A Un-Aired Superbowl Ad that Recognizes Humanity While the NFL Refuses

Native American womanThis commercial which will not air during today’s Superbowl says it all.. This country while celebrating the hype around athletic prowess still has a yearning desire to stay rooted in hatred, racism and the legacy of genocide. The owner of the Washington DC’s NFL team and the owners of the Washington Post Newspaper under the guise of maintaining tradition refuse to recognize the humanity of a people even after they been informed time and time again they are being marginalized and disrespected with the continued use of name  that’s offensive.

‘Redskin’ is an offensive term even if they can drag up some Native person which the team owner Dan Snyder has done in the past who says its ‘ok’, thus justifying his continued offensive actions. I seen program directors at radio station do that to justify playing songs with the N word or allowing their deejays to utter such words.. They find someone Black who says its cool and then use that as political and social cover for an egregious offense…

Not all traditions were good traditions and in a date and time where people have platforms to speak for themselves and its been made clear for the past several years that Native Peoples are not mascots and we should move onward and upward and not do backwards azz things like use pejorative names for our sports teams..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-tbOxlhvE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXeyH9bH4oE

Black History Month: The Legacy of H Rap Brown (Imam Jamil Al-Amin )

H rap brown ptOne of the most enduring and dominant figures during the Black Freedom movements of the 1960s and 70s was H Rap Brown of SNCC (Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee) where he served as chairman and later as the Minister of Justice for the Black Panther Party.

His fiery oratorical skills often sparked fear in authorities and those in power who he spoke out against. His rhetoric led to him being arrested and accused of inciting a riot in Cambridge Maryland  in 1967 even though police had shot at him, grazing and unarmed Brown in the head hours before any ‘riot’ jumped off.  If anything what took place was a response to what happened to Brown..

Nevertheless, Brown’s harsh words netted him rebukes from the The president and Vice President of the US and made him a major target for then FBI director J Edgar Hoover‘s Cointel-Pro operation Later a law was passed in Congress known as the H Rap Brown law which made it a federal offense to cross state lines with the intent to start a riot.. It was a way to silence activist like Brown and others  who were deemed militant.

For many in the Hip Hop generation, H Rap Brown became known via his book Die Nigger Die which his is autobiography penned in 1969 where  he not only lays out his political vision, but also recounts the various word and rhyme games he played as a youngster growing up in Baton Rouge in the late 1950s. Known as the Dozens Brown’s sharp rhyme tongue led to him getting the nick name ‘Rap‘.  Some of the rhymes found in that book would later go on to be immortalized in songs like Rappers Delight,  in particular the one that read ‘I’m Hemp the Demp the Women’s Pimp..Over the years he’s been named checked and sampled by everyone from Public Enemy on down to Bay Area rapper Paris.

H rap Brown Today H Rap Brown is known as Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin and he sits in solitary confinement in a super max prison in Florence, Colorado accused of killing tow police officers. It’s a crime that he’s maintained his innocence and in fact has been confessed to by a notorious gang member who lived in the area. He also has a more recent book titled ‘Revolution By the Book; The Rap is Live

Below is an in-depth story that not only chronicles Brown’s life but also lays out the railroading that went down with his case..Thats followed by a couple of clips. One is an insightful interview given by H. Rap on the Gil Noble show. Thats followed by a speech he gave on education..

Rap Sheet: H. Rap Brown, Civil Rights Revolutionary – Cop Killer Or FBI Target?

H Rap Brown on Gil Noble’s Like it Is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izKmQgNmYao

The Politics of Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH_5aqVRdjE

Jasiri XReal Rap’..

Here’s a Dope Afrocentric Remake of Lorde’s Hit Song ‘Royals’

Maimouna Youssef tiltLove this song from Maimouna Youssef (Mumu Fresh ) who hails from Washington DC. She does an incredible job covering this song ‘Royals‘ by Lorde which recently just won two Grammys for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year.

What stands out about this version is how she flips up the words and chorus and goes hard at the the concept of elitism. and reminds us that we are already Royal..  She does a rap verse that especially is potent, reminding us she’s a dope emcee as well as a gifted singer.

Most should find this remake of Royals’ to be quite uplifting.. The song will be featured on an upcoming mixtape… For those unfamiliar with this sista, you may wanna check out some of her past work in particular the album called ‘The Blooming’

Maimouna YoussefMeet Me In Brazil’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyqTJV7ogcY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2AMji8UYT0

Maimouna YoussefThe Blooming

Black History Month: Happy Birthday Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over—like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

-Langston Hughes-

Langston HughesAs we kick off Black History Month.. what better way to start things by acknowledging the birth date of the legendary poet, playwright, novelist and social activist Langston Hughes….He was born February 1st 1902 in Joplin, Mo..

