Crowd Rallys for Health Care in New York
A small crowd gathered despite rain May 1 2019 in Washington Square park to support the New York Health Act. As we have reported before, the proposed law would establish a universal single payer health system across New York State. The act has passed the Assembly four times and will likely pass the now-Democratic controlled Senate this year.
http://rochester.indymedia.org/node/147839
One speaker, a doctor from Canada reminded the crowd on how Canada's popular and much less costly health care system began in the province of Saskatchewan. New York could be the state that does the same for the US.
On camera: another case of racial profiling by the RPD
After a judge's ruling and an appeal from a second request for body worn camera footage from May 5, 2018, the city of Rochester finally releases an appropriately redacted video.
Still from Rochester Police Department body worn camera footage
Christopher, a Black, Corn Hill resident, was riding his bicycle back home to Troup Street from the Montgomery Neighborhood Center, after hanging out and playing basketball, when a Rochester Police Department (RPD) officer pulled him over for riding on the wrong side of a nearly empty Clarissa Street.
The officer, whose name has been requested by Rochester Indymedia via a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, tells Christopher that she pulled him over on his bicycle because he was riding on the wrong side of the road. The body worn camera (BWC) footage does not show Christopher riding on the wrong side of the road, or riding period. The video starts as she begins to question who he is, where he’s coming from, what his business is, where he lives, and if he has any warrants out for his arrest. (You can read the rush transcript at the bottom of the article.)
The pretext for the stop was Christopher’s alleged riding on the wrong side of the road. The purpose for the officer was twofold: 1) to get as much personal information about Christopher as she could and 2) to determine if he had any outstanding warrants that she could use to arrest him. After the interaction, which ended with Christopher leaving without physical injury or arrest, I spoke with him briefly as he headed home. I observed the interaction from the front of the Flying Squirrel Community Space. Christopher seemed flustered, frustrated, angry, and exhausted. On the day of the incident, I posted this to Facebook:
I just witnessed an African American guy, who lives in the Corn Hill Neighborhood, pulled over on his bicycle at Atkinson and Clarissa for not having lights on his bike. It was broad day light and there was no inclement weather. He said this happens often. The stop happened at around 5:45pm. He was not arrested or ticketed. It's bullshit. #BlackLivesMatter #RacialProfiling #Roc #PoliceAccountabilityBoardNOW #NoJusticeNoPeaceNoRacistPolice
On May 9, 2018, I filed a FOIL request for the BWC footage of the officer. The request stated:
I would like the body worn camera footage from officers who stopped an African American man on a bicycle at the noted intersection above between 5:30 and 6:00pm on May 5, 2018. Thank you for your time and consideration with this request.
It was given FOIL number: RR18-01891.
Then, on May 21, 2018, my request for BWC footage was granted. Specifically, the email read:
The video I was sent can be seen below:
Clearly, as you can see, the video has been completely blurred with the audio completely stripped from it. This is not transparency.
At the same time, I was also seeking BWC footage from officer Jonathan P. Laureano who pulled over a Black man who the officer had interacted with a year before. (That story is soon to come.) I spoke with the individual and he requested that I get the footage. I requested the video. With respect to Christopher (the man in the still photograph above), I took a gamble. The case with the footage from Laureano was appealed and eventually an Article 78 was filed. My gamble was that if I could hold off on getting the footage from the incident on May 5 and hope the Court ruled in my favor on the Laureano issue, then I could re-request the footage from May 5 and get an unredacted version of the video based on the Court's order. If the Court ruled against me, and the City's policy was allowed to stand, then it might have meant never getting the video or requring me to appeal to the highest court in New York State and possibly the nation.
However, my gamble paid off. On December 18, 2018, Supreme Court Judge Ann Marie Taddeo ruled in my favor on my article 78 proceeding. I claimed that the City’s policy of blanket redactions and removal of sound from BWC video with the added cost of paying a technician hundreds of dollars to review the video and apply the proper redactions was against the letter and spirit of the Freedom of Information Law in New York State. The judge agreed.
