Submitted by Katherine Denison on Fri, 2016-05-13 15:42
On May 2, 2016, I sat in court to observe jury selection with other members of Enough is Enough in support of Scean Gordon, arrested as he filmed the illegal handcuffing, search, and abduction of his friend, Daryl Appleberry who was racially profiled and targeted by Rochester Police Department officers Nicholas Thomas and Christopher Kosch. The infamous race-baiting, bully cops insisted their behavior was a legitimate case of mistaken identity. Mr. Gordon, however, recorded Mr. Appleberry repeatedly clarifying his identity, his family members anxiously shouting that the police had the wrong person and naming him correctly, the cops illegally searching Mr. Appleberry's person without permission, and then police forcing Mr. Appleberry into a police cruiser and beginning to drive away with him. All this activity occurred without a warrant or any legally required effort to speak with the family members who offered identification, or required response to Mr. Appleberry’s saying he did not consent to search.
Having infuriated the police with his loud insistence on legality, Mr. Gordon was targeted, chased down, beaten and maced, and arrested under false charges. He chose to stand trial, rebutting police lies and their brutal treatment of him, rather than admit to guilt in a false plea deal.
I'd been part of a small team that attended the Huntley Hearing for the case, listening to police testimony. Later we FOILed and transcribed the sworn testimony of the two officers' claims and compared their words, frame by frame to the videos that Mr. Gordon himself, and Daryl Appleberry's sister, Diamond, had taken of the episode. I could easily see for myself that the accusations were largely untrue; the police lied in answer to nearly every question asked about their behavior from the start of the episode to its brutal end. There seemed some hope that if we could get the video and the testimony shown to a jury Scean might have, before a jury of his peers, a chance at justice.
Submitted by Mara Ahmed (feature photo: Miriam Steinberg; article photos: Mara Ahmed) on Wed, 2016-05-11 11:09
Went to see REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM - The Chomsky Documentary yesterday at The Little Theatre. This was the first time Noam Chomsky saw the film himself. He was seated right in front of me. I was tempted to take a picture of the back of his head, with the film playing in front of him and post it with the caption "Chomsky watching Chomsky" or something to that effect but then I thought it would be too juvenile and with much self-discipline, I abandoned the idea.
The documentary is excellent. It parses hours and hours of interviews with Professor Chomsky and creates a clear and engaging narrative. As a filmmaker, I understand the challenge. How do you take a series of lectures by one of the most eclectic intellectuals of our time and cut them into a cogent and gripping 73 minute film? The answer: sharp editing, copious b-roll and terrific graphics and animation. The importance and urgency of what Professor Chomsky is saying helps too, of course. He talks about the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few (a fraction of one percent) and puts this phenomenon in a historical context, he explains how the "rabble rousers" of the 60s and 70s were crushed, how the media and their focus on consumption have produced a "me" culture and undermined solidarity, and how this will continue to shape an increasingly ugly society. The film ends on a positive note by reminding us of Howard Zinn and his bottom-up view of history - the idea that the countless small actions of unknown people drive all great historical events. Ultimately it's always been, and it continues to be, up to us.
Submitted by Rochester Indymedia on Fri, 2016-05-06 15:15
Below is a .pdf of the most recent Rochester Police Department General Orders Manual. According to the Records Access Office, which handles FOIL requests for the City of Rochester, these general orders were the most recent version to date. The document was dated March of 2016 and it is the most recent document to date with the General Orders.
In the "Attestation," Chief Michael Ciminelli of the Rochester Police Department attests:
Currently, Verizon workers are out on strike demanding a fair contract. This is an older video, but shows the kind of corporation Verizon is. A rally was held outside Verizon in Rochester, NY to bring attention to Verizon paying an unfair share in NYS and federal income tax.
Submitted by Shannon Coleman on Fri, 2016-04-29 09:11
April Monday Mayhem was about Jalil Muntaqim and his parole hearing coming up on June 14, 2016, with a focus on ways to support him. The event included an open discussion on parole reform in New York State and letter writing to the parole board on Jalil's behalf.
On the first Monday of every month, the Flying Squirrel Community Space hosts special programming that forgoes the technical and logistical concerns of running an open-use community space in order to take a closer look at the impact of our actions on the community and our potential as a catalyst for change.
