Taking on the cause of his brother, Akeem Browder has been nominated to run by the state Green Party. The breaking news came out in a new article on the DNAinfo, a neighborhood news source, by Dartunorro Clark had the story:
Akeem Browder, the older brother of Kalief Browder and an outspoken critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio, has thrown his hat in the ring for mayor’s race, he told DNAinfo New York. “I have nothing else to lose,” the 34-year-old said Friday. “They took my mother. They took my brother. To run, even if I lose, it wouldn’t stop me from being an advocate.”
He filed his candidacy papers with Campaign Finance Board and is running on the Green Party ticket, he and the agency said. His platform is centered on the “criminal injustice” system, he said, adding that it will focus on myriad issues facing New Yorkers, including homelessness, deportation and education.
Some more information from the New York Post:
Activist Akeem Browder — whose younger brother Kalief committed suicide at age 22 in 2015 – crashed a mayoral candidates forum in Harlem Thursday night to announce his candidacy and convinced organizers to let him participate. Browder was quietly tapped as the Green Party’s mayoral candidate last week.
Akeem Browder recently posted on his Facebook page the following criticism of recent mayors including current mayor DeBlasio:
The on going problem with having Mayor after Mayor representing the problems we average NEW YORKERS face is that they are far removed from the problem and yet we the People suffer there rain from above. How can they speak on immigration yet they’ll NEVER experience this or even Er they’ve never fought with us in the trenches of NYC streets!! How can they speak on the criminal injustice system when we, like me and Kalief, are the ones that suffered wrongful charges and are always the demographic to take plea bargains.
Finally, here is a 38 minute discussion on Democracy Now with Akeem Browder. From Democracy Now’s video synopsis:
Today marks two years since Kalief Browder took his own life in 2015 at the age of 22, after being held in jail for nearly three years without trial for a crime he did not commit.
In November, we spoke with Akeem Browder, Kalief’s older brother. He is the founder of the Campaign to Shut Down Rikers. Today we share a second part of his interview that has never been broadcast before. We spoke with him shortly after his family held a memorial service for Venida Browder, who died “of a broken heart” 16 months after her son hanged himself in his Bronx home.
Kalief was just 16 years old in 2010 when he was sent to Rikers Island jail in New York City on suspicion of stealing a backpack. He always maintained his innocence and demanded a trial. Instead, he spent the next nearly three years at Rikers—nearly 800 days of that time in solitary confinement. Near the end of his time in jail, the judge offered to sentence him to time served if he entered a guilty plea, and told him he could face 15 years in prison if he went to trial and was convicted. Kalief still refused to accept the plea deal. He was only released when the case was dismissed. While in Rikers, Kalief was repeatedly assaulted by guards and other prisoners. His brother explains in this interview that he was repeatedly denied food by guards while he was in solitary confinement.
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