Solidarity with Baltimore in London


This video from England says about itself:

London Solidarity Assembly Vigil 5.5.15

4 May 2015

MAY 5th

We Stand with BaltimoreBlack Lives Matter from Bedford to Baltimore

Location: US Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 2LQ

Date: Tuesday 5th May at 6pm

London Campaign Against Police and State Violence are calling for a solidarity vigil to stand with the family and friends of victims of police violence in Baltimore: Freddie Gray, Mya Hall and also victims of police brutality in the UK.
SUPPORTED BY: United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC), Defend the Right to Protest, nus black students’ campaign and Cole Family Truth Campaign.

By Joana Ramiro in Britain:

Solidarity with Baltimore as protests hit US embassy

Wednesday 6th May 2015

HUNDREDS assembled outside the US embassy in London last night to pay their respects to victims of police brutality, after a man in Devon died in circumstances similar to Freddie Gray.

The mass vigil was called after the IPCC confirmed it is investigating the death in police custody of a 38 year-old who had been restrained by Devon and Cornwall police during an altercation on April 29.

The unnamed man died in hospital this weekend leading to parallels being drawn with the case of Gray, which resulted in the recent Baltimore riots.

The brother of athlete Julian Cole, left paralysed after a brutal arrest in Bedford exactly two years ago yesterday, said ahead of the evening rally: “While the people who have done this to my little brother get to live their life, our family are fighting and hurting every day seeing him lay on the bed helpless, unable to talk or know we are there by his side.

“Those people have taken my brother away from me and I will never get to see him get old, have a family or even become a uncle.”

According to an investigation by the Independent newspaper, of the 3,000 police officers currently under investigation for abuse of force only 60 have been suspended.

In April, Home Secretary Theresa May was also forced to apologise to the families of Sean Rigg and Seni Lewis, admitting that mistakes had been made by the police when holding the men in custody. Mr Rigg’s sister Marcia told the Star that she understood Baltimore’s “grief and frustrations at the police and the judicial system.

“It is important to campaign peacefully together to tell our stories about these serious injustices that happen both in the UK and abroad.”

Speaking on behalf of one of the vigil’s organisers, London Campaign Against Police and State Violence activist Kojo Kyerewaa said they were fighting against “institutional racism.”

“We struggle against violence that is racial in nature, this violence is both physical and structural,” he said. “It results in the acceptable deaths of black and other racialised people. “The problem predates Mark Duggan and even the Metropolitan Police. “We want accountability for officers who have acted in ways that have led to deaths in custody and to an end of deaths in custody. “Without justice, there can be no peace.”

London: A democracy campaigner accused the Metropolitan Police of abuse of force yesterday after being left with a twisted knee, ankle and severe bruising following his arrest at a meditation session on Westminster’s Parliament Square. Donnachadh McCarthy was one of the three people arrested next to Gandhi’s statue on Monday evening as the Occupy Democracy camp defied the ban on camping equipment in an “act of Gandhian civil disobedience”: here.

In a massive and daunting attack on democratic rights, authorities in Baltimore detained some 250 people, without charge and in deplorable conditions, following protests on April 27 against the police killing of Freddie Gray. This unconstitutional round up and vindictive treatment received scant attention in the corporate media, with most coverage appearing only after a Facebook post by a public defender in Baltimore went viral, with almost 21,000 shares in fewer than two days: here.

3 thoughts on “Solidarity with Baltimore in London

  1. Petition to Stand with Baltimore – Our Youth Are Not Thugs!

    AMNESTY FOR ALL ARRESTED YOUTH! DROP THE CHARGES NOW! JUSTICE FOR FREDDIE GREY!

    peoplespowerassemblies.org/petitions/baltoyouthpetition
    “A riot is the language of the unheard”

    — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    Amnesty for Jailed Baltimore Youth
    SATURDAY, MAY 16: REGIONAL PROTEST IN BALTIMORE AND SOLIDARITY ACTIONS EVERYWHERE TO DEMAND AMNESTY!
    IN BALTIMORE, GATHER AT 3 P.M. AT MCKELDIN SQUARE, at Light & Pratt streets, downtown Baltimore
    If you cannot come to Baltimore on May 16, hold solidarity protests wherever you live. Send your local protest information to info@peoplespowerassemblies.org

    Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/690742971029692/690742974363025/

    Please sign the following online petition:

    peoplespowerassemblies.org/petitions/baltoyouthpetition

    To Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore City Council and Baltimore County State’s Attorney:

    Baltimore’s youth are not thugs! We are calling on the Mayor, the City Council and the State Attorney’s office to drop all charges. We call for full amnesty, along with continuing our demand for justice for Freddie Grey.

    In the past several weeks, close to 500 people have been arrested. Some have been brutally beaten in front of television cameras, pepper-sprayed and held in central booking and at a nearby juvenile facility without due process.

    Those arrested were denied their right to see a court commissioner within the 24-hour period previously required. Those arrested also include journalists, medics and legal observers.

    Allen Bullock, whose parents urged him to turn himself in after he was pictured on a news media photo for allegedly breaking a police cruiser’s windows, is facing life in prison. His bail was set at $500,000, which is more than three times higher than the $150,000 bail set for the officers charged with the murder of Freddie Grey. How can city officials equate property damage with the life of a human being?

    The youth of Baltimore need our support. We demand: Drop all charges and grant full amnesty; the people of Baltimore, especially the youth, need full employment at a livable wage; decent education and housing, not jails, racism and police terror.

    Sincerely,

    Please donate now! Funds continue to be needed to help pay for flyers, posters, picket signs and other supplies. Every donation, regardless of size, helps. Click the link below to donate:

    https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=66U3G8YMX57ZQ

    Baltimore People’s Power Assembly

    2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218

    Phone: 443-221-3775

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