Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Re the Memphis Klan Rally and Peaceful Protest

Remarks by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
So this is the new city code sections of the Memphis city code dealing with protests and parades. It essentially allows for all political demonstrations, not in favor with the police and city authorities, to be a function of the police to decide whether to grant or not. Of course, if you are protesting against the police for killing civilians, then what do you think they will say? So they have essentially criminalized all protests, and prevented the ability of our group to have a demonstration unless the police approve in advance. Of course , we will test it, and intend to sue, but just let you read this for yourself.
http://www.memphistn.gov/Portals/0/pdf_forms/ordinances/5502_Parades_and_Assemblies_21-28.pdfwww.memphistn.gov


Now, the Memphis cops and the city government are giving a figure of $175,585 for the amount they spent on police overtime for the March 30 anti-Klan demo. This is the low ball figure however, and does not include equipment costs, special purchase of security equipment and so on, which would run into thousands more. They had 500-600 cops out there, armored personnel carrier, and other costly high tech weapons. They did say that they spent over $8,000 to ride the Klan around on city buses to and from the event site, not included is meals and hotel rooms purchased for them by the city. They were literally coddled by the city. [See police officers working overtime at the Memphis Klan rally embedded below, and see more video coverage of the Klan anti-rally in three links below.]



Anti-Klan rally in Memphis 3/30/13, video 1
http://youtu.be/bVa2OLJbVxE
Lorenzo Ervin speaks on a bullhorn during multiracial anti-Klan march
Anti-Klan rally video 2
http://youtu.be/podT5xOidL8
Interviewing a black youth with hundreds of police officers in background
Anti-Klan rally video 3
http://youtu.be/21RwMA9V4yA
Interviewing anti-Klan rally protesters, a brother and sister, who expressed objections to the Klan seeking to stop racial harmony


Mary Neal, director of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill, sister of disabled man secretly arrested and killed in Memphis Shelby County Jail http://WrongfulDeathOfLarryNeal.com


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