YOUNG GIFTED AND BLACK and JUSTIFIED ART Presents: YOUTH ART SHOWCASE AT THE OVERTURE

Calling all poets, dancers, musicians, singers, visual artist, and mc’s !!!

***If you are a youth or know a youth still Interested in Performing, Please hit me up at attire.banks@gmail.com, message me on Facebook, or
call/text me at (312)- 802-3977****

Young Gifted and Black and Justified Art are showcasing youth ages 8- 21 MAY 20th to express themselves and feeling towards State Violence and the Killing of Black People from Police Brutality.

We are looking for youth ages 8-21 to comet and share your talent with everyone at the Overture Center.
All art showcased must have a social justice message and be inclusive!

WED. MAY 20th is the Date of the Actual performance.

Everyone is Welcome.

***If you are a youth or know a youth still Interested in Performing, Please hit me up at attire.banks@gmail.com, message me on Facebook, or
call/text me at (312)- 802-3977****

A Statement from the YES Collective
Comfort Barlow, Berenice Garcia, DaShanna Lomack, Naomi Makesa, Yasmine McNeal, Skye Moss
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
youthempoweringstudents@gmail.com

It has been a week since Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne announced that there was not probable cause to indict Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny in the killing of Tony Robinson. The following days have given us time and space to reflect, but they have not dulled our anger and grief, nor have they diminished our resilience and resolve.

Time cannot turn our thoughts from discrete instances of state-sanctioned police violence; rather, time has given us opportunity to understand how the ‘slow death’ of the prison-industrial complex, poverty, privatized social services, and food deserts provide a context to the ‘fast deaths’ at the end of a gun barrel. However, it has always been clear that time is not on the side of people of color, and that is why the time for action is now.

As students of color attending James Madison Memorial High School, and as women of color, we are particularly attuned to how our schools have become incorporated into the prison-industrial complex and shaped by white supremacy. Neither in our teachers nor in our curriculum do we see our identities, our histories, or our lived experiences reflected, and we want to be seen by our teachers as capable and human. We are subject to disproportionate levels of surveillance and discipline that replicates and sets us on a course for the criminal justice system.

In response to these injustices, we demand the following of the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD):

• Eliminate practices that connect schools to the prison-industrial complex
• Implement practices that are culturally-responsive and accountable
• Hire more teachers of color
• Support and invest in teachers of color once hired
• Institute mandatory mandatory ethnic studies
• Shift away from an Eurocentric curriculum

It is clear to us that the justice system is not and has never been an adequate mechanism to make black lives matter. We must tap into our creativity in order to liberate ourselves.

Our work in our schools has just begun. Over the coming months, we will continue to refine our demands for MMSD and build solidarity with other student-led groups, as well as other movements, parents, community members, teachers, staff, and administrators, who share similar goals.

Please contact us to find out how to support us and more ways to become involved with our group. We meet at 4 pm on Tuesdays at the Lussier Community Education Center (LCEC).

http://www.motherlandmediacoop.com/

Our mission is to create inspirational, informational, and a wholesome entertainment media voice on behalf of the African American Community.

http://peoplespowerassemblies.org/signshalanapetition/

Shalana Little’s arrest for “Lynching” is an outrage. She stands trial in June – Take action now!

SIGN the ONLINE PETITION HERE

On December 19, 2014, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Shalana Little, an activist in the Ferguson solidarity movement in LA, on the outrageous charge of felony “lynching”, following the aggressive tactics of the police to disrupt a march in Hollywood. She was severely mistreated during her arrest, was held on $30,000 bail for four days, and finally released on Christmas eve. Although the lynching charge has been dropped against her, she faces the possibility of years in prison on the remaining charges…

What you can do:

1) Click here to sign the petition demanding that the Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer drop all charges against Shalana Little, Xaime Casillas, and all other protesters now.

2) Make a personal phone call to the Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer directly at 213-978-8100, and demand that Shalana’s and Xaime’s charges – and all other charges against protesters – be dropped. Twitter storm @Mike_Feuer and @cityattorneyla with the following tweet:

@Mike_Feuer @cityattorneyla Drop the charges against Shalana Little, Xaime Casillas and all who protest racist police killings NOW!

3) Contribute to Shalana’s and Xaime’s legal defense fund

Shalana Little (on right in cap) and Xaime Casillas (at center in suit and tie) with supporters in front of county courthouse in Los Angeles.

Make a contribution: http://tinyurl.com/kow9nao

Fourteen Young Activists Travel to Cuba, June 10-18

Taking leadership from the most oppressed, listening to the voices of those who struggle courageously for the liberation of all people – this is the foundation of our politics, building a society where human needs come before profits. When our nation-wide group of young activists was invited to study with and learn from Cuba’s historic women’s organization, the FDIM – Federación Democrática Internacional de Mujeres, or Women’s International Democratic Federation – we knew we had been given an opportunity of a lifetime to learn from the women of the Cuban revolution.

Despite facing the immense challenges of the US blockade and unrelenting attacks against its people, the small island nation of Cuba has benefited its own people as well as poor nations across the world with high quality healthcare and education. Cuban women have played a leading role in this revolutionary process. We, as young people from the US, have a lot to learn from them in order to bring their liberatory practices and fighting spirit back to our communities here in the United States. In the words of Raquelle, a Puerto Rican activist from Detroit in our delegation, “There is a common saying in the Spanish speaking world that Cuba and Puerto Rico are the two wings of the same bird – one free and the other shackled by the US. It would be an amazing opportunity to meet the Cuban Women’s International Democratic Federation to learn, build, and grow with them.”

About Us

We are a diverse group of young activists from across the United States who pour our lives into peoples’ struggles, from Black Lives Matter and the fight for living wages, to standing against foreclosures and the immigrant rights movement and more. We are dedicated revolutionaries, committed to making a better world for all people.

What is the money for?

The FDIM is hosting us, and offering a very cost-effective package for basic housing, food, and transportation while in Cuba. The largest expense is our airfare to Miami and then Cuba, plus the cost of educational visas. While we are covering the majority of the total airfare ourselves, we are committed to the principle that a person’s ability to pay is not an obstacle to participating in this exciting political opportunity. This is why we need your help!

Make a contribution: http://tinyurl.com/kow9nao

http://peoplespowerassemblies.org/petitions/baltoyouthpetition/

The youth of Baltimore need our support. We demand: Drop all charges and grant full amnesty; the people of Baltimore, especially the youth, need full employment at a livable wage; decent education and housing, not jails, racism and police terror.

SIGN UP HERE: http://tinyurl.com/l5munw9

http://fightfor15.org/april15/

https://www.facebook.com/RaiseUpMKE