RACE IN AMERICA
Killing in a small town raises hate crime fearsfull story...
The New Black Panther Party has announced it has begun an investigation of its own into the death of Brandon McClelland in Paris and wants the crime tried as a hate crimefull story...
The struggle to organize labor & undocumented workers...click here for more info
Whole Foods Market Signs Agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to Support “Penny-per-Pound” Tomato Program in Florida!...click here for more info
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don’t) by: DaveyD full story...
40 Years Later, (The Late) Martin Luther King Still Silenced full story...
Racism and Resistance:The Struggle to Free The Jena Six full story...
Dispatches from the Terrordome full story...
Rape, Pillage, and Ignore full story...
The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective Film Festival.....
Friday May 29th- Weds, June 3rd.....2009
all movies are free! free! and mo free!!!
ALL MOVIES WILL BE SHOWN HERE!!!!
478 Austin Place 2nd floor
Bronx, NY
6 train to 149th....
Friday, May 29th, 2009
8pm - 11pm....
World Premiere!!!! U.S. Premiere!!!!
The Chicago Conspiracy
Directed By Subversive Action Films
The Chicago Conspiracy is a documentary three years in the making. The project was filmed in Chile, and the story extends into the Mapuche indigenous lands of Wallmapu. The concept for the film was born with the death of a former military dictator. We celebrated in the streets of Santiago with thousands of people after hearing the news: General Augusto Pinochet was dead. His regime murdered thousands and tortured tens of thousands after the military coup on September 11, 1973. We celebrated both his death and the implication that the political and economic system which put him in power might itself be mortal. We began this documentary with the death of a dictator, but we continue with the legacy of a dictatorship.
The Chicago Conspiracy takes its name from the approximately 25 Chilean economists who attended the University of Chicago and other prestigious universities beginning in the 1960s to study under the neoliberal economists Milton Friedman and Arnold Harberger. After embracing Friedman’s neoliberal ideas, these economists returned to assist Pinochet’s military regime in imposing free market policies. They privatized nearly every aspect of society, and Chile soon became a classic example of free market capitalism under the barrel of a gun.
Ingles: http://www.subversiveactionfilms.org/the-chicago-conspiracy/
Español: http://www.subversiveactionfilms.org/es/the-chicago-conspiracy/
Panel After Screening w/ Director and MIR members and torture survivors Victor Toro and Mario Venegas, and Nieves Ayress
Hosted by RodStarz
Saturday May 30th, 2009
5pm
Bring the kids out!!!! We have met way too many kids and teens on our block who have not seen this. This is for them to learn and see what it was like!
Style Wars.
A documentary of New York graffiti circa 1983. Presented by Tony Silver & Henry Chalfant. A production of (c) 1983 Public Art Films Inc. (a non-proffit organization), all rights reserved.
5 PM.....free ice cream!!!!!!!
Hosted by Chris Diaz
Sunday May 31st, 2009
5pm to 7pm
World Premiere!!
Leader: The Legacy of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King
Directed by David " Drizz" Rodriguez
What is the state of Black Leadership today?
Since the election of the first Black president in America, some feel that issues affecting the Black community are being pushed aside. Leader looks into the lives, legacy and relevance of the messages of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Hip Hop artists Hasan Salaam, M-1 of Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, Amanda Diva, reggae artist Shaggy, Sekou and community activists examine their approach to the prison system, police brutality, war, civil rights, politics and economics. Leader is a call to action to address the problems that affecting our communities today.
Executive Producer David "Drizz" Rodriguez
Peep the Trailer!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZlveAq9kJk&feature=channel_page
Live performance by Hasan Salaam......following the movie and discussion with director David " Drizz" Rodriguez
Hosted by Hipnotic
Monday, June 1st, 2009
A ALIKES AND INVINCIBLE:
2 Short videos, The Ballot or the Bullet and LIVE SHOWS FOLLOWING!!!!!!
7pm to 1130pm.......
730PM..
