Thompson targets Black aldermen for political defeat

Thompson targets Black alderman for political defeat

The protest against Mayor Daley's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast being held Friday at a Loop hotel has gained support after the arrest of organizer Paris Thompson, 27, who told Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) to return a Black baby to its mother.

Thompson, a spokesperson for the Village Vanguard who was recently arrested after the adjournment of a City Council meeting and charged with state disorderly conduct, voiced outrage over his arrest and pledged to target Black aldermen for defeat.

His arrest, he said, "was ridiculous." "I was in a cell at 17th and State Street that had human feces on the wall, held there for 12 hours until my attorney, Lawrence Kennon, came and got me out," he told the Chicago Defender.

Claiming his bond went from a $100 I-bond to $750, but the $750 became an I-bond as well, Thompson, who earlier appeared on WVON's Cliff Kelley show, accused the police of allegedly "playing games with my fingerprints."

"There were others in my cell who had done something wrong. They asked for toilet paper and were told to use their hands," he recounted vowing not to let his arrest stop him from opposing Daley.

"I'll continue to speak out, and if it means going to jail, then, I'll go back again if I'm going to stand up for Black children. Before I become a slave, I'll be sleeping in my grave and go home to be free and be with my Lord."

Thompson, who is organizing a protest against Daley's Dr. King Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Friday outside of the Chicago Hilton and Towers Hotel, voiced outrage at Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) for denouncing his plan to protest Daley's breakfast.

He also blasted Rainbow PUSH Coalition Vice President Rev. James Meeks for saying a prayer before a City Council meeting earlier this week where he praised Daley. "That's hypocritical too," Thompson said.

"The nerve of Troutman to condemn me, a Black man for standing and fighting for justice and equality for African Americans in this town. That is what Dr. King stood for.

"This protest is not about Dr. King. It's about Richard Daley who is a contradiction to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. I don't understand where Troutman is coming from. Any time someone is running around our community perpetrating a fraud like Richard Daley has, they need to be called to task for it."

When contacted, Troutman said: "It's not the mayor who's hosting it. It's the whole city and the mayor represents us, and whether Paris likes it or not, the mayor was elected by the majority with an overwhelming vote from the African American community," Troutman said.

"I'm not ashamed of what I said," she said of her praises of Daley. "I stand by what I said. Obviously, he didn't hear what I said. He has a First Amendment right to protest, to say what he wants to say, but I don't think it is the appropriate time to place because of the man we're honoring.

"We fought for that right to honor Dr. King. Honoring Dr. King is a good thing and when the city comes together to have an interfaith breakfast for a person of his caliber, who has done more for the economic growth for African Americans and others, it's time out for this type of behavior."

Asked if he is going to run for alderman, Thompson, who lives in the Third Ward, said "no comment. "Those aldermen who've been in the City Council over the last 10 years have contributed nothing. Many of them have voted with the mayor.

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