Queens Shooting: Rev. Al Sharpton Announces Fifth Avenue Protest March For Tomorrow

The Reverend Al Sharpton announced the "shopping for justice" protest march he's been talking about since the shooting of Sean Bell, Joseph Guzman, and Trent Benefield by the police.

"Many will be shopping for trinkets and toys. We will be shopping for justice and making a moral appeal to this city and this nation. The fact that we are going on probably the most visible street in the world tomorrow, you don't have to talk to be heard. You just got to show up."

The silent protest march will take place tomorrow starting at noon, with marchers meeting at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street. That's a quite a statement, two weekends before Christmas. A wheelchair-bound Benefield, as well as Bell's fiancee Nicole Paultre and four year old daughter, and Abner Louima are expected to march. And since teachers union head Randi Weingarten was at the press conference today, we expect she'll be there, too.

WABC 7 reports that organizers say "the next step will be civil disobedience" if there is no change. We think the change refers to NYPD policy, so the future looks bright for civil disobedience to come.

Update: Time's Up is joining the protest, which seems to be called "March for Justice against Police Brutality":

Meet at:
12:00 PM at Madison Square Park South OR
12:00 PM at NW corner of 59th and 5th Avenue

Both Rides will converge at the March

**For location of contingent ride throughout the day call 917.494.8164

New York, NY (December 15, 2006) - The March for Justice against Police Brutality will protest the injustice against Sean Bell, who was shot and killed in a hail of 50 gunshots by NYC Police Officers. It also demands an immediate review of the practices of the New York City Police Department.

Time’s Up! Bike & Skate Contingency will lend their support to the Coalition on Police Reform. They will ride with the march to add their voice to the outcry against the NYPD’s use of excessive force and the deployment of plainclothes and undercover police officers for questionable purposes.

Photograph of the Reverend Al Sharpton, with United Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, outside City Hall today by Adam Rountree/AP

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on December 15, 2006 4:19 PM

Comments [rss]

Rhonda

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SEAN BELL INVESTIGATION???

ed_Extinct

SD. i stand corrected.

rosie odonnell

ching chong al sharpton ching chong homo ching chong

bklynd

"WTF do store owners have to do with what happened in Queens?

What is not shopping in white owned stores going to prove?"

I think the point is just to be in a very visible area, to make holiday shoppers feel like shit. (As if to say, while you are observing the annual festival of consumerism, we are worried about this problem.) Seems a lot smarter than wandering around Jamaica, Queens.

They don't say it's a boycott.

pugsley

Why is Randi there, other than as another opportunity for PR?

S.D.

"SD: "the next step will be civil disobedience" if there is no change.

if there's no change, it's pretty clear what civil disobedience means, war."

(sigh)

Bob, getting arrested for Sit down protests is hardly "War". What do you expect, armed insurrection?

C'mon....

Night in the Day

I got 5 words for y'all "WHERE DA WHITE WOMEN AT?"

nig girl

I Hope AL sharpton calls Civil Disobedience. Damn I've been eyeing That J.LO Tracksuit at the VIM window display forevers YO! Gots to be bringing out my sledgehammer.

ed_Extinct

SD: "the next step will be civil disobedience" if there is no change.

if there's no change, it's pretty clear what civil disobedience means, war.

rob

please don't group my comment with those that are hateful, "read", especially if you're to do so with words like stupid, sad, and ignorant. i'm surprised you're taking issue with the fact that i see this entire shooting as a tragedy, that i believe investigation is necessary, that i hold civil disobedience as a faulty course of action, and that it bothers me this young man's death is being used improperly. there is nothing racist in what i've said.

blac guy

what u tawking about? u is rasist.

read a book, watch a documenta

I cannot believe how stupid, sad, and ignorant some of these comments are. "Matt" and "Bubba Booey", "Rob" and "Joacko" you guys are idiots. thanks.

joacko

where are the black people protesting the awful racist posts on this board? oh yeah, they aren't educated and can't afford computers and don't know how to use the internet.

rob

it's a crime when the name of a young man shot dead is used to spearhead the agendas of smile-eyed iconoclasts and disruptive organizations. it's systematic, a cycle of hate that does nothing more than displace the conglomerate rage of a desperate class or subculture.

al sharpton, the "hero" of minority communities, isn't anything more than a tragedy himself, turning a time of mourning, reflection, and investigation into a living, breathing incubus.

S.D.

'Another way of saying, "We Declare War!!!"'?

Not at all, it's just a protest. Bob Loblaw, Methinks your overreacting.

Bob A booey

WTF do store owners have to do with what happened in Queens?

What is not shopping in white owned stores going to prove?

(If blacks are only to shop in black owned businesses, I guess that means street vendors who sell brilliant "Stop Snitching" shirts, silly books written about baby mommas, and mix CDs are going to rake in lots of dough)

I pity the stupid black people who actually think Al Sharpton is acting on their behalf.

toxic moxic

Where's the new toxic contaminated warehouse these people will be held in? Because we know the NYPD will do their usual tactic of arrest and intimidation.

Get out your camera and shotgun mics. Technology is Power.

ed_Extinct

"It also demands an immediate review of the practices of the New York City Police Department."

I think as citizens, as humans we should be demanding an immediate review and a cease fire of these thug infested neighborhoods.

ass hope and battery

Time for me to charge the batteries to my scanner, bet there's going to be lot's of action on the airwaves.

And, where's the Mayor, in Bermuda again?

Unless it's his Staten Island constituents, most don't matter to him.

ed_Extinct

"The next step will be civil disobedience"

Another way of saying, "We Declare War!!!"

da hole world

The whole world is watching this, just like that PA cop who slipped making that run for the border.

Unless, like another posted, he slid into a tactical position. He must of been to the Police academy.