[act-ma] 11/06 Rally with us to support Shimmy, an innocent anti-fascist black activist against false accusations!
Charlie Welch
cwelch at tecschange.org
Mon Nov 1 20:33:32 PDT 2021
Come rally with us to support Shimmy, an innocent black activist against
fascists and false accusations!
November 6, 1:00 PM EST @ Park Street T stop
Current Co-sponsors:
Committee for Peace and Human Rights
Freedom Fighters Coalition
Boston May Day Coalition
Refuse Fascism New England
Sunrise Boston
Free Shimmy (Facebook)
Hatriots - Cape Cod
Little Liberty
Food for Activists
The Palm Collective
Massachusetts People's Party
On December 12, 2020, a pro-Trump rally in Swampscott led by fascists
was demanding that the November election be overturned. Opponents of
this movement organized a counter mobilization in support of working
people and the oppressed. It is here that a prominent Boston activist
Ernst Jean-Jacques (Shimmy) was wrongfully arrested for an assault that
did not happen. Who would have ever thought that after 10 Months we
would still be talking about this prosecution? District Attorney
Jonathan Blodgett has yet to drop the charges in this case! The trial
begins on November 30 in Lynn District Court. During the protests, as
Shimmy danced to music, an elderly woman, Linda Greenberg (Trump
supporter), threw water in his face, in winter, from her bottle.
Shimmy’s reaction to tap the water bottle out of her hand has been
described as a “punch to the face”. Not only was the entire interaction
caught on video, but the aggressor was also filmed admitting to a police
officer that she instigated the altercation unprovoked because his
dancing was “making her mad”. The aggressor is not facing charges,
despite the video evidence and admission of guilt to the Swampscott
officer. Why did the officer arrest him and not the attacker? Was it
racially motivated? Seems so! Some of the same people accusing him of
assault were in Washington on January 6th. As Shimmy's case continues,
other fascist assaults remain un-prosecuted. Where is the justice? We
will only get justice when we demand it.
This case is unfolding in the context of a social crisis that is
unprecedented in contemporary history. The death toll in the US from the
corona virus has far surpassed the total number of US deaths from World
War I, World War II, the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan
combined. The depth of this crisis was underscored when fascist lackeys
of Trump and Wall Street took over the Capitol in an effort to steal and
overturn the election. The security apparatus in Washington, DC handled
these people with kid gloves when compared to those who protest police
murder and systemic inequality. From experiences unfolding, many folks
are coming to understand that the police are often fascists in uniform
and cannot be relied upon to defend our rights. Fascists have been
getting a wider hearing in recent years and have been acting more
boldly. This effort has been aided by Trump, who seeks to build a
fascist movement in the streets to counter the gains of the anti-racist
movement, unions, and mobilizations defending women, LGBT folks,
migrants, etc. They seek over time to smash the unions, steal elections,
and eliminate the right of working people and the oppressed to organize
independently. These developments have been playing out in Massachusetts
and in states across the country. Let's unite in solidarity!
Facebook Event
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1024453721431248/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2252%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%22invite_link_id%5C%22%3A264197098982310%7D%7D]%22%7D>
Story in the Dig
<https://digboston.com/draining-swampscott-the-prosecution-of-a-progressive-black-protester/>
Liberation News Story
<https://www.liberationnews.org/boston-activist-arrested-for-assault-that-didnt-happen/>
More information about the Act-MA
mailing list