To answer the call for justice for African American a group of concerned individuals created the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. NAACP leaders and activists entered the 21st century reinvigorated and ready to continue the fight.
In 1908, a deadly race riot rocked the city of Springfield, eruptions of anti-black violence – particularly lynching – were horrifically commonplace, but the Springfield riot was the final tipping point that led to the creation of the NAACP. Appalled at this rampant violence, a group of white liberals that included Mary White Ovington and Oswald Garrison Villard (both the descendants of famous abolitionists), William English Walling and Dr. Henry Moscowitz issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Some 60 people, seven of whom were African American (including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell), signed the call, which was released on the centennial of Lincoln’s birth.
On Monday, May 8th, 115 years after the 60 plus people (including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell) first signaled the call for justice and equality, NAACP NYS Conference of Branches is leading the calls for justice in the aftermath of the Extrajudicial Killing Of Jordan Neely;
“The NYS NAACP Conference of Branches wishes to extend its heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Jordan Neely. The failure of his fellow New Yorkers to acknowledge and respect his humanity, so egregiously so that someone felt it appropriate to cut his life short because his presence made them uncomfortable, is unconscionable. His current financial misfortune, or past justice-involvement, should not negate his right to occupy space on a subway car. The fact remains that Mr. Neely was murdered on that train, and the monster who put his hands on Mr. Neely must be arrested and charged with his murder immediately. We are calling on District Attorney Bragg and his office to act expeditiously, provide justice for Mr. Neely’s family, and remove an unhinged killer from our city’s streets.”
NAACP NYS Youth Council join the NAACP NYS Conference of Branches in the calls for justice and speaking out against white supremacy.
Jordan Neely’s public murder in the NYC subway system is a seriously tragic example of the criminalization of being poor in America. To only say we are saddened by this tragedy would be short cut; we are also deeply enraged by this extremely devastating murder. Although there is a lot of information we don’t know, there is already a lot that we do, and among that information is the unequivocal fact that this murder delineates from white supremacy and the lackluster responses to its violence from some elected leaders. The pain and uncertainty of homelessness, mental health crisis, and financial distress do not—and under no circumstances—warrant murder, or its excuse. Jordan Neely was a human being and in his tragic death he still deserves humanity. Full stop.
To excuse the white male murderer is to excuse white supremacy; a capricious and racist idea that we cannot allow to permeate in our state, our communities, and in our homes. To believe there to be “consequences” or justification in a murder like this, screams so loudly, the ignorance and obtuseness some choose to walk with.
Let’s be very clear—we are not separate nor unaffected socially or politically from anyone unhoused or suffering from mental health disorders. We are more in a community than many know or choose to realize. Jordan Neely is our family, our kin. As a body in pursuit of Black liberation, we grieve with our communities across New York state, regardless of economic status or accessibility to resource.
We need to heal, and we must act.
Also in a statement Monday, the Jordan Neely’s family accused Daniel Penny, the man who put Neely in a chokehold, of “character assassination” in his attempts to justify the fatal act.
“The truth is, [Penny] knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan’s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing,” attorneys for the family said, alluding to Neely’s mental health struggles.
“Daniel Penny suggests that the general public has shown ‘indifference’ for people like Jordan, but that term is more appropriately used to describe himself,” the statement continues. “It is clear he is the one who acted with indifference.”
Penny, a 24-year-old Marine veteran, said in a statement last week that he was acting defensively and “never intended to harm” Neely, whom he described as “aggressively threatening” himself and other passengers on the northbound F train.
We must all collective stand up to the rise in white supremacy and white nationalism.
Black Westchester urges all our readers to join in the call for justice to contact District Attorney Bragg and demand Perry be charged for the Extrajudicial Killing Of Jordan Neely; by contacting the New York County District Attorney’s Office at One Hogan Place, New York, NY 10013 or call tel:212-335-9000. In addition to our main office in lower Manhattan, we also have community offices located in Washington Heights and Harlem.
