Michael Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden (bottom, in white shirt) acknowledges the crowd of protesters gathered in front of the police department on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, in Ferguson. Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com
Moms are coming to Washington DC to tell the Obama Administration a few things: their children are the nation’s children and they don’t want to lose any more of their sons and daughters to police violence. Over 50 mothers who have lost children to police violence plan to rally and speak at the Department of Justice to remind America their pain is her pain. Her healing can not come without an end to police killings. They are coming to say there should not be another mother to bury their child because of police brutality.
The Million Mom March on Washington will walk from Mt. Vernon Square in Washington DC to the Department of Justice on May 9th, adding yet more authenticity to the Black Lives Matter Movement. They will touch America’s pulse at its heart telling America it can’t begin to turn the page on this dark chapter until change in police policies ends needless police killings forever.
Without this change, confidence in the justice system will continue downward, said Mary Hopkins a Mother from Maryland, who lost her unarmed 19 year old son, Gary Hopkins, in a police shooting in 1999. “I think it’s going to require laws being changed which is why we mothers are [coming] here and we are going to be demanding change otherwise it’s going to continue,” she said.
Hopkins, who will be marching Saturday, believes standards for police prosecutions are tilted towards police officers in part because of rules set forth by the Law Enforcement Bill of Rights. “What citizen do you know who has ten days if they commit a crime, to give a statement?”, she asked. Hopkins wants to see state statutes giving police special protections changed.
Maria Hamilton, who is the main organizer of the Million Mom March on Washington, sees it as giving Mothers a unified voice.
“The Million Mothers March is to let our country know we refuse to sit and let our Black men be killed for no apparent reason,” she said.
She lost her son, Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed 31 year old man, was killed when a Milwaukee police officer shot him 14 times. The police officer who shot Hamilton, Christopher Manney, was fired from the police force for illegally patting down Hamilton but not indicted in his killing.
“Our March is to put our leaders on notice we are not going to be quiet anymore. We’re not going to stand back and continue to let you cover up these deaths by police and do nothing about them,” said Hamilton.
Hamilton also said that the March is to give Mothers a chance to “tell their stories” and “unite the mothers and families” so they can form support networks.
Hopkins believes Mothers can make a difference in a special way because of their ability to communicate with regard to their children. “I would tell the mothers of America we need to stand in solidarity on this issue and let the world hear our voice from a woman’s perspective,” she said.
The Department of Justice has the legal authority to intervene in cases of civil rights or human rights violations. But Hopkins believes changes are needed in State oversight. “We met with them in December and they were empathetic about what they could do,” she said. “What we’re demanding is when they see police practices not being followed they need to step in immediately.”
The Million Mom March On Washington will also be lobbying Congress for changes to legislation on Friday, May 8th, starting at 8:00 am.