Uhurus link weekend death to new stadium proposal

The Uhurus just posted the below announcement on Craig's list. In short, the Uhurus claim that the death of 17-year-old Javon Dawson this weekend is tied to the Rays' plan to build a new waterfront baseball stadium. The group is planning a June 22 "information conference" to announce their opposition to the ballpark plans.

“Not one more black life!”

Uhuru Movement leads protest against St. Petersburg, FL police killing of 17-year-old Javon Dawson

Come out Sunday, June 22 to an informational conference exposing St. Pete’s new waterfront stadium plan and its connection to the police containment and impoverishment of the African community. Sunday, June 22 at 2:00 pm at the Uhuru House, 1245 18th Avenue South, St. Petersburg.

The murder of Javon Dawson is tied to the city of St. Petersburg’s plans for a new baseball stadium on the waterfront, part of efforts to gentrify and disperse the historically African community and turn St. Petersburg into an enclave for wealthy white people.

Javon Dawson was much loved by his family, friends and classmates at Gibbs High School where he was a sophomore. Those close to him describe him as “good,” “friendly and fun,” and “upstanding.”

Dawson was gunned down in the back by St. Petersburg police officer Terrance Nemeth on Saturday night, June 7 at a high school graduation party.

Dawson had no police record, something the media always drags through the papers to try to slander the character of the victims and justify the crimes of the police.

Nevertheless the police and media are working overtime to criminalize the young man. The police insinuate that Dawson had a gun, even as all witnesses have stated that was clearly not the case.

According to the statements of those at the scene, Dawson took two shots in the back while his hands were up. When Javon collapsed a friend who approached him to try to stop the bleeding was pepper sprayed by police. Other friends and relatives were threatened with their own lives if they attempted to aid Dawson in any way. The teen-agers were distraught as they helplessly watched their friend suffering on the ground.

Jennifer Bowen, in whose front yard Javon Dawson died, stated, “I was hysterical. I lost it. I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is somebody’s child!’”

As of the Monday following the murder, Javon Dawson’s body has yet to be released to the grieving family with no explanations.

The murder of Javon Dawson follows other brutal police killings in St. Petersburg, including the murder of 18-year-old TyRon Lewis during a traffic stop in 1996, followed by the sheriff’s murders of 17-year-old Marquell McCullough in 2004 and Jarrell Walker in 2005.

The list of young black men murdered or brutalized by police in this country is long: Sean Bell and Amadou Diallo in New York, the brutal police beatings of African men in Philadelphia seen on TV videos recently, the torture of African men in Chicago jails, to name just a few. It’s nothing new—an every day occurrence, a public policy of police containment that reportedly has left more young black victims since 2003 than U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

The day after the murder the weekly Sunday 4 pm meeting at the Uhuru House was packed with community members wanting to struggle for justice for Javon Dawson. Family members spoke out and a demonstration was planned for early Monday morning in front of the police station.

Chairman Omali Yeshitela summed up that the murder of Dawson is tied to the city of St. Petersburg’s plans for a new baseball stadium on the waterfront, part of efforts to gentrify and disperse the historically African community and turn St. Petersburg into an enclave for wealthy white people.

While some in the white community are against the plans for a new stadium for their own reasons, no one but the Uhuru Movement is protesting the price the African community is paying in a city that wants to remove all “undesirables.”

At the police station on Monday in front of about 40 demonstrators and several media representatives, Uhuru Movement leader Yeshitela stated, "You can't keep killing our young people and expect nothing to come of it as a consequence!”

The police murders of African people are part of a policy of police containment that targets and criminalizes African working class communities and turns them into communities under siege similar to Sadr City in Iraq or Cite de Soleil in Haiti where a hostile military presence guns down the population at will.

All over the country white people are complicit with these containment policies enacted by military-type police forces who work to sanitize communities for highly lucrative white gentrification and development. African communities are under assault with 50% unemployment for young people, a constant menacing police presence, over a million African people in prison and schools that provide no meaningful education.

America is built on slavery, lynchings, Jim Crow—terror against African people for the economic benefit of white people. Constant escalation of police presence against a targeted population will not bring peace to any society that lives at the expense of another. Only economic development, social justice, reparations and political power in the hands of the African will bring peace, unity and security to our cities and towns.

Comments

[St. Pete Resident]

Ummmm . . .yea . . . no.

It is my honor to be the first to call "bull$*it" on the Uhurus and their paranoid ramblings.

Whatever gets your picure in the paper "Omali".

[Stadium maybe!!]

Stunning.

[Ray F]

wow...

and POWW is associated with these loons???

I think the kid getting shot by a police officer is terrible, but come on???

This has got to be the biggest line of b.s. I have ever heard.

What's next? Link 7-11 bathroom grafitti clean-up costs to escalating gas prices???

[Thomas]

What if the Rays changed the design of the stadium and made the sail black?

[Will Ferrell]

No Cowbell jokes this time. This is really, really sick, using a kids death and tragedy as a political tool to further your agenda along. Anyone associated with pushing this forward as an argument should really look at themselves in the mirror and shudder at their lack of basic humanity.

