Report on September 13 Blow the Whistle Actions Across the Country
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"Blow the Whistle" links:
Photos 9/10/12 "Blow the Whistle" press release The Call to Blow the Whistle on Stop-and-Frisk Flyers |
Photo credit: Juanita Ceballos
On September 13th in Anaheim, California, family members and friends of four youth murdered by police there gathered to Blow the Whistle on police murder. At California State University-Northridge (just outside LA), students posed with Blow the Whistle signs and whistles. In Oakland, California, students at two high schools wore stickers saying: “Mass Incarceration + Silence = Genocide” and blew whistles. At the end of the day in Harlem, people marched to two projects where we were met by residents wearing their whistles and waiting for the march to arrive so they could join in blowing the whistle on stop-and-frisk. These projects had been the scene of frequent clashes between youth from the different projects, but on this day, four youth from one project went with the march over to the other project to get out whistles and join their neighbors in blowing the whistle on all the abuse the cops bring down on people.
These whistles marked determination to refuse to any longer suffer abuse from the criminal “injustice” system in silence. They were a way for the people who bear the brunt of this injustice to stand up and resist this abuse. A way for people to stop blaming themselves for this abuse and to start having each other’s back and looking out for each other in the face of this abuse. These whistles can be another nail in the coffin of stop-and-frisk.
On September 13th, our resistance to the way the police and the whole criminal “injustice” system come down on the people got taken to another level. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network (SMIN) is dedicated to sustaining the way that blowing the whistle on police abuse has become a form of collective mass resistance, and to spreading the sense of engaging in this kind of resistance more broadly in society. We understand that anyone who stands up to resist all this could be targeted for retaliation. We also know whole generations of young people have already been targeted — targeted by racial profiling, being put on the road to living their lives going in and out of prison, robbed of any hope for the future. Blowing the whistle on all this abuse is an important part of breaking the pipeline that puts so many of our youth on that road.
Going forward, SMIN will be blowing the whistle on stop-and-frisk and all the injustice the authorities bring down on people. We will blow the whistle as we to mobilize support for our demand to Drop the Charges on the Stop “Stop-and-Frisk” Freedom Fighters and Stop the Prejudicial Prosecutions of ‘Noche’Diaz. As part of doing this will be raising the funds necessary to mount a powerful legal and political defense of these freedom fighters. Two fund raisers are currently planned -- one on September 29th in Hadley, Massachusetts, and another in Manhattan on October 30th. (For more information or to help make these benefit events, and the fight to win these legal cases, successful, contact SMIN.) We will blow whistles as we mobilize for the upcoming October 22nd National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.
If you are tired of the way the police harass, disrespect and brutalize young people; if you are horrified at the way so many people are warehoused in prisons across the country, if your heart goes out to the millions of people who are forced to live their lives enmeshed in the criminal “injustice” system, then you need to join us in building a fight to END MASS INCARCERATION AND ALL ITS CONSEQUENCES!
These whistles marked determination to refuse to any longer suffer abuse from the criminal “injustice” system in silence. They were a way for the people who bear the brunt of this injustice to stand up and resist this abuse. A way for people to stop blaming themselves for this abuse and to start having each other’s back and looking out for each other in the face of this abuse. These whistles can be another nail in the coffin of stop-and-frisk.
On September 13th, our resistance to the way the police and the whole criminal “injustice” system come down on the people got taken to another level. The Stop Mass Incarceration Network (SMIN) is dedicated to sustaining the way that blowing the whistle on police abuse has become a form of collective mass resistance, and to spreading the sense of engaging in this kind of resistance more broadly in society. We understand that anyone who stands up to resist all this could be targeted for retaliation. We also know whole generations of young people have already been targeted — targeted by racial profiling, being put on the road to living their lives going in and out of prison, robbed of any hope for the future. Blowing the whistle on all this abuse is an important part of breaking the pipeline that puts so many of our youth on that road.
Going forward, SMIN will be blowing the whistle on stop-and-frisk and all the injustice the authorities bring down on people. We will blow the whistle as we to mobilize support for our demand to Drop the Charges on the Stop “Stop-and-Frisk” Freedom Fighters and Stop the Prejudicial Prosecutions of ‘Noche’Diaz. As part of doing this will be raising the funds necessary to mount a powerful legal and political defense of these freedom fighters. Two fund raisers are currently planned -- one on September 29th in Hadley, Massachusetts, and another in Manhattan on October 30th. (For more information or to help make these benefit events, and the fight to win these legal cases, successful, contact SMIN.) We will blow whistles as we mobilize for the upcoming October 22nd National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.
