The Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO) is a political and social justice coalition working in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The organization was founded in 2003 by Reverend Edward Pinkney, a Baptist minister, to protest the death of Terrance Shurn, an African American man killed during a pursuit by the Benton Harbor Police.

Since its inception, the organization has protested against perceived wrongdoings by police in the area, and against developments they believe displace the city's African American community.

History and activities

Inception

BANCO was founded by Reverend Edward Pinkney, a Baptist minister, to protest the June 16, 2003 death of a 28-year-old African American, Terrance Shurn, while being pursued by Benton Harbor police. The police denied that they had rammed Shurn's motorcycle, with a police chief stating that "the police car never got within 2 to 3 blocks of the motorcycle that caused the incident". It had called for local and state authorities, as well as major regional businesses such as Whirlpool, to invest more into Black-owned businesses.

BANCO has protested against The Golf Club at Harbor Shores, a golf course built as part of the development which has hosted PGA events. The construction of the course involved taking a portion of land from the Jean Klock Park, a public park in the area. In 2012, BANCO participated in a protest against a Senior PGA Championship event held at The Golf Club at Harbor Shores.

Stance on financial emergency laws

BANCO has opposed Public Act 4 of 2011, an amendment to Michigan's Financial Emergency laws which enabled the state government to place financially stressed municipalities under the jurisdiction of an emergency managers. The measure was successfully overturned by voters in a 2012 referendum. The state government subsequently passed an amended version, Public Act 436 of 2012, which was not subject to a referendum.

Benton Harbor was first placed under an emergency manager in 2010, which BANCO has criticized as a dictatorship. BANCO has criticized Benton Harbor's emergency management, saying it has stripped city officials of their power, cut city spending, and given away public land for private development. and the results showed Yarborough was ousted by a margin of 54 votes. 10 of the 12 jurors found Pinkney guilty on three of the five charges, and were evenly split 6 to 6 on two of the charges. Pinkney appealed to the trial court for a new trial, claiming he was denied his constitutional rights to a public trial and to an impartial jury, he was never arraigned on the information, and because the information failed to specify which absent voter ballots he possessed. Pinkney was sentenced to three to ten years in jail. In December 2014, Edward Pinkney was sentenced to 2½ to 10 years in prison. Pinkney maintained his innocence. In May 2018, Michigan Supreme Court overturned the convictions, stating that felony forgery is intended to be a penalty rather than a chargeable offense.

References

Further reading

  • Pinkney, Edward. Whirlpool has sucked the life out of Benton Harbor. Retrieved August 12, 2005.
  • BANCO The Black Autonomy Network Community Organization