Break-In at Youth Empowerment Center

Dear Friends of the Youth Empowerment Center:

We hope this letter finds you safe and well during these uncertain and trying times. As social justice activists, the recent shifts in
the economy and world events present us with new challenges, but
also give us valuable opportunities to move forward together in
strength and unity towards our common vision of freedom and equality.

Unfortunately, we here at the Youth Empowerment Center (YEC) have recently suffered a major violation that is testing our collectivestrength. The YEC?s offices, located in West Oakland?s Mandela Transit Village, were broken into, robbed and vandalized this past weekend. We are now reaching out to our allies and supporters with three goals:
1) To notify you of this disturbing incident;
2) To encourage you to take precautions tosafeguard your own workplace against similar incidents; and
3) To reassure you that this temporary setback will
not hinder us from moving forward in our important work as part
of the Bay Area youth movement.

BREAK-IN AT THE YEC

The YEC is a non-profit organization and movement center that fiscally sponsors four of the most vibrant youth movement groups in the Bay Area: C-Beyond, located in Concord, the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL), Underground Railroad / MandelArts Center, and the Youth Force Coalition. The YEC space also houses Let's Get Free, a project of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and United Communities Against War and Racism, a new grassroots anti-war organization led by young adults.

At some time after 11:30pm on Friday, January 25, 2002, the YEC was burglarized and vandalized by unknown persons. The offices of the Alliance for West Oakland Development and Pill Hill Printing, which are housed in the same building as the YEC, were also broken into and vandalized, but not robbed.

The major valuables that were stolen from the YEC offices included:
--Most of our computers, including the YEC server which contains
--The hard drive that contained backup copies of all our shared files and databases;
--Sound and DJ?ing equipment?two turntables, two amplifiers, two speakers and a double tape deck;
--Approximately $1000 in cash.

The thieves vandalized the YEC offices and left them a shambles. They smashed in a computer monitor and pried open locked metal cabinets. They pulled out our desk drawers and threw them onto the floor. They also opened and searched most of our file cabinet drawers. But the thieves also left behind several relatively valuable items, such as televisions, scanners, VCRs, and new computer equipment. Because of what was taken, what was left behind, and the level of vandalism, we have reason to suspect that this was not a simple burglary motivated by monetary gain.

A WAKE-UP CALL FOR YEC AND THE MOVEMENT
Like many organizations, the YEC was unprepared for the type of violation that took place here this past weekend, and we did not have adequate security systems in place. We express our sincere regrets that our databases, which include contact information for hundreds of youth and other community members, are now in the hands of those who broke in.

This incident serves as a powerful wake-up call for us. As a result of this incident, we are now taking immediate steps to safeguard our information systems, protect our offices more effectively, and actively create a culture of security at the YEC.

We strongly encourage you to do the same. At such a time, grassroots community groups must work together to develop stronger security measures within their organizations and within our network.

But we must remember that our best security comes from everyday
people in our communities knowing who we are and supporting our
work. We must also recognize this as a crucial opportunity to build
stronger alliances with each other not only to protect ourselves,
but to strengthen our movement work overall.

Thanks to the strength and resolve of our staff and the active support of our allies, we are proud to say that the YEC is already on the path to full recovery. And we remain strongly committed to keeping the YEC an inclusive, community-based center-one that is open to young people and other community members. The YEC has become a crucial gathering place for youth organizers, young artists and our allies. It will remain so.

Now, more than ever, we recognize the need for organizing work to
improve our communities and create concrete social change. We ask
you for your continued support during this challenging time as we move forward towards building a world based on freedom, justice and equality.

In Solidarity on Behalf of the Entire YEC Family,

Rona Fernandez
YEC Executive Director

P.S. Donations to the YEC are tax-deductible and would be greatly appreciated during this time. Send donations, payable to the YEC,
to: Rona Fernandez, Executive Director, Youth
Empowerment Center,
1357A Fifth St., Oakland, CA 94607.