Voices/Dr. Jean Daniels
Rev. Edward Pinkney: Solidarity with some effort
Rev. Edward Pinkney: Solidarity with some effort
| Part 2 First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. — Pastor Martin Niemoller “We had a full charter bus from Detroit. The court date, March 7, 2008, was cancelled, but we came out anyway. We went straight to the jail, so Rev. Pinkney would know we were there.” That is, Rev. Edward Pinkney, still incarcerated at the Berrien County Jail for protesting Whirlpool Corporation’s attempt to bamboozle the Black residents of Benton Harbor, Michigan. The voice is that of David Sole, President of the UAW 2334 and an organizer with the Michigan Emergency Community against War and Injustice (MECAWI). I listened on the phone as he described the scene in which citizens, outraged at the treatment Rev. Pinkney has received in the grips of the injustice system, gathered in solidarity on behalf of justice. The delegation of activist/citizens and organizers, Sole said, included Maureen Taylor and Mariana Kramer from the Michigan Welfare Rights, with “a large delegation that included two citizens in wheelchairs who joined the picket line.” Delegates from the Detroit Green Party, Black Men in Union, and Call ‘em Out, a group whose activism consists of “dogging local politicians and the school board,” also took the bus ride to join the protest at the Berrien County Jail. After the activists from Detroit and nearby towns made themselves heard at the jail, they proceeded to the Benton Harbor Library for a meeting sponsored by Rev. Pinkney’s Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO) where, as Sole said, “all the speakers said they were changing their names to Pinkney.” Someone began the chant — “Benton Harbor, Mississippi.” For Sole and others, the highlight of the meeting featured Dorothy Pinkney, the wife of Rev. Pinkney. In a phone conversation, Mrs. Pinkney told me that she decided to acknowledge the turnout of activists rather than cancel the meeting. Mrs. Pinkney has never addressed a gathering in public, Sole said. Encouraged by the turnout, Mrs. Pinkney spoke — and spoke “wonderfully.” She was a “great speaker,” and Sole added that he could see Mrs. Pinkney easily taking the place of her husband in this battle against racial injustice and corporate greed. But Mrs. Pinkney said that while she has found herself “in the forefront,” she wants her husband free. MECAWI, one of the sponsors of this protest, “started out as an anti-war” group. “We organized around protesting the war in Iraq,” Sole explained. But the organization has since developed into a civil/human rights organization, “looking at all issues,” and incorporating the activities of other grassroots organizations.” MECAWI focused its efforts on “drawing Black Americans to the organization.” Sole believes the protest on behalf of Rev. Pinkney was a good start: two-thirds of the delegation consisted of Black Americans. In the March 6, 2008 issue of The Capital City Hues, I wrote about the nuts and bolts of Rev. Pinkney’s ordeal with the Whirlpool Corporation and the Berrien County justice system (“Against Injustice and Denial of Human Rights”). While Rev. Pinkney’s story is that of corporate greed and a miscarriage of justice (the judges are King George’s bodypolitic guards, guarding the rights of corporate imperialists), it is also this story of courageous organizing and activism that is inclusive of people asking the question, “Is it right?” Cowardice asks the question — Is it safe? Expediency asks the question — Is it politic? Vanity asks the question— Is it popular? But conscience asks the question — Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right (Dr. Martin Luther King). Here is change — doing what’s right as citizens because, as Sole told me, these are our brothers and sisters in Benton Harbor. According to Mrs. Pinkney, Rev. Pinkney’s lawyers have “filed an appeal to the court” to have all the “Republican judges disqualified.” Given the notoriety of Rev. Pinkney’s case in Berrien County and his leftist politics, “these judges know about his activism and he [Rev. Pinkney] wouldn’t receive a fair trial.” On March 17th, the chief judge will hear a motion to disqualify the bench. “It is best to have the trial outside of Berrien County,” Mrs. Pinkney said. “Berrien County has made so many mistakes in an effort to try and convict my husband,” Mrs. Pinkney added. “I’m looking for good things to happen now.” Rev. Pinkney needs help. Please send donations to: BANCO 940 Union Street Benton Harbor, Michigan 49022 http://bhbanco.blogspot.com |
