October 2014 Newsletter
October 2014
Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center Newsletter
produced by: Black Workers For Justice's Hip Hop 4 Justice edited by: Mari Caldwell-Robinson & Tiffany Debnam Contact Information: Address: 4200 Lake Ridge Rd, Raleigh NC 27604 (919) 231-2660 – Anytime (919) 876-7187 – Day email: fruitoflaborwcc@netscape.com website: www.fruitoflabor.org
CLEAN WATER NC's 30th Anniversary Celebration
FRUIT OF LABOR PERFORMED Saturday, September 20, at he Anderson Auditorium, in Montreat, NC! We ferformed two sets of "get up dance message music" from the Fruit of Labor Singing Ensemble's CD albums, and old freedom music standards.
In the past, FOL so inspired many rallies, conventions, conferences and celebrations that national commentator Jim Hightower at a previous event in the Asheville,NC Civic Center ,that he asked them to to join him on a national tour!
FOL Singer Darrion Smith lead the singing ensemble in a funky dance on stage and got all the audience participants up dancing with their raised hands flashing " peace sign V" as singer/BWFJ leader Angaza Laughinghouse also spoke on the inhumane war by Isreali Zionists with the U.S.'s support imposing Zionist Apartheid /attacking the Palestinian's people's right to self determination, nationhood and their land.
There was a lively reception and informal discussions afterwards with local drinks, craft brews, and sweet and savory treats from the Green Sage Cafe. Participants enjoyed music by CWFNC's our own Sally Morgan while we celebrated with some of the best folks from all around North Carolina, all working for enviromental & water justice!
CONTACT the Fruit of Labor for performances, workshops, speakers and fun at your special events @
fruitoflaborwcc@ne5tscape.com
919-876-7187
Ferguson on FIRE: Weekly Update
Last week was chock full of activities to continue the pressure on white minority rule in the Majority Black town of Ferguson,MO. The first city council meeting since the unjust murder of Mike Brown by police Darren Wilson kept the flames lit under the butts of those in authority. Due to the persistent struggle for justice by the community, the council submitted a "weak version" of a community civilian review board proposal which was righteously rejected by residents. Regarding their peonage system for black residents (the punishment for living in Ferguson), the council graciously eliminated a $50 warrant recall fee and a $15 notification fee.The $65 charge was automatically fined when a citizen failed to show up for court. The council also created a special docket for those with difficulty making payments on outstanding fines. Of course, these measures are woefully insufficient when one looks at the array of fines heaped upon the mainly Black/Latino population--everything from 56 cents per mile for cops transporting you to $30-$60 nightly for your jail stay. How else could Ferguson rake in an astonishing $2.6 million annually in their tiny municipal court. The entire system must be overhauled!.
Ferguson City Council meeting held one month after the cop murder of Mike Brown with residents still raising their concerns and demands. (Photo credit: Dilip Vishwanat, NYT)
This recent unjust murder by police has sparked national and state-wide
efforts to build unity in our communities. To learn more about what's happening in N.C. visit our BWFJ / FOLWCC websites , e-mail us
or call us at 919-876-7187 !
Save the date! A National Call to Action: Mass Mobilization in Ferguson, MO October 10-13, 2014 Details here.
What white activists are saying about the Ferguson situation
We are here to speak up publicly and voice our collective grief and outrage regarding the senseless and brutal deaths of Michael Brown and Kajieme Powell,and to interrupt the racist dialogue we have heard by other whites regarding these tragic deaths and the justified rebellion that occurred in its aftermath. Read more...
Ferguson: City under Siege Al-Jazeerah's Faultines crew was on the ground capturing the voices after the killing of young Mike Brown.Click of the image to the left to view the mini documentary.
"Union Workers Speak up/ Stand UP for Police Review Board "
Our N.C. Public Service Workers Union-U.E.Local 150 / Durham City Workers Chapter as well as our other U.E. union activists across the
state, have been engaged over the years in the fightback against police misconductand repression in our Black/Brown/Latino/a communities
and in our workplaces.
Often times workers/union members in these communities are profiled and targeted, as well as become victims of police repression.
Check out this video of Fruit of Labor singers/members Nathanette Mayo and Darrion Smith participating in their Union City Workers
press conference on workplace issues, police repression and their community struggle for a strong community civilian police review board!
