On September 20th, Mychal Bell--the first of the Jena 6 to be convicted--is scheduled for sentencing. If the District Attorney has his way, Mychal will face 22 years in prison. It's a horrifying moment for Mychal, his parents, and the rest of the Jena 6 families. It's also a perfect time for those who can to come to Jena, in person, and stand with them.
Bus from Charlotte, NC, click here.
Background: Last fall, when two Black high school students sat under the "white" tree on their campus, white students responded by hanging nooses from the tree. When Black students protested the light punishment for the students who hung the nooses, District Attorney Reed Walters came to the school and told the students he could "take [their] lives away with a stroke of [his] pen."
Racial tension continued to mount in Jena, and the District Attorney did nothing in response to several egregious cases of violence and threats against black students. But when a white student--who had been a vocal supporter of the students who hung the nooses--taunted a black student, allegedly called several black students "nigger", and was beaten up by black students, six black students were charged with second-degree attempted murder. Last month, the first young man to be tried, Mychal Bell, was convicted. Later this month, he will be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison for a school fight.
The Call to Action:
On September 20th, Mychal Bell--the first of the Jena 6 to be convicted--is scheduled for sentencing. If the District Attorney has his way, Mychal will face 22 years in prison. It's a horrifying moment for Mychal, his parents, and the rest of the Jena 6 families. It's also a perfect time for those who can to come to Jena, in person, and stand with them. We know it's a serious time and financial commitment, but we wanted to give you the opportunity to join the hundreds of people who have already emailed us to say that they will come. If you can join us, please click on the link below to RSVP:
http://colorofchange.org/jena/rsvp.html
Our presence in Jena--in large numbers--will help focus media attention on the situation in Jena, escalate pressure on Louisiana public officials, and most importantly, show the families of the Jena 6, especially Mychal Bell and his parents, that we will stand with them in the face of this injustice.
On July 31st, with only a few days to prepare, 300 people from across the country rallied at the Jena Courthouse. We delivered a petition signed by 43,000 ColorOfChange.org members to the District Attorney demanding that he drop the charges against the Jena 6. It was a powerful day that made it clear that the Jena 6 and their families won't have to fight on their own. Since then, more than 100,000 people have taken action and contacted the Governor, media attention to the case has grown, and we have an even bigger opportunity to make a profound impact.
As we plan for this event, we want to get a sense of how many people can commit to coming to Jena. Below are some details about getting there, so you can figure out if you'll be able to join us.
Details
If you're flying to Louisiana, the closest airports to Jena are Alexandria (45 minute drive) and Monroe (1.5 hour drive). You can also fly to Lafayette (2.25 hour drive), Shreveport (2.75 hour drive), Baton Rouge (3 hour drive), New Orleans (4.25 hour drive), or Houston (about a 5 hour drive). The closest hotels are in Pineville and Alexandria. As they fill up, we'd recommend staying at hotels near the airports above.
If travelling from out of town, you'll want to get to Louisiana the night before, as things will start early in the morning, probably by 8am or 9am. Organizers will meet you when you arrive at a central location in Jena and get you situated for the day. We will be providing maps, organizers' cell phone numbers, and other information closer to the day-of; you will be able to reach someone in case you have any problems, need directions, or have questions along the way.
RSVP
Once you're confident you can come, please RSVP at the following:
http://colorofchange.org/jena/rsvp.html
If you have questions, you can send them to jena@colorofchange.org.
If you can't come, don't worry. We'll be sending emails soon with more ways to take action between now and the 20th. Whatever your participation, we thank you for your ongoing commitment to justice for the Jena 6. It continues to be our privilege to be part of such a powerful community of support for these young men.
Thanks and Peace,
-- James Rucker
Executive Director, www.ColorOfChange.org
Showing posts with label youth rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youth rights. Show all posts
Sept 29 Stop The War Against Women at Home & Abroad
Unite against sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia!
