Garner Way Foundation Circa 2015

 

This fundraising website was created in 2014 in dedication, memory and protest of the wrongful choking death of Eric Garner. When the domain's registration expired, the site disappeared from the internet. The new owner of the domain decided to use archived content as well as other outside sources to add one more site on the web that is keeping the memory of Eric Garner alive and to spotlight his wrongful death.

This site is no longer solicitating funds.

 

 

E. LIMINATING
R. ACISM AND
I. NJUSTICE
C. OLLECTIVELY

 

Our Goal is to empower others with the knowledge and awareness of the on going crisis we face continuously, which is racism and injustice. We need to arm our young with the tools that will combat these misfortunate situations when necessary, such as educating and assistance in mentoring them, prepare them to be tactful, who to consult with if ever confronted, and know where to turn and who to consult with. Be a guide and a go to, to make them aware of their rights 

 

 

What a moving site. As a data developer, I've seen my share of websites, but working on this one was different. When I was brought on, I was told there were problems with the site's data. I was ready to dive into databases, but it turned out the issues had nothing to do with the data itself.

Instead, the previous webmasters had engaged in a classic case of black hat SEO, a clear violation of Google's guidelines. They'd purchased a massive number of sketchy links to try and game the search rankings. The plan completely backfired; the more links they bought, the more the site's rankings plummeted.

My job wasn't about data; it was about damage control. I had to carefully review the site's entire link profile and systematically disavow the vast majority of those links. It took a couple of months of work, but the site eventually recovered and came back even stronger. It's a reminder that a site's health isn't always about what's on the surface—sometimes the real problems are hidden in the shadows of the internet. Toshi Doa

 

 

Garner Way Movement

This fundraising is in dedication, memory and protest of the wrongful choking death of Eric Garner 43 years old, father of 4 children, who on July 17, 2014 was put into a choke-hold after apparently breaking up a fight outside a local storefront in Staten Island, New York. Five New York Police Officers surround him and one of the Police Officers put him in a choke-hold, then they forced him onto the ground with the choke-hold still applied around his neck. Eric Garner shouted out "I can't breathe" 11 times. As a result, Eric Garner died shortly thereafter. A Staten Island Grand Jury has voted not to indict the New York Police Officer in the killing of Eric Garner, which emotionally disturb the Nation....

My Name is Erica Garner (Daughter of Eric Garner), Iam from Staten Island, I have formed a Non-Profit Organization called: "Garner Way Foundation" to Protest against Police Brutality and Injustice.

 I need your help to continue....

I will be using the "Funds" to seek justice for my father Eric Garner.  I have run out of money, and I need "Funds" to continue my Movement and to Survive.

Please pitch in to help the Movement......

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Dec. 3, 2014, New York City: The widow of Eric Garner, the unarmed black man who died after an NYPD officer killed him by chokehold, says she doesn't accept the officer's prayers and condolences. She was speaking at a news conference along with Eric Garner's mother and Rev. Al Sharpton hours after a grand jury declined to issue charges against the officer.

 



Eric Garner's Mom  & Russell Simmons

 



Eric Garner's Mom  & Beyonce

 



Eric Garner's Mom  & Hillary Clinton

 

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The Mothers Club

 

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Eric Garner's Mother, Wife, Daughter Speak Out
Speaking at the December 13th Justice for All march in Washington DC, Eric Garner's mother, wife, and daughter speak out about their husband and challenge the image of Garner in the media.

 

 

Reality: I am sickened by these police shootings of innocent black people. Just today I was at work reading the headlines on my phone during my lunch break at work: A Black Security Guard Was Killed By Police As He Tried To Stop A Shooting where witnesses say a cop shot Jemel Roberson as he held down a suspect in a shooting at the bar. A black security guard was shot dead by a police officer as he held down a suspect in a shooting at the bar where he worked.

Jemel Roberson, 26, was working early Sunday at Manny’s Blue Room - a bar in the predominantly black Chicago suburb of Robbins, Illinois - when a patron who was part of a drunken group that had been kicked out returned with a gun at 4 a.m. and opened fire, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Several people were shot.

