2015

Poor, Houseless, Disabled and Criminalized Mamaz, Daddys, Elders and Youth Release Findings on the Racist , Classist Broken Windows Theory

“Welcome to the 2015 WeSearch Policy Group 2015 report. Today we, the houseless, criminalized, displaced, elders and youth will present our well documented findings on the abuse, violence and criminality of the ‘Broken Windows Theory’ and European settler colonizers who steal and hoard indigenous resources and land and then create laws to incarcerate us,” said Dee Allen, WeSearchPolicyGroup Data Investigator to passerbys outside the Marriot Marquis Hotel in San Francisco, the location of the 2015 International Downtown Association(IDA) . 

A 2015 WeSearch report (poor people-led, not Academic-ethnographed, research project of POOR Magazine) was released outside the Marriot Marquis Hotel because the IDA is the epicenter of all private , anti-homeless policing and this year was hosting a workshop by none other than Kelling, the co-author of the anti-poor people theory, Broken Windows implemented by mayors of cities across the US and the world.( because we are exporting private policing and hater laws across the world as a “new” business model) .  
 
The broken windows model of policing was first described in 1982 in an article by Wilson and Kelling. Using code words like “disorder” and the metaphor of “broken windows”  the model focuses on the importance of “fixing” , aka policing, getting rid of, cleaning out  broken windows as a way of “preventing” more “serious crime”.

The poor, disabled and houseless scholars from POOR Magazine, who have experienced the violence of this private policing through programs like the “ambassador” programs in San Francisco and Berkeley, launched the WeSearch Policy Group(WPG) in 2013, because as our tag-line reads, “the ruling class only honors acronyms” to use the same paper trails, numbers, “data”, laws and confusing tactics that the gentry uses against us poor people all the time to evict, test, arrest and incarcerate us.

“In my Afrikan neighborhood since 2012, over 2,500 children and youth under 18 have been abused, profiled and threatened by policies inspired by Kellings Broken Windows theory. In addition, I as a poor Afrikan mama, have been abused, profiled and harassed by private police for walking, living and shopping while black stemming from those same racist theories,” said QueenandiXSheba, WPG Data investigator.

“Broken Windows is broken,” chanted a crowd who marched around the corner to join us. The fake corporate-quiet of the Marriot Marquis, colored a burgundy marble-esque, meant to lull the housed, jobbed, and oblivious into a relaxed feeling of “cleanliness”  a corporate settler -colonial wallpaper over the world, was beautifully disturbed by over 50 private policing resistors from across this stolen land. We resist these racist, classist laws and we are not broken windows,” said Bilal Ali, powerful revolutionary organizer with the Coalition on Homelessness. In addition to the COH, we were joined by Los Angeles Community Action Network and Western Regional Advocacy Project( WRAP), all of whom, like POOR have been conducting powerful research on the ways these laws force thousands of poor people into jails and increased poverty, often resulting in our death at the hands of the state. 

“As a young Black male child, if I stand together in my neighborhood with other youth of color I am automatically at risk of criminalization and arrest due to laws inspired by the Broken Windows theory, said 13 year old Tyray Taylor from Deecolonize Academy, a revolutionary school on the land at Homefulness. Three of his fellow students ranging in age from 12-14 also added their WeSearch Findings on the ongoing abuse to their communities caused by Broken Windows theories.

“As the child of a houseless mama – my family and I were harassed multiple times by private police for being houseless – this did nothing to solve our homelessness – but instead made our life more difficult,” said my sun Tiburcio, 12 years old, a student at Deecolonize Academy. 

From New York to Berkeley, poltricksters work with corporations to create new codes like the Business Improvement District’s  and Downtown Business Associations to hire private police whose sole purpose is to arrest, harass and move out poor people. But lest you think these are new, these same laws were already written throughout history to harass poor people. These are the same theories that were used in the anti-Black Sundown Towns, anti-Disabled Ugly Laws and now underscore laws like Sit-lie and Stop and Frisk.
 
I am Philip Standing Bear, an indigenous single, teen father. I am releasing WeSearch Findings today on the criminalization of poor youth and families. Since 2012 Over 350 families like mine were separated because they were sleeping in their cars. In my families case this crimialization never got us housing, but rather caused us to become more traumatized. As a Lakota Sioux person my family and myself has already suffered generations of ancestral trauma from the abuse of settler colonial land and resource theft

Sadly , often times even activists and revolutionaries don’t care about the struggles and resistance of houseless people, and don’t realize our incarceration as well as our liberation is all linked, as witnessed on Sept 21st with the I Did Die in SF County Jail” action led by Idriss Stelley Foundation, Krip Hop Nation and POOR Magazine.

“Hello Everyone, I am Bruce Allison, with a Phd in Shelter Studies from Shelter University, As a houseless, disabled elder since 2013 i have been profiled , harassed, incarcerated and arrested over 230 times.”

One of many “controlled” studies conducted by the WPG in Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco,, our WeSearch Policy Group discovered that due to the racist and classist nature of the Broken Windows theory – the law only applied to people who looked “homeless” - you could be of any race but if you appeared to be poor- ie old clothes or living with a disablity the police would harass and arrest you . Another powerful study was just released by the Coalition on Homelessness, called Punishing the Poorest, also corroborated these findings.

The WPG conducted the same controlled study in San Francisco with the Downtown Associations crafted Sit-le Law. Over a period of six months if you appeared disabled or poor you were cited and arrested –of you were a Black man you were twice as likely to get cited and arrested. if you were disabled and an elder – this also increased your chances of arrest and citation.

From day laborers standing on corners to houseless people sitting on the street, our struggles might seem different but they are frighteningly similar.

“Hello Everyone, this is Muted Silence- A migrant, indigenous,poverty scholar with a Doctorate in Border Jumping and I have the following WeSearch Findings to present: In my intentionally blighted, poor black and brown neighborhood since 2012 over 6,700 black and brown youth and adults have been abused and profiled by the Broken Windows Theory

“Mr Kelling would you please come out and join us, and stop making theory about us without us,” I screamed one last time into the lobby of the hotel as I did many times throughout the day. “Mr Kelling would you please come out…”



--
 

On November 3rd, the people of San Francisco voted to elect a Mayor. A number of candidates stood to oppose the incumbent Mayor Ed Lee. In the weeks preceding the vote Bay Area publications such as the San Francisco Chronicle and the SF Examiner, and international publications like the New York Times, largely ignored campaigns run by opposition candidates.

Early on in the campaign, on December 8th last year, Heather Knight wrote in the SF Chronicle that “Mayor Ed Lee may have no challengers”, this misrepresentation of the campaign continued throughout the election campaign and even post-election.