Unite against economic exploitation!
Unite to win everything we need!
The U.S. claims "liberation of women" as it bombs & kills women, men, children, & the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, & the world. But U.N. studies show women surviving in Iraq & Afghanistan are far worse off since the Pentagon assaults began.
Inside the U.S. women–most notably Katrina survivors–are losing jobs, housing, health care, day care; are rounded up in immigrant raids & locked up in prison for acts of survival, self-defense & drug addiction; are denied reproductive and economic justice; forced into debt to get an education; raped & battered as domestic shelters are closed down; are losing their loved ones, children & families through police brutality, to the military poverty draft, to racist attacks, gender-phobic attacks, attacks on lesbian, bisexual, transgender & transsexual women.
Poor women & women of color are most at risk.
And the U.S. is spending $140,000 a minute on its wars. A Nobel prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, says the total cost of the Iraq war alone may ultimately be $2 trillion.
Stop the War against Women at Home & Abroad
End the wars! Use the money to provide —
• Jobs at a living wage with pay equity, equal access, no discrimination
• Free, universal, sensitive, accessible health care for all
• Free education–from day care through adult training to life-long learning
• Affordable housing & safe homes for everyone
• Reproductive justice for all women–ob-gyn services, paid maternity leave & job protection, safe contraception, no forced sterilization, full access to abortion, positive sex education, all the social & economic resources needed to raise healthy children
• Centers for shelter & self-defense against sexual & domestic violence, for independent living for disabled people and seniors, for recovery from addiction, with an end to racist, sexist incarcerations
• Full rights & services for all undocumented workers & an end to ICE raids
• Rebuilding the infrastructure of New Orleans & Gulf Coast to bring Hurricane Katrina & Rita survivors home
• Cancellation of all student loan debt with support services for young people
• A national campaign against racism, sexism & anti-LGBT bigotry
Politicians won't stop the war -
only the people will stop the war
Sept. 29 National March on the White House -
Sept. 22-29 Encampment in Front of Congress
Buses from across the U.S., find one near you
For details, flyers, & to endorse, click here
Issued by the Nat'l Women's Fightback Network, 55 W. 17th St., 5th Fl., NYC
The Women's Fightback Network is a grassroots alliance of poor and working women of all nationalities, immigrants, disabled activists, students, elders and youth, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and transgender women–all standing together to protest budget cuts, racism, sexism, homophobia and war.
For info. call: 212-633-6646. E-mail: NYWomenFightback@action-mail.org.
Unite against economic exploitation!
Unite to win everything we need!
The U.S. claims "liberation of women" as it bombs & kills women, men, children, & the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, & the world. But U.N. studies show women surviving in Iraq & Afghanistan are far worse off since the Pentagon assaults began.
Inside the U.S. women–most notably Katrina survivors–are losing jobs, housing, health care, day care; are rounded up in immigrant raids & locked up in prison for acts of survival, self-defense & drug addiction; are denied reproductive and economic justice; forced into debt to get an education; raped & battered as domestic shelters are closed down; are losing their loved ones, children & families through police brutality, to the military poverty draft, to racist attacks, gender-phobic attacks, attacks on lesbian, bisexual, transgender & transsexual women.
Poor women & women of color are most at risk.
And the U.S. is spending $140,000 a minute on its wars. A Nobel prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, says the total cost of the Iraq war alone may ultimately be $2 trillion.