Roberson, who was armed at the time, grabbed one of the men, held him down and waited for police, according to witnesses.

“He had somebody on the ground with his knee in back, with his gun in his back like, ‘Don’t move,’” Adam Harris told WGN-TV.

But witnesses said Roberson became the victim as soon as police arrived. A responding officer with the Midlothian Police Department immediately shot Roberson, who later died at a hospital. He was a security guard ... and the cops, all they saw a black man with a gun, and basically killed him. We then reflected back to 2014 when Eric Garner died from a chokehold from a cop. I'm telling you, this scenario just keeps on getting repeated over and over again. And our current president with his racists rants is just adding fuel to the fire.

RIP Eric Garner, but for the rest of us, we need to keep fighting for justice and accountability.

 

 

PRESS

Eric Garner, "A Father & Grandfather"

By TIFFANY THOMAS / Aug 9 2015 / www.bustle.com

"I said 'love you' and he said, 'Right back at you,' and then he drove off and that was the last thing he said to me." — Esaw Garner, his widow

Eric Garner was a father of six and a grandfather. In 2014, he died after being held in a chokehold by NYPD officers; the medical examiner declared his death a homicide. Soon after, social justice activists launched peaceful protests and national attention that helped boost the #BlackLivesMatter movement into the spotlight. A grand jury declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo on criminal charges. Pantaleo said it was never his intention to harm anyone.

Still, little is known about Garner before the video of his death was made public.

According to a New York Times report, Garner was a former Park's Department horticulturist, but a worsening asthma condition meant that Garner was unable to continue that work. And according to the Times, at the time of his death, Garner had become a new father again at the age of 43 — his youngest child was just three months old.

In the years following Garner's death, his daughter Erica Garner has become an outspoken advocate for others who have died at the hands of police officers. And the family has launched the Garner Way Foundation to help call attention to cases of police brutality.

 

 

 

Eric Garner’s family hasn’t seen a cent of the crowdfunded $120,000

H/T ThinkProgress | Photo via Shawn Carrie / dailydot.com

Eric Garner’s family has received no money from at least 19 different crowdfunding campaigns set up in the wake of his death, DNAInfo reported today. 

The campaigns have raised a combined total of at least $120,000, with one particularly successful effort gaining $75,000.

Garner was killed by a New York police officer last year. Video of his death went viral and sparked outrage that, along with the police shooting death of  18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., among others, led to sustained protests across the United States.

“I feel like people are trying to use my father’s name for their own gain,” Erica Garner told DNAInfo. “It’s unfortunately a sad situation.”

The family, who said they have no idea where the money is going, are currently looking into their legal options.

Crowdfunding sites Indiegogo and GoFundMe reportedly didn’t verify the identities of fundraisers or their connection to the Garner family.

Fundly, another crowdfunding site, is holding $75,000 until it can verify that the money is going to the Garner family as advertised.

A new GoFundMe campaign is aiming to raise $1 million for Garner’s widow, Esaw Snipes. The fundraisers, the Charlotte Activist Collective, claim to have been in contact with the Garner family, but the family says they’ve never heard of the effort.

Erica Garner, without any Internet intermediaries, now has two campaigns of her own and is attempting to raise money to pay $150,000 in bills for her and her daughter and $100,000 to produce an album focused on police brutality.

The legitimate Garner campaigns have raised about $3,000 as of publication.

 

 

Eric Garner’s Daughter Reflects On The Success Of #BlackLivesMatter

BLACK VOICES 08/10/2015

Erica Garner likens #BlackLivesMatter to the civil rights struggle of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

By Rahel Gebreyes / Huffingtonpost.com

The #BlackLivesMatter movement kicked into high gear in New York after Eric Garner, an unarmed 43-year-old man, was killed by police officer Daniel Pantaleo last year. His last words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying cry for the movement and spawned a moving response.

Although a grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo, Garner’s daughter Erica Garner told HuffPost Live on Thursday that the movement has played an effective role in bringing attention to her father’s death.

