Call to Action: Justice for Victor White

The Black Lives Matter movement is bringing national attention to the issue of police brutality that too frequently results in the death or injury of unarmed black men and women. While we care, of course, about equal justice for all, endemic racism, consciously or unconsciously manifested, greatly affects minority communities. The death of teenager Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman, self-appointed judge and executioner, brought nationwide attention to what some people, especially minorities, already knew existed: a disproportionate meting out of unfair and unbalanced sentencing and racially-tinged brutality on minorities. Now local stories of suspicious deaths and arrests that once might not have caught anyone's attention beyond the town, county, or parish in which these incidences occur are finally making national news. One such story is that of Victor White III, a 22-year old man who was arrested in New Iberia, LA, in early March of last year, after police were called to a brawl in front of a convenience store. Mr. White was searched--twice!--and a small amount of illegal drugs (suspected marijuana) was discovered on his person. However, in those two searches, no weapons, no gun was found. The mystery is how he ended up, handcuffed, in the back of a police car, where the deputy who arrested him claims that he killed himself with a gun (a gun that managed to elude two searches and to put a hole in Victor's chest while he was handcuffed).

 You can read about the case in these articles:

"Victor White's unbelievable 'Houdini handcuff suicide," Jonathan Capehart, The Washington Post, 2 September 2014.

"One year later, Victor White's family says they have yet to hear account of son's death in backseat of police unit," Daniel Bethencourt, The Advocate, 5 March 2015.

"Federal probe into death just too long," Will Chapman, The Daily Iberian, 5 August 2015.

"Before Sandra Bland, there was Victor White: Why this death in police custody should have you outraged," Sean Illing, Salon, 27 August 2015.


PLEASE TAKE ACTION by supporting Victor White's family's quest for answers and for justice, here:
Justice for Victor White


Week of Action events are also planned for October 12-18, 2015.
Information available here: http://justiceforvic.com/week-action/

New Activist Website -- Katrinatruth.org

Those interested in equality and justice will want to know about a new website that has been created "to invite a more nuanced look at the progress made" in the ten years since Hurricane Katrina. The website provides information that illustrates the inequality of that progress in New Orleans and invites the public and its leaders "to fully commit to a recovery and development that is more equitable and sustainable."

Check out the website here: 
http://katrinatruth.org/index.html

The ally organizations for this new website and focus are listed here: 
http://www.katrinatruth.org/pages/organizations.html

You might be interested in attending an event (poster insert below) sponsored by Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, an ally organization associated with the Katrina Truth website. More information about Katrina Truth and other events can be found in the website version of  an e-mail the organization recently sent out: 
https://fflic.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=185

PISAB's NOLA March 2015 Undoing Racism Regional

The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond is hosting our January Undoing Racism Regional workshop. 

March 25 – 27, 2015

 March Workshop:
Wednesday March 25th 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday March 26th 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday March 27th 9:00 am – 2:00 pm.

Workshop Location:
BOFAFT Hall
2801 Banks St. New Orleans, LA 70117

This unique workshop is offered by The People’s Institute, a national, multiracial, anti-racist network dedicated to ending racism and other forms of institutional oppression.  Over the last 35 years, we have provided training, consultation, and leadership development to more than 600,000 people in organizations nationally and internationally. The People’s Institute moves beyond a focus on the symptoms of racism to an understanding of what it is, where it comes from, how it functions, why it persists and how it can be undone.  The workshop’s systemic approach stresses learning from history, developing leadership, maintaining accountability to communities, creating networks, undoing internalized oppression, and understanding the role of organizational gate-keeping in perpetuating racism. 

Registration fee: $270.00 per person, $220.00 per person for groups or families of 3 or more. Student / Intern / Seniors (65+) registration is $170.00 per person.

Scholarships are available. REGISTRATION is REQUIRED before March 9, 2014 TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE. Walk-ins will not be permitted.  Participants must commit to attend the entire workshop.  

Call NOLA Regional Organizing Team at 504-301-9292 / or email

nolaregional@pisab.org with any questions. 

