By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
A number of concerned citizens gathered on Saturday, August 3, at Junction Park to voice their concern and anger over the police shooting of Sonya Massey in Illinois. However, while the Massey homicide was the catalyst for the protest, the event also brought to the attendees’ awareness events in Toledo of police violence as well as current international events in Gaza that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Palestinians.
Organized by Washington Muhammad of the Community Solidarity Response Network (CSRN), a number of other local organizations joined the protest against police and government-led violent oppressive tactics.
CSRN was joined by representatives of Parents of Murdered Children of Northwest Ohio, New Order National Human Rights Organization, the Media Decompression Collective and the American Muslims for Palestine to speak about.
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom,” said Muhammad during his opening remarks. “We have nothing to lose but out chains. Muhammad noted that the Massey homicide in Illinois (Sonya Massey was shot in the face by an officer while she was standing in her kitchen over a pot pf boiling water after she has called to complain about a possible intruder) was not unlike confrontations that have occurred here in Toledo.
He referenced the case of Brandon Upchurch who was stopped for driving a stolen car – incorrectly as it runed out – then assaulted by a police dog. He has been charged with resisting arrest. He also spoke of the young woman who was cited for walking in the street in her neighborhood. The sidewalks as it happened were so covered with trash that she was unable to walk along that pathway.
“When we talk about defunding the police, what we want to do is reduce the missed training that they have, save our dollars from being spent on things that are only going to be used on things to suppress us. We have no problem working with law enforcement that respects us and honors us… We want to have a zero tolerance for their mistreatment of us.”
Aviance Hill, founder of the resurgent Parents of Murdered Children of Northwest Ohio, also took the podium. Hill founded the Parents group in the fall of 2022, months after her son, Isaac Carpenter was murdered on July 2, 2022.
“There was no support or resources,” said Hill of the situation she and her family faced after the murder. Since then, her Parents group has given families some options. “We give hope, we give help, we give resources.”
However, Hill also remarked that the loss of one individual does not just impact his or her immediate family – as in the case of Massey of Illinois.
“We lost Isaac, we lost Sonya. Every time we lose someone, we all lose that someone,” she said. “We are here to ensure that the next generation will not have to endure what we have endured.”
Hill spoke of her goal for those of the next generation and the type of world they should live in and the types of worries they should have
“The biggest worry you should have is: ‘what’s for dinner?’ The only thing our children and grandchildren should have to worry about is: ‘what’s for dinner?’”
Siti Dotson-Chambers, representing Toledo’s New Order chapter spoke. She addressed the problem of police brutality “that we see day in and day out – people attacked by dogs or for walking in the street – we have Toledo police officers that have taken advantage of the community … they don’t protect and defend us, they harass us.”
Dotson-Chambers told the attendees that in her neighborhood she, like any number of her neighbors, would be reluctant to call on the police if a situation requiring their attention might arise because they could tend to make the situation worse not better.
“I don’t feel comfortable calling the police,” she said.
She urged those present to speak out about police misconduct.
“Silence is violence,” she said. “We stand in solidarity with those around the nation. We have to fight together – together we are better.”
Amjad Doumani of the Media Decompression Collective offered the case for those in Gaza who have undergone such violence during the last 10 months and the similar circumstances that oppressed people around the world face.
“We have a lot in common,” said the self-described long-time peace activist. All our struggles are a common struggle… Sonya Massey is one of a countless number of African Americans who didn’t need to die – she was murdered. The same thing is happening in Palestine.”
Doumani described Israeli tactics of deliberately placing Palestinians in harm’s way in order to kill as many of them as possible and declared that the death toll is vastly underestimated at 40,000. He said he believes the toll is at least 200,000, perhaps as many as a million.
He assailed the proposal by the local authorities to obtain a military grade commercial vehicle as he also noted that Israel sends military people to the USA to train police officers in this country in their tactics.
“They feel like we are the enemy,” he said. “Our struggle is the same struggle and the U.S. is funding genocide in Palestine.”
Next up was Walaa Kanan of the American Muslims for Palestine whose group’s purpose includes educating local communities about the Palestinian cause.
“I don’t have to stop grieving for those in Gaza to take time to grieve for those here,” said Kanan. “Our struggles are interconnected.”
Kanan referred to “the generational trauma of our ancestors” as the origin of that interconnectivity. “But there is hope,” she added. I am deeply optimistic because this is the generation that is going to make a difference.”
In closing, Muhammad revealed that the CSRN is in the process of starting a civilian police review board, one that will be very unlike those of the past in which members have been “cherry picked” by police and civilian authorities.
This board, said Muhammad, will subpoena witnesses and officers to obtain statements about reported incidents. The board will send notices to officers’ neighborhoods to warn residents of hos unsafe such a person might be. They will also utilize billboards for that purpose.
“If we can have sleepless nights, then so can they,” he said.
