Photo- Steven Taylor. Source Lee Merritt

It has been a little over two months since Steven Taylor was shot and killed by a police officer inside a Walmart in San Leandro and there has been no justice to his memory. Taylor was unhoused at the time and experiencing a mental health crisis, but rather than calling for a trained mental health expert or the city’s homeless bike police unit, police officers shot him, for holding a baseball bat. National attention to similar police brutality cases has galvanized local San Leandro organizers, and over 70 people attended the June 15th San Leandro City Council meeting to demand justice for Steven Taylor and call for defunding the police. 

In a meeting that lasted well into the early morning hours, the San Leandro City Council was split on approving the city budget. While three councilmembers voted to delay the budget vote, the remaining four councilmembers voted to approve the budget and re-allocate $1.7 million dollars that would have gone to the police department to other community services. This should not be interpreted as truly ‘defunding the police’ as the original city budget included increases to the police department annual budget of over $40 million. 

Among the police budget cuts for the $1.7 million is the popular San Leandro police homeless bike unit. A component of the San Leandro homeless compact, two officers work as case managers to unhoused individuals and assist the Recreation and Human Services department in providing transportation, resources, and social services. A recent media article frames the issue of defunding police as pitting this service to the unhoused against reducing police brutality, a particularly cruel irony given Steven being unhoused at the time of the incident. In reality, the police department has no reason to be involved in mental health services or community outreach to the unhoused. Even if the officers are acting as case managers for the individuals, they are still being called on by businesses and residents to protect property and profit. There is no need for a militarized presence in communities, let alone in unhoused communities.  

The choice between services for the unhoused and reducing police brutality is a false one. To truly keep communities safe and cared for, such services need to be invested in and placed under more appropriate departments such as Recreation and Human Services. The police budget needs to be cut more drastically and funds need to be reallocated to community programs such as mental health services and resources for the unhoused. This is what justice for Steven Taylor needs to look like. 

We Still Need Justice For Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin THEY SURVIVED

Bryson Chaplin

Andre Thompson

THEY SURVIVED

by Justice for Andre Thompson & Bryson Chaplin 

from occupied Squaxin, Nisqually, Chehalis territory in colonized Olympia, WA and thurston county - from Poor News Network PNW

With Love and Anger We make Demands and invite You to Help put our Demands into Action 

We Demand that the case involving the racist attempted murder of Black, brothers, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin (they survived) by white poLice terrorist Ryan Donald be REOPENED, and that an OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION starts immediately.

POLICE SHOULD NEVER INVESTIGATE THEMSELVES and create expensive false narratives on the taxpayers dime

Kops are lying liars. Ryan Donald is a liar.

Fire officer Ryan Donald, no paid leave, no pension JAIL KILLER KOPS!!!!  Prosecute Ryan Donald for attempted murder of Andre and Bryson!  Ryan Donald caused permanent disabilities to Andre and Bryson!  HE IS STILL A KOP TODAY!!!!

We demand that thurston kounty prosecutor JON TOONhime be FIRED.  He has never held a poLice officer accountable for poLice terror.  He’s the most dangerous local politrickster among us.  

Until there is abolition of poLice, we need RADICAL REFORM! 

WE DEMAND A PEOPLES PROSECUTOR here in thurston kounty and to break up this racist Ol’ Boys Club of hoarded power.

We demand ALL the officers involved in the cover up of Andre and Bryson’s shooting be reprimanded! ALL OF YOU! There’s not a bad apple! It’s a spoiled rancid bunch!

We demand to know how much money the shitty city of Olympia and thurston kounty spent protecting and defending Ryan Donald during kourt proceedings (both “criminal” and civil) - including the so called “reenactment” in civil kourt, made to make Ryan Donald look like a victim. False narrative re-enactments that turned Ryan Donald’s narrative into three different orchestrated performance pieces. THEY HAD TO HAVE SPENT MILLIONS.  Right now Andre and Bryson struggle to pay rent! Please support the family financially http://paypal.me/OlympiaSURJ 

We Demand that Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin's personal belongings be returned to them from the evidence hold!  They NEVER got their belongings back. The poLice have been stalling long enough and the Chaplin-Thompson family want everything returned, clothes, shoes, phones, skateboards, etc.

