Thursday, December 24th, at 11am, the Justice For Mario Woods Coalition held a press conference to demand that San Francisco Mayor Lee fire Chief Suhr and hold officers involved in the execution of Mario Woods accountable. Mr. Woods was a 26 year-old Black man executed by SFPD on December 2, 2015 in San Francisco’s Bayview District.
Today’s action coordinates with Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Minnesota and California on Wednesday to protest police killings of unarmed blacks, dubbing the day “Black Xmas” to show it could affect the economy on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. It’s also important to note that just two days ago, a Texas grand jury announced their decision of no indictment in the death of Sandra Bland, a Black woman that died in police custody, after a traffic stop and brutal arrest.
“Black communities across the United States are taking brave actions to impede the flow of goods and commerce with peaceful protests to call for an immediate overhaul of the justice system,” Black Lives Matter said in a statement posted on Facebook.
So today on Hard Knocvk we wanted to bring you the listening community of KPFA audio from today’s action organized by the Justice For Mario Woods Coalition. Included are the voices of Felicia Jones, Roberto Hernandez, members of the Officers for Justice, Frank Williams, Min. Keith Muhammad, Archbishop Franzo King, Salih Muhammad and Clarence Thomas.