Stop the War against Women at Home & Abroad
End the wars! Use the money to provide —
• Jobs at a living wage with pay equity, equal access, no discrimination
• Free, universal, sensitive, accessible health care for all
• Free education–from day care through adult training to life-long learning
• Affordable housing & safe homes for everyone
• Reproductive justice for all women–ob-gyn services, paid maternity leave & job protection, safe contraception, no forced sterilization, full access to abortion, positive sex education, all the social & economic resources needed to raise healthy children
• Centers for shelter & self-defense against sexual & domestic violence, for independent living for disabled people and seniors, for recovery from addiction, with an end to racist, sexist incarcerations
• Full rights & services for all undocumented workers & an end to ICE raids
• Rebuilding the infrastructure of New Orleans & Gulf Coast to bring Hurricane Katrina & Rita survivors home
• Cancellation of all student loan debt with support services for young people
• A national campaign against racism, sexism & anti-LGBT bigotry
Politicians won't stop the war -
only the people will stop the war
Sept. 29 National March on the White House -
Sept. 22-29 Encampment in Front of Congress
Buses from across the U.S., find one near you
For details, flyers, & to endorse, click here
Issued by the Nat'l Women's Fightback Network, 55 W. 17th St., 5th Fl., NYC
The Women's Fightback Network is a grassroots alliance of poor and working women of all nationalities, immigrants, disabled activists, students, elders and youth, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual and transgender women–all standing together to protest budget cuts, racism, sexism, homophobia and war.
For info. call: 212-633-6646. E-mail: NYWomenFightback@action-mail.org.
Sept. 20 Crisis of Young Black Males in Charlotte Town Hall Meeting
7:00 - 9:00 pm
E.E. Waddell High School
7030 Nations Ford Rd
Charlotte, NC
For info: www.creative-interchange.com 704-537-1533
E.E. Waddell High School
7030 Nations Ford Rd
Charlotte, NC
For info: www.creative-interchange.com 704-537-1533
Statement on Arrest of Elvira Arellano
PUEBLO SIN FRONTERAS press release, Los Angeles, CA
Aug. 19, 2007
On Aug. 19, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Elvira Arellano was arrested by some 15 ICE agents and taken into custody. At the time of her arrest she was calm and steady and concerned for the safety and state of mind of her son Saulito. She showed great dignity and courage during her arrest. We have been unable to contact I.C.E. to find out her status and we are concerned. We are calling on I.C.E. to give her son, her Pastor and her organization the opportunity to speak with her and verify her safety.
Elvira Arellano left her sanctuary church in Chicago, where she has been for the last year, and was moving from one sanctuary church to another across the country, beginning in L.A. She had announced on Wednesday, August 15th, that she could no longer sit by in safety and watch thousands of families being destroyed by our current broken immigration laws. Elvira had announced that she would make her way to Washington D.C. on September 12th for a day of prayer in front of the Congress. "If they are going to arrest me and separate me from my U.S. citizen son, then let them do it in front of the men and women who have failed in their responsibility to fix this broken law." Elvira's faith, her love for her son and her love for her people led her to act where others had failed to act. Her courage and her witness to the hypocrisy and inhumanity of the immigration laws of this country and the political cowardice of those in Congress charged with fixing these laws.
We will not and we cannot ignore her call to action. We cannot ignore the bond of love between a mother and a child that cries out for justice. We will continue the journey that Elvira Arellano started. We will hold the national Day of Prayer on September 12th and we will gather before the Congress in Washington D.C. We call for peaceful, determined mobilization, beginning tomorrow, in every city and state in this country as we build toward December 12th. Let everyone, let every mother or father who loves their children, say with courage and faith and conviction that say "I am Elvira Arellano." Let them say it with the same courage and faith, love and conviction, that Elvira Arellano has shown the world. Elvira Arellano told the world that she would do what she had to do to make this government see what they did not want to see, the terrible destruction of families that is sweeping this country. Let them see it now, in Saulito's broken heart.
We call again for immediate contact with Elvira Arellano and an immediate report from I.C.E on her condition and on what action I.C.E. plans to take in respect to her situation. We call on the U.S. Congress to move immediately on either of the two private bills which have been languishing in committee for over a year, private bills that, if advanced in the Congress, would have stayed her deportation pending their outcome. We call on Senator Durbin to immediately introduce a private bill in her behalf, as he once did, but failed to reintroduce in the Democratically controlled Senate.
