by Cambria York
From May 2 to 9, Indy10 Black Lives Matter coordinated a week of action, culminating in a demonstration on Monument Circle to push forward the demands for justice for Dreasjon Reed and McHale Rose, which have gone unanswered for over a year. The first four days were training seminars and teach-ins, ranging in topic from cop-watch programs and street-medic training to calls of action for mutual aid targeting Indy’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. May 6 and 7 were vigils commemorating the memories of the deceased. May 8, the rally on Monument Circle, was attended by over a hundred people contrasted with wedding parties taking photos on the steps of the monument. The families of Reed and Rose spoke, still burning with rage that their sons, brothers, and nephews, could not be with them for Mother’s Day 2021.
The vigil on “DreDay” was somber, rainy, yet revitalizing. Community members and well-wishers gathered at the side of a pond on the grounds of Eagle Creek state park, on the far northwest side of Indianapolis. Surrounded by nature, the group released water-soluble paper boats and carnations, each with a message for Dreasjon Reed’s memory.
The demonstration on Saturday, May 8, was far more fiery in character. Medics, this author included, were prepared for a far more intense afternoon. But the rally did not conclude in a march as was originally thought. Instead was a call to action: whenever the families of the deceased release an initiative, do it. Rally emcees told the crowd to get involved with the organizations in Indianapolis, like the Party for Socialism and Liberation and our campaigns organized with Indy10 BLM first of all. The demands still stand: End cash bail, defund and demilitarize IMPD, abolish ICE, abolish the FOP, invest in communities, and remove police from schools and hospitals.
While the demands still stand, there is much left to do in terms of mutual aid and political work. Indy10 specifically cited No Questions Asked Food Pantry, and the PSL initiatives of Hope Packages and People’s Power Urban Farm for actionable ways for community members to get involved immediately.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation – Indianapolis reaffirms its commitment to Black liberation, and end to police terror, an immediate dissolution of the Fraternal Order of Police, divestment of police in schools and hospitals, an end to gentrification and displacement in Indianapolis, and an immediate investment in working class and oppressed communities on their own terms.
