10 Year Memorial of Oscar Grants Death

It's has been 10 long years since Oscar Grant III was murdered by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, CA. On January 1, 2009, Grant III was removed from a train at Fruitvale Station, told to lie face down on the platform and was shot in the back by the officer.

The incident was caught on tape and disseminated to a community that was all to familiar with police brutality of unarmed black men and women. Grant III murder sparked community outrage where multiple protests and community actions where organized to convict the shooting officer. Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison. He was released from custody in 2011.

It has been 10 years since this occurred and today the Oakland community still mourns his death.

Oscar Grant III mother, Wanda Johnson, continues to speak out. His mother heads the Oscar Grant Foundation where she continues to advocate for people killed by law enforcement.

The Demands of the Marginalized Communities of the University of California, Santa Cruz

On September 18, 2018, the affiliates of the University of California, Santa Cruz were informed that the chancellor of the university, george blumenthal, will be retiring at the end of the academic school year in light of a sexual scandal. On October 25, 2018, and again on November 9, 2018, we were notified that the UC Office of the President along with a hand-selected hiring committee will be conducting a search for the new chancellor on our campus. We the underrepresented and historically marginalized people of the university have come to the chancellor search committee meeting to voice our grievances and demands in the hiring of a new chancellor.

Our demands are as follows:

Transportation:

We demand free or at a very reduced price (less than $7) bus/van transportations across all UCs going to and from Northern California (UCD) and Southern California (UCSD), prioritizing undocumented students due to immigration checkpoints, during breaks and summer

Financial:

We demand a path to loan forgiveness, and an end to loans, for undocumented students since TPS/DACA aren’t permanent and not all undocumented students benefit from those programs generating a challenge for undocumented students to pay back loans

We demand an increase in alternative forms of financial aid that does not require a SSN for both graduate and undergraduate students such as but not limited to: scholarships (should not be extensive and intrusive), grants, access to in-state tuition regardless of AB540 status, emergency funding (should constitute a holistic approach), campus-wide hourly paid internships (e.g. the Professional Career Development Program or PCDP) not only limited through EOP

We demand the UC system allocate funds and resources for the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at UC Davis.

We demand the UC system to divest from the U.S.-Duterte regime which has currently murdered over 20,000 people through Duterte’s Drug War.

We demand that the UC divests from Israel. Militaristic, indigenous peoples

We demand the divestment of funds from Silicon Valley and an investment of funds to the local communities of Santa Cruz and Salinas County (i.e. Salinas, Watsonville, etc.) and a redefinition of the “Santa Cruz community.”

As students of this university, we demand full and free use of mainstage theater for the Pilipinx productions.

We demand the UC to divest from corporations notorious for production of weapons, forms of surveillance, and policing.

We demand more transparency and accessibility with the aid provided for undocumented students.

We demand permanent funding for the Student Initiated Outreach Programs that are used to target and expand the diversity of the student body.

We demand methods for non-White Supremacist non-SOAR affiliated people or organizations to receive funds from the SUA, SOFA, SFAC, CORE Council, CEP, and all other funding sources that exist for SOAR-affiliated organizations.

We demand that the University of California System divest all tuition dollars, investments, and stocks from the following companies that have violated the universal right “to life, liberty, and security of person;” “to education;” to “privacy, family [and] home;” and immediately divest from all corporations complicit in and profiting from the violation of Palestinian Human Rights, the prison industrial complex, and fossil fuels: Lockheed Martin, United Tech, Boeing, G.E., HP, Caterpillar, Ford, Hyundai, Cemex, Raytheon, 3M, Northrop Grumman, Perrigo Company, Atlas Copco.

We demand that the UC Regents thus terminate all investments in corporations violating Palestinian Human Rights that exist within the UC Regents’ Investment Funds.

Admission/Retention:

We demand mental health support professionals that have competent and empathetic experiences working with undocumented people.

We demand the investment of resources for undergraduate students to teach ethnic studies in local Santa Cruz high schools

We demand permanent funding for services and programs that help support and retain undocumented students

We demand that administration expand resources for undocumented Pilipinx-identified students--who under the current mediums of programming- are invisibilized.

We demand an investigation of the admission and retention rates of Afrikan, Black and Caribbean identifying communities, separate from the efforts made by the African American Resource and Cultural Center, Engaging Education through Destination for Higher Education, Umoja, and the minimal options available through the Education Opportunity Program.

We demand that the Ethnic Student Organization Committee become an institutional body with a budget that is funded by the Dean of Students. As well as having institutional power, we demand that ESOC have representatives in administrative processes with greater than, if not equal to, the power exuded by the Student Union Assembly. The membership of ESOC will not be limited solely to the Big 5 Ethnic Organizations, but will encompass all racialized identifying organizations.

We demand the administration establishes permanent full funding for outreach and retention programs.

We demand the hiring of permanent Queer & Trans-friendly Black psychologists to better assist in the well-being of ABC identifying students of the campus.

We demand the hiring of at least two full-time Queer & Trans-friendly, culturally competent, socially aware, Muslim community experienced, Muslim counselors at CAPS.

We demand the university to investigate the structure and functionality of CAPS and the Student Health Center.

We demand a year-round accommodation for students without meal plans to get meals on-campus.

Religion:

We demand the university to allocate a permanent prayer space on campus for Muslim identifying students at a central and accessible location for such identifying bodies.

We demand students observing Ramadan be able to receive dining hall Ramadan accomodations regardless of whether or not they have a meal plan.

Education:

Recognizing the academic and mental labor of students having to educate their own communities, we demand the university correct the underrepresentation of Pilipinx-identified tenure track professors.

We demand the incorporation of Palestinian focused classes that are critical of the Israeli occupation.

We demand the offering of Arabic, not just Quranic Arabic, classes up to the highest level. These classes should be listed officially under Language/Linguistic Studies (not just an independent study).

We demand the concentration in SWANA (South Western Asian and North African) studies under the History Major as its own, separate from Europe (NOT “mediterranean world”).

We demand the end of the Israel UCEAP Study Abroad program.

We demand the expansion of the UCEAP Study Abroad programs to include a critical and holistic educational program in Palestine.

We demand that the university designate CRES to be a permanent department. Under this department the following will hold true:

- A committee consisting of representatives from the respective communities that will hold administrative power to hire, fire, evaluate, and veto potential professors who are interested in teaching within the CRES department

- The committees will have the power to create our own curriculum and determine the style of education that is taught within the critical studies majors and minors

- Under the CRES department, the following Ethnic Critical Studies will be established and centers the voices and stories of the following marginalized communities: Black, South West Asian and North African, South Asian, Oceanian, Southeast Asian, Central Asian

We demand an academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

We demand the academic freedom for Pro-Palestinian professors without tenure.

Administration:

Recognizing historically that the chancellors of UCSC have been white, we demand a culturally competent and empathetic chancellor of color.

We demand the implementation of a diverse body of students be consulted in the administrative processes (included but not limited to: the hiring and firing of institutional positions) that are related to the successes and improvement of student life.

*Content warning:

We demand the university to investigate the structure, functionality, and timeliness of Title 9 processes.

*We demand professors be held accountable in regard to Title IX, and be immediately suspended without paid leave.

*We demand that the UC expand and increase resources for CARE (Campus Advocacy Resources and Education): hire more advocates, hire more trauma-informed therapists, expand advocacy for power-based personal violence including between friends and family (not just intimate relationship) and include emergency housing

Labor:

We demand that the University of California call AFSCME 3299 back to the bargaining table! Satisfy AFSCME 3299’s bargaining demands and grant them the contract they are asking for and deserve. Satisfy all other union contracts as outlined by their respective bargaining teams (e.g. UPTE, UC-AFT).

We demand that Student Housing West and any future UC or public-private partnership developments must only hire unionized workers.

We demand that hiring practices and job promotions are accessible and fair to non-English speakers.

We demand that workplace complaints presented to the university be taken seriously, be addressed, and be resolved by labor relations within the academic quarter they are initially brought up by workers or worker advocates.

Judicial:

We demand that neither University of California, police department, nor external police forces, will be present, allowed, or utilized at worker and/or student actions.

We demand that the university drop current student conduct charges related to actions. We demand that student conduct will no longer be utilized as a form of discipline, harassment, or terrorization in response and/or related to student or/and worker actions or demonstrations.

We demand that the University of California no longer utilize coercion tactics against workers, student workers, or students through emails, announcements, or any other forms that reinforce uneven power structures between students, workers, and the university.

We demand free legal immigration services (multiple full-time on-site attorneys/lawyers at every UC campus) with a 24-hour hotline available 7 days a week to students and their extended family who need legal services.

We demand no collaboration with the police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, nor the Department of Homeland Security allowing them physical access to the university in any form (no access to buildings, dorms/apartments, dining halls, etc). Faculty, admin, managers, RA/NAs that are found to be collaborating with any of the above officials, must be fired immediately.

We demand thorough investigations and accountability of the white supremacist flyering that has been rampant on campus since the 2016 elections.