DETROIT MC...INVINCIBLE PRESENTS:
PEOPLE NOT PLACES AND LOCUSTS
People Not Places (Detroit/Palestine, May 2009, 6 min) Directed by Iqaa the Olivetone, Produced by EMERGENCE Media
This Music-Video is based on the song of the same name by Invincible featuring, Abeer and Suhell Nafar (DAM) which takes the listener on a journey through a "birthright" tour of Israel where the buried Palestinian significance of each location comes to light. The film exposes the process of historic and continued colonization of Palestine as being even deeper than land seizure and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, but one that is invested in erasing the indigenous language, culture, and memory.
Locusts (Detroit, 2008, 11:27 min) Directed by Iqaa the Olivetone Produced by EMERGENCE Media
Detroit-based Hip-Hop artists, Invincible and Finale, rhyme about how short-term profit-driven urban development schemes displace communities in their city. Through music, lyrics, and interviews with youth and community activists, including Grace Lee Boggs, Jessica Care Moore, and others, this groundbreaking documentary/music video offers alternative forms of economic development that engages communities and prioritizes the health and well-being of inner city neighborhoods.
A ALIKES: THE BALLOT OR THE BULLET
830pm
A-Alikes film "The Ballot or the Bullet" produced by Paul Biedrzycki
Follows the NY rap group A-Alikes over the course of the three months leading up to the 2008 Presidential Election. While each political party has built their platform on the theme of "change", A-Alikes specifically address what type of change individuals want to see in America. A-Alikes speak with figures such as Chuck D, Joy Bryant, Rosa Clemente, M1, Umi, and Immortal Technique, asking the question, "How do oppressed people gain freedom: through participation in the political system or through armed rebellion?
Their lead single, "No Savior" delivers a different perspective to the current political structure, focusing more on self-empowerment versus the worship of political figures or historical icons.
TRAILER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5XZntJ4gNA
PANEL AND LIVE PERFORMANCES!!!
by Invincible and A Alikes following the screenings!!!!
Hosted by Lah Tere
Tuesday June 2nd, 8-11pm....
Estilo Hip Hop
Directed by Vee Bravo and Loira Limbal
Estilo Hip Hop is a feature length documentary that chronicles the trials and tribulations of three hip hop activists from Chile, Brazil, and Cuba who firmly believe that hip hop can change the world. As we delve into the lives of Guerrillero Okulto, Eli Efi, and Magia, we learn how each of them became leaders of social justice struggles responsible for mobilizing young people to become politically active. However, the personal issues affecting the three protagonists prove to be as overwhelming as the challenges posed by their political work. As the stakes assume a greater risk, Guerrillero, Eli Efi, and Magia have to make life-altering decisions that ultimately impact the course of their lives and that of the hip hop movement.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNM76ktJD90
Hosted by G1
Q and A session with Director Vee Bravo and
live performance by Eli Efi following the screening...
Wednesday, June 3rd....2009
8pm-11pm...
Justifiable Homicide directed by Jon Osman and Jonathan Stack, US, 2001
discussion following afterwards with Margarita Rosario, mother of Anthony Rosario
Justifiable Homicide is a feature documentary based on the brutal murder of two Puerto Rican young men Antonio Rosario and Hilton Vega who were shot by two NYPD detectives in the Bronx in early 1995. One of the detectives was Mayer Giuliani's former body guard. The story follows Margarita Rosario, as she transforms from a mourning mother and Aunt to a powerful community activist, questioning the police officers' actions and raising the possibility of a cover-up.
A police inquiry affirmed the detectives' claims: that Rosario and Vega and third accomplice Freddie Bonilla (who survived the shooting) were shot while perpetrating an armed robbery. According to the report, the detectives opened fire in self-defense after the alleged robbers instigated a shoot-out. As far as the NYPD was concerned, the incident was over. Case closed, justifiable homicide.
Margarita Rosario, doubting the police version and realizing that one of the detectives who shot her son served as Mayor Giuliani's body guard in 1993, seeks help from the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), and independent city agency whose responsibility is to serve as watchdog over the NYPD. After a lengthy invesstigation, the CCRB report affirmed that the two detectives used excessive and unnecessary force. The City's response? The CCRB director along with the lead investigators are forced to resign.
An independent Pathologist hired by the Margarita Rosaio also counters the police version, demonstrating that all the shots struck the victims in their backs as they lay prone on the floor and not from the front as th City Medical Examiner's and the police had claimed.