On June 24, Business Insider wrote that Ed Lee faces a cakewalk to an ‘easy reelection’; the Editor of Mother Jones, tweeted:

In response, local community activist Alyse Ceirante penned a letter to Editor of the SF Examiner explaining how headlines such as this keep voters away from polls. 

International media borrowed from the local playbook and repeated the same inaccuracies. In an unbalanced article titled “Battles in San Francisco, but not in Mayoral Race”, the New York Times claimed Ed Lee “is by every account gliding to re-election.” ‘Every account’ is a real stretch.   Similarly, the LA Times reported that Ed Lee was “expected to coast to victory”.  When these articles were published the streets of San Francisco were full of posters on the windows of independent shops supporting Francisco and the 1-2-3 platform. It may not have been a high profile candidacy but it was one supported by the local community and whose presence was wholly denied.

When lies are repeated often enough, the electorate begin to believe them.

Many would go on to say that the lack of media coverage wasn’t an intentional bias, that the  “no contest” headlines were merely a play of words, but what of the coverage post-election? Following decades of working at the grassroots level, Francisco Herrera, a community organizer and leader of the “People’s Campaign” to reclaim City Hall for the people of San Francisco, came second in the election. 

Photo credit Santiago Mejía via El Tecolote

He received over 15% of first choice votes on the first count and 32% when the #2 votes are included from the 1-2-3 voting platform; which he and other candidates, Stuart Schuffman and Amy Farah Weiss, ran on. Altogether, the 1-2-3 election alliance that the 3 candidates stood on received over 44% of the votes. This result was made possible because of San Francisco’s ranked choice voting system and the 1-2-3 to Replace Ed Lee election pact the candidates stood behind.

With no media coverage, receiving 44% of the votes in an election is a far cry from a “cakewalk”.

If we take this result and consider how the mainstream media totally ignored the opposition campaigns, it goes without saying that the results would have been very different if the media provided the same coverage to the opposition candidates as they did for the incumbent. A fair media coverage is integral to a fair election.

Francisco Herrera and the 1-2-3 electoral platform actually defeated Ed Lee in a number of neighborhoods, including Bernal Heights, Haight Ashbury, Western Addition, the Mission District and many others.

Image sourced from Vote 1-2-3 to Replace Ed Lee Facebook page.

Even after the election, when Francisco had been voted for by 44% of the electorate, a SF Chronicle columnist wrote another unsubstantiated and audacious conspiracy theory, claiming that the reason Francisco received so many votes was because he shared the surname as City Attorney, Dennis Herrera.

However, Dennis Herrera’s name was on the same ballot running for City Attorney. How could people think he was running for Mayor as well? The reality is they couldn’t and didn’t. 

This final, cutting dig further demonstrates the inability of the so called ‘intelligentsia’ from understanding what the people of San Francisco are going through or seek to better manage their city. The commentators are so far removed from what’s going on in the neighborhoods and in our streets they need to invent unsubstantiated and farcical lies to make sense of these results.  

Why Did Practically All Media Ignore the Opposition Candidates?

It was accurate and fair to say Mayor Ed Lee wasn’t running against any household names, but in the run up to the election when the streets of San Francisco were lined with 1-2-3 posters, the candidates were speaking regularly on independent radio stations, performing better than Ed Lee at a campaign debate, and active on social media, it’s not easy to excuse how media ignored candidates like Francisco Herrera.

Poor Magazine caught up with Francisco, a well respected community organizer and musician from San Francisco. For over two decades Francisco has been heavily involved in the community, setting up homeless shelters, fighting gentrification and standing up for the rights of the working people. Francisco’s platform stood to make San Francisco a working family friendly city again, he supported the Poor People’s Network Homefulness policy and was endorsed by large a number of leading rights groups in the city, including the SF Green Party, SF Tenants’ Union, Tom Ammiano, SEIU Local 1021, AFT 2121, who are amongst the strongest unions in the city.

We asked Francisco about why he thought mainstream media ignored his campaign:

“I called and tweeted to many reporters. I asked them to sit down with me to discuss why I was running for Mayor of San Francisco. I wanted to explain to them that I may not be a household name but that there is a large number of people living in this city who don’t like how the city is being run. I stood for these people. However, they refused to cover our campaign.

It's been a very interesting race to see the level of corruption that exists in the press. I spent time as a human rights worker in El Salvador during the war and knew a young reporter called Phil Bronstien, who would fact check his stories. Phil later went on to become editor of the SF Chronicle. During the Mayor’s race, I didn’t see any fact checking nor integrity in the reporting of the election.”

With little to no coverage, Francisco ranked second in this election. It was solely the credibility of two decades of community work that got these votes for Francisco, not media coverage. Other candidates, such as Ed Lee, depend on and need a complicit media to be elected.

Money Talks in San Francisco Politics

An interesting aspect of the election was campaign finances. With support from city elites, Ed Lee’s campaign fund raised over $1m USD, in comparison to his opposition whose supporters weren’t able to contribute nearly as much. That being said, each vote cost Ed Lee $19.78, while for each vote Francisco received, he spent on $0.75 campaigning. One can only imagine what the result would have been if big money wasn’t allowed to interfere in our electoral process.

Why Does It Matter That The Media Ignored The Opposition?

It matters because by ignoring the opposition candidates existence the vast majority of voters were not aware of all the candidates positions or what they stood for. Elections cannot be considered “fair” if some candidates are completely ignored and written off by the media for no particular reason. Oftentimes mainstream US media and the US government criticize what they call ‘dictatorships’ and authoritarian governments when incumbent candidates run for election without challengers. They criticize countries such as China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and others who typically elect the candidate the powers that be want to be re-elected.

What difference do you see here in the San Francisco mayor election?

Sana Saleem is a writer and activist, based in the Bay Area.

Editor's Note: Original artwork by Jose H. Villarreal, 2015.

The rays of light splash across the upper concrete walls of my prison “yard”. The sun so bright that the wire screen roof almost disappears from its brilliance. A swath of blue sky is stretched across its small patch like a tarp over the back of a pick up truck.

I raise my hands in an attempt to feel the warmth of the sun, so close yet out of reach. I stare up hoping for a glimpse of the all powerful Sun only to be treated with the periphery of its glow. As I peer through the caged roof I hear the chirp of a bird that has landed on the cámara that watches me. The bird seemed to look down to me, perhaps bewildered why this humyn being is in a bird cage. It chirps and ruffles its brown feathers that have specs of red around the collar. I see black feathers around its ankles and see its sharp beak.

This bird would fit into my hand, I guess, a melody from a living breathing thing. The bird moves its head and takes flight into the sky, but as it leaves it chirps two times, perhaps sending some sort of greeting to the big bird cage.