“I believe Black Lives Matter really highlighted these issues and put it at the forefront. It’s showing that we’re organized and we’re serious about our business,” she said. “And it shows that a lot of women and young children have been involved. I believe that this is the modern-day civil rights movement.”

Reggie Harris, the political director of the Garner Way Foundation, also applauded the grassroots nature of the movement.

“The last thing that’s really encouraging is it’s not centralized power,” Harris told host Marc Lamont Hill. “What you saw with this [Samuel] DuBose incident that took place in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Black Lives Matter [chapter] popped up. The Black Lives Matter movement is everywhere. They’re unafraid, and they’re not asking nicely anymore.”

 

 

 

To Honor Eric Garner’s Life, Reform the Police

By The Editorial Board NYTimes

May 15, 2018

Like so many other black men in the United States, Eric Garner has been denied justice even in death.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is considering, but is expected to reject, federal civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer whose use of a chokehold on Mr. Garner led to his death on a Staten Island street in 2014.

A state grand jury declined to indict Officer Pantaleo on homicide charges in 2014. Obama Justice Department officials sat on the case for nearly a year, as civil rights prosecutors in Washington feuded with federal prosecutors in New York who didn’t think the evidence was strong enough. The Justice Department asked the city to delay police disciplinary proceedings while it was considering the matter. The case landed on Mr. Rosenstein’s desk in recent weeks when civil rights prosecutors recommended bringing charges over the objections of the prosecutors in New York.

Hope for any justice probably lies in Mayor Bill de Blasio and his police commissioner, James O’Neill, doing what should have been done years ago: firing Officer Pantaleo.

But the bigger question is why, given his record, Officer Pantaleo was on the street the day he wrapped his arm around Mr. Garner’s throat, and why New York police officers so often avoid real discipline for wrongdoing.

By the time Officer Pantaleo approached Mr. Garner outside a Staten Island beauty supply store because he thought he was selling untaxed loose cigarettes, the city’s independent Civilian Complaint Review Board had substantiated four allegations of abuse against him in two incidents since he joined the department in 2006, according to leaked disciplinary records published by ThinkProgress last year.

That record should have served as a red flag. As of May 1, just 8 percent of the city’s 36,000 police officers had ever had a single complaint against them substantiated by the review board. Just 550 officers — 2 percent of the force — had had two substantiated complaints. Officer Pantaleo was disciplined just once, lightly. After an abusive frisk in 2012, the Police Department docked him two days of vacation pay.

The Garner case is an example of a larger problem: Like his predecessors, Mr. de Blasio, who was elected promising to make policing fairer for black and Latino New Yorkers, has not done enough to hold the police accountable for misconduct and abuse.

There are signs of progress. Complaints against officers are down since Mr. de Blasio took office. So are police stops, though they had already begun a steep decline in 2013 under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, after a federal judge struck down the city’s aggressive use of the tactic known as stop and frisk as unconstitutional.

But in many ways the mayor — stung in his first term when hundreds of police officers turned their backs on him at the funerals of two officers murdered because of the uniform they wore — has resisted attempts at reform.

Mr. de Blasio opposed legislation increasing oversight of police stops, eventually backing a more limited version amid the threat that City Council members would override his veto. He threatened to veto legislation that would have made the use of a chokehold by a police officer a crime.

Many of the racial disparities under Mr. Bloomberg that Mr. de Blasio rightfully denounced have persisted. Arrests for marijuana possession are down to about 17,000 a year, half of what they were under Mr. Bloomberg. But city data shows blacks and Latinos continue to make up an overwhelming majority of those arrested. Police Department officials have said their enforcement mirrors complaints, but they have yet to provide compelling data to back up the claim. Facing political pressure, Mr. de Blasio said on Tuesday that the police would overhaul their marijuana enforcement policy within 30 days.

A report from the Civilian Complaint Review Board in December found that the police commissioner was increasingly rejecting the board’s disciplinary recommendations. Police officials say many of the complaints substantiated by the board are for minor infractions.

