Received from Stop Mass Incarceration Network

 

Call for the 27th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation on October 22, 2022 National Day of Protest 2022: Raise Your Fists Across America and Take the Struggle for Justice Back to the Streets!

▪ In a year that is on track to break records for killings by law enforcement, it's time to take the struggle for justice BACK TO THE STREETS. In a year when police and politicians are using a temporary uptick in crime to roll back gains in police accountability, it's time to make our demands clear by getting BACK TO THE STREETS. ▪ In a year when the growth of fascism led by the Republican Party is enabled by the refusal of the Democratic Party to mobilize any real kind of resistance, it's time to take the struggle BACK TO THE STREETS. ▪ In a year when we still vividly remember the power of being in the streets in our millions in every city and town against police terror, white supremacy and oppression, it's time to take the struggle BACK TO THE STREETS. ▪ On October 22, 2022, the National Day of Protest against Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation, RAISE YOUR FISTS ACROSS AMERICA and GET BACK ON THE STREETS in every city and town for all Stolen Lives and casualties of police terror!

2022 is a year on the precipice: All of society is looking for a way to go forward. One way is being loudly proclaimed by powerful Republican fascists seeking to squash dissent and to intensify the oppression of Black and Brown people, women, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people. The other way, which came so powerfully to the forefront during the beautiful uprising of the summer of 2020 against police terror and white supremacy, is struggling to make its way past gatekeepers and moderates, who don't want to stop oppression but simply manage it on behalf of their Democratic Party patrons. The old, intolerable status quo is dying, while a new, liberating way forward for all of us is fighting to be born. It's on us to turn the tables on this terrible situation, and take the struggle back where it belongs, to the people and to the streets! Standing United, We Can Turn It All Around BACK TO THE STREETS for the National Day of Protest 2022! Remember how it felt when we were in the streets of every city and town, challenging this violence, racism and impunity down to the foundations? For the first time in years, the PEOPLE were setting the terms, and this system knew it and feared it! In response, the Republican establishment unleashed its fascist goons in and out of uniform, while the Democrats started doling out huge grants and corporate donations to groups that often only delivered infighting and toothless reforms. One thing should be clear from the upsurge of violence and repression by cops and fascist vigilantes in 2022: when we give up the streets, we lose ground. We've got to get back out there, calling forward people from all parts of society to visibly oppose this dangerous tide of violence and repression in united and diverse ways. The October 22nd Coalition has always united broadly across races, nationalities, and religious and political viewpoints, but we have also insisted that the only movement that stands a chance at turning back police violence is one that roots itself firmly among the people catching the most hell, mobilizes allies and collaborators throughout society, and remains independent of the powers that be. As we said in our Position Paper last year, we will work with and fight alongside those seeking reforms and electoral and policy changes who commit to stopping this genocide and escalating repression, as we build the kind of movement that keeps people mobilized and sees police violence and racist terror not as problems to be managed, but as ATROCITIES to be ENDED. At the core of our movement are the families and loved ones of the Stolen Lives, who know first-hand the devastation that unchecked police power brings. We stand with them resolutely and call on all justice-minded people to unite with Stolen Lives families nationwide, and take to the streets, the communities, the campuses and town squares to raise the demand, "Stop Police Brutality! Stop the Repression! Stop the Criminalization! NO MORE STOLEN LIVES!" This October 22nd, stand with thousands across the country to express our collective outrage, creativity, and resistance in response to the crimes of this system. Uphold the tens of thousands of lives stolen by U.S. law enforcement over the past quarter century. Take part in the Fists Across America project. Join us if there is already an NDP event in your area. Create one if you are in an area where there is currently no one organizing. On October 22nd, WEAR BLACK, FIGHT BACK! To endorse this call, complete this form. PDF versions of this call can be downloaded here (legal-sized is here) Mission Statement of the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation By: Carl Dix, Akil Al-Jundi, Sheba Haven June 14, 1996, October 22 National Office The National Day of Protest was initiated by a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals. We came together out of our concern that the peoples’ resistance to Police Brutality needed to be taken to a higher level nationwide._ The National Day of Protest aims to bring forward a powerful, visible, national protest against police brutality and the criminalization of a generation. It aims to expose the state's repressive program. It aims to bring forward those most directly under the gun of Police Brutality AND to also reach into all parts of the society--bringing forward others to stand in the fight against this official brutality. And the National Day of Protest aims to strengthen the peoples' organized capacity for resistance in a variety of ways. To organize an action or to connect with organizers in your area contact the October 22 National Team at oct22national@gmail.com http://october22.org | http://stolenlives.org ▪ The October 22 Coalition Position Paper - Fighting Police Terror in an Age of Fascism: A Time of Urgency, a Time for Unity, and a Time to Bring Forward an Era of Mass Resistance Donate to support the continued publication of RiseUp! eNewsletter Tax-deductible contributions accepted, and checks should be made payable to the "StopMassIncarcerationNetwork/Alliance for Global Justice" and sent to this address: Stop Mass Incarceration Network, P.O. Box 941 Knickerbocker Station, New York, New York 10002-0900