I watch it soar through the sky remembering the tail feathers and attempt to recall the designs on it. I peer up, my neck craned hoping to see another bird, instead I see the warmth of the sunrays.

The Beast on Bryant luxury development comes before the Planning Commission on September 10. It was submitted by the Nick Podell real estate company in 2013 and will demolish 246 houses in the Bryant st neighborhood.

There was a hearing for the Beast on Bryant (the bryant st project) and the Planning commision approved it. Developer Nick Podell cut a deal with the operators of InnerMission a community art institution.

Another plan that the planning commission wants to approve that is not very different from the Beast on Bryant is the Monster in the Mission. With both of the projects on their plate the planning commision must be kind of overwhelmed.

“I am here to support the passing of the legeslation called No Eviction 2.0” said Francisco Herrera, a revolutionary man who is running for mayor in San Francisco. He talked about the Beast on Bryant a development that will destroy the Bryant S.t neighborhood.

“There are at least 27 families that live off of that block” Francisco said frowning. Many people depend on the Bryant block because that is where they live, own shop and their children go to school there.

“A group of investors got a community center in the bryant area and are trying to destroy it” Francisco said with a sense of finality. And we all realize that unless we are able to fight back everything else will be destroyed too.

Editors Note- Deecolonize Academy's Revolutionary Youth Media Education(RYME) class and POOR Magazine family re-ported and sup-ported on the huge rally called The City Takes City Hall on September 10th.. As low-income students of color these issues impact all of our children and their families so not only are they learning multi-media, writing and journalism, they are also learning how to resist the endless attack on their communities.

Editors Note: Voodoo is one of several power-FUL PNNPlantation prison correspondents. As currently and formerly incarcerated poor and indigenous peoples in struggle and resistance with all plantation systems in Amerikkka, POORMagazine stands in solidarity with all folks on the other side of the razor wire plantation.

"Young Folks, I'm speaking from the Belly of the Beast. I did 14 years in solitary confinement, hell and isolation. Not only ostracized from the G.P., general population of prisoners behind enemy lines but I'm ostracized from society itself and all my grassroots writing is under the watch eyes of the boogey man agents. The boogey man system of capitalistic greed and imperialism is real and we the people's on the bottom of this well organized, criminal, pyramid structure system must know and understand we are dealing with a monster I call boogey man. People's power and power to the peoples is a reality we must create or we ass out. Because, no matter what color you are, damn near everybody selling their souls for a jelly roll to survive. Example, you have so called slave negrows enforcing the racist laws of this racist system to warehouse black man and the poor population. Check out that fool slave negrow Clarance Uncle Tom Tomas who now sit on the united snakes supreme court. That negrow slave ain't my brother and good to the struggling poor masses. I'm an Afrikan soul brother and I don't give a damn what color you are it's what you stand for the makes us kinfolks to give power to the peoples. Draconian, bias, racist laws is passed every year to warehouse the poor population, and the one's who's enforcing these bias laws have a green light to kill us or incarcerate us with impunity because it's the poor on the bottom that's being gundown and terrorized by these agent criminal thugs of all colors. The pigs and the court system are hired guns to enforce the boogey man rule, to keep us in check to start a revolution. The boogey man system don't give a damn if you Black or white, Asian or Latin, radical, green peace activist etc. Because these agents will kill yo ass or put you behind bars if one continues to go against the grain, and believe me, they do not give a damn if you young or old. Read the book "Agents of Oppression", that terrorist J. Edgar Hoover spied and used CO-INTELPRO counter intelligence program as a tool to crush the grass roots liberation struggles of the 60's. And what that boogey man created under CO-IINTELPRO is still being used today to spy on you young folks because you grass roots conscious. Yes this boogey man is spying on you all now as we write and speak to each other. And please don't get it twisted, this beast boogey man is watching you all and got you under the gun now. Truth be told we the masses on the bottom have nothing to lose anyway but your chains, and you wouldn't believe how evil these draconian courts is persecuting the poor population. California is the worst in the nation. Capitalism and greed is like Dracula. It's designed to suck the blood and drain the resources out of everything. This boogey man monster system use and buy other countries and peoples like slaves. So it's hard to fight the beast, but we have no choice but to organize, unify, struggle and fight the good fight. I'd rather stand and fight with the peoples and die before I side up with this boogey man. Young folks don't sell yo soul for a jelly roll, because it's a good feeling when you no know you on the side of the righteous and yo heart will be at peace. I've been down for 22 years and my heart at peace because I'm writing to inspire yo spirit to struggle and bring into existence peoples power to determine our own destiny. Peace. Harmony. Unity. Love. Balance. Mathematics."

Dr. Voodoo, Author of the upcoming Book "The Boogey Man", is the medicine man of universal knowledge, leading grassroots consciousness to see this Beast-Boogey -Man-System for what it is: against the people's struggle.

Contact:

Voodoo S/N Keller John #H-52472

P.O. Box 290066, B-5-115

Represa, CA. 95671

This story all started on December 2, 2015. A man named Mario Woods was killed at the age of 26. He was killed in a cold blooded murder. They said that Woods had a weapon in his hand but really he did not. So that is why Deecolonize Academy went to the march down in the Mission in San Francisco, a place that is ugly and beautiful all in the same. You can smell all the markets selling items and you can see they people in struggle all around.

There were three Deecolonize Studies who went. They were Kimo,Tyray and Tibu.There were about 80 people at the start of the the march, ages 12 to 16. More high school students arrived, and there were about 300 students all together. Chants were said all around like ''No Justice no peace the racist police!"

The students walked from the 16th and Mission bart to City Hall to let the city know that it is wrong for the black and brown people to get killed for reasons unknown most of the time. Deecolonize were at the march because they were invited and they knew that it was not right that another innocent person was killed by another trigger happy officer or shall I say trigger happy officers.

The Deecolonize students were there and Kimo and Tibu went up to say a few words That was the reason Decolonize went out there with the students because they knew it was wrong and they knew some day there will be no more police brutality.

I and my Deecolonize Academy and POOR Magazine family went to a protest at City Hall, the protest was about gentrification, housing, and displacement.

An example of housing displacement is the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). RAD is impacting low income families who live in public housing in San Francisco and all over the nation, because RAD is a move to privatize all the public housing buildings in the United States.

The RAD program was created by the San Francisco Housing Authority and non profit organizations.

''Rental assistance Devastation'', said Queennandi Xsheba from POOR Magazine, who we spoke with at the protest. She continued,''What The RAD program has done to my Nation is made them house less and pass away and die because they had no family and no where to go'', she concluded.

What I think about this is that it will eventually effect my friends and family so we have to find a way to fight back and take back what is ours.