The Court held that the Respondents (the City) “shall reconsider the Petitioner’s [the author's] FOIL request.” Judge Taddeo did not buy the City’s arguments: the Court found “no provision” in the law allowing for blanket-blurred video; she found Corporation Counsel Timothy Curtain’s argument that blurring videos “helps the requestor” to be an argument that “strains credibility” and is “unsupported in the record;” the Court found it “surprising that . . . in the first quarter of the 21st century, it will take a trained professional twelve hours to perform redactions to a one-hour video;” and the City “failed to explain” from which section of the law gives them the “power to perform these expected redactions.” She ordered the City to provide a redaction log for any redactions made when reconsidering my request and reminded them that the law “does not provide for the redaction of the arresting officer’s image or voice.” (My attorney, Elliot Dolby-Shields, is appealing the judge’s ruling on the basis that she didn’t provide a compliance date and, to date, the City has still not responded (and is in violation of the Court’s order) to my other FOIL request for BWC footage from officer Laureano.)
Armed with this knowledge, I filed another FOIL request on March 6, 2019 for the RPD body worn camera video footage of the stop with Christopher. My request mirrored my original request made in 2018. My reasoning was that if the City had read the Court’s order, then I should be able to get the video with the audio and without the blanket blur.
What I got on March 26 was this:
It was frustrating to see that the City used an argument that clearly did not take into account the judge’s order.
Upon reading the statement and receiving the same link to the same blurred video, I immediately responded and forwarded the judge’s order to the law department of the city:
No one ever responded to my email. Therefore, I sent an appeal on April 2:
On April 11, Tim Curtain, via Stephanie Prince, responded to my appeal: “I have performed a diligent review and am reversing the determination of the Records Access Officer.” You can see the email below.
And so, nearly a year after my first request, the City finally released the nearly unredacted body worn camera footage with a redaction log. You can see the redaction log below.
Unredacted Video of the May 5, 2018 Incident with Christopher
At the end of the day, we have a video showcasing racial profiling in the City and an officer fishing for information from an innocent person who was humiliated, frustrated, and angry at how he was treated. Thankfully, Christopher was not assaulted by the officer. However, these kinds of daily occurances of injustice are unacceptable and furthers the distrust between the Black and Hispanic communities and the police. Enough is enough.
Redaction Log Page 1
Redaction Log Page 2
Related: Racism Running Rampant in Rush | Court rules against City's Body Worn Camera FOIL policy | Rochester's Racist Marijuana Policies Must End | City Council Candidate Forum on Police Accountability from 2017 | David Vann v. the system | 16 arrested during peaceful demonstration during Black Lives Matter Rally | Charges dismissed against Ms. Bonner; will RPD officer McNees be disciplined? Who knows... | A critique of "The New Guardians" by Cedric Alexander
Rush Transcript:
Officer (O): “Where you comin’ from?”
Christopher (C): “Chillin’, chillin’, chillin’. Ridin’ the bike.”
O: “Where you heading to?”
C: “Home. Around the corner.”
O: “Corn Hill?”
C: “Yes. We own the house.
O: “Own the house?”
C: “Yes.”
O: “Who do you live with?”
C: “We own the house; it doesn’t make a difference. We own the house. In Corn Hill.”
O: “Oh. Ok. Do you have a phone number Christopher?”
C: “Yes. A house phone. For what though?”
O: “Just in case I need to get a hold of you.”
C: “For what?”
O: “It’s just a question.”
C: “I don’t get in trouble.”
O: “Listen.”
C: “I’m 50 years old. No, I don’t have a phone. I don’t have a phone.”
O: “Ok. Listen.”
C: “No, no. I don’t have a phone.”
O: “You don’t have a phone?”
C: “No. A house.”
O: “You don’t have any warrants or anything like that?”
C: “No, no. You got the ID, call it in. You know how to do it. Call it in, man. I don’t have any IDs. I don’t get in trouble.
O: “Alright. 209, I’ll be in records.”
“[inaudible]”
O: “209 to records”
“[inaudible]”
O: “Can I get a 29 check on a male black?”
“[redacted]”
O: “How long have you lived over at [redacted]? A lot of people don’t feel like in the city move around a lot.”
C: “People got money.”
O: “What?”
C: “People have money.”
O: “…have money.”
C: “Yes. I don’t got; I said people have money.”
O: “Yeah. Do you live with friends and stuff over there on Troup?”
C: “Family.”
O: “Family?”
C: “Yeah.”
O: “Then were you riding your bike with friends then? Over?”
C: “Yes, yes, yes. I was just comin’ from basketball.”
O: “The basketball court?
C: “Montgomery Center.”
O: “Do you guys like generally meet up like on Saturdays with friends over there and ride bikes? Er, is it just like a hangout spot?”
C: “I ride with the Thurston crew.”
O: “A Thurston crew?”
C: “Yeah. Like the Judge on DKX ride bikes. They got they own crew. Everybody got they own crew. The Conkey crew. Everybody.”
