As is usually the case after mass protest, when people are no longer in the streets, government and law enforcement gear up to punish those who participated in the resistance. They want to send a message to hundreds of thousands across the country that they will not tolerate challenges to their authority and murderous behavior. In cities and towns across the country, local authorities are reviewing video and news reports hoping to single out leaders of the nationwide uprisings in the wake of the George Floyd murder by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25.
Such is the case in Greenville, North Carolina. Outraged at the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and police brutality in the US. hundreds took to the streets. As a local activist, Dedan Wacuri has been fighting for an end to police violence and the establishment of a police accountability mechanism for many years. He joined hundreds of other justice minded people at a rally where he spoke to the suffocating police presence in Black Communities, offered demands for police accountability and community control of public safety. The police responded to the march and rally with tear gas. Video of the rally makes it clear that Dedan was not responsible for saying or doing anything to warrant the fabricated charges of inciting a riot and damage to government property. This a standard tactic used by local authorities and has to be challenged if we are to maintain the democratic right of protest.
Dedan is a well-respected leader in the community and with his mother has been a social justice, labor rights, and anti-racist organizer in Greenville since he was a youth. As a member of CAR, he supported the candidacy of Farris Dixon for D.A. in hopes he would be more accessible and responsive to the people. Because he is well known, the authorities want to shut down his work on behalf of his community. But this attempt is not simply an attack on one individual or organization but an assault on all who would stand up for justice and fight against the pandemic of police killing or other injustices we face on a daily basis, particularly in this moment of rising white supremacy and right wing attacks on the well-being or even the existence of Black people, other people of color and anyone else who stands with us.
The charges being brought against Dedan are serious and could lead to serious jail time. That is why we need a strong mobilization in support ahead of his trial on December 14. We need people to sign the petition asking D.A. Faris Dixon to drop all the charges. In addition, those who can be in Greenville are asked to join the action at the Pitt County Courthouse. The Dedan Wacuri Defense Committee is organizing other activities which may include virtual actions and phone calls to the prosecutor. The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/pitt-county-district-attorney-faris-dixon-drop-the-charges-stop-the-attack-on-our-community?redirect=false
Please share this widely and join us in this important struggle for justice. And join us in efforts to defund the police and refund the resources to community needs like health care, housing and education and ultimately, a people/community centered public safety program.
Black Workers for Justice-November 29, 2020