With a legal system unwilling to address these profound inaccuracies, Margarita takes her anger to the streets, organizing protests and rallies. She soon realizes that there are many others who have lost family members to police action. Margarita responds by organizing Parents Against Police Brutality, to unify their struggle against a that sems to be stacked against them.
Margarita's words still echo loud, "I can not bring my son back but I can work to prevent other parents from suffering a similar loss".
NEW REBEL DIAZ VIDEO: "DEMOCRACY" feat. Hipnotic, YC the Cyinic, John Mega & Marc Bucannons
DIRECTED by David "Drizz" Rodriguez
MOMMA'S HIP HOP KITCHEN: SNEAK A PEAK!
SUPPORT VICTOR TORO
3/25, 10AM, 26 FEDERAL PLAZA, NYC!
Rebel Diaz Interviewed for GritTV!
NEW TRACK & VIDEO: "A TRILLION"
Check Out Rebel Diaz in this months Indypendent!
MY PEOPLES!!!!
THANKS TO ALL THAT IN SOMEWAY SUPPORTED REBEL DIAZ THIS WEEK.
THE CANT STOP THE ROCK FREEDOM FESTIVAL ONCE AGAIN BROUGHT THE
COMMUNITY OUT TO EXPERIENCE HIP HOP AS IT SHOULD BE DONE. FREE!!!! AND
OUTSIDE IN THE SUMMER!! ALL IN THE NAME OF STOPPING POLICE
BRUTALITY..MAD PROPS TO ALL THE PERFORMERS THAT CAME OUT...UMI FROM
POW, READ NEX POETRY SQUAD,DIVISION X, WACO DIVISION, NENE ALI,
SUPASIZE SPANISH FLY AND MANY MORE!! REPHSTAR N PATTY DUKES HELD IT
DOWN WITH THE HOSTING....
THE NEXT DAY THERE WAS BLACK AUGUST. THE ANNUAL CONCERT TO SUPPORT OUR
POLITICAL PRISONERS AND PAY HOMAGE TO GEORGE JACKSON.
A SPECIAL MOMENT WAS HELD FOR BROTHER BASHEER HAMEED WHOM PASSED LAST
WEEK. SEEING LEGENDS LIKE EPMD AND Q TIP, WITH NEWCOMERS JOELL ORTIZ
AND IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE ALL SHARING THE STAGE FOR A DOPE CAUSE WAS OFF
THE HOOK!!! OUR OWN RODSTARZ HELD DOWN CO HOSTING DUTIES AS BB KINGS
WAS SOLD OUT!!! (WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!)
OH! AND FREE THE SF8!!!
NEXT G1 AND RODSTARZ HAD COURT ON WEDS, SEPT. 3RD.....WE HAD ABOUT 50
PEOPLE SHOW UP IN SUPPORT IN THE COURTROOM. WE GOT A CONTINUATION
UNTIL TUESDAY DEC. 16TH...SO WE WILL FILL THE COURTROOM ONCE AGAIN
THAT DAY......
MOVING FORWARD.....
WE HAVE OUR LAST SHOW IN NEW YORK UNTIL AT LEAST EARLY OCTOBER THIS
SUNDAY SEPT. 7TH...
WE SHALL MAKE OUR EOW DEBUT!!! AT END OF THE WEAK, NYCS LONGEST
RUNNING WEEKLY OPEN MIC.
WE SHALL SHARE THE STAGE WITH PROBLEMADDICTS, AND BIZARRE FROM D12 FAME......
COME AT LIKE 10. IT PROMISES TO BE A DOPE SHOW!!!
FLYER ATTCHED
WORD!!!
AFTER THAT WE ARE OFF TO CHICAGO AND THEN LOS ANGELES!!!
PEACE
REBEL DIAZ
REBEL DIAZ in THE VILLAGE VOICE:
"The NYPD Rips Up Rappers"
http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-07-09/news/cops-rip-up-rappers
REBEL DIAZ MEMBER G1's APARTMENT STORMED BY NYPD EARLY THIS MORNING,
DAYS AFTER BRUTALITY INCIDENT;
ARMED, WARRANTLESS INVASION WITH NO PROBABLE CAUSE HAS COMMUNITY
FEARING NYPD SCARE TACTICS.
