Public defenders pack Black Lives Matter rally outside Queens Criminal Court

/
Attorneys and activists rallied outside the Queens Criminal Courthouse Monday. Eagle photo by David Brand

Attorneys and activists rallied outside the Queens Criminal Courthouse Monday. Eagle photo by David Brand

By David Brand

A few hundred public defenders and activists rallied outside the Queens Criminal Courthouse Monday to call on the city to cut funding to the NYPD, remove officers from schools and end racist police violence against Black and African Americans.

The demonstration was part of a coordinated effort by public defender organizations across the city and attracted staff from the Queens office of the Legal Aid Society and the Queens Defenders — whose attorneys and other staffers wore face masks emblazoned with the agency’s new closed-fist logo.

Queens Defenders staff addressed the crowd.

Queens Defenders staff addressed the crowd.

Flushing resident Aisha Hamida, 20, traveled to the demonstration after attending Black Lives Matter protests throughout the city following the police killing of George Floyd, a black man in Minnesota. 

Hamia held a hand-painted sign with images of Floyd and two other black Americans killed by police — Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Tony McDade in Florida.

“We have to keep protesting. This is my borough,” she said. 

Public defenders and other activists, including an 8-year-old boy named Jaden, took turns addressing the crowd, which spread out along the sidewalk near the Queens Criminal Courthouse steps.

“Black people did nothing wrong. We’re only judged by the color of our skin and that doesn’t mean anything,” Jaden said, before leading the crowd in a “No justice, no peace.” call and response.

Photo by David Brand

Photo by David Brand