Donate to Black Lives Matter – Toronto through Interac at [email protected] question: what chapter answer: toronto
“Black is not a crime!” chanted protesters at this week’s Black Lives Matter protest in Toronto.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched on Monday to protest anti-Black racism and police violence, calling for justice for the deaths of two Black men killed by police in Ontario: Andrew Loku and Jermaine Carby.
Carby, a 33-year-old man, was shot to death by police in fall 2014 at a traffic stop in Brampton, Ontario. This week, it was ruled the officers responsible for Carby’s death will not be charged.
Loku, a 45-year-old man, was shot to death by police in early July 2015 in the building he lived. His death is still under independent investigation by the Special Investigations Unit, with both Mayor John Tory and Police Chief Saunders asking for patience and trust in the process.
Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn
Protest organizers, Black Lives Matter – Toronto, wrote that they stand in solidarity with global Black Lives Matter coalitions.
On the facebook event page they wrote: “This is for Andrew Loku. This is for Jermaine Carby. This is for all Black folks in this city who have been unjustly carded, surveilled, assaulted or murdered by police. This is for Sandra Bland. This is for all Black folks globally resisting anti-Black racism and state-sanctioned violence.”
Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn
The Day of Action, organized by Black Lives Matter – Toronto, marked two weeks since Loku was shot to death. The march began just steps away from this location at the Eglinton Gilbert Parkette.
The demonstrators converged on Allen Expressway. For two hours they linked arms to block traffic, chanting slogans such as “No justice, no peace! No racist police!”, and “Black Lives Matter!
Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn
“We’re here as part of a larger campaign to ensure that justice is met for Jermaine Carby, for Andrew Loku, and to call an end to anti-Black practices and police brutality against Black populations,” said Janaya Khan, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto, to the Toronto Star.
As noted during the action by prominent activist and writer Desmond Cole, it has been Black women who have led the Black Lives Matter movements.
Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn
Protesters pointed out carding as a tactic of police violence against the Black community in Toronto. At a Black Lives Matter – Toronto protest in May for solidarity with Balitmore, organizer Alex told rabble, “When we had the call with other [Black Lives Matter] organizations around the world the biggest thing to do was to make it central to your people, to your community. And, one of the biggest things [in Toronto] is carding.”
Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn
At the end of the action, the Black Lives Matter – Toronto tweeted that Mayor Tory had agreed to meet with the group.
For more information on the Day of Action, please visit the Black Lives Matter – Toronto facebook event.
For more information on Black Lives Matter – Toronto, click here. You can send a donation through Interac at [email protected] question: what chapter answer: toronto
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