by Rev. Edward Pinkney
If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survive, I will say the body of assorted judges, prosecutors and politicians must be held accountable for their wrongdoing – their action and inaction. We must find a right alternative to injustice in America.
In a day when drones hurtle through the air and guided ballistic missiles carve highways of death, destroy God’s green earth and his children, we must say “No more!” to injustice. We have never achieved anything in this life from the oppressor. We haven’t made a single gain from the oppressor without the confrontation of power to power.
I am calling for a rebirth of America itself. Considering the nation’s initial birth, with its genocidal treatment of Native Americans and inhumane enslavement of African Americans and poor whites, we the people must re-examine the country – the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We must come together and stand up and fight back – Blacks, poor whites, brown, red, yellow, everyone. We the people must come together!
I am not asking but demanding that we re-examine our economic priorities. I insist that budgets are moral documents. It is transparently immoral to pay the outrageous price of a reckless military adventure while cutting out the heart of our domestic social programs.
If we assume that life is worth living and that man has a right to survive, I will say the body of assorted judges, prosecutors and politicians must be held accountable for their wrongdoing – their action and inaction. We must find a right alternative to injustice in America.
Martin Luther King said, “Bombs being dropped in foreign countries and around the world are landing in Black neighborhoods in all of America.”
In Berrien County, Michigan (where the historic, Black town of Benton Harbor has become a “company town” for the Whirlpool Corp., which controls the politics and has been trying to drive out the Black population, focusing its powerful wrath on Rev. Pinkney), we have the rogue justice system led by the rogue prosecutor Mike Sepic, a person who ignores the laws and evidence when prosecuting Blacks and poor whites in many cases.
Mike Sepic bases his decisions on unrevealed, deeply held prejudices, which result in inappropriate punishment and convictions. His actions are not based on a desire to achieve a just, fair or moral outcome. Sepic intentionally charged me with a more serious crime to seek a more severe penalty than was proper for my lawful exercise of a constitutional right (Rev. Pinkney was charged with vote fraud and convicted with zero evidence).
An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. The public confidence in the judiciary was eroded by irresponsible and improper conduct by Judge Sterling Schrock and prosecutor Mike Sepic. Judge Schrock failed to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. He failed to respect and observe the law during my trial.
An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society.
I believe that unarmed and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why truth temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Let’s stand together and fight back. We can win!
Send our brother some love and light: Rev. Edward Pinkney, 294671, Lakeland Correctional Facility, 141 First St., Coldwater MI 49036.
Michigan’s No. 1 political prisoner
Rev. Edward Pinkney has been deprived of his liberty for the last six months. Among the most fearless fighters for Black people and poor people in Michigan, he sits in prison falsely accused of vote fraud, separated from loved ones and community, in a blatant case of state repression.
Rev. Edward Pinkney has been deprived of his liberty for the last six months. Among the most fearless fighters for Black people and poor people in Michigan, he sits in prison falsely accused of vote fraud, separated from loved ones and community, in a blatant case of state repression.
The charges stem from a campaign to recall the Benton Harbor mayor, who opposed an income tax that would have generated desperately-needed revenue for the city from Whirlpool Inc. By imprisoning Pinkney, the officials of Berrien County and their corporate master, Whirlpool, hope to intimidate, subdue and silence the people of Benton Harbor.
Rev. Pinkney’s spirit isn’t so easily broken. According to his wife, Dorothy, who speaks with him twice a day to monitor his health and wellbeing, he is “himself” – meaning dynamic, irrepressible, indomitable, still organizing, both inside and outside the prison walls. But unless and until he gets free on appeal, there are urgent needs we can help with right now.
By imprisoning Pinkney, the officials of Berrien County and their corporate master, Whirlpool, hope to intimidate, subdue and silence the people of Benton Harbor.
Spread the word! What’s happening in Benton Harbor affects us everywhere. Pinkney’s work is on the front line of the battle against political corruption, corporate greed and racist genocide. Benton Harbor was the first city in Michigan to be subjected to an Emergency Financial Manager.
Learn more about the struggles in Benton Harbor and Black Autonomy Network Community Organization’s campaigns for justice, at http://pinkneycentral.weebly.com/info.html and http://bhbanco.org.
Boycott Whirlpool and subsidiaries Amana, Estate, Gladiator Garage Works, Insperience, Jenn-Air, KitchenAid, Magic Chef, Maytag, Roper, Acros, Inglis, Bauknecht, Brastemp, Admiral, IKEA appliances and some Kenmore.
Donate, help raise funds, hold a fundraiser. Dorothy Pinkney is paying about $300 per month just for phone calls, commissary expenses and visiting. Case expenses run to the hundreds and thousands of dollars, before attorney fees. The court compelled Rev. Pinkney to pay restitution to the mayor of Benton Harbor, the target of the recall petition.
Dorothy says, “We know the economy’s bad and we’re not asking anyone to give what they don’t have. But if you can give a little, we really appreciate it.”
Donate online at http://bhbanco.org (click the Donate button) or send checks to BANCO, 1940 Union Ave., Benton Harbor, MI 49022.