We demand the safeguarding of activism (UCD)

a. the work of student activism has a rich and important tradition at UC Santa Cruz, and it is the responsibility of the campus to ensure that this activism is safeguarded.

b. the recent spike in the rise of campus watch-lists including, but not limited to, Canary Mission, Professor Watchlist, etc. threaten the security of student activists, as well as create a toxic atmosphere of fear and paranoia among fellow students; thus infringing upon students’ ability to freely express their opinions.

c. Canary Mission in specific is a campus watch-list with a history of relying on student-given footage and material to target pro-Palestinian student activists; causing direct personal repercussions, including limiting their movement and employment opportunities.

d. certain Registered Student Organizations on-campus have been known to collect material on pro-Palestinian student activists, thus helping perpetuate the toxic atmosphere of fear, mistrust, and silence that these watch-lists seek to create.

e. student activists have advocated for their respective communities and the larger work of justice for decades, in the process helping building a more vibrant campus; that they have the right to be safeguarded from forces that threaten to intimidate or silence them, and by extension the communities they fight for.

f. release a public statement condemning the use of Canary Mission.

Housing:

Given the erasure of the “Carlos Bulosan” Floor located at Merrill College, we demand to reclaim historical housing for Pilipinx-identified students.

We demand guaranteed housing until graduation (flexibility of moving on and off campus without breaking housing contracts).

We demand that building 3 in Rachel Carson College be designated as an ABC house with a required application and be made available for non-guaranteed and re-entry transfers students.

We demand the University purchase a property located at or near the base of campus (High Street) to serve as a low-income housing cooperative for historically disadvantaged students.

We demand this property have 4 bedrooms with appropriate furnishings. This property will then be student ran and student-operated by ESOC. We demand a written agreement to fund this project by the end of the winter quarter.

We demand that we have SWANASA (South West Asian, North African, South Asian)/Muslim-Themed Housing (UC Davis has a floor like this). The RA(s) of such housing must also identify as SWANASA and/or Muslim to best accommodate the residents of this proposed housing.

Be Betta Benefit Concert

The Afrikan Black Coalition invites you to the Be Betta Benefit Concert, a night full of litivity and Black excellence in the heart of Oakland! The night will serve as a fundraiser for local efforts that focus on healing our people . We deserve to heal, turn up, and be free of all trauma.  Ally Cocaine, Oke Junior & Kari Jay will be opening the our special surprise guest from Compton,CA!

With sounds by DJ Souljah and Alia Sharrief as our host, the night will definitely be one for the books and not the birds!

A portion of your ticket will be donated to local community based organizations who offer direct health services and support to the  Afrikan Black community.

All Ages are welcomed (18+)

Guests under 21 will be required to purchase a $5 drink voucher at the doorTickets are available for sale: tinyurl.com/BeBetta

WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR DAVID COLE

Hand Delivered to UC Office of the President on February 15, 2018

Dear President Napolitano and Chancellor Christ:

WE DEMAND JUSTICE FOR DAVID COLE, REAL SANCTUARY, AND THE END OF ANTI-BLACK POLICIES AT UC

On January 18th, 2017, UC workers and students delivered our demand that all UC campuses, medical centers and the Lab be declared formal sanctuaries. Establishing sanctuaries as detailed in our communication to President Napolitano, Chancellors, CEOs, and UCPD required, among other commitments:

NO EXCESSIVE FORCE: Prohibit use of riot police, SWAT teams or other militarized forces against student and/or worker protests, rallies, sit-ins, walkouts, strikes or civil disobedience; aggressively pursue justice and accountability in cases of excessive use of force against Black people and other people of color;

NO CRIMINALIZATION: Limit the offenses that are subject to arrest by UCPD, limit the circumstances in which students, staff, and others are turned over to outside law enforcement; Ban the Box and adopt more inclusive hiring practices;

AGGRESSIVE ENFORCEMENT: Aggressively enforce policies prohibiting hate and discrimination based on race, color, national origin, faith, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any intersection of these factors;

EXTENSIVE TRAINING: Implement training programs that include but are not limited to: UC’s sanctuary status and provisions, the reporting and investigation of incidents, UndocuAlly, deescalation intervention techniques, and restorative justice.

Janet Napolitano didn't so much as respond to UC workers and students. The UCPD also failed to respond after having received the demands from UC Berkeley workers and students.

Over a year later, at a peaceful protest honoring the 50th Anniversary of low-wage African-American workers and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marching together to fight racial injustice and affirm the dignity of all labor, the University of California deployed police tactics more befitting of the Jim Crow South--unjustly assaulting a 51 year-old African-American UC Berkeley employee named David Cole. In addition to the assault, UC Berkeley made an immediate effort to publicly criminalize David Cole.

In addition to continuing to demand all of the above sanctuary provisions, we hereby demand that UC Berkeley:

DROP THE CHARGES: Drop all charges against David Cole immediately;GRANT A FULL AND FAIR REMEDY: David Cole must receive a full and fair remedy for unjust actions taken

by, and injuries sustained at the hands of, UCPD;

SUSPEND ALL UCPD OFFICERS INVOLVED: Suspend officers pending an independent investigation of the incident, which must include but not be limited to investigation of the excessive use of force and violation of UC Police Policies paragraph 902.3 - Treatment of Arrestees and Suspects;

REFORM THE UC BERKELEY POLICE DEPARTMENT REVIEW BOARD: Reform the UCPD Review Board consistent with ASUC Senate Resolution No. 2017/2018-40, as well as by creating seats for Union Coalition- appointed representatives; and

COMPLY WITH ALL REYNOSO TASK FORCE REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS: UCOP has failed to ask the Legislature to address provisions of the Police Officer Bill of Rights that limit independent public review of police conduct (Reynoso Recommendation C-3).

UC's violence against Black workers is not limited to police violence. UCPD's assault is but the latest manifestation of the UC system's anti-Black racism responsible for the decline in the percentage of Black workers at UC, the daily disparate treatment of Black workers still employed, UC's failure to support the development and promotion of Black workers, and more. In addition, Black students throughout the UC system have made repeated demands for greater resources and retention. Establishing real sanctuaries and ending anti-Black policies also requires that UC:

INVEST IN BLACK RECRUITMENT, EDUCATION & TRAINING, AND RETENTION: Make major, meaningful investments in the recruitment, education and training, and retention of Black workers and Black students across the UC system.

Sincerely,

AFSCME 3299

Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC)

California Nurses Association

Council of UC Faculty Associations

Teamsters 2010

United Auto Workers 5810

UC-American Federation of Teachers

University of California Student Association

UPTE-CWA 9119

cc: University of California Board of Regents

The George Zimmerman of Humboldt County: Charges Against Kyle Zoellner Dropped In Murder of David Lawson

Tina Sampay. 5/10/17

23-year old Kyle Zoellner, the man accused of stabbing Humboldt State University student David Lawson to death at an off campus party Easter weekend, was released from Eureka’s jail last Friday May 5th.

Humboldt County judge Dale Reinholsten ruled that due to a lack of physical evidence, there was no need to require a trial. All charges against Zoellner were dropped.

I sat through the preliminary hearings all five days from 9:00 a.m until 5:00 p.m and I have heard all of the witness testimonies, and the evidence presented.

It weighs heavy on my mind some of the information that was revealed in court through cross examination and witness testimonies. The fact judge Reinholsten was still able to make this ruling, is slightly horrific to me. 

Zoellner relied heavily upon the rules of the court system within his case. The defense refused to sign a time waiver and Zoellner’s right to a fast and speedy trial meant that he had to have his preliminary hearings within ten days.

According to the testimony of Sergeant Todd Dockweiler who is the lead detective on the case, there is still evidence that has not been processed yet such as Zoellner’s bloody jeans.

When people read headlines on the coverage of this case within the limited media outlets that we have in the area, they will read about the fingerprint and fibers on the knife found at the scene not matching Zoellner’s.

Many will become immediately convinced, that Zoellner has no involvement or knowledge of what happened to Lawson that fatal night. 

The more I sat in court and heard the witness testimonies, the more I was convinced that there was no way Zoellner and the girls he was with that night, do not know what happened to Lawson. 

During the hearings when things did seem to shift a bit from Zoellner, it all shifted to the girls that were with him.

The problem lies in the fact that Zoellner’s girlfriend and her friends were never looked at as suspects, but witnesses rather.

Black lives cannot matter as long as non-black people and their word is held in a higher regard than Black people. Black lives cannot matter within the realm of white privilege so long as the stereotypes of Blackness allow for others to use Black bodies as scapegoats.

I watched Zoellner’s girlfriend and her friends lie under oath about what happened the night Lawson was stabbed. This was evident under cross examination and their contradicting testimonies. The only thing all three of the women were consistent upon, was painting young Black men out to be monsters.

The judge couldn't understand logically how Zoellner could have did this because in my opinion, he held the testimonies of Zoellner’s girlfriend and her friends in a higher regard than everyone else’s. 

When in reality, these girls should have been looked upon as co-conspirators in Lawson’s murder investigation. 

There is no physical evidence, yet I still believe Zoellner and the party he was with had some sort of involvement. Probable cause for trial in my opinion, was definitely there due to the alarming amount of circumstantial evidence revealed in court, which led me to form this opinion.

How does Judge Reinholtsen note in his ruling that the only people who had motive, means and opportunity to murder Lawson, was Zoellner and the girls that he was with, then proceed to release him?

Much like police brutality, within the small area of Humboldt County white people have taken to online platforms playing the “reverse racism game.”

They debate over slain Black bodies (in this case Lawson) and show their disdain for Black people and their complete disregard over the circumstances leading to their deaths. 

While white people debate online over if racism is real or not, the fact that someone lost their life gets lost in translation.