O: “Yeah.”
C: “Uh huh.”
O: “How long you been riding with them?”
C: “I just got my bike fixed today.”
O: “You just got it fixed?”
C: “Yeah.”
O: “It’s a nice bike. The seat looks really comfortable.”
C: “Oh yeah. It was made in France.”
O: “It was made in France?”
C: “Yeah.”
O: “That’s pretty cool. Do you have a repair shop you go to?”
C: “Yeah, Hudson.”
O: “On Hudson?”
C: “Yeah”
O: “You just get around don’t you.”
C: “They fix free bikes.”
O: “They fix for free?”
C: “Couple places. South Ave., Hudson. It’s a couple places. Give away bikes and fix bikes.”
O: “Do you know anyone else with red bikes like that?”
C: “Huh?”
O: “I said red bikes aren’t very common like that. Does anyone else have red bikes like that you know of?”
C: “It’s orange.”
O: “It’s orange? You think that’s orange?”
C: “Of course it’s orange. Red? This is not red.”
O: “I would call it red.”
C: “No.”
O: “Like a light red and a dark red.”
C: “No.”
O: “Maybe an orangish red? We can meet in the middle?”
C: “No. Yeah.”
O: “Meet in the middle?”
C: “Yeah. But it’s more orangish.”
O: “Alright, alright. It’s weird how people just see color slightly different, you know what I mean?”
C: “Yeah.”
O: “Like blue and purples.”
C: “[inaudible] red. So this is not red.”
O: “You like red?”
C: “Yeah.”
O: “Is that your favorite color?”
C: “No. Green.”
O: “Mine too! Do you like, like the dark greens though? The lighter green? What? Money green? Not the first time I’ve heard that.”
C: “Yeah.”
O: “What was wrong with your bike that you had to get fixed?”
C: “Derailleur.”
O: “The what?”
C: “Brand new derailleur.”
O: “Oh, okay. [inaudible radio] Go ahead.”
“[Redacted]”
O: “ Ten-four thank you. I just gotta check one more thing. Can you hold tight boss?”
C: “Yeah”
“[Radio chatter/inaudible.]”
O: “Alright man. You’re going to be all set. Sorry about that. Just make sure you’re supposed to ride your bike with traffic.”
C: “Yeah, yeah.”
O: “Just for safety and stuff like that.”
C: “And buy some lights.”
O: “Yeah.”
C: “I’m going to Walmart after this.”
O: “Even if you get a cheap flashlight and put it on the front just for when it starts getting dark, yeah.”
C: “No, no, no. You might as well–if you’re gonna do somethin’ do it right.
O: “Yeah, alright. Sounds good. Sorry to bother you on this fine day. Enjoy the rest of your ride. Alright?”
C: “Yes.”
O: “209 we’re all set. Oops shit, wrong channel. 209 we’re all set.”
VIDEO: Mycoremediation: restoring ecosystems through mushrooms
The world faces a multitude of problems ranging from pollution to energy shortages and health deficits. This presentation by Christopher Snyder explored the uses of mushrooms for a practice known as mycoremediation. Through this method, it may become possible to restore the health of our ecosystems and ourselves along with them.
The even happened on March 31, 2019 at the Flying Squirrel Community Space (FSCS) (285 Clarissa St.). The letcure was a part of the FSCS's programming theme of Environment for March and April.
Watch the lecture above
Christopher Snyder grew up on a hobby farm in Darien New York. While completing a Masters in Bioinformatics at the Rochester Institute of Technology he developed interests in dancing, philosophy, and community organizing. Christopher now lives in downtown Rochester and volunteers with the Flying Squirrel community space.
The FSCS exists to "provide a welcoming space that will cultivate and sustain long lasing relationships between activists, artists, and community members in Rochester so that we may work together to create positive social change."
Demonstration Calls For Release of Full Mueller Report
About 40 local demonstrators gathered in front of Rochester's Federal Building on April 4 2019. The rally was in solidarity with similar demonstrations nationwide and in front of the White House. Its purpose was to demand that the full report on Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election be turned over to Congress in its entirety. Speaking was Jen Lunsford, the Democratic challenger to NY State Senator Richard Funke in district 55.
Demonstrators Seek Just Palestine Policy
March 31 2019 about 40 demonstrators gathered at East Avenue and Goodman Street to show support for the Palestenian people. The group consisted of Christians, Jews, Muslims and others. The Trump administration has recently reversed US policy and granted Israel sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The area has been recognized as occupied international territory for over 50 years. At the same time legisilation has been passed criminalizing criticism of Israel while ignoring serious underlying issues and failing to recognize the difference between the Jewish religion and policies of the Israeli government. The groups present hope to change this perception.
