Activists and family members of those killed by police are launching a national tour asking Americans to choose a side in the debate over police violence. 20 people gathered in Cleveland this week for the announcement of the "Which Side Are You On?/Rise Up October" tour. The tour will culminate on October 24 in New York City. Joanna Richards of member station WCPN in Cleveland reports.
Local activist Turner Fair explained why Cleveland was chosen as the national tour’s first stop.
Fair (0:10): This is the spot where many officers have not been indicted for the murders of people – one person being a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, who died at this very spot.
A police officer shot Rice after he was seen waving a realistic looking toy gun.
New York-based activist Carl Dix co-organized the tour, along with the well-known academic and activist Cornel West. Dix linked Cleveland’s police use-of-force issues to a broader picture.
Dix: I mean, look, we could just unfold a map of the United States, and throw a dart up in the air and let it come down, and it will come down where police have brutalized, murdered people.
A woman from Detroit and a man from New York City told personal stories about relatives killed by police, along with Brenda Bickerstaff, whose brother Craig was killed by Cleveland officers in 2002.
The tour heads next to Chicago and then to Ferguson, Missouri.
