Statement from one of the organizers Tory Russell
Protest organizer, Torrey Russell, a frontline protester from Ferguson in 2014 and who has been active ever since released this statement regarding the CWE couple. This is the first part of his statement copied from a tweet he posted.
A STATEMENT, JULY 1, 2020
A FEW DAYS AGO, AN INCIDENT INVOLVING PEACEFUL PROTESTORS AND THE SO-CALLED "LIBERAL ALLIES" DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WARNED US ABOUT, TOOK PLACE IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. THE VIDEOS AND PICTURES HAVE GONE VIRAL, AS EXPECTED.
CALLS AND TEXTS FROM PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ASKING "IF THE ORGANIZERS AND PROTESTORS ARE ALRIGHT" HAVE FLOODED OUR FACEBOOK PAGES AND PHONES. MY YOUNG SON, WHO IS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ASKED ME IF I RISKED "GETTING SHOT" OR POSSIBLY "MURDERED" AT THE NEXT PROTEST.
BUT YOU WOULDN'T KNOW THAT IF YOU WATCHED THE NEWS ON TELEVISION. THE MEDIA BIAS AND ONE-SIDED NARRATIVE OF A WHITE FAMILY “DEFENDING THEMSELVES” OR PUNDITS’ QUESTIONS OF "WHICH SIDE ACTED LEGALLY" HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS OF THE MAJORITY OF MEDIA CONVERSATIONS.
THIS MOST RECENT EXAMPLE OF MEDIA BIAS IS A MICROCOSM OF HOW MANY IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA PRIORITIZE WHITE PROPERTY AND WHITE "RIGHTS" OVER BLACK PEOPLE'S HUMAN RIGHTS. MOREOVER, THE COVERAGE FAILS TO ACKNOWLEDGE HOW SYSTEMIC RACISM IS AT A TIPPING-POINT RESULTING IN MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL RACES TO MOBILIZE AROUND THE COUNTRY AND FIGHT FOR JUSTICE.