For Immediate Release:
August 15, 2017
Contact Person:  Dante Strobino 919-539-2051

Durham Community Demands Drop the Charges on Confederate Statue Protesters, Stand in Solidarity with Charlottesville Anti-racist and Anti-fascist Activists

When:  Tuesday, August 15, 2017 @ 4:00 pm

Where:  N.C. Central University, Communications building, 501 E. Lawson St., Durham, N.C.

On Monday, August 14, activists from anti-racist, anti-fascist and progressive groups participated in a mass action that resulted in the removal of a Confederate statue from the property of the Durham County in downtown Durham. The protest was organized by Workers World Party in response to the Nazis, K.K.K. and white supremacist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia that resulted in the cold-blooded murder of anti-racist activist Heather Heyer.

“The people decided to take matters into our own hands and remove the statue,” stated Takiyah Thompson, member of Workers World Party and student at N.C. Central University, who climbed to the top of the statue to tie a rope around it’s neck before the crowd tore it down. ” We are tired of waiting on politicians who could have voted to remove the white supremacist statues years ago, but they failed to act. So we acted.”

At 4:00pm on Tuesday, August 15, Durham community activists will host a press conference to demand:

1. The Durham County Commissioners and the Durham Sheriff’s office to drop the charges on all anti-racist protesters involved with August 14 action.
2. Governor Roy Cooper to call for immediate removal of all Confederate statues across the state.
3. The Durham County Commissioners and City Council to organize mass public forums to allow the community to speak-out about their concerns for public display of Confederate statues.
4. Drop all charges against all anti-racist, anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville or those that have been arrested there fighting white supremacists.

Call District Attorney to demand the drop the charges against all protesters: 919-808-3010

Durham, North Carolina August 14, 2017

The Rasmea Defense Committee wants to thank the over 1,200 people that attended our #HonorRasmea event in Chicago Saturday, August 12th (official report will be out soon, but check out U.S. Palestinian Community Network on Facebook for the livestream, and also search #HonorRasmea on twitter for incredible pictures, video, and recap of the historic night!), all the endorsers of that event, and the thousands who have stood with Rasmea throughout the past four years.

We need to ask you to come out one final time…

Stand with Rasmea at her sentencing August 17! All out for Detroit!

Thursday, August 17, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time

(rally at 1:30 PM, hearing starts at 3 PM)

U.S. District Court, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., downtown Detroit, Michigan

The Rasmea Defense Committee, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Committee to Stop FBI Repression, and Chicago Coalition to Protect People’s Rights are urging everyone to join us in Detroit, August 17, to show our love and support for Rasmea at her sentencing in federal court. The will be her last court appearance and Rasmea is planning to make a statement.

The plea agreement, which has already been reached, states that Rasmea will not get additional jail time – but she will have to leave the U.S.

Given the near daily attacks on Rasmea in the right-wing and pro-Israeli media, we expect that a fair amount of attention will be focused on the sentencing. It is critical that the courtroom be filled with her supporters.

In Chicago, contact Joe Iosbaker at joeiosbaker@gmail.com if you want to attend the hearing.

Rasmea Defense Committee

Brave anti racist activists and community members in Durham, NC are being threatened with arrests for protesting a white supremacist monument, please take a few minutes today to contact the Durham County Commissioners and Sheriff’s office and demand that NO ONE face any legal consequences!

Sheriff: Michael D. Andrews (919)-560-0853

District Attorney’s Office: (919) 808-3010

County Commissioners:
Wendy Jacobs: (919) 418-3169 | wjacobs@dconc.gov
Brenda Howerton: (919) 544-4160 | bhowerton@dconc.gov
James Hill: (919) 536-8820 | jahill@dconc.gov
Ellen Reckhow: (919) 383-3883 | ereckhow@dconc.gov
Heidi Carter: (919) 225-4268 | hcarter@dconc.gov

Durham, North Carolina August 14, 2017

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/08/15/531884/US-racism-Trump-Abayomi-Abayomi

Read and listen to this statement delivered by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, to Press TV on the recent gathering of racists and neo-fascists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Azikiwe notes that these groups have experienced a resurgence in recent years and there are neo-fascists embedded in the administration of President Donald Trump. What is needed is a well-organized mass movement to eliminate racism and neo-fascism from the United States, the journalist concluded.

http://www.ncil.org/

NCIL strongly condemns the racist and anti-Semitic violence that occurred over the weekend in Charlottesville, VA. We are horrified by the loss of life and brutality that took place at the hands of violent white supremacists. We especially honor and acknowledge Heather Heyer, who was killed when a white supremacist deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of counter protestors, injuring 19 people who were putting their bodies on the line in the fight for justice. We decry the lack of police response to the escalating white violence in Charlottesville. We stand in solidarity with all of those who have not allowed racist and Anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence to go unchecked in their communities.

