Activists Fight a Racist Police State The Black and White Reunion: Building Bridges Against Racism (from front) Workshop topics on January 26 at East Liberty Presbyterian Church will include Voter Empowerment and Election Protection 365, Challenging White Supremacy in the Workplace, Injustices in the Criminal Justice System, Gentrification and Displacement, and more. Members of BWR who are involved in police accountability issues anticipate reporting on results of a Right to Know request for public disclosure of the police union (FOP) agreement with the City of Pittsburgh, and on police and community testimony at a public hearing held December 12 by the Citizen Police Review Board on the police “99 Units” (crews of non-uniformed officers in unmarked cars patrolling city neighborhoods). The roster of prospective workshop sponsors includes Election Protection, WWHAT’S UP! (Whites Working and Hoping to Abolish Total Supremacy Undermining Privilege!), Coalition Against Violence, Alliance for Police Accountability, and at least one faith-based organization. Details on the workshops found at summitagainstracism.blogspot.com. The opening plenary will feature remarks by BWR founder Tim Stevens and a short documentary on long-time civil rights activist Sarah B. Campbell, both honored at the recent YWCA Racial Justice Awards Dinner. Other films available through BWR include Enough IS
ENOUGH: The Death of Jonny Gammage; What Does Trouble Look Like? Nate Smith’s Revolution, and Brother Outsider, on civil rights leader Bayard Rustin. The Summit is BWR’s primary fundraiser. A portion of the proceeds supports the Jonny Gammage Memorial Scholarships, which are presented by BWR, NAACP Pittsburgh, and the Negro Educational Emergency Drive (NEED) to support Black law students with an interest in studying civil rights and social justice issues at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. The scholarships are awarded to the winners of an essay contest. This year’s essay question, written by 2012 winner Chris Carter, asks applicants to choose one case of an individual killed by law enforcement and to write documents that the victim’s survivors could use as the basis for a legal case against the killers. The cases are selected from the book Stolen Lives, a compilation of hundreds of such cases, beginning with 500 from 1990 to 1997 in just the first edition. Stolen Lives is a project of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. Scholarship applications will be available at the Summit or by contacting BWR at blackandwhite_reunion@yahoo.com or 412-322-9275. The deadline to submit essays is April 15, 2013. Members of the Summit Against Racism's Planning Committee The scholarships are named for Jonny (left to right): Faith Stenning, Peta Harrigan Cole, Dorcas Gammage, a Black businessman and Amaker, Bob Maddock, Sarah B. Campbell, Celeste Taylor, philanthropist who died from positional and Etta Cetera . (courtesy Kenneth Miller) asphyxiation at the hands of white police
Celebrating the Life of Bayard Rustin by Kenneth Miller
rights. Beginning in February, the Bayard Rustin Deryck Tines Group will be fought for many launching a Bayard Rustin human rights issues in Lecture Series to be held on the his life time, including first Friday of every month. ending homophobia, Bayard Rustin's partner, Walter halting the spread of Nagle, is hoping to come to HIV, and mobilizing Pittsburgh and speak with local support services for creative commons human rights organizers. homeless gay black These organizing efforts will Bayard Rustin, champion of human rights men in downtown help guide our efforts as we Pittsburgh. He identified as black, gay, a build on Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther Quaker, and a communist. King’s successful Rustin, who helped organize the 1963 campaign which march on Washington, would be 100 years resulted in the Poor old if he were alive this year. Peoples March on In celebration of his life, the Bayard Washington. Rustin Festival was held in Pittsburgh by On Friday, the Deryck Tines Group in connection with January 25, at 7:00 World Aids Day. It featured an elders’ pm, there will be a discussion where civil rights veterans screening of the discussed this activist’s contributions. They film “Brother also showed the award winning film about Outsider” followed Bayard Rustin, The Brother Outsider. by a panel The event spoke to the many forms of discrimination that Bayard Rustin faced. As discussion. This event, cosponsored then, young gay transsexual people are still by the American homeless in downtown Pittsburgh, where Friends Service Committee PA, the Black they face continued forms of discrimination. More services are needed to and White Reunion and the Thomas Merton Center, will be held in conjunction with the support them. Some turn to sex work; Black and White Reunion. The event will many are victims of homophobia and hate be held at the Friends Meeting House, crimes. During the occupation of People's located at 4836 Ellsworth Ave in Oakland. Park in downtown Pittsburgh, some of these individuals shared our encampment and we were honored to learn more about them as we struggled together for human
during a “routine” traffic stop in 1995. This incident, and the “not guilty” verdicts in court cases against the police, inspired the founding of the Black and White Reunion, the Summit Against Racism and the scholarships. New this year will be the availability of childcare by certified volunteers. Children must be pre-registered either through the online Summit registration form at summitagainstracism.blogspot.com or by contacting Etta at writealetta@gmail.com. BWR urges everyone to pre-register online at summitagainstracism.blogspot.com so that they can make sure to have room and food for all. Volunteers are welcome at planning committee meetings on January 7, 14, and 25, 6 p.m. at East Liberty Presbyterian Church. Call 412-322-9275 for more information. Tris Ozark is a freelance writer and member of the Black and White Reunion (BWR), which hosts the annual Summit Against Racism and co-sponsors the Jonny Gammage Memorial Scholarships. Summit Planning Committee and BWR members Celeste Taylor, Kenneth Miller, Bob Maddock, Craig Stevens, and Etta Cetera also contributed to this article.
Free a Prisoner! Thank you to everyone who is giving monthly donations to the Thomas Merton Center Book 'Em Project—which sends donated books to prisoners! Book’em needs $500 a month, every month, to send packages of three books to prisoners living in Pennsylvania prisons. Volunteers meet the requests of 150 prisoners monthly. Book’em now receives about $250 a month from monthly pledges! They are still hoping to raise the additional monthly $250 to cover all project costs! Just 50 people subscribing at $5 a month would provide that needed funding and would be used only for mailing books. All contributions are tax-deductible and can be made through PayPal or a credit card. http://thomasmertoncenter.org/join-donate/
Kenneth Miller is a member of The New People editorial collective. January 2013
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