Contents:
- Copwatchers Urgently Needed
- Defend Anti-Racist Organizing
- Fundraiser for Fong Lee Family
- Up in Arms: A Night of Hip Hop and Spoken Word to Honor Fong Lee and End Police Brutality
COPWATCHERS URGENTLY NEEDED
Saturday, October 3
Meet at 9:30 a.m.
Sidewalk in front of Hi-Lake Shopping Center
2216 E Lake Street, Minneapolis
Please see the announcement below. It is crucial that we defend our community from neo-Nazis. Police are likely to be present in large numbers and our observation from several other anti-racism events is that cops defend the racists and come after anti-racist organizers, especially people of color. Copwatchers need to be there on Saturday in significant numbers to prevent the kind of police brutality that has typically been perpetrated against anti-racist protesters and organizers.
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Bring a camera if you have one (video or still camera), a pad of paper and pen, water and whatever snacks, etc. you need to be comfortable. We will conduct a short copwatch training at 9:30 a.m. in preparation for the day's event.
DEFEND ANTI-RACIST ORGANIZING!
10:00 am Saturday
October 3rd 2009
Lake Street & 22nd Ave
(outside the Midtown YWCA)
This Saturday, October 3rd, 2009, the neo-nazi National Socialist Movement (NSM) has threatened to demonstrate against an anti-racist workshop being held at the YWCA on East Lake Street in Minneapolis. The NSM has declared the anti-racist organizers "traitors" to white supremacy.
This provocation also has a wider goal: The NSM has been holding racist anti-immigrant rallies in southern Minnesota, and now they are seeking to establish a presence inside the City of Minneapolis. For years Minneapolis has been a virtual "no-go" area for organized racist activity, due to the efforts of young anti-racist organizers.
In the wake of the racist attacks in Brooklyn Park last week, the nazis' threat cannot be ignored. They plan to bring their racist, homophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic message of division and hate right into the heart of the city. They must not go unopposed!
FUNDRAISER FOR FONG LEE FAMILY
Friday, October 2, 5:30 p.m.
Lao Family Community Center
320 W University Ave, St. Paul
Fellow friends and community leaders, we need your support to raise $5,000 for the Lee family's appeal to the Federal court so they can continue to fight for justice for Fong Lee, who was gunned down by Minneapolis cop Jason Andersen. Cops later placed a gun on the scene to justify the shooting of an unarmed man. The Lee family would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone of you who had supported Fong Lee case in the past and hope you all will continuing doing so until we win the case for the name of Hmong.
This event with band is $15.00 per person including food and beverage, Please come and support as we are one Hmong nation in the world. For more information, contact Nhia Vue Lee at (651)774-1451 or Vang Meng Lee at (651) 329-3172.
UP IN ARMS: A NIGHT OF HIP HOP AND SPOKEN WORD TO HONOR FONG LEE AND END POLICE BRUTALITY
Saturday, October 3, 2009, Doors open 7:30pm, Show begins at 8:00pm
Macalester College, Kagin Commons, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul
http://www.macalester.edu/about/mapbynumber.html
Suggested Donation: $5-$10
All proceeds will to go to the family of Fong Lee to assist with legal and case related fees
Up In Arms: A Night of Hip Hop and Spoken Word to Honor Fong Lee and End Police Brutality seeks to raise awareness and support of Fong Lee’s case while also uniting and activating communities around the issue of police brutality.
In July 2006, bicyclist Fong Lee was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in front of a north Minneapolis elementary school. Last May, an all-white federal jury exonerated officer Jason Anderson of using excessive force on the teenager who was shot eight times in the back. Allegations that a gun was planted near Lee’s body were ruled irrelevant to the case. For more information about the trial http://www.hmongtoday.com/page11504436.aspx
The Lee family’s quest for truth does not end with the ruling given in May, and the family has continued the long path towards legal justice.
The evening will be emceed by Tou Ger Xiong and Amy Hang. DJ Nak will be on the one’s and two’s with performances by Magnetic North (from New York City), Nomi of Power Struggle (from the Bay Area), Michelle Myers of Yellow Rage (from Philadelphia), Maria Isa, Blackbird Elements, Kyle "Guante" Myhre, Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria, e.g. Bailey, Tou Saiko Lee with PosNoSys, True Mutiny, Shá Cage, Kevin Xiong with Pada Lor, Tish Jones, MaiPaCher, Logan Moua, Bobby Wilson, Poetic Assassins, Hilltribe, and other special guests.
This event is sponsored by: Speak!, Lealtad-Suzuki Center, Asian Student Alliance, Ua Ke, DJ Club, History Department, Coalition for Community Relations, The Loft Literary Center, Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network, Shades of Yellow, Take Action Minnesota, Communities United Against Police Brutality, and Minnesota Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign.
For more information please visit Coalition for Community Relations on Facebook or contact Tou Ger Xiong at 651-738-0141