Protest Set Where Black College Student Is On Trial For Alleged Police Assault After Police Allegedly Beat Her And Call Her A Nigger
Cuyahoga County Court Of Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman
From the Metro Desk of the Determiner Weekly. Com and
the Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
To all media and others. Below is a press statement that I received from Sharon Dannan regarding the upcoming protest relative to the two Black women on trial in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for alleged assault on two White Cleveland police officers (Rebecca Whitby Sr. and Rebecca Whitby Jr.) and for me. The younger Whitby, who is 23 years old and a collge student, was allegedly beaten and called a "nigger" by police prior to being charged, according to an elderly White neighbor.
We urge the media and Black leaders to stand up relative to this serious matter and would again ask Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to lodge an investigation of police conduct around this issue. Read Danann's statement below where she is a Harvard educated activist and a long time fighter for the disenfranchised, including the 11 Black women killed on Imperial Ave in Cleveland and the ongoing harassment of me as a journalist at the hands of Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough and others.--Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman--
Sharon Danann's statement is as follows:
The Imperial Women (and other grasroots groups) have called for another rally in support of Rebecca Whitby and her mother (same name)-and Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman this Monday, March 1, 2010 at 8:00 AM before the jury selection for their trial begins at 9:00 AM. The location will be the Lakeside Avenue steps of the Justice Center in Cleveland. We had a very successful, high-spirited rally there on Wed., Feb. 24 with lots of chanting, speeches and signs, including one that read, "Cleveland's New Profiling: Being in Your Own Home While Black."
As some may recall, the charges 23-year-old Rebecca and her mother are facing all stem from a horrifically brutal incident last April in which she was beaten by police in her home and finally tasered into seizures and unconsciousness in the police car. Her mother, also named Rebecca Whitby, used her body to try to shield her daughter from some of the blows. A neighbor overheard the cops calling Rebecca the N-word, in case you had any doubt that this was a hate crime. The Grand Jury found nothing to charge the Whitby's with. However, immediately after the family filed a report with the Police Dept.'s Office of Professional Standards, a warrant was issued for the younger Rebecca's arrest. This is a clear case of "You will not hold us accountable" on the part of the police. It is about the fact that the family said, "This was wrong." The Whitby's today, any of us tomorrow. We have to stand up for the people who have the courage to stand up.
On Wednesday, Judge Stuart Friedman commented on the morning's rally to the packed courtroom and made clear his willingness to arrest and hold in contempt of court anyone who "causes a disturbance". He told us, quite unnecessarily, "This is not a football game or a soccer match." He then announced that all the seats in the courtroom would be needed for potential jurors until the jury has been empanelled, thereby excluding the public from the jury selection process. Then Judge Friedman made a statement for which there is no known factual basis that last week at a case associated with the defendants someone used a flip video camera and someone else used a cell phone to take pictures. Therefore during the Whitbys' trial no one will be permitted to have any electronic devices. He did not say specifically how the court was planning to make sure that the observers were free of cell phones and cameras - searches at the door? confiscating them? Is this legal? Judge Friedman clearly does not like the scrutiny of the community, but too bad. This case is too important for us to ignore.
So just to be clear, on Monday and probably Tuesday and possibly also Wednesday, no supporters will be permitted in the courtroom on the 19th floor to observe the jury selection process. You are welcome to come show your support by sitting in the benches outside the courtroom if you want. I will not be able to be there due to work commitments but I look forward to getting feedback about how all aspects of the day go.
Sharon Danann
Lucasville Uprising Freedom Network
Peoples Fightback Center
From the Metro Desk of the Determiner Weekly. Com and
the Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
To all media and others. Below is a press statement that I received from Sharon Dannan regarding the upcoming protest relative to the two Black women on trial in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for alleged assault on two White Cleveland police officers (Rebecca Whitby Sr. and Rebecca Whitby Jr.) and for me. The younger Whitby, who is 23 years old and a collge student, was allegedly beaten and called a "nigger" by police prior to being charged, according to an elderly White neighbor.
We urge the media and Black leaders to stand up relative to this serious matter and would again ask Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to lodge an investigation of police conduct around this issue. Read Danann's statement below where she is a Harvard educated activist and a long time fighter for the disenfranchised, including the 11 Black women killed on Imperial Ave in Cleveland and the ongoing harassment of me as a journalist at the hands of Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough and others.--Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman--
Sharon Danann's statement is as follows:
The Imperial Women (and other grasroots groups) have called for another rally in support of Rebecca Whitby and her mother (same name)-and Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman this Monday, March 1, 2010 at 8:00 AM before the jury selection for their trial begins at 9:00 AM. The location will be the Lakeside Avenue steps of the Justice Center in Cleveland. We had a very successful, high-spirited rally there on Wed., Feb. 24 with lots of chanting, speeches and signs, including one that read, "Cleveland's New Profiling: Being in Your Own Home While Black."
As some may recall, the charges 23-year-old Rebecca and her mother are facing all stem from a horrifically brutal incident last April in which she was beaten by police in her home and finally tasered into seizures and unconsciousness in the police car. Her mother, also named Rebecca Whitby, used her body to try to shield her daughter from some of the blows. A neighbor overheard the cops calling Rebecca the N-word, in case you had any doubt that this was a hate crime. The Grand Jury found nothing to charge the Whitby's with. However, immediately after the family filed a report with the Police Dept.'s Office of Professional Standards, a warrant was issued for the younger Rebecca's arrest. This is a clear case of "You will not hold us accountable" on the part of the police. It is about the fact that the family said, "This was wrong." The Whitby's today, any of us tomorrow. We have to stand up for the people who have the courage to stand up.
On Wednesday, Judge Stuart Friedman commented on the morning's rally to the packed courtroom and made clear his willingness to arrest and hold in contempt of court anyone who "causes a disturbance". He told us, quite unnecessarily, "This is not a football game or a soccer match." He then announced that all the seats in the courtroom would be needed for potential jurors until the jury has been empanelled, thereby excluding the public from the jury selection process. Then Judge Friedman made a statement for which there is no known factual basis that last week at a case associated with the defendants someone used a flip video camera and someone else used a cell phone to take pictures. Therefore during the Whitbys' trial no one will be permitted to have any electronic devices. He did not say specifically how the court was planning to make sure that the observers were free of cell phones and cameras - searches at the door? confiscating them? Is this legal? Judge Friedman clearly does not like the scrutiny of the community, but too bad. This case is too important for us to ignore.
So just to be clear, on Monday and probably Tuesday and possibly also Wednesday, no supporters will be permitted in the courtroom on the 19th floor to observe the jury selection process. You are welcome to come show your support by sitting in the benches outside the courtroom if you want. I will not be able to be there due to work commitments but I look forward to getting feedback about how all aspects of the day go.
Sharon Danann
Lucasville Uprising Freedom Network
Peoples Fightback Center
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