Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Watch Video of the Sept 24. St. Paul City Council Hearing
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It is available on the St. Paul City Council Website at:
http://stpaul.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=217
Cheri Honkala's presentation is about 1hr 9mins into the video with Glass Bead Collective's Video at the conclusion of Cheri's introduction.
Transcript of Cheri's comments:
[Start]
My name is Cheri Honkala and I am the National Organizer for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. We organized the March for Our Lives on September 2nd to address the worst form of violence - poverty.
We have had documented peaceful marches for the last twenty years, including the last two Democratic and Republican Conventions.
Efforts to silence the poor began early with surveillance at my home beginning in July, calls from the Federal Justice Department telling me that they feared for my life and the other members of the organization. They told me that the St. Paul Police Department had purchased 300 tasers and had concerns about their inexperience.
Having nowhere to house the poor from around the country, we set up Bushvilles after the Hoovervilles of the 1930’s. Here we were surrounded between 11:00 and 12:00 at night by over 200 police officers with riot gear, sharpshooters, the lights were turned off in the park as they turned on the sprinklers system on our children as they lay asleep at night.
The goal of all police activity was to instill fear in our members and the general public to stop the march from happening all together. On September 2nd, after receiving hundreds of calls and letters saying sorry we wish we could be there with you but we are afraid for our children. We step out first to be met by the CIA at the place where our children were located across the street from Mears Park, after being met by the CIA we were met by the FBI. They told us that we were going to have serious problems first on Grove Street and then in front of the Capitol. I then stated to the representatives of the Federal Justice Department that if they thought there was going to be serious danger then they had a responsibility to protect me and the other marchers.
As I stood next to my six year old son, we tried to begin the March for Our Lives. And on September 2nd, and as you will see in this clip, our first amendment rights were violated. First you’ll see me talking about the “most American thing is the right to protest for rights.” Next, you’ll see our demonstration being taken over by the police department during our speeches, they sent countless numbers of police and reporters to divert attention from to one individual being tased violently by the police. The focus was no longer about poverty, hunger and homelessness in United States of America in was on forty officers on one individual.
You will also see large number of undercover police officers in our march in this video I am about to show you. You will also see us carrying photography of Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi, marching with nuns and a priest and children in strollers, and this gentleman in a wheelchair and along with others in wheelchairs, seniors in their 80’s, veterans, people of all colors committed to non-violence and ending poverty in this country.
Lastly, you will see all of us running for our lives. You will see the militarization of the police – gas everywhere, pepper spray, and police opening fire with rubber bullets on peaceful women and children.
On September 2nd, we didn’t have freedom to assemble or freedom of speech.
We are not terrorists, we are Americans.
A humane and free society doesn’t open fire on its people with tear gas and rubber bullets. Fear of serious injury only can not justify suppression of freedom of speech or assembly.
Men feared witches and then burned them
The only thing the poor have is their voice. We will not be silenced.
Here’s the video.
[End]
http://stpaul.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=217
Cheri Honkala's presentation is about 1hr 9mins into the video with Glass Bead Collective's Video at the conclusion of Cheri's introduction.
Transcript of Cheri's comments:
[Start]
My name is Cheri Honkala and I am the National Organizer for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. We organized the March for Our Lives on September 2nd to address the worst form of violence - poverty.
We have had documented peaceful marches for the last twenty years, including the last two Democratic and Republican Conventions.
Efforts to silence the poor began early with surveillance at my home beginning in July, calls from the Federal Justice Department telling me that they feared for my life and the other members of the organization. They told me that the St. Paul Police Department had purchased 300 tasers and had concerns about their inexperience.
Having nowhere to house the poor from around the country, we set up Bushvilles after the Hoovervilles of the 1930’s. Here we were surrounded between 11:00 and 12:00 at night by over 200 police officers with riot gear, sharpshooters, the lights were turned off in the park as they turned on the sprinklers system on our children as they lay asleep at night.
The goal of all police activity was to instill fear in our members and the general public to stop the march from happening all together. On September 2nd, after receiving hundreds of calls and letters saying sorry we wish we could be there with you but we are afraid for our children. We step out first to be met by the CIA at the place where our children were located across the street from Mears Park, after being met by the CIA we were met by the FBI. They told us that we were going to have serious problems first on Grove Street and then in front of the Capitol. I then stated to the representatives of the Federal Justice Department that if they thought there was going to be serious danger then they had a responsibility to protect me and the other marchers.
As I stood next to my six year old son, we tried to begin the March for Our Lives. And on September 2nd, and as you will see in this clip, our first amendment rights were violated. First you’ll see me talking about the “most American thing is the right to protest for rights.” Next, you’ll see our demonstration being taken over by the police department during our speeches, they sent countless numbers of police and reporters to divert attention from to one individual being tased violently by the police. The focus was no longer about poverty, hunger and homelessness in United States of America in was on forty officers on one individual.
You will also see large number of undercover police officers in our march in this video I am about to show you. You will also see us carrying photography of Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi, marching with nuns and a priest and children in strollers, and this gentleman in a wheelchair and along with others in wheelchairs, seniors in their 80’s, veterans, people of all colors committed to non-violence and ending poverty in this country.
Lastly, you will see all of us running for our lives. You will see the militarization of the police – gas everywhere, pepper spray, and police opening fire with rubber bullets on peaceful women and children.
On September 2nd, we didn’t have freedom to assemble or freedom of speech.
We are not terrorists, we are Americans.
A humane and free society doesn’t open fire on its people with tear gas and rubber bullets. Fear of serious injury only can not justify suppression of freedom of speech or assembly.
Men feared witches and then burned them
The only thing the poor have is their voice. We will not be silenced.
Here’s the video.
[End]
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