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| The People’s Organization for Progress organizes “Justice Monday” protest in Newark (People’s Organization for Progress/Facebook) |
By Bradford Mason
Protests across New Jersey continue over the Minneapolis police killing of Black, unarmed George Floyd. Activists say “enough is enough” when it comes to racism and police mistreatment on the Black citizens.
On Monday, Newark activist Larry Hamm, who leads the organization the People’s Organization for Progress (P.O.P.), led the “Justice Monday” protest in response to the police killings of Floyd, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, whose killing involved a retired police officer. The protest took place in front of the Federal Building in Newark.
The protest was also a demonstration of support for the Newark Civilian Complaint Review Board. The City of Newark’s attempt to establish the police review board with subpoena and investigatory powers is currently being decided by the State Supreme Court.
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| Protest in Franklin, NJ (Photo by Andrew Robinson on Unsplash) |
On May 30, Hamm led a peaceful protest march with thousands participants in Newark in solidarity with protests in Minneapolis and elsewhere throughout the country.
“If I had to boil it down to one factor,” Hamm said in one report. “I would say that one of the reasons that the protest has not been destructive is because people want to keep the narrative about the protest, on the issues of justice. We are here to march and protest the death of George Floyd. If you’re here to do something different, you’re not with us.”
In February 2016, P.O.P. launched weekly Monday protests in front of the Federal Building in Newark to bring attention to several cases of police brutality in New Jersey that merited Federal investigations. They were called Justice Monday protests and they went on for over 200 consecutive weeks.
Students at Penns Grove High School participated in a rally/march over the recent nation’s recent police killings of Black Americans on Saturday at Penns Grove Middle School. The demonstration was being organized by activist Walter Hudson leader of the National Awareness Alliance.
Hudson said there have been several incidents of police brutality in the area in the community wants to send a clear message.
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| Protests in Franklin, NJ (Photo by Andrew Robinson on Unsplash) |
“The recent death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, was that proverbial spark that lit the fuse to what has transpired into an international outcry for police reform,” Hudson said.
On Thursday, more than 500 people participated in peaceful protest march in Franklin, NJ. Reports indicate the march was organized by activist Ashton Burrell.
“George Floyd was a brother, friend, companion and most importantly a person,” Burrell said in one interview. “On May 25, George’s life was prematurely taken from him by individuals who should be saving lives instead of taking them. The time for change is now and the people will wait no longer for justice.”
On Saturday in Jersey City, demonstrators gathered at City Hall on Grove Street for at rally to end police brutality. The rally was organized by the Black Diaspora Club. Demonstrators held signs with names of people killed by police.