Communties United Against Police Brutality newsletter

Communities United Against Police Brutality
EMAIL NEWSLETTER
September 18, 2011
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IMPORTANT NOTICE: CHANGES TO STRONGER UNITED CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
September 24
Walker Church, 3100 16th Ave S, Minneapolis
The economy and other demands have taken a toll on our movement, preventing many who wanted to attend our conference from being able to travel to Minneapolis. Therefore, we are cutting back on the conference schedule to fit it down to one day. BUT WHAT AN ACTION-PACKED DAY IT WILL BE--with a wonderful keynote speaker, great workshops and lots of discussions and sharing! To make the day-long conference affordable to as many people as possible, we are no longer charging a registration fee to attend.

To kick off the conference, we will hold a fundraiser on Friday, September 23. QNITED will help to raise the funds needed for an investigator and other expenses to allow the family of Quincy D'Shaun Smith to fight for justice for his death at the hands of the Minneapolis police. You may recall that Quincy was tased by five cops at the same time, causing 250,000 volts of electricity to pass through his body, killing him. One of the cops involved was being sued by Quincy for a previous tasing incident.

Friday, September 23
7:00 p.m. - QNITED: A fundraiser for Justice for Quincy Smith (local man killed by Minneapolis police)
10:00 p.m. The Nicollet, 1931 Nicollet Ave (Nicollet at Franklin), Minneapolis
Performers include Guante, Tou Saiko Lee, Biter Fighters, Rob Weekend, Spunk D
Suggested donation $5-$10 with all funds raised going to an investigator and other expenses to help the Smith family as they seek justice for the murder of Quincy Smith by Minneapolis cops. Quincy was well-known as Q the Blacksmith, a popular DJ on KMOJ radio. He leaves behind a child who was only a few months old at the time of his death.

Saturday, September 24
8:30 a.m. Light breakfast
9:00 a.m. Keynote by Michael Novick: Building a Culture of Resistance Against Police Abuse of Power: Decolonization and Liberation
Michael Novick, editor of "Turning the Tide: Journal of Anti-Racist Action, Research & Education" and author of "White Lies White Power: The Fight Against White Supremacy and Reactionary Violence," moderates the "Stop Police Abuse Now!" list on yahoogroups. He has been involved in numerous efforts against police racism and abuse of power for decades, most recently including the LA Coalition for Justice for Oscar Grant, and has been a supporter of Michael Zinzun's campaign for community control over the police, Long Beach and LA Copwatch projects, and the Black Riders Liberation Party "Watch-a-Pig" Program. He is committed to applying the self-critical lessons of history to developing a successful strategy for liberation under 21st Century conditions of oppression and repression.
10:45 a.m. Breakout session I
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Stand Up and Speak Out: Mark the Year Anniversary of FBI Raids on Local Peace Activists!
2911 Park Ave. S. Minneapolis
Event to mark one-year anniversary of FBI raids on antiwar and international solidarity activists. On the dawn of September 24, 2010, the FBI simultaneously raided 7 homes of peace activists in Minneapolis and Chicago and the MN Anti-War Committee’s office. They mobilized over 70 agents and seized thousands of pages of documents, cell phones, computers and personal objects. Most of the activists’ property is still held by the government a year later. So far, 23 Midwest anti-war and international solidarity activists have been subpoenaed to testify at a secret grand jury investigation of the peace movement. On September 24th we will mark one year of solidarity and resistance with protest. One year later no one has testified and no one is in jail. But our struggle isn’t over! Join us in demanding End the Grand Jury! End the Repression of Anti-War Activists! Return their Property Now!
2:30 p.m. Breakout session II
4:15 p.m. Breakout session III
6:00 p.m. Plenary session to plan for future actions

Proposed workshops include:
*De-legitimizing the Police State, Legitimizing Resistance (presented by Michael Novick)
*Coalition building across communities
*Attacks on dissent­addressing NORTHCOM and other national plans to “suppress civil unrest”
*Police interactions with people labeled with psychiatric disabilities
*Using the legal system to challenge police brutality
*Novel approaches to increasing community oversight of police
*Resisting attacks on copwatchers
*Jail support and court support
*Supporting survivors of police brutality and the families of stolen lives
*Ireland: What lessons can we learn from their history of resistance to police repression?

For more information, please call our hotline at 612-874-STOP or email mgresist@minn.net.