JUSTICE MONDAY PROTEST FIFTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

The People’s Organization For Progress (POP) will have a “Justice Monday” protest against police brutality on the fifth year anniversary of the weekly demonstration Monday, February 1, 2021, 5:00pm in front of the Rodino Federal Building, 970 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey.

“We have been having these Monday protests against police brutality for five years since February 1, 2016. There have been more than 225 Justice Monday protests,” stated Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress.

“Initially, we started them at the federal building in Newark because the office of the U. S. Attorney for New Jersey is located there,” Hamm said.

“We demanded then and we are still demanding that he launch civil rights investigations into the police shootings of Abdul Kamal, Jerome Reid, Kashad Ashford, and Radazz Hearns. All of the shootings occurred in New Jersey. ” he said

Kamal was killed by police in Irvington. Reid was killed by an officer in Bridgeton. Ashford was killed by police and state troopers in Lyndhurst. Hearns was shot seven times in the back by a Trenton cop but he survived.

The scope of the demands of the weekly protests include justice for all victims of police brutality including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, Elijah McClain, and others across the United States.

Another demand is a call for the New Jersey State Attorney General, Gurbir Grewal, to launch an investigation into to the murder of Earl Faison by police in Orange, New Jersey.

The Justice Monday protests are also a demonstration of support for the Newark Civilian Complaint Review Board. The City of Newark is currently engaged in legal efforts to obtain subpoena and investigatory powers for this police review board.

There had been over 200 Justice Monday protests when POP temporarily suspended them in March of 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Justice Monday protests were re-started on June 8th of last year on response to the death of George Floyd . A few of the weekly protests were also cancelled due to inclement weather.