Drop the Charges Against Rev. Edward
Celebrate His Release From House Arrest!
Mon. June 23, 7:00-9:00pm
5920 Second Ave. at Antoinette, Near WSU Campus
Speaker: Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor BANCO
Rev. Edward Pinkney of the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers (BANCO) in Benton Harbor will visit Detroit on Mon. June 23 to speak before a meeting of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition and the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI) beginning at 7:00 p.m.
The activist is now facing prosecution on five felony and six misdemeanor charges filed by the Berrien County prosecutor’s office. Rev. Pinkney denies the charges and is fighting to mount a nationwide defense campaign aimed at his exoneration.
This BANCO leader has faced persecution in Berrien County since 2007 when he led a successful recall campaign against two Benton Harbor City Commissioners. Rev. Pinkney was charged with vote tampering and sentenced to house arrest and later sent to various Michigan state prisons for one year. A national defense campaign brought about the reversal of his conviction on appeal.
Now in 2014 the white power structure of Berrien County has struck again. In late April Rev. Pinkney was placed under house arrest for six weeks and on June 5 he was bound over for trial on the bogus charges of forgery. Once again the Berrien County authorities stopped a recall election this time against Mayor James Hightower, thwarting the ability of Benton Harbor voters to exercise their right to self-determination.
Please come out to this event. We will discuss the similarities in the conditions facing the people of Benton Harbor and Detroit. Although Benton Harbor has emerged from emergency management, corporate rule is the order of the day as it is in Detroit.
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