A newly formed group called ForFortyTwo will have a Defund Kent Police Department Rally from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, outside the Kent Police Department, 232 Fourth Ave. S.

The group’s motto is changing the world by combating systemic racism starting in Kent, through equity and education, for the 42 schools in Kent.

Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) youth will rally in front of the Kent Police Department demanding the city of Kent and Kent School District address systemic racism, according to a news release emailed on Aug. 17.

“We are mobilizing young people for a rally to defund KPD and support other demands through speakers from the community, an open mic for young people to tell their own stories, and tables that invite attendees to imagine community and school programs that uplift BIPOC folks rather than funnel them into systems of punishment,” according to a statement in the release.

The demands by ForFortyTwo include:

• For the city of Kent to drop the lawsuit against the King County inquest process. This process allows for families to gather information after their loved ones are killed by the police, and the lawsuit has brought this process to halt.

• For the city of Kent and the Kent School District defund the Kent Police Department by at least 50%. The police do not protect BIPOC youth and our communities, and in reality, actively harm our communities. Our elected officials should not use our tax dollars to perpetuate oppression. Specifically, we are demanding no new officers be hired, that the budget no longer include the purchase of military grade weapons or military-based training, and that the Kent School District ends its Security Resource Officer program with the Kent Police Department.

• For the city of Kent to invest in BIPOC communities. Our communities have actively found ways to protect and care for one another for years. Our tax dollars should come back to directly support us, through changes such as creating a participatory budget process and supporting alternatives to community safety that do not involve police.

• For the City of Kent and the Kent School District to invest in students and youth. It is imperative that we are setting up our young people for success. To do that, we must divest from systems that hinder growth, and invest into systems that cultivate growth instead.

Administrators and moderators for theForFortyTwo Facebook page include Kent residents Keliesha Lovelace, Kendrick Glover, Nica Sy and Daniel Marin.

Lovelace and Kendrick Glover helped organize the June 11 peaceful protest march through downtown Kent that drew an estimated 2,000 people following the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police officer. Glover is co-founder of GEM (Glover Empower Mentoring) – a community based organization that supports youth and young adults in the area. Lovelace attended Kent-Meridian High School when Glover worked there as a counselor from 2012 to 2014. Sy is an University of Washington student and graduate of Kent-Meridian. Marin went to Kentridge High School, according to Facebook pages.

The group lists 225 members so far, including state Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent; Sonia Joseph, mother of Giovan Joseph-McDade, who was fatally shot by a Kent Police officer at the age of 20 in June 2017 after a short vehicle pursuit; Gwen Allen-Carston, executive director of the Kent Black Action Commission; Denise Daniels, Kent School Board vice president; and Elizabeth Watson, a former Kent City Council member.

Daniels, after reading the current plans of the group, emailed the following comment Monday afternoon to the Kent Reporter.

“I joined this group with the understanding that it was to fight against systemic racism in Washington and support our students,” Daniels said. “It was brought to my attention that my name was mentioned as a member in an article about a rally to defund the police. I do not and never have supported that cause, and have since removed myself from the group and sent a message of explanation.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a quote from Denise Daniels about withdrawing herself from the group.