After four #OpBART demonstrations organized by Anonymous were held on consecutive Mondays that targeted Civic Center BART and other downtown stations, the No Justice No BART campaign has called for its first protest against BART police violence since July 11th. This time, the No Justice No BART campaign will take on the transit agency with a "Spare the Fare" protest in Powell Street BART station on September 8th. The idea for the protest is to pack enough demonstrators inside of the station, outside of the fare gates, that in order to keep people moving and the system running BART will open the emergency exits and fare gates to allow passengers entry without paying. "No $ for police brutality and murder: Disband the BART police," reads a flier announcing the action. BART has in the past foregone fares and funneled passengers past demonstrators. If BART chooses to close the station rather than "spare the fare" for just one afternoon, the contingency plan is for demonstrators to march to other stations and attempt to protest on the station platforms as they have before. In the September 5th press conference video below, speakers representing No Justice No BART, ONYX Organizing Committee, and Feminists Against Cops address police violence and the upcoming action.
2011-09-07 "Full video of press conference inside Civic Center BART station, including Q&A" by dave id
Media assembled inside Civic Center station for press conference on September 5th
2011-09-06 "Feminists against Cops - Statement Read At Press Conference Today Regarding Upcoming Sept 8th BART Protest" [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/06/18689574.php]
2009-03-05 "No Justice No BART Stages First Action at Fruitvale Station" [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/03/08/18575598.php]
2011-07-11 "Justice for Charles Hill BART Action Shuts Three Stations in San Francisco"[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/07/19/18685301.php]
"No Justice No BART" [http://nojusticenobart.blogspot.com]
2011-09-07 "Cat Brooks speaks at press conference" by dave id
She mentions the constant police harassment faced by the friends of Oscar Grant who were also detained by BART police on January 1st, 2009. As Hayward residents, it has primarily been Hayward police who continually harass and threaten Oscar Grant's friends. Johntue Caldwell was murdered by an unknown assailant. BART, too, has attacked Oscar Grant's friends as they pursue a civil suit for the the illegal treatment they received from BART police. The community has pushed back and intends to do so more.
2011-09-07 "Feminists Against Cops read a statement to the assembled media" by dave id
2011-09-07 "BART police gathering intelligence" by dave id
2011-09-07 "Feminists Against Cops, ONYX, and No Justice No BART take media questions" by dave id
2011-09-10 "League of Pissed Off Voters with #NoFare Protest Arrestee Dave Id of Indybay & Rebecca Bowe of SFBG" by Jeremy Pollack from "Mutiny Radio"
[http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/10/18689870.php]:
On the September 9th League of Pissed Off Voters show, Jeremy Pollack interviews journalist Dave Id of Indybay.org at length about having been wrongfully arrested the day before at the "Spare the Fare" demonstration in Powell Street BART station, as well as some of the history and structural issues with BART police and the transit agency. The show also features a reading of a report by San Francisco Bay Guardian reporter Rebecca Bowe about having been detained at the same protest, her SFPD press pass taken from her before being released, and -- when she asked why there was no dispersal order before BART police detained and arrested over two dozen protesters and journalists -- she was told by BART spokesperson Jim Allison that "I simply cannot devote the rest of my night to answering your questions."
This first audio piece is a 34-minute edited version of the show trimmed down to just the Dave Id interview and the reading of the report from Rebecca Bowe (http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/09/08/powell-station-shut-down-bart-protest).
The full two-hour program can be found in the audio below.
