Monday night, I rode my bike out to
downtown Brooklyn to Fulton Street, to Nostrand Street to join NYC Shut It Down
for an action around the death of Sheneque Proctor, an 18-year-old girl found
dead in the Bessamer, Alabama jail last November. Every Monday for two years
they read the story of a different person who was killed by the police.
On a golden summer night, people from
all over the city were there, Lulu from Judson Sunday School, John a former
student of mine, Elson from MoRUS, and Barbara from everything.
The sky was still full of light and
wonder.
We all talked on the corner of Fulton
and Nostrand streets for a while and the action started.
“Fuck the Police” “Fuck the police!”
we marched into the streets, where we told the story of Shenque’s horrible
death.
“Mic check Mic check.”
“We are here because Black Lives
Matter. We are part of the Black August, an organization started in honor of
George Jackson.”
“I’ll read you some facts.”
Activists held signs declaring the
facts.
Fact One) Sheneque Proctor was a
black girl described by her mother as sweet and loving. She was a recent high school dropout.
Fact Two) On November 1st,
2014, she was at a party when six police officers arrived, arresting her for
disorderly conduct, slamming her against a police car and shoving her into the
back seat.
Fact Three) At jail, officers pepper
sprayed Sheneque, putting her in an observation cell for continuous monitoring
for 12 hours. She lay slouching. The next day she was found dead.
Fact Four) Instead of calling for
medical help, officers watched her on CCTV. She was in a come for 12-hours before medics
pronounced her dead.
Fact Five) The family’s case against
the police was dropped because an Alabama judge said the officers had “qualified
immunity.”
“Here in New York, the NYPD have
killed 300 people since Amadou Diallo” was shot on February 1, 1999, setting
off waves of protest and civil disobedience.
There have only been a handful of convictions resulting in zero jail
time.
I remember those rallies for Diallo and
the radicalizing impact it had on all of us. Those February marches and acts of
civil disobedience marches lasted all spring.
“All lives will matter when Black
Lives Matter.”
People from around the community
joined us as we walked, marching in Applebees to read the facts.
“How do you spell racist? NYPD!”
“I got to know everyone here when we
spent a lot of hours together after getting arrested on the anniversary of Eric
Garner’s death” recalled Lulu.
We marched into the night, reading
the facts, walking through traffic, talking with people in the street, passing
out flyers for the abolition forums in September. Kids joined us. People cheered from cars and
windows above.
The movement continues a struggle
dating back to the days of the Black Panthers and years before. Too many black and
brown people are killed by the police every day. There is too much mass
incarceration. The country is losing its soul over this rush to criminalize,
punish and incarcerate.
At the police precinct, we circled
up, held hands and lifted our arms.
Sheneque Proctor rest in power.
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom,” screamed Kim,
quoting from Assata Shakur.
“It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
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