Elvira Arellano is not a criminal or a terrorist. She is a mother – and she is a symbol of the failure of this government and this nation to take responsibility for the system of undocumented labor it has run for decades, to take responsibility for the families that were formed here and the children that were born here.
For more information contact: Anita Rico 773-553-0555, 773-671-1727
Aug. 19, 2007
On Aug. 19, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Elvira Arellano was arrested by some 15 ICE agents and taken into custody. At the time of her arrest she was calm and steady and concerned for the safety and state of mind of her son Saulito. She showed great dignity and courage during her arrest. We have been unable to contact I.C.E. to find out her status and we are concerned. We are calling on I.C.E. to give her son, her Pastor and her organization the opportunity to speak with her and verify her safety.
Elvira Arellano left her sanctuary church in Chicago, where she has been for the last year, and was moving from one sanctuary church to another across the country, beginning in L.A. She had announced on Wednesday, August 15th, that she could no longer sit by in safety and watch thousands of families being destroyed by our current broken immigration laws. Elvira had announced that she would make her way to Washington D.C. on September 12th for a day of prayer in front of the Congress. "If they are going to arrest me and separate me from my U.S. citizen son, then let them do it in front of the men and women who have failed in their responsibility to fix this broken law." Elvira's faith, her love for her son and her love for her people led her to act where others had failed to act. Her courage and her witness to the hypocrisy and inhumanity of the immigration laws of this country and the political cowardice of those in Congress charged with fixing these laws.
We will not and we cannot ignore her call to action. We cannot ignore the bond of love between a mother and a child that cries out for justice. We will continue the journey that Elvira Arellano started. We will hold the national Day of Prayer on September 12th and we will gather before the Congress in Washington D.C. We call for peaceful, determined mobilization, beginning tomorrow, in every city and state in this country as we build toward December 12th. Let everyone, let every mother or father who loves their children, say with courage and faith and conviction that say "I am Elvira Arellano." Let them say it with the same courage and faith, love and conviction, that Elvira Arellano has shown the world. Elvira Arellano told the world that she would do what she had to do to make this government see what they did not want to see, the terrible destruction of families that is sweeping this country. Let them see it now, in Saulito's broken heart.
We call again for immediate contact with Elvira Arellano and an immediate report from I.C.E on her condition and on what action I.C.E. plans to take in respect to her situation. We call on the U.S. Congress to move immediately on either of the two private bills which have been languishing in committee for over a year, private bills that, if advanced in the Congress, would have stayed her deportation pending their outcome. We call on Senator Durbin to immediately introduce a private bill in her behalf, as he once did, but failed to reintroduce in the Democratically controlled Senate.
Elvira Arellano is not a criminal or a terrorist. She is a mother – and she is a symbol of the failure of this government and this nation to take responsibility for the system of undocumented labor it has run for decades, to take responsibility for the families that were formed here and the children that were born here.
For more information contact: Anita Rico 773-553-0555, 773-671-1727
Let us mobilize our people. Let us not be afraid. Let us say with faith and dignity, "I am Elvira Arellano!"
SEPT 29: 47 Organizing Centers, 65 buses, 1,000+ endorsers
Politicians Won't Stop the War - Only the People Will Stop the War
SEPTEMBER 29: MARCH ON WASHINGTON
SEPTEMBER 22 -29: ENCAMPMENT directly in front of Congress to demand Congress stop funding the war
STOP THE WAR AT HOME AND ABROAD!
TROOPS OUT NOW!
IMPEACH BUSH & CHENEY FOR WAR CRIMES!
Last November, the Democratic Party took control of the House and Senate as voters made clear their overwhelming opposition to the policies of the Bush Administration. Many looked to the Democratic Party to take bold action to end the brutal war in Iraq. Some expected that the Democrats would push forward with the impeachment of Bush and Cheney for their crimes.