The mindset of some of some of the locals in the surrounding community are never mentioned by college recruiters and the university's website.

Brothers United, the cultural club for men of color at HSU which Lawson was president of, are mourning the loss of their friend and brother yet find themselves receiving online slander and being labeled a “gang” by locals. 

These online attacks of Brothers United are a recurring theme in America and shows the continued ways that white people and the media aim to justify the murder of Black people by associating them with racial stereotypes.

Josiah was not in a gang.

Why aren't the people of Humboldt County talking about Josiah as the 2nd year college student who overcame extreme adversity to attend college? A young, Black man who left the comforts of his hometown to attend school in a rural and secluded town up north. Instead, why are they so focused upon attacking Lawson’s character?

The fact that a mother sent her son off to college to better himself and he returned in a casket, should strike a different chord in people but it seems that racism clouds people’s judgement in such a way, that even these facts are disregarded.

The huge problem in this case is that more people need to be looked at as suspects who were with Zoellner that night. I believe only then, will the truth come out about what really happened to Lawson that night.

In regards to the judge's ruling to dismiss the charges against Zoellner, I was left with many questions from five days of witness testimonies that for now remain unanswered but are important to note:

Who exactly stabbed Josiah between Kyle, his girlfriend Lila, her friend Naiya (who testified she supplied cocaine to her friends that night), Casey and Angelica? Did one of them wipe off the knife?

Arcata police officer Jacob Mckenzie, who has only been on the force for 9 months, was the first cop to arrive at Lawson’s body and testified that he only grabbed one glove before exiting his patrol vehicle.

He also could not remember if he wore a glove when collecting the knife found at the crime scene.

This leads one to wonder:

Was the crime scene properly secured and assessed? Was the evidence collected properly?

Why was Zoellner’s car allowed to leave the scene driven by Angelica’s mother who was called to the scene after the stabbing? Why was Kyle’s car not entered into evidence? 

Why did Zoellner’s girlfriend feel the need to lie under oath when she said that she never touched Kyle’s knife bag that he uses for his job as a chef? 

Lila’s friend Casey Gleaton testified that Lila grabbed the bag of knives from Kyle’s car (that the police let be driven from the crime scene) after she arrived home from the hospital the next morning where Kyle was before he was taken to jail. According to Gleaton, Lila opened the bag and said something about the number of knives and that one was missing. 

Media coverage of Josiah’s murder glosses over the fact that Josiah’s girlfriend was jumped by Lila and her friend Naiya after she confronted them about pepper spraying her, Josiah and the people they were with. A previous fight had happened moments prior.

While Josiah's girlfriend is being jumped by these two girls, an already maced Josiah is making his way up the driveway to find her.

What happened next, only the people who were outside at the time know. Casey, Kyle and Angelica are unaccounted for during this moment.

Josiah’s girlfriend was left with severe bite marks on her breast due to Zoellner’s girlfriend biting her like some sort of savage animal.

In addition, Josiah’s girlfriend has a puncture wound on her left arm which shows someone was trying to stab her or jabbed at her with something sharp. 

The fact that this was never mentioned by the prosecution in their closing arguments or never touched on in the judge's ruling baffles me.

Josiah’s girlfriend was also the victim of a vicious attack that night. Understanding this, puts a lot into perspective about what may have happened that night.

There are so many complexities in this case but I do understand that this is an open investigation and although Zoellner was released, there is still a possibility that him and his accomplices could be re-arrested if evidence was revealed or a witness comes forward.

What are the chances of this really happening however? 

History has shown us time and time again that white men are rarely sought after and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law when it comes to the killing of Black bodies--from the police, to civilians like George Zimmerman.

What happened to Josiah is heartbreaking. Beyond his murder, the judge deciding to free Zoellner and thinking more about the best interest of a group of tweaked out locals, over a college student with a promising future, is beyond me. Humboldt County is no place for students of color because they will have no one within real positions of power who are working towards their best interest.

Black Student Union at Sonoma State Makes Demands to fix Hostile Campus

Dear President Judy Sakaki,

Black students at Sonoma State University are in a state of emergency. Black students have continuously been overlooked and marginalized at Sonoma State University.  Unfortunately, Sonoma State University fails to uphold the goals of their mission statement which include: “contributing to the health and well-being of the world at large” and “hav[ing] a broad cultural perspective”. The failure of the University to uphold its mission to Black students has led to a steady decline of Black students enrolled at Sonoma State. In 2015, Black students made up 3 percent (277 students) of the student population. In 2016, this drastically dropped to 2.2 percent (206 students) and had dropped again for the incoming 2017 class at 2.1 percent (203 Students).

It’s time that Sonoma State University foster a learning community that embraces, encourages, and supports Black students. We demand that action be taken to ensure that the health and wellbeing of Black students will become and remain a priority to the administration at Sonoma State University.

The demands stated below should be swiftly implemented at Sonoma State University in order to create the necessary institutional changes to support Black students. The resolution of these demands will foster a community that Black students are lacking, promote retention, and make Sonoma State University a more attractive institution to Black students. 

1. WE DEMAND the creation and permanent funding of a Black Resource Center dedicated to serving Black students. This resource center will provide assistance to Black students through, but not limited to, academic and enrichment programs such as tutoring, mentoring and group meetings. This will ensure that Black students at Sonoma State are supported during and after their educational career at the University. The Black Resource Center shall be housed in the former Commons building. The Resource Center shall include:

1. Two permanently funded full time staff, a Director and Assistant Director,

2. A private office for a CAPS counselor to meet with students,

3. 4-5 computers and a printer to allow Black students access to much needed technology,

4. A fully furnished socializing lounge that will create an environment for Black students to feel safe and welcomed throughout the day,

5. A kitchenette equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, pantry, toaster oven and a sink, and cabinetry.

6. Student assistant positions in the Black Resource Center, and

7. For the Black Resource Center to feature Black art from Black artists at Sonoma State University.

8. The name for the Resource Center will be decided by the Black Student Union.

1. WE DEMAND the creation and permanent funding for a housing space designated for students who identify as Black. This requires a full time Resident Director who can cater to the needs of Black students as demonstrated by experience. This Black student housing unit will provide a safe space for Black students to live harmoniously with one another, create community and bonds with fellow Black students. The Black student housing unit will have CSA positions open for Black students to provide valuable leadership and guidance. The name of the Black student housing unit will be determined by the Black Student Union.

1. WE DEMAND Sonoma State University allocate a $15,000 programming budget annually to the Black Student Union, one of the few organizations on-campus that caters to the leadership and academic development of Black students. The Black Student Union is constantly met with financial restraints that limit the programs and activities that the Black Student Union is able to provide.

1. WE DEMAND a $2,500,000 endowment to be raised that will be used solely to fund scholarships to Black students. Aside from the racial tensions that Black students are exposed to at Sonoma State University, Black students tend to leave Sonoma State University because of the financial strain to stay at Sonoma State University. Furthermore, with the potential tuition increase that will be imposed on students, it is imperative that Black students receive the necessary financial aid to ensure financial security and maintain enrollment at Sonoma State University. Additionally, scholarship opportunities for Black students will attract many incoming Black students to Sonoma State University.

1. WE DEMAND the hiring of 2 full-time and permanent psychologists with demonstrated experience in working with Black students, at the Counseling and Psychological Services Center. The mental and emotional strain Black students feel when facing various personal hardships, in addition to frequent exposure to racism on and off campus, has major negative effects on the retention and success of Black students.

2. WE DEMAND the creation of a Black Studies Department with the requisite allocation of FTEs for faculty by the 2018-2019 academic year. It is imperative that Sonoma State University provides classes that outline and showcase, Black studies, because ultimately to understand Black studies is to understand the foundation of this world, as well as build on the expansive and enduring contribution of Black people, culture, and history to the world and its impact on the present and future.

3. WE DEMAND that all of our demands be fully implemented by the 2018-2019 academic year and that President Sakaki schedule a meeting with the Black Student Union no later than March 31st of 2017.

With Power,

Sonoma State Black Student Union

Black Students at UC Santa Cruz Protest Hostile Campus

The Afrikan Black Student Alliance has demanded fixes to the hostile climate at UC Santa Cruz. Today, May 2nd, 2017, the organization which is a part of the Afrikan Black Coalition, took their protest to the Chancellors office to demands institutional change.

Here are the demands:

A/BSA Reclamation Statement

As of May 2nd, 2017, the Afrikan/Black Student Alliance at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) has Reclaimed Kerr Hall.

Who We Are:

The Afrikan/Black Student Alliance is an Afrikan/Black/Caribbean (ABC) student-led and student-run organization on the campus of the University of California at Santa Cruz. It was founded and it serves as a place and space for ABC students to learn together, to teach together, to offer support for the various racialized macro-and-microaggressions, and also to challenge each other around some harmful ideologies we may hold toward practicing a fuller love for ALL Black people. We are an organization that’s about centering the liberation of ALL Black people. We do realize and are aware of many of our limitations as well as the power we hold as an organization that is contextually specific in and to a Western academic institution in the United States of America. 

