NAACP calls for Department of Justice to investigate death of Jayland Walker

The NAACP is making a direct plea to Attorney General Merrick Garland for the Justice Department to open a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting death of Jayland Walker, the Black man who was killed last month by officers in Akron in a hail of police gunfire.

“No one is above the law, including law enforcement. Those responsible for hunting him down and firing 90 bullets at him should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We are urging you and your Department of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of Jayland Walker, and – if what we all saw with our own eyes is true – federally charge the officers responsible for his gruesome assassination,” Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

“If the officers’ conduct did not scream just how inhumane and fatally dangerous they are, the very fact that they handcuffed his corpse speaks volumes. This does not happen to white people in America,” Johnson said. “Just over a week ago, a mass shooter was detained as a ‘person of interest’ before being officially charged 24 hours later. He killed seven people and wounded countless others at a parade, yet officers did their job professionally and arrested him with dignity.”

“It is time to hold law enforcement officials accountable for treating Black Americans by different standards. We pray that your department will launch this critical investigation in the quest for justice in this case,” he added.

The Justice Department has yet to comment on the letter.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Hosting Hip-Hop Block Party

To celebrate the first anniversary of the Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap, our museum is hosting a block party on August 13. The day-long event will feature performances by local and national talent, presentations, and activities to explore hip-hop music and culture's origins, elements, and influences.

Tickets are free and will be available on the NMAAHC webpage beginning Friday, July 22 and the event will take place at 15th and Madison Streets NW.

The block party will feature performance during a daytime program and the evening. The daytime program will be hosted by Vic Jagger of Majic 102.3. The artists include the Alphabet Rockers, DMV Showcase curated by DJ Heat (featuring O-Slice, Phuzz, and YungManny), Mumu Fresh, and a DJ mix by J. Period.

The evening program performers include The Halluci Nation and D. Smoke. There will be a dance party following the performance with a mix by DJ Spinderella.

Man wrongfully convicted in Malcolm X's assassination sues NYC for $40 million

A man wrongfully convicted in the 1965 killing of Malcolm X filed a $40 million lawsuit against New York City.

Muhammad Aziz called his conviction “the result of a process that was corrupt to its core — one that is all too familiar.” He was cleared in 2021 after an investigation that lasted nearly two years. The the late Khalil Islam was also cleared in the investigation.

“As someone who has fought for a fairer criminal justice system for my entire career, I believe the overturning of Mr. Aziz and Mr. Islam’s convictions was the just outcome,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “We are reviewing the lawsuit.”

Aziz, Islam and a third man, Mujahid Abdul Halim — also known as Talmadge Hayer and Thomas Hagan — were convicted of murder in March 1966 and sentenced to life in prison.

Hagan said he was one of three gunmen who shot Malcolm X, but he testified that neither Aziz nor Islam was involved. The two, then known as Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson, maintained throughout that they were innocent and offered alibis at their 1966 trial. No physical evidence linked them to the crime.

“Thomas 15 Johnson and Norman 3X Butler had nothing to do with this crime whatsoever,” Hagan said in a sworn statement in 1977.

[SOURCE: WPIX]

March For Jayland Walker to be held in Newark NJ

The People’s Organization For Progress (POP) will have a march and rally to demand justice for Jayland Walker on Friday, July 15, 2022, 5:00pm starting at the Lincoln Statue, 12 Springfield Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.

The Lincoln Statue is located at the intersection of Springfield Avenue and West Market Street.

Mr Walker was killed by Akron, Ohio police on June 27, 2022. He was unarmed when police fired 90 rounds hitting him 60 times.

“The manner in which Jayland Walker was killed, the amount of force and number of bullets fired was abominable and should be condemned by people of conscience across the country and around the world,” stated Lawrence Hamm, Chairman, People’s Organization For Progress.

“The officers who killed Mr Walker must be held accountable. They should be fired immediately and prosecuted at both the state and federal levels,” Hamm said.

MICHAEL COX APPOINTED COMMISSIONER OF THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

Mayor Michelle Wu announced the appointment of Roxbury native and former Dorchester resident Michael Cox as the 44th Commissioner of the Boston Police Department. Cox currently serves as the Chief of Police of the Ann Arbor Police Department in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to his appointment to that position in 2019, Cox was a 30-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. He will begin serving in his new role on August 15, 2022.

