#freetheblackpride4

#FREETHEBLACKPRIDE4 NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION Join GetEQUAL, Black Queer Intersectional Columbus, and organizers across the nation as we stand up to demand justice for the BlackPride4! NYC MEET AT BARCLAYS CENTER @ 6:30PM — GROUNDING @ 6:30PM — RALLY w/ SPEAKERS @ 7:00PM — CHANT & CLOSE @ 7:30PM If you believe #BlackTransLivesMatter, show up. If you believe #BlackQueerLivesMatter, show up. If you believe ALL #BlackLivesMatter, show up. We refuse to go silently. #ColumbusIsGuilty #OverhaulStonewall --------- BACKGROUND: On June 17th, 2017, four Black Queer and Trans people – now known as the BlackPride4 – were arrested while peacefully protesting the Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade. They protested to call attention to violence against trans women of color, marginalization of queer and trans people of color (POC) in the larger LGBTQIA+ community, and the lack of charges against the officers that murdered Henry Green and Tyre King. After 8 months of widespread protest and outrage at the clear criminalization of black bodies, three of the #BlackPride4 were brought to trial on February 5th, 2018. Suffering through a week of exhausting and retraumatizing proceedings, during which LGBT Center Stonewall Columbus testified on BEHALF of the state. Wriply, Ashley, and Kendall were found guilty of 6/8 charges on February 12th. ---------- We must continue to speak out against these appalling injustices that destroy the lives of Black Queer and Trans folx. The #BlackPride4 should not have been targeted and arrested for expressing their constitutional rights. WAYS TO SUPPORT NOW! >>> Sign this petition to the asking Judge Cynthia Ebner to issue minimal sentencing: https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/minimum-sentencing-for-the-blackpride4

#Repost @defendj20 (@get_repost) ・・・ The first Black Pride 4 trial has brought guilty verdicts for three people we admire and support. Kendall, Ashley, and Wriply have bravely faced police aggression and overt racism from the time of their arrest through the course of their trial. Their action at Columbus Ohio’s Pride parade last summer was a purposeful disruption to protest the acquittal of the officer who killed Philando Castile. They also brought attention to a critical issue largely ignored by mainstream LGBT organizations: the many black and brown trans women who have been killed by hate crimes nationwide. What happened to Kendall, Ashley, Wriply and Deandra is itself indicative of the police violence that they came to protest. The Pride parade was heavily policed, the attendees were mostly white, and four Black activists were specifically targeted and physically restrained. The charges of disorderly conduct and police assault are a cover-up for the officer’s brutality to the Black Pride 4 on that day. The guilty verdicts in this case have nothing to do with what actually took place – instead they have everything to do with the widespread violence against people of color by Columbus police. The guilty verdicts will not be met with defeat or acceptance. There are many actively fighting state repression in the court system – facing absurd lists of charges and raising money to cover the costs of being accused. The J20 defendants and supporters stand in strong solidarity with the Black Pride 4 as their fight enters its next phase. We denounce the arrest, the prosecution of protestors, and the cooperation with prosecuctors and police by Stonewall Columbus during trial. We denounce the felony charges for Deandra. We stand with the Black Pride 4 as supporters and allies who are also actively fighting police repression and the criminalization of dissent. Please, please donate to their legal funds here: https://www.youcaring.com/blackpride4ashleywriplydeandreandkendal-852184 #blackpride4 #freetheblackpride4

Again and again as people of conscience and compassion we are called to bear witness and speak out against the injustice that abounds in this life. Under the weight of that burden, all that carries me is the beauty in the things that horror can’t change. Today, I relish in the sky and the weightless spirit of clouds. May one day we all be free and peace befall us all. #FreetheBlackPride4 (at Columbus, Ohio)

#freetheblackpride4 (Franklin County Municipal Court)

#Repost @blackqueercolumbus (@get_repost) ・・・ Want to fill a shift to pack the courtroom in solidarity with the #BlackPride4 as they start trial next week? Fill out the form by midnight tonight and we'll contact you soon. Link in image and in our bio! #FreeTheBlackPride4 #BlackPride4

As I was removing wallpaper at my mother’s house, I was reminiscing about the #blackpride4... Don’t forget to show your support! #freetheblackpride4 (Meadowbrook Lake)

Here our list of demands to #freetheblackpride4 and also #whereismayorginther (Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival and Parade)

#asseenincolumbus #freetheblackpride4 #whereismayorginther #firechiefjacobs (Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival and Parade)