BLM March for Elijah
Morris Park residents and others organize Black Lives Matter march July 6
3 BRONX WEEKLY July 12, 2020 www.BXTimes.com
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
/www.BXTimes.com
/www.BXTimes.com
/www.BXTimes.com
/www.BXTimes.com