Celebrating MLK Day

On Monday, January 19th, several members of the Northshore New Jim Crow Task Force joined the Ministerial Alliance March in Slidell, Louisiana, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The march started at 1 p.m. at City Hall on Second Street and ended at the Mount Olive AME Church, and was the culmination of a weekend celebration that began on Saturday with a Youth and Talent Showcase Night at the Pentecost Missionary Baptist Church in Slidell. The celebration ended with a performance after the march of The City Wide Revival Choir.

gathering for the Ministerial Alliance March on MLK Day

Northshore New Jim Crow Task Force Members: Joanne Dufour; Barbara Shaw; Jim Dufour; Chairperson, Bonnie Schmidt

photos by Nina Helfert

Legislative Forum

Legislative members will be available to answer questions from citizens of St. Tammany Parish on Monday, January 26, at a legislative forum hosted by our Democratic Parish Executive Committee. The meeting will be at 6:45 p.m. at the parish administrative complex on Koop Drive off Louisiana 59 north of Mandeville. More information is at this link: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/01/st_tammanys_democratic_parish.html

Leadership St. Tammany Alumni Foundation: Forum on Mass Incarceration in the Parish

The New Jim Crow Task Force is pleased to support the forum on mass incarceration presented by the Leadership St. Tammany Foundation scheduled for October 7th. This forum represents the second such forum to be held in St. Tammany this year. In January, we facilitated "Safe and Fair Louisiana" with the ACLU, LA Sentencing Commission, and the Pelican Institute. We feel that the tide is changing and that it is very important that you show your support for this issue by attending the October 7th forum. See the details below.

Leadership St. Tammany Alumni Foundation

Presents

Leadership Revisited 2014

Unlocking the Keys to High Incarceration Rates and Their Impact in St. Tammany Parish

Where is the highest incarceration rate in the world? You might guess Russia, Iran, or North Korea. Shockingly, it is right here in Louisiana and specifically St. Tammany Parish. Join fellow alumni, as we explore why our parish has the highest incarceration rate in the world: its costs, human impacts, and possible solutions.

October 7, 2014

Pontchartrain Yacht Club

140 Jackson Street, Mandeville, LA

7:00 am – 8:00 am Registration/Breakfast/Networking

8:00 am – 11:30 am Program

$25 members & current class

$35 non-members/walk-ins $10 extra

Includes full breakfast, provided by Broken Egg Café.

Register by October 6, 2014

Questions: call Michael Sprague

(985) 502-4265 or mdsprague00@bellsouth.net

Please print your tickets and present them at the door!

TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE: 

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=ojsro8pab&oeidk=a07e9q6un8t801aef92

St. Tammany District Attorney Candidates Scheduled to Debate

District Attorney seats are up for re-election this November across the state of Louisiana.

The first debate between candidates for the St Tammany District Attorney Office is scheduled for Tuesday, August 26, at John Davis Center, 61100 North 12th St., Lacombe, at 6 PM. The candidates are Roy Burns, Alan Black, and Brian Trainor.

The District Attorney (Prosecutor) is the most powerful law enforcement official in the criminal justice system, even more than judges or sheriffs. The DA is free to dismiss a case, file more charges against an offender or transfer that case to a Federal Court. There is no oversight that requires him to assure racial or ethnic equality before the law.  He can cause an offender to plead guilty even if innocent by overcharging the offender.

The measure of a DA’s success may be the number of convictions they achieve. In St. Tammany that is 89%, mostly plea bargains not trial by jury. Perhaps this is the Why and the How Louisiana became the “Prison Capital of the World”.

Please plan to attend this candidate debate sponsored by Concerned Citizens of St. Tammany. 

           

Here are some questions that you can ask in addition to your own:

1.     What changes would you make to the structure of the office to help bolster public confidence in the DA’s office?
2.     What is your position regarding special courts (drug and mental health) and diversion programs that are designed to keep people out of jails and prisons?
3.     What is your position regarding the prosecution of individuals found with small amounts of marijuana?
4.     What can your office do to assist the formerly incarcerated to transition back into society?
5.     What changes will you make regarding your office’s policy on plea bargains, if any?
6.     Can you assure an ongoing review of charges across racial and ethnic groups to assure all segments of the community are treated equally?

7.     Do you feel that offenders understand the lifetime disadvantages (barriers to employment, housing, voting, licensing, access to education, food stamps, etc.) involved if they “plead” guilty to a felony?  

--Bonnie Schmidt           

related article:
"3 Announced St. Tammany DA Candidates Raised More than $148,000 in Latest Reporting," Heather Nolan, 06 August, 2014, nola.com.