March For Respect For Z’Kye To Be Held In Bridgewater Saturday

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A group of Bridgewater-based African American organizations will be marching together on Saturday, March 19 in what they are calling a "March for Respect: Respect For Z’Kye and Respect for The Community" in reference to the February Bridgewater Police's handling of a teen mall fight.

The march will assemble at 519 Mercer St. in Bridgewater at the Macedonia Baptist Church at 1 p.m. and march from the nearby David and Phillip Hobbs Park in Bridgewater.

"Participants will rally at the Bridgewater Mall on the course of their march to condemn the behavior of the police officers involved, the lack of transparency shown to the community since the incident, and Mall management banning Z’Kye for three years," according to a news release.

Organizers say they are marching because of the incident, how it has been handled, and how it has been insulting to the entire Bridgewater Black community.

The march is sponsored locally by the Hobbs Family Union, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and honoring Bridgewater’s historic African-American community originally known Hobbs Town.

In addition to the Hobbs Family Union, the action is being endorsed by the New Brunswick NAACP, which covers the greater Middlesex and southern Somerset County, by the People’s Organization for Progress, who has led several actions in Bridgewater already, and by Newark Communities for Accountable Policing, who has been pushing for meaningful police reform legislation over the past several years.

A video began circulating on Sunday showing the fight between a white teen and a Black teen at the Bridgewater Commons mall. The video also shows township police officers kneeling on and handcuffing the Black teen while the white-skinned teen is left sitting on a couch. Read More: Cops Criticized After Stopping Teen Fight At Bridgewater Mall

Since that time the teen Z'Kye Husain has been working with Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Husain's family.

A press conference by Crump and Husain's family was halted by local Black activists who took center stage before the rally began and started accusing Sharpton and Crump of being opportunists. Read More: Black Activists Halt Rally For Teen Cuffed At Bridgewater Mall

Bridgewater Township, Somerset County and community leaders also recently held an open conversation with locals to discuss the incident. Read More: Bridgewater To Turn Viral Mall Video Into Racial Justice Lesson

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office is helping Bridgewater with the investigation as they strictly adhere to the New Jersey Attorney General's Internal Affairs Directive. The SCPO has 45 days to complete the investigation. Read More: Murphy 'Disturbed' By Bridgewater Cops' Handling Of Mall Fight

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