reggie and ileana released

From an SRLP member:

THEY’RE OUT! No charges being pressed  Reggie and Ileana have just been released from police custody!  The DA declined prosecution, which means that no charges are being pressed. They are free and clear, and are now getting the support they need from their community - in person.

We are all thrilled by this result, the only truly just outcome after a long night and day of injustice.  Thank you to everyone who has helped out and expressed support, including all of the allied organizations, fellow activists, community members and councilpeople  who stepped up to support us.

Although they have thankfully been released, our work around this incident is not finished.  Now it is time to hold the police accountable for the unnecessary force and community targeting that  occurred last night, and work so that no more incidents like this happen again to our community.  We will keep you all posted as to our next steps and ways to plug in.

police violence against QTPOC

From Critical Resistance New York:

Reggie Gossett and Ileana Mendez-Peñate were arrested earlier tonight at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project Fundraiser Afterparty.

There are two things you can do to support Ily & Reggie and show the cops that we won’t stand by silently when they attack us.

1) Starting at 8 in the morning (Thursday), call the District Attorney’s office (212.335.9000), ask for the early complaint assessment bureau, and ask that all charges against Reggie & Ily be dropped (obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct).

2) Show up 9:30a (Thursday) to the arraignment court room at 100 Centre St (Directions: No. 4 or 5 train to Brooklyn Bridge Station; No. 6 train, N, R or C train to Canal Street; No. 1 train to Franklin Street; M1, M6 and M15 bus lines are nearby. 100 Centre Street is one block north of Worth Street, three blocks south of Canal Street.)

More info:

At the Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s after-party following its fifth anniversary celebration last night, two members of the community were violently arrested and others were pepper sprayed by police without warning or cause. The two folks who were arrested remain in police custody and should be arraigned tomorrow. (More details of the incident can be found below in the press release.)

We ask that people show up tomorrow, Thursday, starting at 9:30am and continuing throughout the day to call for the immediate release of and the dropping of charges against the people who were arrested. The arraignment court rooms are at 100 Centre St (Directions: No. 4 or 5 train to Brooklyn Bridge Station; No. 6 train, N, R or C train to Canal Street; No. 1 train to Franklin Street; M1, M6 and M15 bus lines are nearby. 100 Centre Street is one block north of Worth Street, three blocks south of Canal Street.) Ask for directions to the arraignment rooms at the info desk when you enter.

For more information or to receive updates via email or text message, comment on Jack’s blog (http://www.angrybrownbutch.com), who should be at court and have email access throughout the day.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Police Brutality Strikes Fifth Anniversary of Sylvia Rivera Law Project

NEW YORK - On the night of Wednesday, September 26, officers from the 9th Precinct of the New York Police Department attacked without provocation members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and of its community. Two of our community members were violently arrested, and others were pepper sprayed in the face without warning or cause.

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (www.srlp.org) is an organization that works on behalf of low-income people of color who are transgender, gender non-conforming, or intersex, providing free legal services and advocacy among many other initiatives. On Wednesday night, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project was celebrating its fifth anniversary with a celebration and fundraising event at a bar in the East Village.

A group of our community members, consisting largely of queer and transgender people of color, witnessed two officers attempting to detain a young Black man outside of the bar. Several of our community members asked the officers why they were making the arrest and using excessive force. Despite the fact that our community was on the sidewalk, gathered peacefully and not obstructing foot traffic, the NYPD chose to forcefully grab two people and arrested them. Without warning, an officer then sprayed pepper spray across the group in a wide arc, temporarily blinding many and causing vomiting and intense pain.

“This is the sort of all-too-common police violence and overreaction towards people of color that happens all the time,” said Dean Spade, founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. “It’s ironic that we were celebrating the work of an organization that specifically opposes state violence against marginalized communities, and we experienced a police attack at our celebration.”

“We are outraged, and demand that our community members be released and the police be held accountable for unnecessary use of excessive force and falsely arresting people,” Spade continued.

Damaris Reyes is executive director of GOLES, an organization working to preserve the Lower East Side. She commented, “I’m extremely concerned and disappointed by the 9th Precinct’s response to the situation and how it escalated into violence. This kind of aggressive behavior doesn’t do them any good in community-police relations.”

Supporters will be gathering at 100 Centre Street tomorrow, where the two community members will be arraigned. The community calls for charges to be dropped and to demand the immediate release of those arrested.

- END -

APAture: ksw press reading & film and video night

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2007, 7 - 9pm
Bunsen Burnt: KSW Press Reading & Chapbook Release
The Actors Center of San Francisco
180 Capp St. @17th St., 2nd floor
$10-20 sliding scale ($8-$20 for KSW members) Join us for an evening of literary readings and the launch of a new chapbook, Bunsen Burnt, from KSW Press. Featuring readings by Neelanjana Banerjee, Susanna Kwan, Vanessa Huang, Sita K. Bhaumik, and others.

Neelanjana Banerjee
Oscar Bermeo
Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik
Vanessa Huang
Susanna Kwan
Margaret Rhee

View artist bios

Buy Tickets at manja.org

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 8pm
Film and Video Night
Victoria Theatre
2961 16th Street, San Francisco
$10-20 sliding scale ($8-$20 for KSW members)
Featured Film Artist: Emiko Omori

Join us for an evening of film and video screenings by Bay Area API filmmakers, including featured artist Emiko Omori, at the Victoria Theatre.

