Straight Talk on the Crisis of Police Violence

Izielen Agbon, my brother, comrade and fellow student of political economy in the University of Texas’ Economics Department, introduced me in the latter part of 1979, to a woman who would have a profound impact on my life. Dorothy Turner was the president of the Black Citizens Task Force in Austin, Texas, and she was organizing daily demonstrations in response to a crisis in the community that arose from two yt police officers murdering a black man named Gril Couch in cold blood. They were in plainclothes and got into it with the brother and put him in a chokehold whereby they strangled the life out of him. That is how I got down with the black community in East Austin in the fight to say #BlackLivesMatter
Spark4_1987

Sources

Demetria C. Howard-Watkins, “The Austin, Texas African-American Quality of Life Initiative as a Community of Inquiry: An Exploratory Study.” MPA thesis. Spring 2006.
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10877/3479/fulltext.pdf?sequence=1

Jordan Smith, “Dorothy T. Goes Home Fiery, feisty queen of Austin civil rights activists is recognized, remembered.” The Austin Chronicle, April 22, 2005.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2005-04-22/267663/

Black Citizens Task Force Records: An Inventory to the Collection
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00391/ahc-00391.html

Dorothy Charles Banks, “Velma Roberts: East Austin civil rights activist and all-around hell raiser.” Poet With An Opinion blog, October 27, 2012.
http://dcbanks.blogspot.com/2012/10/velma-carter-roberts-east-austin-civil.html

The struggle at Colony Park continues
http://www.thedailyphalanx.net/2016/04/dorothy-turner-august-1980-we-want.html

ACAC Historical Footage with clips of Ms. Turner (look at 4:07 minutes into video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah_0W0MGf38

“After the Convention: Analysis & Commentary.” Liberation, Summer 1988.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq8SkkbLS0A

Message from the Grassroots

Recreation Center named in honor of Roberts and Turner
https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Recreation_Centers/turnerroberts_factsheet.pdf

Public art tribute http://www.publicartarchive.org/work/overtonturnerroberts-memorial

“BCTF Pays Tribute to Turner, Roberts.” The Villager, 2015.
http://www.theaustinvillager.com/current/page8_Feb27.pdf

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