Black-OUT Wednesday

Black-OUT Wednesday Black-OUT Wednesday Answering the National Call for a Black Spring Anticipating a continuation of historic and recent national trends, the Young Gifted & Black Coalition (YGB) expects Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to announce his decision tomorrow not to charge Madison, Wisconsin police officer Matt Kenny for breaking into an apartment and shooting unarmed 19 year old Tony Robinson multiple times in response to a distress call for help. Out of respect for Tony’s family, YGB will not lead an action on the day the decision is released. In connection with Black Spring, a national Black Lives Matter campaign for Black liberation, YGB will resume actions on Black Out Wednesday. Black Spring recognizes the death of Tony as connected to the murders of Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, Tamir Rice, Aiyana Jones, as well as the thousands of Black people who have been killed by state sponsored and condoned violence. It is a movement that connects the “fast deaths” of police and vigilante violence to the “slow deaths” Black people experience in this country as the result of poverty, mass incarceration, evacuated education systems, and physical and mental health struggles. YGB sees all of these as injuries of state violence against Black people across America. Black Lives Matter calls us all to see that the long winter must be over. It is time to move into spring and grow by demonstrating resistance and resilience against the assault on Black people in Madison and across the country. We will gather for a mass action at 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning at Williamson Street and Few Street in front of the house where Tony was murdered where we will march from to hold a People's Court. We ask workers, students, families, and community members who share our vision to stand up for Black lives as part of this Black Spring movement, and Walk Out on Black Out Wednesday. NO WORK. NO BUSINESS. NO SCHOOL. NO JUSTICE? NO PEACE. #BlackLivesMatter #Justice4Tony #YGB #BlackSpring