Submitted by Rochester Indymedia (Special thanks to Ursula Rozum from the Syracuse Peace Council) on Thu, 2016-04-28 11:55
Rochester Indymedia's Ted Forsyth spoke with Ursula Rozum of the Syracuse Peace Council about the New York Tactical Officers Association's "SWAT Conference" happening in Syracuse, NY, April 26 - 28 and what is being done to stop it.
True subversions require a model that is nourished not by capitalist reward but by an effective shock sounded out from the artist, through an observing (group of) human, and back into artist. A moment thus created is pure moment of potential change.
Subversive efforts necessarily require that familiar or educational slogans are abandoned. Familiar elements are crucial for an initial level of acceptance or recognition by viewer/absorber/audience, but must undergo a serious level of deconstruction and/or uncomfortable recombination with potentially dissonant elements. Messages must be condensed into a form streamlined into essential nugget[s], delivered perhaps with an additional (non)emotional (ritual) twist, a new and further dissonance.
What a bunch of malarkey. Having read the actual "report", I can say, without a doubt, that its conclusion was determined before the committee was even formed and comes directly from the desires of Van White, Todd Baxter, and other interested parties.
Nearly half of the committee was comprised of those with military, police, fire department background. Of the ten "key community leaders" who were interviewed, one was Klein Steel (educating children is a lot like selling steel after all), another was the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, then there was the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Instructors, as well as the Leadership Academy for Young Men, which just happens to have a JROTC component.
Got all the military and sympathetic business leaders in, but "Time and scheduling constraints prevented the Committee Co-Chairs from interviewing the RCSD Interim Superintendent, members of the Rochester City School Board, and the surrounding town supervisors." Don't remember seeing any parent groups listed either... And "When asked about other types of school options that should be considered, key leaders [read military and business] suggested boarding school and charter school models." No surprises there.
Support for this (non)-idea comes overwhelmingly from the suburbs (83%) according to surveys. Survey participation was also 19% Black, 14% Hispanic, 41% White. RCSD breakdown is 60% Black, 26% Hispanic, 10% White. Not exactly what I'd call representative. Thankfully, the committee took the time to get input from a completely unbiased group of RCSD students. "The student group was made up mainly of JROTC cadets.." Oops...
The report also claims to have the support of RTA President Adam Urbanski. Except, according to Adam Urbanski, RTA only supported the participation of RCSD on the committee. Semantics, semantics...
I could go on and on, but here's the kicker: "What did the Advisory Committee determine to be the best configuration for the military component of the school? Answer and Results Summary: Submit an application for a National Defense Cadet Corps (NDCC), which results in a full RCSD cost-incurred plan..." That's right, according to this report, we need this military academy so badly that we ought to assume the full cost ($25million+ over first 4 years) rather than apply for funding and suffer any delay! Of all the programs we could be putting our money into this is the big idea proposed by our school board's president? I'm disappointed to say the least.
About 80 people gathered in Washington Square park on April 21, the day before Earth Day, to raise awareness of Climate Change. The event was organized by Mothers Out Front. Some were wearing hats topped with windmills. Non-polluting wind energy is one of the "renewable" options to replace fossil fuels which add carbon to the atmosphere. A proposal to build an off shore wind farm on lake Ontario is facing political opposition. The problem, as many stated, is a system which puts profit for a few over people. The march continued around the block with a stop and some songs in front of the Rundell library, and ended back at the park a half hour later.
Submitted by Rochester Indymedia on Thu, 2016-04-21 11:19
Below is the labor contract between the City of Rochester and the Rochester Police Locust Club (the recognized bargaining unit of Rochester Police Department officers) from July 2008 to June 2013. The document has been added to the FOIL tab above on the website.
In a post on his blog, Kristian Williams, author of Our Enemies In Blue, writes about police unions, "Police are part of the management apparatus of capitalism. Therefore, they are not workers like other workers, and their 'unions' serve interests that are diametrically opposed to those of the working class."
Truthout also reported on a letter delivered to the "joint council of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 2865 [in August 2015] calling on the AFL-CIO to end its affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations," according to the article, Black Labor Organizers Urge AFL-CIO to Reexamine Its Ties to the Police.