The only people who went to jail for Ryan Donald’s murder attempt were the victims of the shooting, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin. THAT IS AN OUTRAGE!!!

We Demand that Ryan Donald and all the thurston kounty, Washington state and olympia killer poLice be held responsible for killing Loved Ones, Jose Ramirez-Jimenez, Joel Nelson, Vaneesa Hopson, Jeffrey McGaugh, Nephi Leiataua, Yvonne McDonald and Sok Chin Sonthose. We demand Justice for all Loved Ones killed by our local poLice not named here! Hold all the politricksters and poLice accountable who covered up and caused these deaths!  Hold The System accountable for not investigating SO MANY missing and murdered Black and Indigenous people!

We Demand that Mayor Selby step down.  JUST STEP DOWN.  Find a different job.  MAYOR MAYO SELBY NO MORE.

white Olympia Mayor Mayo Cheryl Selby recently compared the racist shooting of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin THEY SURVIVED to the poLice lynching in Minneapolis of Black, Loved One, George Floyd in a public press release. SHE TOLD ON HERSELF when she did that.  She said there have been “changes” since the shooting of Andre and Bryson. She called Andre and Bryson by first name.  DON’T YOU CALL THESE YOUNG BLACK MEN BY THEIR FIRST NAMES AND CLAIM “CHANGE.” The poLice terror has not stopped.  Not for our family, not for our UNhoused neighbors, not for our Community.  Certainly not for Ryan Donald!!!!

TO OUR OLYMPIA AND EXTENDED COMMUNITY WE INVITE YOU TO LEARN MORE AND TO PLEASE TAKE ACTION 

for background about Andre Thompson and BRYSON Chaplin please read:

Two sons shot in the back by police: A mother’s cry for justice by Crystal Chaplin in the BayView https://sfbayview.com/2016/04/two-sons-shot-in-the-chest-by-police-a-mothers-cry-for-justice/

Shots Fired by Crystal Chaplin here in Poor Magazine https://www.poormagazine.org/node/5880

André Thompson and Bryson Chaplin Explain How It Feels to Survive a Police Shooting, They are brothers, and they both lived through it. by Siloh Radovsky for Teen Vogue  https://www.teenvogue.com/story/andre-thompson-and-bryson-chaplin-explain-how-it-feels-to-survive-a-police-shooting

What it's like to survive being shot by the police: Andre Thompson by vicenews https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/a3jjba/police-shooting-survivors 

Keeping Up with those KKKourt Dates: Justice for André and Bryson  in Poor Magazine https://www.poormagazine.org/node/5550 

The PoLice Terror of Olympia's Ryan Donald in Poor Magazine https://poormagazine.org/node/5865

Watch the short video Delivering T-shirts: Justice for Bryson and André https://youtu.be/WSh357NxkVk 

PLEASE FEEL OUR FIRE AND RAGE AND LOVE AND HELP  EMBODY OUR DEMANDS AND PUT THEM INTO ACTION 

We don’t have scripts - you could create some!!! Make calls! Make signs! Create murals! Scream across the Salish Sea!

CALLING MAYOR SELBY and our shitty officials is a place to start. 

Olympia City Council, PO Box 1967, Olympia, WA 98507-1967

Phone: 360-753-8447 (Olympia City Council)

Email: cselby@ci.olympia.wa.us

Call the kop loving Prosecutor who never holds kops accountable Jon TOONhime (360) 786-5540 

Call the Olympia PoLice Department, PoLice cheef Aaron Jelcick 360.753.8300

contact 

Governor Jay Inslee, Office of the Governor

PO Box 40002 Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Phone: 360-902-4111 TTY/TDD call 711 or

1-800-833-6388

E-Message:  https://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/send-gov-inslee-e-message

THE CHAPLIN-THOMPSON FAMILY NEEDS A GOOD LAWYER and legal support to help with these demands and Struggle for Justice!  Please help connect the family with legal support send an email to Crystal Chaplin at olympiasurj@gmail.com.

