mikebrownnn

Join us as we stand in solidarity with the people of Ferguson in their quest for dignity and justice the day after the grand jury in Ferguson reveals their decision in whether or not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of Mike Brown. (Although there is a specific date listed here for the rally, we will MEET THE DAY AFTER the grand jury delivers their verdict).

The rally will start at the foot of the Baron von Steuben memorial at the intersection of Genesee Street at the Parkway in Utica at 5:30pm. We will then march to Oneida Street to the location where UPD Sargent Geddes killed Utica’s very own Mike Brown, Walter Washington, in 2005. We will have a candlelight vigil at that location.

We will rise up with countless people in countless cities all over the country and world to demand justice. No matter what the grand jury decides, the struggle for racial equality, economic justice, and the necessity to act upon the simple belief that Black lives matter should continue to be fought for.

It is far too often that innocent young Black men are gunned down by police. It is incredibly rare that justice is ever found. Every community has its Officer Darren Wilsons who gun down innocent Black men. Every community has its Mike Browns, those who are pushed to the edges of society because of the color of their skin and their socio-economic class, those who are killed at the hands of the police.

In the summer of 2005 UPD Officer (now Sargent) Samuel Geddes gunned down Utica resident Walter Washington in plain sight of the man’s girlfriend and their children. Washington is our Mike Brown. Justice has yet to be delivered for Geddes, like most cops who kill young people of color, are above the law. The UPD continue unabated in their racial-profiling, disrespectful behavior, unwarranted searches and raids, surveillance, brutality, and violence.

While the people of Ferguson continue to rebel against injustice, they are only one movement within an ocean of movements that stretch from Ferguson to Mexico to Palestine and all over the world. Let us join this global justice movement and stand up for Mike Brown, Walter Washington, and all the others whose lives were cut short by police and state violence. Brother Martin Luther King said it best when he proclaimed, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”