Second Post-Sean Bell Verdict Rally Aimed at Black Fathers

The Reverend Al Sharpton is organizing a rally for black fathers this Saturday, the second in a series of demonstrations promised in the wake of the Sean Bell verdict.The rally falls a day before Father’s Day and is intended to encourage black fathers and families to address what organizers call a “Pandora’s box of issues” that have surfaced following the acquittal of three detectives who shot Bell on his wedding day in 2006.According to one of the march’s organizers, Bishop Lester Williams, the rally will “dispel the myth of absentee black fathers” and will focus on demanding “a fair justice system through building police-community relations.”“Without fathers, we have no community,” Bishop Williams, who had been scheduled to marry Bell and his fiancée, Nicole Paultre Bell, said.He added that he hoped the rally would also encourage black men to register to vote, get jobs, and become more involved in education.Rep. Gregory Meeks and council members John Liu, Leroy Comrie, and James Sanders are scheduled to attend, as are members of the Bell family.A spokeswoman for Mr. Meeks, Candace Sandy, said “men of color in our community and throughout New York City have felt marginalized” since the Bell shooting.“Now they’re coming together not only as fathers but as families to say we want to be treated fairly in the justice system,” she said.Unlike Rev. Sharpton’s traffic-halting “pray-ins” in May, the rally will have police escorts and will not involve civil disobedience.Organizers estimated that several thousand people will turn out for the event, which will involve marchers beginning in four different locations, converging on Merrick Boulevard, and marching toward Roy Wilkins Park.The march is designed to appear like a cross from above, Bishop Williams said.

Second Post-Sean Bell Verdict Rally Aimed at Black Fathers

Second Post-Sean Bell Verdict Rally Aimed at Black Fathers

More from the New York Sun

A Comedian’s Weighty Legacy

Republican Attorneys General Probe ‘Big Four’ Accounting Firms’ Climate ‘Activism’

Hillary Clinton Declares ‘Founding Fathers Would Be Appalled’ by Trump, Lauds Democrats’ Socialist ‘Experiment’ as ‘Healthy’

Trump Suggests Renaming Lake Ontario Amid Escalating Trade War With Canada

How the American Civil War Offers a Strategy for the United States Against Iran Today

Trump’s PAC Pours More Than $800,000 Into Last-Minute Get Out the Vote Messaging Campaign for Darline Graham

Robots on a Roll: Ukraine Stages World’s First ‘Drone Parade’

Jeffries Addresses Private Meeting With Kushner, Saying Conversation Will Not Affect Democratic Investigations Into ‘Trump Cartel’

More from the New York Sun

A Comedian’s Weighty Legacy

Republican Attorneys General Probe ‘Big Four’ Accounting Firms’ Climate ‘Activism’

Hillary Clinton Declares ‘Founding Fathers Would Be Appalled’ by Trump, Lauds Democrats’ Socialist ‘Experiment’ as ‘Healthy’

Trump Suggests Renaming Lake Ontario Amid Escalating Trade War With Canada

How the American Civil War Offers a Strategy for the United States Against Iran Today

Trump’s PAC Pours More Than $800,000 Into Last-Minute Get Out the Vote Messaging Campaign for Darline Graham

Robots on a Roll: Ukraine Stages World’s First ‘Drone Parade’

Jeffries Addresses Private Meeting With Kushner, Saying Conversation Will Not Affect Democratic Investigations Into ‘Trump Cartel’