Dallas demands justice for Tyre Nichols

Dallas, TX – On January 28, over 50 people gathered in Civic Garden Park in Downtown Dallas to protest the brutal murder of Tyre Nichols by police in Memphis, Tennessee. The rally was organized by the National Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression-Dallas. 

Local activist Olinka Green led a chant of the names of victims, including Tyre Nichols, Sandra Bland, Atatiana Jefferson, Santos Rodriguez and DeeDee Hall, an African American trans woman who was killed by police in Dallas in 2022.

Sydney Loving, co-chair of NAARPR Dallas, demanded justice for Tyre Nichols and emphasized the importance and need for community control of the police. “What we really have to do is change the power dynamics between the police and the communities they are policing and bring these police departments in all our cities under heel,” stated Loving.

Kawana Menchaca, co-chair of NAARPR Dallas stated “We need to make sure we never forget Tyre Nichols, and we never forget those fuckers who did their job, and know that’s business as usual. The only control that can stop that kind of bullshit is community control of the police.” 

Xavi Velasquez of La Frontera Nos Cruzo gave a speech emphasizing similarities between the Chicano struggle and the African American struggle, and the connection between U.S. imperialism and policing in the United States.

“It’s a stunning revelation when some of our veterans tell you that they themselves notice how well the military’s tactics fit in with the way we are policed here at home. The methods the U.S. military used policing the Iraqi and Afghan people are shockingly similar to policing here in the states,” stated Velasquez. 

Jo Hargis of the Dallas Anti-War Committee emphasized the connection between police brutality domestically and U, S. imperialism abroad. “The system of militarism, the system of exploitation that we spread around the world, we also direct against oppressed nationalities here at home,” stated Hargis.