We invite you to participate in our rally and march, “Defund the Police: Stop Police Violence”. Our rally will include speakers from the Joshua Flores family and the Chaplin family. Joshua Flores was killed by police officer, Fredrick Mercer, in Centralia in 2019. André Thompson and his brother, Bryson Chaplin, who were unarmed, were shot by Olympia Police Officer, Ryan Donald, in 2015. There will also be speakers from the Blaq Elephant Party and E4E speaking on the history of police violence and police racism in Olympia and nationally; on the growing Black Lives Matter led movement to defund the police and develop alternative budgets and alternatives to armed police; and building a movement against racial capitalism.
Following the rally, there will be a spirited march beginning from Sylvester Park.