Submitted by The Chronic Homeless Workgroup on Mon, 2016-04-18 13:13
Volunteers from the Rochester/Monroe County Homeless Continuum of Care’s CHRONIC HOMELESS WORKGROUP gathered at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, April 16, 2016, to do a spring cleaning and trash removal for area homeless. It was a collaborative idea that sprung naturally from advocates’ keen understanding of what homeless people work hard to maintain on a day-to-day basis.
Imagine living outdoors with your wits and scarce supplies to sustain you, and nowhere close to throw garbage away. Imagine your things getting ruined all the time, that then must be replaced, because it rained or snowed again last night. In the spring, with the snow gone, the trash is insurmountable and finally visible. The Chronic Homeless Workgroup is a practical and caring group of folks, and decided to pitch in to help.
"Racism Lives Here" is an incredible response / resource for those on and off the University of Rochester campus looking to understand structural racism and why the university's "We're Better Than That" campaign fails miserably.
It can happen, and the most effective way it can happen is through personal anecdotes and connecting emotionally with someone (one reason I write this blog!). It’s going to happen through one-on-one conversations, as opposed to on a mass scale (although you never know… things do tend to snowball after a certain point!), and (unfortunately) it’s most likely not going to happen by pointing out facts and statistics to someone.
A study was just published in last week’s issue of Science Magazine. I heard about it through This American Life‘s most recent episode called For Your Reconsideration. If you want to hear the pertinent content, click on the link – there’s a player right on that page, and just skip ahead to the times between 22:20 and 29:00.
It’s about canvassers going door to door to talk to people about transgender issues, and the data was recorded and processed. The canvassers (who were both transgender themselves, and allies – and both were equally effective!) utilized a persuasion technique that’s been developed for close to 50 years by the LGBT Center in California. It’s called analogic perspective taking: “By inviting someone to discuss an experience in which that person was perceived as different and treated unfairly, a canvasser tries to generate sympathy for the suffering of another group—such as gay or transgender people.”
Submitted by Enough Is Enough on Wed, 2016-04-13 21:54
Enough Is Enough is reading and discussing the essay "Ella Baker and Models of Social Change" by Charles Payne for the month of April. Feel free to check out the reading below and offer your constructive criticisms and affirmations on their reading group Facebook page or come to a meeting on Tuesdays, 7-9pm, at the Flying Squirrel Communtiy Space (285 Clarissa St.)!
Submitted by Take Back The Land Rochester (Video/Photos: Julie Gelfand Photos: Pat Mannix) on Mon, 2016-04-11 14:26
This morning (April 5, 2016) over 20 officers from both the Rochester Police Department and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office arrived at Liz McGriff's house, along with a Uhaul truck, a crew with lots of plywood, and lots and lots of crime tape. The street was blocked off to traffic while they seized the home, removed whatever belongings were in the house, and boarded up the windows and doors. A crowd of over 20 supporters gathered to voice their disapproval, and two protesters were arrested.
On April 4, 2016, a protest was held against the Erie County Holding Center and Sheriff Timothy Howard demanding answers and accountability for the murder of Rochester native and Buffalo resident India Cummings.
Rochester Police Department officers Christopher Kosch and Nicholas Thomas--the two officers that racially profiled Daryl Appleberry and brutalized Scean Gordon--were involved in another excessive use of force case that was settled before trial. The case involved these two officers and others who brutalized a man named Cardell Libbett. Kosch and Thomas are no strangers to exercising violence under the color of law.
Rochester Indymedia is now requiring editor approval for account creation.
We came to this decision after we had repeated spam posted to our website that caused difficulty with the website's functioning. We will still have open publishing and keep our site as nonrestrictive and accessible as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. As before, we will continue to be Rochester's grassroots news and education site. Thank you for your continued support and remember, "Don't hate the media, be the media!"
Editorial Meeting Times / Locations
The Rochester Independent Media Center (R-IMC) is no longer meeting regularly. We will set up meetings by necessity and appointment. Please contact us at rochesterindymedia@rocus.org. Our home is still the Flying Squirrel Community Space at 285 Clarissa St. Occasionally, we hold meetings at RCTV located at 21 Gorham Street.
