Friday, May 27, 2016

Rev. Pinkney needs your help!

The legal battle to free political prisoner Rev. Pinkney continues, while he endures relentless harassment by racist guards at Marquette Branch Prison.

On May 11th supporters came from across the region to fill the Michigan Court of Appeals in Grand Rapids. Defense attorney Tim Holloway and Mark Fancher of the ACLU of Michigan both argued at length before a panel of three judges.

The next day, the judges issued an order putting the case on hold until the Michigan Supreme Court makes a decision on another election fraud case. There is no telling when the other case will be heard.

Nevertheless, the judges’ order provides a new window of opportunity to free Rev. Pinkney from prison on bond while the appeal proceeds. On May 16th, the defense team filed a motion for bond pending appeal and we hope for a decision in two to four weeks.

We must be ready with sufficient funds to cover the bond so we can free Rev. Pinkney immediately! We don’t know at what amount the bond will be set, so we need to raise $10,000 as soon as possible. Rev. Pinkney needs to be with his people, and the people need him.

If you've donated to BANCO before, thank you for your past support. It allows BANCO to continue to fight with Benton Harbor, a poor, Black community fighting against corporate greed and genocide-by-gentrification.

We know the economy is bad and that many good causes need help. But if you can, please give to BANCO to support the defense of Rev. Pinkney and the ongoing struggle of the people of Benton Harbor.

Together we can accomplish what we can't alone. Whether $5, $20, $100, or more, every gift helps. We need your help right now. 

What if you lived in a world where those with money and power could silence all dissent simply by locking up their opponents in prison?  If we let Berrien County do this to Rev. Edward Pinkney, what hope is there for Benton Harbor, or for any of us? What's at stake?

In the 1960s, it was called Negro removal. In Bosnia, it was called ethnic cleansing. It could be called genocide, the removal of the minority population for the purpose of redevelopment of the land. That’s what’s happening in Benton Harbor and leading the resistance is Rev. Edward Pinkney.  -Hugh “Buck” Davis, Michigan civil rights attorney

Donate securely online through Paypal at the BANCO website (click the donate button): bhbanco.org

Or send checks made to BANCO:
c/o Dorothy Pinkney
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Thank you!