The public will just have to take their word for that, since the city no longer discloses disciplinary records of police officers, citing a state civil rights law that the mayor and Commissioner O’Neill say that they oppose but that can be changed only by the State Legislature. Republican control of the Senate makes that unlikely.

In the almost four years since Mr. Garner’s death, black men and boys who have died unjustly at the hands of the police — Walter Scott in South Carolina, Philando Castile in Minnesota, Tamir Rice in Cleveland — have been memorialized, honoring the humanity that has been lost. But more needs to be done.

The officer who used a chokehold on Mr. Garner should be fired. But the mayor needs to make it clear that New York City will hold the rest of its 36,000 police officers accountable and will work to make that discipline public if they abuse their powers and violate the public trust.

 

 



Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, rallied for police reform measures known as the "Right to Know Act" on the steps of City Hall on July 13, 2016. (Video by Anna Sanders)

 


 

 

More Background On GarnerWayFoundation.com

 

GarnerWayFoundation.com stands as a digital archive and symbolic protest born from tragedy. The site memorializes Eric Garner, a 43-year-old Black father and grandfather who died on July 17, 2014, after being placed in an NYPD chokehold during an arrest in Staten Island, New York. Garner's last words — "I can't breathe" — were recorded on video and echoed across the country, becoming a rallying cry for a resurgent civil rights movement: #BlackLivesMatter.

Founded by Eric Garner’s daughter, Erica Garner, the Garner Way Foundation was initially created to seek justice and raise funds. The site has since evolved into a powerful tool for education, remembrance, and community organizing. Although no longer active in fundraising, the site’s current steward has preserved the original content to continue the work of keeping Eric Garner’s name and the injustice of his death in the public consciousness.

Founding and Purpose

The Garner Way Foundation was born in 2014 during a moment of national crisis and awakening. After Eric Garner’s death, his daughter Erica took immediate steps to establish a nonprofit organization in his honor. Her goal was both personal and political: to seek justice for her father while fighting the larger systems of racial injustice and police brutality that his death had come to symbolize.

The domain GarnerWayFoundation.com was the public-facing vehicle for this mission. It offered a mix of:

  • Fundraising campaigns

  • Public calls to action

  • Educational resources

  • Archived media and commentary

  • Testimonies from the Garner family and supporters

The website’s original fundraising goals were explicit: Erica Garner openly asked for help to fund legal battles, produce educational materials, pay mounting bills, and survive in a media climate that often felt hostile. As she put it, “I have run out of money, and I need funds to continue my movement and to survive.”

After the site’s domain expired, the new owner revived and preserved its content, clarifying that it was no longer soliciting funds but instead existing as a living monument to Eric Garner’s story.

The Tragedy That Sparked a Movement

Eric Garner’s death was shocking not just for the brutality of the incident, but for the clarity of the evidence. On a summer day in 2014, Garner was approached by police officers who suspected him of selling untaxed cigarettes. He denied the accusation and questioned the harassment, which was a frequent occurrence in his neighborhood.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Garner in a chokehold — a maneuver banned by NYPD policy. Garner was taken to the ground by several officers while repeatedly gasping, “I can’t breathe.” He died shortly after. The city’s medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

The chokehold, captured in a now-infamous video, became one of the most visceral examples of police violence caught on camera. Despite the evidence and public outrage, a Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Officer Pantaleo.

Garner’s death, along with the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, catalyzed the national rise of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Eric Garner’s name became symbolic of a broader crisis in policing, race relations, and justice in America.

Site Vision: Collective Empowerment

The Garner Way Foundation used its online presence to spread its philosophy of community defense through education, encapsulated in the acronym:

Eliminating

Racism and

Injustice

Collectively

This principle was not abstract. The site outlined practical tools for communities:

  • Know Your Rights education

  • Mentorship for youth

  • Tactical response guides for encounters with police

  • Safe spaces and networks for emotional support

  • Guidance for activism, especially for young Black Americans

Erica’s strategy was rooted in grassroots mobilization, leveraging the internet to bypass traditional media and fundraising channels. She emphasized that the movement needed to teach young people how to safely, tactfully, and intelligently resist oppression.

