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Police Accountability Jan 28 in Kingston
David Carter-El
David Carter-El, a major part of building two African Roots Libraries
in the Hudson Valley, joined the Ancestors today 12/20/2019
ENJAN meeting schedule
Note atypical ENJAN meeting schedule: ENJAN typically meets every two weeks, the second and fourth Wednesday of each monoth.However, our last ENJAN meeting was 3 weeks after our previous meeting. It was decided at our last meeting to cancel our usual fourth-Wednesday ENJAN meeting on Nov. 27, because it falls on Thanksgiving Eve. Thus, our next meeting is 4 weeks after our last meeting. We also decided to cancel December's fourth-Wednesday meeting, because it falls on Christmas. This cancellation causes another 4-week interval. We'll have meetings two weeks apart in January, but then it will still be 3 weeks after that until our first February meeting. In summary, between late October and early February, we'll have only one 2-week interval between meetings. The rest will be 3 and 4 week intervals.
The Whole Damn System Is Guilty As Hell: Taking Control Of Police
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance
The entire system of policing in the United States is in crisis. Police murdering civilians has become a too common nightmare across the United States. The police murders of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, Eric Garner in New York City, Walter Scott in Charleston, SC, Tamar Rice in Cleveland OH, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, MD, Laquan McDonald in Chicago, IL and so many more have spurred a movement to transform policing.
The power relationship between police and the community is out of balance. Militarized policing of black and brown communities resembles an occupying force. While many police departments use the slogan “protect and serve,” in too many communities, people do not feel protected or served. They feel threatened, harassed and abused by police.
The relationship between police and the people needs to change. While there have been some positive reforms like police body cameras, special units to investigate police and increased prosecutions of police, these are insufficient. The most promising transformational change is to put in place community control of police through a democratically-elected police accountability board.
ENJAN meeting before Thanksgiving cancelled
CANCELLED:
Wed., Nov. 27, 6:30pm - 8:00pm. Meeting of Enjan (End The New Jim Crow Action Network) in Poughkeepsie. ENJAN is a Hudson Valley network dedicated to fighting racist policies of racial profiling, police brutality, and mass incarceration (the "New Jim Crow"). Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library, Family Partnership Center, 29 N Hamilton St, Poughkeepsie. Contact: 845-475-8781 or https://enjan.orgt
Wed., Nov. 27, 6:30pm - 8:00pm. Meeting of Enjan (End The New Jim Crow Action Network) in Poughkeepsie. ENJAN is a Hudson Valley network dedicated to fighting racist policies of racial profiling, police brutality, and mass incarceration (the "New Jim Crow"). Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library, Family Partnership Center, 29 N Hamilton St, Poughkeepsie. Contact: 845-475-8781 or https://enjan.orgt
Demonstration in front of the court building
According to information presented at last evening's ENJAN meeting, Jamelia and Julissa are scheduled to reappear in Dutchess County Family Court with Judge Tracy MacKenzie, 50 Market Street, on Tuesday, December 3, at 2:30 PM.
Once again, ENJAN plans to participate in a demonstration in front of the court building, probably at 2:00 PM, and to attend the court session.
Once again, ENJAN plans to participate in a demonstration in front of the court building, probably at 2:00 PM, and to attend the court session.
Demonstration at 1:00 PM today for Jamelia & Julissa
• Jamelia & Julissa are scheduled to appear in Dutchess County Family Court today at 1:30 PM.
• Spectators are encouraged to attend court and support the girls.
• Participants are encouraged to wear black in solidarity.
• The Black Student Union at Vassar College has created the flier.
International Sanctuary Declaration Campaign
GUEST: Rick Ufford-Chase, peace activist and Moderator of the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and Susan Smith, a Muslim member of Jewish Voice for Peace, talk about the November 12 International Symposium on Migration and Border Solidarity at the at the Westchester Ethical Culture Society in White Plains, NY.
https://wespac.org/event/international-symposium-on-migration-border-solidarity/
The interview can be heard live on 91.3 FM, or streamed from https://classwars.org. It will also be posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to hear it.
