In case you haven't heard, the Stop and Frisk laws in New York have been the topic of discussion over the past few weeks. Al Sharpton has joined other protesters in New York. Allhiphop reports:
Reverend Al Sharpton, Hip-Hop executive Kevin Liles and a variety of
rappers are teaming up to protest the NYPD’s stop and frisk policy.
Rev. Sharpton will lead a silent march from Harlem to Mayor Bloomberg’s house this Father’s Day (June 17).
The purpose of the march is to protest the stop and frisk policy,
which Sharpton’s National Action Network says unfairly targets young
black and Latino men from the Hip-Hop generation.
“We want to end violence and crime in our communities and support law
enforcement, but not in a manner that encourages racial and religious
profiling,” said Kevin Liles, former
President of Def Jam and Warner Music Group and supporter of the march.
“Reduction in crime is achievable if we work together with law
enforcement to strengthen our communities, and build trust on both
sides,” said Liles, who currently runs KWL Enterprises.
In addition to Al Sharpton, Kevin Liles and the National Action
Network, the NAACP, members of the clergy, community leaders, students
and others will march down 5th Avenue in Manhattan, to demand an end to
the stop and frisk policy.
“It is pitiful that our young people are more afraid of the Police
when they walk outside, than they are of any potential Gang,” added
NAACP Northeast Director Marvin Bing.
“How unfortunate is it that we have to teach our young people how to
react and respond when a Police Officer stops and frisk them, and any
kind of movement can get them killed. Stop and Frisk must end,” Bing
said. “It is no longer a Police crime prevention tactic- its racial
harassment, and racial profiling at its core.”
The activists are demanding that NYPD police Commissioner Ray Kelly
also denounced this policy, which they claim blatantly targets minority
youth.
“We must bring attention to the continued pattern by the NYPD of
routinely stopping and searching people of color — especially young
black and Latino men (often times without probable cause),” said Tamika
D. Mallory, the 32-year-old National Executive Director of National
Action Network
“We call on Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Michael Bloomberg
to implement reform at once. By creating databases of people that have
been ‘stopped and frisked,’ the NYPD has criminalized an entire
generation of racial minorities in this city. We are in a crisis,”
Mallory said.
For more information visit http://www.nationalactionnetwork.org.
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