In recent weeks, professional athletes,
including NBA superstars LeBron
James and Derrick Rose, as well as
a host of other athletes in the league
and the NFL have protested the
Garner decision by wearing tee shirts
emblazoned with Garner’s last words,
“I can’t breathe.”
Saturday’s march though, as broadly
as it is supported by mainstream and
traditional rights groups, comes at
the same time as a so-called National
Day of Resistance organized by a
collective of younger, more brash
activists engaged following Brown’s
death in Ferguson.
A website for the group organizing
the Day of Resistance, called the
movement born out of the events in
Ferguson a “Wave of Indignation.”
Justice For All CONTINUES
August 9th, ushered in a bloody
summer of police killings, to which
thousands of demonstrators have
taken to the streets under the broad
banner of #BlackLivesMatter. On
December 13th, large masses of
protesters took to the streets
of other cities on Saturday,
including New York, Boston
and Chicago. In New York,
demonstrators overtook Fifth
Avenue, chanting “Black lives
matter” and calling out racial
disparities in policing.
down to the ground. Garner could
be heard pleading with the officer,
saying, “I can’t breathe, I can’t
breathe.”
While Michael Brown’s killing drove a
wide and deep division between whites
and blacks, the non-indictment in the
Garner case drew wide and bipartisan
condemnation with many celebrated
Republicans including former
President George W. Bush calling the
decision “hard to understand.”
“What started as an urban revolt of
young black people in Ferguson, MO
has grown into a national movement
for Black lives. The entire nation is
awakening to the reality of our broken
criminal justice system,” the site
reads. “We cannot stop or slow down
now. This Saturday, we’re taking
it to the next level. We’re asking
you to join everyone in the streets
this weekend and
#ShutItDown.
“It’s our civil
disobedience,
marching and
chanting that got us
this far – and we must
keep going,” it says.
The December 13th march
represents somewhat of a
tipping point, as the nonindictment of NYPD Officer
Daniel Pantaleo in the
Garner case energized what
had become a maturing and
aggressive protest movement
fueled largely by the events in
Ferguson.
“When you hit the
streets, you’re letting
them know: body
cameras are not
enough. Blue ribbon
commissions are not
enough. We need
broad, decisive action
NOW.”
(Reprint permission
granted by MSNBC.
com)
Garner’s death by chokehold
was captured in cell phone
video recorded by a witness.
Garner was initially accosted
by a group of officers for
allegedly selling loose,
untaxed cigarettes. Moments
after Garner passively resisted
arrest, Pataleo could be seen
wrenching an arm around
Garner’s neck, taking him
www.spectacularmag.com | December 2014 | SPECTACULAR MAGAZINE
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