Instead, as soon as the Democratic leadership was sworn in, they announced that they had no intention of cutting off the war funding and that impeachment was "off the table," as they ignored the mandate of the people and began to strategize for the 2008 Presidential Election.
In March of this year, while more than 70% of the people in the U.S. were opposed to the war, Congress completely capitulated to Bush and voted to approve funding for the war.
Meanwhile, as Congress gives Bush a blank check for endless war, there is no money to provide more than 40 million people in the U.S. with health care. Our cities are collapsing, our schools are not preparing our youth, our seniors are abandoned. Only the prisons and police repression are growing.
The next battle over war funding: September
Currently approved funding for the war will expire on October 1. This time, we cannot wait for the Congress to "do the right thing." The antiwar movement must be there in massive numbers to demand the cut off of all war funding and the end to this criminal war. And it's time for us to explore new tactics -- marches alone will not end the war, no matter how big they are. It's time to move from protest to resistance.
September will be a month of escalating protest and resistance. Many local and national organizations are planning actions in Washington DC, beginning in early September. Thousands of people are coming in from around the country. The month of protest will culminate in a massive march on September 29, timed to coincide with the next struggle over funding for the war.
During the week of September 22-29, the antiwar movement will "Occupy the Occupiers," with an Encampment directly in front of the Capitol. Youth, veterans, military families, community organizers, and antiwar activists from across the country are planning now to be in DC for the week of the Encampment. The Encampment itself will be an organizing hub all week, with teach-ins, music, displays, and more. Activists are also planning creative acts of disruption and direct action throughout the week as Congress debates the funding for Bush's war.
On September 29, activists from all over the U.S. will assemble in Washington for a massive march to demand "Troops Out Now! Stop the War at Home and Abroad! Impeach Bush and Cheney for War Crimes!"
Buses, vans and cars are coming from around the country and from a city near you. Momentum for the Encampment to Stop the War (Sept. 22-29) and the March on Washington (Sept. 29) is growing, with Organizing Centers in 47 cities, more than 65 buses scheduled and many more expected. The list of endorsers is growing daily, with more than 1,000 organizations, community groups and organizers. Recent endorsers include World Can't Wait, the Green Party of the U.S., Not In Our Name, former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Michael Parenti, MECAWI, Charles Barron, Ramsey Clark, Code Pink, After Downing Street, Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace, Ron Kovic, along with what you list of World Can't Wait, the Green Party of the U.S., Not In Our Name, former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, Michael Parenti, numerous chapters of Military Families Speak Out and Veterans for Peace and more. for a complete list, see http://troopsoutnow.org/encampmentendorsers.html
We need your help - Only the People Will Stop the War!
We cannot wait for Congress to act on its own and cut off war funding. We cannot listen to those who would tell the antiwar movement to stand down and wait for the 2008 Presidential elections. Politicians won't stop the war until we make them stop it, and that requires a massive outpour of resistance in the streets of Washington. We're counting on your help to make this happen.
Here's how you can help:
Endorse - Add your name to the growing list of international signers supporting the call for united action to shut down the war.
Donate - Help send buses to Washington DC
Become a local organizer
Download leaflets and help get the word out.
Criminalizing The Classroom
The Over-Policing of New York City Schools
NY Civil Liberties Union, published March 2007
This report documents the excesses of the New York City school policing program and offers realistic recommendations for reform.
To produce this report, the New York Civil Liberties Union(NYCLU) and the Racial Justice Program of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) conducted 1,000 student surveys and analyzed publicly available data. The organizations also interviewed students, parents, teachers, school administrators, school safety agents, and officials from the Department of Education, the United Federation of Teachers, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
The conclusions of this research are clear. Students and teachers are entitled to a safe learning environment that is conducive to education. The environment created by the massive deployment of inadequately trained police personnel in schools, in contrast, is often hostile and dysfunctional.