We are undergraduate and graduate students in the Humanities, the Arts, and the Sciences. We are on-campus and off-campus workers. We are Muslim, Christian, Atheist, and independently spiritual. We are queer and trans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight. We are from working poor, working class, and middle and upper class backgrounds and those attendant realities. We are Black Nationalists, Black Internationalists, Pan-Africanists, Afro-futurists, Afro-pessimists, and Afrotopians. We are migrants, immigrants, refugees, and American-born. We are the descendants of forcefully enslaved Afrikan people in “The Americas”, as well as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth generation immigrant and migrant children. We are capitalists, anti-capitalists, and Anarchists. We are everything because Blackness is everything.  

With this said, and with the Liberation of all of us on our minds, we know that we can not tolerate anti-Black racism and colorism; sexism and misogynoir; homophobia, transphobia, and queerphobia; or heterosexism and patriarchy. We can not allow these forced impositions to go unchecked and unchallenged in our space. We are committed to this. We believe in the power of unity across intra-communal differences, which means that we believe in the power of unity experienced in and through calling each other to be accountable to one another. We understand that to rebuild our communities sometimes things will have to fall apart—or, at least it will appear that way. We are well aware that we are in one of the many re-building stages of the process with A/BSA, and we invite all Afrikan, Black, and Caribbean (ABC) students to come (and to come back) into the space to build and rebuild across all the differences we have among us. In so many ways, we’re all we have here, and the Chancellor’s response to the demands we put forward should be a clear indication of this very real fact.

What We Demand:

Our demands for the Reclamation are simple, for now. They are as follows: 

1. Similar to EOP students and International students’ housing guarantees, we demand that ALL African Black Caribbean identified students have a 4 year housing guarantee to live in the Rosa Parks African American Themed House. Guaranteeing this would provide a viable living option to all ABC identified students regardless of housing status and college affiliation. We demand a written agreement by the opening of housing applications in April 2017.

1. We demand the university remove the beds and release the Rosa Parks African Themed House lounge so it can serve its original purpose. We demand the lounge be returned by Fall 2017.

1. We demand that the university fund the ENTIRE exterior of the Rosa Parks African American Themed House being painted Pan-Afrikan colors (Red, green, and black) by the start of Spring quarter 2017. These Pan Afrikan colors represent Black liberation, and represent our diaspora, and the goals of our people.

1. We demand that all new incoming students from 2017-2018 school year forward (first years and transfers) go through a mandatory in-person diversity competency training in the event that the online module is not implemented by JUNE 2017. We demand that the training be reviewed and approved by A/BSA board every two years. We demand that every incoming student complete this training by their first day of class.

What We Mean by Reclamation:

We are pushing back against the language of “occupation” in recognition of the largely white-centric and fairly recent “Occupy Movement”. We are pushing back against the language of “occupation” in recognition of the very real settler occupations that are hxstorical and ongoing, such as the European colonization and occupation of “The Americas”, as well as the current context of occupation in Palestine. We move in solidarity with Black people all over the world who are occupied by liberalism and neoliberalism’s devastating socioeconomic and political policies and materialities. This includes folks on The Continent, Palestinian people, and other Black and Brown people all over the world. While the actual actions during this Reclamation may appear the same as other “occupations” on campus and off-campus, we know that language does matter as do intentions. 

For us, the language of “reclaiming” is about highlighting the fact there were things promised to ABC students that have gone broken and thrown away, like the four-year guarantee for housing in R.PAATH. We mean to reclaim those things. As Black people, there are things that we are owed within the context of reparations and the hxstorical traumas we have experienced and that we continue to experience today, and we plan to claim and reclaim those things. There are Black hxstories on this campus that have gone hidden in plain sight, such as the radical hxstory of the Black Panther Party’s connections to this campus, and those hxstories need to be recovered and uncovered. This is a part of that process of reclamation. There are the real hxstories of take-overs of buildings and spaces by Black students throughout the UC system and throughout the nation dating back to at least the 1960’s. We are reclaiming that energy and drive toward making changes that benefit us. We recognize and sense both the positive outcomes of those movements, as well as some of the ways the institution has subsumed some of those victories back into liberal and neoliberal academia. We also understand and situate our reclamation in the contexts of the Black hxstories and Black student movements here in the U.S. and worldwide, including #ConcernedStudent1950 at the University of Missouri and #RhodesMustFall at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

“Reclamation” is only one word, and it’s the word that resonates with us because “occupation” can be read as doubling and re-doubling the same colonial violence that led to our enslavement and the dispossession of land from Native and Indigenous peoples, especially the various dispossessions experienced by Native and Indigenous Afrikans. We are claiming and reclaiming space from and in a university that has claimed there is (no) space for us as they make sure we remain less than 2% of the general body population. We are reclaiming space because the university has denied every one of our demands for space on this campus while other minoritized and marginalized groups have been taken seriously and given space(s) on campus, even as those spaces also remain inadequate. We are reclaiming space because the Chancellor and other Administrators should not have an office to work in while we do not have safe places to work, live, think, learn, and be on this campus. We are reclaiming space because the university refuses to provide space for us. We are taking what is ours, and what has been promised to us, unapologetically, and until the Administration meets us with more than it has currently met us with around these demands, we will reclaim and we will remain. 

What Remains:

There are two demands we have made that are not being re-stated as a part of this current Reclamation. They are: 

1. We demand the University purchase a property located at or near the base of campus (High Street) to serve as a low income housing cooperative for historically disadvantaged students. We demand this property have 4 bedrooms with appropriate furnishings. This property will then be student ran and student operated by the Afrikan Black Student Alliance. We demand a written agreement to fund this project by beginning of spring quarter.

1. We demand the University allocate an additional $100,000 to the SOAR/Student Media/Cultural Arts and Diversity (SOMeCA for the hiring of advisor who has personal and professional experience handling African/Black/Caribbean student issues) permanently. We demand A/BSA has a final decision on who is hired for this position.

Additionally, there was an earlier demand for the creation of a Black Studies department on this campus. The Administration has not agreed to the creation of a Black Studies department, and has instead agreed to the creation of a Black Studies Minor or Major. While some may want to commend this Administration for their seeming agreeance, the truth of the matter is that what they have agreed to has not come into existence, as it still only exists in “white man’s promise”, and as of today, the program, whether a Minor or a Major, has not been established at UCSC.

With these three additional demands in mind, we want to extend an opportunity to the Administration to make good on their promises and to meet our demands, though we remain leery of this Administration's abilities to meet us where we need them to. However, we do recognize these demands may take a little more time, and in the spirit of generosity—which we are almost all out of—we want to make it clear that we are giving the Administration a little more time to meet these demands. If detailed plans on how the Administration will meet these demands are not delivered by the start of Fall Quarter 2017, there will be more Reclamations as you force us to have to take what we know to be in our best interest to Reclaim.

With the spirit with which we end every Afrikan/Black Student Alliance meeting, and with the collective visions of Love and Liberation we hold, it is Warrior Assata Shakur’s words we proclaim on this day, May 2nd, which is also the day that Warrior Assata Shakur lay handcuffed and terrorized on a hospital bed in 1973:

It is our duty to fight for our freedom.

It is our duty to win.

We must love each other and support each other. 

We have nothing to lose but our chains.

—Assata Shakur, from Assata: An Autobiography (1987)

Hollaback! I got yo’ back!

The Afrikan/Black Student Alliance 

University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC)

May 2nd, 2017

Afrikan Black Student Alliance at UC Santa Cruz Launches Demands for Institutional Change

The Afrikan Black Student Alliance at UC Santa Cruz, which is a part of the Afrikan Black Coalition, has launched 7 demands for institutional change at UC Santa Cruz. The Afrikan Black Coalition is in solidarity with Black students waging revolutionary struggle at UC Santa Cruz.

1. We demand the University purchase a property located at or near the base of campus (High Street) to serve as a low income housing cooperative for historically disadvantaged students. We demand this property have 4 bedrooms with appropriate furnishings. This property will then be student ran and student operated by the Afrikan Black Student Alliance. We demand a written agreement to fund this project by beginning of spring quarter.

2. Similar to EOP students and International students’ housing guarantees, we demand that ALL African Black Caribbean identified students have a 4 year housing guarantee to live in the Rosa Parks African American Themed House. Guaranteeing this would provide a viable living option to all ABC identified students regardless of housing status and college affiliation. We demand a written agreement by the opening of housing applications in April 2017.

3. We demand the university remove the beds and release the Rosa Parks African Themed House lounge so it can serve its original purpose. We demand the lounge be returned by Fall 2017.

4. We demand that the university fund the ENTIRE exterior of the Rosa Parks African American Themed House being painted Pan-Afrikan colors (Red, green, and black) by the start of Spring quarter 2017. These Pan Afrikan colors represent Black liberation, and represent our diaspora, and the goals of our people.

5. We demand that all new incoming students from 2017-2018 school year forward (freshman and transfers) go through a mandatory in-person diversity competency training in the event that the online module is not implemented by JUNE 2017. We demand that the training be reviewed and approved by A/BSA board every two years. We demand that every incoming student complete this training by their first day of class.

6. We demand the University allocate an additional $100,000 to the SOAR/Student Media/Cultural Arts and Diversity (SOMeCA for the hiring of advisor who has personal and professional experience handling African/Black/Caribbean student issues) permanently. We demand A/BSA has a final decision on who is hired for this position.