Thanks,
Fred
Activist Radio
Real History Series
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Respond to actions of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department
On Thursday, Nov. 7, at Rockefeller Hall, Room 300 there will be a conversation with the Jamelia and Julissa, their mom and their attorney, William Wagstaff, to talk about what they need from the community and how we can respond to actions of the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department. Shannon will be speaking about ENJAN’s work and about local laws and policy measures that need to be enacted to create change in the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department.
https://enjan.org
Also please SAVE THE DATE November 13th so we can RALLY IN SUPPORT OF Jamelia and Julissa! More details to come.
https://enjan.org
Also please SAVE THE DATE November 13th so we can RALLY IN SUPPORT OF Jamelia and Julissa! More details to come.
Join us this Sunday, Nov. 3
KINGSTON, NOVEMBER 3: Join us this Sunday, Nov. 3 from 12:30-4:30pm at the African Roots Center (43 Gill St) to make posters in support of asylum for Marco and to learn more about Marco’s immigration activism. All afternoon: Potluck and poster-making. 1pm: Screening of 2019 Sundance film “The Infiltrators”, portraying Marco’s activism work. This gathering is being held in solidarity with a banner making party organized for the same day by Marco’s family at their restaurant in the South Bronx, La Morada.
3 - NEW YORK CITY, NOVEMBER 7: RSVP to show up for Marco at 26 Federal Plaza, NYC on Thurs, Nov 7, at 8:00 AM. Offer/find a ride to NYC
If you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you at katherine.chiu@gmail.com or abeyoung@gmail.com, or by phone at (917) 830-5238
Case of police brutality
By now you may have heard or known of the case of police brutality that took place earlier this year involving two young girls ages 14 and 12 who were both thrown to the ground by police lat year. A facebook video surfaced of a City of Poughkeepsie police officer man-handling and throwing to the ground the 14-year-old girl. A mass meeting was held last year on the first steps of the case. Now it is the wishes of the family that this not go silent!! They want the entire community to know what has now been happening. The family's attorney will be here again Monday, Oct. 28-th at 6:30 PM at Smith Metropolitan AME Zion Church, 124 Smith Street, Poughkeepsie, to give an update and to talk about concerns and answer questions. Please come out in support of this family and to call out the negligence of the police department and administration as a whole. The flier is attached. I hope to see you all on Monday evening.
Giancarlo Llaverias
Dutchess County Legislator, District 1
Town of Poughkeepsie
For Police Accountability - Repeal 50-A
Section 50-a of the civil right law cloaks the disciplinary records of police officers, correction officers, and firefighters in secrecy and has been used to shield evidence of law enforcement abuse from the public. It should be repealed. For details, see attachment.
GUEST: S. Shankar talks about the US caste system
Activist Radio (5 - 6 pm) has the following guest on this Thursday:
GUEST: S. Shankar, Chair of the English Department at the University of Hawaii, novelist, and translator with an interest in postcolonial literature, talks about the US caste system and how it compares to India's rigid social hierarchy. His most recent book is "Ghost In The Tamarind."
The interview can be heard this Thursday at 5 pm on 91.3 FM, or this Sunday at 5 pm from the Progressive Radio Network PRN.FM. You can also hear it streamed live from www.classwars.org. Each show is posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to listen.
Thanks,
Fred
Activist Radio
Fighting Adversity. Standing Up to Jim Crow
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Activist Radio (5 - 6 pm) has the following guest on this Thursday:
GUEST: Andy Pragacz, community radio producer (WBDY), teacher at SUNY Cortland, and a founding member of Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST), talks about changing the criminal justice system and ending mass incarceration.
The interview can be heard this Thursday at 5 pm on 91.3 FM, or this Sunday at 5 pm from the Progressive Radio Network PRN.FM. You can also hear it streamed live from www.classwars.org. Each show is posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to listen.
