NEWARK -- Hundreds of people crashed an outdoor concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark tonight to protest city violence that has left six people dead in recent weeks.
As concertgoers sitting on benches nodded their heads to the music, protesters marched to the arts center. Several of them jumped on the stage, interrupting the planned musical performance for two hours, as nervous security guards in white shirts followed them.
As concertgoers sitting on benches nodded their heads to the music, protesters marched to the arts center. Several of them jumped on the stage, interrupting the planned musical performance for two hours, as nervous security guards in white shirts followed them.
Police said one woman who was blocking street traffic in front of the concert hall was arrested. They did not immediately release her name or any charges lodged against her.
"We can no longer operate business as usual," Ras Baraka, a longtime activist and principal of Central High School in Newark, shouted into a microphone he brought onto the arts center stage. "I know you want to have a good time, I know you want to party, but I have to inconvenience you."
Shae Fiol, one of the scheduled performers, stopped singing and retreated to the back of the stage when the protesters rushed it. For a few short moments, Fiol continued strumming her guitar, providing an unintentional sound track for the protest.
More than 100 showed up at the start of the protest at 6 p.m., but the number swelled to arou
nd 500 over the next two hours, as protesters filled the green in front of NJPAC.
It was the fifth rally in the city since July 20, when the wave of violence began with the killing of three people and the wounding of seven others in three shootings.
Baraka was one of many city activists involved in the protest. Bashir Akinyele, a spokesman for the Newark chapter of the New Black Panthers, said activists and residents started organizing rallies informally through text messages after the July violence.
"There were no planned meetings or strategy sessions. It asked people to come out if you're frustrated about the issue of urban street violence and bring that to the attention of leaders and make it a public health issue," he said.
They then held a rally at Elizabeth and Meeker avenues, where Nakisha Allen, one of the July 20 victims, died. Other protests were held at the busy intersections of Avon Avenue and Irvine Turner Boulevard, South Orange and South Munn avenues and Broad and Market streets.
Many of the protesters at tonight's event want to see stepped up efforts to end the violence, but Akinyele said they also want Mayor Cory Booker to hold a large town hall meeting on the issue and create more jobs for city residents. They additionally are calling for Police Director Garry McCarthy's resignation and the restoration of the position of police chief. They accuse McCarthy of fabricating police statistics to give the false impression crime has decreased.
Baraka would not comment directly on whether McCarthy should go, saying instead said the police department should have a chief because it needs a leader from the ranks.
"The chief had the ear of the rank and file. The position is more important than the person itself," Baraka said. "He marshals the force. He lifts morale. He's also a member of the police force. He's not a bureaucrat, he's not a politician, not a civilian."
"We can no longer operate business as usual," Ras Baraka, a longtime activist and principal of Central High School in Newark, shouted into a microphone he brought onto the arts center stage. "I know you want to have a good time, I know you want to party, but I have to inconvenience you."
Shae Fiol, one of the scheduled performers, stopped singing and retreated to the back of the stage when the protesters rushed it. For a few short moments, Fiol continued strumming her guitar, providing an unintentional sound track for the protest.
More than 100 showed up at the start of the protest at 6 p.m., but the number swelled to arou
nd 500 over the next two hours, as protesters filled the green in front of NJPAC.It was the fifth rally in the city since July 20, when the wave of violence began with the killing of three people and the wounding of seven others in three shootings.
Baraka was one of many city activists involved in the protest. Bashir Akinyele, a spokesman for the Newark chapter of the New Black Panthers, said activists and residents started organizing rallies informally through text messages after the July violence.
"There were no planned meetings or strategy sessions. It asked people to come out if you're frustrated about the issue of urban street violence and bring that to the attention of leaders and make it a public health issue," he said.
They then held a rally at Elizabeth and Meeker avenues, where Nakisha Allen, one of the July 20 victims, died. Other protests were held at the busy intersections of Avon Avenue and Irvine Turner Boulevard, South Orange and South Munn avenues and Broad and Market streets.
