[opirgyork] TODAY: Rally against Racial Profiling @ York 12pm + Fightback reading group

[OPIRG York]

*The Justice IS NOT Colour-Blind (JINCB) Campaign's Call to Action*
*https://www.facebook.com/events/439971382726877/
*
*Rally, Student Centre, and March to the President's Open Forum on Campus
Safety (Founders Assembly Hall, Room 152 Founders College)*

The racist article written in the York student newspaper Excalibur where it
is incorrectly argued that the crimes committed on York's campus are a
product of the Jane and Finch community (otherwise known as Black and
non-white) is much bigger than a student newspaper. The lack of response
from York University administration regarding this issue considering the
large Black and non-white population that attend York especially from Jane
and Finch is troubling to say the least. It is especially that much more
scary when all three politicians of all levels of government for the riding
of where York University is located - have remained silent on the issue
(Anthony Perruzza City Councillor for Ward 8; Mario Sergio, MPP York West
and; Judy Sgro Liberal MP York West). White supremacist racial profiling of
Black youth in the city of Toronto has led to a false belief in Black
criminality. This creates a toxic environment on university campuses where
these beliefs can be spread in curriculum and administration. The same
people and institutions that control the school system control the prison
system, economic, and political systems. Therefore, the university system
benefits from the spreading of the racist idea espoused in Excalibur
because it feeds their interest of maintaining the white supremacist male
power structure. Universities do not teach Black students to create
solutions to effectively change the condition of their community; they
TRAIN Black students to be a worker for the capitalist system. Any
challenging of this system is met with the police industrial complex which
the university uses to quash any progressive demands for change. This can
be seen when on September 19, 2012 when the Jane-Finch Action Against
Poverty (JFAAP) organized a rally in the Student Centre to demand an
apology from Excalibur for their racist assertions. Many supporters,
including JINCB, were in attendance and were met by a barricade of York
security and a large contigent of Toronto Police officers. Their response
was to pull the fire alarm under false pretenses and evacuate the entire
Student Centre. This act is indicative of a united Anglo-Celtic culture
that opposes any substantial change that exists in the university and
criminal justice system. Therefore,

- We demand an immediate end to all racist programs, policies and practices
that target black people, which include but are not limited to: TAVIS,
carding and racial profiling.

- We demand an end to the practice of sweeps and raids of black people,
which have been used under false pretexts, in order to criminalize the
community.

- We reject the notion of justifiable homicide and want the families of all
black victims of police killings, to be fully compensated by the Province
of Ontario, for their pain and suffering, whether or not there are civil
actions pending.

- Given the documented physical, psychological, mental, economic and other
injuries resulting from being racially profiled, we demand the
criminalization of the practice of racial profiling. We believe that racial
profiling is a tenet of systemic racism, which is institutional racism.
Consequently, we want the immediate arrests and vigorous prosecutions of
all police officers in Ontario that have killed black victims.

- We demand an immediate end to the incestuous relationships between the
Attorney General’s ministry, SIU, and police services. We want the SIU to
be a truly independent and forceful agency, staffed with civilians from top
to bottom, and throughout. Furthermore, we call for an independent body to
be organized that can hold the SIU responsible. This body must be made up
solely of community members with substantial disciplinary powers to keep
the SIU truly accountable.

Furthermore, we unite with JFAAP's demands of:

- A formal apology from Excalibur‘s Editorial Board

- A formal apology from York University.

- The inclusion of an op-ed on this subject in the next of Excalibur
written by JFAAP addressing this issue and rejecting these prejudices.

JINCB further proposes the following solutions to enhance the student
experience at York for Black and non-white students:

- Free education for all Black students, as a form of reparations

- That York work with Black scholars to develop a Black Studies Department

- The substantial hiring of more Black and non-white professors in all
areas of study

- Increased funding for African, Caribbean, and other Critical studies
departments

*Event endorsed by: *Justice IS NOT Colour-Blind Campaign, OPIRG York, York
United Black Students' Alliance, Centre for Women and Trans People,
Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York University



*************

-----------------------
*The Communist Manifesto: Reading Group *
*Hosted by Socialist Fightback Club at York University*

Join students and activists from Fightback for a reading group on the
Communist Manifesto. It's happening Thursday, November 29th, from
4:30pm-6:30pm in the Chancellors Room (under Student Centre stairs, beside
The Underground Entrance).

The Communist Manifesto is a short (around 40 pages) manuscript written by
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It's one of the most influential pieces of
literature in human history. Come join us as we go in-depth about the book
and more importantly why it is
  relevant today.

Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing a copy of the
Manifesto, or read it for free at: http://www.marxists.org/
archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marxists.org%2Farchive%2Fmarx%2Fworks%2F1848%2Fcommunist-manifesto%2F&h=NAQF5dkem&s=1>
.

Even if you can't go through it, come join us anyway!

LOCATION/TIME: Thursday, November 29th / 4:30pm-6:30pm in the Chancellors
Room (under Student Centre stairs, beside The Underground Entrance).

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/297944160306252/?fref=ts

Contact:
Call, Facebook or Email:
Jahan N.: 647-448-0980
Christine: 647-638-6470
Farshad: 647-204-5312
Email: socialistfightbackclub at gmail.com
www.marxist.ca<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marxist.ca&h=bAQGox2tD&s=1>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/opirgyork/attachments/20121129/32958ce8/attachment.html>