NCIL is committed to fighting bigotry in all its forms, including white supremacy, within our own disabled communities. Disabled people are represented in all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexual orientations. We recognize that ableism impacts and is impacted in turn by other forms of oppression, including racism and anti-Semitism. To focus on ableism as a singular phenomenon, separate from other forms of oppression and violence, is to doom our movement to fail. We specifically lend our support to Black and/or Jewish people who were directly targeted by the hate speech espoused by the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. We also condemn and denounce the transphobic and homophobic hate speech on display in Charlottesville.

NCIL continues fighting against oppression every day. We are committed to dismantling the white privilege and racism in disability communities and prioritizing intersectionality as a key component of our work. We have a long way to go, but together, we can be a powerful force for justice.

UE Charlottesville

https://www.ueunion.org/

“…We should not lose sight of the reason why white supremacists unleashed their fury on the people of Charlottesville. They were protesting the city’s decision to remove the statue of a Confederate leader, a traitor, who believed African-American people should be enslaved.

UE stands with the people of Charlottesville and all of their allies who marched against the bigots and bravely stood up to hatred, racism, and violence.  Our union was founded on the principles of equality for all — regardless of who you are, where you came from, or what you believe. UE local leaders and members enforce these principles in our workplaces and communities every day. We reject Trump’s pandering to white supremacists and hatred which is contrary to the core principles of UE.

On behalf of our union, we send our sympathies to the family of the young woman who lost her life fighting for justice and to the two officers who died in the line of duty on August 12. We will mourn their deaths and fight like hell to stamp out the scourge of racism, bigotry, and hate.” https://www.ueunion.org/

http://cbtu.ca/2017/08/the-coalition-of-black-trade-unionist-ontario-canada-statement-condemning-recent-displays-of-hate-and-violence-in-charlottesville-virginia/

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist Ontario-Canada (CBTU) stands with the people of Charlottesville Virginia against the recent wave of hate and violence that has visited the city. Unlike the 45th President of the United States CBTU Ontario-Canada will not hesitate to condemn the white supremacy that has fueled the most recent displays of hate and violence in that city, throughout the United States and into Canada. CBTU will further not hesitate to label those at the engine of white supremacy as domestic terrorist both north and south of the Canada/United states border.

As such The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist in Canada encourages the Canadian Government to stand and support the interests of Canadians and their families both traveling and living throughout the United States. Examples of support include but are not limited to travel advisories for Canadians traveling in the United States and Canadian operated safe zones for those caught in the escalating and frequent civil unrest.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” As such CBTU-Ontario cannot and will not remain silent about the injustice, inequity, division and hate flowing from the United States while negatively affecting and influencing Canadians.

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist Ontario-Canada (CBTU) stands with those committed to the elimination of racism and the defence of diversity and inclusion.

August 13, 2017

Tear down White Supremacy! Art by Melanie Cervantes

#AltWrong #CtrlAltDelete #Charlottseville #Virginia

National Day Laborer Organizing Network

Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)

http://www.prideatwork.org/

For Immediate Release

August 14, 2017

Contact: Jerame Davis – jdavis@prideatwork.org

Pride at Work Condemns Acts of White Supremacy in Charlottesville, VA

Washington – Pride at Work stands firmly against all forms of white supremacy and terrorism in this country and around the world. What we saw on Saturday in Charlottesville was a horrible act of bigotry and hate and a reminder that we have a lot of work to dismantle all forms of white supremacy that are still present today.

We cannot achieve racial justice without economic justice. Pride at Work and our allies will never stop standing up to hate. We will confront evil wherever it exists. Our hearts are with the community of Charlottesville and the family of Heather D. Heyer who died standing up for what she believed in. The best way to honor her memory is to never stop organizing for economic, racial and social justice.

In solidarity,

Shellea Allen and Tim Schlittner, Co-Presidents

Jerame Davis, Executive Director

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Pride At Work organizes mutual support between the organized Labor Movement and the LGBTQ Community for social and economic justice. We seek full equality for LGBTQ Workers in our workplaces and unions and we organize in the spirit of the union movement’s historic motto, “An Injury to One is An Injury to All.” Learn more at www.prideatwork.org