Activists: Chicago could be next flashpoint in the battle for justice

By Ashahed M. Muhammad -Assistant Editor- | Last updated: May 5, 2015 - 10:49:29 AM

Protesters gathered April 28 in solidarity with the protesters in Baltimore who were angered by the death of Freddie Gray.

Chicago police officers mobilized to prevent protests from getting out of control. Photo: Haroon Rajaee

CHICAGO - Many are saying Chicago might be the next city to go up in flames.

A recent rally drew hundreds as protesters held signs drawing attention to the string of killings of unarmed Blacks that have gained international attention.

The lively protesters, though passionate, were peaceful. The members of the Chicago police department were very tense. The demonstration began in front of police headquarters and then the crowd marched south through the neighborhood known as Bronzeville, finally arriving in the area in close proximity to the University of Chicago.

A Chicago protester April 28.

Protesters prevented buses from moving along two major thoroughfares, Garfield Boulevard and Cottage Grove Avenue, as protesters chanted “Turn up don’t turn down! There’s a Mike Brown in every town!” and “I am Freddie Gray! They’re killing us every day!” Another group of protesters split off and attempted to go further east but were stopped at Drexel Boulevard.

Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina, Rekia Boyd in Chicago and now Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland have many asking what city will be next as the vocal protesters challenged brutality, misconduct and misuse of authority that seems to be running rampant through police departments nationwide. Specifically, the cases of two Blacks killed by Chicago police were at the forefront of the minds of those demonstrating.

In March of 2012, Chicago police detective Dante Servin killed 22-year-old Rekia Boyd firing five shots in the dark at a crowd of people on the West Side. He said he thought a person in the crowd pointed a gun at him, when in fact it was determined that no one pointed a gun at him, and no one in the crowd was “armed” with anything other than a cell phone. One of the bullets hit Ms. Boyd in the back of her head.

Strangely, a judge ruled Mr. Servin could not be convicted of first-degree murder because the Illinois State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez charged him with involuntary manslaughter. At the same time, Mr. Servin could not be convicted of involuntary manslaughter because in the judge’s view, the evidence did not support the charge that Mr. Servin displayed reckless behavior. So he was found not guilty, because in the view of many critics, the charges were not strong enough.

Martinez Sutton, Rekia’s brother, believes the protests are very effective in drawing attention to a problem that has been ignored for too long and said the protests will continue all over America, and will intensify.

Martinez Sutton, the brother of Rekia Boyd who was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer.

“It’s coming soon to a city near you,” said Mr. Sutton. “They are getting tired of the same excuses, the same BS that they’re always talking, saying ‘I was scared or feared for my life or I thought he had a gun or my life is in danger.’ You know we get tired of the same excuses at least try to come up with a different excuse,” said Mr. Sutton.

He misses his sister, but says her wrongful death, and continued injustices are motivation for him to fight for the rights of others. As the weather gets warmer this summer, and if justice remains elusive, “That’s when a lot of people are going to get real angry and mad,” said Mr. Sutton. “A lot of folks they aren’t going to take this no more sitting down. You can’t! If you continue to take it sitting down, they are going to keep running over you,” he added.

In another closely watched case, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot 16 times, and killed by a Chicago Police officer on October 20, 2014. This despite reportedly only being armed with a knife. His death has caused critics of the Chicago Police department to question whether that level of lethal force was required. The Chicago City Council approved a speedy $5 million settlement in the case and federal officials are conducting a criminal investigation into his death. The City of Chicago has refused to release video related to the shooting according to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, because it could interfere with the federal investigation.

Community youth organizer Quo Vadis Green believes incidents like the shooting of Rekia Boyd as well as the case of Laquan McDonald represent the highest levels of disrespect for the value of Black lives. These are injustices that need to be dealt with across the board, he noted.

“As Minister Farrakhan has said, the system is broken. I’ve said that this system wasn’t meant for us, therefore they only tolerate us,” said Mr. Green. “Sometimes you’ve got to wake-up that sleeping giant otherwise we will continue to be oppressed another four-hundred years.”

Mr. Green agreed with Mr. Sutton and many other activists who believe if police officers involved in misconduct continue to go unpunished, cities across America will “blow up.”

“I think at this point—I don’t like being violent—but let’s just say this … In Ferguson the media and CNN didn’t come until they burned down the QuickTrip and the media didn’t really focus on the death of Freddie Gray until they started burning up stuff,” he said.

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