‘Detroit takes action to #EndStateViolence’

By Zenobia Jeffries The Michigan Citizen  DETROT — Hundreds of Detroiters will use one of the city's most well-attended events to send their message that "Black lives matter," the evening of Dec. 6.  During the 42nd Annual Noel Night, several organizations have planned peaceful protests to bring attention to what they call "the criminal injustice system" in the U.S. Saturday's protest is one of many around the country in the past two weeks, as citizens express their outrage over the failure of grand juries to indict police officers Darren Wilson of Ferguson, Mo. and Daniel Pantaleo of New York City, who killed unarmed Black men over the summer. Also, in Detroit, Police Officer Joseph Weekley was, too, cleared in the shooting-death of Aiyana Stanley Jones. Weekley shot 7-year-old Jones during a televised militaristic-style raid on Jones' home in May 2010. Protestors have organized demonstrations in front of the Detroit Institute of Arts at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., where some demonstrators will stage a "die-in." Other plans of action will take place within some of the Noel Night events. At the Cass Corridor Commons, activities will include banner-making, community swaps, where participants exchange meaningful items and engage in dialogue, and uplifting Detroit artists. "I think everybody should do what is meaningful to them," poet/activist Tawana "Honeycomb" Petty told the Michigan Citizen. "We're using that opportunity to engage people who are visiting the city, who are going to come through that building for the entertainment aspect." Petty says, while she's not opposed to "die-ins" as a form of demonstration, she and fellow organizers, Bryce Detroit, Invincible, Halima Cassells, Jenny Lee, Sacramento Knoxx, William Copeland, Isis Smith and Glennisha Morgan have chosen other approaches to make people aware of injustice. "We've already seen what happens in rebellion and what happens when you don't respond accordingly," Petty said, referencing the 1967 Uprising in Detroit. "Bankruptcy, 150,000 home foreclosures, water shutoffs." While the various forms of demonstrations are successful in capturing nationwide — and sometimes worldwide attention, Petty says what has happened in Detroit is what happens when people are "yelling about what we hate instead of saying what we want." Detroit is different from Ferguson and New York, she says, in that the city has had majority Black elected officials over the past 40 years, including a Black mayor, until recently.  "And we've still had to deal with police brutality. (Also),we recognize the crisis we’ve been living in for decades, and whereas some cities are thriving, Detroit is not," she said. "We know people want to protest and that’s one strategy but that’s not our end all. We gotta get away from letting corporate media force us into having a response just to have a response." However, the program at Cass Corridor Commons, "will stay in tune with the message that 'Black lives matter.'" Longtime activist Dr. Gloria House says she supports the demonstrations taking place nationwide and commends the young people who are leading the charge. "I support what the young people are doing now. It's their generation and up to them to decide the form the protests will take. And I support what's happening in New York, and showing our resistance," Dr. House said. She says it's time for national outrage. "I'm happy there's been such an outpouring of outrage over the police killings," said Dr. House, who was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). "It's time for people to be aware of the extent of police brutality. We organized our (Detroit) Coalition Against Police Brutality over a decade ago, and millions of dollars are being paid out to people in settlements." Dr. House joined demonstrators Dec. 5 at Campus Martitus. "I didn't die," she said. "But I participated in the conventional demonstration." Of the Noel Night protests, Dr. House says, "This is not about being against (businesses in Midtown), it's about making a statement and being present among other people. "I don't have a sense of them being destructive of what other people are doing; there's been no indication of the demonstrations being against anybody. But we can't go on with Black people, people of color absorbing this kind of violence." Susan Mosey, president of Midtown, Inc, which produces Noel Night, says she has no plans to create negative press for the event and no intentions to disrupt peaceful demonstrations. "As long as they do peaceful protests and they don’t try to block anybody from getting in or out of the venues," Mosey told the MC. She says everything will be open as usual. "There will be the entire Wayne State police force on duty as usual." While WSU police are on duty, the Detroit Police Department will be assigned to monitor protests. "We have nothing to do with protestors at all," WSU Lieutenant Robert Barron said. "DPD handles that, and what their plans are they have not shared with us." No one from DPD was available to comment at time of post.