We Don't Need a Rikers Island Here in Buffalo

Recently, we saw a severely underweight and underhydrated, Blackman, cry out for food and water on a New York City subway and have that cry answered by a United States Marine Corps veteran, who proceeded to choke that young Blackman until he could no longer breathe, like other deaths by choke holds or knees on the neck.

We remember those deaths because it is our collective trauma that impacts the lives of all of us in America who believe that even if our rights are not respected, at least our lives are.

Recently, here in Buffalo New York, where community leaders and servants were able to galvanize nearly two hundred Black, Brown and White people from all walks of life to come together at the Merriweather Library to have our cry heard, the response from our elected officials was an attempt to silence us once again.

Our cry was to say "no" to Sheriff Garcia's request of 2.5 million to start a "feasibility study" that would end up with him getting away with upwards of 250 million dollars from our community for a new jail. A shiny new jail, a public safety campus, like a Rikers Island here in Buffalo, when we have not resolved the issues of racism, rape and death at our old Jail.

This is the same Sheriff that inherited the legacy of brutality, racism and murder that Tim Howard left at The Holding Center in downtown Buffalo. According to this Sheriff a new jail would have 1500 new jail beds. A new jail to lock up more of our people is the same as having a knee on our necks and creating a Rikers Island here in Buffalo.

Then to have that knee on our neck, that attempt to silence our voice, was compounded by having a county official, Legislator Howard Johnson, call this columnist a week later to say that he did not like that I had yelled out for him to tell the truth at the same Community Forum where our community came together to hear and speak truth on May 11th at The Merriweather Library.

Because I yelled out to Legislator Johnson to tell the truth, at a Public Forum, in a Public Library, Howard Johnson called my personal phone and asked me to resign from the Corrections Specialist Advisory Board.This is the very Board that was created after the Department of Justice was brought in to investigate The Erie County Holding Center, to help resolve the issues of racism, brutality and death that we all know continues up to this day.

For a County Official, Howard Johnson, to call this writer, one of the organizers of The No New Jails Event and ask me to resign from the very Advisory Board that was created to hear the cries of our community about the racist, abusive and murderous culture that has existed at our Holding Center for over twenty years now is a travesty that we as a Community must not allow to continue, is a travesty .

The deaths and abuse of Black, Brown and White men and women screaming that same cry for life and a fair chance to change in America are not being answered by any response other than to try to silence us.......again with death or retaliation while behind the scenes money is being "allocated" for a stadium in Orchard park that has nothing to do with solving the problems of poverty, unemployment and criminal injustice here in Buffalo!

When citizens, who want nothing more than equal opportunities to live and thrive in a free and equal America are under attack, we have the right to fight back; with our voice, our vote and our ability to say NO!

We also have the right to come together and speak our truth in a Public Forum.

So, on June 6th, we were once again blessed to have the opportunity to gather at the Merriweather Library to conduct a Community Forum where our community had the opportunity to hear our experts in the fields of health equity, mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice talk about a real vision of transparency, hope and the determination to live and thrive with chances that are available to everyone.

We came together again to speak with and hear from our Community on exactly what our people believe we need to solve the issues of arrest and detention. Our community voices were heard about our vision for the future of Erie County as a safe and thriving community without building a Rikers Island here in Buffalo.