fbpx
33.9 F
Spokane
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsSpokane joins in Ferguson Grand Jury protests

Spokane joins in Ferguson Grand Jury protests

Date:

Related stories

FāVS Religion News Roundup: March 29

Diverse topics such as environmental justice tied to Spokane's 50th anniversary of Expo '74, a Journey to the Cross, Islamophobia on University of Washington's campus and how adoption got easier for religious parents in Idaho but may be harder for LGBTQ adoptees are just some of the themes we explore in this week's Roundup.

Exploring the Richness of Holy Week: 2024 Spokane Area Easter Services and Events

Here is a list of the variety of services happening this Holy Week. This list is only a sample. If you don’t see your church and would like to have it added, please send your service times to Cassy Benefield at [email protected]

Two Palouse Churches to Sponsor Upcoming Viewing of ‘God & Country’

A one-time viewing of “God & Country” will take place on Saturday, April 13, at 2 p.m., at the Kenworthy Theater in Moscow, Idaho. the film looks at the implications of Christian nationalism and how it distorts the constitutional republic, but Christianity itself.

Utah Women’s Basketball Team Experiences Racism in Cd’A

Utah Women's Basketball Coach Lynne Roberts admitted at a press conference today her team experience "several instances of racial hate crimes" during their stay in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, last week (March 21).

Spokane’s Church-Based Homeless Shelters Receive Funding to Operate through the Summer

The Spokane City Council voted unanimously last week to extend the contract with Jewels Helping Hands to continue funding church-based homeless shelters through the summer.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

[todaysdate]

By Tracy Simmons

About 200 people paraded through downtown Spokane Tuesday evening, joining legions of other communities across the country in protesting the grand jury’s decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

Brown, who was unarmed, was killed by Wilson in August. The grand jury ruled on Monday night that there was not enough probable cause to indict Wilson in the shooting. The decision sparked another wave of protests across the U.S. and Canada. Nationally, protests have been ongoing since the shooting.

Protestors march through downtown Spokane/Tracy Simmons - SpokaneFAVS
Protestors march through downtown Spokane/Tracy Simmons – SpokaneFAVS

On Tuesday, the Spokane protestors waved signs that read, “Black lives matter” and belted, “No justice, no peace, no racist police!” as they made their way in the drizzle from City Hall to the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza and back.

“Today we gather in solidarity to say black lives matter, black lives have value, black lives are sacred,” said Rachel Doležal., who organized the rally. “For 500 years black lives have been devalued, degraded, minimized, trivialized and taken from us.”

She said today in America black people are more likely to be arrested, and even killed, by police than whites.

Doležal continued by saying it’s time to stand up to this injustice through freedom of expression.

“We are valuable,” she said. “We are equals.”

The Spokane rally started with a “Die In” where a small group black men and women lay on the ground and had their bodies lined with chalk. After that, the crowd marched through the streets yelling “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the killer cops got to go,” and “Who’s Michael Brown? We’re Michael Brown,” among other chants.

Levi James, a 24-year-old from Spokane, joined in the protest. He said he’d been watching the Ferguson story since August. Seeing video footage of Monday night’s reactions unsettled him further, he said. Watching the police use tear gas and become militarized, James said, encouraged him to do something.

“Instead of arm chairing about it, I thought I could come down here and embody the feelings and emotions that I can’t even imagine the protestors in Ferguson were feeling last night,” he said.

A woman chants during a Ferguson protest in Spokane/Tracy Simmons - SpokaneFAVS
A woman chants during a Ferguson protest in Spokane/Tracy Simmons – SpokaneFAVS

He and others at the rally called for a change in police conduct. Some called for community policing, some pleaded for better training and others said police should learn to use stun guns rather than bullets.

The protestors remembered Brown, and others remember Otto Zehm, a mentally disabled man who died in 2006 during an altercation with Spokane police.

President Barack Obama, Michael Brown’s parents and other community leaders have urged those opposing the grand jury decision to protest peacefully.

In a statement Brown’s family said they were “profoundly disappointed” that Wilson will not face charges. They continued, “while we understand that many others share our pain…we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change…We respectfully ask that you please keep your protests peaceful. Answering violence with violence is not the appropriate reaction.”

The Spokane protest was loud, but irenic, and continued outside City Hall after the march ended.

View more photos on our Facebook page.

Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of FāVS.News, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img

1 COMMENT

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Treecraft
Treecraft
9 years ago

Thank you for covering this event. It was an important moment of solidarity for Spokane, and I’m glad to have been there. I must, however, dispute the use of the word “altercation” to describe the swift and brutal attack on Otto Zehm which led to his death. Otto and police officers did not have an altercation.

spot_img
1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x