Protestor Holds “Resign Rahm” Sign At Conference

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 31: Demonstrators calling the resignation of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel protest outside the Mayor's office inside City Hall on December 31, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The shooting deaths by police of a 19-year-old college student Quintonio LeGrier and his 55-year-old neighbor Bettie Jones and a recently released video showing the shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke have sparked dozens of protests in the city. Yesterday Emanuel announced several changes that would take place in the police department with the hope of preventing future incidents.
On Wednesday, January 20, a young Black woman protestor, looking for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, disrupted a news conference at the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.
April Goggans held a sign that said “16 shots & a cover-up” with Laquan McDonald’s name the words “Resign Rahm” on it. She walked in front of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake during her opening remarks to speak on why Emanuel should resign as Mayor of Chicago.
“To me I don’t understand why he hasn’t resigned, other than his ego,” Goggans said to ABC 7. “The specific thing that Rahm Emanuel himself did and also some of the inaction he took, in my view and our view makes him no longer fit to serve.”
April Goggans is part of Black Lives Matter in the DMV, comprising of Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Her actions were made solo, as she said that they were not part of a plan deriving from Chicago. Her message was seen on live television across America.
Goggans defended her actions by saying that she was honoring her grandfather, Gerald Bullock, who was active in the Civil Rights movement in Chicago. During the 50’s, Bullock actively brought protestors to Chicago in order to stand up for Emmett Till after he was lynched in Mississippi.
While Emanuel was in D.C at the time, he was not at that news conference.
During the conference, though, he did open up discussion about policing and transparency in government saying, “About a third of our department in short order, is going to have body cams. That gives people trust that there is another set of eyes.”
Please see the video below.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)