On Saturday night, close to 80 people gathered at the spot where Claude Trevino was fatally shot by the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) in February to protest against police brutality.
This protest was called in light of the recent fatal shootings of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo by police. Both of these killings sparked mass protesting in both Brooklyn Center, Minnesota and Chicago, Illinois. The event was hosted by Millions for Prisoners, Albuquerque Save the Kids from incarceration and ABQ Mutual Aid.
The first speaker, a community member who went by Arianna, began the night by calling for a moment of silence to honor the victims of police brutality.
“I call it an invocation because I think those people's spirits are still with us, and they're willing to do the work that we're doing, even if we can't see them,” Arianna said.
Throughout the night, many speakers called for the abolition of the police, with individuals arguing that the community can support and protect itself without the fear the police inspire.
“People get a little mixed up with abolition (by) thinking it's all about police in prison. But it's actually about what's missing,” Selinda Guerrero, a lead organizer, said. “And what's missing is a healthy community that does not need those systems.”
Other groups that attended included: Bernalillo County La Raza Unida, Fight for Our Lives, Albuquerque Showing Up for Racial Justice, Fronteristxs, National Asian Pacific American/Pacific Islander Women’s Forum Albuquerque and Free Them All Coalition.
In an interview with the Daily Lobo, Guerrero said she found it necessary to host this event because the community needed a place to gather and heal. As a mother of six children, she is “afraid every day for (them).”
“We knew our community needed a healing space,” Guerrero said. “But we've worked, we've been watching the trauma that's been going on this week in the trial happening for George Floyd and then Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo … It is a never-ending cycle.”
Madeline Pukite is a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @madelinepukite
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