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Saving Our Selves at the Bronx Supreme Court

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Dear Comrade / Friend:

We are living in a state of emergency. In fact this world is unifying toward this state of emergency which is being largely played out amongst our youth. I took the initiative to address various issues that we face on Dr. Martin Luther King Birthday observed January 18, 2016 on the steps of Bronx Supreme Court 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451. This Press conference will be known as S.O.S which stands for Servicing Out Selves or Saving Our Selves. I’m reaching out to various grassroots organizations as well as pioneers of Hip Hop culture to help me find real solutions that confront our people. I personally would like to have at least one thousand young adults (ages 12-19 years old) present at this event. The time of the Press Conference will begin at 11am sharp looking forward to standing with you on the steps of Justice demanding JUSTICE! Will you stand with me?

– Nene Ali

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INTIKANA- Nene Ali to his left with 2 other organizers of #SOS “We talk about change, Revolution but, what happens after that? It’s either worse than before or just as bad. If each one of us took steps every single day to change our lives, what ever we have to do to change ourselves and get us closer to transformation”.
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At least 20 people came out on a bitterly cold and windy day last week. for what was to be a Student gathering to begin to take steps in the direction of Saving Ourselves at the Bronx Supreme Court.
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INTIKANA Rapping, “We Live in History”.
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Agnes Johnson from NYrs Against Bratton speaks out “We’re under Siege”, We’re living like runaway slaves and our children are internalizing this. Remember what Dr King said, “don’t walk tip toed’. Agnes talked about Police entrapment that’s been going on on the Bx buses. “Undercover cops giving bogus tickets not only to young people but, to elders. The city doesn’t send enough buses so when the bus comes down here by Yankee Stadium, people are crushed trying to get home with not enough room for them to get on. So what do people do, THEY GO THROUGH THE BACK. They have bus passes so they’re Not Jumpn the fare. Elders you have unlimited or are transferring are not jumpn the fare. BUT, WHAT DOES THE SYSTEM SAY?, THEY’RE JUMPN THE FARE. So, they send undercover cops to mingle in the crowd, THEY WILL EVEN OPEN THE BACK DOOR AND GO IN FIRST AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE FOLLOW BEHIND, Entrapment”. “I witnessed them doing this to an elder woman. The cops HELD THE DOOR OPEN FOR HER TO WALK IN and then they pulled her off, 5 of them. SHE WASN’T A TERRORIST, SHE WASN’T AL QAEDA”. “So I filmed and I send a complaint to our assembly person. I got crowds of people to call to say, STOP THIS AND SEND MORE BUSES”. Agnes then told the people that it happened again when she came down to 1 Police Plaza for an action on Eric Garner where they entrapped an elder woman on the bus. When Agnes told people to take pictures a white female cop said, “get her”.
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Julio Pabon who is running for City Council telling of when he came to the U.S from Puerto Rico at 4 years old. “District 17 which is where I’ve been all my life” “I’m not a Politician, I’m not interested in running for this office. The problem is that no one who who has lived in this district ever ran against county because any time they ran against county they got knocked out. You have to get signatures so this woman never had a challenger”. “I saved a bit of money and bought a house, we were able to organize there. Up the block there was a homeless shelter and that shelter was atrocious. People said I wouldn’t want to live here, so I said, Let’s organize around it. We brought Bloomberg up there. When he saw it he said this place has to close and within 48 hrs they closed the shelter”. A couple of years later they’re building a 7 story homeless shelter. “So we organized against that, to put it where there was more property”.
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Nene Ali, performance artist giving the crowd a taste of her rapping.
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Shannon Jones from WHY Accountability on the right,, “We have been relentless in the struggle for racial inequality, To disrupt the safe space that exists between our Gov “officials” and our police dept. We come out here in the remembrance of Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and to commit , to act and to fight. MLK was cut down at age 39, I’m 39. Imagine if my life was cut short today? MLK devoted his life to his people to matter in this world. To matter as humans, to restore collective dignity as Africans. I can drink from the water fountain but, I can’t afford to pay rent. I can sit in the restaurant but, my child can’t get on the bus without getting arrested or summonsed. These are the manifestations of the New Jim Crow in the United States.” “NOTHING HAS CHANGED, A CHOKE HOLD IS NOT A CRIME, NO ONE HAS BEEN CONVICTED FOR THE CHOKE HOLD DEATH OF ERIC GARNER”. “NO ONE HAS BEEN HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE HALLWAY SHOOTING OF AKAI GURLEY. Meanwhile, EVERYBODY IS RUNNING INTO MODELLS, these stores that support these corporate oligarchs that will give corporate $$ to gentrify you and marginalize you out of your own community”. “YOU THINK YOU’RE IN THE BOSOM BUT, YOU’RE IN THE BUTT CHEEKS BEING KEPT WARM BY THE SHIT”.
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Danette Chavis of National Action Against Police Brutality, who’s son, Gregory Chavis, killed by the NYPD on October 9, 2004, also spoke briefly. She told the crowd she was preaching to the choir. That those there are the ones in the Know and how they needed to get the word out to others to get them involved.

 

To support the work of Danette Chavis go to: www.change.org

Here is the link for the page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NationalActionAgainstPoliceBrutality

We are also Fundraising. Here’s the link: https://www.gofundme.com/POLICE-ACCOUNTABILITY

Shannon Jones – www.WhyAccountability.org

Agnes Johnson –NYersAgainstBratton.org

#SavingOurSelves

Julio Pabon- www.JulioPabon.com

Saving Our Selves

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About Cat Watters

Cat Watters is a journalist, blogger, videographer, photographer and radio host on Peoples Internet Radio. She is an expert at photographing, filming and editing footage of street protests, street actions, political rallies, and other events. Cat writes for Democracy Chronicles from Brooklyn, New York and you can tune in to her radio show at Peoples Internet Radio every Tuesday from 6 to 8pm EST.

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