What Starts in the Streets, We Must Finish in the Voting Booth

Errol Louis: “What Starts in the Streets, We Must Finish in the Voting Booth”

Award-winning journalist Errol Louis spoke at the annual banquet of the Johnson County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He said, “What starts in the streets, we must finish in the voting booth.”

He gave 4 examples:

Chicago, IL: On October 20, 2014 in Chicago, IL, Laquan McDonald was shot by Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. Cook County prosecutor Anita Alvarez eventually yielded to community pressure and prosecuted Van Dyke but failed to get a conviction. On March 15, 2016, she lost the Democratic Primary Election for Cook County State’s Attorney to Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Foxx — 29 to 58 percent.

Cleveland, OH: On November 23, 2014, 12-year old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy pistol when Police Officer Timothy Loehmann killed him. Under pressure from the community Cuyahoga County prosecutor Tim McGinty eventually brought the case to a grand jury, which failed to find probable cause to prosecute Loehmann. McGinty also lost a primary March 15, 2016 to Michael O’Malley.

Jacksonville, FL: On February 26, 2012, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin. State’s attorney Angela Corey failed to convict Zimmerman and lost her primary re-election bit on August 30, 2016 to Republican challenger and former Nassau County prosecutor Melissa Nelson, who received almost twice as many votes as Corey.

Brooklyn, NY: In 2013 challenger Ken Thompson beat incumbent DA Charles Hynes with three quarters of the vote.[1] Hynes had served as DA for 23 years, but was unseated after a string of scandals including “50 Possibly Troubled Cases”.[2] This included Jonathan Fleming, whose conviction was obtained by concealing from the jury a receipt showing the Fleming had been in Florida five hours before a murder in Brooklyn and could therefore not possibly have committed the crime.[3] Hynes did not prosecute that case but staunchly defended to attorney who did.[2]

Louis concluded, “Like never before our lives do matter, and our votes do count.”

This talk was recorded Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016 at the annual banquet of the NAACP of Johnson County, KS.

NOTES:

[1] Will Bredderman, “Challenger crushes incumbent in DA race — for the second time”, Brooklyn News, Nov. 6, 2013 (http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/36/45/all-election-hynes-thompson-2013-11-08-bk_36_45.html).

[2] Joaquin Sapien, “Charles Hynes, Scandal-Plagued Brooklyn District Attorney, Faces Verdict At The Polls”, Huffington Post, 2013-09-06 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/charles-hynes-brooklyn-district-attorney-election_n_3881395.html).

[3] Stephanie Clifford, “New York City Settles Wrongful Conviction Case in Brooklyn for $6.25 Million”, New York Times, June 23, 2015 (accessed 2016-10-24).

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