[Paul]

Just when we thought we'd seen and heard everything. The only thing that could make this nuttier is Rick K. telling Omali how he's silly, ignorant and has no facts... lol. Now that would complete the picture.

[Ray F]

The Uhurus just "jumped the shark".

[Clear Direction]

Ray F,

I do not believe P.O.W.W. has any connection at all to this group! If you have evidence to the contrary please share it with the group.

Otherwise keep your salatious comments to yourself.

This is a tragity and should not be politicized by side of the stadium debate!

Shame on you Ray F

[Thomas]

Dude,

Seriously - take a remedial reading course. It's a satirical comment.

A child was shot. That is tragic. Associating it to the Rays stadium plan is an overreaction by a grieving community at best; shameless political grandstanding at worst.

[Rick K to Paul, the bigoted]

Paul's post at 1:46 pm is IDIOTIC!

Paul's attempt to lie about posts made by me just so happens to EXACTLY mirror practically all posts by the loons in the ANTI movement. (Which is not to say perfectly sane and reasonable people cannot be opposed to these paired redevelopment proposals.)

For whatever reason, there are those in the ANTI movement who cannot fathom the idea of the citizens in St. Pete deciding these issues after considering the relevant facts. These thugs, liars and cheats, (of which Paul is one, now) INSIST on muddying the waters with all sorts of fake arguments, false claims, unsupported "facts," and other "facts" that are either opinions, or nothing other than complete fantasies.

Often, when posts appear in these blogs attempting to fool people with fake "facts," I willingly jump in and let people know that the fake "facts" aren't facts at all.

Some examples include the claims that the Trop Field redevelopment will require tens of millions in environmental remediation, or that loads of manatees will be murdered by construction on the waterfront, or that the Ray's voluntary $150,000,000 upfront contribution is actually PUBLIC money. (I could go on).

For Paul to attempt to sweep my posts seeking to expose lies and fakery with anything whatsoever even remotely related to these explosive issues of racial conflict in St. Petersburg is highly offensive, and demonstrative of Paul's credibility.

Paul, is there no limit to how low you will stoop? Is there no dirty trick you will refuse to employ in your effort to trick the people of St. Pete?

Why can't you shut up and let honest and open discussion take place?

[get-smart]

See, The city is afraid of these thugs!

The city is being held hostage by the Rays and now the Uhrurus.

So, where is the NAACP and Urban League on this deal? I guess the Rays will have to pay them mo' money before they will come out from under their beds.

If a white man complained about all the blacks moving in and destroying his neighborhood and property value he would be branded a racist!

[Ray F]

clear,

Yeah man take a pill. Jeez.

[Clear Direction]

RayF,

I am waiting to hear how "P.O.W.W. is associated" with this group"

[Clear Direction]

RayF,

I am waiting to hear how "P.O.W.W. is associated" with this group"

[Ray F]

whoa, whoa, whoa...

If I was Aaron, I would take this thread off as quick as possible. This is gonna get out of hand fast.

For the record- How many people FOR or AGAINST agree that race and the death of the young man has nothing to do with the stadium plan???

I

[Paul]

I feel so shamed Rick. (that is sarcasm) However, since this blog is about the Uhuru's and the sad lose of a life, I'll forgo my comment/response to you, for another blog and another time.

[Stadium maybe!!]

Rick I don't think Paul was being all that serious with his comments.. I think you're overreacting a bit... Furthermore, there are people that argue for their side, and do so in a such a way that is so freaking consistently annoying that those that actually agree with their point are starting to just want to root for the other side just to shut them up. You're one of those people.

[Ray F]

Clear Distinction,

go to google- type in the search box:

uhuru POWW

It says the news was delivered by a member of POWW.

[Stadium maybe!!]

Are you kidding Ray? That is completely ridiculous if POWW is involved.

[Ray F]

All I know is I remember reading that when the Uhurus said they were opposed to the plan that it was reported by a member of POWW. Now call it affilliation or whatever, I just used that as the word.

If you type in what i said- that's what the original blog thread read.

[Thomas]

Rick,

There is nothing bigoted in Paul's post. You're just inaccurately slandering... again.

The reason Paul made the comment is that everyone thinks you are a joke. You're not a champion of truth; you're a fraud and a spin doctor; you have no credibility because of the absurd things you post. That's why Paul was able to walk you like the village idiot.

To hammer that point home, you did exactly what Paul humorously predicted you would do. You are the living, breathing, butt of the joke.

Boom, Outta Here!

[Dave in St Pete]

Ray F,

Just did your search "uhuru POWW" and came up with NADA. 8 pages of Troxler blog, that's it.

Post a link if you're going to make an accusation.

[Lead By Example]

The Rays have their roster the second most black athletes of any MLB team and they just used the number one pick in the draft on a high school kid that just happens to be black. Many people in sports think that the Rays made a mistake by picking this kid when there was a white kid that is graduating from college who is rated higher than him.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/article458453.ece

The Rays are an example of what other organizations should strive to be.

Go Rays!

[Ray F]

correction:

type: uhurus POWW

with an 's'. And like I said, the original blog thread said that the announcement was made by a member of POWW.

[Rodney King]

can't we all just get along at the new waterfront stadium?