Episode #88: Touch One! Touch All! Denzel Draughn acquitted for pepper spraying San Diego cops

Black Power Talks

On December 9, 2021, Denzel Draughn, an organizer with the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement in San Diego, California was found not guilty on all charges after a highly-profiled case of resistance to police terror.

Denzel faced eight felonies, two counts of pepper spraying a group of San Diego cops and six counts of preventing an arrest. Denzel faced as many as 11 years in prison and had been originally charged with almost 20 felonies. Denzel had testified that his actions were in defense of the protestors who had been brutalized by the San Diego Police Department, and the jury agreed in their unanimous decision.

With similar cases in the docket against organizers in San Diego, and around the United States, the case versus Denzel Draughn had important legal implications. The jury's acquittal represents the shaky foundation of colonial-capitalism, and the willingness of many to break with the culture of violence. The aggressiveness of the San Diego DA represents a hunkering down of the colonial state. We can see similar measures in Florida where Governor Rick DeSantis's House Bill 1 has attempted to criminalize protest with the possibility of up to 15 years in prison.

In this episode, we talk with Denzel Draughn and his partner Parrish Davis about their victory in court as well as the way forward. Denzel and Parrish are both organizers with the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement in San Diego, California. They have participated in many programs and campaigns in San Diego including the Black Power at the Border Working Group that brought material resources and political education to African migrants across the colonial border in Tijuana Mexico, the Uhuru Shule Virtual Freedom School for children during the Covid shutdown, and Beta Selam Academy. They are currently developing the Black Community Control of the Police Working Group in San Diego.

Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom and Dexter Mlimwengu, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.