7. We demand a response from chancellor Blumenthal and all interested parties by April 3rd 2017

Afrikan Black Coalition Pushes University of California to Terminate $475 Million Worth of Contracts From Wells Fargo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: abc.politburo@gmail.com

DATE: 1/30/2017

“If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle, then damn it, you don't deserve to win.” -- Fred Hampton, Slain Black Panther Party Chairman, Illinois Chapter

Back in December 2015, the Afrikan Black Coalition unanimously demanded for the University of California (UC) to divest from private prisons. Shortly after the demand, the University of California divested nearly $30 million from private prisons. While this was a momentous and historic win, we knew our battle was not over as the UC still maintained several relationships with Wells Fargo - who provide a $900 million dollar credit line to Core Civic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) and are also part of the Million Shares Club.  Following continued advocacy from the Afrikan Black Coalition, the University of California has finally decided to discontinue several ($475 million worth) of its existing contracts with Wells Fargo. More specifically, the University of California has agreed to three key points:

1. Terminated the $25 million commercial paper contract with Wells Fargo on November 2016.

2. Terminate the $150 million interest reset contract with Wells Fargo by April 1st, 2017.

3. Terminate $200 million out of the $300 million line of credit with Wells Fargo by next month and the remaining $100 million as soon as a replacement bank is found, which is actively being sought for.

The UC’s decision to discontinue $475 million worth of contracts, and line of credit by April 2017 comes on the heels of several cities and states terminating their relationships with a bank that has caused great harm to our communities. This decision made by UC CFO Nathan Brostrom and his senior staff regarding the UC’s relationship with Wells Fargo is the first of its kind within higher education institutions. This decision is the result of a continued line of communication and spirit of cooperation that has been maintained between the Afrikan Black Coalition and senior UC administrators. We commend UC CFO Brostrom and his staff for their leadership and good faith effort on this matter and for communicating this information to ABC representatives in a meeting that took place on 1/17/2017 at the UC office of President in Oakland, CA. The UC is choosing to keep its $425 million in investments and recently signed interest rate swap contracts that expire in 2023, 2045, and 2047 because of the high cost of exiting those contracts at the moment. 

Wells Fargo is the syndicating agent for Core Civic’s (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) $900 million line of credit, a trustee for the GEO Group’s $300 million corporate debt, and are notorious for grossly discriminatory and predatory lending practices targeting Black and brown communities, evidenced by many related lawsuits and settlements. More recently, we discovered that Wells Fargo created over 2 million fake accounts and has been ordered to pay the largest penalty since the founding of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Since then, several states (including California), counties, and cities have terminated their relationships with the bank. We encourage Wells Fargo to terminate ALL of its relationships with prisons (private and public), and atone for their wrongdoings by paying reparations to the communities from whom they have stolen millions of dollars and whose financial credit histories they have ruined. 

Much like our December 2015 victory, where we pushed the UC to divest all of its nearly $30 million in shares from private prisons (Core Civic, GEO Group and G4S), this is an unprecedented move that can shift the landscape of not just California, but the nation. By taking a stand against the amoral practices of an enormous corporation like Wells Fargo, the Afrikan Black Coalition is pushing the UC to exhibit the kind of leadership necessary for the survival of communities unfairly targeted by a criminal financial system. We dedicate this small victory to the hundreds and thousands of our people who are trapped in America’s gulags. Through the organized struggle of our masses, we believe our liberation is inevitable.

To learn more about our work and support the Afrikan Black Coalition, please contribute at http://afrikanblackcoalition.org/donate/.

OPINION: The Misunderstanding of Minister Louis Farrakhan & the Nation of Islam

The Misunderstanding of Minister Louis Farrakhan & the Nation of Islam

By: Salih Muhammad

Jan. 5. 2017

History will absolve me - Commandante Fidel Castro

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote, “Of all of our studies, history is most guaranteed to reward our research.” History examines the patterns of human behavior and relationships, providing its student with a striking understanding of context. A cursory examination of Black history indicates that every great leader we have produced has been met with a litany of obstacles and controversies that impacts their ability to work on behalf of the people. Many of those whom we presently honor did not receive such honors while they were alive. Why? 

With more than 60 years of dedication and unwavering commitment to the liberation of All Black People, Minister Farrakhan stands as one of our most consistent and successful leaders. Although he has received praise from global leaders such as Fidel Castro, Kwame Toure, former Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings, and Yasser Arafat, Minister Farrakhan remains the central, most controversial figure in Black America. The hatred that is summoned at the sound of his name is rooted not in treacherous action, but the following myths that disguise the underlying truth that exposes them.

Malcolm X

Some oppose Minister Farrakhan on the assumption that he, and the Nation of Islam are responsible for the assassination of Minister Malcolm X. However, in a January 22, 1969 memo, the FBI actually take credit for the assassination of Malcolm X through the Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO). COINTELPRO is the same program responsible for the death of Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, and countless other Black Leaders. Malcolm’s secretary, Ms. Sarah Mitchell stated the following in regards to the night before his assassination:

“He said now anyone could kill him and everyone would blame the Muslims … He said, ‘We’ve been set up, and they succeeded.’ Malcolm X planned to recant his criticism of Muhammad at the Harlem rally that afternoon, Mitchell said, but he was gunned down before he could do so. She disputes a widely held belief that angry Muslims were behind the assassination.”

Homophobia & Transantagonism

Although I acknowledge that the spiritual views of Minister Farrakhan & the NOI in regards to Queer & Transgender identities is rooted in Islamic beliefs that conflict, I believe that we can work toward Operational Unity with love at the root. On March 25, 2011, Min. Farrakhan stated, “I love my people who are lesbian, homosexual, transgender. Don’t make no difference, I love you.” The words are very clear and are supported by his actions. Not once, has the NOI or any NOI member committed physical violence upon our Black LGBT family; and we welcome opportunities to build and heal any unintended pain in unity. Furthermore, the love of all Black people is not a transaction; or a consequence of Queer & Trans contributions to our struggle; rather a deeply spiritual and pure love of all Black people. 

Gwendolyn Rodgers, a National Black Justice Coalition Emerging Leader (a Black LGBT Advocacy organization) examines this unfortunate reality in this beautifully written article. Gwendolyn asks us to reevaluate our perceived differences and consider, “Can we not operate in our silos for a common cause of liberation? Or do we not want to be truly free?” Is it possible to create unity without uniformity? To listen through disagreement?

Misogyny, Misogynoir, and Black Women

What has been most interesting around the charges of misogyny, misogynoir, and sexism within the Nation of Islam has been the complete absence of the voices of NOI women on the subject. Kathleen Currin interviewed such women and found that “all the women interviewed expressed over and over again that they loved their experiences in the Nation of Islam, precisely because it taught them that they could accomplish what they wanted.” Professor Ula Taylor of UC Berkeley offers that “many women joined the ranks of the Nation of Islam because of the "problematic dynamics within the Black power movement.” In fact, every NOI Mosque is constitutionally mandated to have women in leadership, up to and including Mother Clara Muhammad’s active leadership of the NOI from 1942 to 1947. Similarly, a survey conducted by Dr. Bayinnah Jefferies found that 89% of respondents (both male and female) agreed that “women were always highly respected within the community” and “had comparable roles to men” in the NOI. 

Minister Farrakhan’s prolific support of Black Women and girls for six decades has been unprecedented. Phrases like “The Black Woman is God,” or “A Nation can rise no higher than its Woman,” find their roots in NOI theology and Minister Farrakhan’s spiritual exegesis. In 1998, Minister Farrakhan made Dr. Ava Muhammad the first woman to lead a Mosque (Atlanta, GA) in the world. Today, Dr. Ava is his National Spokesperson, a role comparable to the one Malcolm X’s once held. Dr. Ava is a just one example of the type of empowerment, renewal, and upliftment that Black Women across the country experience from their relationship with Islam. Similarly, the Million Man March and Justice or Else gatherings featured legendary Black women, including Maya Angelou and Dorothy Heights.

Anti-Semitic 

Since the 1980’s, Minister Farrakhan has weathered the storm of being consistently and repeatedly called anti-Semitic. The accusation has been so intense that it has lead to Zionist protest with slurs such as “Who do we Want? Farrakhan! How do we want him? Dead!” The accusations have been so misleading that the white-led Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the NOI and Minister Farrakhan in the same grouping as the Ku Klux Klan, although the NOI has never been known to purvey violence. The KKK has a long record of murder and terrorism; the NOI has none. The truth of the matter is that the charge of anti-semitism has been used historically and presently to condemn those critical of Israel. Consider this August 14, 2002 interview between NPR’s Amy Goodman and former Israeli Minister of Education Shulamit Aloni: 

Goodman: Often there is dissent expressed in the United States against policies of the Israeli government, people here are called “anti-semitic.” What is your response to that as an Israeli Jew? 

Aloni: Well, it’s a trick. We always use it. 

Anti-semitism is vastly different from a political critique of Israeli imperialism. 

Is Farrakhan still relevant? 

Some may suggest that Minister Farrakhan no longer carries relevance, except the controversy that seems to follow him. Min. Farrakhan is responsible for hosting the four largest gatherings in Black History, most recently Justice or Else in October 2015, each averaging at least one million Black people. No other leader has been able to maintain such a strong appeal, especially in spite of a complete media absence in coverage before, during, or after the march. Or consider that under his leadership, the Nation of Islam maintains bases in more than 120 cities across America, and more globally. Countless artists, entertainers, politicians, and other renowned Black folks have embraced Minister Farrakhan publicly; and the Nation’s impact on Black social and political realities has remained consistent. Lastly, the Nation of Islam under Minister Farrakhan’s leadership is one of the only remaining strong, independent, Black Organizations we have. 