If you are tired of the way the police harass, disrespect and brutalize young people; if you are horrified at the way so many people are warehoused in prisons across the country, if your heart goes out to the millions of people who are forced to live their lives enmeshed in the criminal “injustice” system, then you need to join us in building a fight to END MASS INCARCERATION AND ALL ITS CONSEQUENCES!
Reports From the Field
Blowing the Whistle at City College
by Jamel Mims
On Thursday, September 13, City College students joined thousands of people across New York City in blowing the whistle on NYPD's Stop-and-Frisk policy. Every Thursday at City College from 12PM-2PM, there are club hours where hundreds of students congregate, student organizations gather, set up tables and recruit new members. In the weeks leading up to September 13th, organizers from the Stop Mass Incarceration Network distributed hundreds of whistles to students and student organizations read more Breaking the Silence in Staten Island
by Elaine Brower
Sept 13 -- Today I went to Stuyvesant Place and Wall Street, in Staten Island, located a few blocks from the ferry and Curtis High School. This neighborhood is located on the North Shore of the island, which is an inter-racial community, and very politically broad based. The location is directly behind the 120th precinct, the largest in the borough. I carried whistles, flyers and buttons with me, along with tow signs; “We are blowing the whistle on Stop & Frisk” and a smaller hand made sign on poster board that said simply “STOP, STOP & FRISK.” I arrived at the location at approximately 3pm, and on my way up the street, I engaged a group of mostly black male youth. They saw my sign and immediately got it, talked to me about their experiences being stopped and frisked multiple times, and told me they know lots of kids who also have been harassed by the police. It was like I opened up the floodgates of their lives and someone was there to listen. After read more Blowing the Whistle on Stop and Frisk Campaign Launches photo credit: Reginald T. Brown
Debra Sweet, Executive Director of World Can't Wait, reports on the campaign from 1 Police Plaza and Union Square (originally published 9/14/12, World Can't Wait)
Most of the action Thursday September 13, in the new campaign to Blow the Whistle on Stop-and-Frisk was in the areas most heavily targeted by NYPD. Organizers were in The Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem, Jamaica Queens, and Staten Island. By the end of the day, 20,000 whistles had been distributed. People wanted a place to gather and blow the whistle downtown, so we obliged. First, at 1 Police Plaza, NYPD headquarters, where the decision was made to begin the policy of stop-and-frisk, and from where it’s constantly defended. A few of us showed up with whistles, buttons, and signs saying “We are BLOWING the WHISTLE on STOP-and-FRISK. No more STOPS and ILLEGAL SEARCHES in SILENCE. Join us. read more |
Anaheim, CA: "Keep That Whistle With You!"
"Today it starts here..."
In Anaheim, California, family and friends of Manuel Diaz, Joel Acevedo, Martin Hernandez, Caesar Cruz, killed by Anaheim police, and Michael Nida, killed by Downey police, with activists, residents of Anna Drive and nearby neighborhoods, and Anna Drive kids, gathered at the memorial for Manuel Diaz on Anna Drive. Genevieve Huizar, Manuel's mom, said, "We're tired of police killing our families.....Time and time again, it's been happening all over the United States. From Montana to Texas, New York to California, everyone blow the whistle! Everyone needs to come forward. Blow the whistle!" An earsplitting din went up as 30 or 40 whistles blew in unison after someone read from the flyer, "We will no longer stand by silently while people are denied their rights.". Channels 52 and 4 arrived to cover the event. People blew their whistles again. "Today it starts here," said Albert Castillo of Chicanos Unidos. "We'll continue doing this, keep that whistle with you!" Blowing the Whistle on Stop and Frisk "Noche," photo: Juanita Cebollas
A personal account of the Bronx action from Nancy Van Ness's blog: No War No Torture
I had written the phone number of the National Lawyers Guild on my left arm in preparation. I might have needed it. When I got to the meeting place, I noticed that Noche, the courageous young activist whom I was to meet for this action, had done that, too. 
