6) Lesbian, gay, bi, trans & straight: Newport Beach, Calif., youths
denounce right
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
7) NYC cops who killed Diallo back on street
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8) Cheektowaga, N.Y., unity rally
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9) Struggle over free radio continues
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10) Rochester, N.Y., activists storm state health dept.
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: keskiviikko 9. toukokuu 2001 09:46
Subject: [WW] Lesbian, gay, bi, trans & straight: Newport Beach, Calif.,
youths denounce right-wing bigotry
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 10, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
LESBIAN, GAY, BI, TRANS, & STRAIGHT:
NEWPORT BEACH YOUTHS DENOUNCE RIGHT-WING BIGOTRY
Special to Workers World
Newport Beach, Calif.
The Spring 2001 conference agenda of the right-wing "Center
for Reclaiming America" included the following topics:
strategies for stopping "partial-birth abortion," ways to
combat the "homosexual agenda," a plan to reverse Roe v.
Wade, fresh arguments to strengthen the case for creationism
and a blueprint for reclaiming "America" through evangelism.
Perhaps these bigots assumed their racist, anti-gay, anti-
woman conference would go unchallenged in the heart of
reputedly ultra-conservative Orange County. But they were
dead wrong.
The Stonewall Initiative for Equal Rights, an affiliate of
the Los Angeles International Action Center, called an April
28 demonstration to expose the conference. The response was
an outpouring of some 150 protesters who lined the sidewalk
in front of the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach. Local
residents were joined by carloads of supporters from Los
Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego.
Among the organizations represented were the Southwestern
College Rainbow Alliance, the Los Angeles chapter of the
International Action Center, Queer Nation, Liberate Orange
County, the San Diego Coalition to Stop the Execution of
Mumia Abu-Jamal, the Native American Rights Network, Workers
World Party, Transgender Menace and The Wall-Las Memorias
Project.
Stonewall Initiative leader Joe Delap laine led non-stop
chanting. Passing motorists beeped their car horns in
support.
At the rally, which used amplified sound in defiance of a
police prohibition, speakers denounced the homo-hatred
propounded by the bigots inside the hotel and called for a
celebration of human diversity.
An especially praiseworthy aspect of the rally was the
emphasis laid on fighting racism as well as homophobia and
misogyny.
Tim Helsley, spokeperson for the Native American Rights
Network, called for support for the struggle of Leonard
Peltier. Gloria Verdieu, of the San Diego Mumia Coalition,
said that everyone should be in San Francisco on May 12 to
show solidarity for death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-
Jamal.
Bob McCubbin, speaking for Workers World Party, reminded the
crowd that bigotry was not an inherent feature of the human
personality. It is a product of class-divided societies.
Shirley Bushnell, a transgender activist working to raise
awareness about jailed transgender people, read a poem
ridiculing those who deny the diversity inherent in our
species.
John Parker from the Los Angeles IAC showed the connections
between the fight to free Mumia Abu-Jamal and the struggles
of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people in prison and on death
row. He spoke about how racist and homophobic judges and
lawyers use the death penalty as an instru ment of
oppression against both groups.
Delaplaine urged everyone to join the Stonewall Initiative
contingents that will march in the Los Angeles and San Diego
Pride parades this year.
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
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[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: keskiviikko 9. toukokuu 2001 09:47
Subject: [WW] NYC cops who killed Diallo back on street
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 10, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
OUTRAGEOUS, INSULTING, BUT EXPECTED:
COPS WHO KILLED DIALLO BACK ON STREET
By John Catalinotto
New York
New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik continues to heap
insult upon injury in the Amadou Diallo case by agreeing
April 27 that the department would not discipline the four
officers who killed Diallo two years ago.
Diallo was the 22-year-old West African immigrant
mercilessly gunned down while he stood in the vestibule of
his own Bronx apartment building on Feb. 4, 1999. He had
done nothing wrong. He was not fleeing the police, nor had
he confronted them in any way.
Yet the four cops cut Diallo down in a hail of 41 bullets
after surrounding his home.
As if to say the problem was simply the reckless expenditure
of ammunition, an investigative panel that included several
police commanders said the four cops--Kenneth Boss, Sean
Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy--should be
retrained in tactics and firearms use.