The harsh reality is that too often our perception of Black leaders is shaped and influenced by white popular media, long standing assumptions, and a sheer lack of knowledge. The notion that he is no longer relevant is as unfounded as it is absurd. The reality is that corporate (read: white) sponsored media has intentionally excluded anything related to Min. Farrakhan, creating the false appearance that Minister Farrakhan is no longer relevant. How does Justice or Else happen and without one corporate (read: white) media entity covering it? The media’s opinion of the Minister can be found in a March 1999 New York Post--America’s 7th largest newspaper--cartoon depicting Minister Farrakhan’s decapitation. 
One may not agree with every single thing that Minister Farrakhan says, but certainly 60 years of sacrifice for Black people deserves respect. To his example, we owe gratitude. I conclude with a remarkable reminder from Sister Assata Shakur: “The first thing the enemy tries to do is isolate revolutionaries from the masses of people, making us horrible and hideous monsters so that our people will hate us.”

Political Prisoner Jalil Muntaqim Sent to Solitary Confinement for Teaching Inmates Black History

Political Prisoner Jalil Munatqim (former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army Member) has been in the SHU since Tuesday for teaching Black History on Monday nights which was approved by the administration. He has taught Black History for almost 2 months now starting from 1861-2 with the confiscation act and was currently on 1960’s period anti-Vietnam and the Black Panther Party and other groups during that time period. More information will come forward when Jalil goes to a hearing but for now it can be suspected the authorities didn’t like what he was saying, so Jalil was placed in the SHU with 5 charges. This has been a part of an ongoing program to censor Jalil that has ramped up this year when he beat false charges for writing a letter to an outside organization and being denied newspapers from the outside, stepping up the repression by now removing him from the general population. Jalil would like the word to get out with what is going on and please focus on the Twitter Storm this Wednesday December 14th to Governor Cuomo- directions Below!

 

 

In addition to appealing this latest parole denial, Jalil has also submitted a request to Governor Cuomo for commutation of sentence to time served.

 

 

We are organzing a Twitter storm to raise awareness about human rights violations happening to political prisoners.

 

 

Tweet the following message to Governor Cuomo:

"I add my voice to demand: Commutation of sentence for Anthony Jalil Bottom #77A4283 NOW! @NYGovCuomo #clemency4jalil"

 

 

Ask your friends, family, co-workers, church members, classmates or union members, to support this campaign! United our voices can make freedom happen!

 

 

If you don’t tweet, call the governor at: 1-518-474-8390

or write the governor at: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224

 

 

Since Jalil is apparently on some kind of mailwatch, he needs to receive as many letters and cards as possible.

 

Learn more about Jalil at freejalil.com

 

Write to Jalil:

Anthony Jalil Bottom #77A4283 Attica Correctional Facility P.O. Box 149 Attica, New York 14011-0149 Our mailing address is:New York City Jericho Movement P.O. Box 670927 Bronx, NY 10467 www.jerichony.org

 

Via: https://www.facebook.com/notes/jalil-muntaqim/urgent-call-to-action-twitter-storm-december-14th-2016/1832451526971874

 

Black Man Murdered by White Supremacists Near Richmond California

By: Brotha B

William Sims, a 28-year-old Black man, was murdered by white supremacists in El Sobrante, a small town next to Richmond. Sims was a musician and was a loved member of his community.  

“He was a very kind and loving person...He loved music. He loved making friends. He was the best brother a sister could ever have. It’s been very difficult. It still seems unreal.”

-Stacey Sims (William's Sister)

Three white men are the suspects. One of them, Daniel Porter-Kelly, was arrested on November 16th and charged with robbery and murder with a hate crime enhancement. The two other suspects (Ray Simons, 32, of Hercules, and Daniel Ortega) are currently at large and are armed and dangerous.

Will Sims cousin took to Twitter to discuss what happened.

Currently, there is a lack of information regarding Sims’ death. We will update you based on new information that arises.

“We want to have justice”

-Bill Sims (Will's father)

Source Via SF GATE

The Afrikan Black Coalition supports #NoDAPL

The Afrikan Black Coalition supports #NoDAPL

“There is a cruel irony in the fact that police are using WATER against those who have sworn to PROTECT IT.” -- Lakota Law Project

The Afrikan Black Coalition unconditionally supports the active protection of land and water, and the struggle for freedom by Native peoples and all oppressed people.

As we approach Thanksgiving, the classic American tradition of celebrating the massacre of Native folks in the 1600s, four hundred years later we have arrived at a similar place. Both Afrikan people and Native people face the gratuitous violence of white settler colonialism and continue to struggle to smash global domination without mercy. According to multiple reports from Twitter and a livestream from Sunday, November 20, 2016, the water protectors of North Dakota are facing rubber bullets, tear gas, mace cannons, and water cannons on North Dakota Highway 1806. The weather is under 30 degrees fahrenheit. 

Make no mistake, this is an ongoing act of domestic terrorism. The same U.S. Department of Defense 1033 Program that gives the Oakland Police Department military tanks to surveil the hoods of California enables the abuse of Native peoples attempting to protect their livelihoods. Native peoples in United States have long been the survivors of terrorism. This current assault began in August 2016 and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. 

This is a time that requires action, which the water protectors have peacefully taken up. In response to that action the State is punishing the water protectors with weapons of mass destruction. We support without reservation any and all tactics the native people of North Dakota may respond with in reaction to the brutality they are facing. We believe that all people have the right to defend their land against foreign or corporate enemies by any means necessary. Water is a sacred human right that must be protected, not privatized, poisoned, or withheld. With Wells Fargo and Citibank as major funders, the collusion of capitalism and white supremacy is clear.

No one should have to face abuse for basic human rights such as land or water, and yet we do at the hands of the imperialist U.S. government and private corporations. Much like G4S invests in maintaining their global hold on private prisons in the U.S. and Palestinians in the so-called state of Israel, they are also working against the water protectors in North Dakota. This partnership between the State and corporations is further proof of our joint enemies and speaks to V.I Lenin’s statement that “Imperialism [is] the highest stage of Capitalism.” 

The Afrikan Black Coalition, in solidarity with the water protectors, strongly condemns the Dakota Access Pipeline, the acts of terror against Indigenous peoples in the name of white supremacist capitalist imperialism, and the disregard for future generations of folks forced to live in the United States of America. It is our fundamental belief that history is on the side of the oppressed and that our victory against the oppressors is inevitable. And we, who believe in freedom, shall not rest until it’s won. 

If you’d like to contribute, please donate to the Red Warrior Camp, the direct action camp of #NoDAPL, or visit NoDAPL Solidarity’s call-to-action. #NoDAPL

***
When you see water in a stream
you say: oh, this is stream
water;
When you see water in the river
you say: oh, this is water
of the river;
When you see ocean
water
you say: This is the ocean's
water!
But actually water is always
only itself
and does not belong
to any of these containers
though it creates them.
And so it is with you.

Alice Walker

Afrikan Black Coalition Conference 2017

Afrikan Black Coalition Conference 2017:

“Reviving Our Black Nation”

The Afrikan Black Coalition, a statewide network of Black college and university students and alumni, will hold its 14th annual conference this year at California State University Long Beach from Friday, January 13th through Monday, January 16th, 2017. With participation from every University of California campus and nearly every California State University campus, the  4- day, 3-night ABC Conference is the largest California statewide conference of Black students in higher education. 

The conference is the Afrikan Black Coalition’s chance to continue its dedication to conscious-building and organizing, work that in the past year has lead to the following ground-breaking achievements:

Heading Black Student Demand campaigns on five campuses, totaling in nearly $1.5 million in Black Student Support Services.

Forcing the University of California system to divest $25,000,000 from private prisons.

Training over 200 Black student leaders with more than 10 various leadership seminars 

Expanding ABC’s membership to seven more campuses in the University of California and California State University systems.

This year’s conference theme “Reviving Our Black Nation” aims to convene, heal, and revive our community of the mental, emotional and spiritual turmoil that the constant witnessing and endurance of oppression, brutality and injustice bring. In addition to stellar keynote speakers there will be a host of workshops, lectures and spaces that will engage and empower attendees, centering topics like healing, revival, intersectionality, Black business and political consciousness. The conference will also feature numerous social activities, a political panel discussion, and a Unity Carnival.

The 2017 ABC Conference will be a truly unique and inclusive space; a premiere occasion for Black students of all identities and experiences in the struggle for the liberation of all Afrikan peoples.

Follow the official hashtag for the event at #ABC2k17 to stay updated on the latest!

For more information on registration or for other questions, please contact conference chair Star Bacon at AfrikanBlackCoalition@gmail.com.

Contact AfrikanBlackCoalition@gmail.com with any questions or media requests.

For Immediate Release: Afrikan Black Coalition Voter Guide

While white people are preoccupied between voting for an avowed orange colored fascist and an anti-Black war monger, the Afrikan Black Coalition finds it imperative that Black voters become knowledgeable and make informed decisions around the 17 propositions on the ballot this November. This is because propositions have the potential to provide tangible improvements or systematic disenfranchisement to Black people. Knowing their importance, we have researched and vetted each proposition on the ballot and have created a voter guide by identifying and prioritizing the propositions that are most consequential for Black people. After thorough research, we have decided to endorse propositions 55, 57, 58, and 62 and strongly oppose proposition 66.