When we think of that historic period in time called the Harlem Renaissance, Langston’s name is front and center as a dominating major influencing figure…

Below is a piece that he wrote called during that period in 1926 that was published in the Nation called The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain Here, Hughes advocates strongly for Black artists to draw upon and hold onto their culture vs assimilating and trying to de-racialize themselves.

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

One of the most promising of the young Negro poets said to me once, “I want to be a poet–not a Negro poet,” meaning, I believe, “I want to write like a white poet”; meaning subconsciously, “I would like to be a white poet”; meaning behind that, “I would like to be white.” And I was sorry the young man said that, for no great poet has ever been afraid of being himself. And I doubted then that, with his desire to run away spiritually from his race, this boy would ever be a great poet. But this is the mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art in America–this urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.

But let us look at the immediate background of this young poet. His family is of what I suppose one would call the Negro middle class: people who are by no means rich yet never uncomfortable nor hungry–smug, contented, respectable folk, members of the Baptist church. The father goes to work every morning. He is a chief steward at a large white club. The mother sometimes does fancy sewing or supervises parties for the rich families of the town. The children go to a mixed school. In the home they read white papers and magazines. And the mother often says “Don’t be like niggers” when the children are bad. A frequent phrase from the father is, “Look how well a white man does things.” And so the word white comes to be unconsciously a symbol of all virtues. It holds for the children beauty, morality, and money. The whisper of “I want to be white” runs silently through their minds. This young poet’s home is, I believe, a fairly typical home of the colored middle class. One sees immediately how difficult it would be for an artist born in such a home to interest himself in interpreting the beauty of his own people. He is never taught to see that beauty. He is taught rather not to see it, or if he does, to be ashamed of it when it is not according to Caucasian patterns.

For racial culture the home of a self-styled “high-class” Negro has nothing better to offer. Instead there will perhaps be more aping of things white than in a less cultured or less wealthy home. The father is perhaps a doctor, lawyer, landowner, or politician. The mother may be a social worker, or a teacher, or she may do nothing and have a maid. Father is often dark but he has usually married the lightest woman he could find. The family attend a fashionable church where few really colored faces are to be found. And they themselves draw a color line. In the North they go to white theaters and white movies. And in the South they have at least two cars and house “like white folks.” Nordic manners, Nordic faces, Nordic hair, Nordic art (if any), and an Episcopal heaven. A very high mountain indeed for the would-be racial artist to climb in order to discover himself and his people.

But then there are the low-down folks, the so-called common element, and they are the majority—may the Lord be praised! The people who have their hip of gin on Saturday nights and are not too important to themselves or the community, or too well fed, or too learned to watch the lazy world go round. They live on Seventh Street in Washington or State Street in Chicago and they do not particularly care whether they are like white folks or anybody else. Their joy runs, bang! into ecstasy. Theirreligion soars to a shout. Work maybe a little today, rest a little tomorrow. Play awhile. Sing awhile. 0, let’s dance! These common people are not afraid of spirituals, as for a long time their more intellectual brethren were, and jazz is their child. They furnish a wealth of colorful, distinctive material for any artist because they still hold their own individuality in the face of American standardizations. And perhaps these common people will give to the world its truly great Negro artist, the one who is not afraid to be himself. Whereas the better-class Negro would tell the artist what to do, the people at least let him alone when he does appear. And they are not ashamed of him–if they know he exists at all. And they accept what beauty is their own without question.

Certainly there is, for the American Negro artist who can escape the restrictions the more advanced among his own group would put upon him, a great field of unused material ready for his art. Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their “white” culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work. And when he chooses to touch on the relations between Negroes and whites in this country, with their innumerable overtones and undertones surely, and especially for literature and the drama, there is an inexhaustible supply of themes at hand. To these the Negro artist can give his racial individuality, his heritage of rhythm and warmth, and his incongruous humor that so often, as in the Blues, becomes ironic laughter mixed with tears. But let us look again at the mountain.

A prominent Negro clubwoman in Philadelphia paid eleven dollars to hear Raquel Meller sing Andalusian popular songs. But she told me a few weeks before she would not think of going to hear “that woman,” Clara Smith, a great black artist, sing Negro folksongs. And many an upper -class Negro church, even now, would not dream of employing a spiritual in its services. The drab melodies in white folks’ hymnbooks are much to be preferred. “We want to worship the Lord correctly and quietly. We don’t believe in ‘shouting.’ Let’s be dull like the Nordics,” they say, in effect.