PERSONAL STATEMENT FROM G1 OF REBEL DIAZ:
Early this morning, at around 2am, I, Gonzalo Venegas aka G1 of Rebel
Diaz, was in my home in Harlem, working on my computer in the living
room, when several police officers burst into my unlocked apartment,
with guns drawn, ordering us to get down and put our hands up.
I was
in the apartment with my roommate DW who was in the adjacent bedroom,
and my friend MM, who slept on the couch nearby.
Both were awakened by
the home invasion and were witnesses to the events occurred.
The
uniformed police officers did not knock, nor announce themselves, nor
verbally identify themselves before or during their entry into my
apartment.
They pointed their guns at us the whole time as they
verbally barraged MM and I with questions as to who we were and what
we were doing there.
As I lay on the ground with my hands up, I
replied loudly and clearly that I lived there, and that everyone in
the house was supposed to be there.
They replied incredulously,
repeatedly yelling their questions as to who we were, with threats as
to what would happen to us if I was found to be lying.
After various
other taunts and threats, including accusing us of harboring a
fugitive criminal suspect, they departed just as quickly as they had
arrived, down a side stairway adjacent to my apartment.
They did not
stay to search me or my roommates, or the apartment for any signs of
the supposed fugitive they were looking for.
After a few seconds of disbelief and shock, I decided to follow the
officers outside in order to fully understand what had just happened,
and to document their identity.
One police van sped off as I came out
of the side door of my building.
The remaining police squad car was
pealing off when I ran into the middle of the street to flag it down.
They stopped the car, as I respectfully asked for their name and badge
numbers.
Both police officers allowed me to walk closer to them, as I
verbally noted their name and badge numbers.
The officers quickly got
back into their squad car, provided no explanation for the home
invasion, and sped off.
I was left in a state of shock and terror, as
I frantically asked some of my neighbors outside if they knew of why
the police had entered my building- and specifically my apartment-
without justification.
I received no conclusive answers from the
residents outside.
As of 10:30pm EST on Tuesday June 24, 2008,I have not received any
official explanation for the events occurred, neither from the police
precinct nor my building manager or owner, despite numerous calls and
requests for an explanation.
Both the 25th and 23rd NYPD precinct,
which patrol my block, have denied that the officers involved are from
their command.
The questions as to why several armed police officers
mysteriously and violently invaded my home without any clear legal
justification remain unanswered.
One is left only to think that the
occurrences of this morning are not a coincidence of mistaken
identity, but a direct response by the NYPD to an incident of police
brutality I was involved in last week in the South Bronx.
Until we
have a clear understanding of the causes and the people behind this
morning's home invasion, Rebel Diaz will engage in limited
communication outside of our legal representation.
We are not looking
for the next NYPD scare tactic to turn into a tragedy.
For more information regarding the incidents of police brutality
against G1 and Rodstarz of Rebel Diaz last week, and the pending case
them, please visit www.rebeldiaz.com
"My peoples. Thank you so much for the support. We got out yesterday. The court house was packed and hearing that there was a crowd outside the precinct kept our spirits up. Thanks for the emails the texts the calls. We meet with the lawyers today to figure out our next steps. We hope to continue to count on your support. Lets use this momentum to bring light to the continued abuse of immigrants and young black and brown youth. Word."
-RODSTARZ, G1 & LAH TERE of REBEL DIAZ
G1 and Rodstarz arrested and beaten up by the police for standing up for the people...
READ BELOW FOR A ARTICLE BY DAVEY D!
Tomorrow June 19 at 9:00am Pack the Court House located on 161st and Sheridan in the Bronx.
Los Periodistas de la Esquina necesitan nuestro apoyo!!!
The Street Jouralists need our support!!!
PICS AND VIDEO of TODAYS ACTION:
NYC Police Beat Up Rap Group Members
Rebel Diaz
By Davey D
Looks like the NYPD are living up to their reputation of being bonafide 'dipshits'. We are just getting word that NYC Police located in what was once known as Fort Apache-the 41st Precint in the Bronx, have shown that police terrorism is alive and well.
The word is in a unprovoked attack they badly assaulted two members of the Rap group Rebel Diaz.
