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The awakening of a new movement: Bang 4 Change 2006
Join 10,000 people this Saturday, 12-5pm, Civic Center Plaza across from SF City Hall
by Ebony Colbert
Warrior women Tenisha Bishop, mesha Irizarry and Sue McAllister lead the march marking the first anniversary of the police murder of Idriss Stelley and the subsequent police murders of Richard Tims and Gregory Hooper.
Ask any young poor person of color: “What do ‘human rights’ mean to you?”
You’ll probably get a shrug or an “I don’t know.” What’s so troubling about this is that the human rights of youth of color, more than any other group of people, are repeatedly violated – especially by law enforcement. Some youngsters don’t even look forward to their 18th birthday, convinced that someone will either end their life or lock them up. They have been robbed of a self esteem and self respect that would come naturally had they been educated about their history and taught to celebrate their own greatness.
The Idriss Stelley Foundation is an organization dedicated to law enforcement accountability and exposure of police brutality and murder. The foundation’s founder, mesha Monge-Irizarry, lost her son in 2001 when nine “peace officers” gunned him down in the Sony Metreon Theatre in San Francisco. Since then, she has made it her life’s mission to bring about a change in the system that brutalizes poor people of color every day.
After holding the Civil Rights Cookout in 2005, which drew a crowd of 400 supporters, mesha decided to take the message of basic human and civil rights and embracing our youth to a bigger audience. She’s been working with many dedicated volunteers and a number of community organizations, including HOMEYS, ANSWER, Community First Coalition, American Friends Service Committee, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, San Francisco Youth Commission – to produce what’s shaping up to be the most important event of the year.
On Saturday, Feb. 25, from 12 noon to 5 p.m., history will be made as 10,000 people fill Civic Center Plaza across from San Francisco City Hall. Bang 4 Change 2006 is the awakening of a new movement. It’s dedicated to the poor youth of color and the families, teachers and elders of these so-called “thugs” and “gang bangers.” It is an event that will erase all negative labels and replace them with “hope,” “liberation” and “revolution.”
The mission is to educate and inspire. It’s about remembering human and civil rights movements – and violations. It’s celebrating the accomplishments of our past, changing the circumstances of the present and shaping the future for generations to come, laying out clear demands and concrete solutions at the government and street level. It’s about overcoming prejudices and working together.
Bang 4 Change Civil and Human Rights Revival Fest is free and will feature local activists, artists, radio personalities, grassroots organizations and much, much more. Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee and Sgt. DeLacy Davis of Black Cops Against Police Brutality are just two of the many activists scheduled to address the crowd. In addition to the speeches, there will be lots of live entertainment, free food provided by Food not Bombs and plenty of fun for the entire family. Everyone is invited! Come and be a part of the new movement for change.
For more information on the Bang 4 Change 2006, call
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02-17-2006
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