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Demonstrations started early on Thursday morning in New York City to protest against police brutality but also the mass incarceration that targets Black and Brown communities in the United States, marking the culmination of a three-days mobilization under the slogan #RiseUpOctober.
RELATED: #RiseUpOctober: The Movement Against Police Terror
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Happening now 50+ family members lost loved ones 2 police speak out #RiseUpOctober @ShaunKing #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/BZBvCr6CfA
— Rosa Roja (@rosaroja4rev)
octubre 22, 2015
The action, organized by movements like Stop Mass Incarceration Network, also demanded the closing of Rikers, a notorious prison in New York that has been called “the Guantanamo Bay in the U.S.” for the human right abuses committed against prisoners.
Preparing for non violent direct action Friday to #ShutdownRikers as part of #RiseUpOctober https://t.co/45RzK1eIeB https://t.co/GO1yptg7k8
— StopMassIncarceratio (@StopMassIncNet)
octubre 22, 2015
Activists and demonstrators gathered on 47th St. and Broadway Times Square, people marched under the slogan #Saytheirname, paying tribute to the many victims of U.S. police brutality.
Relatives spoke out one by one on stage to tell their moving stories.
“My brother's death was not justified,” said the brother of Darius Pinnex, who was shot by two Chicago police officers after they pulled him over at a traffic stop. “His death was the act of two men basically just doing what they wanted to do. They pulled my brother over and they shot him saying that was a routine traffic stop because his car was suspected of being used in a robbery and supposedly had a loaded gun in the side.”
#DariusPinnex #SayTheirNames #RiseUpOctober #RiseUpO22 pic.twitter.com/tW8s1B5ThB
— StopMassIncarceratio (@StopMassIncNet)
octubre 22, 2015
The mother of Justus Howell, the teenager who was shot in the back as he ran from police, denounced the double-standards of the United States’ democracy.
“We live in a nation where they say it's not okay to flee for their lives but it's okay to gun someone down in fear for your life. It's not right. The first thing they tell you when they kill one of our youth is 'I fear for my life' – well we fear for our lives every day!'”
Quentin Tarantino made a notable appearance on stage, showing his support for the cause along with other prominent Black activists like actress Gina Belafonte and Carl Dix, founding member and representative of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network.
#PDX #BlackLivesMatter #RiseUpOctober #StopMassIncarceration https://t.co/D6b2y4tKGz pic.twitter.com/nmGmv45TtC
— Teressa Raiford (@Teressa_Raiford)
octubre 22, 2015
In addition to New York, solidarity and joint rallies are occurring in at least 30 cities of the United States, including Los Angeles, where people also marched against police brutality sites “where people have been killed by police,” said organizers.
