Caribbean community outraged Mayor tours
By Nelson A. King
As protests raged across America for
the third successive day, the Caribbean
community in New York has expressed
profound outrage over the killing of a
Black man in Minneapolis by a white
police officer.
In at least 75 cities, mayors on Saturday
declared curfews, governors
deployed the National Guard and demonstrators
even reached outside the
gates of the White House, from where
protesters claimed that President Donald
J. Trump fanned the flames of violence.
The Caribbean community joined
the national outrage after video footages
show a Black man, George Floyd,
46, being pinned to the ground by a
white police officer in Minneapolis,
who kneeled on his neck for over eight
minutes, suffocating him to death.
On Monday, May 25, four police
officers had arrested Floyd in Minneapolis
for a nonviolent offense.
After Floyd was handcuffed and subdued,
video footages show two officers
holding him down, while a third, Derek
Chauvin, kneeled on his neck while
Floyd pleaded for his life, gasping “I
can’t breathe.” A fourth officer stood
guard.
In New York, protesters chanted “No
Justice, No Peace” and “Black Lives
Matter”, among other slogans, calling
Caribbean L 6 ife, June 5-11, 2020
for action in all five boroughs.
The demonstrators made their way
through Harlem, the East Village,
Times Square, Columbus Circle, Jackson
Heights in Queens, the Flatbush
section of Brooklyn, and portions of
the Bronx and Staten Island.
Many Caribbean American Democratic
legislators joined the protests
in Brooklyn, including Haitian Americans
– New York State Assembly Member
Rodneyse Bichotte, New York City
Council Member Farah Louis, and District
leaders Josue Pierre and Edu Hermelyn.
Bichotte, the daughter of Haitian
immigrants, who represents the largely
Caribbean 42nd Assembly District in
Brooklyn and who chairs the Brooklyn
Democratic Party, urged protesters on
Saturday to remain peaceful.
She also called on New York State
legislators to help pass a bill that she
introduced, A4615A, to prohibit police
officers from racial profiling.
“George Floyd is a casualty of racial
profiling by police. He died because of a
systemic injustice; an injustice that is
as pervasive in New York as it is in Minneapolis,”
Bichotte told Caribbean Life.
“The truth is here: A Black man was
murdered in public by the very people
charged with carrying out justice and
keeping our communities safe,” she
added. “The nation is reeling from the
trauma of his death. Parents are asking
how they can keep their kids safe when
the offenders are the people wearing a
badge, and they are not held accountable
for their actions.”
“I have introduced a bill, together
with State Senator Brian A. Benjamin,
(#A04615A/S01137A) to end
racial profiling by increasing data collection
and reporting standards for
law enforcement agencies in New York
State,” Bichotte continued. “This bill
would also allow any victim of racial or
ethnic profiling, or the attorney general,
to bring an action for damages, or
for injunctive relief, to stop the agencies’
improper actions.”
By Nelson A. King
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio
on Sunday toured Flatbush, Brooklyn,
in the epicenter of the Caribbean
community, with Haitian American
legislators Assembly Member Rodneyse
Bichotte, and Council Members
Farah Louis and Dr. Mathieu Eugene
in the wake of protests and rioting
over the police killing of a Black
man in Minneapolis by a white police
officer.
In at least 75 cities, mayors on
Saturday declared curfews, governors
deployed the National Guard
and demonstrators even reached outside
the gates of the White House,
from where protesters claimed that
President Donald J. Trump fanned the
flames of violence.
The Caribbean community joined
the national outrage after video footages
show a Black man, George Floyd,
46, being pinned to the ground by a
white police officer in Minneapolis,
who kneeled on his neck for over eight
minutes, contributing to his death.
Last Monday, four police officers
had arrested Floyd in Minneapolis for
a nonviolent offense.
From left, District Leader Edu
Hermelyn, Council Member Farah
Louis and Assemblymember Rodneyse
Bichotte. Vladimir Sterlin
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