Report Back from “Action Against Police Violence”
March through Sunnyside takes Fourth Street and Rt. 66.
Cops Target and Cite Demonstrators.
Occupied Kinlani/Flagstaff –
Friday, June 19, 2020- An art party kicked things off in Sunnyside neighborhood at Ponderosa Park. Signs and banners were painted with, “Fuck the Police”, “Blue Lives Destroy Communities”, and other radical slogans.
The action was called on Juneteenth to recognize and celebrate Black liberation struggles that have persisted since the inception of the so-called USA. Community showed up to demonstrate solidarity in shared fights for liberation in the face of ongoing and extreme state/police violence and anti-Blackness.
A crowd of mostly young folx from the neighborhood gathered at Colanthe and East St, the site of the fatal shooting of Kyle Garcia, 23, by Flagstaff Police Department, support of their neighbor, the daughter of Kyle Garcia.
In 2006, Flagstaff Police Department officers with the Gang Intelligence Team Enforcement (now expanded and called GIITEM, Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement), pulled Kyle over due to an alleged “car stereo noise” complaint. The officers that night, Will Willis and Shawn Gilleland, shot at Kyle 13 times and left him handcuffed on the ground to bleed out and die.
Kyle’s daughter, now in high school, spoke via cell phone. Her message was related and echoed through the neighborhood.
“I was only 11 months old when they took my dad from me. Because of their actions, my dad will never watch me walk across the stage, walk me down the aisle, or see me succeed. But I know he is watching over me and will always love me. The cops had no right to do that to my dad. He wasn’t harming anybody. My dad was the kind of person who would’ve given you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Now me as a child growing up, I have no trust and no respect for police to help me if I was in danger. That sucks to be a child and be afraid of a police officer that is supposed to be there to protect you.”
The lively crowd of about 50 people began marching through the neighborhood shortly after Kyle’s daughters powerful words. Masks and water were passed out. Flyers with information on not calling the cops distributed. Neighbors offered support – some cheered and others joined the procession. Familiar faces that are not usually present at protests showed up to stand and show love for their community; reclaiming streets that the Flagstaff Police department frequently taints with their racist and prejudiced patrol officers.
The crowd wasn’t holding back their rage for Black Lives. Everyone seemed fully present and focused on the moment. It was asked that there be no filming or taking pictures. Cops and local fascists were largely absent, as well as the liberal movement police. It was a moment of collective rage mixed with affirmation and love for the resistance to those systems that have harmed us for generations. The overall messaging of the action was reflected with a large banner that read,
“Strong Communities Make Police Obsolete.”
A strong contingent of Indigenous folx pushed the march to Fourth Street. The pigs shut down the entire street as the march was joined by a critical mass. The ranks of the march swelled to about 100 who all took the massive intersection of Fourth and Route 66.
Indigenous queer rage rallied a collective anger that echoed through the summer solstice eve. A drum beat its heart into place with a massive round dance. The song was “All Cops Are Bastards.” Unsheltered relatives danced with us and the streets belonged to us as long as we wanted.The group then collectively echoed and shouted many of the names of Black Lives taken by police terror.
Speakers stated that everyday people, not politicians, were going to ensure our communities are safe. They asserted their power and presence and made clear that we are not asking for another generation of bargaining. We demand the freedom and wellbeing of our people.
At one point a speaker shouted,
“Look around, this is powerful. This is what it looks like to shut shit down. This is more agency than you will ever reclaim with any coalition that asks you to make concessions. BLM!”
A fierce young Black voice emerged from the crowd and said,
“I will not celebrate Juneteeth; Slavery has not ended yet. Those who do the work of the slave masters are surrounding us right now.”
The intersection was surrounded by pigs.
Chants echoed throughout Fourth and Route 66 calling for officers to quit their job. Calls for radical Indigenous, Black and Brown unity towards collective liberation brought the crowd together.
As the demonstration moved back into the neighborhood, it came full circle at the site of Kyle Garcia’s memorial. As people left, individuals were targeted and followed by unmarked vehicles, some allegedly blamed for leading. A few were charged with “Obstructing a Public Thoroughfare.”
Intersections have been shut down in Flagstaff for the past three weeks as the Black Lives Matter movement, re-incited by the death of George Floyd, brought people throughout Turtle Island to the streets. However, most have happened in the Downtown area and have had no clear stance.
It is only when collective solidarity arises, the kind that aims at the root of the issue and is clear about where it stands, that pigs respond with the same violent, intimidating and threatening demeanor they use to oppress, silence, and kill.
When they see us, they know we are not fooled. Our lived experiences and generational knowledge, the very make up of our DNA, holds the truth-
POLICE DO NOT SERVE NOR PROTECT US.
The following is a statement was shared at the beginning of the demonstration:
“Thank you for joining us on this significant day in Black history.
Indigenous peoples take heart with our black comrades around the so called USA and around the globe, in the collective and collaborative efforts to destroy that which has tried to destroy US. We stand together against our tyrannical oppressors who have spared no expense to; simultaneously benefit from and deny our humanity, to erase and commodify our cultures, to tokenize our accomplishments and hush our pain and remembering to silent servitude.
We are not here today to debate, make concessions, or otherwise consider anything that does not acknowledge police abuse of power and the abolition of that violent labor as an absolute, fundamental step, towards dismantling the effective and horrendous work of the state and largely white supremacy and settler colonialism.
We wish to welcome exploration in regards to diversity of tactics in the realm of resistance, in action, and conversation around collaborative work with Black, Afro-Indigenous, and Indigenous people, to create sustainable solidarity groups and deepening of trusting relationships for the longevity of our communal efforts in the vast and magnificent realms of defiance. FUCK 12″
We are committed and call for solidarity between radical Black, Afro-Indigenous, Indigenous, queer, and migrant folx in our community. By radical we mean those wanting to get at the root of problem. Those who are down to build the power it will require for us to be safe, to thrive and be liberated.
– If anyone was cited by the pigs please email acab4evr@protonmail.com to connect for support.
– Do not post or tag yourself in pictures or videos from the action. If you do have some pics you’d like to share, it is important that you blur out everyone’s faces before posting and delete the original photo.
-Attached are short zines you can read, print and share.
Community Not Cops
Security Zine
AssataTestimony_PrintReady
STAR
Transformative-Justice-Zine
accomplices-not-allies-print-friendly
Photos found online from various sources.