We support Proposition 55 because public schools, where the majority of Black youth attend, will be receiving more funding by taxing the wealthiest Californians and the revenue will be allocated and distributed by local school boards. We are cognizant of the failures of the American public education system but additional funding will provide organizing opportunities for our youth about how the new funds will be spent at the local level.

We support Proposition 57 because it strips prosecutors’ power to charge our youth as adults. The majority of youth who have been tried as adults have been disproportionately Black and Latino. This reduces the power of racist DA’s who manipulate and threaten our children with trying them as adults. It also allows parole consideration for incarcerated folks by authorizing sentence credits for rehabilitation, good behavior and education. This proposition for more of our people to have a better chance of coming home from America’s cages.

We support Proposition 58 because it authorizes school districts to establish dual-language immersion programs. We believe this will benefit the scores of young students who deserve equitable and accessible education despite English being their second language.

We support  Proposition 62 because it would abolish the death penalty. In California, Black people make up 7% of the population but make up nearly 50% of the people on death row. This staggering application of the death penalty on Black people is reason enough for us to want it abolished at once.

Lastly, we strongly oppose Proposition 66 because it is a reckless experiment with justice that would limit the appeals process to people on death row to a mere 5 years among other procedural changes thus, greatly increasing the risk of killing an innocent person. Given the racial disparity on death row, it is clear that if and when California executes an innocent person, that person will most likely be a Black man or woman.

In conclusion, the previously identified propositions are crucial to vote on because they are small steps toward improving our current material conditions. These propositions focus in the fields of education and mass incarceration and their failure to pass will concretely worsen our people’s material conditions.Thus, we urge all Black people and all people of conscience to VOTE YES on Propositions 55, 57, 58, and 62 and VOTE NO on 66.

Haiti Needs Our Help in Response to Hurricane Matthew

Urgent Request For Funds for Haiti From The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund

As we write this, Hurricane Matthew has slammed into Haiti, leaving thousands without shelter or food. The hurricane has devastated the city of Les Cayes and many villages in the Southwestern part of the country, destroying crops and livestock and reversing the gains in food production made by women’s agricultural cooperatives and other local farmers. Now the torrential rains and winds have hit the capital, Port-au-Prince. With massive flooding comes the increased danger of water-borne diseases, particularly cholera (brought to Haiti by UN troops), which has already reached epidemic proportions.

We ask that all friends of Haiti donate right now to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. Your donations will go directly to grassroots organizations on the ground in Haiti. With the delayed October 9th elections to take place soon, popular organizations in Haiti are hard at work trying to help families and communities while ensuring that the election is free and fair and that Haiti’s poor majority is not blocked from voting or having their votes counted.

This is a critical time for us to step up our solidarity. Please send your tax-deductible funds to:

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund
c/o East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
2362 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, California 94704

Or donate at:

www.haitiemergencyrelief.org

Thank you so much for your generous support,
Haiti Emergency Relief Fund Board of Directors
Walter Riley, Maureen Duignan, O.S.F., Pierre Labossiere, Marilyn Langlois, Robert Roth

BOYS DON'T CRY: Exploring Black masculinities with Jamel Smith

History, both globally and locally, is often cyclical. Society experiences tragedies and then formulates solutions to rebuild and improve, but because the power structures in American culture have virtually stayed the same, so has our cycle of history. Within the last two years of the Movement for Black Lives there has been a significant effort by those involved to break American cycles of tragedy and oppression. Black people are society to unlearn the ideologies that got us here in the first place.

Today we are lifting up Jamel Smith, whose current efforts are to push the unlearning of toxic masculinity. Jamel attends Morehouse College, a historically Black male college that has varying forms of Black masculinities. Shaped by his environment, Jamel created BOYS [DO]N’T CRY, bringing personal narratives of Black men’s emotions into the public eye. His project aims to tear down traditional stereotypes and assumptions around how Black men are supposed to “behave.” In an email interview with ABC, Smith shared the inspirations and aspirations for the project.

Afrikan Black Coalition: This has been described as a passion project. Why are you so passionate about bringing this to life?

Jamel Smith: Individually, I am passionate about the scarring of black boys in their formative years at the hands of toxic masculinity. I’m passionate about the arts - of all kind. I’m also passionate about black liberation, whether that be physically, mentally, or emotionally. All of those passions came together at one time to create this idea of getting black boys and men, including myself, to write our way to emotional liberation. I felt like this was an opportune time to give back to my people the best way I knew how and that was through art. Through art, I aim to liberate [my] legacy.

find more at http://boysdontcryblog.tumblr.com/

ABC: Passion projects like this stem from something personal, what personal experiences led you to creating something you wanted to share and create so publicly?

JS: As a kid in the 3rd grade, I was bullied for how I spoke, where I lived, what music I liked, how I dressed, how well I did in school, etc. I sucked at sports, I loved to sing, I aced every assignment, I enunciated my words, and I wore my 8-year-old emotions on my sleeve. Coming from an home environment that celebrated who I was, I didn't think it wasn't normal. 

The first time I was exposed to the word “gay” was when it was used towards me as an insult. I was called a “f*ggot” and “sissy” and to an impressionable kid, it hurt to be bullied and excluded from other black boys. Ultimately, I allowed their narrow-minded frame of manhood to mold me, a suburban pastor’s kid, into a kid bully. I sagged, I cussed, I disrespected the teacher, all as an 8-year-old, and surprisingly, that’s when I was accepted. I had to change who I was in order to get a stamp of approval from my black brothers. It took me moving to a predominantly white elementary school for me to realize nothing was wrong with me. Yes, white boys told me I was “normal” and embraced me for who I was. As a 9 year old, it was important for me to be validated by my peers. As I grew older, I realized that there was a real problem with how black men viewed masculinity and it shaped how I operated around black guys my age. I was still resentful and ultimately, hesitant to become friends with them all because of those experiences.

That is until I went to Morehouse College, a school primarily for black males. Freshman year was a year of internal healing I didn't even know I needed. As I listened to conversations from other black men who encountered the same things as I did, I thought “how great would it be to not have to wait until college to feel like this---to feel included.” That was the start.

find more at http://boysdontcryblog.tumblr.com/

"I’m also passionate about black liberation, whether that be physically, mentally, or emotionally."

ABC: Was there an “aha” moment or instance of inspiration where this showed itself as an idea you had to commit to?

JS: This topic of hypermasculinity within the black community was something I have always wanted to explore because of how close it was to me. I decided to take it to twitter and tell about my personal encounter with it. I’ve had years of internal healing from and I was ready to offer my insight to other black boys and men. I titled it “I Just Wanna Be Liberated, Iiiiiiiiiii: How I Almost Lost Myself to Hypermasculinity”. After I shared it on Facebook, it caught like wildfire. I received messages from parents telling me how their son(s) were experiencing the same bullying I experienced and how they wanted me to give them advice on how to help their kid. By the end of the day, I was advised to write a book on this crippling yet unspoken issue within the black community. I was more than happy to commit to the challenge of correcting decades of oppressive behavior towards black boys and perpetrated by black men. 

ABC: How have you facilitated conversations around masculinity before BOYS DON’T CRY?

JS: I was blessed to have a father who encountered the same invisible bully of hypermasculinity when he was younger. He never said “be a man, boy” when I was hurt and wanted to show emotion. Most of my childhood was spent talking to him about what being a man was really about. He, along with my mom, taught me that tears, emotions, thoughts, brilliance beyond athleticism and macho-ism is what matters. Those early conversations informed how I viewed masculinity, personally. I also have the great privilege of attending Morehouse College where black male identity is a topic of discussion and debate regularly. Since freshman year, I have had the opportunity to talk to other cishet* and gay/queer black men on topics including but not limited to: toxic hyper-masculinity, gender roles, America’s stereotype of the black male, Black America’s monolithic outlook on the black male, and all of its weighing effects on black boys and men today. 

Jamel Smith with his father, L. Spenser Smith/Twitter

ABC: Do you have an end goal? What do you hope comes of this?

JS: My ultimate goal for BOYS DON’T CRY is two-fold: I want to create a revolutionary body of work that will aesthetically attract, teach, and encourage young boys of color to stay the course of liberation and individuality. I also want to provide a place of healing to contributors, if necessary. Writing is therapeutic. Art is therapeutic. While we educate the younger generation, we heal ourselves. 

ABC: In your own words, describe toxic masculinity as it relates to larger American culture and more specifically to the Black community.

JS: Toxic masculinity is when men exaggerate stereotypical behavior to exert toxic power over other men and women. This is shown via physical strength and sexuality. Over the years, we have seen the repercussions of our narrow-mindedness when it comes to the aforementioned ideas via gang violence, abuse towards black women/LGBTQIA people, and the disconnect and disband of black families due to ignorance and stubbornness.

"He, along with my mom, taught me that tears, emotions, thoughts, brilliance beyond athleticism and macho-ism is what matters."

ABC: Things like toxic masculinity are so ingrained in our American/human fibers, it’s so layered and complex. How do we get in front of topics like this to eventually get rid of them?