In February 2000, an Albany, N.Y., court had acquitted the
four of criminal charges. Their defense had succeeded in
moving the case outside New York City to a more reactionary,
pro-cop area of the state.
Diallo's parents, who have played an active role in
publicizing the case in memory of the slain young man, have
brought an $81-million civil lawsuit against the four cops.
They hope to build a shrine to his memory at the site of his
death.
Commissioner Kerik's decision means the four killer cops can
go back on duty. Three weeks earlier, a protest by Diallo's
family and by an organization of Black fire fighters stopped
the New York Fire Department from hiring one of them,
McMellon.
Diallo's mother, Kadiatou Diallo, said at a news conference,
"I'm here to denounce the system. If the New York City
Police Department is supposed to be the best in America,
someone will have to denounce this conduct.''
At the same conference, the Rev. Al Sharpton called the
report "outrageous, insulting, offensive but expected.''
Sharp ton and many other well-known personalities had
protested Diallo's killing for months following the event,
finally forcing it into court with charges against the
police.
Thousands of people took civil disobedience arrests as part
of those protests, which consistently tied the murder to
police abuses throughout the oppressed communities and to
the racist use of the death penalty.
The change of venue to Albany occurred after the original
protests had died down somewhat. The Albany judge in the
Diallo case, Joseph C. Teresi, had earlier been the defense
attorney for four white officers who gunned down a mentally
disturbed Black man " with a fork and knife.
ART SPEAKS FOR THE COMMUNITY
The latest slap in the face to the Black community came as a
mural was unveiled on the wall of a building on Diallo's
block in the Bronx.
The mural showed Amadou Diallo next to four New York City
cops wearing Ku Klux Klan hoods. In the mural, the Statue of
Liberty has a death's head and holds a revolver, while the
U.S. flag is burning.
Police tried to pressure the artist, Hulbert Waldroup, to
paint over the four Klan-hooded cops. After he refused,
someone spray-painted over them. But Waldroup returned and
repainted the mural, telling reporters, "I won't give in to
pressure."
It was reminiscent of the answer given by the great Mexican
muralist Diego Rivera when chastised by Nelson Rockefeller
in the 1930s for putting Russian revolutionary V.I. Lenin in
a mural he was commissioned to paint in Rockefeller Center.
"I paint what I see," said Rivera.
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: keskiviikko 9. toukokuu 2001 09:47
Subject: [WW] Cheektowaga, N.Y., unity rally
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 10, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
UNITY RALLY:
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS READY TO RESUME ANTI-RACIST NYCOTT
By Beverly Hiestand
Cheektowaga, N.Y.
"We called for this boycott to raise awareness of the racism
and racial profiling going on at this Galleria Mall," the
Rev. Darius Pridgen told the crowd at a Unity Rally here on
April 28.
Pridgen and others recently formed the Coalition Against
Racial Injustice to denounce a widespread pattern of racist
profiling and police brutality in Cheektowaga, N.Y., a
virtually all-white town adjacent to Buffalo.
The Walden Galleria Mall, the largest in Western New York,
has been cited as one of the worst offenders by targeting
Black shoppers for surveillance and harassment.
As a result, the coalition called for an April boycott of
the Galleria Mall and held weekly pickets here. The
coalition has made four demands: that officials send a clear
message of non-toleration of racial profiling and
discrimination; that they schedule public hearings on racial
profiling and discrimination; that they add people of color
to the all-white town police force; and that mall owners
meet with coalition leaders.
Under the weight of the boycott, town officials met with
coalition leaders on April 18.
Pridgen told those gathered at the April 28 rally that
Pyramid Corporation, owners of the mall, agreed to meet with
the coalition in Syracuse on May 3.
Pridgen vowed, "If we don't hear what we need, we will
continue to boycott until there is a change at the
Galleria."
The Rev. William Gillison, a coalition leader, told the
rally that there is growing support for the boycott by
people outside the African American community. He reported
many meetings with representatives of white and Latino
churches in which they asked how they could be of help.
The Stop Racist Profiling Committee of the International
Action Center in Buffalo made two 20-foot banners announcing
the Unity Rally. Together with other anti-racist supporters
they hung them from overpasses above the downtown Buffalo
expressway during morning rush hour.
And on March 31, a predominantly white group of some two
dozen protesters marched through the Galleria Mall in a bold
action against racist profiling. They chanted, "Jim Crow
must go, from Cheektowaga to Buffalo!"
