Sad News: Michael Sandy has died, rally at NY City Hall on Monday

Michael Sandy, a gay black man who was hit by a car in Brooklyn on Sunday night as he sought to escape an ambush by young men who had lured him to a deserted parking lot by promising sex through a gay chat room, has died after bspending a week in a coma according to ABC news (via Keith Boykin).

Three suspects, who range in age from 16 to 20 have been arraigned on hate crime charges and it's expected that police will "upgrade" the charges now that Mr. Sandy has died (a fourth man is still under investigation). All suspects are white and it has been reported that they had previously used gay chat rooms to lure potential robbery victims in the past.

Boykin's site reports that a rally sponsored by People of Color in Crisis, the New York State Black Gay Network, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and the National Black Justice Coalition will be held on the steps of the New York City Council on Monday at 5pm to demand an end to hate crimes in the city and to hold city leaders accountable.

Please join us.