We were in a section of the Bronx targeted by the NYPD for the Stop and Frisk policy, which produced nearly 700,000 incidents where police, without warrants, stop mostly young men of color mostly in specific neighborhoods, and subject them to humiliating read more
Whistle Blowing In Harlem Jamel, photo: public domain
Whistles sounded in Harlem from mid-afternoon into the evening. About two dozen people gathered in front of the Harlem State Office Building shortly after 3pm to ring in a new day in standing up to Stop & Frisk and in looking out for each other and having each other's backs in face of the abuse by the police. For about four hours, some of these people left and others joined. Overall, at least 1000 whistles and a larger number of flyers went into the hands of people passing by, with some of them staying around for a while to blow their newly acquired whistles. Young people were read more
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EVENT INFO
It's whistle time! Thursday September 13
Blow the Whistle on Stop-and-Frisk!
photo credit: Reginald T. Brown
The Call to Blow the Whistle on Stop-and-Frisk
on September 13th
on September 13th
To those who are tired of seeing police step to our youth with harassment, brutality and even worse; to those outraged because the NYPD stopped and frisked 684,000 people last year alone; to Black and Latino youth tired of knowing that every time you leave your house you might be descended on by cops; to parents who fear that no matter what you tell your kids about surviving an encounter with cops it won’t be enough to keep them safe; to people who know this will never happen to them but also know it’s wrong — join us on September 13th to “Blow the Whistle on Stop & Frisk!”
Stop & Frisk is racist, and it’s no damned good. People have begun to stand up and fight it. In the face of the massive public outcry, the NYPD is doubling down. They are on pace to stop and frisk even more people this year. Now is the time to unleash resistance that can sweep Stop & Frisk away. The racial profiling Stop & Frisk concentrates is a pipeline to mass incarceration and the warehousing of our youth in prison. We don’t have to suffer all this anymore, and we won’t. There is no good reason for Stop & Frisk to remain in effect. It’s illegal and illegitimate. It must be stopped! We are going to stop it, and you must join us in doing that!
Join us in Blowing the Whistle on Stop and Frisk! On September 13th, thousands of people all across NYC will politically confront the cops who are violating people’s rights. We will be blowing whistles to call out these injustices and using cameras to document the criminal actions of the cops. At 6 PM, we will all blow our whistles at once to signal to all those who have been targeted by Stop & Frisk, to all those who have stood up against it and to the cops and officials who enforce it that there are people all over who will no longer be silent. And in cities across the country, people have to act in solidarity: Blowing the Whistle on the way cops target Black and Latino youth, whether they call it Stop & Frisk or not.
On September 13th we will say in a strong, united voice: WE WILL NO LONGER STAND BY SILENTLY WHILE PEOPLE ARE DENIED THEIR RIGHTS. Our actions on that day will drive a nail into the coffin of Stop & Frisk.
Be a part of making this day happen. Get your whistles and get them out to others in your neighborhood, at your school, in your workplace or in your place of worship. Spread the word and organize people you know to be a part of this day. Take to the streets on September 13th and with us declare that the days when the cops can violate people’s rights however they want, when people aren’t inspired and organized to politically resist this kind of injustice are no more.
Initiators:
• Carl Dix, Revolutionary Communist Party
• Cornel West, professor, author and public intellectual
Endorsers:
Gbenga Akinnagbe, actor
Nellie Hester Bailey, activist, Occupy Harlem
Herb Boyd, author, activist; Harlem, NY
Elaine Brower, World Can’t Wait, Military Families Speak Out
Rev. Luis Barrios, professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice CUNY*
Randy Credico, political satirist, activist
Nicholas Heyward Sr, father of Nicholas Jr., murdered by NYPD
Dawn Jones, National Board Member, National Action Network*
Arturo O'Farrill, Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
Efia Nwangaza, Malcolm X Center, Greenville, SC
Luke “Aidge” Patterson, artist and activist
Rev. Stephen Phelps, Senior Minister, The Riverside Church*
Debra Sweet, Director of World Can’t Wait
James Vrettos, professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice CUNY*
Clyde Young, Revolutionary Communist and former prisoner
* for identification purposes only
What You Can Do: Donate funds for whistles, flyers and palm cards! * Form Organizing Committees in Your School or Neighborhood * Help Get the Word Out Now! * Contact Us & Get Involved
Stop & Frisk is racist, and it’s no damned good. People have begun to stand up and fight it. In the face of the massive public outcry, the NYPD is doubling down. They are on pace to stop and frisk even more people this year. Now is the time to unleash resistance that can sweep Stop & Frisk away. The racial profiling Stop & Frisk concentrates is a pipeline to mass incarceration and the warehousing of our youth in prison. We don’t have to suffer all this anymore, and we won’t. There is no good reason for Stop & Frisk to remain in effect. It’s illegal and illegitimate. It must be stopped! We are going to stop it, and you must join us in doing that!
