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We are the 99 percent

Articles tagged stop and frisk


Sunday, Aug 4th: Rally Against Surveillance #1984Day

Posted 10 years ago on Aug. 3, 2013, 5:04 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: nyc, stop and frisk, restore the fourth, rt4

Imgur

via Restore the Fourth NYC:

Sunday, August 4th is 1984 Day. A broad coalition of resistance, including Restore the Fourth, will be gathering in cities across the US to oppose the global surveillance apparatus. In NYC, we're meeting at 3:00pm in Bryant Park to march on locations that have aided the surveillance state. Some of us will be clad in gear inspired by George Orwell's 1984.

From the NSA to the NYPD, the 99% are monitored by a system designed to target anyone perceived as a threat to the 1%. Because occupiers know first hand how surveillance functions to quash dissent, we are calling on Occupy Wall Street to join us in solidarity.

crucial info:

Restore the Fourth NYC Facebook Rally/March Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/508963769175983/
Restore the Fourth Facebook Rally/March Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/585565111483298/
1984 Day Website (for further information about other local events): http://www.1984day.com

some background:

Recent local and international events have exposed chilling parallels to the dystopian world of Orwell's novel:

Over a month ago, leaks of top-secret governmental files revealed that the US is spying on its own people and the people of the world, and that multinational corporations like AT&T, Verizon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Google are complicit in varying degrees. We have since learned that countries including the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands are engaged in similar programs.

Just yesterday, it was revealed that the surveillance apparatus is even broader than we'd been told. In addition to metadata and telephone records, the NSA routinely intercepts the contents of personal communications, including e-mails and telephone calls, and collects “nearly everything a user does on the Internet," using a tool called ‘XKeyscore’.

And the problem is bigger than just electronic spying. Racist policies like NYPD's "Stop and Frisk" subject people --especially people of color-- to invasive physical searches and police intimidation. On June 28th, Mayor Bloomberg stated that the NYPD "disproportionately stop[s] whites too much and minorities too little" when talking about the Stop and Frisk program. On July 23rd, after vetoing the Community Safety Act, he stated that the bill, which would severely restrict the use of Stop and Frisk, "would make New Yorkers less safe."

Let's get real. Such constant appeals to "safety" and "security" are fear tactics that exploit public apprehension over crime and terrorism. They mask the surveillance state's true intent -- to protect the interests of the 1% through the monitoring and intimidation of anyone they perceive as a threat to their power: people of color, political activists, immigrants, and ultimately, everyone -- in other words, the 99%.

Enough is enough. It's time to fight back against a future without freedom. Sunday, August 4th, is 1984 day.

See you in the streets!

more about Restore the Fourth NYC:

https://www.facebook.com/restorethe4thnyc
http://restorethefourthnyc.org/
restorethe4thnyc@gmail.com
@Restorethe4thNY

1984dayNYC

more about Restore the Fourth:

http://www.1984day.com
http://www.restorethefourth.net/
https://www.facebook.com/RestoreTheFourth
@Restore_the4th

1984day

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Rage in Brooklyn: Arrests at Third Day of Demonstrations for Teen Killed by NYPD

Posted 11 years ago on March 15, 2013, 4:36 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: police, brooklyn, stop and frisk, nypd, nyc

Kimani Gray memorial

via OccupyWallStreet.net:

16-year-old Kimani Gray was shot seven times – four times in the front of his body, and three times in the back – last Saturday. And for a third straight day demonstrators gathered in his neighborhood, East Flatbush, to protest New York Police Department brutality. After 100 people attended a candlelight vigil near Brooklyn's 67th Precinct, as many as 50 people were arrested as a demonstration spread throughout the neighborhood. Thereafter, according to a range of bloggers and social media activists, East Flatbush became a "frozen area," with media barred.

RT reports, "Brooklynites were heard shouting "murderers!" at the massive police presence Wednesday as officers prohibited people from even stepping onto the street in one of New York's poorer neighborhoods while police helicopters circled overhead." Ray Kelly himself, the Police Commissioner, did not characterize the demonstration as a riot, as some local newspapers did, but he did describe the assembly as disorderly.

Police mistrust runs deep in a neighborhood disproportionately targeted by the NYPD's deeply unpopular Stop and Frisk policy, widely regarded as a racist practice.

Franclot Graham told AP: "I'm not going to tell people don't be angry because we're all angry...It's OK to vent but you have to respect the family's wishes and be peaceful." Graham's teenage son, Ramarley Graham, was shot and killed after police chased him into his Bronx home last year. A New York police officer has since been charged with manslaughter in the death.