Editors Note- Deecolonize Academy's Revolutionary Youth Media Education(RYME) class and POOR Magazine family re-ported and sup-ported on the huge rally called The City Takes City Hall on September 10th.. As low-income students of color these issues impact all of these children and their families so not only are they learning multi-media, writing and journalism, they are also learning how to resist the endless attack on their communities.

Editors Note: Andre Rosemond is one of several power-FUL PNNPlantation prison correspondents. As currently and formerly incarcerated poor and indigenous peoples in struggle and resistance with all plantation systems in Amerikkka, POORMagazine stands in solidarity with all folks on the other side of the razor wire plantation.

I want you to have a future! Please read and share this information with law enforcement officers worldwide with ranks of corporals, sergeants, lieutenants and captains.

Please see Weather Modification in World Book Encyclopedia www.worldbook.com for rainmaking, defense news Sep 26 1994. For space shuttle weather engineering and associated Press article in Evansville Courier Sep 10 1994. U.S. Space Shuttles utilized for weather engineering. Global Warming and Climate Change is a myth. The elites learned to clone. They also learned to manipulate the weather. Weather modification is big business for the elites. The elites own the weather control technology. Lockdown working class people. See link below on prisonplanet.com for related information. The U.S. laws and U.S policies are on this website. Much more info later.

Contact:

Andre Rosemond

386 Redemption Way 353806

McCormick, SC 29899-9000 USA

Like many young men of color in America, Mario Woods was a young African American man who was fatally shot by the police. He was a young man who had many friends and family who loved him. He was murdered on December 2nd 2015 because the police thought he had a knife in his hand.

On December 7th my friends and I at Deecolonize Academy went to a vigil. The night was dark and we had to walk a couple of blocks to get there. They were holding the vigil at the place were Mario Woods was killed. It was near a municipal transport stop and grouped around the altar and fanning out all across the street, were about one hundred people.

They had an altar for Mario Woods and many people were there including his friends from the community and his mother. A couple of people were speaking at the vigil. “What happened to this brother yesterday was a direct product of Gentrification” said one supporter. After the vigil, everyone marched down to a town hall.

Mario Woods mother talked about the loss of her son and said that she did not want any other mothers to lose their sons like she did so we need to figure out a solution for these killings. My opinion about all of this is that it's another young man of color being killed and it needs to stop before anyone else gets killed.

It was a hot day and me and Deecolonize Academy went to a rally at City Hall. It was about the Beast on Bryant st.,RAD,Super-sizing SOMA and the Monster in the Mission. My class mates were all interviewing different leaders in all of these struggles.

I got an interview with a man named Raymond Castillo from SOMCAN. He told me why he was there, he said, ''We are taking over City Hall because we are not sell outs and we wont let them sell us out.''. Another thing that he said was, ''There are lot of lower and middle class people around where I live and building all these luxury condos is not the solution.'' And the last thing he said is that, ''The city should make real affordability of houses to prioritized the people instead of the profit.''

Super-sizing SOMA aka 5M will impact the Filipino community on the south of market because the 5M project will be 50,000 square feet. 

My opinion on all of this displacement that is happening is that its wrong and sick to put people on the streets so that some people can make huge profits.

Editors Note- Deecolonize Academy's Revolutionary Youth Media Education(RYME) class and POOR Magazine family re-ported and sup-ported on the huge rally called The City Takes City Hall on September 10th.. As low-income students of color these issues impact all of our children and their families so not only are they learning multi-media, writing and journalism, they are also learning how to resist the endless attack on their communities.

Modern Times Bookstor

2919 24th st, san francisco, ca 94110

Saturday, January 30, 2016 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

On December 2, 2015 a young 26 year old African American named Mario Woods was shot dead by police in the Bay view district. It was a tragic day for the young man's family and community, but one thing I want to let you readers know is that this has been happening non stop all over the world.

A couple of days later approximately 100 people gathered on Gilman st where the killing took place at and we made an altar dedicated to Mario Woods. It was really unnecessary for 8 to 10 cops to fire 15 to 20 shots at Mario Woods. They could've made a different decision so Mario woods could be with his family.

A week after Mario Woods passed away there was a walk out in San Francisco by students of June Jordon High School. Deecolonize Academy was invited.  When we arrived at 16^thand mission in front of the Bart station there were young men and women there who were wearing backpacks and talking. There were approximately 80 people at first, then the other high school students arrived. It was a windy day. Then people start talking in front of the crowd. There were posters and organizers talking. A few of my classmates went up and told their opinion about how they felt about what happened.

After we started marching there were lots of cops waiting for us to start marching so they could see the truth and understand what they have done. We marched all the way to San Francisco City Hall. It was terrifying seeing all these cops trying to police us at the end of the protest. It was approximately 400 people when we left.

How I feel about this is that the cops who kill our black and brown people get away with it just because they are wearing a badge and the people's families who lost their children have to suffer and deal with that all of their lives while the cop killers are living their lives.

Raymond Eacret, 34 yrs old, a proud Yurok Tribal Member from Trinidad Rancheria, of Eureka, CA, died “in custody” in the Humboldt County Correctional Center (Jail) on Friday, June 26, 2015.  Raymond was being held on a misdemeanor charge and was due to be released that evening. Something went horribly wrong just hours after his mother, Sheila Eacret, received the message telling her 'not to worry and charges were dropped,' that her son was being released around dinner time, 4pm in fact, that very day.  Relief turned to deep sorrow, grief and outrage. The next time Sheila would see her son it would be after his death, framed as a “suicide” by Humboldt County officials, his lifeless body bludgeoned.

[image description:  An earlier days school photograph of Raymond Eacret, he is wearing a white shirt and there is a standard blue school-photo background.  Raymond is fair-skinned with his long hair pulled back with a cool, pronounced hairline.  He does not smile, looks very sweet, and has a thin mustache.]

“I was refused to see my son until after the autopsy which was against all Native rights, I had every right to prepare him spiritually due to his being Native American with a roll number. Denied that right, I was angry and confused,” said Sheila Eacret, Raymond's mother.

A number of conflicting reports have surfaced, including the police narrative, which has been amplified via most news outlets, so it is the most accessible information.  Humboldt County Sheriff Mike Downey said in a press release that Raymond was found by an (unnamed) Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Correctional Deputy (CD) “hanging from a makeshift noose that was wrapped around his neck” while being housed in the medical section of the Humboldt County Jail.  There is already a conflicting report that another officer had said Raymond was laying in his bed when he was discovered dead.  Another person who was in the medical department at the time Raymond was brought there told Sheila Eacret that there is “no way someone could take their own life in medical.”  That person also said that when Raymond was brought to medical he had been horribly beaten, and that he was unconscious.  The Sheriff's press release says that “life saving efforts were immediately initiated,” and basically that Humboldt County is investigating itself on this matter.  “This incident is currently under joint investigation by the HCSO and the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office (HCDAO),” the press release reads.  

