Milwaukee Black Panther Party hold "Tribunal" in Sherman Park
On Sunday, December 18th, 2016, The Milwaukee chapter of the Black Panther Party held a Human Rights Tribunal and Open Carry March. The event took place in the Sherman Park neighborhood, on Milwaukee's north side.
(Image source - WISN. Photo Credit - SHEILA SWIFT)
The purpose of the March, according to the Black Panther Party, was to protest the genocide of Black men by police. In Milwaukee, a couple of examples of the "genocide" would be the murders of Jay Anderson and Sylville Smith over the summer.
Jay Anderson was killed by Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah in June of this year. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Dec.5th:
"The Wauwatosa police officer who shot and killed Jay Anderson Jr. will not face state criminal charges, but federal prosecutors have agreed to review the case, Anderson's family said Monday"
Sylville Smith was killed by former Milwaukee police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown on August 13th, 2016. Smith's killing sparked unrest and riots in Milwaukee, primarily focused in the Sherman Park area. The "Milwaukee Uprising" lasted in total for 3 days and there was an estimated 5.8 million dollars worth of damage done.
As WISN reported:
"This is genocide. It can't go on. Any other country, any other people it would be declared as such," said Dr. Alli Muhammad with the Revoluntionary Black Panther Party.
The group on Friday called for the resignation of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Police Chief Ed Flynn.
Wisconsin, like many states, has laws permitting the act of open carrying a firearm in public. A police spokesman with the Milwaukee Police Department was asked about this topic, he responded with;
"Open carrying a firearm is not arrestable absent any other violations of the law,"
Do you support the action and motives of The Black Panther Party's event?
Do you feel that there is a genocide against Black men by police?
Watch the WISN footage of the event below
(Article by Jaimes Campbell)