On Sunday, October 26, 2014, members of Africans United Organization held a special event titled "Refugees and Immigrants: Chanllenges in the U.S.A." Faziri Ndahiro, Girma Erena, Zamda Kamikazi, Gerard Ndacayisenga, & Partick Kiptoo sat on the panel discussing AUO, their personal experiences as African refugees and immigrants, and some programs that AUO is running to engage the community. The event was apart of the Flying Squirrel Community Space's stop mass incarceration programming for the month of October.
On Wednesday, October 22, 2014, Ricardo Adams and Yusef Bunchy Shakur introduced a community report back with Dhoruba Toure Shakur & Sixela Yoccm from Ferguson, MO. "They think it's a game, they think it's a joke!" Ferguson organizers speak! came together rather quickly as resources were pooled to bring these organizers to Rochester to not only speak about what was going on in Ferguson, but also to answer questions from the community about Michael Brown's murder and organizing going on here. Up to the point of coming to Rochester, both organizers had been on the streets of Ferguson for over 70 days operating with Tribe X and the Freedom Fighters. The event was apart of the Flying Squirrel Community Space's stop mass incarceration programming for the month of October.
My partner and I attended the opening exhibition for this ongoing project that has been really gaining momentum in the last few months. Rhys Harper launched an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for a cross-country road trip this summer, photographing trans and gender-non-conforming people along the way. The results are beautiful 24X36 inch black and white portraits, along with brief bios of each subject, to illustrate who they are as people, beyond their gender identities.
On Tuesday, October 21, 2014, Leslie James Pickering from Buffalo, NY came to the Flying Squirrel Community Space to present on the FBI's intrusion into his personal life and business--Burning Books--since returning to Western New York. The event titled "U.S. out of my living room: The case of Leslie James Pickering, the Earth Liberation Front Press Office, & Burning Books" was organized by Enough Is Enough for its A People's History of the FBI film and discussion series. It was also apart of the Flying Squirrel Community Space's stop mass incarceration programming for the month of October.
On Monday, October 20, 2014, Pastor Nina Warr, of Inner Faith Gospel Tabernacle and Precious Bedell of Turning Points Family Center were invited to sit on a panel looking at how mass incarceration impacts families. The panel was apart of the Flying Squirrel Community Space's stop mass incarceration programming for the month of October.
Vulnerable Populations/Critical Populations: The criminalization of poverty, homelessness, and dissent
On Saturday, October 18, 2014, Sister Grace Miller of House of Mercy and Harry Murray, a professor at Nazareth College were invited to sit on a panel looking at criminalization of dissent, homelessness, and poverty. The panel was apart of the Flying Squirrel Community Space's stop mass incarceration programming for the month of October.
On October 3, 2014, the Flying Squirrel Community Space was able to get death row prisoner Keith LaMar on the phone live after watching "The Great Incarcerator, part 2: The Shadow of Lucasville."
Keith LaMar talking to people at the Flying Squirrel from death row
Clifton Ross and Marcy Reins spoke on Thursday evening about their new book “Until the Rulers Obey: Voices from Latin American Social Movements.” The event was organized by Rochester Red and Black and was held at the Flying Squirrel Community Space.
Masic bum rushed and pepper-sprayed Mr. Keene without warning, dropped him to the ground, and yelled at him--after he was in handcuffs--"If you don't stop moving, I'm going to shoot you." Mr. Keene was speaking with his grandmother on the phone when the altercation happened; she had an asthma attack as she heard her grandson violently arrested. Mr. Keene wants nothing more than to see officer Mario "Cowboy" Masic lose his job and never work for law enforcement again.
On September 20, Rochester Indymedia sat down with Mr. Keene and asked him to explain what happened. Here is his story.
United Christian Leadership Ministry held a press conference on September 25, 2014 at Inner Faith Gospel Tabernacle where they called for a police accountability legislative package to be passed that would include an independent civilian review board, body cameras for cops, the collection of data for stop and frisk (as well as its end), and law that would compel officers to inform civilians of their rights if they are stopped. The press conference also addressed the deteriorating environment of police / community relations. Reverend Lewis Stewart spoke on behalf of UCLM.
Submitted by Dan Courtney and Susan Galloway on Tue, 2014-09-23 02:26
For full disclosure, the one of the authors of this article, Susan Galloway, was one of the litigants against the Town of Greece in the SCOTUS case, Town of Greece vs Galloway and Stephens.
Ricardo Adams and Rosemary Rivera, who went to Ferguson, MO at different times, presented on their trips. The event took place at the Flying Squirrel Community Space in Rochester, NY on Sept 16th, 2014 and was organized by the group Enough is Enough.
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