The Black Autonomy Network Community Organization records (1 linear feet, 1 oversize box and 3.41 GB) contains correspondence, news articles, court documents, protest fliers, religious writings, and photographs. The collection also includes a box of protest signs supporting Reverend Pinkney and digital files containing email correspondence, website pages and a copy of the 2006 documentary, "What's Going On in Benton Harbor: The Reverend Pinkney Story." The materials focus on the voter fraud charges against Reverend Edward Pinkey and the protests in response to his conviction.
The Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO) formed in 2003 to protest the death of Terrence Shum, an African American man killed during a chase with the Benton Harbor police. The founder of BANCO was Reverend Edward Pinkney, a Baptist minister who strove to continue the work of the American civil rights movement in the Benton Harbor area.
In 2004, BANCO led a campaign against a proposed development by the Whirlpool Corporation, believing the development would increase economic inequality for African Americans in Benton Harbor. In 2005, Reverend Pinkney organized a recall election against Benton Harbor city commissioner Glenn Yarborough because he supported the Whirlpool project. Although Pinkney won the initial recall by 54 votes, the results were deemed invalid after he was accused of voter fraud. Yarborough won a second recall election later that year while Pinkney was found guilty and sentenced to probation. Pinkney was convicted of violating his probation after he cursed the judge with a biblical quote in a local newspaper article and was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in jail. Pinkney's supporters contended the charges were politically motivated and protested the ruling with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
After nearly a year in prison, the Michigan Court of Appeals overturned Pinkney's conviction. After his release, Pinkney returned to his advocacy work with BANCO. He continued to protest the Whirlpool Corporation, the appointment of an Emergency Financial Manager in Benton Harbor in 2010, and corruption in local government. In 2014 an all-white jury convicted Pinkney of altering a voter petition in a recall election against Benton Harbor mayor James Hightower. He was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. The ACLU protested Pinkney's conviction as retaliatory and racially motivated.
After serving a minimum two and a half year prison sentence, Pinkney was released in June 2017. In May 2018, the Supreme Court of Michigan overturned his conviction. Since his release, Pinkney and BANCO have continued to fight for economic and social justice and to expose corruption in Benton Harbor and across the state of Michigan.
