Monday, October 26, 2015

A Rise Up October Rikers Island Protest









































And on this day finds itself as  Occupy Wall Street day one thousand and something. And Occupy Wall Street is still moving fast. And Black Lives Matter, that all things police brutality and beyond movement is still moving fast also. And as I had blaghed about that March to Shut Down Rikers Island the other day, there was another one of those #RiseUpOctober: Shut Down Rikers Island and Resist Rikers protests this past weekend as part of Stop Mass Incarceration Network's #RiseUpOctober. And those Facebook event invites for these events read something like:

#RiseUpOctober: STOP Police Terror & Murder! Which Side Are You On?

11:00 Washington Square Park
1:00 MARCH 
3:00 RALLY Bryant Park, 6th Avenue & 42nd Street

STOP POLICE TERROR! 
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?

affiliated actions:
October 22 -- national protests and NYC reading of names of those killed by police:
https://www.facebook.com/events/867605399984510/

October 23 -- non-violent direct action
https://www.facebook.com/events/424613221065195/

People take to the streets in cities all across the country on October 22. People won’t be able to turn their heads and say they didn’t see it. On October 23, when students and clergy alongside and in solidarity with those who feel the lash of this every day, engage in non violent direct action and shut down one of their institutions of misery and terror - that will send a powerful message to all – this movement is serious.

Then on Oct 24, we, all of us, will march in from Grant Homes and Strivers’ Row in Harlem, from Washington Heights and Jackson Heights, from Bed-Stuy and Hunt’s Point and from Jamaica and Staten Island. There will be students from CUNY, Columbia and dozens of other campuses from this area, people from Newark and Paterson and Hartford, numbering in the thousands and thousands. We will be joined by thousands and thousands more from Atlanta and Chicago, from Detroit and Cleveland, from New Orleans and Mississippi and many other places. Millions of people all across the country and around the world will hear our powerful cry - WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? Millions more are gonna say, okay, I gotta choose sides and many of them will decide they have to be with the ones trying to STOP this.

We will change history. We will inspire thousands and yes millions, who are tired of being treated like criminals and tired of seeing cops patrolling their communities like occupying armies, to see that they don’t have to take this, to see that it’s their fault. And they will stand up and act to stop this. We will rally to their side thousands of people from other sections of society who refuse to stand aside while horrors are inflicted on people because of the color of their skin. We will open the eyes of those who don’t suffer these horrors, challenging them to quit swallowing the lying justifications the authorities give for continuing to give a green light to killer cops, challenging them to get off the sidelines – Which Side Are You On? Are you on the side of acting to STOP these horrors? Or are you on the side of continuing to let them go down? There’s no middle ground, no neutrality, on this. You gotta choose a side. And I don’t mean just giving us your sympathy. I mean actively joining in the resistance and mobilizing others to resist too. You gotta join with this effort to make Oct 24 as powerful as possible. You gotta listen when somebody here tonight tells you what you can do and who you can hook up with to be part of#RiseUpOctober, or and let me be real – if you and people like you don’t throw in on this - it ain’t gonna happen.

And it HAS to happen.
(from http://stopmassincarceration.net/4528-2/)


#RiseUpOctober: Shut Down Rikers Island

It's been called "New York's Abu Ghraib," a combination torture chamber & concentration camp. After years of exposure, after lawsuits and decrees, horrors that shock the conscience continue unabated. In the country's largest jail, lives are irreparably damaged every day.

19th Avenue and Hazen Street
To join the action or provide support: AddMyVoice@RiseUpOctober.org
(By bus: Take MTA Q101. The first bus stop is the route is on 2nd Avenue between 60th and 61st streets. It is on the West side of the street.
From wherever you live, make plans to get to the Q101 bus stop at 8:00. The closest trains are the F train to
63rd & Lexington, or the 4,5,6,N,Q, R trains to 59th and Lexington.
The Q101 bus comes every 12 minutes (or so) and takes approximately 45 minutes to get to the Queens entrance to Rikers Island. Relax, sit back, you can’t get lost. You are taking this bus to the last stop. You will be dropped off within eyesight of the big “Welcome to Rikers” sign that is at the intersection of Hazen Street and 19th Avenue.
We will be gathering one block up on Hazen street (away from the bridge) at a little corner just
up the street. Look for the people with the big enlargements of people’s faces. These are the
faces of people who were killed by medical neglect or guard brutality at Rikers. MORE DETAILED DIRECTION SHEET POSTED BELOW)

As part of #RiseUpOctober, join in a non-violent direct action and protest to Shut Down Rikers Island. Sign up to be part of the action, or to provide support. Write: addmyvoice@riseupoctober.org

And flood the streets on October 24:
https://www.facebook.com/events/767581106685589/

Also, take part in the national October 22 National Day of Protest to STOP Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation across the country:
https://www.facebook.com/events/767581106685589/


Resist Rikers

March to SHUT DOWN RIKERS ISLAND

It is our duty to fight for our freedom.
It is our duty to win.
We must love and support one another.
We have nothing to lose but our chains.


