Photo Courtesy of Facebook event page
UW-Milwaukee students will lead a march from campus to Red Arrow Park to show solidarity in the resistance against police brutality and join in the discussion nationally and locally.
Beginning today at 2 p.m. students will gather outside of Mitchell Hall near Kenwood Avenue where a liaison will guide students downtown. The “What about Dontre?” march will be led by Maria A. Perkins, the mother of Dontre Hamilton, the 31-year-old Milwaukee man who was shot and killed by former Milwaukee police Officer Christopher Manney in April.
Manney was fired by Milwaukee Police Chief Flynn, but not charged nor was he indicted. The autopsy report of Hamilton’s body, released on Dec. 1, lists 21 gunshot wounds, including entry and exit wounds. His death was ruled a homicide by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. Seven months after Hamilton’s death, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office continues to investigate the death, determining if Manney will face criminal charges.
The march, organized by UWM’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), will kick-off the Coalition for Justice’s “Whose City? Our City!” Rally taking place at Red Arrow Park at 4 p.m. Other student organizations that plan to participate in the march and rally include: Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Progressive Students of Milwaukee (PSM), and Black Student Union (BSU).
According to ACLU Vice President Carmen Qunlivan the objective is to engage in the injustices taking place across the nation, and also right in Milwaukee. Hamilton’s family, students and supporters will rally and march to demand justice for Dontre and all men and women who have been victims of police brutality in the city and across the nation.
“This is about engaging in the revolution at home,” Quinlivan says. “This is about building a community which nurtures not murders.”