When Sheila Eacret was finally able to see her son Raymond, she was horrified.  Raymond was covered in bruises, he had two black eyes and his nose was broken.  His torso appeared as if it had been kicked multiple times.  Raymond's body appeared to be broken, his back broken, Sheila described ribs that stuck out with swelling around the wounds the “size of a watermelon.”  There was a cut about three inches deep in the neck of Raymond Eacret, and whatever it was that caused this deep cut, that was used to strangle him, did not go all the way around his neck.  Raymond's ear was bleeding and bruised.  Raymond was clearly the victim of a horrible, violent assault.

[image description:  Raymond Eacret in the comfort zone of Home, wears a wide brimmed baseball hat with a skull on it, he has a mustache.  He is looking at the camera and has a land line telephone at his ear, with his arm around a beautiful baby.  The baby leans slightly back and looks curiously at Raymond.]

“Our Humboldt County Sheriff's Department, the County Jail and Coroner's office are one in the same, they run all three, they are in it together,” said Shelia Eacret.  She continues, “So to get any kind of justice or truth you have to get at least one (entity) away from here.”  

Sheila took pictures of her son's injuries and demanded for an independent autopsy and secured a lawyer.  She is fighting for justice so that no other mother has to go through what she is experiencing.  She doesn't believe the Humboldt County system should be investigating itself.

“My son wasn't the first young Native American to mysteriously be hung in this jail and die, there was a 25 yr old Native American from Hoopa that was also killed in there on a misdemeanor and was going to get out.  Our system is flawed and allows authorities and deputies to kill anyone in that jail and get away with it. I think officers should have to obey the same laws they are suppose to uphold and should be held accountable for Murder like anyone else. A badge and key does not give them the right to take someone's life. They will be held accountable for this crime.”

[image description:  A long banner celebrating the Yurok People, with beautiful water in the background. On the left is a round emblem of the Yurok, fishing is championed with a boat and fish. The words THE YUROK TRIBE are in all caps.]

That 25 year old Native brother from Hoopa is a Yurok man named James "Hans" Peters, who was brought in to Humboldt County Jail in late June 2007.  Sheriffs say in August 2007, James Hans Peters was being held in a solitary cell, that he had “assaulted a correctional officer” and that he was waiting to be transferred to Napa State Hospital for a court ordered psych eval. Sheriffs say that on August 29, 2007 James Hans Peters “hung himself with torn bed sheets” from a vent in the ceiling. Officers did not inform Hans’ (he was called Hans by those close with him) family of his death. Later, after hearing the news from an anonymous hospital employee, the family went to the Humboldt County Jail in search of their son and demanding answers.  Sheriffs responded sternly and threatened to have the family arrested.  Hans’ mother and relatives were not allowed to see Hans' body for over 20 hours.  James “Hans” Peters was killed/died in custody in Humboldt County Jail within three months of two other victims, Peter Stewart and Martin Cotton.  All three men Disabled, all with diagnosed mental illness.

Raymond Eacret is one of many Loved Ones to die to in the United States to police terror in this way, to die violently and “in custody.” On July 13, 2015 a 24 year old pregnant Lakota Woman and mother of two named Sarah Lee Circle Bear was being held in Brown County Jail in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and was complaining of excrutiating pain.  She was denied medical care, told “quit faking,” and her body was dragged to a holding cell so officers and other inmates would not hear her screams.  She died shortly after.  In November 2015 it was released that, so far, in 2015, there have been at least 550 in custody deaths in Texas alone.  Five hundred and fifty human being people, just in the state of Texas.  One of those 550 people managed to make it to the forefront of national media.  Just one, and she was a woman.  She died the same day as Sarah Lee Circle Bear, on July 13, 2015.  And she was Black.  Her name is Sandra Bland.  

Raymond Eacret's violent death also happens within a greater context of in-custody deaths caused by law enforcement in the state of California.  Deaths like 23 year old Victoria Arellano, an HIV-positive Transgender woman and migrant from Mexico, who had been detained at a mens Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in May of 2007 in South Los Angeles.  Victoria started showing signs of illness and pleaded (along with other male detainees) that she receive medical care.  That much needed medical care was denied, and Victoria died on July 20, 2007.  There's also the recent mysterious in-custody deaths of Kristen Hamilton, 51, of Antioch who died in West County Jail in April 2015 and Elizabeth Gaunt, 56, of Santa Rosa who died at Lake County Jail in August of 2015.

Almost every single victim of in-custody deaths in California, and nationwide, have at least one of these things in common:  being Indigenous, Black, Disabled and/or Poor.  Recently the Idriss Stelley Foundation organized an action called #IdidDIEinSanFranciscoCustody which included formal demands for the treatment of Disabled detainees and demanded transparency regarding recent in-custody deaths, mostly bringing to light cases at San Francisco County Jail.  One of many demands being NO MORE IN CUSTODY DEATHS.  Within the past two years (mid 2013-mid 2015), the ISF has advocated for the families of and investigated into the violent wrongful in custody deaths of five men, Alvin Hayes, Alberto Petrolino, Antolin Marenco, Brette Robinson and Darnell Benson.  All five are Disabled, and each are Indigenous, Black and or Poor.  These violent deaths are far from isolated, and they are all related.  

[Loved Ones lost to police violence are chalked on the steps of San Francisco City Hall in October 2015 as a part of a national call to action to end police brutality.  A dog's black paw rests on the top of a blue heart that reads RAYMOND EACRET.  To the right is a pink heart that reads Yuvette Henderson.  Below that a green heart that says Ohlone People.]

Since the death of her son Raymond Eacret, Sheila Eacret has been grieving.  She has also taken a stand, she is demanding justice so that no other Mother has to experience what she is going through.  In being vocal in a rural area, Sheila is being harassed and terrorized by members of law enforcement in and around Eureka, CA.  She is being profiled, singled out and threatened for fighting for justice for her son.  The press and police in it together, villianizing her family.  One of the officers acknowledged knowing her son, Raymond, as a scare tactic.  Raymond's Mother, Sheila Eacret, who is grieving the loss of her son, fears for her life.  She does not feel safe.

A memorial service is set for Raymond Eacret in Eureka, CA on December 5, 2015 and is open to the public.

Justice for Raymond Eacret

REST IN POWER RAYMOND EACRET

Raymond Eacret, Loved One lost to police violence.