JS: I think this is the question that I struggle to find. However, where I find difficulty to answer this question, I also find opportunity. I think open-minded and thoughtful dialogue between fathers and sons, brothers, uncles and nephews, and all men in general, is key. In many black families, the freedom to express an array of emotions and talk about it afterwards is taboo because of close-minded men who didn't have the chance to do so themselves. It's a never ending cycle that perpetuates this monolithic outlook on what how a man should act. Everything is either an agenda or against bro code. I think real conversations are important. Getting to the root of a behavior and more importantly, seeing how a specific behavior impact people, whether it's positive or negative. That's why I am opening this project to many different perspectives. Content will include perspectives from bullies and conduits of hyper masculinity, as well as, those bullied by hyper-masculinity and the lessons learned. My hope is that this project will act as a conversation starter for families and friends. When we know better, we (oughta) do better. This is my attempt to be boldly vocal about what has been silenced forever. 

find more at http://boysdontcryblog.tumblr.com/

ABC: The Movement for Black Lives is largely related to Black identity in America. Do you feel your project is contributing to a larger social justice movement?

JS: Absolutely. Because being black in America requires black men to be strong, we're often left thinking that being anything less leaves us vulnerable to oppression and bullets. As I do believe that there is a time and a place for everything, I don't believe that our core is that of a heartless person. We find our strength in how passionate we are about things and people. That's what manhood is about. It's okay to respect (black) women as your equal, it's okay to cry on your brother’s shoulder---no matter his sexual orientation, it's okay to give and receive love, it's okay to feel, it's okay to be. 

ABC: How long do you plan on taking submissions?

JS: I will be taking submissions for as long as they keep coming. Every piece of content will be featured on the Boys Don’t Cry blog. (Send content to boysdontcrystories@gmail.com) I have plans to curate an anthology book from the submissions I receive but the blog is here now and here to stay. 

Learn more about Jamel Smith here and visit BOYS DON’T CRY on Tumblr.

*EDITOR’S NOTE: “cishet” is an abbreviation for an individual who is cisgender and heterosexual. You can read more here.

Alyx Goodwin is a staff writer for the Afrikan Black Coalition and a contributing writer for the Black Youth Project. 

Elaine Brown calls for volunteers for the Black Panth

Elaine Brown calls for volunteers for the Black Panther Party's 50th anniversary

Editor's Note: below you'll find a message from Ms. Elaine Brown, former Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As you probably know by now, this coming October marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party.  I’m a member of the ad hoc committee of former Party members hosting events commemorating the anniversary, in Oakland, California, from October 20 -23rd.  Our main venue is the beautiful, 7.5 acre Oakland Museum of California.

The theme of the commemoration is "Where Do We Go From Here?"  With that in mind, we will showcase workshops and panel discussions on the ideology, history and legacy of the Party.  And, there will be music and art and photo exhibits and film showings--and a gala commemoration dinner on October 22nd in the Museum's magnificent garden.

This is my invitation to you to come out and participate in this conference, enjoy our wonderful dinner and gala, advertise in our souvenir program book.  For more information and to purchase tickets or an ad in the souvenir book, please visit our website: www.bpp50th.com.

In the meantime, I hoping you'd be interested in volunteering to support the commemoration.  We need people in security, hosts/hostesses, guides or other positions.  If you want to volunteer, we're having a meeting this Saturday, September 17th, at 11:00 am, Met West High School, 314 East 10th Street, Oakland, just show up!

Hope to see you Saturday--and, definitely, in October!

Elaine Brown

BPP 50th Host Committee

Black Student Union Secures "The Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center" at UC Berkeley

For Immediate Release
Contact: Afrikan Black Coalition
Email: AfrikanBlackCoalition@gmail.com

BLACK STUDENT UNION SECURES “THE FANNIE LOU HAMER RESOURCE CENTER” AT UC BERKELEY

“Sometimes it seem like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I’m not backing off”—Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer

“Land is the basis of ALL independence”—Kwame Nkrumah

Oakland, CA, August 4, 2016

After over 15 months of relentless organizing, mobilizing, and negotiations, the Black Student Union at UC Berkeley--in assistance with the Afrikan Black Coalition--, has reached an agreement with Chancellor Nicholas Dirks to secure a physical building and funding to serve as the long awaited “Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center.” 

The Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center is the result of a series of demands that were issued to the campus by the Black Student Union in March 2015. The first demand on that list read:

WE DEMAND the creation of an African-American Student Development Resource Center, to be named the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center, with a designated office space as well as space for hosting events, at a central campus location. This center is to be under the purview of the African-American Student Development Office.

The current Black Student Union Chair Elias Hinit and Chancellor Nicholas Dirks signed the agreement July 19th, 2016. The agreement states that the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center will be located in the Hearst Annex Building, rooms D3, D4, and D5 for the next five years and that the Chancellor will allocate $82,885 to refurbish the building and purchase necessary equipment. The Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center will remain in the Hearst Annex for five years (until June 2021). If the campus does not identify a permanent space for the Center by then, the agreement stipulates that the Center will remain in the Hearst Annex for an additional five years. The Fannie Lou Hamer Center will be open to the public in early September 2016.

The historic nature of this victory and the disciplined organizing effort that brought it into fruition are best described by Gabrielle Shuman, 2014-2015 Chairwoman of the Black Student Union who states:

Make no mistake; this center was not an easy win by any means. Black students and staff have been fighting battles for a space like this for decades. We sacrificed a great deal of time, sleep, studying, and even class attendance to make sure we could catch every calculated curveball thrown at us during this process.

It is critical to note that the Black Student Union has submitted a detailed budget plan, that will enable the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center to serve as a fully resourced and staffed Center, to Chancellor Dirks. Our budget plan asserts that the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center needs a permanent annual allocation of $547,500 to be used for five full time staff members, fifteen part-time student staff, and programming & equipment needs. The Chancellor has stated that he will consider this budget proposal. The 2016-2017 Black Student Union leadership will be following up on this matter once the fall semester begins.

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer/WNYC

Our vision has always been that the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center will serve as the central organizing and galvanizing space to meet the academic, social, cultural, and political needs of the Black community. We hope that the Center will help sustain the Black community and produce brilliant leaders such as that of its namesake, Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer; the kind of leaders who are determined, fearless, and resolute in the struggle for Black liberation. Articulating its importance, Cori McGowens, 2015-2016 Chairwoman of the Black Student Union, states:

Black people, no matter our location, need a space of our own in order to heal, create, build and decompress. This campus has a wide array of Black leaders who will be able to utilize this space to continue to do the work of our people.

We are cognizant of the monumental and historical nature of the opening of the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center. We pay homage to the martyrs of the Black Freedom Struggle whose endless sacrifices have gotten our people this far and in whose honor we have the privilege of contributing to the larger Black Freedom Struggle. Locally, we wish to express our gratitude to Ms. Nzingha Dugas, Director of the African American Student Development Office, for her tireless efforts in supporting and nurturing so many of us. She has been instrumental in helping us achieve a victory in this battle, and her efforts deserve high recognition. In addition, we would like to recognize a few of the many other Black students involved in the process, whose particular commitment and courage helped make this center possible: Gabrielle Shuman, Cori McGowens, Yoel Haile, Blake Simons, AB (Alana Banks), Eniola Abioye, David Turner, Lauren Butler, Zaynab AbdulQadir, and Spencer Pritchard. To the students, and all other parties who took a smaller role in the process but nonetheless contributed to its success: we appreciate you. 

Elias Hinit, the 2016-17 BSU Chairman who signed the agreement, captures our feelings about and aspirations for the Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center when he states:

I feel so honored and privileged to not only have a Black space and learn from it, but to help grow it into something that we can use to liberate our people.

We hope that we have done justice to the legacy of our people’s warrior, Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer and pledge to continue our struggle until freedom in her example!

All Power to the People!

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer/Howard University

Berkeley City Council Votes to Divest from Prisons, Demand Million Shares Club Immediately Dump Prison Investments

Berkeley City Council Votes to Divest from Prisons, Demand Million Shares Club Immediately Dump Prison Investments

On Tuesday July 19th, Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution to divest city funds from private prisons and to send a letter to Wells Fargo and other Million Shares Club members that the city does business with, demanding they divest immediately from the private prison industry.

The Berkeley resolution is the latest victory in a national prison divestment movement that has achieved unprecedented victories in California. Responding to Black student-led organizing by Afrikan Black Coalition and supported by Enlace, the University of California divested its endowment–the largest university endowment fund in the world–from private prisons, and CSULA became the first university to both divest and offer concrete reinvestment in students of color. The California Endowment became the first foundation to publicly divest from prisons last December, and labor councils throughout the state have passed resolutions calling on CALPERS, CALSTRS, and state and federal budgets to stop investing in and funding private prisons. These victories are critical steps in dismantling the private prison industry–the largest companies of which are CCA, GEO, and G4S–and the systems of policing, imprisoning and criminalizing people of color and immigrants in the U.S. and around the globe.

“Ending city investments in private prisons is part of a larger necessary effort to end private prisons entirely, and to end the criminalization and hyper-incarceration of communities of color and immigrants in the US,” said Amanda Aguilar Shank, Senior Campaign Organizer with Enlace. “Through city, university and pension investments in prisons, we are all connected to an industry that incentivizes caging people instead of providing them with the care and dignity we all deserve. When cities take a stand against private prisons, there is space for the community to ask for what they truly need."

Cathy Orozco, a commissioner on Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission, expressed support for the city’s policy: “With this resolution, the City of Berkeley is standing up for our community members. Black and brown peoples, immigrants, Palestinians, and other oppressed peoples deserve city governments that stand up for their rights and fight against corporations that profit from their suffering.”