Join us in Blowing the Whistle on Stop and Frisk! On September 13th, thousands of people all across NYC will politically confront the cops who are violating people’s rights. We will be blowing whistles to call out these injustices and using cameras to document the criminal actions of the cops. At 6 PM, we will all blow our whistles at once to signal to all those who have been targeted by Stop & Frisk, to all those who have stood up against it and to the cops and officials who enforce it that there are people all over who will no longer be silent. And in cities across the country, people have to act in solidarity: Blowing the Whistle on the way cops target Black and Latino youth, whether they call it Stop & Frisk or not.
On September 13th we will say in a strong, united voice: WE WILL NO LONGER STAND BY SILENTLY WHILE PEOPLE ARE DENIED THEIR RIGHTS. Our actions on that day will drive a nail into the coffin of Stop & Frisk.
Be a part of making this day happen. Get your whistles and get them out to others in your neighborhood, at your school, in your workplace or in your place of worship. Spread the word and organize people you know to be a part of this day. Take to the streets on September 13th and with us declare that the days when the cops can violate people’s rights however they want, when people aren’t inspired and organized to politically resist this kind of injustice are no more.
Initiators:
• Carl Dix, Revolutionary Communist Party
• Cornel West, professor, author and public intellectual
Endorsers:
Gbenga Akinnagbe, actor
Nellie Hester Bailey, activist, Occupy Harlem
Herb Boyd, author, activist; Harlem, NY
Elaine Brower, World Can’t Wait, Military Families Speak Out
Rev. Luis Barrios, professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice CUNY*
Randy Credico, political satirist, activist
Nicholas Heyward Sr, father of Nicholas Jr., murdered by NYPD
Dawn Jones, National Board Member, National Action Network*
Arturo O'Farrill, Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
Efia Nwangaza, Malcolm X Center, Greenville, SC
Luke “Aidge” Patterson, artist and activist
Rev. Stephen Phelps, Senior Minister, The Riverside Church*
Debra Sweet, Director of World Can’t Wait
James Vrettos, professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice CUNY*
Clyde Young, Revolutionary Communist and former prisoner
* for identification purposes only
What You Can Do: Donate funds for whistles, flyers and palm cards! * Form Organizing Committees in Your School or Neighborhood * Help Get the Word Out Now! * Contact Us & Get Involved
How to Get Involved
Blow the Whistle on Stop and Frisk, all day, everywhere. Make your plans now. Students blow your whistles going into and coming out of school. People in neighborhoods where cops sweat people 24-7 blow your whistles. Get your friends together, and if you see the cops doing something to somebody, blow your whistles, take out your camera or phone.
IN THE HOOD, whereever you are: Get whistles and get together in the spots NYPD always messes with people. You have the right to observe and document police conduct with a phone or camera. Blowing a whistle is First Amendment-protected speech. The New York Civil Liberties Union advises “never make any statements to police without an attorney present.”
NEW YORK
8:30 am
Start the day with Court Support in the Bronx or Manhattan:
Richard Haste, Ramarley Graham's killer, goes to court to face charges of manslaughter in the Bronx.
Stop Stop + Frisk reports that the family of Ramarley Graham is pleading for support.
Bronx Criminal Courthouse, 265 E 161st Street.
Grand Jury Proceedings to Indict Jazz Hayden
"Keep Jazz Free" Press conference & rally outside 1 Hogan Place,near Centre and Worth Streets,
around corner from courthouse at 100 Centre St.
More info
3:00 pm
Meet others to blow the whistle on September 13 as schools let out:
Manhattan (Harlem): 125th & Lenox State Office Building
Brooklyn (Brownsville): Rockaway & Livonia
Bronx (South Bronx): 174th & Manor, Bronx River Projects
Queens (Jamaica): Jamaica Avenue & Parsons Blvd.
Staten Island: Stuyvesant Place & Wall Street near SI Ferry
6:00 pm
Union Square, Manhattan, south side
Or at 6:00 pm, wherever you are, blow your whistle!
then head to related events:
6:00-8:00pm
Opening reception for Dread Scott & Joann Kushner's
"Post Code Criminals"
Rush Arts Gallery
more info
8:00pm
*** CANCELLED ***
Connolly's Thursday Night Comedy Jam
hosted by
Randy Credico
with John McDonagh
discount for OWS/SSF protestors
more info
LOS ANGELES
3:00 pm
Venice: Venice LAPD Substation, 1530 W Ocean Front Walk
Pico Union: 6th and Alvarado by MacArthur Park, march to LAPD's Ramparts Station
5:00pm
Pasadena: Hilton Hotel, 178 S Los Robles Ave
Anaheim…Leimert Park…Cal State University, Northridge…
Wherever you want to Blow the Whistle on all of this!
