Presented by the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP)
Date: Wednesday, January 23rd
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location: New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th St., NY, NY 10025
Panelists:
Imam Al-Hajj Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid
President, Islamic Leadership Council of Metropolitan New York
Rev. Ruben Austria
Bronx Clergy Coalition; Founder & Executive Director, Community Connections for Youth
Derrick Boykin
Associate Pastor, Walker Memorial Baptist Church
Reverend Pat Bumgardner
Senior Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church of New York
Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Executive Director, Rabbis for Human Rights North America
Brendan Fay
Activist, Filmmaker, and Advocate for LGBT people in the Catholic Church; Founder of the St. Pat’s for All Parade
Moderated by Dr. Anne Klaeysen of the New York Society for Ethical Culture
Every day, the city’s police engage in objectionable practices that harm people and communities.
Young black and brown men are stopped and frisked for no apparent reason. LGBTQ persons called derogatory names, inappropriately touched, or harassed as they enter a local community center. Sex workers arrested for simply carrying condoms or forced to provide sex in return for their release. Street vendors hassled, fined and arrested for violating arbitrarily enforced minor rules. Homeless people roughed up – their belongings often destroyed – and apprehended for begging on the subway or sleeping on a park bench. Muslim individuals harassed or unjustly surveilled.
One characteristic joins the people subjected to these harsh practices – they are members of marginalized groups viewed as powerless to effectively oppose police abuse. NYC should help and protect the vulnerable indivduals in its midst, not employ its police force to ostracize and punish them.
For more information, see http://www.policereformorganizingproject.org/.