Gray's family maintains he wasn't armed. According to AP, a cousin of Kiki, Ray Charles, was still having trouble accepting the NYPD's official version of events: "My cousin was scared of guns...I honestly just want justice. They didn't need to shoot him like that...The real issue in Brooklyn is cops have been harassing us for a long time," he said. "It needs to stop."

ON-THE-SCENE REPORTING FROM OCCUPY WALL STREET

One Occupy activist on the scene, Austin Guest, observed:

At the invitation of a comrade from Flatbush, I went down for the second straight night tonight to the protests surrounding Kimani Gray's murder at 55th & Church. Out of a sea of over three hundred people, I was one of maybe a dozen white faces, most of them journalists. For the the first time in over a year spent organizing non-stop demonstrations on Wall Street, I was at a protest, but I was just along for the ride – firmly and gladly ensconced in the back seat. From that back-seat position, I witnessed one the most mind-blowing protests I have ever been to. I felt humbled and at times scared – in the presence of a deep, intense force surging up, demanding to be heard.

A few moments that stick in my head:

  • A crowd of protesters being pushed aggressively out of the street in front of the 67th precinct by riot cops, turning on a dime, sprinting in the opposite direction, finding and surrounding a cop car, shoving it and hitting its windows, dispersed only by a barrage of pepper spray to their faces from the terrified cop inside the car
  • A teenage girl staring down a line of riot cops and yelling "MURDERERS!" fearlessly at the top of her lungs into their stone cold faces
  • The look of panic on the driver of a police van's face after the rear window of his van was smashed, seemingly from nowhere
  • A crowd being pushed down a side street by scooter cops, followed minutes later by a shower of glass bottles flying from apartment buildings onto the heads of the scooter cops
  • A car by Kimani's memorial blasting Bob Marley's "War" and a mass of quiet, somber people pulsing and bobbing their heads in slowly growing rage."

Tensions were high, but according to Yoni Brombacher Miller, "I wasn't worried about getting arrested myself; it was clear they (the NYPD) weren't interested in the non-people of color, or adults. They were clearly going after the youth."

Brombacher Miller added, "How can we best amplify and strengthen their militant struggle for justice? Some, like Councilman Jumaane Williams argued that the 'youth should be controlled', and while he argues that they're right to be angry, he is also stifling their rage instead of agitating with them. The NYPD cannot and will not be part of the restorative process. The only steps that must be taken, are a demilitarized, reduced NYPD with expansion of social programs and services, which currently the NYPD is actively a part in preventing.

"I was roughly thrown over barricade by cops, but I'll be back tomorrow, and the night after and after, because this is truly historical, and Brooklyn's moment. The youth today were brave, and many more shall be inspired to join up."

To show solidarity with those arrested, call 311 and demand that everyone arrested at the Kimani Gray vigil be released from the NYPD 71st + 69th precincts in Brooklyn. Or call the precinct directly: 71st precinct (718) 735-0511, 69th precinct (718) 257-6211

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Guitarmy / Rebel Diaz to Occupy Bronx Criminal Courthouse for Remarley Graham Family

Posted 11 years ago on Sept. 12, 2012, 11:32 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: police, guitarmy, nyc, stop and frisk

Ramarley Graham

Ramarley Graham Vigil To Be Held At Bronx Criminal Courthouse Occupy Guitarmy To Occupy Courthouse On Eve Of NYPD Trial

This Thursday, September 13, Occupy Guitarmy will join the family of Ramarley Graham at the start of the trial of the NYPD officer charged with the killing of their son. The courthouse will be the site of a large group of social justice activists including Stop Stop & Frisk, Take Back The Bronx and hip hop group Rebel Diaz.

On February 2, Ramarley Graham, an 18-year-old Bronx resident, was followed home from a local convenience store, shot and killed by officer Richard Haste inside his own home. The community was outraged at this brutal and unnecessary act, and Ramarlay’s story has now been linked to the large number of victims of police brutality in the city. Many prominent communities, from city councilmen (Jumaane Williams) to religious leaders (Rev. Al Sharpton) have spoken on behalf of Graham and against the policies of the NYPD.

Bronx Courthouse Occupied

On the eve of the trial the Occupy Guitarmy will lead a group of activists from Union Square on an eight mile march to the Bronx Criminal Courthouse (215 E 161st St.) where they will perform a “sleepful protest” outside the court’s doors.

The Occupy group wishes to highlight the confluence of policing problems evident in the tragedy of Ramarley Graham: an out of control surveillance state, lack of proper police training, racial profiling, unlawful entry, and unwarranted use of lethal force. These are endemic problems within the NYPD’s failed drug enforcement and Stop & Frisk policies.

