Black Unity - All Things Afrikan

Black Unity - All Things Afrikan

A closer look into OWS and their racism

This gives you he inside view and it's all original stuff straight from OWS & POC working group I just copied and paste so you can see this is 100% actual facts.



from sonny singh brooklynwala@gmail.com
sender-time Sent at 9:48 PM (GMT-04:00). Current time there: 11:35 PM. ✆
to poc-working-group
date Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 9:48 PM
subject POC-OWS letter of solidarity from white allies
mailing list Filter messages from this mailing list
mailed-by googlegroups.com
Important mainly because of the words in the message.

hey all, thanks for a great meeting today. lots of follow ups from there coming soon (karina, can you email me the notes you took?) this note was passed to me before the meeting. we didn't have time to read it, but i thought i'd type it out and send to everyone. working with white allies will be on the agenda at our next meeting. We wish to express solidarity with the People of Color Working Group.  We want to make it clear that we are not trying to sit in on the meetings, and acknowledge and respect the importance of safe space and a people of color only group.  We see the need for white people to become actively involved in dismantling the pervasive racism at Occupy Wall Street and in greater society.  We intend to form an ally group and hope for it to be in direct communication with the People of Color Working Group.  Please send any feedback, concerns, suggestions or criticism.  We would like to meet with you in person, if anyone is down.  Please call us.

In love and solidarity,

Jen Waller  510 326 3652  


from q-bird quetzalhombre@gmail.com
sender-time Sent at 2:04 PM (GMT-07:00). Current time there: 8:46 PM. ✆
to People of Color Working Group
date Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 2:04 PM
subject POC-OWS Undemocratic methods in Occupy Tulsa.
mailing list  

Important mainly because of the words in the message.

I am a Native American/Chicano leader in Tulsa and I joined the local
group from the beginning. I helped explain Facilitation, Consensus
Decision Making and Mediation/Conflict Resolution to the group and was
elected to head up an Outreach Committee. Then I posted my thoughts on
having accountable leadership and was immediately attacked by a woman
leader (she bought the OccupyTulsa.com web page) and who has a history
of disrupting groups in this city. Then she blocked me from the main
Facebook page and even the Open Discussion Facebook page. Of course I
cannot post anything to the web site. Then this man, Samuel Molik, who
claims to be a friend of Chris Hedges, came up with a justification
for blocking me: I should not question the No Leadership model, handed
down from OWS. I should also apologize for contacting other leaders
about this. I said, while I support the goals of the OWS, we in Tulsa
have the right to create our own processes of leadership and
accountability. There is no Line or Ideology handed down on high. So I
continued my work in the Outreach Committee as I have many contacts in
the Immigration Rights, Dream Act, Native American and Latino
communities. Today I just found out that this group of self appointed
leaders created a new Outreach Working Group, without input or
decisions from the General Assembly. With new admins appointed by her,
including Samuel Molik. I can send copies of correspondence  from me
to this group for further documentation. Roberto Mendoza             918-408-9127    

Dear folks of color,

After an alarming Security report about increase of violence (the "shoelace" report on racist skinhead groups!*&(*&!) as well as the report byJaraner@s Harassed at OWS, and reports of sexual  harassment, and after an incident of racism/discrimination/intimidation I encountered--- i think it is urgent to pass an anti-racist Code of Conduct, address these issues at Safer Spaces Committee----also attempts at censoring others or silencing as also forms of racism that need to be addressed. So if there are sisters and brothers here, who can help to set up a protocol, please come to the meeting below.

Here is an email from Mathew Presto inviting member here for input.

I've been involved with the Safer Spaces Committee and we've been working hard to implement a Community Agreement and Accountability Process. We were going to begin discussing the agreement at the GA last night but had to cancel it due to the craziness with cleanup and whatnot. I'm hoping it can be con sensed upon shortly. We plan to specifically reach out to the People of Color Caucus and Women's Caucus for their input as to what should be included before presenting a final proposed version. (There are also members of each caucus involved with our committee.) I agree that structures need to be put in place to deal with larger issues, and it'staking longer than we had hoped, but I'm hoping the current infrastructure for mediation can help with your particular issue.

