‘I can’t breathe’: Faith, community leaders hold rally in Kansas City, Kansas
Faith and community leaders held a rally Sunday afternoon to expose what organizers called “deep-seated abuse and corruption” in the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
Gathered in the courtyard of City Hall in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, dozens of protesters gathered peacefully holding signs that read “Police the Police,” “I can’t breathe,” “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop pretending your racism is patriotism.”
After being led in a chant of “I can’t breathe if you can’t breathe You can’t breathe if I can’t breathe,” the crowd took up the cry of “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.”
That has become a rallying cry across the nation against police brutality sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The groups that organized the rally included the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2), an interfaith social justice organization that has challenged police use of force.
This is not the first time MORE2 has targeted the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department for police abuses. Last summer the organization started a hotline for people to report police misconduct and it organized a march calling for change within the department.
One of the rally’s speakers, Khadijah Hardaway, spoke of how women in Wyandotte County have been “victimized, brutalized and coerced” into being witnesses.
“With the catalyst of George Floyd being killed in Minneapolis and people protesting all over the country, it’s high time that Wyandotte (County) shows that they need justice just as much as anybody else,” Hardaway said in an interview following the rally. “If you don’t make no noise, you won’t get heard. That’s why we were here.”
She said the hope is to get those women to come forward so that they can demand justice for people who have been wrongfully incarcerated and who have been murdered by the police.
In a news release before the event, the group said protesters would practice distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“But we know that there is another pandemic,” the group wrote, “one of violence by white supremacy and we have decided that when lives continue to be at risk, that is when we shall put our bodies on the line.”
Across the state line in Kansas City, a large crowd gathered near the Country Club Plaza for a third day of protests against police brutality, sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Justin Strickland said he attended the rally with Adrion Roberson, both of Kansas City, Kansas, because this is his city and these were his people.
The two men want to be an active part of the “Change” movement. They don’t want to be just talking about it, but they want to get folks actively engaged to get things done to get the system to change in Wyandotte County.
Roberson wore NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s San Francisco 49ers jersey.
“He was kneeling for me,” Roberson said. “I’m one of those black men who’s been pulled over numerous times. I’ve just been blessed to walk away. That’s why I wore it.”
He said if Kaepernick could kneel for him, he could stand for him as well as for folks in Kansas City, Kansas.
It wasn’t lost on Strickland that Kaepernick knelt in protest of police abuse and that they were at the rally Sunday because Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.
“It’s the foundations of a movement and a revolution that will change America forever,” he said.
Jay Holbert of Olathe attended the rally to support MORE2 and the Kansas City, Kansas, community.
“If something happened over in my county, I really would appreciate them supporting me, that’s why I came over to help support them,” Holbert said.
Holbert held a sign that declared: “We won’t stop until you do!”
“Not only Kansas City, Kansas, but every department, every law official should be held accountable,” Holbert said.
And that does not just apply to law enforcement officials, he said. Any administration should be held accountable for its actions too.
“I do hope that people do pay attention,” he said. “Everyone is equal. Everyone has the same rights. It’s just that some people don’t get the rights that others do.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 6:06 PM.
