Black Lives Matter Grassroots, NAACP – Lubbock Branch, and the Jenkins family will host a Community Town Hall in the Name of #ErskinJenkins at the Southwest Digest Building – 902 E. 28th Street on Monday, April 28th at 6PM. Jenkins was a psychology major at Texas Tech whose life was stolen by a sheriff’s deputy when attendees at a Friendsgiving called the police on him. After being stonewalled by the Lubbock Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Rangers, Erskin’s family launched their own investigation funded and spearheaded by Erskin’s mother, Sharon Jenkins.
Mrs. Jenkins has called for the brutal smear campaign against her beloved son by both law enforcement and the local press to stop immediately. “We call it a double murder” said Dr. Melina Abdullah, Director of Black Lives Matter Grassroots, “First cops steal Black lives, then they steal their dignity through character assassination.” Despite salacious reports, Erskin Jenkins was an “A” student and a long time martial artist who was dedicated to community service through his work to help feed the houseless. He had never been in trouble with the law or even at school.
The Lubbock branch of the NAACP, local organizers, student activists, justice families, and BLM chapters have mobilized and are making demands as they view Erskin Jenkins murder as part of a terrifying trend of attacks on Black students at PWI’s particularly universities in the deep south. Organizers from BLM Florida, BLM Detroit, BLM Houston, and BLM-Los Angeles are all joining local NAACP leaders and Erskin’s family to host a town hall that tells the truth about Erskin and demands justice in his name.
Demands include: 1. The release of the name of the deputy who killed Erskin Jenkins, 2. The release of the unedited bodycam footage, 3. the firing and prosecution of the cop who stole Erskin’s life. In addition, organizers are demanding a federal investigation into the killing of Erskin Jenkins.
For more information email: press@blmgrassroots.org or rockel@canddtheagency.com
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The mission of Black Lives Matter Grassroots (BLMGR) is to support, sustain, and uplift the necessary agitations, mobilizations, community organizing, and initiatives of Black Lives Matter chapters to fulfill our sacred duty to advance Black liberation. #BlackLivesMatter was birthed to end state-sanctioned violence against Black people. Black Lives Matter Grassroots is a collective of 26 chartered chapters globally working on the ground since 2013.
