Gangsters in Blue

Friday, April 20th @ 7PM

Join us for an extended conversation with Victoria Law, Jason Lydon (of Black and Pink: Supporting Our LGBTQ Family in Prison) and representatives from STEP about how the Prison Industrial Complex has grown and adapted to absorb new demographics. This continued conversation will cover the specific tactics employed by an expanding prison industry to accommodate women, LGBTQ and gender non-conforming populations. The evening's conversations will not be limited to how minority populations are victim to the P.I.C.

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The Women of Resistance in Brooklyn (RnB) and Their Friends Invite You to

Roses and Bread: 17th Annual Women’s Open Poetry & Performance Event

Friday, April 13, 2012

Door opens at 6:30 p.m. Program runs 7-9 p.m.
Donation: $10, $15, $20 • more if you can, less if you can’t

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A WOMEN- AND TRANS- ONLY EVENT!

The Commons

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“Manhandled, arrested, cuffed, searched, and locked away in the Tombs” is how AlterNet described the story of protester Barbara Schneider Reilly, who spent 30 hours in jail after being arrested at an Occupy Wall Street-related protest in October 2011.

Reilly reported: “During the long, cold night in the Tombs, at some point we asked a female officer if we could have some blankets. ‘We have no blankets.’ Some mattresses since we were 12 or so people?

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This Friday evening, starting at 6 pm, I will be doing a meet-and-greet, selling copies of Resistance Behind Bars and Tenacious, at the ArtWalk on Friday in Phoenix at CONSPIRE, a lovely vegan cafe and art gallery: CONSPIRE 901 N 5th St Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 237-5446 www.conspirephx.com/ If you're in Phoenix, come by and say hello!

WORTH: 7th Annual Celebration of SisterhoodThis past winter I joined the Sister Circle for WORTH (Women on the Rise Telling Herstory), an amazing organization of formerly incarcerated women and their allies.

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There are no upcoming events for Resistance Behind Bars at this time. I will be spending the rest of the year working on a second edition of the book (!!) for its Fall 2012 release, co-editing Don't Leave Your Friends Behind from a zine series into a book, and continuing to put out Tenacious: Art and Writings by Women in Prison.

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Zine Reading! My dear pal Tomas Moniz (aka Rad Dad) is doing an East Coast mini tour. I'm honored to join him and East Village Inky creator Ayun Halliday for a zine reading.

Also joining us will be John Meijias and his puppet show!

Monday, April 25th

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Bay Area peeps!

On Wed, May 4th, I'll be participating in
Readings Underground:
Author Series at Berkeley City College
Spring 2011

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

~James Tracy, Vikki Law and Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
contributors to The Hidden 1970s: Histories of Radicalism
(Dan Berger, Editor, Rutgers, 2010)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 7pm

Berkeley City College
2050 Center Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

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CANADIAN POLITICS MONTRÉAL:
MARCHE POUR LES VICTIMES DE BAVURES POLICIÈRES/MARCH FOR THE VICTIMS OF POLICE BRUTALITY:

À Samedi Octobre 22 à Montréal. On Saturday, October 22 in Montréal.
PBPBPBPBPB



MARCHE COMMÉMORATIVE: Justice pour les victimes de bavures policières!
Time Saturday, October 23 · 12:30pm - 2:30pm

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Location Guy & de Maisonneuve (métro Guy-Concordia)
Montreal, QC

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Created By No One Is Illegal Personne n'est illégal MONTRÉAL

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More Info [English below]

Justice pour les victimes de bavures policières!

MARCHE COMMÉMORATIVE
...SAMEDI 23 octobre, 12h30
Rassemblement: Guy & de Maisonneuve
(métro Guy-Concordia, sortie Guy)

Nous commémorerons le souvenir de Anas Bennis, Claudio Castagnetta, Ben Matson, Quilem Registre, Gladys Tolley, Fredy Villanueva et de toutes les autres victimes.

JOIGNEZ-VOUS à nous pour la Journée nord-américaine demandant l’arrêt de la brutalité policière. Montrez votre soutien et votre solidarité avec toutes les victimes de bavures policières. Avec les familles des victimes et leurs alliés, demandons vérité, dignité et justice.

Évènements familiaux – Bienvenu à tous et toutes !
INFO: 514-848-7583 – 22oct.mtl@gmail.com -- http://www.22octobre.net
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Les familles de personnes tuées par la police, leurs amis et leurs alliés organisent une vigile et une marche à la mémoire des victimes. Ces familles, qui doivent se battre pour connaître la vérité et pour obtenir justice pour les êtres qui leurs étaient chers, ont besoin de notre soutien.

