Vol. 71/No. 33      September 10, 2007

“We’ve got to make noise. If not, nothing is going to happen,” she said.

The majority of the 50 participants at the forum were from the West Side neighborhood of North Lawndale, a Black community.

Aaron Harrison, an 18-year-old African American, was chased by the police into an alley in North Lawndale where he was shot in the back August 6. The police claimed that he was pointing a gun at them, but witnesses said he was unarmed. Harrison was then handcuffed and died before the ambulance arrived.

“We need Mayor [Richard] Daley to be held accountable,” said Harris. “Cook County is in a state of disaster, because they’ve got the police killing our people.”

“Since my brother was killed, four more were killed and one shot,” said Laverne Teague, whose brother Lester Spruill died in custody in July. “All families have to come forward. They’re stealing the life of our youth.”

Spruill, 43, was arrested July 19. His family was notified two days later that he had died in custody. A month later the police still have not released a report on the cause of the death. His sister said that when they got the body it was covered with bruises.

On August 4, Gefery Johnson, 42, died on Chicago’s South Side when the police repeatedly shocked him with Taser guns and pepper sprayed him.

The panel also included Rev. Rick Harris, a community leader in North Lawndale. “Don’t tolerate being beaten, harassed,” he said. “It’s a disgrace, we need to stand up and come up together. Police brutality has to be addressed across the nation.” He invited the crowd to a September 12 town hall meeting in North Lawndale.

Another speaker, Alonzo, said his friend Eric Tonson, 17, was shot in the face by police the day before. “Let’s get them indicted, and convicted,” he said. “Every Tuesday and Thursday cops do a sweep and charge us. They have a quota, so we all have criminal backgrounds.”

Dennis Richter, representing the Socialist Workers Party, pointed out that the Chicago police have shot 23 people so far this year. The cops are trained to intimidate, to degrade people,” he said. “The only way to get any justice is to fight.”

Mary Johnson, a long-time activist against police brutality and a leader of the Families of the Wrongfully Convicted also spoke. In 2004 “May Molina, a Latina, one of the founders of our group, also died in custody,” she said. “You’re coming together. Keep organizing, we need numbers.”

A collection at the forum for the Aaron Harrison Memorial Fund raised $73. After the meeting, Annie Johnson, Harrison’s mother, said she was “thankful for all the support.”

“If you don’t fight, you are not alive,” she said.  
 
 
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