Feature Archives

Brother Ace Washington "has it going on"- he has been a social justice activist in SF's Western Addition District for decades. Ace is an anchor on KPOO radio and Direct Access TV Channel 29. He videotapes hearings of the weekly SF Police Commission and Board of Supervisors for the SF.GOV Channel, and he has his own desk in City Hall's Press room, #247. He is a singer and a producer, owns his own security business, is a painting contractor, is the House Manager at the Idriss Safe Haven Collective in SF Bayview Hunters Point, and has seats on the Idriss Stelley Foundation Board of Directors and SF's African American Community Police Relations Board.

On Friday night December 30th, Ace Washington stopped at Rassala's Jazz club on Fillmore and O'Farrell to talk to a friend. One of the club's managers told him that he was not welcome there and exhorted patrons to not talk to Washington. Ace questioned this treatment and the manager stated that she was calling the police. While Ace was standing outside of Rassala's, 4 police officers apprehended him, wrestled him to the ground, threatened him with batons and forcefully applied pressure to his legs and chest. One officer twisted his fingers backward while he was handcuffed, and 8 officers sat on his neck and back, pushing on his buttock with boot and repeatedly kicking his left ankle. Once he had been arrested and forced into the police car, his fingers were twisted backward again.

Ace was released at 5:30 am on Saturday, charged with assault, resisting arrest and trespassing, although he is not aware of Rassala's having any restraining order against him. When he arrived at Idriss Safe Haven Collective late morning, Ace recounted his ordeal and showed his injuries to Mesha Monge-Irizarry: substantial swelling and knots on his left leg above the ankle which had been stomped on (broken skin), chest, wrists and fingers, inflicted while Ace was on the ground, face down. Read more of Ace's story

Maurice Campbell, ISF Board Member and Director of the Community First Coalition and David Grace from Enemy Combatant Radio got on the air with Mesha Monge-Irizarry on ECR's "SF VILLAGE VOICE" show to talk about the SFPD's assault of Ace Washington. Audio Mesha says, "Time was (of) the essence: silence kills in these PD brutalization cases, as Ace would be more at risk, considered as a potential liability for PD and the City, given his prominent activist position in our community, if he did not publicize his fate ASAP! Ace called on the show and (the audience) got to listen live his detail recount of the assault."

Ace Washington has been summoned to appear in Court at the Hall of Injustice at 850 Bryant Street in San Francisco on Thursday January 5th, 2006, at 9:00am in room #101. "Ace, On DA Case" will next be aired on Friday January 6th on KPOO 89.5fm frin 4 pm to 5:30 pm, "Ace in your Ear, Maling it Loud and Clear!" An On Da Case yahoogroup has been started by the Idriss Stelley Foundation. Talking to a Wall! by Leroy Moore.

December 22nd: Last Thursday at 7 in the morning, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with guns busted into the San Francisco apartment of two Young Workers United (YWU) members. The couple was excitedly preparing for the birth of its first child. It appears to be the case that the woman’s former employers called the ICE on this young family. Due to legal considerations, YWU is not releasing the name the couple or the restaurant. Her employer had been paying far below the legal minimum wage, and also yelled at workers, threatened them with deportation, called them racial slurs and ultimately fired the young woman for speaking out and organizing against these abuses and being pregnant.

The young man was taken away and flown that night to a detention center in Eloy, Arizona. It is virtually impossible to get into the detention center and 90% of the detainees have no access to a lawyer. YWU is working tirelessly to coordinate with lawyers and Arizona immigrant rights group to get the all the resources he needs. A recent doctor's appointment indicates that the young woman will likely give birth this week. YWU has helped win a minimum wage charge through the City and has claims for pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. This young mother-to-be has no income since the ICE is detaining her partner. Young Workers United is asking for donations to be sent to help with her expenses. Read more Young Workers United website | Young Workers United's MySpace Blog | Indybay's Immigrant Rights Page

There will be a protest against the December 20th raid on Friday, December 23rd at 12pm at the Federal Courthouse in Sacramento.
Update:On December 22nd, Hope Net reported that it had been burglarized and that a few items had been stolen. Report and photos
Dec 20th, 2005: At 6:30 AM, DEA agents raided the house of the directors of Steve and Cathy Smith, the directors of the HopeNet medical marijuana dispensary. 122 plants were confiscated but there were no arrests. Later in the morning DEA vans parked in front of the dispensary itself, awaiting a search warrant. As the DEA waited, over 75 patients rallied in front of HopeNet. A press conference was held at 1:00pm, with speakers from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Hopenet Cooperative, Americans for Safe Access, and the San Francisco Patients' Union. Sup. Chris Daly addressed the crowd, remarking that HopeNet was one of the most highly regarded dispensaries in the city. Press conference  Photos | Report The HopeNet dispensary was ransacked by DEA agents after dark that same day. Report

Hope Net is a highly regarded 1000-member collective that provides free medicine to over 40 seriously ill low-income patients on an ongoing basis. Hope Net supporters are asking for patients, caregivers, and supporters who do not have any outstanding warrants to don raingear and show up at Ninth and Howard Streets to act as witnesses to the raid.

