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<a href="http://www.iacenter.org/archive-2006/assata-policebrut-12-2006.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://www.iacenter.org/archive-2006/assata-policebrut-12-2006.htm<br><br>
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<dd><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3 color="#990033">Hands Off Assata
Shakur! Jail Killer Cops! <br><br>
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<dd><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>12/15/2006--Anger towards
the police is growing following the deaths by police bullets of
23-year-old Sean Bell in New York and 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in
Atlanta. Thousands rallied at New York Police Department headquarters on
Dec. 6 in a militant and defiant rally that ended in a non-permitted
march, and thousands more are expected to rally on December 16 and 21.
<br><br>
<dd>The NYPD has tried several tactics to silence the outrage over yet
another killing of an unarmed Black man by police. First, they claimed
that they thought that one of the men at the scene had a gun. Then, a
week later, the cops changed their story and said that there was a fourth
man, and that he had a gun. This was followed with a dragnet that rounded
up Black men throughout southeast Queens. But no "fourth man"
was found. <br><br>
<dd>Their latest tactic has been to try to divert attention away from
themselves. On December 12, the front page of the New York Daily News and
several local television news broadcasts carried stories attacking the
Community Center at CCNY named after named in honor after Guillermo
Morales and Assata Shakur. The Daily News called Assata a
"terrorist" and "cop-killer". Not only did this story
fill the entire front page, but also a full page article inside as well
as the News' editorial. <br><br>
<dd>The Community Center was named after Guillermo Morales and Assata
Shakur in 1989 - 17 years ago. Why is it just now becoming a front page
story? Where is the breaking news justifying a front page story? The only
new development in the story is that now, while the NYPD is facing
world-wide condemnation for the killing of Sean Bell, New York
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch has launched
this attack on CCNY students in order to take some of the attention off
of killings committed by members of the NYPD. Lynch cannot justify the
actions of his killer cops, so he is trying to change the subject.
<br><br>
<dd>Who is Assata Shakur? <br><br>
</b>
<dd>Assata Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party who, like many
other Black activists in the 60s and 70s, became a target of COINTELPRO.
As part of the FBI's campaign against the Black Panther Party, Assata was
falsely accused of bank robberies and other crimes up and down the East
Coast in the early 1970s. Her real "crime" was fighting for the
liberation of Black people and other oppressed peoples from racist
oppression. <br><br>
<dd>After she was acquitted six different times on May 2, 1973, Assata,
Sundiata Acoli and Zayd Malik Shakur were ambushed by state police on the
New Jersey turnpike. A state trooper shot Assata in the arm and back as
she had her hands in the air. Another trooper was killed. Zayd Malik
Shakur was killed. Sundiata escaped and was later captured after a
massive police manhunt. <br><br>
<dd>After her arrest, Assata was shackled and chained to her hospital bed
as the police guarding her shouted racist slogans, beat her with shotgun
butts and threatened to kill her. <br><br>
<dd>One of the state troopers admitted that he shot and killed Zayd Malik
Shakur. But Assata was charged with the killing of Zayd--who she
described as her "closest friend and comrade"--as well as with
the death of the trooper. Sundiata Acoli was also charged with both
deaths. No evidence linked either of them to the shooting of the state
trooper. Defense testimony from several expert witnesses made it clear
that Assata was not involved in the shooting. Nevertheless, in 1977 an
all-white jury convicted Assata and sentenced her to life plus 33 years
in prison. Sundiata was sentenced to life plus 30 years. He remains a
political prisoner today. <br><br>
<dd>Assata Shakur escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba, where she
lives today in political exile. The United States government has offered
a $1 million bounty for her capture. <br><br>
<dd>Writing about the newly-increased bounty, political prisoner Mumia
Abu-Jamal wrote, "For centuries, nothing has so stirred up American
fury like the escape of a slave. That ain't just distant history. For
daring to slip her bonds and escape from brutal and unjust bondage, the
Empire now labels her a terrorist. That's because to them, nothing is
more terrifying than resistance to their imperial will. As for
terrorists, if they really wanna find some, it shouldn't be too hard to
find them. Just check the White House." <br><br>
<dd>A statement from CCNY students in response to this PBA-initiated
controversy said, in part, "We know that many Black people that
fought for better conditions in the 70's were framed. We consider Assata
Shakur to be one of the people who were wrongfully and purposefully
framed for her activities. And we consider her a hero and role model for
standing up for our people and putting her life on the line."
<br><br>
<dd>Guillermo Morales, a Puerto Rican freedom fighter, was a member of
the FALN who also now lives in Cuba. <br><br>
<dd>In the past 17 years, the Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community
and Student Center has provided many valuable services for the community,
including lower-cost textbooks, mentoring, printing facilities, and soup
kitchens. <br><br>
<dd>Now, Patrick Lynch, the PBA, and the NYPD have launched a public
attack on the center, demanding the name be changed. Under attack for
their killings, they are stirring up a racist hysteria against Assata
Shakur to distract attention from their terrorist actions. <br><br>
<dd>The International Action Center stands in solidarity with the student
activists--members of Students for Educational Rights, the Student
Liberation Action Movement and Dominicans 2000--who share the Guillermo
Morales/Assata Shakur Community and Student Center. We denounce the
racist campaign to demonize Assata Shakur and Guillermo Morales.
<br><br>
<dd>We encourage all progressive and anti-racist activists to join two
upcoming marches in New York: <br><br>
<dd>December 16 - "Shopping for Justice." Participants will
gather on 59th Street and Fifth Avenue at noon and march down Fifth Ave.
The rally is being organized by Al Sharpton's National Action Network,
Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, and a number of
Black and Latin@ elected officials, church and labor leaders. For more
information, call 212-603-3704. <br><br>
<dd>December 21 - Day of Outrage - Shut Down Wall Street. The march will
assemble at noon at Liberty Street and Nassau Street (One Chase Manhattan
Plaza). Organized by the Black Men's Movement and the December 12th
Movement. For more information, call 718-398-1766. <br><br>
<br>
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