An Exposé: Down With Prometheus Our definition of happiness
- Happiness is pleasure fulfilled . Pleasure is cathartic activity. - Happiness is peace. Peace is silence. A perfect autonomy. Self-sustaining and self-contained. Socially individualistic as need requires.
All actions are coerced in this prison. We are defined by our willingness to be used. Our happiness, is the freedom from our guards, and the motives that drop bombs, and kill. We occupy our skulls and wait for the end, doing what we feel we must, with those who find us useful. Our prison has been built through generational subjugation and subservience, and is inescapable.
Meaningful existence is criminal in this dystopia. There is no separation between the people and the government here. Complicity makes one guilty. We are all at fault.
We are a species that likes to imprison and dominate. Anything else is to be seen as a weakness. We have carefully crafted arts; whether it be science, sensory or "magical", it's all a lie . Language itself is the art of subjugation. A deception used to bind the physical with the mental. It cannot be argued that the human race is one whose prime directive is to imprison itself. It is a species that binds itself together, not able to survive without the cyclical behavior of feeding upon itself. It is unconcerned as to what it truly means to exist within itself. Because it takes whatever it needs, by any means, every benevolent act is also a malevolent act. There is no difference. Down I say with Prometheus! Why must there be light? There is only what is. And that is nothing. We are nothing. You are nothing. This is what it will always be. This is the condition of life we all fail to perceive with our "animalistic intent". The human has failed itself; we have tricked ourselves to seek utopia in our own asylum. The Utopian ideals can never be reached as the faith in the human cannot be trusted. It seeks to put its injustices in allegorical teachings dealing only in what it sees. We cannot stop subjugating ourselves. We will never find peace without the acknowledgement that we as a species, and individuals, are nothing but a construct of our own creation. The human species is nothing but a collection of thought meant to bind itself into a sense of being. Civility is the end stage of winning of the war and peace is the smashing of all opposition. Because of the archaic and harmful nature of the divinity put in the human race, we have all just imprisoned ourselves. To confess this is art. Admit what you are and see what you are. You are nothing, no one and without meaning. You are emptiness seeking meaning: understanding. We know what we are who we are and what we can be. You cannot exist without "us". I am you and you are me. Existence is a sprint and not a marathon. You cannot escape this inexcusable absolute. The "you" you see is not meant to be. It's an escape from the reality you perceive. But there is only one absolute and that is nothingness. It must be accepted and digested. We all want. That want itself is insatiable. It is a want for all that is meaningless. NO ONE can be absolved of this because it's how we have bound ourselves. All we are is a cry of existence. We need to acknowledge that it is normal to run from death, however unnatural it may seem. We are The Grey Sky Collective.
Rochester Jewish Voices for Peace Rally Support for Ilhan Omar
Rochester JVP rallied with members of the Muslim and Christian community to show support for Representative Ilhan Omar after many government officials and Zionists criticized a tweet and later a comment she made during an event at Busboys and Poets in Washington DC. regarding AIPAC and the government of Israel as being anti-Semitic. JVP said it was not anti-Semitic and the use of white supremacy and Islamophobia were being used to silence Omar from addressing the issues of Palestinian rights and the Israeli occupation.
Racism Running Rampant in Rush
Racism Running Rampant in Rush
“Hang his ass,” said by Rush Volunteer Firefighter Doug Watson about Rochester City Councilmember Adam McFadden; community members voice concern/anger via press release
On February 23 screenshots of Doug Watson’s social media posts came to the attention of people of color and anti-racist activists in Rochester, NY. Rush volunteer firefighter Doug Watson made the public comment “Hang his ass” during a live streamed press conference of prosecutors laying our their criminal complaint against Rochester City Councilmember Adam McFadden.
Many people sent emails, letters, Facebook messages and posts calling for accountability. Christopher Coles sent this letter demanding an explanation and was responded to after a lengthy delay:
“Hello and good morning,
“One of your servicemen Doug Watson has been quoted to sayin “hang his ass.” About a Black Rochester Elected official. This took place in an open forum.
“This certainly doesn’t reflect great customer service and an open attitude as it pertains to servicing the public.
“If my house were on fire, would the color of my skin.. keep it ablaze?? Is this the attitude that the whole of the department shares?? Surely this can’t be the official stance of the Rush Volunteer Fire department?