#Justice4RaymondEacret  #JusticeforRaymondEacret  #NativeLivesMatter

#IdidDIEinCustody   #iDidDIEinSanFranciscoCustody  #nomoreincustodydeaths

#IdrissStelleyFoundation  #DisabilitySolidarity  #DisabilityJustice

#PoorMagazine

Update: Raymond Eacret's memorial service is being held at 1 Marina Way in the Wharfinger Building at the Eureka Public Marina in Eureka, CA from 1:00 to 5:00 on Saturday December 5th, 2015 and all are welcome to attend.

Lisa Ganser is a white Disabled genderqueer artist living in the Mission District of San Francisco.  They are the daughter of a momma named Sam and this is their first story as a writer for Poor Magazine.

Editors Note: Mr. Jose Villarreal is one of several power-FUL PNNPlantation prison correspondents. As currently and formerly incarcerated poor and indigenous peoples in struggle and resistance with all plantation systems in Amerikkka, POOR Magazine stands in solidarity with all folks on the other side of the razor wire plantation.

Chicano Nations: the Hemispheric Origins of Mexican American Literature by Harissa K Lopex. New York University Press 2011. 208 Pgs.

This book seeks to identify and translate today’s chican@ literature and traces its history. Lopez takes a different approach to arly writing and the birth of chicanismo is literature. Not enough has been written about Chiano literature in a political context, yet this work is necessary in order to take Aztlan deeper in understanding todays Chicanismo, where we have been and our future in literary world.

As I read ‘Chicano Nations’ I wondered why such emphasis was layed on Sarimiento, Zavala and Perez and their tamed approach to Amerika, which I later found could not be thoroughly contrated except with the critiques of Vallejo’s views toward Amerika. 

Lopez explores a “post nationalism” for chican@s. What she overlooks is that in society everything is stamped with a nation Class and Gender character- including literature. Throughout history, there has always been some who in the comfortable confines of stability, view the Chicano Nation via integration lenses. This phenomenon is mirrored in the Black bourgeoisie who see the nomination of Obama as a sign of “post racial” Amerika or that the U.S. has entered the age of color blindness. This, of course, is absurd. So long as national oppression exists there will be a need for national liberation struggle. U.S. Imperialism continues to keep a boot on our necks and on poor people all around the world. This is reflected in the courts, prisons and particularly in the SHU’s where we are kept in solitary confinement, which has been defined as torture.

The most unity I have with Lopez is found in her description of Alurista where she says on pg 203: “Chicanas/os cannot be truly free until they recognize that the struggle in the United States is intricately bound with the anti-Imperialism struggle in other countries”.

Lopez alludes to the interconnection of the oppressed nations as a whole as up against our common oppressor. This is essentially the principal contradiction in the world today.  That is, the oppressed nations vs. the oppressor nations and, of course, the US today serves as the world Imperialist center. It is true that today’s Aztlan needs to clip the tethers of bourgeois nationalism and take on a revolutionary nationalism which, I think, cuts to the heart of our oppression or identifies the main source: Imperialism. Only in this way will we see national liberation for Chican@s as a step toward the liberation of all humanity. What I and my study group have come to understand is that we are for the self-determination of Chican@s and Internationalists at the same time. Indeed, we understand that true internationalism cannot be fully achieved until all nations are fully liberated as Lenin stated.

Where I find the most disagreement with Lopez is oddly on that same page (203), where she states: “The struggle against racism and injustice is a global, historical struggle, and we are all – Chicanas/os, Anglos, World citizens – imbricated in a global network within which we feel the tug and pull of these small battles that are more visible and pressing post 9/11”.

Such vague phrases promote the Amerikan apologist line where some feel we are all somehow at fault or responsible for causing such oppression. This of course downplays the oppressor’s role in national oppression. What’s more dangerous in this approach, is that it then gives birth to the idea of somehow the oppressor will come to understand we are all “imbricated” in this network and allow Aztlan to stand up or support our full liberation, rather than the more correct approach of understanding that the oppressor will never relinquish their power and privilege willingly and thus the need for Chican@s to do our own Nation building.

Ultimately Literature plays a huge part in what path the Chicano nation takes in the future, thus it is up to our Chican@ cultural workers to scratch out the path word by word and letter by letter so that this body of Chican@ literature serves as the bricks in our future road to a liberated Aztlan, a socialist Aztlan. This book is one of those bricks that add to the building this path. 

This book is one of the first books I have read that tells raw experiences from a Black disabled male  viewpoint who have experienced discrimination and went on to achieve from Africa to America and doesn’t wrapped it up in a Hollywood ending because life is an ongoing struggle especailly for a Black disabled individual...

Blew me away and I thought as a Black disabled scholar that I was updated about books by Black disabled authors finally seeing Black disabled writers getting published most of the times writing about their lives however Chibike Ifechinelo Nwabude blew me away with his book, The Sad And Painful Journey of a Struggling Disabled Black Man..  Can you believe this is the first book i have the opportunity to received by the author and sat down to swallow it by a Black disabled author who has roots in Africa?

The Sad And Painful Journey of a Struggling Disabled Black Man starts in Chibike’s villages to cities in Nigeria describing his disability, Polio and how schools were not accessible to his college years and his continue struggling and discrimination in Seattle, USA before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  Although Chibike’s struggles goes all through the book,  he came from a supportive middle class family where his mom and dad seems to me embraced him as a Black disabled boy to a young man.    His struggles began very early not only in school facing inaccessible environment i.e. stairs, long distances to classes and kids attitudes but at home when his parents hired a home supporter that started to sexually abuse him.  Although in the book he described himself as a city boy and explained that the city is more accessible, the way he described the sense of community that sounded like family in the villages made me long for what he experienced.

Chibike tells us about the Nigerian civil war, the worst periods of his life.  In the three year period till today Chibike can’t tell us why the war broke out.  I can’t imagine being physically disabled teenage in a middle of a war!  At this part of the book, I went to youtbue  to learn about the war and was not surprise that it goes back to the British “empire” aka the government  benefited a lot from the war as we know the British was colonial master before Nigeria independence of October 1st/ 1960 all because the British wanted Nigeria’s oil.  His family's plan for their escape when they heard that the attacks were getting closer included Chibike going ahead in a family member's car cause they knew that he couldn’t run because of his disability.   My heart was on a roller-coster when he described waiting for his family in a refugee camp seeing people come but noticing it wasn’t his family.  Finally his family showed up.  I can’t imagine starting all over again, like housing, school and the physical state of the city especially for a young boy with a physical disability after a war.  He was lucky to come from a middle class family.  I can’t imagine being poor disabled after a war!  Just like the beginning of the war the end of the war was blunt like turning on a light switch.   My mind was like how can you go though that and the next day go to school but he did.

