Remembering the First Laquan McDonald Day
It's been two years since the murder of Laquan McDonald, and the city of Chicago is as bloody as ever. Friday night, denizens of varying communities came together to celebrate the memory of McDonald and to unify against community violence.
Hundreds of activists, protesters and concerned citizens journeyed to the Chicago Police Headquarters on 3510 S. Michigan Ave., over the weekend to remember the lives taken from the community due to gun violence and to support House Bill 6616 - Laquan McDonald Act.
According to LaquanLaw.com, the act amends the revised cities and villages acts of 1944, which will establish a procedure for an election to recall the city's mayor, alderman and Cook County State’s Attorney.
The weeks following McDonald's death saw elected officials in Chicago lose trust and confidence from the public. Since the release of the video detailing his death, Anita Alvarez has been voted out as Cook County State's Attorney and replaced by Kim Foxx, former Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy was fired by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability has been commissioned.
Despite the work being done to rectify past transgressions, over 600 homicides have transpired in the city this year.
Activist William Calloway, a member of the team that filed for the tape’s public release, led organizing the event from running the Laquan Day event page on Facebook to acting as host to the gathered folks. He resonated with the crowd through passion for community responsibility.
“At the end of the day, we have to look at the numbers.” Calloway said. “Statistically, there has been 14 police shootings, eight have been fatal, but the real is looking in the community. The community has had 3,300 shootings and over 600 of those were fatal. You can't put those on the police so we have to make sure we hold ourselves as community members accountable and make sure we are fighting for justice inside the community as well.”
Although he has been known to critique community policing in the past, Galloway's message centered on suggesting that community activists care about any form of violence thriving in their neighborhoods -- not just the type that involves law enforcement.
The first annual Laquan Day was a memorial for those slain in Chicago's streets. It wasn't a damnation of a person, a type of person or a walk of life. It was a call to action for those who are tired of seeing this city's children mowed down like target practice.
Many community members offered words of encouragement or empowerment, like the brother of the late Rekia Boyd, Martinez Sutton.
Those close to McDonald also spoke at the event. Here are some words from his cousin:
Near the conclusion, almost 600 balloons were released to commemorate the lives lost to violence this year. As the balloons drifted into the atmosphere, people hugged, cried or tried to document the experience. It was a moment of unity for those in attendance.
Calloway said he added the balloons release to display how much the community cares about violence against and among its members.
“The balloons were to commemorate the lives lost in the city of Chicago. We have surpassed 600 homicides, I think, this week in the city.” He said. We wanted to kill the notion that we only protest when an officer kills an unarmed black person and that we don’t protest community violence. We wanted to kill that notion. We definitely want to commemorate people and protest the violence that happens in our community by random street violence or gang violence.”
McDonald's death has been the inspiration of art and music (like Vic Mensa's 16 Shots), new legislation that may represent the will of the people more effectively and, as Calloway said, a renewed discussion on what being a public servant means.
“This day is important to let the establishment and law enforcement know that we didn't forget what happened on that tragic day two years ago to the day. We want to commemorate Laquan and make sure that his memory stays alive and that we hold law enforcement accountable when they get out of pocket. Today was very important, it was the first annual event, we put it together in a couple weeks and it was very peaceful.”
