Omaha Organizes as Racial Tensions Worsen

BY JEFF TURNER

Demonstrators speaking out against deportation and ICE. Photo courtesy of Peyton Zyla

Over the past weeks, – Omaha saw several protests on the topics of the Prison Industrial Complex, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and police violence. On Saturday, August 22nd – organizers gathered at the Douglas County Courthouse to speak on private prisons and ICE. The Saturday protest – organized by the Young Progressives of Nebraska and ProBlac – was in favor of a full abolition and reconstruction of prisons and the abolition of ICE.

The turnout for this protest was just under one-hundred people, “it was about what we expected,” said Dylan MB, a representative of the Young Progressives of Nebraska. “The personal stories were very powerful and I am grateful to all the guest speakers. I would say the night was a success” said Valeria Gaytan – one of the speakers at the event.

When prompted to lay out how the abolition of prisons would be implemented, MB said

“The main idea surrounding replacement is based mostly in that of restorative programs (therapy, mediation, etc.) in the place of the punitive programs, which as we have seen, have never worked.”

Prison Abolition is a policy that has been championed by notable activists such as Angela Davis. When pressed about how this new system would handle major felonies such as murder, sexual assault and others, “Under this new system, the measures taken would absolutely vary on the severity of particular cases.”

Valeria Gaytan added on a personal note, “ I have always been passionate about issues since my sophomore year of college. I realize that my voice is powerful and along with others, we can be more influential.” She wants to do more work when she graduates from College. ICE was the centerpiece of Gaytan’s speech – “The purpose of my speech was to educate others on when and why ICE was established, some false information that is spread about ICE, the reality that it is a billion-dollar business, and to encourage others to make their voices heard.” The last raid ICE was conducted in Madison, Nebraska – where fourteen immigrants were detained.

The “Abolish ICE” movement started as a response to the increased attention being paid to President Donald Trump’s extra focus on the goings on at the border. These tensions were heightened when Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made ‘Abolish ICE’ a notable part of her platform, in addition to the Family Separations being carried out by the U.S. Customs and Border Protections. 2020 candidates such as Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand had made abolishing ICE part of their platform.

The organizers of this event spoke to police and mentioned in advance that they intended to host a peaceful protest and would be obeying traffic laws. “YPN as an organization tries to refrain from having any dialogue with law enforcement, as in the past we have refrained from informing police of our events as such,” said MB.

Monday night saw more lively protests in reaction to the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Monday night protests, though much smaller than what the city saw in late may, did traffic in the same parts of town. The protests started on Seventy-Second and Dodge and ended downtown around ten o’clock. An anonymous protester said of the turnout, “I thought it went great. One-hundred fifty to two-hundred people showed up on such short notice.”

This anonymous protester added that they did not see police interacting with protestors –

“there was a big police presence there, and none of them harassed us until the protest was winding down later that night,” anon said.

Another factor was the arrival of an armed group who said they were protecting the protestors from the police. “I was uncomfortable with them being there, but I know that’s not how everyone feels,” anon added.

The Wisconsin Police Department has identified the officer who shot Jacob Blake – but they are still investigating the situation – and will turn the case over to a prosecutor when they are finished. After days of protests – Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has instituted a curfew in Kenosha and declared a state of emergency statewide – he is increasing the presence of the National Guard. Vigilantism is up, with shooter Kyle Rittenhouse traveling across state lines to Kenosha from Illinois, abetted by his mother - where he then shot three protestors and killed two. He was arrested by police the same night.

NOISE will be continuing to monitor this story for updates.