#JusticeForAndreAndBryson #FireOfficerDonald #JailKillerCops #ReopenTheCase #FuckThePolice #BurnItDown #DisabilityJustice

WE DEMAND THIS CASE BE REOPENED AND THAT THERE IS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION

Sending love to all survivors of poLice terror and to everyone who has lost a Loved One to killer kops. REOPEN ALL THE CASES 

BLACK LIBERATION MEANS COLLECTIVE LIBERATION AND WE WANT IT NOW

At Herbert Circle the view reaches from Eastside to San Pedro, from the Chicano Alps to shores of the North Pacific.

People hurry here from carne asada and weenie grills to huddle in the middle of the street.

To seize from the holiday a way of seeing themselves in their own light.

In anticipation for darkness to come rushing, for the show to begin,

I was early to stand among the crowd.

Following the first explosion from an artillery shell others take flight.

In an instant, night is set on fire.

Forbidden fireworks become sight.

Ground shakes.

Bright, boom, ah inhabitspace.

After just a moment, the wind carries pungent scents of sulfur to every hillside and hole.

The barrio flexes its muscle.

Youths assemble demonstrations, a competition for best in show with a combined sense of mischief and pride.

Parents gleam.

Children cheer from deep in the chest.

And abuelas caution missing fingers, encouraging grandchildren to run away from a hissing fuse.

Roman candles.

Piccolo Pete’s.

Butterflies.

Buzz grenades.

Fire crackers.

Cherry bombs.

M80s.

Sticks of dynamite.

Rockets rage.

Night sky filled with deafening thunder in hues of red, purple, green.

Blinding light.

Screeches.

Smoke.

Shots.

Screams.

Not from cops.

Not because of ICE.

Not tonight.

Not on the 4^th of July in City Terrace.

Following the show, we applaud the effort with full expression.

Some people whistle.

Others watch smoke figures retreat into the clouds, etching shapes of light in memory, storing sounds of pride for other times.

Kids promise parents to take part next year.

Elders slowly retreat, looking over their shoulder for one last blast.

And I, peering over the city from an ancient hillside, wish for an encore.

Silence ensues.

The Eastside is now, for a moment, all calm.

The recent shooting in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district on June 22nd that left several people wounded was a sad reminder that even with the pandemic of covid-19 running rampant amongst us there is always room for not only police brutality, but for community violence. It’s horrible enough that we hold on to our families with paralyzing fear of police terror, we also have been cornered by a few unconscious folks from our very own communities that traumatizes us as well. 

In our hoods, there has been violence committed against elders at random, assaults on minors by adults and way too many unnecessary brawls where in some cases elders have egged on the youngsters, instigating fights that could have been avoided. Calling the police to deal with some of the issues had proven to be an epic fail as testimony from those in the community ranged from being treated fairly by very few authorities, to being made to feel inferior by officers who didn’t take the situation seriously and in one case, a cop smirked at a resident because he thought that the person was faking an injury. The question is what do you do when you have community conflict but no confidence in an institution that has taken an oath to protect and serve you? Who can broken people turn to when we cannot rely on a broken system that BROKE all of our spirits in the first place? How do you solve problems within the hood with only the input of just the hood?

Indeed there was a time when strong, fierce but wise elders had taken on the duty of being the mediators and regulators in the neighborhood and the younger generation did not show disrespect to the solutions the elders set forth, nor did we disobey them. If there were serious offences then the fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins and grandfathers would stand up as enforcers to ensure everyone’s safety. Everyone came together to guide the children in the right direction and no crime a youngster had done, especially in the presence of an elder went unpunished. Young girls rarely went out after dark without being accompanied by a male relative and we were taught to be an upgrade from the previous generation by not following in the footsteps of the elders’ shortcomings. Unfortunately that way of life slid through the cracks of community responsibility and has gotten lost.

