Report from Elizabeth City as the State Clamps Down on Protests for Andrew Brown, Jr

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On this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, we spoke with Andrea about the unfolding demonstrations and protests in Elizabeth City in North Carolina, following the police killing of Andrew Brown, Jr, on April 21st.

Day 12 of protests for #AndrewBrown in #ElizabethCity starts at the waterfront pic.twitter.com/qgrhpDvmCW

— 🚩🐶Andrea Of The Anti-Fascist Variety✊🐘🏴 (@PAWGsForBernie) May 2, 2021

For the past three weeks, people have continued to take to the streets to call for the release of police tapes of the incident, while family members who have had access to view the tape have stated that it shows Brown’s execution by police and that he had his hands on the steering wheel of his car at the time of this death.

Local Democratic leadership as well as conservative judges have both refused to release the tapes and instead have declared a State of Emergency after the killing, in a preemptive move to put down unrest. As we discuss throughout our interview, this move was quickly followed by the imposition of a night-time curfew and another draconian rule that required people to apply for permits with local city leaders in order to legally hold protests. Yet despite this, violent arrests, and threats from Trump supporters – protesters continue to get in the streets: day in and day out.

Weather getting interesting #ElizabethCity #AndrewBrown pic.twitter.com/nTPkFkvVnc

— 🚩🐶Andrea Of The Anti-Fascist Variety✊🐘🏴 (@PAWGsForBernie) May 4, 2021

Elizabeth City shows what happens with local elites and police try to suppress popular anger and attempt to gain total control over the situation. Those in the streets of North Carolina continue to fight and they deserve our support, as mobilizations continue and grassroots reporters like Andrea continue to issue dispatches from the front lines.