Le vendredi 22 octobre, une vigile aura lieu en compagnie de certaines des familles devant la Fraternité des policiers et des policières (480, rue Gilford, sortie St-Joseph du métro Laurier) entre 16 h et 18 h. À la fin de la vigile nous allumerons des bougies en mémoire des victimes de brutalité policière.

Le samedi 23 octobre, une marche contre l’impunité systématique dans les cas de bavures ou de violence policière aura lieu. La marche commencera à 12h30 au coin des rues Guy et de Maisonneuve, ce sera un évènement à caractère familial. Descendez nombreux dans la rue pour montrer votre soutien aux familles. Le nombre fait la force!

Ce que nous recherchons, c’est LA DIGNITÉ, LA JUSTICE ET LA VÉRITÉ.

Le but principal de la marche est de :
- COMMÉMORER les personnes victimes de bavures policières
- SOUTENIR leurs familles par tous les moyens

Nous soutenons les revendications des familles Bennis, Castagnetta, Matson, Registre, Tolley et Villanueva. Leurs revendications incluent:
- LA FIN de la brutalité policière
- LA FIN de l’impunité policière
- LA FIN du profilage racial, social et politique
- L’ACCÈS rapide à toute l’information
- DES ACCUSATIONS CRIMINELLES contre les policiers ayant tué une personne
- LA TENUE d’enquêtes indépendantes quand une personne est tuée par la police
- L’APPLICATION des recommandations du coroner
- LA FIN de l’utilisation du Taser

Cette initiative est née suite au Forum contre la Violence Policière et l’Impunité qui a eu lieu de janvier 2010 à Montréal, durant lequel des familles ont exprimé leur désir de se réunir pour commémorer leurs proches et renforcer leurs luttes pour la dignité, la justice et la vérité. La date symbolique du 22 octobre a ensuite été choisie pour organiser des événements familiaux pour commémorer les victimes de bavures policières car cette date est la Journée Nationale de Protestation aux États-Unis, organisée par la Coalition du 22 octobre pour arrêter la brutalité policière, la répression et la criminalisation d’une génération depuis 1996.

Nous demandons le soutien d’autres groupes. Pour endosser nos revendications et participer, communiquez avec nous au (514) 848-7583 ou écrivez à 22oct-mtl@gmail.com . Vous pouvez passer prendre des dépliants et des affiches au GRIP Concordia (1500, de Maisonneuve, 2e étage).

Évènements familiaux – Bienvenu à tous et toutes !
INFO: 514-848-7583 – 22oct.mtl@gmail.com -- www.22octobre.net


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Justice for Victims of Police Killings!

COMMEMORATIVE MARCH
SATURDAY, October 23, 12:30pm
Gathering at the corner of Guy & de Maisonneuve
(métro Guy-Concordia, Guy exit)
facebook event:

We remember: Anas Bennis, Claudio Castagnetta, Ben Matson, Quilem Registre, Gladys Tolley, Fredy Villanueva and all the other victims of police killings.

JOIN US on the North American Day to Stop Police Brutality & Repression to show your support and solidarity with all victims of police killings. Together with the families and supporters of police victims, we demand truth, justice and dignity.

Family friendly - Welcome to all!
INFO: 514-848-7583 – 22oct.mtl@gmail.com -- www.22octobre.net
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The families of people killed by the police, their friends and their allies are organizing a commemorative vigil and march to remember victims. These families, who face an uphill battle in uncovering the truth and obtaining justice for their loved ones, need our support.

Friday, October 22: There will be a family-led vigil in front of the Police Brotherhood (480 Gilford St., Laurier metro, St-Joseph exit) between 4 and 6 p.m. We will end the vigil by lighting candles in memory of the victims of police killings.

Saturday, October 23: There will be a family-led, family-friendly march against the systemic impunity in the face of police killings and police violence. The march will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the corner of Guy St. and de Maisonneuve. We strongly encourage as many supporters as possible to come out on the streets and show our support for the families. There is power in numbers!

What we are seeking is DIGNITY, JUSTICE and TRUTH.

The main purpose of the march is to:
- REMEMBER the victims who lost their lives to police violence and abuse and;
- SUPPORT their families in any way we can

We support the list of demands of the Bennis, Castagnetta, Matson, Registre, Tolley and Villanueva families. Their demands include:
- END police brutality
- END police impunity
- END racial, social and political profiling
- ACCESS all information in a prompt manner
- LAY criminal charges in police killings
- HOLD public independent inquiries in police killings
- APPLY the recommendations of the coroner
- STOP the use of tasers

This initiative came out of the Forum Against Police Violence and Impunity in January of 2010, during which the families expressed their desire to come together to remember their loved ones and strengthen their respective struggles for dignity, justice and the truth. The symbolic date of October 22 was subsequently chosen for a family-friendly march to commemorate the victims of police killings to coincide with the National Day of Protest in the United States organized by the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, which has been mobilizing every year since 1996.