The road for the serious black artist, then, who would produce a racial art is most certainly rocky and the mountain is high. Until recently he received almost no encouragement for his work from either white or colored people. The fine novels of Chesnutt’ go out of print with neither race noticing their passing. The quaint charm and humor of Dunbar’s’ dialect verse brought to him, in his day, largely the same kind of encouragement one would give a sideshow freak (A colored man writing poetry! How odd!) or a clown (How amusing!).

The present vogue in things Negro, although it may do as much harm as good for the budding artist, has at least done this: it has brought him forcibly to the attention of his own people among whom for so long, unless the other race had noticed him beforehand, he was a prophet with little honor.

The Negro artist works against an undertow of sharp criticism and misunderstanding from his own group and unintentional bribes from the whites. “Oh, be respectable, write about nice people, show how good we are,” say the Negroes. “Be stereotyped, don’t go too far, don’t shatter our illusions about you, don’t amuse us too seriously. We will pay you,” say the whites. Both would have told Jean Toomer not to write Cane. The colored people did not praise it. The white people did not buy it. Most of the colored people who did read Cane hate it. They are afraid of it. Although the critics gave it good reviews the public remained indifferent. Yet (excepting the work of Du Bois) Cane contains the finest prose written by a Negro in America. And like the singing of Robeson, it is truly racial.

But in spite of the Nordicized Negro intelligentsia and the desires of some white editors we have an honest American Negro literature already with us. Now I await the rise of the Negro theater. Our folk music, having achieved world-wide fame, offers itself to the genius of the great individual American composer who is to come. And within the next decade I expect to see the work of a growing school of colored artists who paint and model the beauty of dark faces and create with new technique the expressions of their own soul-world. And the Negro dancers who will dance like flame and the singers who will continue to carry our songs to all who listen-they will be with us in even greater numbers tomorrow.

Most of my own poems are racial in theme and treatment, derived from the life I know. In many of them I try to grasp and hold some of the meanings and rhythms of jazz. I am as sincere as I know how to be in these poems and yet after every reading I answer questions like these from my own people: Do you think Negroes should always write about Negroes? I wish you wouldn’t read some of your poems to white folks. How do you find anything interesting in a place like a cabaret? Why do you write about black people? You aren’t black. What makes you do so many jazz poems?

But jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America; the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul–the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile. Yet the Philadelphia clubwoman is ashamed to say that her race created it and she does not like me to write about it, The old subconscious “white is best” runs through her mind. Years of study under white teachers, a lifetime of white books, pictures, and papers, and white manners, morals, and Puritan standards made her dislike the spirituals. And now she turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifestations–likewise almost everything else distinctly racial. She doesn’t care for the Winold Reiss’ portraits of Negroes because they are “too Negro.” She does not want a true
picture of herself from anybody. She wants the artist to flatter her, to make the white world believe that all negroes are as smug and as near white in soul as she wants to be. But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro–and beautiful”?

So I am ashamed for the black poet who says, “I want to be a poet, not a Negro poet,” as though his own racial world were not as interesting as any other world. I am ashamed, too, for the colored artist who runs from the painting of Negro faces to the painting of sunsets after the manner of the academicians because he fears the strange unwhiteness of his own features. An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he must choose.

Let the blare of Negro jazz bands and the bellowing voice of Bessie Smith singing the Blues penetrate the closed ears of the colored near intellectuals until they listen and perhaps understand. Let Paul Robeson singing “Water Boy,” and Rudolph Fisher writing about the streets of Harlem, and Jean Toomer holding the heart of Georgia in his hands, and Aaron Douglas’s drawing strange black fantasies cause the smug Negro middle class to turn from their white, respectable, ordinary books and papers to catch a glimmer of their own beauty.

We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.

