Sean Bell Family Seeks Support!
Familia,
Sean Bell's Family seeks your support. They have solicited the support of Reverend Daughtrey, of the House of the Lord Church, the National Action Network, and various City Council Members, including Charles Barron, to work with the community to develop a people's strategy for justice.
They have initiated organizing efforts on Tuesday, April 29th, at 1199's Martin Luther King Auditorium, where community leaders and concerned people met to discuss possible actions and collective demands. Needless to say, the ideas were varied, ambitious, and amazingly optimistic. There is a cloud of restrained rage that our community has decided to harness into organized efforts of protest and actions.
From this initial encounter the various committees were formed:
• The Boycott Committee – Boycotting Mother's Day and promoting limiting purchases to local Mom & Pop Stores; Other ideas being organized – choosing one day of the week where our community boycott's that day (i.e. no money on Saturday – except in local shops)
• The March Committee – this is part of a larger effort that still needs to be hashed out fully
• The Outreach Committee – self-explanatory
• The Civil Disobedience Committee – where people volunteer to gather in various locations throughout the city, hold hands for a city-wide Pray-in, and sit-down until arrested.
• Legal Committee – self-explanatory
The following Thursday, May 1, the volunteers met at the House of the Lord Church to make more concrete plans. The plans were discussed to ensure that all the efforts are coordinated in such a way that they occur all at once, to ensure the most economic impact on the city.
I, myself, belong to the Civil Disobedience team, and have volunteered to help coordinate the days of action for civil disobedience. So I am calling for social justice activists to join the effort of renouncing Justice Arthur Cooperman's racist and inhumane verdict of NOT GUILTY to the police officers who have depravedly killed Sean Bill and wounded Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield. Below is a quote from Al Sharpton that explains best the goals of the Civil Disobedience and all other related actions:
"The goal of the protests is to tie up traffic and force police to make arrests. Sharpton says the protests will continue on a weekly basis, leading up to what he hopes will be a citywide shutdown.
"If you're not going to lock up the guilty in this town, then I guess you're going to have to lock up the innocent. Since you won't lock up the cops, then lock up those that are fighting for justice," said Sharpton..
"On Wednesday I will be there, and everyone who is willing to support us, please come out and we're going to do this peacefully, like we always have," said Paultre-Bell [Sean Bell's Widow]." – NY1 news 5/3/08
____________________________________________________________________________
I am asking for people who want to volunteer and be arrested to send an email to:
the.frontlines@ yahoo.com or call 212-690-3070. . Please bear in mind that the goal IS TO BE ARRESTED NOT CONFRONT THE POLICE. This is a CITY WIDE PRAY-IN. Time and place of actual meeting place will be available once having being identified as a Civil Disobedient.
Each team of CD volunteers will have one lawyer who will work to ensure that every single member is released as soon as possible, once arrested. Each team will be headed by two captains who will work to coordinate contact information, do crowd control, and all other issues related to the Civil Disobedience action. Each team will have one staff person from National Action Network helping to coordinate and support.
Volunteers for arrest must:
• Be over 18 years of age
• Not have any type of open warrant
• Not have any parking tickets or other fees owed to the City
• Submit emergency contact information for the day-off action
• Carry loose change for phone calls within jail and Central Booking
• Know the names of Captains, Lawyers, and National Action Network Team Contact
1. Third Avenue at 125th Street; [#6 to 125th or #2, 3 to 125th & Lenox Av./Malcolm X Blvd & walk 5 blocks --t];
2. Park Avenue at 34th Street [#6 to 33rd or N, Q, R, W, B, D, F, V to 34th & walk 3 blocks];
3. Third Avenue at 60th Street [#4, 5, 6 to 59; N, R, W to Lexington; F to Lexington-63rd] ;
4. Varick and Houston Streets [#1 to Houston or A, B, C, D, E, F, V to W. 4th & walk 5 blocks SW];
5. One Police Plaza; [behind 1 Centre St. Municipal Bldg, i.e. one block east of corner of Centre St. & Chambers St.]
6. 415 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn [House of the Lord Church btw Bond & Nevins Streets, Brooklyn
A, C, G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn; 2, 3, 4 or weekday 5 to Nevins St. (at Flatbush); Q, R or weekday B or M to DeKalb Av. (at Flatbush); F to Bergen St. (at Smith); D to Pacific St./Atlantic- Pacific; map at: <http://tinyurl. com/6afc2j/ > < http://tinyurl. com/2mxlua/> --t.]
"There will be small groups in each place and they will meet there at the same time and at the same time we are going to have a city-wide pray-in," said Sharpton. "Where we going those that know won't say and those that say don't know."
http://www.ny1. com/ny1/content /index.jsp?stid= 1&aid=81196
TO SIGN-UP FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE ACTION ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 7
Email: the.frontlines@ yahoo.com or call 212-690-3070.
Otherwise come and support at any of the following six sites and be there by 3 pm!
LA UNION HACE LA FUERZA!
In peace, justice, and solidarity,
Raybblin Vargas ☺☻