protest actions from San Francisco
San Francisco was not progressive for Alex Nieto, Jessica Williams or Mario Woods.
New York City was not progressive for Eric Garner, Deborah Danner or Kalief Browder.
To be clear, I could name thousands of more names of men, women, boys, and girls who’ve been victimized by systemic injustice in San Francisco and New York City. The list is painfully long, but justice is woefully and repeatedly missing in action in almost each and every case.
To this day, in New York City, many people are being held in Rikers Island for years and years without going to trial. Not only that, but it is an abusive, corrupt hell hole of an institution that should be shut down. Rikers Island is not the slightest bit progressive. With all due respect to Mayor Bill De Blasio — it’s nearly impossible to survey the mess that is Rikers Island and conclude that a compassionate progressive government is in power here.
Police brutality and racial injustice has gripped New York City for decades
Not only that, but New York City, beyond refusing to convict the officers who killed men like Amadou Diallo and Eric Garner, won’t even fire them from the police department — forcing families who call this city home to wonder, each and every day, if they will have to casually bump into the men who murdered their loved ones. This is sick.
San Francisco is no better. After it was discovered that at least 14 San Francisco Police Officers sent blatantly racist and violent text messages with one another, not a single officer has been held accountable for those text messages. In fact, because of a ridiculously negotiated deal the city made with the police union to give a one year statute of limitations on punishment for such infractions, none of the officers can be held responsible for them, because they allowed the time limit to run out without offering any discipline for a single officer involved.
In the face of this scandal and countless incidents of police brutality in San Francisco, the city formed the Blue Ribbon Panel on Transparency, Accountability, and Fairness in Law Enforcement comprised of respected judges and attorneys. The scathing report they issued featured 81 different recommendations. Months after the report was issued, the panel and the community blasted the police department for failing to act on any of them.
The NYPD, SFPD, and the local elected officials in New York and San Francisco know full well what the problems are and how to fix them, but they refuse to do so while simultaneously basking in the glory of being labeled liberal and progressive. People are tired of it and we will hold these cities, their leaders, and the businesses in these cities accountable. We must!
Lastly, for months, we planned on Standing Rock being at the center of this boycott. The Dakota Access Pipeline is an abuse and a disgrace. It is embarrassing that the indigenous people of this land are still, after all they have endured and suffered, having to fight for the most basic human dignities. The primary goal of including Standing Rock was to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through their sacred land and water supply. Many people don’t want it there and that alone should’ve been enough.
Thankfully, in a surprise decision yesterday, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that they were denying the easement, or permits, for the pipeline to be constructed there and for a comprehensive environmental study and community input process to begin. After speaking last night with the local leaders from Standing Rock, we learned that while this decision is a powerful victory for local activists, it is not a permanent one.
While the construction must be halted, this is not a full guarantee that it will not one day continue. First, the corporations and investors could literally decide to ignore the process, pay for fees and fines, and continue construction. This would be an egregious decision, but it is fully possible. Secondly, over the next year, particularly as Donald Trump is inaugurated, the review process could take a decidedly ugly turn. Trump could stack the Army Corps of Engineers with his own people, and they could quickly change course and continue construction. Many leaders in Standing Rock believe full well that this is what could happen. Here’s a good explanationof what’s possible.
For that reason, after consulting with local leaders in Standing Rock, who consulted directly with their government council, we are continuing to include Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Injustice Boycott.
In fact, we think it would be a grave mistake for us to all simply celebrate and move on from Standing Rock because of the great news that was received yesterday. While the announcement was a victory and a wonderful confirmation that we were right all along to protest the DAPL, now is the time that we call on all people to divest all monies from banks that have financed and will continue to finance the Dakota Access Pipeline.
A DeFund DAPL movement is already fully underway and we encourage you to join it. While the decision by the Army Corps of Engineers was a start, the best way to ensure that this pipeline is stopped, is to hit it where it counts — in its funding. Remove your money from all banks that are supporting the pipeline and tell them that you will never bank with them again if they continue to fund this ugliness.
While we are now on a 43-day countdown in San Francisco and New York City, we are asking that you actually make the serious decision to help DeFund DAPL today. We must move to support Standing Rock now.
And I’ll conclude with this thought. The hardfought victory won yesterday by the people of Standing Rock is both a lesson and an inspiration to all of us. When we skillfully and passionately organize ourselves, when we focus on what’s possible and on what needs to happen, instead of how permanent it seems like injustice will be, when we put aside our differences and focus on making change happen, it can happen. It will happen.
We want all of you to join the Injustice Boycott today. Sign up now @http://www.injusticeboycott.com
