Dozens celebrate Juneteenth in KCK, call for criminal justice reform
Juneteenth, a celebration of slaves' emancipation in Texas, brought about 100 people together Tuesday outside the Wyandotte County Courthouse in Kansas City, Kan., where they called for peace and justice.
Many lamented a criminal justice system in need of reform, including by eliminating cash bail so that one's wealth doesn't dictate their liberty.
The group stressed uplifting those impacted most by discrimination. One person's scarf was stitched with the word "peace." A T-shirt bore the message, "White silence is violence."
"The actions tonight are to draw light to how people are not free yet," said Rose Schwab, a senior minister at the Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church.
Amid calls for the termination of cash bail and its disproportionate burden on low-income families, LJ Brackson spoke to the crowd about his teenage niece's incarceration.
As a juvenile, she's not given an option to bond out. She can only be released by a judge's order, Brackson said.
His niece is charged with first-degree murder, but the shooting that killed her father was in self-defense, Brackson said.
Justice Gatson, a local activist, said pre-trial detention are often detrimental to families of color.
"If you're a service worker and can't bond out, you're probably going to lose your job," she said. "Folks who have not been convicted yet are treated as if they have been."
Organizers had earlier planned to conduct some form of civil disobedience, but decided against it after two Wyandotte County deputies were killed last week.
The group gathered in Kansas City, Kan., after a Unitarian Universalist general assembly meeting in Kansas City earlier in the day.
Before walking past the Wyandotte County Jail, singing about not resting until freedom comes, the group huddled around Brackson in a show of solidarity.
"It will not be like this forever," Schwab said. "You can be strong for (your niece). You can ask us to be strong for you."
This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 11:32 PM with the headline "Dozens celebrate Juneteenth in KCK, call for criminal justice reform."