We ask for your group’s endorsement. To get involved contact us at (514) 848-7583 or at 22oct-mtl@gmail.com . You can pick up flyers and posters for the event at QPIRG Concordia (1500 de Maisonneuve St. W 2nd floor).

Family friendly - Welcome to all!
INFO: 514-848-7583 – 22oct.mtl@gmail.com -- www.22octobre.net

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Is the police meltdown in full effect? Not a day goes by, of late, without news of some scandal, brutality, or murder coming from one of the valley police agencies. It's not just here either, across the country there appears to be a rise in the reports of increasing violence and abuse coming from the authorities, much of it coming to light because the people witnessing these incidents are recording it, sharing it on the internet, and a corporate news outlet eventually catches wise and reports on it.

In no case is this more clear than the murder of Oscar Grant, an unarmed man shot and killed by Johannes Mehserle, an Oakland transit cop, on a BART platform in the early hours of new year's day 2009. A friend, and activist from the Los Angeles solidarity efforts in the Grant case, is in town and is giving a presentation and showing a video on Oscar Grant's case to commemorate the annual October 22 national day against police brutality (albeit a day late, there was a scheduling conflict with the event being hosted on the 22nd). This will also be a good opportunity for anyone interested in meeting up and networking with others who are also interested in organizing and fighting back against the police.

If there's one lesson I've learned over the years of agitating against the police and in support of community control, it's that reform is a failure. Whether in the form of a citizen review board, or sensitivity training for officers, these are superficial changes to an institution that was created to protect the rich and their property, and to keep poor people down by force, when necessary. When we say we have to abolish the police, that includes this whole stinking system, the bureaucrats, politicians, and capitalists who demand social peace maintained by the police, so that workers go to work, pay the rent and bills, and line the pockets of everyone who controls where we sleep, what goods we use, and where we travel.

As anarchists, we having nothing but contempt for the social peace of the state, achieved through coercion and violence, which is why when we demand justice for those murdered by cops, we are demanding the abolition of those who seek to control and dominate.



The statement below was written up by the organizer of Saturday's Oscar Grant event in Phoenix, if you're interested in putting armed authoritarians in their place, this event is a good start.

STOP POLICE BRUTALITY!

THE YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE EXECUTION OF OSCAR GRANT SHOCKED THE WORLD--WE HAVE A REAL CHANCE TO MAKE SURE THE COP WHO MURDERED OSCAR GRANT SERVES PRISON TIME --COME HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

Showing of the Film, "Operation Small Axe"
Discussion of Police Brutality and the Oscar Grant Shooting

Moderated by Elizabeth Venable of the LA Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant & AZ Immigrants Rights Activist

Saturday, October 23 • 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Conspire Coffee Shop and Art Gallery
901 N. 5th St., Phoenix, AZ

Oscar Grant was an unarmed 22 year old father who was shot in the back by police even though he was fully restrained by two officers and unarmed. The shooting was captured on videotape by multiple people who were on the Oakland BART train.

The officer who shot Grant, Johannes Mehserle, was the first police officer to be tried for Murder for an on-duty offense in the state of California. Immediately before the shooting, one of the officers restraining Grant, Tony Pirrone called Grant the N-word multiple times.

The videos spread throughout the internet and Oakland residents became very angry at what they viewed as the execution of an unarmed man. You can see the video on Youtube.

The Murder trial of Mehserle was moved from Oakland to Los Angeles so that the jury would not be "biased". Judge Perry-- who the case was assigned to-- was the same judge that let off 81 corrupt officers in the RAMPART scandal. There were no African American jurors. The LA
Coalition worked directly with Oscar's family and friends to raise awareness when the trial of Mehserle, the officer who shot Grant, was moved from Oakland to Los Angeles.

Mehserle was convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter--with a weapons enhancement that could get him prison time. However the family of Oscar grant fears that the weapons enhancement will be thrown out so that Mehserle does not have to face prison time.

The sentencing is coming in November and it is critical that advocates pressure the Justice Department to investigate the court proceedings and ensure that the weapons enhancement is not thrown out.

IF THE WEAPONS ENHANCEMENT IS THROWN OUT HE WILL NOT GO TO PRISON.

We will have postcards to sign and send to the Justice Department and Judge Perry. We need pressure from the whole US to make it happen!

ARIZONA CAN HELP CALIFORNIA GET JUSTICE
PUT COPS WHO EXECUTE BEHIND BARS!

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