And according to that pix11.com Petition launched to change name of Rikers Island amid slavery connection article that has something to do with Rikers being named after Richard Riker who used bounty hunters to collect slaves from the south, Rikers Island still has the name Rikers. And short of LaGuardia airport shutting down Rikers and expanding it's runways into the Bronx, Rikers Island Correctional Facility still seems to be open for business. And there were articles with titles like:  Videos: 11 People Arrested During "Rise Up October" Protest Against Police BrutalityPBA president calls for boycott of Quentin Tarantino movies after he joins ‘Rise Up October’ protests, Arrests made during Rikers Island protestProtesters SHUT DOWN Rikers Island Prison and more.  And going near the displaced visitors at that Shut Down Rikers Island protest, was the scariest part of it all. #visitsarecancelledfortheday.  And whether or not there'll be another one of those #shutdownrikersisland protests, or #RiseUpOctober protests against police brutality remains to be seen. And according to that NAACP photo posted above, "Welcome to America, home to 5% of the world's people and 25% of the world's prisoners. And Rikers Island is one of the ten worst prisons in America. And New York City is what a police state looks like. And Rikers Island is what a police state looks like. No one is free when others are oppressed. Is another world possible. And what does this have to do with a No Police State.
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Monday, October 19, 2015

Occupy Art Went To Newark Open Doors











And so I blaghed this blagh post the other day on that Occupy Art blog titled Occupy Art Is Going To Newark Open Doors. And the words for that blagh post went something like:

And on this day finds itself as Occupy Wall Street day 1,000 and something and Occupy Wall Street is still moving fast. And Black Lives Matter, that all things police brutality and beyond movement is still moving fast also. And so Occupy Art has drummed up another one of those Occupy Art Shows to be found in that New York City area again whenever possible. And this time it's Occupy Art is going to Newark Open Doors, the 14th Annual Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival October 15th - 18th, 2015, to be found in that city of Newark to be found in that state of New Jersey to be found in that country of North America. And that Occupy Art Show @ Newark Open Doors Facebook event invite that Occupy Art created, well that I created, reads something like:

Hi everyone,

Newark Open Doors is happening again this year and I am looking forward to the Occupy Art Show as part of this years 14th Annual Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival October 15-18, 2015. The event space for Occupy Art Show will be at 765 Broad Street, 5th Floor, Newark, New Jersey. Please come to my Occupy Art Show if you are there.

The Occupy Art Show invites you to create your own Occupy Art posters from posters and Occupy Art materials and supplies that will be provided. Occupy Art participants are encouraged to talk about the Occupy artwork they have created through the Occupy Art open mic.

Occupy Art is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements to discuss, expand scope, perspective and inspiration towards an ongoing series of future culture jams and events around this theme and time.

Check Newark Arts Council's website for updated details on schedules.

Open Doors is a citywide arts tour and community event that celebrates Newark’s unique and diverse contributions to the arts and to American culture.

Occupy Art. Black Lives Matter. Occupy Wall Street Worldwide

http://www.newarkarts.org/
http://occupyart.blogspot.com/


And that 14th Annual Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival Facebook event invite reads like:

The Newark Arts Council Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival will take place from October 15-18, 2015.

Open Doors is a citywide arts tour and community event that celebrates Newark’s unique and diverse contributions to the arts and to American culture. Participating this year are over 40 venues, all replete with visual, performing, and literary art. With everything from installation, new media, poetry and all that falls in between to discover, there is no other place to be this October.

Festival Layout:
- Thursday, 10/15 Open Doors Rooftop Party Hosted by Newark Arts Council 6:00-9:00 pm + other events

- Friday 10/16 Gallery Crawl with 30+ Venues 6:00 - 9:00 PM + Open Doors Gallery Crawl After Party 9:00 - midnight Index Art Center

Gallery AferroAljira, a Center for Contemporary ArtCity Without Walls,GlassRootsThe Gateway Project, , Jewish Museum of New Jersey,Newark MuseumNewark Print Shop, NJIT CoAD Gallery, Paul Robeson Galleries, SOLO(s) PROJECT HOUSEWBGO Jazz 88.3 and more.