Thanks,
Fred
Activist Radio
https://classwars.org
Coming Events at the AJ Williams-Myers African Roots Center
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Black Lives in Jacobin
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Two book signings with Lisa Fithian
-Saturday, October 5 from 6:00-7:30 pm. Talk and Book Signing by Lisa Fithian, author of “Shut It Down: Stories from a Fierce, Loving Resistance” at Oblong Books & Music, 6422 Montgomery Street, Rhinebeck. Described by Mother Jones as “the nation’s best-known protest consultant,” Lisa Fithian has helped organize countless uprisings including the Battle of Seattle in 1999, defending communities after Hurricane Katrina, Occupy Wall Street, Standing Rock, and Ferguson. Cosponsored by: AJ Williams-Myers African Roots Center, Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance, End the New Jim Crow ENJAN, Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Hudson Valley BDS, Jewish Voice for Peace-HV, La Voz con Mariel Fiori, Middle East Crisis Response, Rise Up Kingston, Veterans For Peace-Catskill Mountains, We Will Not Be Silent, and Women in Black-New Paltz. Contact: mecr@mideastcrisis.org or 845 876-7906
Lisa Fithian in Kingston and Rhinebeck
GUEST: Lisa Fithian, nonviolent trainer for the Battle of Seattle, the resistance after Hurricane Katrina, Occupy Wall Street, Standing Rock, and Ferguson, explores her fascinating career, and explains why Mother Jones describs her as “the nation’s best-known protest consultant."
https://www.facebook.com/events/2367011703520724/
The interview can be heard this Thursday at 5 pm on 91.3 FM, or this Sunday at 5 pm from the Progressive Radio Network PRN.FM. You can also hear it streamed live from www.classwars.org. Each show is posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to listen.
Thanks,
Fred
Activist Radio
https://www.classwars.org
From Paul Robeson to Colin Kaepernick
Fri, Sep. 13, 2019 at 6:00 PM
Library at the A.J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center, 43 Gill Street, Kingston, NY, 12401 More Information
Add to Calendar
The A.J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center Presents the Real History Series – Celebrity Activism: From Paul Robeson to Colin Kaepernick
The series provides an understanding of the way in which individuals leverage their celebrity to advance social equality and racial justice.
Part 2 of the series is a presentation about and discussion of Paul Robeson: The Athlete.
Admission is free.
GUEST: Ramatu Ahmed, Executive Director of the African Life Center, Bronx
Activist Radio (5 - 6 pm) has the following guest on this Thursday:
The interview can be heard this Thursday at 5 pm on 91.3 FM, or this Sunday at 5 pm from the Progressive Radio Network PRN.FM. You can also hear it streamed live from www.classwars.org. Each show is posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to listen.
Thanks,
Fred
Activist Radio
https://www.classwars.org
GUEST: Ramatu Ahmed, Executive Director of the African Life Center, Bronx, committee member of the U.S. National Council of Women and the Harlem Hospital’s Medina Clinic, talks about the Ghanaian community in New York City and the need for higher education for girls and adult women.
The interview can be heard this Thursday at 5 pm on 91.3 FM, or this Sunday at 5 pm from the Progressive Radio Network PRN.FM. You can also hear it streamed live from www.classwars.org. Each show is posted on the ClassWars website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to listen.
Thanks,
Fred
Activist Radio
https://www.classwars.org
Film Screening September 17
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 5:30-7:30 PMThe film explores the systems of forced labor that developed after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in 1865, and recounts the history of this American “neoslavery” as it continued for many decades, into the 1940s. A panel discussion will follow the film. Free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Laura Murphy at (845) 431-8521 or murphy@sunydutchess.edu.
Place: James and Betty Hall Theater, Dutchess Hall, Dutchess Community College
White supremacists and the justice department
Though the justice department and FBI officials have claimed renewed interest in tackling white supremacist violence, their actions raise continued concerns about how they are using counterterrorism authorities.
