Feature Archives

On Friday, Feb. 20, several students from Oakland's School of Social Justice and Community Development (SSJCD) were detained and harrassed by members of an Oakland Police taskforce. According to reports, the students were invasively searched, threatened with physical violence, and repeatedly called "nigg**" by white officers. Teachers were told that the students were being detained "under reasonable suspicion of being black" and the officers refused to provide their badge numbers to school staff. Under pressure from students and staff, police eventually released the students without comment, explanation or apology. A protest against police abuse and racism has been called for 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 at Eastmont Mall Police Substation, 7200 Bancroft Street, suite 273, Oakland. Read more

On Friday February 20th, a roving mini-rally thru San Francisco today marked the Blue Triangle Network's third National Day of Solidarity with Muslim, Arab & South Asian Immigrants. These communities have been the targets of mass roundups, indefinite detentions, and secret hearings, leading to deportation through the selective enforcement of "Special Registration.“ Families have been torn apart, jobs and homes lost. Neighborhoods continue to be raided by INS officers, thousands are still detained over minor visa violations, and many people have fled the United States in fear of being persecuted. Following a press conference in Chinatown, the mini-rally stopped in the Tenderloin and the Mission (Photos).
American Muslim Voice held an event on Sunday 2/22.

Chattanooga Police on the Attack—Fight Against Police Brutality in Tennessee

Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, Damon McGhee, and Mikail Musa Muhammad, affiliated with Black Autonomy/Copwatch, were arrested in May 1998 at a Chattanooga, Tennessee City Council Meeting for speaking in support of a civilian review board, following two recent police murders. Read the full report.

• Direct Action
• Southern Exposure Article
• Church Burnings in Chattanooga
• March Against Brutality in Chattanooga
• Chattanooga 8 & the ACLU
• Lorenzo Komboa Ervin: Biography & Writings
• Community Oversight

Lorenzo Komboa Ervin

Lorenzo Komboa Ervin is a black American anarchist. He joined the Black Panther Party in the 1960's. When the US Government implemented a program to neutralize the Black Panther Party, through murder, frameups, drugs, etc, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin was a target of that program. He was indicted of firearm offenses and like other Black Panthers, was targeted for assassination. He learned of the shoot to kill orders and in self-defense hijacked a plane to Cuba, where other Black Panthers had travelled for political asylum. Read more.

Writing & Viewpoints by Lorenzo Komboa Ervin

• A Draft Proposal for an Anarchist Black Cross Network
• Class War in Michigan
• July 24, 1997 Press Conference / Being Deported from Australia
• Racism and the Death Penalty
• Attack on Black Liberation Radio
• The Changing Face of Europe: Racism, Immigration & the Coming Police State
• The Need for Black Autonomy / Interview with Lorenzo Komboa Ervin
• Prison, The New Slavery
• Police Death Squads in the United States
• Call for Direct Action Against the FCC and NAB
• The Ballot or the Bullet?
• It's Racism, Stupid / A look at racism in class war circles
• Anarchist vs. Marxist-Leninist Thought on the Organization of Society
• Authoritarian Leftists: Kill the Cop in Your Head (Black Autonomy Collective)

Chattanooga 3: Direct Action Suggestions

1. Write or e-mail letters of protest to the district attorney and the mayor demanding that the charges against the Chattannooga 3 be dismissed:
   • Bill Cox
     Hamilton County District Attorney
     City-County Courts Building
     601 Market Street, 3rd Floor
     Chattanooga, TN 37402
     Fax: 423-209-7401
     e-mail: BillCox@hcda.cps.k12.tn.us
   • Jon Kinsey
     Mayor of Chattanooga
     101 E. I I th Street
     Chattanooga, TN 37402-1403
     e-mail: mayor@mail.chattanooga.gov
2. Help obtain a pro-bono attorney with First Amendment or civil liberties expertise. (The court-appointed attorneys for Damon and Mikail lack experience with cases involving civil liberties. Lorenzo's attorney received a recent judicial appointment, and Lorenzo is being forced to represent himself. The Tennessee Civil Liberties Union has refused to take the case.)
3. Help secure a law professor or other person knowledgeable about civil liberties, who can testify as an expert witness.
4. Send contributions for the legal defense fund. This fight has not been easy or cheap for the Chattanooga 3. For nearly three years, this war has taken a toll on all involved. Contribute to the Chattanooga 3 Legal Defense Fund. Please make checks or money orders payable to BANCO (Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers, which Lorenzo and Damon founded in 1999), and mail them to P.O. Box 19962, Kalamazoo, MI 49019.
5. Get in touch. Email the Chattanooga 3 at jonina1@yahoo.com or kamboa@hotmail.com.
6. Let the Chattanooga Police Department know how you feel.
7. Flood travel agencies with email letters urging them to support the tourist boycott of Chattanooga organized by Ervin and Maxine Cousins, whose father was murdered by a Chattanooga police officer in 1983. For more information about Boycott Chattanooga!, visit the web site at http://maxine-j.tripod.com/policemurder.html.

Police the Police: Do-It-Yourself Community Power

Copwatch is a loose, informal network of organizations working to police the police. Everyone is Copwatch... the tools of police intimidation are founded on the ideas that individual citizens do not have a right to question the actions and policies of the armed forces that occupy their neighborhoods.