Police departments from California to Georgia have been catching heat for the recent deaths of unarmed black citizens and others of universal majority and poverty status. Protests erupted across the nation and worldwide condemning a crime that has been committed against black folks since the kidnapping of our Ancestors from the motherland centuries ago. However, if

we are to address the violence our neighborhoods endure, we have to go across the whole board and name every angle whether it be a cop or a miseducated knucklehead that affects our communities and our lives. To turn the other cheek to the crimes that are being committed against us out of fear only enables wrongdoers, no matter who they are, to stagnate progress and continue to violate us with impunity.

As far as the hood goes, I overstand that there is an indescribable amount of pain, trauma, anger, tragedy, ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder AND post traumatic slave disorder), poverty, death, addiction and homelessness but the fact is that we must come together collectively and heal from these community ailments. We must re-learn to unpack the generational layers of inhumane treatment that have some folks possessing the mindstate of beastiality similar to the oppressors. Educate the children with wisdom and teach them right from wrong, skool them on why it is important that we show up in large masses whenever there is an issue of unjust instead of showing up by the dozens to spectate a boxing match. It is a difficult task but with a deep breath and logical thinking it can be accomplished.

Queennandi

This summer's People Skool for people with race, class and/or formal education privilege is coming up on August 29 and 30th! This workshop is aimed at service providers, media creators, educators, organizers, researchers, artists, legislators, policy-makers, donors/philanthropists, students, community members- anyone who wants to learn about following Black, Indigenous POC and poor leadership and aligning your work with poor people-led self determination movements. 

Fill out the application here or go to racepovertymediajustice.org to download a paper application and learn more. Please fill out the application by Tuesday August 25!

(please note- the application is long- it is the first step in the learning of this workshop, and includes reflecting on your life and circumstances).

Contact deeandtiny@poormagazine.org if you have questions, or if you want to find out about People Skool for poverty skolaz)

“We pay your salaries and you have your assault rifles ready to shoot us unarmed protesters!?!? Stop paying them, people!” A poverty skolar shouted from the crowd where about 100 people had gathered in front of the Tenderloin police station in SF to speak up against police terror, murder and blantant brutality that is swiftly plauging many states in the nation once again.

 Worldwide unrest opposing the murders of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Atatiana Jefferson

and Ahmaud Arbery will not “quiet down” anytime soon, nor should it, because as long as the

police perpetuate a form of domestic terrorism our voices shall be heard in unison demanding

justice for our murdered loved ones.

While president trump was at a rally in Arizona making up racist names to replace the name of

“co-vid” Rayshard Brooks was being laid to rest in a private celebration of life service in Atlanta

and people including young students took to the streets in Berkeley and San Francisco in

opposition of police terror.

Protesters that were at the Tenderloin police station had also called out the constant

criminalization of the homeless in the city by police and other officials citing that power washing

away poor people’s tents without having adequate resources available for those in need with

housing, mental health and substance abuse problems is not the solution to the houseless

epidemic but to support those in crisis during the covid pandemic and not leave people in the

streets basically to die.

The demand was to cease the abundance of funding to police departments and take some of

the financial resources and redirect them into more programs that would serve the communities’

needs such as education, healthcare, affordable housing, mental/drug treatment programs and

most of all - equal opportunity.

“Every time there is a crisis or a state of emergency due to a disaster, poor people’s lives are

always looked over and swept under the rug” said one protester. “Our lives do not matter not

only when it comes down to the police, but the system as a whole.”, Some folks argue that if the police departments were to be defunded, that the crime rate will hit the roof because there would be no police officers to serve and protect the citizens. Unfortunately not every cop on the job “protects and serves” unless they are protecting more affluent neighborhoods and serving impoverished folks with the butt of their billy clubs-or worse.

The excuse of police brutality victims engaging in alleged criminal activities is played out and

does not give authorities the right to hand out death sentences, with that said the criminal

activity amongst police departments must be called out indefinitely because criminals in uniform do not deserve one red cent from the very people that they (police) oppress and kill on a daily

basis.

