During MLK50 week, activist and Latino journalist Michael
Duran posted a video covering the protest in front of 201 Poplar, opposing the injustice
of the criminal justice system in Memphis and the issues of due process. Just
minutes later, he himself was a victim of the very injustice he was protesting.
Duran is a vital piece of the activist community in Memphis.
A regular contributor to the online Latinx news source Memphis Noticias, Duran’s
work as a journalist has long overlapped with his work as an activist for
disadvantaged communities in the city.
Not only, however, was Duran arrested, he was then
transferred into the custody of ICE officials and by all indications, is still
being held at a detention center in Louisiana. This is in spite of Memphis PD’s
repeated claims that the police have never acted in conjunction with the
notorious immigration crackdown agency.
The Police Department had little to say about the arrest. In
fact, a statement
released shortly after the protest and Duran’s arrest reinforces their commitment
to their interpretation of public safety: “MPD will not allow any disruptions
in business, school, government and every day function of life and liberty by
unruly protestors or unlawful protest.”
But what about Duran’s life and liberty? Or the other eight
activists arrested on April 3, including C3 leader Keedran Franklin?
The incident illustrates more about MPD’s priorities than it
does their commitment to public safety. The protest was peaceful, yet it was
deemed “unruly and unlawful.” The protest was outcry against the violation of
civil rights by the Memphis criminal justice system, yet the Police met this
protest with more violations of civil rights.
Memphis has a long history of opposing freedom of assembly
and the freedom to protest injustice. From Mayor Loeb’s crackdown on the
Sanitation Strike in 1968 to Mayor Strickland’s activist blacklist in 2016,
city leadership has done everything it can to consistently hamper and silence activists
and their efforts against contemporary injustice.
Michael Duran deserves justice, but at the hands of those
given the charge to enforce justice in Memphis, he has received only a jail
cell in Louisiana.
People have a very short memory and they often forget that our country was founded through "unruly and unlawful protest". The hypocrisy is blatant in this statement too because protests are only deemed deviant when they concern minorities.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how some justify their actions within a society who takes pride in our democracy and claims to support civic engagement. Civic engagement includes protesting for causes and striving to make change with and without the help of elected officials. The actions taken by MPD are offensive and, in my opinion, contrary and threatening to the civic engagement that contributes to a functional democracy.
ReplyDelete