“Having grown up here, having served in many roles within the Boston Police Department and roles elsewhere, Chief Cox is uniquely positioned to build the public safety infrastructure that Boston deserves,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “He will continue building on the community trust and community policing that our city has led on for decades.”

“I want to thank Mayor Wu for the opportunity to come back home and serve the citizens of Boston,” said Michael Cox, incoming Boston Police Department Commissioner. “The Boston Police Department needs to look like the communities which we serve and include every resident to hear what is important so we can serve better. I took on public service because I wanted to help the public and give back to the communities in which I lived.”

Cox’s appointment follows a six month search spearheaded by the Boston Police Commissioner Search Committee chaired by retired Justice Geraldine Hines of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The other members of the Committee are former Commissioner Ed Davis of the Boston Police Department, Executive Director Abrigal Forrester of Teen Empowerment, Senior Pastor Bishop William E. Dickerson II of Greater Love Tabernacle Church, and Professor of Law and Deputy Director of Research & Policy Jasmine Gonzales Rose of the Center of Anti-Racist Research at Boston University.

The Search Committee’s public engagement process began with two public listening sessions–one on January 20, 2022 and one on January 26, 2022–and a multilingual community survey. The Search Committee also met with community stakeholders to inform the hiring process, including representatives from Massachusetts Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO), representatives from Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston (LLEGO), leadership of the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, and the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, civilian staff, former and current female-identifying officers in the Police Department, youth groups in Boston, members of the Boston City Council, criminal justice and police reform experts, representatives from several immigrant-serving community organizations, members of the former Boston Police Reform Task Force, former Chiefs of Police from Boston and other major U.S. cities, and City representatives from various offices, including the Office of Returning Citizens, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Advancement, and the Office of Black Male Advancement.

Following three months of community listening sessions, the Boston Police Commissioner Search Committee released an application and job description for the position, calling for candidates prepared to “inspire the confidence and trust of Boston’s diverse communities.” The Committee drafted the job description to be a direct reflection of the comments and ideas generated during public and stakeholder listening sessions. Following the release of the job description, the Search Committee worked with the Police Executive Research Forum to assess, vet, and narrow the pool of candidates. After a series of interviews, the Committee recommended finalists to the Mayor, who made the final selection of Michael Cox to be the Commissioner of the Boston Police Department.

"Through our public listening sessions and meetings with a wide variety of community stakeholders, elected officials, academics and representatives of the law enforcement community, we heard our charge loud and clear,” said Justice Geraldine Hines. “This City is ready for a leader of the Boston Police Department who will embrace reform and lead the Department in a way that brings a fresh vision of public safety to Boston's culturally, racially, and economically diverse neighborhoods. I am confident that Michael Cox is the right person for the moment in our city’s history and that he will serve with the utmost integrity."

Cox last served in BPD as the Bureau Chief and Superintendent of the Bureau of Professional Development, overseeing the Boston Police Academy, the Firearms Training Unit, the Police Cadet Unit, Recruit training and in-service training for all sworn Boston Police personnel.

He served a total of 15 years on the Command Staff in a variety of positions. Cox served as the commander of the Operations Division, primarily responsible for the Emergency 9-1-1 Response Services for the City of Boston. In addition, he was previously assigned to the head of Internal Affairs as the Assistant Bureau Chief of Professional Standards, Zone Commander of Area E, and the Commander of the Forensic Division and Assistant Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Investigative Services.

Before his Command Staff assignments at the Boston Police Department, Cox worked as a Sergeant Detective in the Intelligence Unit where he performed Dignitary Protection duties, served as the liaison to the U.S. Secret Service, and as a supervisor assigned to the Joint Terrorist Task Force. At this rank, he also served assignments in the Internal Affairs, Recruit Investigations, and Audit & Review Units. As a Police Officer, Cox worked in Area B-3 until joining the City-wide Anti-Gang Violence Unit. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1995. Cox is a two-time Medal of Honor recipient and received numerous other Commendations and awards while serving in the Boston Police Department.

Cox is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Police Executive Research Forum and holds degrees from Providence College in Business Management, Curry College where he obtained a Master’s in Criminal Justice, and Boston University’s Questrom School of Business where he obtained an MBA.