Dozens gather in Newark to demand justice for Tyre Nichols
NEWARK − As people around the country held their breath Friday waiting for the late night release of the video of Memphis police officers beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, a father who died three days later, People's Organization for Progress planned a protest in front of the Lincoln Monument in Newark on Saturday.
People’s Organization for Progress organizer Larry Hamm stood in front of the Newark Courthouse and yelled "no justice, no peace" into a PA system setup before the crowd.
Holding signs reading “Stop police brutality” and “We demand police review boards,” the crowd of 50 to 60 was the kind of calm protest the Nichols family said they wanted to see around the country.
While the crowd was peaceful it was also resolute.
“I am here because I am fighting for justice and peace for my young brothers and sisters. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere,” said Newark’s Malik Stewart, 23. “We have come to a point where we wake up every morning to the news and see police brutality of our young Black, brown and Latino brothers. Something has to be done."
Zayid Muhammad is with Newark Community for Accountable Policing, which was there to stand in solidarity with POP. Both groups have been “at it for years,” he said.
"We are absolutely disgusted with elected leadership here in New Jersey," Muhammad said. "They point to George Floyd and Memphis, Tennessee and Tyre Nichols, but they do next to nothing to reform right here in New Jersey."
Muhammad referenced the efforts by Angela McKnight, assemblywoman in Jersey City, when she put forward a now-stalled bill to give any municipality in New Jersey the capacity to launch its own civilian review board.
"We have a Democratic governor, Democratic assembly and Democratic senate, why can’t we get this done?" he asked.
Bloomfield’s Max Herman, 54, is a sociology professor at New Jersey City University in Jersey City. He’s written a book, "Summer of Rage," about the Newark riots of 1967. He saw the event as a “continuation” of problems that have never been resolved.
"Back then people were enraged because police had arrested and beaten a cab driver. People were coming home from work when they dragged him up the steps of the Fourth Precinct in full sight of everybody. At that time you didn’t have cellphones but a rumor had spread by mouth that he had been killed by the police. After seeing people brutalized time and time again people were not in the mood for for peace back then," said Herman who has been coming to protests like this "for about 25 years now."
Herman gave Hamm “a lot of credit for organizing this rally and keeping things peaceful just as it was for the George Floyd protest a few years ago.”
Floyd’s name came up often as passersby honked their horns in support. So did the name of Carl Dorsey, a South Orange resident who was fatally shot by Newark police on Jan. 1, 2021.
“Accountable policing needs to happen. The abuse needs to stop,” said Muhammad.
Just like many in the crowd, Muhammad said he couldn’t watch the whole video. But what he saw was “enough” and it was “egregious in all of its graphic dimensions.”
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The common theme in the crowd was a desire for civilian review boards to oversee police.
“We call on the state Legislature of New Jersey to pass A1515 that will enable municipalities to create police review boards with subpoena power and investigatory power,” said Hamm to applause before the minimal police presence that escorted the group’s march down Market and Broad streets.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Tyre Nichols protest in Newark NJ sees dozens gather