Safer Spaces Committee is meeting on Sunday at 5.

And/or, if you have any ideas for what you'd like to see in a community agreement, I'd greatly appreciate your input.


Peace,
Shaista

Peace everyone,
I wanted to share an article with all of you on a womyn of color being
harassed at Wall Street. It touches a nerve with me because I have
been concerned for a long time that this movement is failing to
address patriarchy and white supremacy as part of the larger picture
of why this country is the way it is with the inclusion of capitalism.
I would like to hope we are all making sure amongst ourselves we have
a safe space to check ourselves on our own internalized oppression
moving forward and make sure to keep our sisters of color safe as
well, as we bear the brunt of the burden in this country and globally:

The Value of a Safe Space: One WOC’s experience with harassment at Occupy Wall Street
By Ashwini Hardikar

Is Occupy Wall Street an inclusive movement? I’ve discussed this in-depth with so many of my friends, colleagues and comrades over the past weeks. It seemed to me that while almost everyone felt inspired by the movement, many were reluctant to directly participate. I read notes from meetings and blog posts where people discussed the unsettling elements of racism, sexism and queer/transphobia that
seemed to be present in so many of these “Occupy” spaces across the country. And at Occupy Wall Street on Indigenous People’s Resistance Day, I unfortunately came face to face with some of these elements myself. Walking with my friend M, we greeted old friends, took pictures of signs, and discussed (unsuccessfully) what kind of clever slogan we could come up with as teachers. We circled back around to the entrance, and I stood there trying to read a sign someone had posted about “ground rules” for the space. I felt an arm circle me tightly around the waist, and then a hand grabbing and squeezing my hip roughly. I quickly disentangled myself, turned, and saw a white man, probably in his late 30s, looking very pleased with himself. And I went off.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You can’t just touch people without their permission. It’s not ok to be in someone’s personal space if you haven’t gotten their consent. I have no idea who you are, you can’t just touch me!” I was yelling, getting louder and louder. I wondered if anyone was listening.

“I was just giving you a hug. I’m not allowed to give people hugs?” I couldn't believe he was arguing with me. My heart was racing. All those other times that I had been harassed or groped, and it happen
ed so quickly by a faceless assailant, or when I just felt paralyzed, flashed through my mind. All those times that I didn’t feel like I had a voice. This time, I had found mine somehow.

“No, you are not allowed to touch people if they haven’t asked you to. You’re giving this movement a bad name right now because you are going around and violating others’ space, and it makes people feel unsafe.” My voice sounded clear and very strong, even though I was shaking. Wow, I thought to myself, I know exactly what to say for once!

The man continued to argue with me. I finally told him, “I don’t want to discuss this anymore. You think about it.” He asked me one last time if he could give me a hug. “NO!” I screamed, and walked away.
As we walked, I told M I felt a bit shaken up, but that at the same time I felt empowered, and that I hoped that others had witnessed what had happened and how I responded. “You were on a roll!” M said. She gave me a (MOST WELCOME) hug and told me how proud she was of me. I hoped that my pulse would slow shortly. I thought about how ironic it was that a huge part of why I felt shaken was that I had spoken out, that I had been the center of attention loudly calling someone out. Sometimes, speaking out and not ignoring it, is the most difficult part.

We walked on further. We came across a young person chanting, “Lady Liberty is a whore!” I almost walked past him, but then I stopped. “What do you think calling someone a whore is accomplishing?” The youth was defensive and didn't really take my question seriously, but the man standing next to him thanked me for asking him that. Less than 10 minutes and two misogynistic incidents in a row. I said to M, “Wow, we’ve had a lot of crazy things said to recently, huh?” Yes, we had. The night before, we heard a group of youth yell “You fucking gook” while telling a story as we were exiting the subway. As we walked up the subway exit stairs, two men leered, “Look at this thick ass Asian girl.” Less than 24 hours, and at least 4 incidents of sexism, racism and misogyny towards women of color
directed towards me and my friend.