Of course being an American I thought at a point in the book where he is thinking about going to college in the US where his brother was that everything would be like a utopia even in back in the 80’s but damn I was totally wrong.  The amount  of discrimination that he faced from institutions college to employment made me reread the title again.  At the same time I could relate with his experiences in college where teachers were blunt by telling him he would never be a mathematician although he was passing his classes.

Poor Magazine would love the ways that Chibike continued his higher education and also providing for his family back in Nigeria and flipping the college system of pay first then take the class on its head.  When he was poor and used to signed up for the classes and at the last minute ask to take it for no credit so he could stay in the class.  After doing this many times to get credit to graduate he took all his classes with a written note from professors to the president of the college.  After a long back and forth he was granted his right to graduate.  Also many at Poor Magazine can relate to his shame of being on welfare but I just wish that Chibike could be in a Poor Magazine workshop that flip the script about this shame and the American’s capitalist thinking of pull yourself up by your boots strings.  I think he would benefit from Poor Magazine philosophy and so much more. 

Once again I thought the tides were turn for Chibike but no.  Like many Black/Brown people with disabilities in the US find themselves unemployed but if they do find employment they continue to face discrimination.  I was cheering for him when he got his fist job but the pattern of just raw discrimination on the job from White and Black managers was heartbreaking and some brought me back to some of my 9 to 5 experiences.  I can’t tell you how many times he filed an EOC complaint and he would win and then go on to another job to face the something.  Once again I looked at the title of the book and said ok it has to get better, right?  

The discrimination was not only in the workplace, as most of disabled folks find out that relationships are hard too and other things.  I can’t tell you what happened but the title of the book says it all.   What gave me hope is one he has wrote his story and two his strong family bond that really help him stay the course and his belief in God and his thrist not only to continue but to see that it is others that need to change and meet him where he achieve to be at.   

As a Black disabled activist born and raised in America one of my hopes before Chibike and I pass away is that we come together as Black disabled people not only in the US but worldwide and say hi, get to know each other that I hope would lead into supporting each other.  I know that is a big want but what the hell you live only once on this earth.  It might be hard but we, like Chibike Ifechinelo Nwabude, must write and publish our truths!

Go buy his book here   http://outskirtspress.com/webPage/isbn/9781478752196

His Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009880215742

By Leroy F Moore Jr.

In The Photo:  In the background there is a white sign with Black letters saying: Hallf of all people killed by police have a disability end racist police terror!  Terrea Mitchell with eye glasses - holding Black Lives Matter /Jeremy McDole poster, People’s Power Assemblies..In the background there is a sign that reads Stop Attacking Disabled People with a red circle with Donald Trump’s face and a thick redline crossing his.  Beside Terrea is a Black man with a sign saying People with disabilities need decent jobs livable wage, quality home and health care and transportation.

Leroy Moore:  I was so excited to see the article of people with disabilities protesting the police killing of Jeremy McDole, a 28-year-old African-American paraplegic who was shot and killed by police in Wilmington, Del., on Sept. 23 while in his wheelchair.  Give us/me some background about the People’s Power Assemblies, the activists who called for this protest and the connection between police brutality and disability.

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies: The PPA is part of the Black Lives Matter movement collective. Well reading from our mission statement: Peoples Power Assemblies (PPA) organizes to empower workers and oppressed people to demand jobs, education and healthcare while fighting against racist police terror, sexism, LGBTQ and ableist oppression. PPA is a network of activists and organizations that are committed to a world free of oppression of any kind. These are values that we hold in our meetings as well as in the streets. I am an activist who was disabled. I thought about calling an action because half of the people killed by police have a disability. I didn't feel this was being highlighted, so I brought the idea to the group to do an action on the International Day of persons with disabilities to highlight police brutality, and killing of disabled people, as well as access to decent jobs with livable wages, quality,  affordable housing, and health care.  Issues that working, and/or poor people deal with, but that particularly affect the disabled community. Ezell Ford, Natasha McKenna, David Felix, Jeremy McDole, Shereese Francis are just a few of the many disabled people being murdered by police officers nationwide.

Leroy Moore: Tell us what goes on in your meetings and how are the assemblies organize.

Terrea Mitchell of  People’s Power Assemblies:  In our meetings, we usually do a report back on actions that may have taken place the following week or two. Actions we attended to show Solidarity, or ones that we organized, or helped organize. We usually have an agenda to discuss upcoming actions, some political discussion about a current event. Attendees and members can submit an idea for an action, or event. And we also have announcements so that people from other organizations can announce their upcoming actions. There are people's power assemblies chapters across the United States. From Baltimore, Maryland, to New York City, to Los Angeles, California.

Leroy Moore:   How did/do you make the protest and your meetings accessible?

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies:  We tried to make sure our action would be accessible to disabled people by choosing a location that had an elevator and an escalator, that was fairly free of obstacles, barring the people of course and had freedom of movement. Our meetings are in a building that has an elevator. Our materials are not so accessible, but I'm still working with my crew on to resolve that issue.  We do have  a spanish interpreter, and generally if someone needs a special accommodation let us know beforehand, and we will do our best to accommodate you. Just keep in mind we are a small grassroots organization with limited monies so our solutions will be low tech and inexpensive. And if we don't know something, or you think of something better, or we were amiss in providing an accommodation - let us know. We try to think of all contingencies but we are humans but we do forget and make mistakes.

Leroy Moore:  Give us some background of the activists who attend the protest and are they deeply involve in the assemblies.

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies:Our members come from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Approximately 95% of them work full time jobs, some as many as 50 hours plays a week but they still take time to organize, plan, coordinate, and carry out an action. i.e. protests, rally's, marches, speak outs, outreach, etc. Nate Chase, KaLisa Moore, and Kim Ortiz are just a few of the PPA members who have been targeted for arrest and harassment by NYPD. KaLisa Moore is a founding member of the NYC PPA since 2013.

Leroy Moore:  Knowing that over 50% of police shootings are people with disabilities but at the same time our voices are not heard in the media and in movements how can we change that not only locally but also nationally?

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies: We change the way we are doing now, by casting light on the issue of police brutality against disabled people. We do it by going to organizations that assist and service disabled people and demanding that they make this issue front and center. We do it but advocating for ourselves, become a part of the Black Lives Matter Movement, or any organization that fights for social justice and demand that they put these issues on the table. After all it's not us vs. them people, law enforcement and the criminal justice system overall, are hurting and killing all of us, disabled or not, they make no distinction. I say this with the caveat that if you are a disabled person you must be prepared to address accessibility challenges, and other issues that go with working with fully ableist bodied people, if that makes sense. After all, you are most likely working with people that have never encountered people with disabilities or they interactions with people who have hidden disabilities. I'm saying this to say that you may experience some level of frustration as they adjust and make accommodations for your particular 

disability.

