Berkeley: October 22nd Organizing Meeting

“October 22nd has come to be recognized as a concentrated day of resistance -- a national day when people all over the country, in different cities and through different means of expression, come together to STOP police violence, repression, and the criminalization of a generation. The nationwide epidemic of police brutality and repression is hidden from many people who would be outraged if they knew what was happening. We must resist the onslaught of police abuse as we work in many different ways to drag this truth out into the light of day. Our resistance will give others courage…(See full call below)
GENERAL MASS MEETING TO PLAN OCTOBER 22ND, NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST TO STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, REPRESSION AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF A GENERATION
SUNDAY OCTOBER 7
3PM-5PM
Spuds
3290 Adeline @ Alacatraz (near Ashby Bart Station)
Berkeley
OCTOBER 22, 2007
NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST
TO STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, REPRESSION AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF A GENERATION

October 22, 2007, the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation is the day for thousands across the country to act to STOP police brutality, repression, and the way our youth are treated like criminals. It is also a day to resist the increasing moves towards a police state. We ask you to endorse this call, make your plans, and become part of organizing an event in your area on October 22nd.
WHY SHOULD YOU ACT ON OCTOBER 22nd?
In NYC, Sean Bell, a 23-year old unarmed man, was killed by NYPD with 50 shots on the morning of his wedding day. Since then, at least ten more people have been killed by NYPD. Kathryn Johnston, a 92-year old grandmother, was shot and killed by undercover Atlanta police in her own home. A Pittsburgh police officer pulled a gun on 7-year old Joshalyn Lawton when he approached the window of the passenger side of her mother’s car during a routine traffic stop for an outdated inspection sticker. What happens when a government raises up law enforcement as an authority with unlimited powers that cannot be questioned, all in the name of “fighting terrorism? Homeland Security = More Stolen Lives. Police brutality and killings by law enforcement did not start with the Bush administration, but they have escalated dramatically since the launch of their "War on Terrorism." Searches and seizures, racial profiling, attacks on Arabs, South Asians and Muslims, raids on immigrants, security stops and bag checks, and police terror raids on certain neighborhoods are now the order of the day.
In Cleveland, Ohio in May 2007, police killed three people ?Aaron Steele, Steven Ray, Ira Mitchell ?within three days. Phillipe McIver, a 23-year old in North Carolina, was shot and killed by police. In Baltimore, police arrested 7-year-old Gerard Mungo, Jr., handcuffed him, and interrogated him on charges of riding a motorized dirt bike on a sidewalk. Five people have been killed by law enforcement agents in Minnesota in the first half of 2007. Francisco Mondragon, a 24-year old schizophrenic, armed only with a screwdriver, was murdered by the Los Angeles Police Department.

There’s been wave after wave of immigration raids across the country. In the last year, police and border patrol in San Diego County have murdered more than 17 people, from Vista to the border. Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Greensboro, NC, the Tri-state area and other areas report stepped up criminalization and arrests of homeless people and immigrants. Minneapolis just passed a repressive ordinance against panhandling, and has been implementing an ordinance against "lurking" ?an excuse to arrest people for waiting at bus stops or hanging out with friends.

Increasingly, demonstrations and protests are met with repression. On May Day, Los Angeles police attacked supporters of immigration rights demonstrating in a park As new “parade laws?have gone into effect in New York City, even at the permitted Puerto Rican Day parade, 208 people were arrested for “unlawful assembly?and supposedly wearing “gang colors." Brooklyn high school students who had permission from their parents and their school to attend a friend’s funeral wake in the afternoon were arrested while walking to the subway stop for “unlawful assembly."

Seattle is experiencing a “crisis of credibility?with the police department after an Officer Neubert, who was involved in killing Aaron Roberts in 2001, falsified a police report on an arrest of a wheelchair-bound man for drugs. Surveillance video backs up the man's claim that drugs were planted on him and that Neubert used a choke-hold on him. These types of abuse are happening all over the country.

In their crusade to “fight terrorism,?law enforcement has become exponentially emboldened, attacking clergy, lawyers, children and parents of those whom they have killed and who dare to speak out against police brutality. Last November, Juanita Young, mother of Malcolm Ferguson (killed by NYPD in March 2000) and outspoken activist, was brutally attacked by eight cops and arrested in her own home, then handcuffed to a hospital bed and tortured by the cops on duty for four days before they handed her a desk appearance ticket.
No More Stolen Lives! Fight Back! On October 22nd, Wear Black!
October 22nd has come to be recognized as a concentrated day of resistance -- a national day when people all over the country, in different cities and through different means of expression, come together to STOP police violence, repression, and the criminalization of a generation. The nationwide epidemic of police brutality and repression is hidden from many people who would be outraged if they knew what was happening. We must resist the onslaught of police abuse as we work in many different ways to drag this truth out into the light of day. Our resistance will give others courage.

We wear black on October 22nd in memory of those whose lives have been stolen from us.
Nicholas Heyward, Sr. (father of Nicholas Heyward, Jr., killed by NYC housing police in 1994) says:

“Police brutality has always existed in poor and oppressed neighborhoods. But since September 11, 2001, it has gotten much worse. In order for any justice to be done, it takes a mass number of people coming together for a common cause. Police brutality affects everyone and has to stop. We need as many people as possible to come out this year on October 22nd to support the families of victims of police brutality.?/span>
Juanita Young (mother of Malcolm Ferguson, killed by NYPD in 2000) adds that resistance is critical:

“You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit. If you don’t resist and keep on fighting, they will be able to get away with what they’re trying to do to us."
SIGN HERE TO PUT YOUR NAME ON THE LIST OF ENDORSERS for the October 22nd National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. Organize an event in your neighborhood, school or church. Wear black that day in memory of those whose lives have been stolen from them. Email information on your plans to info@.... Endorse this call, give financially, and spread the word. No More Stolen Lives! Fight Back! On October 22nd, Wear Black!
Email: info@... Phone: 1-888-No Brutality
Tax-deductible endorsement donations can be made by sending a check made out to: "IFCO/October 22"
October 22, P.O. Box 2627, New York, NY 10009
The suggested donation is $15.00.

ENDORSEMENT
Name:
Organization:
Address:
Phone: E-mail
__________________________________________________________________________
Local contact: October 22nd Coalition 2940 16th St Suite 200-6, San Francisco, CA 94103
Oct22sf@...