Hemp Evolution news

A video that San Francisco police officers produced was recently discovered, and it caused a nationwide furor about police professionalism. The video ridiculed the citizens who pay police salaries, and displayed the contempt these officers showed for the profession. The "parodies" that the SFPD video shows demean women and people of color, as well as homeless and transgender people. While there is a certain self-mockery to the video, there is a serious side. A coalition of SF residents and activists held a press conference in the Bayview District on Dec 7th, 2005, to decry the scenes depicted in the video. Overzealous, poorly trained or outright racist police have killed an inordinate number of people. The entire community of Bayview-Hunter's Point is poorly served by these same officers, who intended to play the video at their Christmas party this year.

Eighteen officers are under suspension, including a Captain. Out-take clips not included in the video have also been discovered, with scenes such as a black officer eating out of a dog dish. That officer had gained the nickname 'dog' because he complained about being treated like one by a sergeant. The Captain is claiming he was not aware his image was included in the video, saying the video-clips were from years earlier. He is also apparently claiming his children will need therapy due to exposure of this video.

The speakers in the press conference made it plain that the crime situation in the area is exacerbated by the poor attitude of the officers, who demean the residents rather than treat them as citizens. Two mothers of slain young men spoke at this press conference. Bay Area PoliceWatch has issued several demands, including that the officers responsible for the video be fired, that people who have been convicted of crimes based on testimony of these officers be notified; that a bias review of all legal proceedings that involved these officers be conducted; that the backlog of wrongful death disciplinary cases be dealt with by the end of 2006; and that grassroots voices be included in the Mayor's "Blue Ribbon Commission" that is examining the video. Read more from PoliceWatch

David Grace's Audio and report from 12/7 press conference | Statement from Mesha Monge-Irizarry | Randy Shaw's Analysis in Beyond Chron | More background about the video and other clips

Nicolas Rossier's film "Aristide and the Endless Revolution" is showing in San Francisco from December 9th through 15th. The movie examines the 2004 coup d'etat in Haiti, as well as the systemic violence and human rights violations that have erupted under the interim government. An interview with the deposed president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Pretoria, South Africa, is juxtaposed with the views of a wide range of supporters and critics, including US Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega. The film exposes the international interests that are concerned with suppressing popular democracy and ending the reforms Aristide was capable of making - despite embargoes and the need to service a debt for loans Haiti never received.

The film is showing at the Roxie Cinema at 3117 16th Street (at Valencia Street) in San Francisco. Showtimes are each evening at 6:15, 8:00, and 9:45pm. There are additional matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 and 4:00pm.

Read more news about Haiti

Environmentalists from groups including Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters, Earth First!, Humboldt Forest Defense, EPIC, We Save Trees and R.A.N. assembled in front of Senator Feinsteins's downtown office to protest against the logging of Ancient Redwoods in the Nanning Creek Grove.

Photos | Bay Area Coalition For Headwaters

The Day Labor Program, Social Strike, Muni Fare Strike, and various other community organizations have called for people to come together on Thursday, November 10th for a march and rally. Critics of the city's public transportation system point out that increased fares and reduced ridership continue to work against MUNI's purported goals of reducing budget shortfalls. The cost of living is greatly for working people and poor residents of San Francisco, as exemplified by PG+E's announcement that California gas prices will be much higher this winter, with likely corresponding increases in costs of other necessities.

People will gather at 4:00pm on Thursday at 24th and Mission Streets and march to City Hall for a rally across from the Mayor's office. The Mexican Bus will be at 24th and Mission for seniors and those who are unable to march the entire distance. Social Strike is encouraging people to bring pots, pans, noisemakers, and signs and banners. Read more

Past Indybay Coverage of the MUNI Social Strike | Muni Fare Strike | MUNI Social Strike | Coalition for Transit Justice | Day Labor Program