Minor and Adrine were among the more that 10 speakers, including community activists and victims and the victims' family members, and were the only Blacks in the speaking lineup.
"I come today with the spirit of Black solidarity for all of the Black activists and freedom fighters in this city and around the world for this movement," said Minor, an articulate Morehouse graduate with an extensive background in Civil Rights and a former aide to Ambassador Andrew Young and Dr. Joseph Lowery, two former associates of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He said the Black community is with migrants and refugees affected by the president's immigration policies and spoke on Black disenfranchisement and family separation in America, and abroad. And he emphasized issues impacting Black America.
"Black people have faced separation from our land, separation from our culture, separation from our freedom, and separation from our parents, the cruel brutality of separation on a slave box," said Minor
Minor touched on racism against Black men and boys in America's courts and said that "this event speaks to the soul of America and it spills over to how we respond to so many social ills in our nation."
He quoted Dr. King.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," said Minor to a responsive audience.
Adrine, 67, and a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi who moved to Cleveland with her family when she was 14 years old, spoke on the separation of Black families at the U.S border and otherwise as well as on racism, and the mistreatment of migrants and refugees across racial and ethic lines by the Trump administration
She said that it is necessary to bridge the immigrant divide and urge policies that put the Black community on an even playing field with other immigrants in terms of resources to address the competition and conflict between Blacks and other immigrants perpetuated by federal law, and a racist mainstream media.
Adrine said that the mainstream media must join the African-American press in promoting stories regarding Black migrants and refugees from places such as Africa, Haiti and the Caribbean, and highlight shared injustices with other immigrants as to police abuse, low wages, work place discrimination, racism, sexism, and high unemployment rates. And she spoke on Black family separation regarding erroneous police killings of unarmed Blacks across America, including, Eric Garner in New York, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Sandra Bland in Texas, and Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, among others.
Adrine called on President Trump and Vice President Pence to resign from office as to their misgivings relative to the unprecedented harassment of migrants and refugees and their children, and in general.
"In the name of humanity, the Trump-Pence regime must go," said Adrine.
