From David Johnson *
Champaign, IL
Champaign, IL
A lot has been happening in the last several weeks here in
Champaign/Urbana Illinois in regards to the killing of young black men by the
police.
Two weeks ago we had over 250 people turn out for a protest in front of the Sherriff’s department which ended in blocking the major street in front of the Sherriff’s office and the county courthouse for about an hour.
Last Friday Dec. 6th, over 200 students at one of
our local High Schools (Champaign Centennial) had a die in in the school and
then went into the street in front of the school. A driver of a car plowed into
the students and yelled at them, resulting in no injuries but a student hit the
car’s windshield and cracked it. The police arrested the student for mob action
and criminal damage to property and refused to either arrest the driver or
release the name of the driver to the public.
The following Monday (Dec. 8th) over 100 of us packed the Champaign school board meeting in support of the student. Earlier in the day over 500 University of Illinois students had a die in on campus. Tuesday ( Dec. 9th ) students at the other High school in Champaign ( Central ) had a demonstration in front of their school,.
Friday, (Dec. 12th)
about three hundred people scattered along a main street for about a mile. The
Centennial High School students marched about two miles from their High School
in west Champaign to the protest. Every other vehicle honked in support as they
drove by and there were only a few incidents where people yelled obscenities or
other negative comments.
*David Johnson is a co-host of The World Labor Hour
broadcast on WEFT 90.1 in Champaign/Urbana IL http://new.weft.org/
Saturday mornings at 11am CST. You can
contact WEFT at 217-359-9338
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