“I’m on my way to media... but before this takes place I’d like to ask what’s the official stance of Your department and your company mission statement?
“If I had my way... I would love to Recommend that this individual Doug Watson be terminated.. and not employed by your station ... or any station in the Rush, West Henrietta, or City of Rochester fire stations. His views and references to Racial Terror, provide danger to the public, and create a woeful mistrust of our most valued servicemen who we most trust in our precious moments of peril. I am available at any time for any correspondence.
“Thank you
“Christopher Coles - Concerned Citizen.”
The Town stated that they were conducting an investigation after the initial emails were sent.
In a related matter, retired New York State police officer and the former Rush Fire Chief Robert Faugh (photo to the left), made a comment about the letters coming into the town, that was inadvertently forwarded to another concerned citizen. His comment is below:
"Some one better straighten these losers out. Doug Watson responds and assist whoever needs help and doesn't care what color or religion they are just like all the rest of us. These people that cry RACE bull shit is getting old. wheres this long history that this jerks talks about? No one keep Blacks from joining the fire dept. maybe they just don't have that "help you fellow man for no pay" gene, I don't know. ?"
The institutional racism denied by Faugh above, who is angry at concerned people calling out the institutional racism of Rush’s volunteer fire department and the individual racism of one of its volunteers, is seen as invalid and out of line because “no one keeps Blacks from joining the fire dept.” In his response above, he questions the genetic disposition of people of color to engage in volunteer firefighting work (an age-old segregationist myth–that people of color and white people are so genetically different that people of color must have come from an inferior genetic ancestor) and denies the racist history of the United States–a history older than the nation. Watson knows better than to call for the lynching or death of a white politician, but he feels it’s acceptable to do so when the public figure is Black.
Recently Dr. Angela Y. Davis spoke at the University of Buffalo. She said, “We are deeply entrenched in the afterlife of slavery. The violence of racism continues unabated.” The reality is that the structures and institutions in operation today were formed to maintain a white supremacist type of law and order and social order, during an era when a Black person was unable to vote or own land and was considered ⅗ of a person. White people need to take a step back and take a hard look at these institutions today. Who is profiting, who is in charge, and why is there a need for equal opportunity policies? Watson's words and Faugh’s response aren't born in a vacuum.
Do Watson’s words and Faugh’s response have an impact on the safety of Black people in our community? Absolutely! Studies show that Black people are treated differently by first responders. In general, Black people’s pain is underestimated and undertreated, and EMT's respond faster and more thoroughly to white patients. When a first responder in our community publicly portrays his hatred of Black people, it is concerning to say the least, and it is unacceptable to learn that this hatred is condoned by his colleagues. Make no mistake: to tolerate such hatred is to put our Black neighbors in danger. We also have to recognize that Black people who work as first responders are also vulnerable to racist attacks and backlash by their white counterparts, as happened in 2016 with a Black, volunteer firefighter in North Tonawanda, NY.
On March 13, concerned individuals got notice from Duane Fanning, President of the Rush Fire Department via email that
read:
“The Rush Fire Department Inc. investigated the matter of Douglas Watson, per the Fire Departments By-Laws. New York State Law prohibits the release of personnel information.
“The Board of Directors also re affirmed the following to all personnel;
“The Rush Fire Department does not, under any circumstances, agree with, sanction or authorize its members who:
“Make any disparaging or false statements or use profane language.
“Make any statements or other forms of speech that ridicule, malign, disparage or otherwise express bias against any race, religion or protected class of individual.
“Do not make it clear that they are expressing their own personal opinion.”
The public relations effort above is a start. It needs to be followed by intensive anti-racist training, public apologies, and a commitment and action steps to root out institutional and individual racism within the Town government and its corps of first responders.
Concerned community members demand that:
- Doug Watson be immediately fired for his comments provoking Racial Terror!
- Doug Watson and Robert Faugh issue apologies for their egregious, racist statements!
- The Town of Rush must issue a public statement denouncing the individual and institutional racism within the Rush Volunteer Fire Department and issue action steps it will take!
- The Town government as well as its first responders must participate in intensive anti-racism training IMMEDIATELY!
Activists are urging folks to contact the town board and make their demands heard.