Since the NYPD took control of school safety in 1998, the number of police personnel in schools and the extent of their activity have skyrocketed. At the start of the 2005-2006 school year, the city employed a total of 4,625 School Safety Agents (SSAs) and at least 200 armed police officers assigned exclusively to schools. These numberswould make the NYPD’s School Safety Division alone the tenth largest police force in the country – larger than the police forces of Washington, D.C., Detroit, Boston, or Las Vegas.
Because these school-assigned police personnel are not directly subject to the supervisory authority of school administrators, and because they often have not been adequately trained to work in educational settings, SSAs and police officers often arrogate to themselves authority that extends well beyond the narrow mission of securing the safety of the students and teachers. They enforce school rules relating to dress and appearance. They make up their own rules regarding food or other objects that have nothing whatsoever to do with school safety. On occasion they subject educators who question the NYPD’s treatment of students to retaliatory arrests. More routinely, according to our interviews and survey, they subject students to inappropriate treatment including:
• derogatory, abusive and discriminatory comments and conduct;
• intrusive searches;
• unauthorized confiscation of students’ personal items,
including food, cameras and essential school supplies;
• inappropriate sexual attention;
• physical abuse; and
• arrest for minor non-criminal violations of school rules.
These types of police interventions create flashpoints for confrontations and divert students and teachers from invaluable classroom time. They make students feel diminished, and are wholly incompatible with a positive educational environment.
Statistical analysis shows that all students are not equally likely to bear the brunt of over-policing in New York City schools. The burden falls primarily on the schools with permanent metal detectors, which are attended by the city’s most vulnerable children. The students attending these high schools are disproportionately poor, Black, and Latino compared to citywide averages, and they are more often confronted by police personnel in school for “non-criminal” incidents than their peers citywide. These children receive grossly less per-pupil funding on direct educational services than city averages. Their schools are likely to be large and overcrowded, and to have unusually high suspension and drop-out rates.
The report offers the following recommendations for reforming New York City’s school policing program – all of which can be accomplished without any sacrifice to school safety:
• Authority over school safety must be restored to school administrators.
• School safety personnel must be trained to function in accordance with sound educational practices and to respect the differences between street and school environments.
• The role of police personnel in schools must be limited to legitimate security concerns for children and educators.
• Students, families and educators must be given meaningful mechanisms, including access to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, to report wrongdoing by school-based police personnel.
Read the full report at http://www.nyclu.org/pdfs/criminalizing_the_classroom_report.pdf
NY Civil Liberties Union, published March 2007
This report documents the excesses of the New York City school policing program and offers realistic recommendations for reform.
To produce this report, the New York Civil Liberties Union(NYCLU) and the Racial Justice Program of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) conducted 1,000 student surveys and analyzed publicly available data. The organizations also interviewed students, parents, teachers, school administrators, school safety agents, and officials from the Department of Education, the United Federation of Teachers, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
The conclusions of this research are clear. Students and teachers are entitled to a safe learning environment that is conducive to education. The environment created by the massive deployment of inadequately trained police personnel in schools, in contrast, is often hostile and dysfunctional.
Since the NYPD took control of school safety in 1998, the number of police personnel in schools and the extent of their activity have skyrocketed. At the start of the 2005-2006 school year, the city employed a total of 4,625 School Safety Agents (SSAs) and at least 200 armed police officers assigned exclusively to schools. These numberswould make the NYPD’s School Safety Division alone the tenth largest police force in the country – larger than the police forces of Washington, D.C., Detroit, Boston, or Las Vegas.
Because these school-assigned police personnel are not directly subject to the supervisory authority of school administrators, and because they often have not been adequately trained to work in educational settings, SSAs and police officers often arrogate to themselves authority that extends well beyond the narrow mission of securing the safety of the students and teachers. They enforce school rules relating to dress and appearance. They make up their own rules regarding food or other objects that have nothing whatsoever to do with school safety. On occasion they subject educators who question the NYPD’s treatment of students to retaliatory arrests. More routinely, according to our interviews and survey, they subject students to inappropriate treatment including:
• derogatory, abusive and discriminatory comments and conduct;
• intrusive searches;
• unauthorized confiscation of students’ personal items,
including food, cameras and essential school supplies;
• inappropriate sexual attention;
• physical abuse; and
• arrest for minor non-criminal violations of school rules.