[http://podcasts.pcrcollective.org/TheLeagueSF/TheLeagueSF-20110909.mp3]
Jeremy Pollack hosts the League of Pissed Off Voters show EVERY FRIDAY from 6-8 PM on Mutiny Radio [http://www.facebook.com/theLeagueSFradio] [http://www.mutinyradio.org]
2011-09-04 "No Justice No BART Sept 5th Press Conference to Announce Our Next BART Demonstration"
Wednesday Sep 7th, 2011 7:29 PM PRESS ADVISORY
Who: No Justice No BART and allied community groups
What: Press Conference and announcement of our next BART demonstration
Time: 4:30 PM, Monday, September 5th
Place: Civic Center Station, inside the station but outside the fare gates
Tomorrow, Monday September 5th, No Justice No BART will be hosting a press conference at 4:30 PM inside Civic Center BART station. Along with several other community groups, we are planning a mass action on Thursday, September 8th, at the Powell BART station, to demand Justice for Charles Hill, who was needlessly gunned down by BART police. We will demand that the violent, corrupt, and dangerous BART police force be disbanded.
The press conference will include the release of more detailed information about the upcoming action. This action will likely differ from previous No Justice No BART actions in the following ways:
* Our intention is to protest outside the Powell station fare gates, but we will not block emergency exits to and from the station.
* IF our demonstration is successful, passengers will RIDE BART FOR FREE from Powell. We are calling this a SPARE THE FARE day.
* IF BART Police and Administrators attack or interfere with our protest, we move into BART and onto the platforms, which may cause disruption for passengers.
* We are making our strategy public so that people know what to expect and so that BART administrators know that THEY will be held accountable for all disruptions caused by the actions of their police.
Background:
No Justice No BART is a campaign of protests targeting the BART transit agency. We formed three years ago in the wake of the BART police murder of Oscar Grant and have been fighting since... for justice for Oscar Grant, Fred Collins, Charles Hill, and all victims of BART police violence and murder. Our core demand is that BART disband its murderous, inept, and corrupt police department.
On July 11th, No Justice No BART called a protest on the Civic Center station platform to respond to the BART police killing of Charles Hill. BART to shut down all four downtown stations and the disruption to the evening commute impacted thousands of commuters. This demonstration prompted BART to release the video of the shooting weeks ahead of schedule.
On August 11th, fearing another protest by No Justice No BART, BART shut down its cellular service to prevent protesters from communicating with one another. This draconian and illegal decision prompted a strong and negative reaction from people around the world, from organizations such as the ACLU and EFF, and civil disobedience on the streets and the internet organized by the hactivist group known as “Anonymous”. For the past three weeks, community groups have refrained from taking organizing roles in demonstrations against BART, and instead our members have watched or participated as individuals in the weekly (Monday) actions called by Anonymous. On Thursday we will step off the sidelines.
[No Justice No BART is not affiliated with Anonymous, and none of our actions have been been coordinated by Anonymous.]
2011-09-07 "Press statement clarification on Powell Street BART protest planned for Sept 8th":
Recent reports in the news media may be confusing passengers about the intentions of protesters who have called for a “SPARE THE FARE” action at Powell St. BART Station tomorrow (Thursday, 9/8).
We have made our protest plans for Thursday very public and very clear because we want to make the public aware that what happens to the evening commute depends entirely on how BART chooses to respond to this protest. If BART shuts down the station, their disruption of service will obviously effect passengers but we will simply move to another station. On the other hand, if BART allows us to protest, passengers will not be inconvenienced.
We want the public to know that our plan for Thursday’s protest is an attempt to see if our protests can effectively command the attention of the BART administration without inconveniencing passengers. We hope for a best case scenario in which, in order to keep riders moving into and out of the station, BART will open the emergency exits and let folks ride for free, just as they do for all sorts of big sporting events, antiwar protests, and even previous No Justice No BART protests.
We cannot guarantee that passengers will ride free, nor are we asking people to attempt to engage in civil disobedience by riding free. And passengers should understand that in the past, BART has often chosen to disrupt service even when it is not necessary, simply to prevent protesters from having any interaction with commuters.
Because BART may choose to disrupt service, and to help commuters adjust to whatever happens, we have committed to posting real time updates to a twitter feed (@nojusticenobart), so the public can find out about the status of the protest, what station we are at, and how BART is dealing with passengers who want to ride the trains.
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