More stories began running through my mind from the not-so-distant past. A relative, the day before, telling me that her older white male landlord told her she had a “nice butt.” Another relative experiencing dating violence from a classmate. Women, queer and trans friends recounting that particular day’s outrageous act of interpersonal violence. My own frequent reluctance to make eye contact on
the street. So maybe this weekend wasn't that much of an anomaly afterall.

And here I was, at Occupy Wall Street, a space where people were supposedly confronting and resoundingly denouncing oppression of all kinds. I wondered why no one in the crowd of people who had seen what had happened besides M came over to me and asked me if I was okay. I wondered if anyone spoke with the man later and backed me up by denouncing his actions in a forthright manner.

The Occupy movement is inspiring for the very reason that it is an umbrella for people who believe in envisioning and constructing a different kind of world, one where justice is pursued through radically caring means. And in this world, all kinds of violence must never be excused. Within the spaces we are “occupying” at the moment, we need to be conscious of the traumas so many of us have experienced in our lives.  Our interactions with one another must come from a place of understanding that as we build community with one another, we cannot make assumptions about what types of interactions will be welcome or wanted.For women and queer and trans people of color especially, interpersonal violence has historically been intertwined with institutional violence, and the way in which we move through the world is informed by these histories and experiences. In order for the Occupy movements to be truly inclusive, they must also be safe. This will not be an easy process, but it’s one that everyone can be a part of.
Call out the violence, the harassment, the racist and queer/transphobic comments, the exclusion of people of color, queer and trans folks, and women from decision-making. Check in with those you witness being harassed, and see what kind of support they may want from you. Discuss problematic racial and gender dynamics in the space without being defensive. And then, let’s check ourselves in the process too.

Editor’s note:  Because of the prevalence of experiences like the ones Ashwini has described here, a group of people started the Safer Spaces Working Group at Occupy Wall Street in NYC.  Contact saferspaceows@gmail.com
for more information, and look for people wearing pink armbands in Liberty Square for support.
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Racism being fought within the OccupyWallStreet Movement: Philly- a case in poin

BLACK OUT! At Occupy Philadelphia

We had a Black Out! at Occupy Philadelphia. Why? Saturday,  two sisters were called Niggers by two of the volunteers at Occupy Philadelphia at the cell-phone charging stations.  They were also told to go back to Africa, and that each white man should own a slave. When the sista’s called security, security asked them to leave the premises because they thought they were apart of the UHURU movement.  Even if they were a part of that movement, they should not have been asked to leave. Especially  without any mention of their verbal and spiritual abuse. So a small collective formed a drummer’s circle on Sunday and started a rally, only to be met with on-lookers who didn't understand why there was a Pan-African flag at an “American” event.  We were called racist.  Many of the people there to support Occupy Philadelphia came to us to tell us that all of us are people and that race is behind us! They told us that we were being divisive. Bullshit.

When we circled up to come up with a constructive way to address the people, we were constantly interrupted by white people who could not respect our safe space. These people said that it was a public space, and we couldn't have a group that excuded them. Why is it when black people want to get together to work out our issues in our community we are called out? Sadly, one of the black women who came up to our group suggested we move to another location away from city hall, since we were having a private group. What?!!

When we wanted to address the people at the people’s assembly, we had to beg to get a spot on the program.  They wanted us to wait until afterwards and get on the open mic.  Also, we had  two people come up to the group and ask if we were going to be violent.  Why would be violent?? Because we are black? We eventually told the gate-keepers that we were going to be given the mic, or we were going to take the mic. We eventually got our spot. As the sister was talking about her experience, there were some members in support, and there were even members who came up to us afterwards to show support. But many of the people were asking us to hurry up, calm down and finish. One white guy used signals to get us to hurry up. We spoke out about RACISM IN THE 99 percent.We spoke out about how nobody was talking about the racist foundation of corporate greed. How do we talk about classim without taking about racism? American wealth can not be discussed without mention of free African slave labor, the rice, tobacco, sugar and cotton industry. We were called racist because we empowered ourselves and stood up for what was right.

This is not an original post by me I copied it from Black New Yorkers for Educational Excellence  this a group that I have membership in and this needs to be shared!

This is a response to Mexican's and Black's who called Me and Katt Willi...

Response video to Occupy the Hood and wallstreet