Oakland Police Say the City is ‘Too Liberal’ and they Hate Working Here

photo by Jay Finneburgh

photo by Jay Finneburgh

Last night local news outlet  KTVU did a report about an internal poll obtained by the East Bay Express newspaper about Oakland’s police department. Apparently a majority of officers who patrol the city feel Oakland city leaders are ‘too liberal’. They also noted they feel demoralized and under appreciated. It was a pretty high % of officers at 65% who expressed these troubling sentiments. Over 55% said they do not feel appreciated by the citizens of Oakland and they are basically miserable on the job….You can read that East Bay Express article HERE

People should sit back and think about this for a minute as this poll reveals a serious rifts between the community and those who are entrusted to protect and serve. We have a city that goes out and votes for reps who they feel would do right by them.. These leaders in theory should reflect the general political values of the population. Yet we have an institution (the local police department) that gets more than 50% of the city’s budget, yields tremendous influence on Oakland’s political landscape while more than 75% of those within the institution don’t even live in Oakland. These individuals who don’t live in Oakland are complaining the city is too liberal? What does that mean at the end of the day for the average person who lives in Oakland?

Are Oaklanders having to deal with disgruntled employees who are patrolling their neighborhoods thinking they are too liberal and thus need to be taught a lesson? Do Oakland police officers feel their hands are tied and they wanna employ more aggressive policing tactics? Do they hate the activism of the city that attempts to hold them and other public officials accountable?

Do these disgruntled employees patrolling Oakland neighborhoods soaking up more than half the city’s budget slack off on the job because they feel ‘demoralized’? Does that manifest itself in tense, explosive interactions with the public where minor situations are escalated vs de-escalated?  Does it manifest with unhappy officers showing up late or not showing up at all to a call?

Oakland is a pretty diverse city, one of the most diverse in the country with high accolades for its charm, activism, burgeoning art scene and nightlife. A couple of years ago the NY Times noted that Oakland was the 5th most sought out destination in the world.. So the question remains, what exactly do Oakland police not like about the city?

Do these officers not like the gentrification going on in Oakland that have caused rents to skyrocket?  Oakland police are the second highest paid in the country with an average starting salary at 69K, can actually afford to live in Oakland under the new economy as opposed to many of Oakland’s teachers whose wages are far behind as they start off with 39k.   Do Oakland police not like the new coffee shops and art galleries sprouting up everywhere or do they not like the Black and Brown folks who been here for decades and are being displaced?

Can Oakland city leaders not find officers who love the city, share similar values and are willing to do engage the community in a way that leaves folks feeling ‘served, protected and empowered’ vs the current strain that many are feeling which is now reflected in the polling?

It sounds like Oakland is just a stepping stone to something more attractive and in the case of these officers who want to be around more conservatives.. As for the citizens, perhaps they need to slap on a Fox News or Tea Party bumper sticker on their ride to avoid being hassled by a police force that that perceives them as ‘too liberal’
Again here’s  Eastbay Express article..—-> http://bit.ly/1fCnNfL

3 Dope Songs to Check for that Clap Back at Oppression

Jasiri X

Jasiri X

Pittsburgh based emcee Jasiri X needs no introduction as each month he’s puts out dope music accompanied by compelling videos that address key issues of the day. If there is anyone who has been providing and essential sound track for the lives of this generation it would be him..

This latest offering details his recent trip to Palestine where he got to see first hand whats going down. He was part of a much larger delegation which included among others labor leader Bill Fletcher and long time writer/ activist Dream Hampton..

This song Checkpoint‘ is based on the oppression and discrimination Jasiri X witnessed firsthand during his recent trip to Palestine and Israel “Checkpoint”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6Y6LSjulU

Rebel Diaz

Rebel Diaz

Chicago raised, Bronx based Rebel Diaz has been putting down incredible music for a while that is squarely backed up by their intense activism..In the song below to put to rest the debate around immigration as the detail the fallacy behind the term ‘illegal alien’. They break down how its not as simple as saying someone broke the laws by crossing the borders. They note that such activities are a form of displacement initiated by harsh foreign policies that leave folks with little or no choice..  props to them for this video..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbXHJPWvOg8

MV Bill is an artist we should all know

MV Bill is an artist we should all know

If you’re not up on MV Bill aka the Messenger of Truth you need to be as he one of the most popular, prolific and politically charged emcees in Brazil. Hailing from the infamous City of God in Rio, most of his songs deal with social justice, police and government corruption and the unequal treatment of Black folks  living in the Favelas which are now being upended and people being massively and unceremoniously displaced to make way for the 2016 Olympics.