The story we are hearing is that group Rodstarz and G1 were up in Bronx on Southern Blvd in Hunts Point, when they noticed the police were harassing a street vendor who was selling fruit. The two went over to witness the cops in action and when they saw the police being abusive they attempted to facilitate the dialog between the street vender and the non spanish speaking police officer by translating. Keep in mind that part of the Bronx has a large immigrant community and it is also being gentrified. The police from the 41st Precint have made it a point to commit acts of terror including the shooting and killing of an unarmed iGarifunan mmigrant man last year. http://ankhkara.blogspot.com/2007_05_27_archive.html
The case brought up images of Amadou Diallo another immigrant was gunned down by out of control Bronx cops in the neighboring precint.
According to witnesses, when Rodstarz and G1 asked for badge numbers the police became agitated and turned around and started beating them with bully clubs and kicking them in full view of other vendors and people on the crowded street. The two were dragged off bloody, put into a police car and charged with resisting arrest and assault.
The backdrop to this story is that Rebel Diaz are not your ordinary rappers. They are well known activist who not only speak out against police terrorism, but have been key in helping out folks within this immigrant community. Hence it would not be usual for group members to bear witness and to speak out against the injustices. Rebel Diaz has committed themselves to given voice to the voiceless in that Bronx neighborhood.
Many feel that the assault by these cowardly Bronx police officers in plain view of everyone was a way to send a strong message to folks in the community that the police run things and they best stay in line. By beating the Rebel Diaz members in front of everyone was a way to spark fear and remind people that no one is safe from the police. They wanna let folks know that they can brazenly beat up popular rappers in front everyone even with cell phone cameras rolling and do so with impunity. The whole ordeal is akin to the slave masters from way back sparking fear in the hearts of other slaves by beating the strongest among them in front of everyone for all to see.
Over the past year NY Police have been man handling, arresting and terrorizing politicized Hip Hop artists, activists and news reporters.
For example, last year in Brooklyn well known attorney Michael Tarif Warren who routinely represents people in police abuse cases was badly beaten along with his wife when they stopped to watch and bear witness to NY cops terrorizing a unarmed tennage boy at a gas station.
During the protests immediately following the acquittal of the officers on trial for the Sean Bell shooting, journalists who had been speaking out against the police were harassed and roughed up.
Hopefully folks will read this and understand that what the police are doing will not work.. A police state will not take place on our collective watch..
Black August: Libertad!
Mariel Concepcion, N.Y. for billboard.com
The annual Black August concert, which honors freedom fighters and political prisoners, took over New York’s Nokia Theater on Sunday, August 26th, with a huge hip-hop bill that included Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def and several others.
Presented by Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, the evening was hosted by MXGM's Monifa Bandele and Dead Prez' M1. The sold-out event was dedicated to Assata Shakur, a revolutionary activist and former Black Panther member who, even though evidence revealed she neither carried nor fired a weapon, was sentenced to life in prison in 1973 for the death of a New Jersey state trooper. Shakur, who celebrated her 60th birthday that night, is in exile in Cuba and has a $1 million bounty on her head, along with having been recently being placed on the list of domestic terrorists...
click here for the complete article
On Saturday, July 28th 2007 the South Bronx community celebrated its victory over the NYPD at The Jardin la Roca/The Rock Garden. At about 4:30 pm, the NYPD issued the amplified sound permit to the organizers and the show at The Rock went on! It was a victory for the Hip Hop
community in the South Bronx, it was a victory for youth and for community residents. The NYPD had no choice but to give the sound permit. This is an example of what communtiy organizing can
accomplish. This time, they messed with the wrong peeps. How many folks get constantly harrassed by the police and because they don't know their rights, it goes unnoticed? This was a clear example of the Hip Hop Police and their attempts to further criminalize Hip Hop
youth. Our sruggle this week exposed their sloppiness and lack of interest in the communities they oppress and harrass. Their lame attempts at shutting us down did not hold up! They knew they were wrong and made a last minute attempt to fix their mess.
The people showed up at the garden anyways. With or without sound, the show was
going down! Hip hop was gonna occur, the way it should occur. Free and in the community for all to enjoy! And what better location, than the South Bronx? The birthplace of the culture the NYPD is heavily policing, the site of heavy gentrification, the new location for a planned prison?...
