Hundreds turned out last night at Sydney Town Hall Square, Gadigal Land, Sydney, ‘Australia’, to hold a vigil for slain Warlpiri man, Kumanjayi White. Last week, White was pinned to the ground until he stopped breathing by an off-duty police member in a Coles supermarket in Mpwante, Alice Springs.
Protesters at last night’s vigil called for an independent investigation - not an internal police led one - while also calling for a dramatic overhaul of police powers in the Northern Territory.
Over 10 years ago, social justice campaigner, Gerry Georgartos, predicted that by 2025, the number of Black deaths in custody since the handing down of the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1998) would reach an estimated 600, and that jail numbers would soar for Aboriginal people across ‘Australia’. His forecasts are close to being realised, despite decades-long warnings from Aboriginal communities and human rights organisations. White’s death last week has been another tragic number added to these statistics.
A march and rally has been called by the Black Caucus for next Saturday at Sydney Town Hall at 5pm.
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