On Behalf of My Sister, Nicole Deane

On May 23rd, I got a late night phone call that felt eerily familiar. I knew that my sister, Nicole Deane, was planning to take an arrest in solidarity with Black women in Oakland that night, who were resisting the routine police murders of hundreds of Black women and men across the country. I spoke with my sister’s mentor, Carroll Fife, who told me that not only had Nicole been arrested, she was being charged with vehicular manslaughter for an accident that took place almost six years ago.

Rewind to February 27th, 2010: I was asleep when the phone started ringing in the middle of the night. My parents were out of town, so I dragged myself out of bed to pick up. The call came from a hospital in Kern County, CA. A nurse was telling me that my sister had been involved in a car accident. The love of her life, Sandy Roberts, age 21, was dead. She was in critical condition, and she was alone. We had to get to California fast.

I couldn’t imagine anything more devastating for my sister. Sandy was Nicole’s first love, and everybody (including me), thought they would get married, have kids, and live long, happy lives together. Nicole had been so happy since they had met and fallen in love. Sandy was not just a wonderful boyfriend, but an incredible and talented person who brought laughter and light with him wherever he went. Losing him, especially in such a tragic circumstance, still feels unspeakable. Nicole was driving his car at the time of the accident, but of course, there were no drugs or alcohol in her system, and we all knew her to be a very responsible person and cautious driver.

It felt unreal and impossible -- at least until I made it out to California a few days later. There, I stayed with her in the hospital as she went in and out of consciousness. When she woke up, she would scream in unbearable pain. I spent the next several days terrified that she would not survive. Even when it became clear that she was going to pull through, I knew that her life was never going to be the same. For more than a year after the accident, as she struggled with debilitating injuries and PostTraumatic StressDisorder (PTSD)symptoms, I worried that my sister would never fully recover.

Our family had never been notified that anyone was pressing charges against Nicole regarding the accident. Even in their profound grief, Sandy’s family has only ever been gracious and loving with us, understanding that this was a tragic accident that could have happened to anyone.

For Nicole, the road to recovery has been long and difficult. I’m proud of my sister for working hard to not only recover, but to use the gift of life she’s been given to serve something greater than herself. In the years since this tragedy, we’ve both gained a much deeper understanding of the value of human life, in spite of the white supremacist capitalist culture we grew up in. We’ve both become deeply politicized with the understanding that for many, these kinds of tragedies (the death of loved ones, severe physical injuries and psychological distress) are embedded in the structure of life. They are the symptoms of white supremacy and capitalism systems that target, murder, physically and psychologically debilitate Black people.

Nicole credits the Black liberation movement for saving her life, giving her a reason to get up every day. In the past three years, I’ve watched her work closely with the Blueford family to get justice for their son Alan (murdered by the Oakland Police Department); join Critical Resistance and work to abolish the prison-industrial complex; pound the pavement to raise the minimum wage in Oakland, and put her body on the line to support POC-led struggles. Nicole has risked arrest participating in the shutdowns of OPD in December 2014 and City Hall in Mayof this year. Nicole is not someone who wants to be on the mic or tries to be the leader, but she’s been faithfully, quietly putting in work, and becoming a stronger, healthier person by doing so.

It was a shock when this arrest warrant appeared, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere. Nicole was never notified that a warrant had been issued for her arrest. After the protest, she and two comrades, Ashley Yates and Eri Kiyoko were taken to Santa Rita jail. Nicole has told me that Ashley and Eri were physically assaulted by police during the protest. As queer women of color, they weren’t given a choice about whether or not to take an arrest that night, while white allies like Nicole were given every opportunity to disperse and did not experience violent arrests. Nicole was booked on the vehicular manslaughter charge with bail set at $65,000. She describes her relatively short stay in Rita as filled with harassment, intimidation and humiliation. She was forced to take an injection in her arm, to take a pregnancy test, and submit to a strip/cavity search. When the guards tried to threaten her by saying they would house her with “violent offenders” who would “have fun” with her, she laughed and said, “I’m not afraid of the other women in here, I’m afraid of y’all!” In response, the guards left her in a cell by herself with only a concrete bunk to sleep on and fluorescent lights that never turned off. Over the intercom system, the correctional officers taunted her, asking if she was “comfortable.”

Our mom knew that the arrest was planned with jail support on hand, but she lost contact when my sister’s phone died during the protest. The phone, drained of battery, was taken from her at the time of her arrest. While she was in Santa Rita, my mother received a text message from Nicole’s phone that said, “Since you like this, stop resisting.” Our mom perceived this cryptic message as some kind of implied sexual threat, adding to our family’s concern for Nicole’s safety while she was in custody. When Nicole checked her phone upon release, the entire text thread between her and our mom had been deleted.

When Nicole was released safely, she told me that the treatment of her comrades in jail was even worse than her own. Both Ashley and Eri were isolated from the general population and denied “pod time” and medical care. The experience confirmed Nicole’s belief that jails are racist, violent institutions that should be shut down altogether; the physical and sexual violence inflicted on Black women in jails nationwide is exactly why Nicole chose to take an arrest that night.

Nicole has been to court in Kern County with attorney Dan Siegel (thanks, Dan!) twice now. In spite of letters from Sandy’s family pleading for the prosecutor to immediately drop all charges, the prosecutor has refused to drop the charge or even offer a reasonable plea deal. Nicole is headed back to court this week, with one more chance to get the case dismissed - this time, the dismissal will be up to the judge, not the D.A.

Watching my sister go through this trauma again has made me angry that the system is doing this to her. This was a terrible, tragic accident involving a 19 year old driver, not a criminal act. This is yet another example of how the prison-industrial complex doesn’t make us any safer, it just inflicts more violence. My sister, along with thousands of other Black Lives Matter movement activists, has spent more time in jail than George Zimmerman or Darren Wilson. This system needs to be dismantled.

I can’t help but question why this prosecutor is suddenly pursuing this charge after almost six years. If it were really about the life Sandy Roberts, it would have been pursued years ago, and it would have been dropped at the request of his family. What if this case is intended to intimidate or prevent Nicole from continuing to work in solidarity with Black people against police brutality, mass incarceration, and economic and political disenfranchisement? I personally feel that this charge is not legitimate, and is being used as retaliation against my sister for supporting the Black liberation movement.

Regardless of the reason, I know that Nicole will only take from this experience a renewed drive to fight harder with communities of color who are constantly under siege by the prison-industrial complex. I’m proud of my parents for fighting through their natural concern for their daughter to encourage and support her political work, even if this is part of the price she’ll have to pay for it. I want to extend deep gratitude to all of Nicole’s comrades in Oakland who have been there for her during this difficult time. Finally, I want to ask any person who reads this to join the fight to dismantle and transform this cruel, violent system. Don’t let the violence of the prison system continue. If you don’t know where to start, some resources are listed below.

Critical Resistance is a national organization that works to abolish prison-industrial complex. Nicole has been a member of CR’s Oakland chapter for 3 years. You can learn about prison abolition and donate to support their work here: criticalresistance.org

The Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) is a Black-led coalition that leads on-the-ground organizing against police violence in Oakland, CA. Facebook page.

Community Ready Corps (CRC) is Black organization that combats white supremacy and builds self determination with disenfranchised communities. Nicole works closely with CRC in her role as co-founder of CRC(Allies & Accomplices). Donate to support their work here: http://www.crc4sd.org/contribute/