Social Action
NMAC President Rosia Blackwell Lawrence speaks at
Women’s City Hall “Bell Shooting” Protest Rally, Dec. 16, 2006
Sean Bell Shooting Death
NMAC played a key role in public actions following the November 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell, a young man who was killed by NYPD officers at his bachelor party the eve of his wedding. Shortly after the shooting, Soror Joyce Stanley Johnson, NMAC Social Action co-chair, along with former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields organized several protest actions for women citywide, including a candlelight vigil at the Harlem State Office building on December 12, and a Womens Unity Rally on the steps of City Hall, NY on Saturday, December 16, 2006. The call to protest was made especially to women in sororities, civic, public service, political, and social organizations. This action was the first time in the twenty-five plus years of tragic police killings of men and women of color, that the public outcry against a shooting death included a collective voice from these groups. It made a powerful statement.
The Social Action Committee recognized the importance of keeping this issue on the front burner of public attention, particularly with City officials. The issue should not go unresolved until another shooting death occurs. Further, we concluded that the use of deadly force results from an environment in which there is a pervasive attitude that people of color can be abused and disrespected without penalty, and that the use of deadly force without restraint and regard is the ultimate manifestation of such abuse and disrespect. Finally, we felt that the community at large was not aware of its rights and recourse when dealing with NYPD officers, and that the public needed to raise the issue of policy and change in the NYPD, now.
The Social Action Committee organized the forum on Police and Community Relations with the theme From Protest to Advocacy to Policy to Change. Invited guests included all local New York City and New York State legislative leaders. The forum was structured such that the public commented and questioned a panel of senior ranking NYPD officials, civil rights advocates, and state and city prosecutorial agencies that also have police oversight responsibilities. The panel included: Donna Lieberman, Executive Director for NY Civil Liberties Union; Chief of the NYPD, Department of Community Relations; Chief of Patrol for all Manhattan North Precincts; Director of Communications, Civilian Complaint Review Board; Executive Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan District Attorney; and Assistant Attorney General for NYS Attorney General. Panel members had hard hitting questions and comments for one another regarding statistics and capacity as well.
The audience included a cross-section of over 100+ attendees including neighborhood residents, local political leaders, community planning board officers and members, community based organizations, immigrant advocacy groups, and local NYPD Precinct commanders and members of the community precinct councils.
NMAC President, Rosia Blackwell Lawrence, presented awards to the 33rd and 34th Precinct Councils for their work if fostering community police relations. Soror Mary D. Redd, Co-Chair of the National Social Action Commission, closed the forum with conclusions and next steps. The police agreed to include NMAC in on-going work to produce systemic change leading to better community police relations.
An hour long taping of the Police forum
was aired on Manhattan Neighborhood Network cable channel 34 and 56 on
Wednesday, May 9, Tuesday, May 15, and Friday, May 18. Manhattan Neighborhood
Network is watched by 300,000 viewers.
Click here to see photos from the Town
Hall Meeting