Our Union, N.C. Public Service Workers Union-U.E. Local 150/ Durham City Workers Chapter and our other union activists across N.C.
have always stood up against police misconduct & repression in our Black and Brown (Latino/a) communities. Working class people in our community and workplaces are oftentimes innocent victims of police abuse.
Click on this site below to view a UE150 protest video outside DHHS and Durham Workers protest.
UE 150 Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJvG5_0emULN4m98N-9x2Lw
We look forward to your comments on the importance of uniting & working for a workers movement
that connects up with the social justice struggles in our communities!
In Solidarity,
Angaza Sababu Laughinghouse
CALL TO ACTION..." JUSTICE & SOLIDARITY with Brother Mike Brown and Ferguson Community"
This is an important call for mobilization to Ferguson and for solidarity actions in cities across the country lifting up the police killings of other unarmed Black people. BWFJ/FOL will be encouraging members of our network to go to Ferguson on October 10 -13 and to also engage in solidarity actions in our southern cities and communities.
Communications among all COMMUNITY/YOUTH/ FAITH/LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, especially around how to utilize thIS political moment created by Ferguson, ARE NEEDED to launch a more nationally coordinated empowering movement to make fundamental change on this pressing situation and other issues in our community. HIP HOP 4 JUSTICE's role is critically important in educating our youth on this issue of police repression and misconduct. This is an important lesson that has been represented in all local and national struggles against powerful oppressors who have been attacking our human rights to quality jobs with livable wages, voting rights, affordable/ quality public schools., decent affordable housing, and social programs.
We need to have a vision of unifying our many community struggles against police repression across the Sate of North Carolina , and eventually the South & U.S. with PEOPLES ASSEMBLIES and Speakouts. If we don't reach out to other communities and active youth organizing and struggling around our same issues , the fragmentation will cause a lack of sharing of information, empowering lessons and analyses among many in our Black/Brown communities.
We are in a movement moment.
The uprisings in Ferguson and solidarity actions, forums, and mobilizations around the country represent a desire by community members to claim their right to self-determination, energy to strengthen our peoples movement for racial justice, and end violence against black and brown communities.
Join the convergence in Ferguson, MO from October 10th – 13th to continue the fight for justice for Mike Brown and to spark the broader movement for racial justice and sow transformative seeds for others to carry back home. There is an urgency in this moment to strengthen the mobilizing, organizing, and resistance happening across the country to build a movement.
If you want to join in this national fight, sign-up to organize locally and come to Ferguson, MO October 10 – 13th.
- See more at: http://obs-onthemove.org/#sthash.AeLBAOhR.dpuf
Friends ,
A growing movement is underway......."Gather",a poem by Alice Walker is yet another voice speaking up and joinining many others in our community....... and uniting our community against police/vigilante/ government repression!
READ MORE.....
A new cultural and political development by author and poet Alice Walker who wishes to engage us using culture after the unjust murders of Eric Gardner by NY police and Mike Brown by police in Furguson, MO. Our sister Alice Walker has dedicated a poem, "Gather,"and she posted this poem up in her web site under the masthead for the "October Month of Resistance to Mass Incarceration, Police Terror, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation".
Here's the link to it: http://alicewalkersgarden.com/2014/09/month-of-resistance-to-mass-incarceration-police-terror-repression-and-the-criminalization-of-a-generation/
It is really a wonderful poem, linking the murder of Eric Garner to the history of lynching in the U.S., and speaking to how Black people have maintained their humanity in the face of this savage oppression. Call for October 2014 Month of Resistance.... "WE SAY NO MORE! A CALL FOR A MONTH OF RESISTANCE TO MASS INCARCERATION, POLICE TERROR, REPRESSION AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF A GENERATION!"
In October, 2014, our resistance to mass incarceration and police repression must reverberate across the country and around the world. There will be powerful demonstrations nationwide on October 22, 2014 !
Workers, youth, cultural artist will all join the" National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation". Throughout October there must be PEOPLES ASSEMBIES' community speak outs , panels and symposiums on campuses and in neighborhoods; major concerts and other cultural expressions. We must engage our faith communities, and more -- all aimed at taking the movement to STOP police repression and mass incarceration to a much higher level. October, 2014, must be a month that makes clear that thousands and thousands are willing to stand up and speak out today and to awaken and rally millions.