RiseUpOctober to STOP Police Terror & Murder!
Which Side Are You On?
The movement to Stop Police Terror continues and so does the fund-raising. Together we met the $100,000 goal before the campaign expired. Indiegogo has now converted RiseUpOctober status to "In Demand." This means the campaign is on-going, but there is no longer a generic donate button. All donations are made by picking a perk. After choosing, you can add an additional donation amount.
The last $3,000 challenge grant has been met. The matching donor has given directly to Stop Mass Incarceration Network, making the total for this drive $106,296. You may now give directly to Stop Mass Incarceration Network.
Thanks, everyone!
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Quentin Tarantino under attack:
For
his participation in the Rise Up October mobilization, Quentin Tarantino has come
under attack. Patrick Lynch, the head of the Policeman's Brutality
Association (PBA) called for a boycott of Tarantino’s films. Police
unions in LA and Philadelphia have joined this call. The proven-racist,
ex-cop Mark Fuhrman has gone even farther, calling for police to deny
Tarantino permits or protection to do filming.
Now organizers, families and voices of conscience have spoken out in defense of Quentin Tarantino and to condemned police union threats and boycotts. Those issuing statements include Carl Dix, Cornel West, actor and author Peter Coyote, civil rights attorney Martin Garbus, Grammy Award winning musician Arturo O'Farrill and The National Coalition Against Censorship, along with a number families of those whose lives were stolen by police. Read these statements here.
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Rise Up October protests were
covered all over the world. See
riseupoctober.org stopmassincarceration.net
revcom.us
wbai.org
Carl Dix Challenges Patrick Lynch to Debate:
It is outrageous and unconscionable that media and the head of NY PBA
have lied and distorted reality to condemn the Rise Up October (RiseUpOctober.org)
protests in NY on Oct 22-24, of thousands of people, including scores
of families whose lives have been stolen by police from across the
country the country, using the fact that a NY police officer was killed
last week. Distorting reality and attacking the people fighting for
justice they assert "there is a war on police," that "people must
support the police all the time and on every corner," and say that
people should stop protesting the rampant, ongoing, systematic murder
carried out BY the police. This is wrong and upside down.
Let’s talk about the reality: Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Natasha McKenna,
Andy Lopez, Walter Scott and many more people have had their lives
stolen by those who are sworn to protect and serve. In almost every
case, the system has exonerated the killer cops and the media has
criminalized their victims, aiding and abetting the justification of
these murders. This must STOP! Not be incrementally reduced, but
STOPPED! And it will take determined mass resistance and protest to stop
it.
Pat Lynch, loudmouth bigot and head of the Patrolman's Brutality
Association, has called for a boycott of the films of Quentin Tarantino
for his support of people fighting for justice. Tarantino was right to
join us and everyone needs to pick a side: are you for or against police
terror and murder? Lynch said a year ago that Eric Garner, “died from a
number of bad life choices.” What life choices led to Garner's being
choked to death at the hands of the NYPD? Being born Black in a country
where police patrol Black neighborhoods like an occupying army?
I challenge Pat Lynch and anyone else to a debate over what's the
real problem: our protest of murder by police or police getting away
with murder.
Carl Dix is a co-initiator of Rise Up October and is a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party (revcom.us)
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Rise
Up October to Stop Police Terror drew people of
all walks of life to be in New York October 22-24. Families of
those whose lives have been stolen by the police have stepped forward
to join this Call. Their powerful stories of what the system has done
to them, and their cries for justice – not just for their own loved
ones, but for what is happening all over this country –were
heard right in the heart of New York City. And we need to them heard much more widely. Below the brother of Tony Robinson, 19 years old when he was murdered by Madison Wisconsin police marches in NYC for Rise Up October.
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From the call for Rise Up October: Eric Garner... Michael Brown…Freddie Gray… Rekia Boyd… Andy Lopez…Tamir Rice...
One after another — precious Black and Brown lives — victims of police murder. We think of their faces, and we furiously ache for justice. Over 1000 people a year killed by police – yet since 2005, less than 60 indictments, less than 25 convictions!
A centerpiece of these outpourings will be 100+ families of those who have been murdered by police.
These family members bear the excruciating pain of not only losing their loved ones at the hand of state violence, but then being denied any justice... watching in agony as the police go unpunished, while their murdered loved ones are demonized.
Never before have this many families of police murder gathered in one place. Never before has the world had to confront so many of the faces of those whose lives have been torn apart by police terror and murder. Never before have their courage and cries for justice been fused together with each other on this scale, and with many thousands more from all walks of life demanding: POLICE TERROR MUST STOP—WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Who We Are
Rise Up October was initiated by Carl Dix and Cornel West.
