Oakland Youth Against Iraq War and Police at Home

HUNDREDS OF BAY AREA YOUTH SAY NO TO WAR AGAINST IRAQ AND 100 MORE POLICE IN OAKLAND
Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland City Hall, September 14, 1-5pm
Hundreds of youth from the Bay Area will gather to speak out against sending troops to Iraq and adding 100 more cops to the Oakland police force.

The war abroad has brought direct consequences on youth of color at home, one of them being the dramatic upsurge in violence and death in the community. With $400 billion spent nationally on the military and only $45 billion spent on education, the message being sent by policymakers is that violence is a more preferred tool of getting things done. Cutbacks in education spending, unemployment, and the focus on policies that endorse violence have been devastating on cities like Oakland, which has suffered its 78th+ homicide of the year.

To many youth, spending more on a new war in Iraq and on increasing police at home is not the right solution to the threat of terrorism or more violence at home. Policies of violence and repression do not work. Having been the primary targets and victims of such policies, especially with the increase in incarceration, monitoring in schools, and police brutality, youth of color are advocating for policies that promote peace and understanding both at home and abroad.

Killing innocent people in Iraq will not solve terrorism.
Neither will sending 100 more cops out into the streets to profile, monitor, harass, and brutalize youth of color solve what's going on in Oakland. Instead of war, we want more money for education so we can learn how to get to the root of the crises like terrorism.

"Instead of more police, we want programs that will help us get more jobs and really stop the violence with more opportunities."
- AYPAL, youth organizer

The event on the 14th, entitled "Silence is Violence; Get Loud, Stand Proud," will include a mix of cultural and hip hop dance performances, youth speakers, poets, and vocalists, as young as elementary school age. Other special performers include Deuce Eclipse and Company of Prophets. Participating and supporting organizations include Global Exchange, Park Sessions, Youth Space, Youth Speaks, Not In Our Name, Mandela Arts, Jewish Youth For Community Action, Dancers Without Borders, United Playaz, Colored Ink, True-skool.org, Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, Diversity Works, and Asian Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership, among others.

Contact: Alicia Yang
September 12, 2002
(408) 656-2198