"With Certain Ineligible Rights"


"With Certain Ineligible Rights"

The opening speaker misspoke when quoting the Constitution, but might have been more accurate than he knew...

I attended the Unity Rally For Justice And Transparency in Charlotte, NC last night.

The Rev. William Barber:

"They will not divide us... We're going to make America have to report, that when you see folk marching in the street for Black Lives Matter, they are black, they are white, they are young, they are old, they're gay, they're straight, they're people of faith, people of no faith, but all of us believe in equal justice under the law. All of us!"

"We are not anti-police. We are anti-murder-by-police."

"We protest because we will not allow race to be a trigger for death."

I've not always agreed with William Barber's aims or rhetoric, but I think I'm closer to finding a middle ground with him, especially on the issue of police conduct.

Increased transparency, stronger restraints on the use of deadly force, and stronger consequences for police bad behavior are needed, and needed now.

There were several emotional speeches made by local families that lost members to police violence. This is not a new thing, and too many have turned a blind eye towards it, for too long.

At the same time of this meeting (moved to a local church because of threatening thunderstorms), the City Council was meeting, and other protesters attended, to speak their minds. I heard things were tense. I'm not surprised. People are fired up over this, and with justification.

One young man made his way onto the stage and tried to make a statement, without being on the previously agreed list of speakers. It was awkward, but was resolved without strong arm tactics. In later remarks, William Barber quietly admitted that it was hard for the fire of young folks and the wisdom of older folks to work together, but it was important that they do so, with the splintering of the SCLC coming to mind.

After all the speeches, there was a fairly orderly march to the park. The church, and the park, are close to downtown Charlotte, including local government and law enforcement offices. The police and state highway patrol were out in force, all over downtown, and the march was given its own bicycle police escort. Although apparently an agreement had been reached between the police and the NAACP that the march would be restricted to the sidewalk, seven abreast, the crowd wasn't going for that, and spilled out into McDowell St., taking up both lanes southbound. The police fussed a bit, but politely adapted.

After turning right towards the park, younger members set a brisk pace towards the City Council meeting, where some of them eventually turned up, to stir the pot even more.

The police got more proactive as this point, trying to direct folks off the streets. Some folks didn't mind, others got feisty. Things got a bit loud, but nobody did anything stupid. We elected to go back to the church and home.

On the way back, we saw a bunch of police vans rolling up, so I reckon we missed our chance for a free overnight stay in the local lock up.

A bit more chilling was a small convoy of Humvees that rolled by, loaded with National Guards. The curfew had been lifted yesterday, but apparently not the State Of Emergency. The troops were polite, waved, and were not togged out in full battle rattle. Still, not what you want to see on city streets at home.

We're glad we went and lent our presence and voices. This is not a thing that will get better on its own.

If you don't do anything else, remember to vote. Hopefully for folks who recognize that this is a problem, among many others, and deserves some effort to resolve.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/special-reports/charlotte-shooting-protests/article104339096.html

http://www.wral.com/naacp-releases-list-of-demands-in-response-to-charlotte-shooting/16051373/

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