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Activists take over Z'Kye Husain news conference in Bridgewater

Activists take over start of Z'Kye Husain news conference with civil rights attorney Ben Crump in Bridgewater.

Thomas P. Costello, MyCentralJersey.com

BRIDGEWATER Noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump came to the townshipWednesday to address the force police used on a Black 14-year-old at Bridgewater Commons seen in a video that went viral last month.

But before Crump could utter a word at his press conference planned outside the entrance of the Bridgewater Police Department, he was upstaged by a man with a loudspeaker who argued people like Crump and the Rev. Al Sharptonare not helping to solve racism in the United States.

The disruption started even earlier in the day when an anti-Black Lives Matter banner was seen hanging on a pedestrian bridge over the rampfromRoute 22 to Route 202-206, near Bridgewater Commons.

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The banner was removed and is being investigated, according to township officials who had no other comment.

"I urge everyone in the community to stand up against bigotry as we work through our recent issues. Incendiary language from any side will not help with the healing our community needs to experience in order to move forward," Somerset County Commissioner Shanel Y. Robinson said in a comment about the banner.

Refusing to allow the organizers of the Crump press conference and rally to speak, a Newark man named Afrikasaid he believes police terrorize the Black community and nothing has changed since the civil rights movement.

"We're still catching hell. They are still lynching us. We're tired of people like Al Sharpton and the National Action Network speaking for us," Afrika said, adding the Rev. Steffie Bartley, northeastern director of the National Action Network, was trying to cut him off from speaking.

"We don't have no money. We don't have no platform. We're the ones sleeping on the floor to feed our kids, working at these jobs where you can't even pay rent. The rent is too high in North Jersey. We'reslaving two or three jobs to take care of your family," he said. "We can't live like this and listen to these people that come into our community when something happens and get a paycheck. Al Sharpton is a millionaire, and I'm broke. We're all broke. I'm living paycheck to paycheck."

He said Crump and Sharpton, who was scheduled to attend the event but did not,don't live in the Somerset County community and they are being paid to attend the event

Afrika said the family of 14-year-old Z'Kye Husain has been brutalized by police and the system.

"We're herefor systemic racism, not just one incident," said another activist, who refused to be identified, who asked members of the large crowd if they had been beatenby Bridgewater police.

"This isn't a social gathering. These situations happen and they come into our town, they create a circus, and they are gone," the man said. "Show me any of these faces that will be here in Bridgewater Township when 5 percent of the Black people get pulled over by the police. Where are you guys going to be when they got to fight the town by themself? I'm only 15 minutes away, I'll be here."

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The man said there were dozens of pastors gathered for Crump's event, but it's hard to get one to come out into the streets.

The man said the press conference should have been held in conjunction with the roundtable hosted by the township, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday.

Andrew Buckmire, a former Bridgewater resident who now lives in North Brunswick,said what happened with Z'Kye has been happening in Bridgewater and Somerset Countyfor more than 35 years.

"I'm here to support Z'Kye but to support the bigger picture because I was Z'Kye. I've been harassed by this police department from 12 years old to 18 years old," said Buckmire who along with Afrika refused to let anyone silence their microphone as tensions grew between the activists and the organizers of the Crump press conference.

"These people are not our leaders. They don't lead nobody," Afrika said. "Sharpton, Crump, they're not leading nobody. They are here to make money. We explain how we're suffering, and they are going to get paid. They are millionaires. They are not staying in our community. Why are we listening to them? Why do they speak for us? They don't speak for me."

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New Brunswick resident Tormel Pittman, who is scheduled to be one of the participants in Thursday's roundtable, said he's tired of gatekeepers speaking for the community.

"They don't come with a plan. They comewith their hands out, they come to exploit a situation that was already going on," he said. "They exploit our pain. What will be the situation that will stop this from going on? We demand change."

The disruption promptedCrump and the Husain family to moveinside the municipal complex where the news conference was held a short time later.

When asked about the activists comments at the end of press conference, Crump had no comment.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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NJ Black activists say Al Sharpton, Ben Crump arent helping their cause - My Central Jersey