On November 20, 2014, Officer Peter Liang shot and killed Akai Gurley, an unarmed, Black 28-year old
On November 20, 2014, Officer Peter Liang shot and killed Akai Gurley, an unarmed, Black 28-year old father in Brooklyn, New York. Hundreds of Asian Americans across the country mobilized in support of #Justice4AkaiGurley and his family in light of the alarming number of unarmed Black men, boys, girls, and women being murdered by police. In February 2015, Officer Liang was indicted by a grand jury for the shooting death of Akai Gurley. Last Thursday, a 12-person jury at the Brooklyn Supreme Court convicted Liang of manslaughter and official misconduct. His sentencing will be on April 14th and he faces the possibility of no jail time and probation up to 15 years in prison.Since the jury’s decision, there has been harassment directed towards CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities and other Asians who have been mobilizing for police accountability and broader racial justice in the wake of Akai Gurley’s death. The ethnic Chinese media has also pushed a polarizing and anti-black narrative around the conviction of Peter Liang. This has caused some strain within the larger Asian American community and we have received a number of requests to help reframe the narrative. We will host a panel of activists to have an open and honest conversation about police violence, interracial solidarity organizing, and what #Asians4BlackLives looks like in practice on the ground.Join us on Friday, February 19th at 4:00 pm EST for a Google Hangout on “Mutual Accountability, Mutual Liberation: A Conversation on #AsiansForBlackLives”. 18MR.org’s Diane Wong will moderate the conversation. Our panelists include OiYan Poon, Advocate and Professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Education, Meejin Richart, CAAAV member, Joo-Hyun Kang, Director of Communities United for Police Reform, and several other activists involved with on the ground efforts in New York City and beyond. Make sure to RSVP to the Hangout.Let’s get together to talk about how we can reframe the narrative about police accountability in the wake of Peter Liang’s conviction. Asian Americans can and must show up in solidarity with Black communities, and we’re looking forward to offering this starting point. Join the discussion on Twitter with the tag #Asians4BlackLives and tweet at us your questions. -- source link
#asian americans#asians4blacklives#justice4akaigurley