The Advisory Board of Rise Up October includes:
Gina Belafonte is a producer of the internationally acclaimed documentary film SING YOUR SONG, and Co-Director of Sankofa.org
Carl Dix is co-founder of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, and a representative of the Revolutionary Communist Party
Eve Ensler is the Tony Award winning playwright, activist and author of The Vagina Monologues, and founder of V-Day
Jamal Joseph is a film professor at Columbia University, Oscar nominee, author, theater director, and former Black Panther
Arturo O'Farrill is a Grammy Award winning pianist, composer, educator, and founder and Artistic Director of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance
Rev. Stephen Phelps is a writer and speaker, and former Interim Senior Minister at The Riverside Church in New York City
Dr. Cornel West is a prominent public intellectual, and teaches Philosophy & Christian Practice at Union Theological Seminary
This movement is led by a Steering Committee and has been joined by families of police murder victims, religious leaders, students, and countless others across the country. There is a place in this movement for everyone who wants murder by police to stop -- this includes YOU!
Join the Community of Freedom Fighters
When you donate to #RiseUpOctober, you make a concrete and material difference in strengthening the fight to STOP MURDER BY POLICE. You make it possible to:
- print the palm-cards, posters, and stickers
- maintain the website, national office, and phone-lines
- get the word out far and wide
- assist families of those police killed to travel to NYC to make their voices heard
You concretely advance the fight to change the course of history.
But that is not all, when you donate, you join a community of people across this country who are standing for justice. This is a moral act and it is part of bringing into being, right now, the shoots of the world we are fighting for -- one where no one turns their heads when others are oppressed and terrorized, where justice is real.
We are proud of the perks we are offering because they come from others who are part of this community of resistance. They are our way not only of thanking you for your support, but of linking you together and helping you spread this community and message even further.
Once you have given -- or if you cannot contribute right now -- take the time to spread the word of this campaign through to everyone you know:
- Share this campaign on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more (use the share tools on this page).
- Call your family and friends, tell them why you donated and asked them to do the same.
- Take a collection at your religious congregation.
- Organize a contingent from your school or town to be in NYC on October 24. Bring a banner to represent where you are from.
- Join the mailing list http://riseupoctober.org/volunteer
- Be creative. There are a million ways you can do something to make sure that October 24 becomes a turning point in history.
You can also make a donation by check to “Stop Mass Incarceration/AfGJ” with “Rise Up October” in the memo line. Mail to:
Stop Mass Incarceration Network
P.O. Box 941 Knickerbocker Station New York City NY 10002-0900
Phone: 646-709-1961
See you in the streets!
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Special thanks to the Stop Mass Incarceration Network for producing these shirts in support of #RiseUpOctober.
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Special thanks to Shepard Fairey for donating these books in support of #RiseUpOctober.
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Special thanks to Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon for donating these gifts in support of #RiseUpOctober.
ONLY CORNEL WEST'S BOOKS ARE STILL AVAILABLE AS PERKS
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Special thanks to Dr. Cornel West and Alice Walker for donating these gift in support of #RiseUpOctober.
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Special thanks to Gilbert Young for donating these gifts in support of #RiseUpOctober.Be a fund-raiser for #RiseUpOctober!
One of THE MOST
important ways to realize the potential of #RiseUpOctober is meeting and exceeding this
$100K goal - this will bring the families of victims of police murder to NYC,
thousands across the country out to join them, build a community of
resistance, and issue a massive outcry for justice to END police terror.
Asking people for money is sometimes seen as a bad thing. This is just wrong. It is a very good thing to donate to, and raise money for the fight to STOP police terror.
#RiseUpOctober is a necessary action. As of September 29,
2015, over 870 people have been killed by police this year. The
resistance of the last year has inspired thousands. Now we stand at a
historical crossroads: will this resistance be taken to a new level,
where 100 family members of victims of police brutality are joined by
many thousands more, from all walks of life, to demand an END to police
terror in New York City October 24? Will the people put those who
brutalize and murder our people under the color of authority on notice,
push back their relentless attacks on the people, and issue the
challenge to millions more worldwide: Which Side Are You On? Or will
people settle back into hopelessness or ignorance, and "get used to"
this outrageous epidemic of police terror, violence, and murder? None of
this is decided. The answer is up to us.
Use the #RiseUpOctober Fundraising Kit and other Organizing Materials!
Contact funds@riseupoctober.org with your stories, ideas, and inquiries.