RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C.–On Monday, October 26 at 10:30am a young African girl was battered by an agent of the state (video). The African National Women’s Organization (ANWO) recognizes this as colonial violence, which is structured to indiscriminately carry out the mandates of the ruling class in an effort to control oppressed poor and working class African people.
This type of violence does not discriminate by gender. This type of violence does not discriminate based on sexual orientation. This type of violence does not care if you have straight A’s or are a famous entertainer.
It exists as a tool of the oppressor to control the oppressed. It is there to stamp out our willingness to resist our oppression. It is there to make sure we understand that if we resist, violence is what we can expect.
By targeting our children in the places they are supposed to learn, they have created a pipeline straight from the schools directly into their injustice system. They have ensured that parents are exhausted and divested of money, fighting their attacks. They hope to immobilize us. They will not succeed.
The African National Women’s Organization calls on parents, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles to defend our children at all cost. We have created African Mothers Against State Violence (AMASV) to organize African parents, mothers in particular, to organize against the violence of the State.
We believe that pro-active organized resistance of African families, is the key to pushing back against the state violence that is all too common in African communities, no matter where we exist.
From Brasil to South Carolina and Johannesburg to London, the state is an entity of oppression in our communities. We want them out!
Our Demands
- We demand reparations to the young woman who was attacked and to Niya Kenny the other young woman who was arrested when she spoke out against the attack
- We demand the charge of “Disrupting School” be dropped against the young woman and Niya Kenny
- We demand Black Community Control of the Police
- We demand the teacher, Mr. Long, who stood by and allowed the incident to occur, be fired immediately
- We demand that cop Ben Fields be fired and denied employment in any other “law” organization
- We demand that cop Ben Fields be charged with assault and battery and child endangerment.