Wednesday
March leaves Union Square Wed, Sept 12, 3pm
March arrives Bronx Courthouse 215 E 161st Street at 7pm
Songs and Occupation into the night

Thursday
9am, Bronx Criminal Court (215 E 161st Street)
1pm: Vigil for Reynaldo Cuevas, a man shot by a police officer while he escaping the scene of an armed robbery. At Aneurys Deli Grocery at 1299 Franklin Ave.

The Occupy Guitarmy is a musical street action project of the OWS Music Working Group. The leaderless, multi-instrumental group plays and sings in support of workers and for actions supporting economic, environmental, or social justice. The group’s two most recent actions were a trans-Manhattan march in support of the Russian musicians and political prisoners Pussy Riot, and a 99 mile march from Philadelphia to NYC to celebrate the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie.

For more information, please see www.guitarmy.org @owsmusicgroup @owsguitarmy

Contact: music@nycga.net
Goldi 917-382-9868

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Stop Mass Incarceration Network Five Borough Action to Blow The Whistle on “Stop-and-Frisk”

Posted 11 years ago on Sept. 12, 2012, 11 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: nyc, stop and frisk, police

Blow the Whistle on Stop and Frisk banner

via the Stop Mass Incarceration Network

WHEN: Thursday September 13 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm
WHERE: 5 borough locations below

New York, NY – On Thursday, September 13, in every borough of New York City, people who have had enough of the illegal NYPD policy of stop-and-frisk will gather at various locations to “Blow the Whistle” in areas heavily targeted by the NYPD. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network says 14,500 whistles have been distributed to communities, with another 6,000 to be given out Thursday.

According to NYPD figures, every day almost 2,000 mostly black and Latino males are stopped by the NYPD, subjected to stop-and-frisk, which the Network calls “unconstitutional, unjust, and racist.”. Organizers say, “In the face of the massive public outcry against stop-and-frisk, the NYPD is doubling down. They are on pace to stop and frisk almost as many people in 2012 as their record in 2011 of 684,000. Now is the time to organize widespread political resistance that can end to stop-and-frisk.”

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Sunday, NYC: Silent March to End Stop and Frisk

Posted 11 years ago on June 17, 2012, 8:03 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: call to action, nyc, stop and frisk

if you see something . . .

via SilentMarchNYC.org:

The Silent March to End Stop and Frisk

Join Civil Rights, Faith, Labor and Community groups in a silent march against NYC’s “Stop and Frisk” Policy! On Father’s Day, let’s stand together to show that New Yorkers refuse to let our children be victimized by racial profiling.

Father's Day
Sunday, June 17th - march begins at 3 pm
Assemble on West 110th St. between Central Park West/8th Ave. and Fifth Ave.

  • Enter the assembly area from the west or from the north, NOT from the east!
  • You can begin gathering as early as 1pm, but remember - the march starts at 3 pm!
  • Closest subway stops: Cathedral Parkway (110 St) on the B and C trains, Central Park North (110 St.) on the and 3 trains.
  • Please check subway schedules for any changes.
  • Contingents are being assigned locations within the assembly area. Please check back here in a few days for details.

March route

  • The march begins at 110th St. and Fifth Ave.
  • We will march south on Fifth Ave. to 78th Street.
  • Mayor Bloomberg's mansion is on 79th St., just east of Fifth Ave.

REMINDER: this will be a silent march for the entire route!

What to Bring

  • Wear comfortable walking shoes.
  • Put on sun screen and/or wear a hat, especially if it is a sunny day.
  • Carry a bottle of water.
  • Posters, signs, banners - but remember that you cannot use wooden or metal sticks!

What Not to Bring

  • Do not bring any noise makers or musical instruments!

Silent March

In contrast to previous demonstrations, we will march in silence as an illustration of both the tragedy and serious threat that stop and frisk and other forms of racial profiling present to our society. The silent march was first used in 1917 by the NAACP—then just eight years old—to draw attention to race riots that tore through communities in East St. Louis, Illinois, and build national opposition to lynching.

Now, 95 years later, you can join us in powerful protest to help end this great injustice and begin rebuilding national opposition to racial profiling.

If you're outraged that police, security guards and even community watch volunteers in so many neighborhoods continue to treat young people of color differently, or if you're concerned for your children, or your neighbors' and friends' children, then channel these emotions into action by joining thousands in calling for an end to racial profiling and the abuse of New York's stop and frisk laws.

Silence is a powerful force that, like other forms of non-violent protest, holds a mirror to the brutality of one's opponents. On June 17, we will hold up a mirror to New York City's stop-and-frisk policy. It is not only discriminatory, it actively seeks to humiliate innocent citizens—particularly African American and Latino men—and criminalize otherwise legal behavior.

The Facts about Stop and Frisk

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