Convergence at LAPD Headquarters, 1st and Main, Downtown
7:00 pm
Meet at 5th and Spring for ARTWALK LA
CHICAGO
5:00pm
Chicago South Side: Corner of 63rd & Halsted
Chicago West Side: Corner of Division & Pulaski
Wicker Park/West Town: The triangle where Milwaukee, Division & Ashland meet
SF BAY AREA
4:00pm
Bay Area (Oakland): Meet at Bancroft and 73rd Ave, Oakland
March to the Oakland Police Substation, Eastmont Mall
CLEVELAND
Blowing the whistle on the way cops target Black and Latino youth,
whether they call it "stop & frisk" or not. We will no longer stand by silently
while people are denied their rights. Get your whistles, get them to others
in your neighborhood, at your school, in your workplace
and in your place of worship.
4:00pm
Assemble across from Tower City
4:30pm
March to Justice Center
5:00pm
Blow whistles
IN THE HOOD, whereever you are: Get whistles and get together in the spots NYPD always messes with people. You have the right to observe and document police conduct with a phone or camera. Blowing a whistle is First Amendment-protected speech. The New York Civil Liberties Union advises “never make any statements to police without an attorney present.”
NEW YORK
8:30 am
Start the day with Court Support in the Bronx or Manhattan:
Richard Haste, Ramarley Graham's killer, goes to court to face charges of manslaughter in the Bronx.
Stop Stop + Frisk reports that the family of Ramarley Graham is pleading for support.
Bronx Criminal Courthouse, 265 E 161st Street.
Grand Jury Proceedings to Indict Jazz Hayden
"Keep Jazz Free" Press conference & rally outside 1 Hogan Place,near Centre and Worth Streets,
around corner from courthouse at 100 Centre St.
More info
3:00 pm
Meet others to blow the whistle on September 13 as schools let out:
Manhattan (Harlem): 125th & Lenox State Office Building
Brooklyn (Brownsville): Rockaway & Livonia
Bronx (South Bronx): 174th & Manor, Bronx River Projects
Queens (Jamaica): Jamaica Avenue & Parsons Blvd.
Staten Island: Stuyvesant Place & Wall Street near SI Ferry
6:00 pm
Union Square, Manhattan, south side
Or at 6:00 pm, wherever you are, blow your whistle!
then head to related events:
6:00-8:00pm
Opening reception for Dread Scott & Joann Kushner's
"Post Code Criminals"
Rush Arts Gallery
more info
8:00pm
*** CANCELLED ***
Connolly's Thursday Night Comedy Jam
hosted by
Randy Credico
with John McDonagh
discount for OWS/SSF protestors
more info
LOS ANGELES
3:00 pm
Venice: Venice LAPD Substation, 1530 W Ocean Front Walk
Pico Union: 6th and Alvarado by MacArthur Park, march to LAPD's Ramparts Station
5:00pm
Pasadena: Hilton Hotel, 178 S Los Robles Ave
Anaheim…Leimert Park…Cal State University, Northridge…
Wherever you want to Blow the Whistle on all of this!
Convergence at LAPD Headquarters, 1st and Main, Downtown
7:00 pm
Meet at 5th and Spring for ARTWALK LA
CHICAGO
5:00pm
Chicago South Side: Corner of 63rd & Halsted
Chicago West Side: Corner of Division & Pulaski
Wicker Park/West Town: The triangle where Milwaukee, Division & Ashland meet
SF BAY AREA
4:00pm
Bay Area (Oakland): Meet at Bancroft and 73rd Ave, Oakland
March to the Oakland Police Substation, Eastmont Mall
CLEVELAND
Blowing the whistle on the way cops target Black and Latino youth,
whether they call it "stop & frisk" or not. We will no longer stand by silently
while people are denied their rights. Get your whistles, get them to others
in your neighborhood, at your school, in your workplace
and in your place of worship.
4:00pm
Assemble across from Tower City
4:30pm
March to Justice Center
5:00pm
Blow whistles