John Fong, Since You’ve Been Ong
Yasmine Gomez, Consumed
Vanessa Huang, pray ting ai fly
Jeffrey Lei, Dick Ho: Asian Male Porn Star
Minette Mangahas, Kiss My Hyphen
Nooshin Navidi, Young Republic
Danilo Parra, music video for Odessa Chen’s Kill the lights
Melanie Veloria, My Bad by Kapakahi
Wilson Wong, My Dad the Hairstylist

View artist bios

Buy Tickets at manja.org

 

“public” art

Word from Providence’s that the Steelyard hired an Olneyville metal artist to create trash cans that speak to the the neighborhood’s heritage, etc, then decided not to install the cans she made, and is organizing a forum without actively seeking community presence. Sounds poquito como que pasó aquí en la Misión, no?

Excerpts from the artist’s text, which defines colonization, gentrification, and exploitation, follows.

Colonización: Ocupación de un territorio para explotarlo y dominarlo administrativa, militar o económicamente. Cuando los colonos blancos llegaron a Woonasquatucket (actualmente llamado Olneyville), era un centro de intercambio para los Narragansett y los Wompanoag, la gente indígena de la area. Woonasquatucket significa “hasta el agua salada sube,” una referencia a los corrientes de sal de la Bahia de Narragansett.

Colonization: Settlement of an area by force or conquest, often resulting in the physical displacement and cultural destruction of groups of people native to the area. When white settlers arrived in Woonasquatucket (now known as Olneyville), it was a center of trade for the Narragansett and Wompanoag people native to this area. Woonasquatucket means as far as salt water flows, a reference to the tidal currents of Narragansett Bay.

Aburguesamiento: Un proceso de convertir una zona urbana para que conforme a los gustos y intereses de la clase media. Cuando una zona está aburguesamado, los impuestos de propiedad y rentas suben y obligan a las familias de la clase obrera y los dueños de negocios pequeños a salir de su barrio. Al principio del siglo 21, con el apoyo financial y político de la Ciudad de Providence, promotores privados compró mucho de la propriedad industrial de Olneyville, providiendo viviendas lujosas en el barrio más pobre de la ciudad. ¿ Como enderezamos esta injusticia?

Gentrification: The process of converting an urban area to meet the interests of the middle class. When an area is gentrifying, the property taxes and rent go up and force working class families and small business owners out of the neighborhood. At the turn of the 21st century, with the financial and political backing from the City of Providence, private developers bought much of the industrial properties in Olneyville, creating luxurious homes in the poorest neighborhood of the city. How do we endure this injustice?

Exploitación: El acto de usar el trabajo de otra person sin pagandolo adecuadamente. Al principio del siglo 20, ocho mil personas, sobre todo inmigrantes irlandeses, fueron empleados por los cinco molinos en Olneyville. Por anos, el barrio tenía una reputación para el radicalismo de trabajo. Los trabajadores llamativos ganaron condiciones mejoradas y los salarios de fabricación más altos del área.

Exploitation: The act of using another person’s labor without offering them an adequate compensation. At the turn of the 20th century, eight thousand people, mostly Irish immigrants, were employed by the five mills in Olneyville. For years, the neighborhood had a reputation for labor radicalism. Striking workers won improved conditions and the highest manufacturing wages in the area.

SF8 fundraiser

My sister’s work is in a show next weekend:

REVOLUTIONARY ART:
New work from the SF Print Collective with presentation and book
signing with artist Emory Douglas

ONE DAY ONLY - Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Exhibit 4 - 7 pm, Emory Douglas @ 5 pm
Located at the Center for Political Education, 522 Valencia Street at 16th St.

An exhibition of posters from the San Francisco Print Collective’s
Silkscreen Postermaking workshop.

We will feature a talk, slideshow and Q&A with former minister of
culture for the Black Panther Party Emory Douglas, signing his new
book, Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas. This
event will also raise funds to Free the San Francisco-8, eight former
Black Panthers and community leaders arrested in January on 36-year
old charges, based on confessions extracted by torture.
http://www.freethesf8.org/

As a primer for public artists, SFPC’s Silkscreen Postermaking
workshop teaches students how to use the mass media for activist
organizing with a focus on guerrilla art, graphic design, and legal
defense. Participating artists include: Fiona Glas, Allison Lum,
Davis DeBard, Arla Ertz, Ellen Frances, Ly Mai Hoang, Serena Huang,
Stacy Kono, Harris Kornstein, John Lewis, Fernando Marti, Gabe
Martinez, Jennifer Miller, Nicole Rivera, Suzanne Shaffer, Melanie
Ann Tom, Amy Vanderwarker, Debra Walker, and David Shih-chun Wu.

$5-$100, sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Sangria, beer and non-alcoholic drinks and snacks!

Sponsored by the Center for Political Education and the SF Print
Collective. This space is not wheelchair accessible.

For more information, contact sfprintcollective [at] gmail.com or
center [at] politicaleducation.org
_______________________________________________________________________________

The SFPC is a printmaking collective that uses graphic art to support
social justice organizing. We make public art to challenge the mass
media and broadcast progressive politics directly to the
streets. For more info. or to get involved in the next silkscreen
postermaking class, contact sfpcprintclass [at] gmail.com or
http://www.sfprintcollective.com

Please support these brothers by sending a donation. Make checks payable to
CDHR/Agape and mail to the address below or donate on line:

http://www.freethesf8.org/donate.html

Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR)
PO Box 90221
Pasadena, CA 91109
(415) 226-1120
FreetheSF8 [at] riseup.net