Mississauga rapper Darren John, aka Avalanche the Architect, has been stopped by police more than 200 times; he’s fought back from the start
Photo by Joel Wittnebel
“There’s no way to explain it to people. If I heard it I’d probably be skeptical myself,” he says. “I’d probably be able to tell some Black guys, because there’s a lot of Black guys who are in the court system who understand it. But to tell somebody who’s never had any experience with the police… who doesn’t get harassed by police like young Black males do, they’re going to say ‘that doesn’t make sense to me’.”
Darren John says he’s been harassed by the police and stopped hundreds of times while going about his daily life. Dozens of charges against him have either been dropped or he’s beaten them in court. Sometimes judges have displayed overt discrimination toward him.
His story, an extreme example of the treatment many people face at the hands of police just for being Black, highlights systemic issues within the criminal justice system that might finally be overcome by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Published in The Pointer Mississauga on June 28, 2020
