Minneapolis: Unity march demands justice for Adam Toledo

Minneapolis, MN – On April 24, protesters took the streets for the second time here to demand justice for Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old Mexican-American boy who was shot to death by a Chicago Police Department officer while he had his hands up. The video footage of the murder was recently released, sparking a wave of protests in Chicago and around the country.

The Minneapolis protest was led by a banner reading “Black and Brown United,” followed by militant and disciplined contingents from Los Brown Berets – Minnesota, Original Black Panther Party, New Black Panther Nation, New Black Panther Party, Camp Migiizi, and the American Indian Movement. Behind them were danzantes from Kalpulli KetzalCoatlicue and Kalpulli Tlaloctecuhtli and other grassroots organizations including the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), Asamblea de Derechos Civiles and others.

The protest started at South High School then marched on Lake Street. The marchers stopped in front of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct which was burned during last May’s uprising after the police murdered George Floyd. There several speakers talked about the importance of Black, brown and native peoples uniting to support each other’s struggles for justice.

The march then continued for several more blocks, and finally merged with a larger community vigil for Yadhira Romero Martinez at Lake Street and 18th Avenue. Yadhira was a 19-year-old Mexican-American woman who was murdered in a house near that intersection last week. She was born in the U.S. but left at a young age when her parents were forced to return to México. She had recently returned to the U.S. to work, until suffering this gruesome attack. Few details are available about what happened, other than that she left work in Bloomington, Minnesota, took an Uber, then wasn’t heard from again until she was found dead in Minneapolis. Yadhira’s case has sparked a growing movement to confront sexist and misogynist behavior and attacks on women, with particular focus on women who are already oppressed in this country. More vigils for Yadhira are planned.