BOSTON, Mass.—In the span of less than two weeks, two grand juries—one located in Ferguson, Missouri and one in Staten Island, New York—voted against indicting two police officers, each charged with murdering an unarmed African-American man. Nathanael Bluhm, a founding member of the the Boston-based Unity Pride Committee, offered the following response to the two decisions:
“We are shocked, saddened and profoundly frustrated with both grand jury decisions, which absolved two police officers from their responsibility of facing the criminal justice system. What is particularly harrowing about these decisions is that the families of Michael Brown and Eric Garner are being robbed of their fundamental right to see these two police officers judged by a jury of their peers in a process that will allow all of the facts in both cases to come to light. [pullquote]We grieve with the families and the communities in Ferguson and Staten Island. We stand proudly to say that black lives matter and that these gross miscarriages of justice cannot, should not, and will not be tolerated. We hope these injustices can start a national dialogue about the myth of a “post-racial” America and inspire communities to work together for fully lived racial equity across the nation.—Nathanael Bluhm, a founding member of the the Boston-based Unity Pride Committee[/pullquote]
“The message these grand juries are sending to the public is that law enforcement officials, tasked with protecting all of us, have a free pass to use their authority to victimize people of color. What’s more unnerving is that these decisions promulgate institutionalized racism and a system of oppression, incarceration and death for people of color.
We grieve with the families and the communities in Ferguson and Staten Island. We stand proudly to say that black lives matter and that these gross miscarriages of justice cannot, should not, and will not be tolerated. We hope these injustices can start a national dialogue about the myth of a “post-racial” America and inspire communities to work together for fully lived racial equity across the nation.
The very 1st Amendment guarantees the rights of free speech and assembly. UNITY Pride believes the protesters seeking justice for Eric Garner & Michael Brown are the conscience—and backbone—of our nation.
TONIGHT at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Boylston and Tremont Streets (near the entrance of the Loews Theatre) in Downtown Boston, there will be a peaceful rally to commemorate the lives of Mike Brown and Eric Garner and allow several members of the community to speak about the impact of the events in Ferguson and Staten Island.
For more information about the rally, visit, www.facebook.com/BlackLivesMatterBOS.
For further information about Unity Pride, contact Henry Paquin at Unityprideboston@gmail.com.
[From a News Release]