The severe discord between the police and the black community has its history of not only

brutality, but fear itself because who in the community would dare call a cop when the chief

himself was the grand dragon of the KKK? The deep-seeded racism that “kept colored folk in

their places” is also a tactic that conditioned black communities and other communities of color

to become complacent with being victimized and refusing to report crimes out of fear of being

killed and nowadays, deported and with that layer added we have a long way to go.

I am Tiburcio Garcia, a formerly homeless youth who goes to school at Deecolonize Academy. I am someone who is able to gaze along the spectrum of class, walking a fine line between privilege and poverty. I have privilege in so many ways, a loving, kind, mother who constantly supports and educates me, a community to lift me up immediately when I fall, friends who have my back, and a healthy relationship which on my part is due to the mannerly way I was raised. However, in the eyes of this government and many others, I am seen as someone with hardly anything, struggling to survive. That’s why the project that was started by my mother, grandmother and everyone else at POOR Magazine is so important to me. That project is called Homefulness, and it's what's making sure me and my mother aren't homeless to this day.

Homefulness is a poor peoples solution to homelessness, and we are starting another one. July 21, a day that is divisible by 3, was the day that we decided to start on the second version based off of the template of the original Homefulness, only two blocks down. I can still feel the grass snaking around my ankle and the weeds and vines getting stuck to my gloves. The air was saturated with pollen, and the sounds of weed whackers in the background were blending with the noise of cars passing by and multiple conversations. After a couple of minutes of hard work, pulling up grass and snipping particularly vicious fennel, I started to feel the sweat from my hair run down my back, and the hairs on my arm crisping. It was a “I need water right now even though I had a cup 5 minutes ago” day, and all of the students of the summer camp we were attending were working hard next to other residents of homefulness and members of POOR Magazine.

This land that Homefulness resides on isn't an ordinary plot, and those weeds that we were cutting were going to disappear eventually because without our intervention that innocent half-pavement, half overgrown lot would have spelled doom for our community. We originally found out about this land while doing our Hoarded Mama Earth and Community Reparations research, and we later found out that land would have become 20 luxury condominiums, bringing in a hoard of gentrifiers that would have completely changed the ecosystem of this environment, just like it did in the city I was born and raised in, San Francisco, and eventually had to move out of due to eviction caused by that gentrification. 

I am formerly houseless, and in the eyes of the system, I am not privileged in the slightest. I don't see that. I know I am one of the most privileged people on this -planet, because I actually get to shape history as it progresses. I am young, but I get to be a part of a project that will house thousands of families just like mine all over the world one day. On that day July 21, I got to lay the groundwork for Homefulness 2, the second homeless peoples solution to homelessness that will very well house and give privilege to kids just like it did for me. 

My name is a ziair and As I walk on the campus and get ready  for Summer camp at Deecolonize Academy I sit down and eat then we did  martial arts with brother mink.

 Afterwards we all sat down and talked about how we're gonna go to homefulness 2 When we got  there we prayed. Everybody had goggles Shields and gloves  We brought trash bags, Rakes and  weed cutters We are paired Up into teams and got the garbage from off the site,we also cut the weeds.

We were cleaning up the site there was a lot of shattered glass and old glass bottles and the land looked like a jungle,We chopped all the weeds Cut and rake the grass then took a break for the interview the show what we were doing,   everyone was hot and sweaty,what we were was a goal that we got it done because it was important.We got there at 11am and ended at 12pm

 Cleaning up  is fun and pretty good exercise.  Starting at homefulness #1, which we are still trying to build as poor and houseless peoples to then make Homefulness #2 happen is a big Journey but with all our family we made it happen and are liberating another small part of land.

 Us all being homeless we never had a home that was stable or place we could go to count on so that's why we're providing it for the homeless Now because we knew how it felt to not have one To lean on and have no support.

in conclusion: as we closed out the land, it look better already.  We shared our thoughts about well we did and then prayed.It was very needed  that we did all that stuff so that we can take care of our and not junk It Up ,I'm glad I was able to help out.