Public defenders and other court workers gathered in Nubian Square on Monday evening to protest police violence and racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, one of many such protests happening across the country this week.
Organized by public defenders Shayla Mombeleur, Christian Williams, Connor Barusch and Olivia Dubois (public defender social worker), the protest began near the Roxbury courthouse, where many of the protesters work.
The lawyers organized with the intention of joining California public defenders as part of a nationwide initiative in support of Black Lives Matter movements two weeks after the death of George Floyd and days after the arrest of the officers who killed him.
Among their demands, stated in a press release, the organizers are fighting against incarceration of black and brown people, who “unfairly make up the prison system,” and unfair court fees.
With help of public defenders’ offices in California, the local organizers were able to hand out free shirts bearing the phrase “Public Defenders Support Black Lives” and create signs with the names of individuals in Massachusetts who were killed by the police.
