“This minor inconvenience was brought to you by a major injustice” was a quick response to a question tonight as the main north/south highway that bisects the city of Milwaukee was shut down. The African American community is angry about joblessness, about crime, about living in gutted neighborhoods and about police brutality. Dontre Hamilton was a 31 year old black man who was killed last May by a Milwaukee cop. He was asleep on a bench, was poked and prodded with a baton, grabbed the baton, and was subsequently executed. Fourteen shots. The cop has since been fired from the force, but the DA is still deciding whether this murder will be considered a crime. Comments leaked to the press make it appear that we will follow the familiar story of impunity for police.
"This minor inconvenience was brought to you by a major injustice." Cops go free for shooting black men. We know that. We don’t need more proof. Milwaukee stands like Ferguson, kind of shaky in terms of race relations, a lot of pent up anger, and lot of feelings of futility. Tonight, activists shut it down. Here’s what happened.
There were two major groups, one in cars and one marching over to the freeway from Red Arrow Park, where Dontre’s murder took place. The groups aren’t connected, but are sympathetic. The idea was that the first group would drive onto both north and south lanes of I-43 and stop at a designated spot, each car slotting into the adjacent lane, to overtake the 10 lanes. It should be noted that traffic at 4:30 in this location is already at a standstill, so even though there was purposeful inconvenience, there was little danger in terms of executing the plan. The group intended to stay exactly 20 minutes, and had designated who was willing to remain, if needed, for arrest, and who couldn’t afford to be arrested. People chanted and held lighted signs that said JUSTICE and BLACK LIVES MATTER. It was a very intense scene down on the freeway, truck and car horns blaring, helicopters circling overhead, and a wail of police sirens getting closer and closer. As the police approached, the protestors got into their cars and simply left. They faded into the now moving traffic, and no arrests were made.
Meanwhile, the group of about one hundred marchers had reached the highway just a bit south of the blockade. There is a very long highway onramp there, and they began to walk down it. The police, angry from the highway blockade, were everywhere, and were immediately on the marchers. The police gave notice that being on the onramp was breaking the law, and that they had to leave. They were complying, when the police started to grab them, throw people to the pavement, zip tie and chicken wing them and generally treat them quite roughly. Seventy-three adults and one minor were arrested. Oddly enough, the ones who did the civil disobedience and were willing to take arrest got away, the ones who thought they were within the bounds of the law and didn’t wish to take arrest were mass arrested. So goes protest as it escalates…
Those not arrested from the second group walked by our van, now parked near the Municipal Court Building, seeming morose and traumatized. We were all headed down to the police station in order to give support to those arrested. We asked them if they wanted to help hold Light Brigade signs. We had to park far away, since all the streets were cordoned off. People were eager to help, and we took the lighted letters down to hold #SHUT IT DOWN along with our other smaller and more mobile signs that were already lighted the message behind the news reporters as they asked the eloquent spokesperson for statements. It was a very intense atmosphere with scores of police off to the side, as the hundred or so activists held signs and marched in solidarity with the arrested.
Our rightwing faux Democrat County Sheriff Clarke, who is known for his rants against lawlessness, his cowboy hat and his nice horse, was quick to take to the media with his fanciful interpretation of reality as seen in such statements such as:
[The police] have 'pretty good information' that this group is going to use blockades of the interstate system and other roadways around the area to 'prevent law enforcement from responding quickly to emergency situations.
and more choice quotes:
"The 'outside groups' are trying to 'destabilize' the daily activities of law-abiding citizens."
"[Sheriff Clarke] says the 'leftist groups' are going to use tactics of 'hiding' among 'legitimate' peaceful protestors to conduct their 'illegitimate campaign.'"
"What the sheriff is intimating is that there are outside protestors who have come in and tried to hijack the Dontre Hamilton protestors to forward their own cause, which the sheriff calls 'anarchy.'"
Sorry, Sheriff Clarke. There are no outside protestors. The ones arrested are Dontre’s friends and people who want an honest accounting of law enforcement practices, and who aren’t going to stand silently anymore for police brutality. I think that the point of peaceful civil disobedience is to show that there is power in people who are willing to disrupt a corrupt system. Indeed, it is aggravating to nice folks trying to get home after a long day of work. But, as one of the organizers said early through the bullhorn,
“This minor inconvenience was brought to you by a major injustice!”
If you are feeling kind and generous, please help with the bail fund for those arrested:
Coalition for Justice