These types of police interventions create flashpoints for confrontations and divert students and teachers from invaluable classroom time. They make students feel diminished, and are wholly incompatible with a positive educational environment.
Statistical analysis shows that all students are not equally likely to bear the brunt of over-policing in New York City schools. The burden falls primarily on the schools with permanent metal detectors, which are attended by the city’s most vulnerable children. The students attending these high schools are disproportionately poor, Black, and Latino compared to citywide averages, and they are more often confronted by police personnel in school for “non-criminal” incidents than their peers citywide. These children receive grossly less per-pupil funding on direct educational services than city averages. Their schools are likely to be large and overcrowded, and to have unusually high suspension and drop-out rates.
The report offers the following recommendations for reforming New York City’s school policing program – all of which can be accomplished without any sacrifice to school safety:
• Authority over school safety must be restored to school administrators.
• School safety personnel must be trained to function in accordance with sound educational practices and to respect the differences between street and school environments.
• The role of police personnel in schools must be limited to legitimate security concerns for children and educators.
• Students, families and educators must be given meaningful mechanisms, including access to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, to report wrongdoing by school-based police personnel.
Read the full report at http://www.nyclu.org/pdfs/criminalizing_the_classroom_report.pdf
Victimized youth organize against police brutality
By Kathy Durkin, workers.org, Jun 14, 2007
It was a somber day in May. Thirty-two grieving young people were walking to the subway train in Bushwick, a Brooklyn neighborhood. They were on their way to a wake for a friend, Donnell McFarland, who had been tragically murdered at the age of 18.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, as the youth neared the Myrtle Avenue station, police swooped down on them, harassing, cursing, and terrorizing them. They were all searched; nothing illegal was found.
All of these Black and Latin@ women and men—some as young as 13 years old—were handcuffed, arrested and taken to the 83rd police precinct. The majority were charged with so-called unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. Several were held overnight, some for 38 hours.
In his investigation of the horrendous May 21 police attack, journalist Bob Herbert interviewed several of the young people involved, who are all students at Bushwick Community High School, as well as other eyewitnesses including Kathleen Williams, a parent who was traveling with them. Everyone said that youth did absolutely nothing wrong. Williams was threatened with arrest herself when she objected to the arrests. (New York Times, 5/26/07)
The police even taunted them about their deceased friend. And later, to justify their outrageous actions, the cops pointed to the memorial T-shirts the youth were wearing with McFarland’s picture on them, and tried to claim the gathering was “gang-related.”
The young people called it what it was—a clear-cut case of racial profiling.
This is business as usual by New York City police. The callous mistreatment, racist humiliation, harassment and intimidation of youth from oppressed communities is a commonplace, citywide occurrence—on the streets, in the subways and even inside the schools.
There is a reign of terror against the Black and Latin@ youth of this city.
In fact, by their own admission, a New York Police Department report issued earlier this year stated that cops stopped-and-frisked 508,540 people in 2006, 85 percent of whom were Black or Latin@. The majority of these intimidating acts were leveled against young oppressed women and men.
Inside the schools, thousands of students every semester are verbally abused, intimidated, threatened, sexually harassed and physically assaulted by cops and security guards. Teachers and parents who come to their aid are also targeted.
A New York Civil Liberties Union report issued in March, “Criminalizing the Classroom: The Over-Policing of New York City Schools,” details the aggressive practices of the New York Police Department’s so-called School Safety Division, which subjects students to “invasive practices and other forms of abuse everyday by nearly 5,000 SSA’s, many of whom are armed.” (www.nyclu.org)
But the students are fighting back! On June 5, the Student Coalition against Racial Profiling met with City Council members and community organizers to organize opposition to these racist police practices. Among those attending was City Councilperson Charles Barron, who expressed his solidarity with the young people there.
