We're talking just a few days before the March for Justice and Unity, which will be held in Los Angeles on February 21, 2015. You are one of the organizers of the event. When the idea of this march was born?

The idea of the march first came about shortly after the not guilty verdicts in New York regarding Eric Garner and in Ferguson, MO regarding Michael Brown. Here in Los Angeles we have our own tragic death with the senseless killing of Ezell Ford as well as numerous other senseless crimes. There have been a number of protest and marches lead by others in others communities, but our leaders asked one simple question ”When are we going to stand up and be counted for our own in our own neighborhoods. It has to start with US”.

You will protest against police violence and brutality. This is a problem, which in recent years has been the bane of America. For instance, from April 2009 to June 2010 there were almost 6,000 reports of police misconduct across entire States. How does it look today? What is the rate of abuse of rights by police officers in the Los Angeles these days?

I don’t know the actual numbers, but what I do know is African American Men in particular are more likely to be stopped and abused in our own community than anywhere else. The level of disrespect and the fear that our young people have to live with on a daily basis is at an epidemic level and no one seems to care? At least no one in the police department seems to care.

When I read about this event, I came across information saying that this March will be the place where two generations of leaders will “come together for black lives". It was about you and Rev. Xavier Thompson. He is a good candidate for a leader? Some accuse him of lack of experience.

I think that an accusation like that is disrespectful to Reverend Thompson first and foremost, but it is also disrespectful to all of our young leaders. We live in a time when young people are more empowered than ever. Social media has opened gateways to communication that only a few years ago would have been impossible. I applaud Reverend Thompson and the other young people who are leading this for having the foresight to pull together and all inclusive march. Police brutality is affecting our entire community young and old and we need to all be working together to stand up for justice.

How long do you know each other? Did you work together on similar projects in the past?

I’ve known Reverend Thompson personally for a few years now and we saw each other at various community and political gatherings, but since he became the President of the Baptist Ministers Conference we have worked together a lot more and dealt with a lot more community issues. He is one of the finest leaders in our community and I have the utmost respect for the work he is doing in our community and the leadership that he has shown.

March for Justice and Unity is extremely difficult undertaking and a big responsibility. How do you ensure the safety of the participants of this event?

I think to much emphasis is being placed on security. African Americans are not a bunch of crazed animals running around looking to do harm to our own community or to our own people. Yes we will have security present (our Brothers from the Nation of Islam) but they are just there to assist those who need assistance and to deal with any agitators who might be present. The truth is 99% of all African Americans are God fearing, Hard working, Law abiding citizens who just want the best for there family’s and there community. They don't need some military presence to keep us in line. Everyone understands this is a peaceful demonstration and our peacefulness is also a message to the police that we can do things respectfully and with dignity and in unity when we are treated with dignity and respect.

What about the route of the march? You'll start at Denker and King Boulevard. What's next?

We will gather at Denker and Martin Luther King, right in front of the Southwest Police Headquarters, at 10am. We will march down MLK to Crenshaw Blvd. Turn left onto Crenshaw and then proceed down to Vernon. The march will end at Leimert Park (corner of Crenshaw and Vernon where we will have a rally and layout some of our concerns and demands for a better justice system.

You said that you felt it was time to gather the groups together to make a large impact within the community their own. I wonder how important is this event to you? What does it mean to you personally?

As a father, as a grandfather and as a person who has dedicated his entire life to insuring a better life for our people, this march means everything to me. It is the coming together of our community in a show of force and unity to send a message to city hall, to Sacramento even to Washington D.C. that we are not willing to just sit idylly by and let our children and our community be plagued upon with cruel and inhumane treatment. I would not sit quietly by if it happened to one of my children and I will not sit quietly by if it happening to anyones child.

Among those who will take part in the march are also musicians. Can you tell us who they are?

Yolanda ”Yo Yo” Whitaker has agreed to take the lead on calling out her friends from the entertainment community. I know she has spoken to NAS about the march, I have reached out to Queen Latifah, Cedric the Entertainer, Common, Russell Simmons and other members of our leadership coalition have also reached out to their personal contacts. We need to show that these people are not just entertainers, but they are young people with a consciousness and an awareness of how they can use there platform to bring light and exposure to the inhumane treatment of our young people.

According To Shakespeare God has given us one face, and we make ourself another. How the face of American justice looks like today? I have a feeling that less and less people believe in its power.

Maybe at one point God gave us all one face, but that face has certainly changed and maybe one day we will all have one face but that certainly isnt today. Today, if your face is of a darker complexion and if you dont look like those who are in power you are subject to all kinds of lesser treatment. This march is about justice and unity and police brutality is our main focus, but it is also about the societal ills that plague our community. It is about as African Americans we have a less than equal education system, as African Americans we are subject to less than equal hiring practices, as African Americans we are not given equal opportunities to bid on contracts or purchase goods and services even if they are right here in our own community. All of these discriminatory practices feed into the less than human treatment which is destroying our people and our community.

You are an enterprising man. And you’re not afraid of new challenges. March for Justice and Unity is one of the most important in your life so far?

Everyday that I wake up I try and find a way to push the envelope for more for my family, our community and our people. I have dedicated my life to challenging the standard thinking of those in power and pushed for a better quality of life for all. That is how I have been able to bring shopping centers to Compton when they had non, good and services to South Los Angeles and Nortwest Pasadena when others said it wouldnt work. It is how I have been to bring over 1 million people out to enjoy Taste of Soul over the past 10 years when other said it could not be done. I have an unwaivering faith in our community and our people and that faith fuels me each and everyday of my life.

What will be its biggest success? The awakening of human consciousness, changes in the law or perhaps a sense of unity in a world in which the concept of community goes slowly into oblivion? What do you think about that?

I think our greates accomplishment in coming together for this march will be the clear and undeniable show of strength that we will make saying to everyone that WE collectively will not sit by and continue to allow this to happen. When we unite on MLK and March to Leimert Park we will send a clear message that we can also show up to Police Commission hearings downtown, we will show up at the ballot boxes and at the polls to rally against those who do not stand up for us, we will call for boycotts for company’s and individuals who dishonor and disregard our community. This show of force and unity will send a clear message that we must be dealt with and cannot be disregarded.

What can we wish you before February 21st? Is there anything that you'd wish yourself the most?

I ask that you pray for us to have the largest turnout in the history of Los Angeles, that when the leadership of this community, young and old, Christian, Muslim, Atheist or Agnostic, Kappa, Omega, Delta, Alpha or non fraternal are called into action we all show up. Because there is one common thread. We are Black, We Are Proud, We Care and We Will Not Be Dismissed or accept less than humane treatment by anyone.

Thank you for your time. Take care.

Journalist: Kamil Mrozinski