Tenth Annual "National Day Of Protest" against Police Brutality

n Saturday, October 22^nd, the tenth annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation was held in cities across the nation. Despite the cold, drizzly weather, in New York City hundreds of activists, students, and concerned citizens joined the friends and families of victims of police brutality in raising their voices in protest of "the epidemic of police brutality."

The demonstration began with a rally in Madison Square Park where, backed by large black and white paintings of their loved ones cut down by law enforcement, family members and friends addressed the assembled crowd. This included Milta Calderon, mother of Anibal "Junior" Carrasquillo, who was shot in the back by a police officer in January 1995. The officer later claimed that Anibal had taken a gun stance, and that was why he shot him. "But there's no way my son took a gun stance since they shot him in the back," Calderon stated.

"It's really sad," this grieving mother continued, "because I don't hear his laughter; I don't see his smile. It's heartbreaking. They say that after years pass it’s easier, but it really isn't. You might see us smiling, but inside our heart bleeds like it is the first day it happened."

Juanita Young, whose son Malcolm Ferguson was shot point blank in the temple by a police officer, thanked people for coming out to support them "because there's no relief from this pain. They tell you to get some kind of closure, but there is no closure." And she said to the youth, "You wouldn't want your parents to feel the pain that we feel. In order for that to be, we've got to stop these killer cops from murdering our children and our loved ones. Enough is enough!"

Representatives from several social justice and civil liberties organizations also spoke. One particularly strong speaker was Panama, from the Justice Committee of the National Congress of Puerto Rican Rights. "Law enforcement in this country is rooted in racism, slavery and genocide," he declared. "Law enforcement is what exterminated Native Americans and enforced slavery."

Panama went on to state that because this country has never broken with the culture of racism and white supremacy, even if you know officers personally and they happen to be nice guys, whether they are white, Black, or Latino "when they put on that uniform, they stop being themselves and become one of those."

Speaking too was Udi Ofer, Program Director of the NYCLU's Bill of Rights Defense Campaign, who said that there were days when at least police brutality made headlines. "Today the instances have become worse, yet we hear about them less and less."

Other speakers included Ariel Cruz, friend of Silverio del Rios, who died in October 2003 under suspicious circumstances while incarcerated upstate; Jean Griffin, sister of David Glowczenski, who was killed by Southampton Village police in February 2004; noted Civil Rights Attorney, Lynn Stewart; Geoffrey Blank from the No Police State Coalition; and Steve Yip of the October 22^nd Coalition, who read a statement from Carl Dix, the national spokesperson of the Revolutionary Communist Party and co-founder of the October 22^nd Coalition.

Musicians and poets performed throughout the afternoon. The protest concluded with a spirited march to and a brief rally in Times Square.

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