For those not up on MV Bill you may wanna check out this in-depth documentary from 4 Real TV  done by Sol Guy out of Canada and Mos Def now  known as Yasiin Bey... Its riveting to say the least.. http://www.4real.com/tv/details.asp?pageid=10

In the song below titled ‘Causa e Efeito‘ MV Bill talks about the police being an arm of the government and the elite and they help in them stealing millions from the poor. He also addresses the fact that the rich are often evil, and abusive and have their devilish deeds covered up..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mEb55pqoYA

Dream Defenders & Hip Hop Generation Activists Weigh in on State of the Union Address

Phil Agnew Dream Defenders On January 28th, Phil Agnew of the Dream Defenders delivered a  State of the Youth Address, outlining the social justice priorities of millions of young voters. It took place during the annual #Barack Talk

“For the past 4 years, #BarackTalk has been an opportunity for young people to meet online and hold real conversations about our biggest issues, from climate change to gun control,” says Biko Baker, Executive Director of the League of Young Voters.

“This year, we wanted to make it clear that the Rising American Electorate is diverse, powerful, and passionate about impacting the world we live in today.”

Phillip Agnew, Executive Director of Dream Defenders, says, “The emerging face of our country has begun to fight for the world we will inherit. Our generation knows that true change is more than words and slogans. We are building towards it at every level and, in 2014, we will show our power at the polls.”

Below is a video of Phil’s address

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27RYn9YO-vI

Rosa Clemente

Rosa Clemente

Earlier that day we at Hard Knock Radio sat down with a number of stellar Hip Hop Generation folks from around the country and asked them to address the issues that they are tackling and put forth key items President Obama would need to address in order to resonate with their constituents…Everything from voter suppression to police brutality to Stand Your Ground abuses and the fast tracking of the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership ) agreements were addressed.

The conversation that unfolded was inspiring, enlightening and a clear indication that many folks are hard at work making things happen in a big way.. These accomplishments range from folks bringing out record numbers to the polls both during the presidential elections and on off years, fighting ALEC, launching success Stop the Violence campaigns, establishing historic redistricting commissions, leading the fight for environmental justice and being deeply involved in media justice campaigns. to name a few..As one of our guest Rosa Clemente noted in our round table, this is about being a movement, not a moment..

Our guest included the following folks:

Rosa Clemente former 2008 Vice Presidential candidate for the Green Party
Shamako Noble-president Hip Hop Congress
Jazz Hudson-Educator, Poet Black Youth project
Elandria Williams-Highlander Center, Tennessee
Carmen LIanes -Voting rights advocate and a member PODER out of Austin, Texas
Biko Baker-League of Young Voters who put on the annual #BarackTalk

http://www.audiomack.com/song/hard-knock-radio/hip-hop-generation-addresses-2014-state-of-the-union

As we leave out, here’s some new music from Jasiri X.. He along with long time writer and activist Dream Hampton were part of a delegation that went to Palestine.. They just got back and he flipped this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6Y6LSjulU

500 Female Emcees: Meet Boog Brown-Grinding Hard & Being Herself

Boog BrownOriginally from Detroit and now living in Atlanta is an emcee,  songwriter and poet who many like to say has skillz comparable to artists like Nas, Rakim and Lauryn Hill. We’re talking Boog Brown who is no stranger to set-backs. After moving from Detroit to Atlanta in 2007, she found herself without a job , a car or even a mattress to sleep on. But nothing feeds the soul of a true Detroiter like adversity.

Determined to make her unique voice heard, Brown donned her work clothes, put pen to paper, Chuck Taylors to the pavement and started to grind. Boog became a regular at Atlanta’s hip-hop venues, meeting producers, promoters, writers and aficianados. The message of her music was simple and the purpose, pure: Be yourself. Grind hard. Be better. Get paid.

Since the release of her first “official” mixed tape, Grind Season Vol. 1 in 2009, Boog has grown an impressive following, both online and off. She’s been featured on PotHolesInMyBlog.com, TheGrittyCommittee.com, and TheFembassy.com. Boog Brown has also graced the pages of Creative Loafing and MetroTimes- Detroit.

Boog Brown signed with Mellow Music group and in September of 2010 released the critically acclaimed ‘Brown Study’ with producer Appollo Brown. An instant classic, the album earned a spot on ITune’s Top 10 New Hip-Hop Artists list as well as a 2010 Itunes Indie Spotlight.

Fresh off her stellar performance at the AC3 music conference in Atlanta, Boog Brown was featured on BET’s My Mic Sounds Nice: the Truth About women in Hip Hop and has since gone on to win Best Female Emcee from ATL’s coveted Heart of The Hood Awards.

check for Boog Brown at http:/www.twitter.com/boogbrown

Boog Brown In Tune

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3hIDtY14Kw

Boog Brown Polaroids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JySHTD5iTEI

Boog Brown Shine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmjJi9HvoI

Boog Brown Window Open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jf3jyZXeVs

500 Female Emcees: Meet Awkwafina-Comedic Rapper from NYC

AwkwafinaAwkwafina hails from Forest Hills, Queens and has been making a name for herself as of late because of her satirical videos which poke fun of New York City hipsters, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg while humorously extolling the virtues and quirks of  ‘the Vag’ (women’s body part). She attended LaGuardia High School where she played trumpet and was trained in classical and jazz music.

