The families of several well-known deceased or seriously wounded citizens — most of them fallen during encounters with a law-enforcement agency in the nation during the last year — were in town this weekend, with several missions in mind.
The group, organized as Families United, was here primarily to commemorate and honor their lost kin — including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, and Freddie Cox — and to support the second annual Stomp the City award show, an anti-crime event at the Convention Center on Saturday night.
Their first stop in Memphis, though, was at the campaign headquarters of Democratic district attorney candidate Steve Mulroy on Friday., where a generous crowd had gathered to welcome them. Without exception, the family members made a point of endorsing Mulroy as the best bet locally to bring about justice, racial and otherwise.
Typical was Jacob Blake Sr., father of a Toledo, Ohio, man who was shot in the back several times by a police officer and left severely wounded — a circumstance that led to serious disruptions and protests elsewhere, including nearby Kenosha, Wisconsin, where two persons were killed and another shot by a self-appointed “peacekeeper.”
Said Blake, “It’s apparent that in Shelby County we have ethical problems [affecting] black and brown bodies, so we need solutions. We don’t need any more drive-by politicians who drive by our communities and wave at us. We’re not waving back.”
And, in endorsing Mulroy, he echoed one of the candidate’s allegations against incumbent Republican D.A. Amy Weirich, as having the “worst professional misconduct in the United States” by a D.A. Blake continued: “So what are you going to do Memphis, sit around on your hands or go vote? I personally endorse Steve Mulroy!”
Among the other political candidates on hand for the event — besides Mulroy, who shared the stage with the family members — were judicial candidates Sanjeev Memula and Ken Margolis, County Commissioner-elect Erika Sugarmon, Juvenile Court Judge candidate Tarik Sugarmon, state House minority leader Karen Camper, and state Representatives Dwayne thompson, G.A. Hardaway, and Joe Towns Jr, the latter being one of three official hosts for the event, along with Mulroy and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.