Dana Jordan, a Bushwick Community High School senior and a founder of SCARP, said, “We are coming together to let the community know what has been going on with the cops, the excessive stop-and-frisks, the profiling, to let them know that it is time for a change in our community. We started SCARP because we wanted the community to know that we are trying to fight this battle against police profiling and that we need their support.” (New York Times, 6/6/07)
Public officials, right up to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who have said nothing, must be held accountable. These racist attacks must be stopped!
The Bushwick 32 will be in court in mid-July. This is a time for progressive organizations and activists to come out in solidarity with them and to spur a larger struggle to stand with the oppressed youth of this city and demand an end to police abuse.
It was a somber day in May. Thirty-two grieving young people were walking to the subway train in Bushwick, a Brooklyn neighborhood. They were on their way to a wake for a friend, Donnell McFarland, who had been tragically murdered at the age of 18.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, as the youth neared the Myrtle Avenue station, police swooped down on them, harassing, cursing, and terrorizing them. They were all searched; nothing illegal was found.
All of these Black and Latin@ women and men—some as young as 13 years old—were handcuffed, arrested and taken to the 83rd police precinct. The majority were charged with so-called unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct. Several were held overnight, some for 38 hours.
In his investigation of the horrendous May 21 police attack, journalist Bob Herbert interviewed several of the young people involved, who are all students at Bushwick Community High School, as well as other eyewitnesses including Kathleen Williams, a parent who was traveling with them. Everyone said that youth did absolutely nothing wrong. Williams was threatened with arrest herself when she objected to the arrests. (New York Times, 5/26/07)
The police even taunted them about their deceased friend. And later, to justify their outrageous actions, the cops pointed to the memorial T-shirts the youth were wearing with McFarland’s picture on them, and tried to claim the gathering was “gang-related.”
The young people called it what it was—a clear-cut case of racial profiling.
This is business as usual by New York City police. The callous mistreatment, racist humiliation, harassment and intimidation of youth from oppressed communities is a commonplace, citywide occurrence—on the streets, in the subways and even inside the schools.
There is a reign of terror against the Black and Latin@ youth of this city.
In fact, by their own admission, a New York Police Department report issued earlier this year stated that cops stopped-and-frisked 508,540 people in 2006, 85 percent of whom were Black or Latin@. The majority of these intimidating acts were leveled against young oppressed women and men.
Inside the schools, thousands of students every semester are verbally abused, intimidated, threatened, sexually harassed and physically assaulted by cops and security guards. Teachers and parents who come to their aid are also targeted.
A New York Civil Liberties Union report issued in March, “Criminalizing the Classroom: The Over-Policing of New York City Schools,” details the aggressive practices of the New York Police Department’s so-called School Safety Division, which subjects students to “invasive practices and other forms of abuse everyday by nearly 5,000 SSA’s, many of whom are armed.” (www.nyclu.org)
But the students are fighting back! On June 5, the Student Coalition against Racial Profiling met with City Council members and community organizers to organize opposition to these racist police practices. Among those attending was City Councilperson Charles Barron, who expressed his solidarity with the young people there.
Dana Jordan, a Bushwick Community High School senior and a founder of SCARP, said, “We are coming together to let the community know what has been going on with the cops, the excessive stop-and-frisks, the profiling, to let them know that it is time for a change in our community. We started SCARP because we wanted the community to know that we are trying to fight this battle against police profiling and that we need their support.” (New York Times, 6/6/07)
Public officials, right up to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who have said nothing, must be held accountable. These racist attacks must be stopped!
The Bushwick 32 will be in court in mid-July. This is a time for progressive organizations and activists to come out in solidarity with them and to spur a larger struggle to stand with the oppressed youth of this city and demand an end to police abuse.
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