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Jacksonville rallies after Chauvin guilty verdict

By Kiara Joyner

Jacksonville protest following Chauvin guilty verdict.

Jacksonville FL – On April 21, the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) organized a rally, uniting with the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression call for protests to respond to the Chauvin trial and to demand justice for the countless number of victims of police crimes in Jacksonville and throughout the country.

Jacksonville is one of the many cities that have been plagued with countless murders at the hand of law enforcement.

The day after the guilty verdict, over a 100 people gathered in front of the Duval County Courthouse to demand justice for victims of police crimes. Christina Kittle, an organizer with JCAC, reiterated to the crowd that even with the Chauvin guilty verdict, we still must keep up the fight. She also shared the importance of community control of the police. Charity Baker, the mother of Leah Baker, a 28-year-old woman who was brutally shot and killed by JSO officers, spoke to the crowd and shared her daughter’s story. She also reminded the crowd that the fight for accountability wouldn’t be as prominent without the voice of the people.

The importance of the voice of the people was reiterated throughout the rally. The crowd chanted “The people united, will never be defeated.” Monique Sampson, another organizer with JCAC, emphasized to the crowd that “George Floyd sparked an entire movement. His death was not in vain. The guilty verdict wasn’t the result of the jury being the jury, it was the result of the peoples movement taking the street and changing the tide all over this country and all over the world.”

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommitteeJCAC #DerekChauvin #NationalAllianceAgainstRacistAndPoliticalRepressionNAARPR