Faith leaders to gather in Akron in calls for planning, support

The death of Jayland Walker on June 27 at the hands of Akron police continues to reverberate throughout black Ohio communities and beyond.

Pastors and others from around the state have been invited to gather for a prayer assembly and support rally for the Walker family and to seek justice in the investigation into his death.

Faith community leaders and supporters will gather in Akron tomorrow, Friday, July 8 at noon at St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ, 1086 V. Odom Blvd. [44307]. The church’s senior pastor, Rev. Robert E. DeJournett, was a cousin of Jayland Walker.

Walker, 25, was shot more than 60 times by Akron police following a foot chase after police attempted to stop him for an alleged traffic violation. He was unarmed at the time eight patrolmen were firing more than 90 rounds at him. An unloaded revolver was found in his car after his death along with other personal effects.

Police assert that Walker fired a shot as he was exiting the vehicle.

Many in the community and across the nation were quick to contrast what almost seems an execution over a traffic stop to the safe arrest of the “person of interest” whom law enforcement suspected of the Independence Day mass murder in Highland Park, IL some 30 miles west of Chicago. That arrest, along with the safe arrests of the crazed executioner of Bible study group members at a Charleston, SC church, and Kyle Rittenhouse, the vigilante gunman who killed two white men and shot a third in Kenosha, WI following protests over a police killing in that city, are seen as part of a pattern where terrorist white gunmen are apprehended safely, while black suspects, particularly black males, seem almost to be hunted down even when unarmed.

Those with questions about tomorrow’s assembly and rally are invited to contact Rev. Anthony Parker at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 216.513.4007.

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