Watch remarks here.
When asked “when will you be satisfied?” Dr. Martin Luther King said, upon presenting his dream to the world, the first measurement on the list was to free African Americans from “the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”
Our leaders invoke the dream frequently, but as a society, we rarely measure ourselves against it.
Police brutality permeates the surface of a community, and it scars the psyche of everyone who lives there. When police officers can get away with violating the law under the pretext of enforcing it, they have all the power, while the people have none. It chills the lifeblood of a city and jeopardizes the lives within it.
The ACLU stands in solidarity with the citizens of Newark in saying “enough is enough.” In September we petitioned the Department of Justice to finally come help stop abuse of citizens at the hands of police in Newark. Our petition documents 418 allegations of false arrests, discrimination, physical assaults, retaliation and deaths in custody covering only a two and a half year time frame.
I don't need to tell you that situation on the ground here is serious, and I don't need to tell you that behind every one of the 418 cases we document there is a person whose life will be negatively impacted by what happened. You can overstate how traumatic it is to have your rights violated by the police. It can be life-altering, and life-taking.
The DOJ is taking it seriously, too. They have been on the ground, talking to people and finding out first hand what police-community relations look like in Newark.
It's been 43 years since the ACLU first called for federal intervention on behalf of the citizens of Newark, and its been four months since the ACLU of New Jersey filed its petition to the Department of Justice this time around. We hope the wait will soon end. It's hard to imagine that the Department of Justice could find a more worthy candidate than Newark for its attention.
But if they turn us away like they did in 1967, the ACLU stands ready to redouble our efforts. To file more lawsuits. To arm more citizens with knowledge of their rights. To defend those who speak the language of the unheard. At this time of remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, we will not shirk our duty to struggle nor fear the repercussions of truth.
Watch remarks here.
When asked “when will you be satisfied?” Dr. Martin Luther King said, upon presenting his dream to the world, the first measurement on the list was to free African Americans from “the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”
Our leaders invoke the dream frequently, but as a society, we rarely measure ourselves against it.
Police brutality permeates the surface of a community, and it scars the psyche of everyone who lives there. When police officers can get away with violating the law under the pretext of enforcing it, they have all the power, while the people have none. It chills the lifeblood of a city and jeopardizes the lives within it.
The ACLU stands in solidarity with the citizens of Newark in saying “enough is enough.” In September we petitioned the Department of Justice to finally come help stop abuse of citizens at the hands of police in Newark. Our petition documents 418 allegations of false arrests, discrimination, physical assaults, retaliation and deaths in custody covering only a two and a half year time frame.
I don't need to tell you that situation on the ground here is serious, and I don't need to tell you that behind every one of the 418 cases we document there is a person whose life will be negatively impacted by what happened. You can overstate how traumatic it is to have your rights violated by the police. It can be life-altering, and life-taking.
The DOJ is taking it seriously, too. They have been on the ground, talking to people and finding out first hand what police-community relations look like in Newark.
It's been 43 years since the ACLU first called for federal intervention on behalf of the citizens of Newark, and its been four months since the ACLU of New Jersey filed its petition to the Department of Justice this time around. We hope the wait will soon end. It's hard to imagine that the Department of Justice could find a more worthy candidate than Newark for its attention.
But if they turn us away like they did in 1967, the ACLU stands ready to redouble our efforts. To file more lawsuits. To arm more citizens with knowledge of their rights. To defend those who speak the language of the unheard. At this time of remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, we will not shirk our duty to struggle nor fear the repercussions of truth.
