Defund group sponsors Berry
US Olympian Gwen Berry — who sparked outrage by turning away from the American flag during the national anthem while on the winners podium at last week’s Olympic trials — is being sponsored by an activist group that is fighting to defund the NYPD.
“We’re proud to sponsor @MzBerryThrows,” tweeted Color of Change, which bills itself as a “leading racial justice organization driven by more than 7 million members who are building power for Black communities.”
The Oakland, Calif.-based group said it was also proud to have “negotiated a sponsorship” with Puma for the Missouri-born hammer thrower.
“Grateful for Gwen’s leadership today and every day,” the group tweeted.
Color of Change cited Berry’s case to push a petition calling on companies to denounce the Olympics’ Rule 50, which bans “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” and which the activist group said would prohibit “athletes from kneeling, raising their fists, or wearing signs or symbolic armbands.”
“The policy is extremely problematic because as we know, ‘taking a knee’ and ‘raising fists’ are directly associated with justice for Black people,” the online petition says, calling it a “direct attack on athlete activists” like Berry.
Berry, 31 — who has said she was “pissed” that
“The Star-Spangled Banner” played as she got bronze at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday — responded to the group’s support with an emoji of a raised fist.
“Thank you Color of Change for always standing with me,” she wrote.
Color of Change has also become known for pushing “defund the police” policies — most recently targeting the NYPD.
“Policing is a violent institution that must end,” the group’s president, Rashad Robinson, has said. “We imagine a country where there is enough money to educate our children, care for our sick and feed those who are financially unstable. Defunding the police allows for this vision.”
The group’s most recent campaign aims to “Take ACTION to Divest in NYPD.”
“The NYPD has waged war against Black people and communities of color in NYC. And the only way to stop police violence is to stop siphoning tax dollars to the NYPD and invest in the material conditions that actually impact the safety of our communities,” the petition reads.
A separate petition calls on Mayor de Blasio to “reduce the NYPD’s budget by $1 billion.”
“De Blasio has let the NYPD use their riot gear to terrorize protesters,” the petition says, complaining that the force’s “arsenal of chemical weapons, tanks, sniper units, surveillance towers, and sound grenades” make it “look more like an army prepared for war.”