Many of the protesters at tonight's event want to see stepped up efforts to end the violence, but Akinyele said they also want Mayor Cory Booker to hold a large town hall meeting on the issue and create more jobs for city residents. They additionally are calling for Police Director Garry McCarthy's resignation and the restoration of the position of police chief. They accuse McCarthy of fabricating police statistics to give the false impression crime has decreased.
Baraka would not comment directly on whether McCarthy should go, saying instead said the police department should have a chief because it needs a leader from the ranks.
"The chief had the ear of the rank and file. The position is more important than the person itself," Baraka said. "He marshals the force. He lifts morale. He's also a member of the police force. He's not a bureaucrat, he's not a politician, not a civilian."
A police spokesman said McCarthy would not comment on tonight's protest. Sgt. Ron Glover instead referred to a statement McCarthy released last week that supported public speech, urged protesters to take action to improve public safety in their neighborhoo
ds and touted decreases in crime that the city has experienced in recent years.
In a radio program, Booker also highlighted the city's attack on crime.
"We've made tremendous progress, of which Garry McCarthy has helped to lead that progress," the mayor said tonight on WBGO-FM's "Newark Today." "We're the number one city in America for reducing the numbers of shootings -- 40 percent down over the three-year period. But that's not acceptable. We shouldn't think that that's progress or success. So we've got to understand that we have a lot of work to do."
At the protest, several people took the stage, including the Rev. Patrick Council, a minister with Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on Elizabeth Avenue. Council spoke passionately about the recent shooting victims and their families.
"They are here, they are a living testament to the violence in their lives," he said of the families. "We gotta start a new revolution with T-shirts that say Start Snitchin'."
Several people were annoyed by the protest.
"I understand their concern. I agree with them," said Gegi Webster of Orange. "But their right of assembly is interfering with our right to free assembly."
The arts center distributed fliers advising people that local community groups planned to stage a protest outside the concert.
"As 'New Jersey's Town Square,' we respect the right for lawful, peaceful assembly, but we also are intent on doing all we can to maximize the chances of 'Sounds of the City' going uninterrupted and ensuring that our patrons enjoy their usual great experience," the flier read.
At 8 p.m., the protest stopped peacefully. Guitarist Fiol was understanding about the interruption.
"It's real," she said. "People need to be heard. Sometimes people need to bogart the stage. I am not upset."
ds and touted decreases in crime that the city has experienced in recent years.In a radio program, Booker also highlighted the city's attack on crime.
"We've made tremendous progress, of which Garry McCarthy has helped to lead that progress," the mayor said tonight on WBGO-FM's "Newark Today." "We're the number one city in America for reducing the numbers of shootings -- 40 percent down over the three-year period. But that's not acceptable. We shouldn't think that that's progress or success. So we've got to understand that we have a lot of work to do."
At the protest, several people took the stage, including the Rev. Patrick Council, a minister with Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on Elizabeth Avenue. Council spoke passionately about the recent shooting victims and their families.
"They are here, they are a living testament to the violence in their lives," he said of the families. "We gotta start a new revolution with T-shirts that say Start Snitchin'."
Several people were annoyed by the protest.
"I understand their concern. I agree with them," said Gegi Webster of Orange. "But their right of assembly is interfering with our right to free assembly."
The arts center distributed fliers advising people that local community groups planned to stage a protest outside the concert.
"As 'New Jersey's Town Square,' we respect the right for lawful, peaceful assembly, but we also are intent on doing all we can to maximize the chances of 'Sounds of the City' going uninterrupted and ensuring that our patrons enjoy their usual great experience," the flier read.
At 8 p.m., the protest stopped peacefully. Guitarist Fiol was understanding about the interruption.
"It's real," she said. "People need to be heard. Sometimes people need to bogart the stage. I am not upset."
Staff writer David Giambusso contributed to this report
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