The anxiety of mall owners over the effectiveness of the
boycott was evident today. Construction is underway to put a
sidewalk in front of the mall.
In previous rallies Pridgen had pointed out that the mega-
store owners were not interested in shoppers who arrive by
bus, many of whom are African American, and so there was no
sidewalk.
Pridgen and others have pointed out how difficult it is for
pedestrians to cross Walden Avenue.
No one here will forget that in December 1995 Cynthia
Wiggins--a young Black mother--was on a bus from Buffalo
that wasn't allowed to stop on mall property. She was killed
trying to cross seven lanes of highway traffic on Walden
Avenue to get to her job at the mall.
Lawyers for her estate argued that the bus was barred from
stopping at the mall to discourage inner-city Buffalo
residents from shopping there. Pyramid Corp. settled the
suit for $2.55 million in November 1999.
Her father, Leonard Wiggins, said at the April 28 rally,
"The racist attitude has not changed. Maybe a protest like
this will get them to change. It's not just about Cynthia
Wiggins, it's about all of us."
On this day, for the first time, police were present to
escort people across the dangerous highway.
Pridgen stressed that if town officials and mall owners are
seriously committed to diversity and are sorry for Cynthia
Wiggins' death, then they can show it by renaming the avenue
"Cynthia Wiggins Drive."
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: keskiviikko 9. toukokuu 2001 09:48
Subject: [WW] Struggle over free radio continues
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 10, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
STRUGGLE OVER FREE RADIO CONTINUES
Some 500 people marched from Borough Hall in Brooklyn to the
offices of WBAI-FM on Wall Street on April 28 to demand that
Pacifica, the foundation that owns the alternative radio
station, respect free speech and the labor rights of its
employees. Supporters of fired WBAI workers met the marchers
at the station. In a show of solidarity, some marchers went
over to a Vieques demonstration taking place at the same
time.
The demonstration was endorsed by the New York Central Labor
Council, Rep. Major Owens from Brooklyn, and a number of
other well-known political and cultural figures in this
city.
Rep. Owens, the ranking Democrat on the House Labor
Committee and a major Black political figure in New York,
had been cut off the air by the station management while
being interviewed by a producer at WBAI. He later denounced
this move on the floor of the House.
It is expected that the New York City Council will take up a
non-binding resolution supporting the fired WBAI workers.
The groups sponsoring the march were Concerned Friends of
WBAI, Community for Progressive Radio and the Campaign to
Stop the Corporate Takeover of Pacifica.
--G. Dunkel
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: keskiviikko 9. toukokuu 2001 09:48
Subject: [WW] Rochester, N.Y., activists storm state health dept.
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the May 10, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
"SAVE GENESEE HOSPITAL": ACTIVISTS STORM STATE HEALTH DEPT.
By Gene Clancy
Rochester, N.Y.
Patients, hospital employees and other supporters arrived at
the New York State Health Department offices here on April
26 with petitions in hand. The 700 signatures, gathered in a
very short space of time, demanded that the health
department refuse to approve the closure of Genesee
Hospital.
The corporation Via Health is attempting to close down the
facility, which serves poor and working people in this city.
The All-People's Congress, a community-based organization
helping lead the struggle to keep the hospital open,
organized the April 26 event.
Advocates seeking to save the hospital tried to deliver the
petitions to Michael J. Linse, assistant regional director
of the New York State Health Department.
His office had informed protesters that Linse was inside.
But repeated requests to speak with Linse or deliver the
petitions were initially denied.
So several protesters pushed past security guards and took
elevators to the fifth floor where Linse's offices are
located. After a brief confrontation, Linse emerged from a
back room. He agreed to meet with demonstrators and to
receive the petitions.
Protestors demanded that Linse "do his job"--defend the
public health interests of the Rochester community against
the predatory practices of private health corporations.
The health department has allowed parts of the hospital to
be closed despite the fact that it has not yet approved the
closure plan as required by law. These health officials have
even refused to disclose the closure plan to the public,
citing "confidentiality" concerns.
Although officials called police against the protesters, the
cops made no arrests. The action was widely reported by
local media.
The petition campaign to save the hospital is continuing,
and other actions are planned.
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to
copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but
changing it is not allowed. For more information contact
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org)
