a teacher, Andom
Ghebreghiorgis. Ghebreghiorgis
described the harrowing
experience of being in a peaceful
protest a month ago in the
south Bronx.
At that time there was the
8 p.m. curfew, yet the police
armed with riot gear knew that
if people were out after 8 p.m.
they could arrest them. As it
crept towards curfew time, he
and the peaceful protesters
were boxed in by the cops and
Ghebreghiorgis along with 200
people were arrested.
He was detained for 19
hours, with no phone call or
food and had zip ties wound so
tight his shoulders jammed his
body.
“How ironic is it that those
of us protesting against police
brutality became victims of police
brutality,” he exclaimed.
“What does that say about our
system?”
Ghebreghiorgis recalled
the police killing of Black people
has gone on for decades.
He grew up reading about the
murders of Rodney King, Abner
Louima, Sean Bell and Ramarley
Graham.
But this is nothing new, he
said. Policing is entrenched in
racism.
“This isn’t about good cops
or bad cops, this is about policing
as an institution,” he said.
Pelham Parkway resident
Marisa Davis said she was
worried about her unborn biracial
son and wondered how
he could be safe in a world
where police are slaughtering
Black people.
She said that she was getting
sick and tired of seeing the
same news over and over about
Black people being gunned
down or choked by police. She
added that no one should be
feared because of their skin
color.
“We need to bring old school
accountability back to make
sure good cops aren’t drowned
by cover up and alliances,” she
said. “How can we change if offi
cers are afraid to go against
their brothers?”
According to Davis, there
needs to be transparency between
police and the community.
She stressed that blue
lives matter “without a doubt”
but added that they are not the
ones being killed at an alarming
rate.
“We must start by weeding
out the bad apples,” Davis
said.
Elected offi cials Assemblywoman
Nathalia Fernandez,
Assemblyman Michael Blake
and Senator Jamaal Bailey
all were in attendance. Bailey,
who led the charge to repeal
50-A, spoke passionately and
did not hold back.
“I’m just Jamaal from the
Bronx,” he told the crowd. “I
didn’t know I wanted to be an
elected offi cial. I just know I
gave a damn about my community.”
With two young daughters,
Bailey is determined to
make the world a safer place
for them. Police brutality can
no longer be accepted, nor can
Black people getting killed by
other Black people. Just last
week promising basketball
star Brandon Hendricks was
killed. This needs to stop, he
pleaded.
“I’m pro-Black, but I’m
not anti-anybody,” Bailey remarked.
“I’m anti-brutality.”
Senator Jamaal Bailey speaks at the BLM rally in Morris Park on Monday.
Photo by Jason Cohen