She adopted the name Awkwafina, and began rapping and writing songs in Garage Band at age 17. From 2006 to 2008, she attended the Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China, where she studied Mandarin. She also majored in Journalism at SUNY Albany.

Her recently released debut album is called Yellow Ranger.

Awkwafina NYC B#tches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-taYShNaPU

Awkwafina My Vag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z726OPwCnjE

Awkwafina Queef

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs6-o7Ci8J0

Santa Rosa Sheriffs Attempt to Intimidate Andy Lopez Protestors

andy-lopezWanna make sure that folks are up to speed with whats happening with the case around 13-year-old Andy Lopez who gunned down by Sonoma County sheriff deputies as he walked to a friend’s house to return a toy gun…

There have been lots of protests in the area mainly led by Andy’s classmates, which means the participants are 12-16 years old..Many of the parents of these kids have also been out protesting.. Andy’s murder at the hands of Deputy Erick Gelhaus marked the 57th killing in 10 years by sheriff and police in that area..

The protests have been mostly peaceful.. but that has not stopped local police intent on protecting Gelhaus from waging a intimidation campaign..The tactics they’ve used include mass ticketing protestors and enforcing arcane laws that most people never heard or knew about …They been spotlighting protest leaders and doing everything from making rude comments and gestures to actually physically assaulting folks.. These incidents have been painstakingly documented..

One protest leader, Ramon Cairo has been arrested when folks came to a city council meeting and demanded the gag order put on council members be lifted.. Ramon was clearly singled out and since then  officers have been showing up in large numbers at all  court proceedings to make it clear that they are in full support of the officers and not with the community  https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/12/17/18747971.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CORqBIHKXnM

The arrest of Ramon was deemed a distraction designed to take focus off Lopez.. protestors didn’t fall for it and increased their efforts this time focusing attention on the DA who has yet to press charges on Gelhaus but has been seen at a couple of campaign fundraisers getting ‘pretty chummy’ with police union members..

The police in turn have adopted a new strategy as noted by long time journalist and activist Tom Tompkins

In case you don’t know, I wanted to tell you of a particularly chilling development in the city’s attempt to end the protest movement up there. Because there are some “known gang members” – once a description, now a legal status robbing individuals of important rights (assembly etc) – the cops are using that to smear and scare protestors.

In an obvious but chilling move, the cops have begun a series of midnight raids at what they say are known gang members houses to arrest people who are active in this struggle to get Gelhuas, the murderous cop, indicted. That’s bad enough, but in addition they are declaring that anyone who hangs out with these individuals is legally participating in gang activity.

The implications of this are clear and really serious. It’s a convenient way to brand people, to rob them of their rights, and to scare the hell out of anyone who fights back. It’s not different from the way Homeland Security made average people afraid of all Muslims; in Santa Rosa, they’re trying to make sure that all young Latinos are branded as gang members (and it’s also a way to really screw people who were or are in gangs; their participation in this movement is a righteous social activity).

Tompkins reminded us that similar tactics were used by sheriff down in Anaheim after police shot 7 different (mostly Latino folks) last year around Disneyland.. There were mass protests and police used the gang suppression tactics to stifle and discredit protests..

The gang label is an interesting far-reaching tool used by police.. In the late 80s early 90s LAPD under the leadership of Daryl Gates launched a program called Operation Hammer. It was in response to a gang fight spilling over into the affluent Westwood community and an innocent bystander being killed. The strategy was to make contact with as many gang members and potential gang members as possible and enter them into a data base..

If you were stopped for any reason, major or minor you were given gang affiliation based on the neighborhood you lived in.. By the time the Rodney King riots (rebellions) took place, more than half of LA’s Black adult males were in the Operation Hammer gang data base..By labeling folks gang members, a whole set of rules and laws come into play for law enforcement..from gang injunctions to conspiracy to commit crime  charges..It appears that’s the strategy being used in Santa Rosa…

There will be a candlelight vigil tonight (Wednesday January 23) starting at 5:30 to mark the 3 month anniversary of Lopez being killed..

We’ll keep you abreast as more details around this emerge..