- Saturday 10/17 @Open Doors Artist Studio Tour 12:00-8:00pm + Newark Celebration 350 + more

-Sunday 10/18 Studio Tours 12:00 - 8:00 + Open Doors Closing Night Celebration 6:00- 9:00 PM


Download the Festival App: My.Yapp.US/OPENDOORS

CAN'T MISS EVENTS

OPEN DOORS ROOFTOP PARTY
Thurs. 10/15, 6-9 PM
Skylab, Hotel Indigo Newark Downtown
$40.00
Live music from critically-acclaimed artists, networking, drinks & hors d'oeuvres. Benefit supports NAC's arts education and community programs. Guests receive free festival wristband ($10 value) for exclusive promos.

TICKETS: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-doors-rooftop-party-hosted-by-newark-arts-council-tickets-18832845548

OPEN DOORS GALLERY CRAWL AFTERPARTY
Fri., 10/16, 9pm - midnight
Index Art Center
$5.00 Suggested Donation
Check out live perforamnces from a quality line-up of multi-genre artists. Festival wristband holders receive priority entry.

TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-doors-gallery-crawl-after-party-tickets-18842996911

OPEN DOORS OFFICIAL CLOSING
Sun, 10/18, 6-9PM
765 Broad St., Newark
FREE
Food, drinks, DJ & live music from emerging artists.

Questions? Contact Jessica Mathelier, Program Coordinator, Jessica@newarkarts.org or 973-643-1625.


And Newark Arts Council seems to be having a bazillion and more other events as part of this festival also.

And I am looking forward to #occupyart @ this years 14th Annual Newark Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival.

And oh....

There's another Occupy Art NYC event going on as well next week in that city of New York that Cynthia is putting together, with a Facebook event titled What's Your Freedom to Ya~!? Pop Up Art/Culture Jam, October 12th @ Studio 26 in that city of New York. And her event invite reads like:

Bring Your Best Arty Self to An Off the Cuff Celebration of Freedom in America for director Neil C Radimaker's new feature Liberty Documentary/, which will be shooting all the action LIVE!~ Artists, Spoken Word, Musical Acts, Jugglers, Dancers, Philosophers and Whoever and Whatever is Good in the Hood/// featuring acclaimed painter and Illustrator Anthony Freda and including works by Christina VargaLee WellsAndrew Kaen.James TopAlbert Diaz aka Bomb1, Prince Brent aka The Glorious P.O.T., No Police State Girl aka Carla JeanFly OrrJiggers Turner, and Liberty Movement Radio Artists. The roster is just beginning and an open mic will be made available for all those who wish to EXPRESS

Looking forward.

Occupy Art. Black Lives Matter. Occupy Wall Street Worldwide.

ditto... a few days later....

And so now that that Occupy Art Show @ Newark Open Doors event has come to pass, it's really like, well... Occupy Art tried to go to Newark Open Doors, or at least that Occupy Art Show thought it was going to Newark Open Doors to do that Occupy Art Show while it was occupying that space in progress for that Occupy Art Show until the unoccupation took place that had something to do with I don't know exactly, and a string of hashtags that went something like.... #Newark, #spaces #unoccupythisartshow #curators #communication #artshowhell #newarkopendoors, #censorship #yourartistoofunkyforourconventionalartshow #thecuratorswanttothrowyourshowout #miscommunication #itstoopolitical #nobannerspostersonly #yourartworkisnotconsistentwithourshow #wereyoutoldyoucanbeinthisshow #artworkshouldhangfromceilingnotonwalls #idontknowifitssabatogeornot #youdonthaveyourownspacetodoyourownthing #donttakeitpersonally #wethecuratorsofthisspacewilltellyouwhatyoucanputinyourshow, #politics and #unoccupythisoccupyartshow, before it found itself being kicked off of lists, kicked out of rooms, moved around and not being able to do its own thing in its own space to the point to where that incomplete Occupy Art Show was no longer that Occupy Art Show @ Newark Open Doors that was hoped for, but barely Occupy Art suspended from the ceiling to where what was left was bare walls only and "You can put that stuff up but "none of that other sh*t"".


And beyond that Occupy Art Show, this Newark Open Doors Citywide Arts Festival was a great festival to see. And so what else is there that I can say about Occupy Art that has not already been said in Occupy Art time.