Cathleen Frank, Town Supervisor supervisor@townofrush.com
Rita McCarthy, Councilwoman & Deputy Supervisor rita@townofrush.com
Gerry Kusse, Councilman gerald@townofrush.com
Daniel Woolaver, Councilman danw@townofrush.com
Jillian Coffey, Councilwoman jillian@townofrush.com
References:
- Doug Watson’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/doug.watson.1297)
- Bob Faugh’s Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/robert.faugh)
- “Firefighter receives racist threatening letter” (https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/firefighter-receives-racist-threatening-letter/71-286215913)
- “I Was a Firefighter for 35 Years. Racism Today Is as Bad as Ever.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/opinion/the-racism-inside-fire-departments.html)
- “Emergency Medical Responders Confront Racial Bias” (https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/03/676039371/emergency-medical-responders-confront-racial-bias)
- “White Supremacist Podcaster Fired From Job As EMT In Virginia” (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alex-mcnabb-fired-white-supremacist-emt_n_5c86c759e4b0ed0a001647dc?utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000047&utm_source=bv_fb&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages§ion=politics&fbclid=IwAR3r7CUgT4MiAv1s9Uu7hjNHtebvSXNwLqojY_QkJ7sx4vVb4ayk3o2nR08)
- Racing to help: racial bias in high emergency helping situations. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19025298)
Want to Make America Great Again? Begin by Respecting Native Americans
Rochester's Racist Marijuana Policies Must End
Whether readers make the personal choice to smoke pot or not, the decades long war against marijuana in Rochester has been an unmitigated disaster. A series of recent studies have revealed just how devastating this war has been for people of color in our community.
According to the Division of Criminal Justice Services, in Monroe County, from 2012-2016, there were 1,811 total marijuana offenses. 373 were white. 1,241 were black. That's 68% of all arrests weighted against people of color. In Rochester, the total number of pot related arrests was 1,483. 157 of those were white people. 1,164 were black. That's 78% of all arrests weighted against African- Americans. Put in another way, African- Americans make up 8 in 10 city pot arrests. This is a travesty of justice that is both unacceptable and untenable.
Perhaps the Partnership for Public Good in Buffalo and Erie County has encapsulated the social justice aspect of this crisis the best. They have stated: "For communities of color, marijuana prohibition has justified an invasive police presence that damages citizen's relationships with law enforcement. And it brings a violent, underground economy into their neighborhood, that cannot be governed by rule of law or regulated as an industry. For immigrant communities, arrests for marijuana possession can lead to deportation. This has happened on a large scale; simple marijuana possession was the fourth most common cause of deportation for any offense in 2013. For young people, the stakes of a marijuana arrest are particularly high, due to the long term costs of early involvement in the criminal justice system."
What makes this such a blatant act of social injustice, is that study after study has shown blacks and whites to purchase, consume, and sell pot at the same rate. Why are blacks arrested at such disproportional rates? The only explanation seems to be prejudicial and racial profiling. In the words of author/activist Michelle Alexander, “We arrest these kids at young ages, saddle them with criminal records, throw them in cages, and then release them into a parallel social universe in which the very civil and human rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights movement no longer apply to them for the rest of their lives...They can be discriminated against [when it comes to] employment, housing, access to education, public benefits. They're locked into a permanent second-class status for life. And we’ve done this in precisely the communities that were most in need of our support.”
Added to the grotesque fact that African- Americans are nearly four times more likely than white individuals to be arrested for marijuana possession, as Alexander alludes to, the amount of money to be made from legal pot sales can be reinvested in the communities hardest hit by the failed War on Drugs. A recent study conducted by the New York Department of Health found that if marijuana was sold between $297 to $374 per ounce, it could generate between $248 million and $678 million in tax revenue for the state. A different study released by the New York City comptroller's office pegged the state's marijuana market at $3.1 billion, with tax revenues yielding about $1.3 billion annual at the state and city levels. That's a lot of money that can be redirected towards underfunded schools, after school programs, job training, public health, and neighborhood revitalization.
Mayor Warren, with all of that being said, what else do you need to know? The time to push for statewide legalization is now. Decriminalization alone won't stop the illegal drug trade. And we all know that black and brown people in Rochester are being decimated by the status quo. Something needs to change. When it comes to the social justice imperative of marijuana legalization, whose side are you on?
George Cassidy Payne is an independent writer, social justice activist, and adjunct professor of philosophy at SUNY. He lives and works in Rochester, NY. George's letters and essays have been featured in a wide range of domestic and foreign outlets including The Toronto Star, The Havana Times, The South China Morning Post, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Buffalo News, and the Albany Times Union. Locally, George is a frequent contributor to Rochester indymedia, City Newspaper, the Minority Reporter, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.