Yvette Harris, founder of Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK), stood before the handful of policemen guarding the U.S. federal courthouse building on April 3 and shouted, “We have got to come together. We are tired of all this bloodshed in the streets.”
Behind her, women held large painted portraits of the young black people who have died at the hands of police – including seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who was shot and killed in her sleep when Detroit police raided the wrong apartment in 2010. The girl’s family filed a lawsuit against the Detroit Police Department on April 1.
On Friday at 2 p.m., the group of mothers and artists marched to St. Louis City Hall and the federal building, as part of their demonstration they called “Reclaim Holy Week.”
“We chose Good Friday to bring the very idea that mothers grieve, whether it’s the Virgin Mary grieving Jesus or a mother who lost her son to police violence,” said Elizabeth Vega, leader of the activists group called the Artivists who painted the signs. “We really want to amplify the mourning aspect of it.”
At the end of the month, the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen will vote on a bill to establish a civilian review board of police work. Vega said they wanted city officials to know that they will be watching.
“You shoot and kill, and you go home and get paid for it,” said Lovie Ransom-Ewing, aunt to Cary Ball Jr. who was shot and killed by police 20 times in 2013. “That’s rewarding them for killing our babies. They’ve lost their minds.”