More troubling, recent reporting that revealed the active participation of police officers in white supremacist groups and racist social media activity by a small but significant number of police officers and border patrol officials makes clear that overt and organized racism continues to fester within agencies sworn to protect the public safety as well. The FBI has repeatedly warned its agents about white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement, urging caution about sharing sensitive intelligence about domestic terrorism cases. But it has taken few concrete actions to protect communities of color from these racist officers. Given this disturbing reality, giving law enforcement greater domestic terrorism powers may not be the safest or most effective solution.
More troubling, recent reporting that revealed the active participation of police officers in white supremacist groups and racist social media activity by a small but significant number of police officers and border patrol officials makes clear that overt and organized racism continues to fester within agencies sworn to protect the public safety as well. The FBI has repeatedly warned its agents about white supremacist infiltration of law enforcement, urging caution about sharing sensitive intelligence about domestic terrorism cases. But it has taken few concrete actions to protect communities of color from these racist officers. Given this disturbing reality, giving law enforcement greater domestic terrorism powers may not be the safest or most effective solution.
Full article at:
National Night Out in Poughkeepsie
ENJAN is pleased to have been invited to participate once again in National Night Out at Civic Center Plaza in the City of Poughkeepsie on Tuesday, August 6, from 5:00-8:00 PM. National Night Out is a community building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.
If you are able to volunteer please reach out to Shannon swong@nyclu.org
More information about the event from City of Poughkeepsie Police Officer Karen Zirbel, who leads the event:
The address is 62 Civic Center Plaza, which is City Hall. We will be blocking off Civic Center Plaza between Mansion Street and the Westbound Arterial (44/55.)
If you are able to volunteer please reach out to Shannon swong@nyclu.org
More information about the event from City of Poughkeepsie Police Officer Karen Zirbel, who leads the event:
The address is 62 Civic Center Plaza, which is City Hall. We will be blocking off Civic Center Plaza between Mansion Street and the Westbound Arterial (44/55.)
NYCLU
The NYCLU is sponsoring a set of conversation cards and the associated listening.nyc website, aimed to encourage people to talk about policing and the criminal justice system. Check it out!
Unnecessary jail expansion
Does our county really need a bigger jail?
A guide for avoiding unnecessary jail expansion
As jail populations have skyrocketed over the past three decades, jails around the country have become dangerously overcrowded. The reflexive response is often to start the long, expensive process of building a larger jail. However, this report provides a roadmap to easier, quicker, cheaper, and more just solutions to jail overcrowding. It is organized around a series of questions that local decisionmakers should be asking and then lays out a detailed briefing on best practices for reducing jail overcrowding.
Students of color disciplined more often?
- Mon, Jun 18th ENJAN (End the New Jim Crow Action Network) members along with other local activists are meeting at the A J Williams-Meyers African Roots Center in Kingston at 1:30 pm to discuss the SUNY New Paltz Benjamin Center study on “disproportionate disciplinary rates of students of color in Hudson Valley public schools.”
How else did you expect me to show up?
From Congresswoman Omar's amazing, eloquent, and powerful speech this week in front of the Capitol:
"So, a sister of mine on TV said the thing that upsets—the thing that upsets the occupant of the White House, his goons in the Republican Party, many of our colleagues in the Democratic Party, is that—is that they can’t stand—they cannot stand that a refugee, a black woman, an immigrant, a Muslim, shows up in Congress thinking she’s equal to them. But I say to them, “How else did you expect me to show up?”
Lorett Ross at Vassar College
Sponsored by Vassar Voices for Planned Parenthood, the Women's Center, the ALANA Center, the STS Department, the Office of Community Engaged Learning, and Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley.
