Announcement :: A Call for Volunteers for the 3rd version of the Stolen Lives book! 

Posted by: WebTeam :: Sunday, February 09, 2003

Please spread this call by email and web postings as widely as you can.

Download PDF version for best print!

At the national winter meeting recently held in Houston, Texas, representatives of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation from all over the country developed a vision of a unified, nationwide effort involving many hundreds of people creating the 3rd version of the book, Stolen Lives: Killed by Law Enforcement, in English and Spanish. We require your help to make this happen.

The situation that we face today is urgent. The number and rate of people killed by law enforcement agents have jumped alarmingly in this new political climate of increased “homeland security” and repressive laws, which give law enforcement agents a green light for their lethal actions. Racial profiling of Arab, Muslim and South Asian immigrants has become commonplace and legally acceptable, along with the continued and stepped up harassment of populations traditionally “under the gun” of police brutality. This issue affects all of us. People’s ability to speak out, to get organized and to protest on any issue, including against the war in Iraq, will be greatly limited by the development of a police state terrorizing its population. We call on people not to drop what they are doing to work with us, but rather to see the connections, and take out the word far and wide about the work of this 3rd version of the Stolen Lives book.

WHAT IS THE VISION, AND HOW CAN YOU HELP?



In the 2nd edition of the Stolen Lives book, the October 22nd Coalition, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Anthony Baez Foundation documented over 2,000 cases of people killed by law enforcement agents in the 1990s. In a continuation of this work, we published a poster this summer called “Police Brutality Did Not Die on September 11th!” which listed over 140 cases of killings nationwide. However, the rate and extent of the killings are outstripping our ability to keep up with the documentation and exposure that this nationwide epidemic requires. Seven Stories Press has volunteered to partner with us to publish the 3rd version of the book, which will make a very valuable contribution to the fight to stop police brutality. This vision of the creation of this 3rd version is that it will give expression and focus to the desires of many to fight against this “war at home”. We see many hundreds of people contributing in different ways to give “voice to the voiceless” through the powerful exposure this project concentrates.

What Can People Do?

* Spread the word far and wide that this new version is underway;

* Send in the information that they know of cases;

* Translate the cases documented into Spanish, and develop promotional materials in Spanish;

* Make the database searchable and accessible;

* Become part of the research team, verifying the cases sent in and seeking out new information;

* Contribute funds, or organize fundraising events;

* Organize Stolen Lives induction ceremonies, where the families are honored;

* ... and much more



This effort will need:

* Families of Victims of Police Brutality to speak out against what is happening;

* Youth and Students to get out the word in their schools and communities;

* Programmers and Designers to help set up the website so that people can easily participate in the data entry. Knowledge of some of the following would be most helpful: PHP, MySQL, HTML, JavaScript, XML, XSLT. Consulting on database engineering, web accessibility for people with disabilities, and human interface design are welcome;

* Artists to develop the cover design or promotional materials;

* Journalists to develop media campaigns spreading the word about the coming book;

* Community organizers to set up speaking engagements for the Stolen Lives families in your community'

* Lawyers and/or Law Professors to guide and assist law students in the research process;

* Clergy to bring the Stolen Lives families to speak to your congregations;



... and the efforts of many more hundreds of people, to take on the million and one tasks that this momentous task requires.

CONTACT: office@october22.org or call 1-888-NO BRUTALITY