Breonna Taylor’s name echoed down Market Street as hundreds took to the streets of downtown Newark on Thursday for a “Justice for Breonna Taylor” protest organized by Newark-based political group, the People’s Organization for Progress (POP).
The protest, centered around the Historic Courthouse in downtown Newark, comes two days after a grand jury in Kentucky did not charge any police officers with the death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her home by police in March.
The grand jury did charge one involved officer with three counts of wanton endangerment for shooting into the home of Taylor’s neighbor.
In response to the verdict, Lawrence Hamm, chairman of POP, called for the immediate resignation of the Kentucky Attorney General, Daniel Cameron.
“I don’t care if he’s Black or not, he is a tool of white supremacy in the state of Kentucky,” Hamm said in his opening statement before the crowd. “Daniel Cameron is a product of Mitch McConnell, the people of Kentucky should vote out McConnell and Cameron.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka joined the protest, giving a speech that emphasized the need for the state government in Trenton to find actionable solutions to police brutality.
“Our anger is not enough,” Baraka said. “In the middle of [protests,] they’re still killing people, there are still no indictments, things are still not happening. That means that we have to become more calculated in what we’re doing.”
The protest occurred just blocks from the University’s law school and four miles down South Orange Avenue from Seton Hall’s main campus.
Several other cities, including New York, and Louisville, where Taylor was killed, have seen large protests in recent days.
POP organized a protest in June over the death of George Floyd, as protests broke out nationwide this summer.
Daniel O’Connor can be reached at daniel.oconnor1@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @itsDanOConnor.
