BLM Grassroots is calling for the end to qualified immunity, the unjust legal doctrine that shields police from accountability when they kill and harm people.
Andrew Joseph III, who was just 14 years old when he was killed as a result of sheriffs’ misconduct in Tampa, Florida in February 2014 and still has not had a day in court, has been lifted as the face of the campaign. In 2021, BLM Grassroots initiated an End Qualified Immunity petition, enlisted BLM member and actress Eva Marcille as celebrity spokesperson, engaged in a political education campaign, and signed-on as an endorser of the End Qualified Immunity Act sponsored by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
Mainstream media’s reports on the story fail the fact-check test as Black Lives Matter Grassroots has a policy of never endorsing candidates and has no Rhode Island Chapter.
As the world is faced with deep questions about self-determination, as we all desire and pray for a world of peace,, we must stand unwaveringly on the side of the oppressed. When a people have been subject to decades of apartheid and unimaginable violence, their resistance must not be condemned, but understood as a desperate act of self-defense.
“We are stunned and dismayed by the court ruling…Still, the work continues.”
-Dr. Melina Abdullah, Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter Grassroots
Join BLM Grassroots Chapters across the country celebrate Women’s History month.
The simulcast is from 12:00 – 6:00 PM on the Black Brilliance Stage!
On July 13, 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement was born in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who mercilessly stole the life of Trayvon Martin. For the last 10 years, we have unceasingly committed ourselves to doing the work that uplifts the names of those stolen by white-supremacy and police violence.