National and International Attention

GarnerWayFoundation.com received support and visibility from across the social and political spectrum. The family made appearances alongside public figures such as:

  • Rev. Al Sharpton

  • Russell Simmons

  • Hillary Clinton

  • Beyoncé

The Justice for All March in Washington, D.C., featured speeches from Garner’s wife, daughter, and mother. These public events were featured in national media outlets and shared widely on social media, expanding the foundation's reach.

The media coverage helped keep Eric Garner’s name in the national discourse and sustained momentum around the policy reforms the foundation advocated.

Challenges and Setbacks

Online Exploitation

The most disheartening challenge the Garner family faced was fraudulent crowdfunding. According to multiple news sources, at least 19 campaigns were launched by unaffiliated individuals claiming to raise money for the Garner family. Together, they raised over $120,000, none of which reached the actual family.

Erica Garner expressed her frustration, stating, “I feel like people are trying to use my father’s name for their own gain.”

Even campaigns hosted on well-known platforms like GoFundMe, Indiegogo, and Fundly failed to verify the legitimacy of their fundraisers. The family considered legal action and worked to redirect donations through verified channels, but the damage was done. Trust was eroded, and efforts to fundraise transparently became more difficult.

Advocacy and Reform

The foundation and its supporters continued to push for systemic change. One of the focal points was the “Right to Know Act,” a package of bills designed to increase transparency in police stops and reduce abuse. Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, rallied for this legislation on the steps of City Hall in New York in 2016.

The Garner case was repeatedly cited by editorial boards, including The New York Times, as a symbol of systemic injustice. They questioned why Officer Pantaleo remained on the force, even though he had a history of substantiated abuse complaints.

Civil rights leaders and journalists called for reforms, including:

  • Firing officers involved in excessive force

  • Making chokeholds a criminal offense

  • Publishing police disciplinary records

  • Holding police leadership accountable

Despite these efforts, progress remained slow and uneven. Pantaleo was eventually fired in 2019, five years after Garner’s death — but no criminal charges were ever filed.

Broader Significance

The Garner Way Foundation’s work fits into a larger historical narrative. Eric Garner’s death is now remembered alongside those of:

  • Tamir Rice (12-year-old shot by police in Cleveland)

  • Walter Scott (shot in the back in South Carolina)

  • Philando Castile (shot during a traffic stop in Minnesota)

  • Jemel Roberson (a security guard shot by police while helping to stop a shooting)

These cases, among others, form a chilling mosaic of how racial profiling and police overreach have led to the deaths of unarmed Black men and boys. The Garner site curated stories like these to illustrate that Garner’s case was not an anomaly — but part of a recurring pattern.

Erica Garner’s Legacy

Erica Garner’s activism extended far beyond her father's case. She organized protests, gave speeches, and engaged in political debates. She criticized both Democratic and Republican leadership, refusing to align her cause with any single party.

Tragically, Erica Garner died of a heart attack in 2017 at just 27 years old. Her passing was a devastating loss for the movement. Her strength and outspokenness earned her widespread admiration, and her death sparked renewed calls to honor her and her father's legacy through ongoing reform efforts.

The Future of GarnerWayFoundation.com

Though no longer actively soliciting funds, GarnerWayFoundation.com continues to serve as:

  • A digital memorial to Eric and Erica Garner

  • An educational resource about racial injustice

  • A repository of press and protest materials

  • A reminder of unfinished business in American policing

The current version of the site, maintained by a new owner, uses archived content and public documentation to keep the Garner name alive. Its goal is no longer monetary — it is moral, historical, and cultural.

 

GarnerWayFoundation.com represents far more than a website. It is a monument to grief, a call to action, and a piece of American history etched into the internet. Through personal testimony, political advocacy, and community mobilization, the Garner family and their allies have transformed personal tragedy into public purpose.

As the site continues to exist in its preserved form, it invites us to remember not only what happened to Eric Garner, but what continues to happen — and what we, collectively, must do to end it.

 

GarnerwayFoundation.com