In fact, individuals have a right to photograph and videotape police activity and observe arrests, no matter how often a cop tells you to mind your own business or to go away. Please note that observers must maintain a reasonable distance, so if a cop tells you to go away, tell them you do not wish to interfere, just observe, and step back a bit. If a situation is getting sketchy, the key question to ask is "Am I free to go?" ... it is at this point that an officer must have legal justification for detaining you, otherwise you can and probably should go. If you are detained for observing, make sure to ask the officer why you are being detained, and if possible, repeat out loud for other witnesses or other videotape that is rolling. Hostility and resisting arrest will only work against you. It is important to say "I do not consent" to any actions that you believe are illegal or improper, but outright hostility at the time of detention/arrest will only get your ass kicked.

Direct Action: Know Your Rights | COPSwatch | Database of Abusive Police | Controlling the Police | Police Complaint Center | We Got the Camera

Informal Copwatch List: Re-Organizing Copwatch | Portland | Berkeley | Austin | Impact in Columbus, OH | Angela Davis Copwatch | D.C. | Copwatch 206 | New Jersey | Chicago | Los Angeles | Phoenix | Toronto | Greensboro | Eugene Copwatch | Secret Service Watch

2/21: Press Conference to announce a call for a Moratorium on the Death Penalty in California.
2/9/2004: Saying "no person should be executed if there is doubt about his or her guilt and an easily available test will determine guilt or innocence," the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay that blocked the execution of Kevin Cooper. Attorney General Bill Lockyer immediately petitioned the US Supreme Court to overturn the stay but the court declined to overrule it.

On February 9th, hundreds gathered at San Quentin to protest Kevin's execution (Photos: 1   2   Video) and there was much joy as the Supreme Court's refusal to hear Lockyer's petition was announced. On February 3rd, there was a press conference in San Francisco ( Video: 1  2  3  4  5  Photos ), an anti-death penalty rally in Sacramento ( Video ), a panel discussion featuring Angela Davis in Santa Cruz ( Photos ) and a civil disobedience action at San Quentin ( Photos ). Critical Resistance Radio recently interviewed Kevin's lawyer ( Audio) and on February 2nd, Flashpoints interviewed Kevin on the air ( Audio ). There have also been several protests against Kevin's execution in Southern California (Photos: 1  2 ).
Kevin Cooper is an inmate on death row at San Quentin State Prison. In 1985 he was convicted of the murder of the Ryen family and a houseguest in San Bernadino county. The state's case against Kevin Cooper is full of holes, and he has always maintained his innocence. There are also issues of racism, poverty, and police misconduct in this case.
Here are just a few of the facts:
* Clumps of long, blonde hair were found in the hands of one of the victims. Photographs of this hair were never shown to the jury.
* At least three weapons were used in the brutal murders, indicating multiple perpetrators. Prosecutors were unable to account for this, claiming that Kevin Cooper acted alone.
What you can do:
-Call Gov. Schwarzenegger at 916-445-2841 or e-mail governor@governor.ca.gov
-Take part in an upcoming protest
Upcoming events | Kevin’s Latest Statement | http://www.savekevincooper.org
Coverage by IMC Santa Cruz | Save Kevin Cooper Contingent at SF MLK March
Audio From Flashpoints ( 1/29 Press Conference   2/2 Interview with Kevin )
Democracy Now! Audio | Statement By Mumia | www.nodeathpenalty.org
Coverage by LA Indymedia | Coverage by Portland Indymedia

1/20/04: In a State of the Union address tailor-made for his conservative constituency, Bush plugged the Patriot Act and the never-ending "War on Terror". While the government launches the biggest deficit in US history, the poverty level continues to skyrocket and millions of people are without homes or jobs. Of the six main segments of his speech, Bush focused two, same-sex marriages and faith-based initiatives, on enforcing "morality" as a new American value, while undermining gay and women's rights. As funding for education is funneled into defense contracts and prisons, schools continue to close down across America and children "left behind" are being pushed up to the front... of military lines. While the rest of the world continues to withdraw support for Bush's imperial reign, pundits quibble over the obvious: same old State of Crisis. Stay tuned for continued coverage of the State of Crisis on Street Level TV!

12/13/2003 "An epidemic is sweeping California and it’s not the flu... Deaths have been reported in cities small and large, including yours. In many neighborhoods, people are in fear of leaving their homes...This disease can affect any family but tends to prey on our low-income and minority neighborhoods. Survivors who have been affected suffer life-long effects from exposure. The epidemic is police violence."
In Fresno, workshops are being held so people better know their rights when confronted by the police and in January 2004, a proposal for an Independent Police Auditor will come before the city council. The Fresno police department is seeking accreditation to become more professional but it comes to the city at a cost—a cost that didn't stop the already accredited Cincinnati police from beating a man to death.

On 12/10, protesters rallied outside a Police Commission hearing to demand justice for Sheila Detoy, a 17-year old shot in the head by SFPD office Gregory Breslin in 1998. The Police Officer's Association (POA) claimed the statute of limitations has run out on Sheila's case and wants the Commission to cancel disciplinary action against Breslin. Dozens of impassioned speakers testified as to the need for disciplinary action against Breslin. The Commission ended by dismissing the POA's motion, with the case that could bring a modicum of peace to Sheila's family and friends to be heard.

Hearing photos: 1 | 2 | Personal account | Background