On trial after his disorderly conduct arrest at a Harlem “Stop and Frisk” protest, professor and activist Cornel West used the witness stand as a grand stand today, colorfully criticizing the NYPD for the controversial policy.
“I hate terrorized, dramatized, stigmatized young sisters and brothers of this city, mostly black and brown,” the Princeton prof said of his activism before a Manhattan Criminal Court audience packed with supporters.
“Morality is deeper than skin pigmentation — it’s a matter of right and wrong,” he said, adding that if it were the judge and prosecutor who were being treated unjustly, he’d protest that as well.
West and 19 others are on trial before Judge Robert Mandelbaum for their arrests at the October protest at the 28th Pct.
Prosecutors say the protesters blocked a sidewalk and barred entry into the station house. The protesters say they weren’t blocking pedestrians; some have additionally testified that they couldn’t hear the cops’ directives to move.
“I’m a follower of that radical love of that first century Palestinian Jew named Jesus of Nazareth,” West testified, by way of introduction.
He described driving to the rally “In my 25-year-old black Cadillac with burgundy seats, listening to Luther Van Dross.”
He also said that when the demonstration marched past the Apollo theater on the way to the precinct, he could feel the energy from the storied venue’s great performers, including Smoky Robinson, James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald.
Closing statements are slated for tomorrow morning. Mandelbaum, who is presiding over the non-jury trial, has not said when he will render a verdict. The defendants face anywhere from zero to 15 days jail if convicted.