*Spike Lee called out Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the premiere of his new film “Chi-Raq” in New York Tuesday night. Emanuel fired the city’s police superintendent Tuesday after a graphic video that showed black teenager Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by a white police officer was released, creating tension and peaceful protects around the city.
The police superintendent “is not going to be the only one,” Lee said on the orange carpet before he and some cast members were joined by Al Sharpton and about 150 people in an anti-gun violence march. Actor John Turturro, who isn’t in the movie, marched with them from a midtown theater to Times Square.
Page Six notes that activists wore orange beanies with pompom tops. The color was chosen from the vests hunters wear as a “don’t shoot me sign,” said Cleo Pendleton, whose 15-year-old daughter, Hadiya Pendleton, was killed in Chicago in 2013.
Lee’s “Chi-Raq” satire is based on the ancient Greek play “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. Al Sharpton said the power of the satire can send a message to young people about gun violence.
Emanuel named Chief of Detectives John Escalante as the interim police chief until a permanent replacement is found. He also reiterated that he’s just as responsible for the way the McDonald case has played out.
“I take responsibility and none of us are above it,” Emanuel said Tuesday. A day later, he faced new questions and criticism over his administration’s delay of several months in releasing the video of Laquan’s murder.
“We have a process; it’s called the election,” he said during a interview with reporters from Politico. “The voters spoke. I’ll be held accountable and responsible for my actions and decisions I make, and that’s how I approach it.”
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