To RSVP, go here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScinqZN3F-JTllNVZCheYQ_XXYVjOAwngj3VobX0Vnmr2nZYg/viewform
We All Belong Here: Hearing the Voices of Muslim Women
-Saturday, May 4, 1:30-4 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 320 Sawkill Rd, Kingston. “We All Belong Here: Hearing the Voices of Muslim Women.” This panel discussion, based on personal experiences and narratives of Muslim Women living in our region, will explore society’s perceptions and governmental policies. Refreshments provided. Hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace-HV hudsonvalley@JVP.org and co-sponsored by: Fellowship of Reconciliation USA, the Muslim Peace Fellowship, Middle-East Crisis Response (MECR), Veterans for Peace, Women in Black - New Paltz, Palestinian Rights Committee of Upper Hudson Peace Action, and the Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center.
Community meeting
Community meeting, Tuesday, April 23 (tonight), at 6:30 PM to discuss the City of Poughkeepsie's statement and an action plan regarding the March 11 incident in which City of Poughkeepsie Police Officer John Williams threw 15-year-old Jamela Barnett to the ground. The City of Poughkeepsie has concluded Williams did not use excessive force. Williams has been returned to regular duty.
Bill
Location: Smith Metropolitan AME Zion Church, 124 Smith Street, PoughkeepsieShannon alerted me to this event just now. Unfortunately, she cannot attend, but she is strongly urging ENJAN members to attend, and to report back to ENJAN at tomorrow evening's meeting.
Facilitator: William Wagstaff, attorney for family of Jamela Barnett.
Community Leaders: Bishop Jesse Bottoms, Bishop Debra Gause, Dr. Weldon McWilliams
Bill
Case for/against Reparations
The Race Unity Circle will collectively investigate the case for/against Reparations on Wednesday, April 17, at 7:00 PM.
New location: The Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory, 8 N. Cherry Street, Poughkeepsie.
New location: The Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory, 8 N. Cherry Street, Poughkeepsie.
Preparatory reading: The Case for Reparations, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Questions: Should we have a conversation about Reparations in the United States? Why or Why Not? What should reparations look like? How would we implement them?
Thanks to Tracy for suggesting this announcement.
Thanks to Tracy for suggesting this announcement.
Segregated by Design
Richard Rothstein
narrates new short film
narrates new short film
based on
The Color of Law
“Segregated by Design,” a short film based on The Color of Law by EPI distinguished fellow Richard Rothstein, examines the forgotten history of how federal, state, and local governments used law and policy to segregate every major metropolitan area in the U.S. The film illustrates how racially explicit, unconstitutional policies created patterns of residential segregation that persist today, driving Rothstein’s conclusion that we are obligated to remedy it. “Segregated by Design” premiered at the American Documentary Film Festival on March 29 in Palm Springs, California. Watch the film »
Black women dying during and after childbirth
Why are so many black women dying during and after childbirth? On Monday, April 22 join PPMHV in exploring this galling disparity in the U.S. healthcare system during a free screening of DEATH BY DELIVERY at SUNY New Paltz. According to the CDC, Black women in the U.S. are dying of pregnancy-related complications at almost four times the rate of their white counterparts, and in DEATH BY DELIVERY, journalist Nelufar Hedayat investigates this crisis in maternal care. DEATH BY DELIVERY is an episode from Fusion TV series, The Naked Truth, and the screening will be followed by a panel of qualified health experts. We hope to see you there.
We All Belong Here
-Saturday, May 4, 1:30-4 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 320 Sawkill Rd, Kingston. “We All Belong Here: Hearing the Voices of Muslim Women.” This panel discussion, based on personal experiences and narratives of Muslim Women living in our region, will explore society’s perceptions and governmental policies. Refreshments provided. Hosted by Jewish Voice for Peace-HV hudsonvalley@JVP.org and co-sponsored by: Fellowship of Reconciliation USA, the Muslim Peace Fellowship, Middle-East Crisis Response (MECR), and the Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center.
The Poor People’s Campaign
-Wed, Mar 27 6:30 - 8 pm at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, 9 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival (www.poorpeoplescampaign.org). This will be local people speaking about their experiences working to overcome racism, poverty, environmental degradation, and militarism.
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