Leroy Moore:  Is there going to be a follow up from the protest and is the assemblies going to continue to work on the issue of police brutality and people with disabilities?

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies: Yes. We plan to do this again next year for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2016, and as the need arises before then.  We're taking feedback and assessments of the last action to make this an even bigger and better one. We will be reaching out earlier and more often to organizations that work with, and/or are run by people with disabilities.

Leroy Moore:  What do you think is needed in our communities to keep people with disabilities “safe” from police brutality?

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies:  What is needed in the communities to keep people with disabilities safe: is Copwatch, someone monitoring and filming  cops, asking the person if they're alright during their interaction with officers; coming out to support a protest against police brutality and to demand justice for people murdered by police; if you are not able to physically join an action support by volunteering, we need bodies and capacity to do the background work- making signs, banners, flyers, phone calls, social media etc;  support grassroots organizations monetarily with donations. We need paper, ink flyers, banners, etc.

Leroy Moore:  What is next for Peoples Power Assemblies?

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies:  We are having an action Sunday December 20th, 2016. Say no to Trump and his racist megaphone, in New York City at Trump Towers 56th street and 5th Avenue. His dangerous and racist rhetoric has resulted in black lives matter activists being beaten and  assaulted at his rallies, and violent speech and acts perpetrated against Americans of the Muslim faith and mocking people with disabilities.

Leroy Moore:  How can people get in contact with you all and any last words?

Terrea Mitchell of  Peoples Power Assemblies:  You can reach people's power assemblies by: coming to our weekly Wednesday meetings from 7 to 9 p.m., 147 West 24th Street, New York NY. Take the For 1 train to 23rd st.  2nd Fl. Solidarity Center.   Visiting our website - peoplespower.net or http://peoplespowerassemblies.org/

emailing us at - info@peoplespowerassemblies.org phoning us (212)-633-6646. We won't be holding any meetings December 23rd or December 30th 2016.

Leroy Moore:  Today I’m interviewing Neenah Gemini Caldwell of Minn who is the sister of Abrams who is a Black teen with a visual impairment and autistic.  Tell us about your brother and family first then we will get into what happened on Monday Aug 31/15..

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: My brother is just like any other teen except he just need an extra push. He is very outgoing , loves video games, his family and especially his nephew. 

Leroy  Moore:  I’m also Black and have a physical disability and has been profiled by cops also.  Reading on what happened to your brother it looks like he was profiled by police at first that led to another situation.  Can you tell us what happened to your brother on that day?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: Really can't speak on much but he was stopped I guess because he was playing on trks and because he didn't have an identification that's when things went downhill. 

Leroy Moore:  I’ve heard over and over from advocates that police need more training.  Do you think that what happened to your brother goes deeper than training if so what do you want to see come out of this?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: I want the police who did this to my brother badges removed. They could have went different routes to resolve this matter. 

Leroy Moore:  This has been a third case that I know of of Black disabled teen that have been abused by cops that lead to having seizures.  Beyond training what can the community request like some kind of doctor/nurses when police are called or something?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: They can get actual physically training with handling Disabled adults. If they had the proper raining once again none of this would've occurred. Why couldn't they simply just asked his two friends questions.?

Leroy Moore:  Have you gotten support from the disabilityBlack community and police brutality activists/groups?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: Yes , my family and I thank everyone for there support. 

Leroy Moore:  In one article, Maria Caldwell, Marcus’ mother was quoted “ Autism is not a crime!” Do you think it is up to our, Black & disabled  communities to not only focus how the police can change but how pour communities and movements need to change and support the work of Black disabled activists’ work on police brutality and other issues?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: I feel that police officers just need to understand not everyone is perfect. There are people out here that has disabilities that can't do everything the normal person does. They need an extra boost. 

Leroy Moore:  Do you think that there needs to be more programs for Black disabled youth and teens like mentor programs so they can see themselves, their culture i.e. Black & disability culture in the community?  Do you think that would help the hush hush around disability and build a sense of pride in Black disabled youth and young adults?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: Yes , I feel they should have more activities for the disabled to do. 

Leroy Moore:  How are his two friends who were with him holding up after what happened?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell:   His two friends are still kinda debased about the situation. They sticked by my brother side through this hard time. 

Leroy Moore:  After all of this, what do you see as justice for your brother and for other Black disabled young adults?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: I just want things like this to stop happening not only to my brother but everyone. They should be no reason that a police officer should brutally attack anyone.

Leroy Moore:  Have you gotten support from Black Lives Matter and other police brutality groups?  If so do you think they would benefit from disability training or more Black disability activists?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: Yes, I think they would benefit from both. If we had more disability training then we can have others out here helping and directing to the things thats necessary. 

Leroy Moore:  How can other activists help to get justice for your brother?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: Just continue doing what they have been which is reaching out to us , sharing the picture and connecting us to people. 

Leroy Moore:  Anymore that you like to add?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: I want to thank each and every person who's been in boxing , calling , and texting us. 

Leroy Moore: How can the public stay in contract with you and your brother?

Neenah Gemini Caldwell: Facebook or email.

There have been at least two "frets" in San Francisco in the past few months. A fret is where police go out in the poor neighborhoods – SOMA, the Tenderloin – and stop anyone who looks poor and/or houseless. 

The police run peoples’ names in their system and if anyone has an outstanding warrant, like for a failure to appear in the court the previous time this happened, they get booked at the jail.  This creates a huge influx of people into the jail and requires increased staffing, for which jail staff are compensated generously.  (People don’t want to work in County Jail 1, which is the intake jail, because it’s hectic and chaotic). 

The frets happen when someone important is coming to town or an event is happening and the city is trying to appear “cleaner” or like it actually doesn’t have a housing crisis created by greed.  Frets probably happen at other times too. 

I know that I don’t understand what this experience is like for people.  I have never been forcibly removed from my home or my business, plucked away from my family and friends and belongings.  I have never been detained against my will. 

And what a money-making cycle for those who profit from it.  The police officers who meet their quotas, people who work at San Francisco County Jail who get extra days off for working these particularly busy shifts, all the other billing and compensation, the court fees, and on and on.  We don’t talk about the costs of the lives disrupted, the possessions forever lost, the business transactions missed, the trauma of experiencing police power. 

A social worker told me, trying to justify the routine violent dis-locating of poor people “at least they get three hots and a cot and the chance to be de-liced.”  “Yeah, some chance,” I thought. 

photo by Michael Stoll/ SF Public Press