Have a great Occupy Art, Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street Worldwide, Newark Open Doors day and more.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

A March To Shut Down Rikers Island




















Hey again bloggers or whoever could be reading this blagh. And so along with what seems like the remnants of hurricane Joaquin the other day, in the midst of Occupy Wall StreetBlack Lives Matter and beyond, there was another March to Shut Down Rikers Island that was held rain, hurricane or shine in that city of New York on that Island of Queens, at the foot of the bridge leading to Rikers Island. And I guess those photos and videos from that event that day that find themselves posted above can speak for themselves. And that March to Shut Down Rikers Island Facebook event invite for this event read something like: 

Saturday, October 3rd, join #ResistRikers & friends in a march to shut down Rikers Island. Featuring artwork & props by The People's Puppets of Occupy Wall Street. RAIN OR SHINE.

3pm meet-up in front of the Rikers Island sign, followed by a speak out, march, and more! Bring your voice, banners, friends, and family. All are invited to speak about their experiences. 

Directions: Q100 bus to the Rikers Island sign (right before the bridge) at the intersection of 19 Ave. & Hazen St. in Queens, from one of the following subway stations: (N/Q) Astoria-Ditmars Blvd, (F) 21 St- Queensbridge, (E/M/R) Queens Plaza, or (G) Court Square.

Contact us to get involved with planning and outreach. 
___________________________
WE DEMAND AN END TO TORTURE IN NYC!
Rikers Island is NYC's Abu Ghraib, where individuals in need of care are instead caged, languishing both mentally and physically; a place where those suffering illnesses are tortured not treated, denying them the most basic of human rights.

WE DEMAND AN END TO CRIMINALIZING POVERTY!
Most people incarcerated on Rikers Island have not been convicted of a crime. They are unable to afford bail and awaiting their next court appearance and/or trial. NYC's Tale of Two Cities forces the poor and innocent to endure a culture of violence, rape, and overall barbarism that no human should be subject to.

WE DEMAND AN END TO DECEPTIVE REFORMS!
Mayor de Blasio shows up for photo shoots in newly renovated portions of the jail complex, while most of it remains in a state of serious disrepair and deterioration. There are frequent sewage backups and water main breaks. The floors and ceilings are crumbling. The heating and ventilation systems don't function properly. There are rotting showers, toilets, and sinks.

WE DEMAND AN END TO OPPRESSION!
NYC Department of Correction and the Correction Officers Benevolent Association have reaped the benefits of inequality and bloodshed for far too long. Too many lives, homes, and hearts have been destroyed so that a morally bankrupt system may flourish.

NO MORE!

#ResistRikers #EyesOnRikers #BlackLivesMatter #PovertyIsNotACrime#KaliefBrowder #JusticeForKalief #SaveOurYouth


And Resist Rikers posted on that March to SHUT DOWN RIKERS ISLAND Facebook event invite, 


"THANK YOU to everyone who trooped it out to this afternoon's march to shut down Rikers!!! Super extra mega thanks to the peeps at Black Lives Matter. NYC Shut It Down: The Grand Central CrewCopwatch Patrol Unit - CPU"The People's Puppets of Occupy Wall Street, and Millions March NYC. TOGETHER, WE WILL WIN! Only in unity will we put an end to torture in NYC and SHUT DOWN RIKERS!!!"

And there are articles with titles like Rikers Island Jail, New York City: Shut Down This Torture Hellhole!, Queens Councilman Wants to Abolish Rikers Island, and even Department of Justice to Release 6,000 Prisoners calling to shut down Rikers and prison reform. And so The Stop Mass Incarceration Network has created another Facebook event invite #RiseUpOctober: Shut Down Rikers Island and their event invite reads something like:

It's been called "New York's Abu Ghraib," a combination torture chamber & concentration camp. After years of exposure, after lawsuits and decrees, horrors that shock the conscience continue unabated. In the country's largest jail, lives are irreparably damaged every day.
As part of #RiseUpOctober, join in a non-violent direct action and protest to Shut Down Rikers Island. Sign up to be part of the action, or to provide support. Write: addmyvoice@riseupoctober.org

When: Morning; Gathering Location: TBA

And flood the streets on October 24:
https://www.facebook.com/events/767581106685589/

Also, take part in the national October 22 National Day of Protest to STOP Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation across the country:
https://www.facebook.com/events/767581106685589/


And according to that NAACP photo posted above, "Welcome to America, home to 5% of the world's people and 25% of the world's prisoners. And Rikers Island is one of the ten worst prisons in America. And New York City is what a police state looks like. And Rikers Island is what a police state looks like. No one is free when others are oppressed. Is another world possible. And what does this have to do with a No Police State.
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