A group of twenty Jamaicans participated in a peaceful protest outside of the Jamaican Consulate in New York City on Wednesday, August 27th. Organized by Michelle Bradshaw, the protest grew out of an online petition she started on the Facebook page she created, "Demanding Justice for Mario Deane." During an interview Bradshaw revealed that she originally wanted about one thousand signatures, but it has since soared to more than 100,000. "I'm a little overwhelmed," she said, about the level of support that she has received. She then organized a peaceful protest to call international attention to the case of the 31 year old construction worker who was arrested and detained by police who searched him and found a small portion of marijuana on his person. Deane would be pronounced dead on Independence Day, at the Cornwall Regional Hospital three days after being in Police custody at Barnett Street Police Station. it is reported that Deane died from head injuries he allegedly sustained while in police custody. Speculations are that, he was brutally beaten by the police because when he was being bailed, he dared to say in the presence of the female police officer processing his paper work that, he didn't like police. As the story goes, at that moment, she told the person bailing him to come back at 5pm and returned Mario Deane to the jail cell. The story is that the person returned at 3pm and learned that Mario Deane was at the hospital. Deane remained in a coma until he died. This incident has sparked many protests in Montego Bay and helped to encourage folks to participate in New York's protest. "Many people could not make it due to the time of day and they had to be at work," said Michelle Bradshaw who has vowed to continue protesting and calling attention to the case.
During an interview with Carlyle McKetty host of Real Talk via CPRLive the day following the protest, the family's attorney Miguel Lorne, who traveled to New York to participate in the peaceful protest and to present the signed petition to the Consulate, said he was "not pleased" with the way the police investigations are proceeding. He shared that two mentally challenged inmates have been charged in the beating and that "There is a lot of conflicting information now coming out as the investigation proceeds." Lorne said, provide a history of the police force in Jamaica, having come out to the aftermath of the Morant Bay Rebellion. Lorne said it's a mind set that needs to be changed. He said that as a result of Mario's death, they are calling for some fundamental changes to the attitude and the laws of the land. Lorne also advised those gathered that attorney Jasmine Rand, who was part of Trayvon Martin's legal team, has joined the legal team seeking justice for Mario Deane. Miguel Lorne also advised that noted medical examiner, Dr. Michael Baden, who was the Chief Medical Examiner for New York City and who recently performed the independent autopsy of slain Ferguson teenager, Michael Brown, has traveled to Jamaica and to conduct an independent autopsy on Mario Deane. After the protest, the signed petition was handed to Consul Darren McCreath inside the Consulate. Michelle Bradshaw and others announced their commitment to continue raising awareness about police brutality in Jamaica and in seeking justice on behalf of Mario Deane and his family. A Mario Dean Memorial fund has been established online and his family is asking that folks make donations there to help them offset the cost of the medical and legal expenses they are incurring in their efforts to seek justice.
Later on that evening a significant number of Jamaicans converged on Sunrise Cineplex in Valley Stream, Long Island, for the premier of the movie, Jamaican Mafia starring Paul Campbell. Written by Mykal Fax, the movie premier was hyped and promoted by Irie Jam Media. Based on that promotion the venue was oversold. Many folks were seen scurrying around trying to purchase a ticket, but there was none to be had. Many were stood on line for a long time waiting with tickets in hand, waiting to gain entry. Earlier in the day, Bobby Clarke, president of Irie Jam Media Group, was heard saying that "We are completely sold out." It seemed that some folks decided to try their luck and they ended being disappointed. Upon arrival at the premier, celebrities were on hand, from D'Angel to Paul Campbell to everyone in between, they were walking the red carpet and the vibes was "tun up." DJ Roy of Irie Jam Radio was spinning some sweet selections that kept the audience in a merry mood.
After waiting for a very long time, almost two hours for the movie to begin, folks started to get a bit uneasy and by 10pm it was announced that due to unforeseen circumstances the screening would not happen. The audience learned that the director, Donzo, was on his way to the screening when he suffered a stroke and had to be rushed to the hospital. He had the only copy of the movie and as such, the movie never made it to the cinema. "You can't make this stuff up," said, Anmour, who had travelled from Maryland to come to New York to be a part of the premier." "Who does that?" asked Andrew B, "Who doesn't have a copy of their own movie for their own screening at the venue in advance?" Continuing, he said, "I"m not buying the trying to shut down the bootleg business, wasn't there anyone in his team he could trust to take the movie to the theater?" Needless to say, patrons were extremely disappointed but there were not outbursts or incidents. "I am proud of my people," posted Michelle A on her Facebook page, "This could have been a whole other story."
To their credit, Bobby Clarke and DJ Roy took to the airwaves the following day to apologize to the patrons and to inform folks what they had to do to obtain their refund. In speaking with Bobby Clarke, he advised that, "Everyone who has a ticket stub should go back to the ticket outlet and obtain their full refund. Irie Jam will provide them with free access to any future screening of Jamaican Mafia, if it happens, or to an Irie Jam event," he said. Clarke and others associated with the event, had to admit that their brand suffered a major blow as a result of this incident. They have so far been refunding people their tickets as folks have been positing on Facebook that they have gotten their money back.
As for Jamaican Mafia, there was a private screening the night before at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and from the stories shared, it too was an official "none screening." According to folks who were there, after waiting for hours, they showed up with a copy of the film and advised that it was a "raw uncut" version of the film. People so eager to view something, only got a chance to watch one hour of the movie, as they had to shut it down and leave the building as the curfew was already passed. From all accounts, the folks at Jamaican Mafia, need to "step up their game," says Michelle A, "You can't want to be in the big leagues and not be ready to play like a professional." According to Andrew Clarke, founder of Braata Folk Singers, "This is a sad day for the arts, for media, for Jamaican culture in general." He like many others feel that this incident has churned consumer confidence and it will take a lot to win back that confidence.
** Reprinted with Kind Permission from the Weekly Gleaner**
