We, Concerned Citizens, Community Activists, Voting and Tax Paying Residents of Boston, join together to publicly condemn statements made by James Carnell of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPD Union) and Editor of the Pax Centurion (BPD Union Newspaper).

In the current Jan/Feb Edition of the Pax Centurion (Vol. 41 No. 1), Jim Carnell refers to the young 16 yr. old Roxbury boy who was the subject of a much publicized arrest at Roxbury Community College as a “scumbag”, Carnell further goes on to characterize the young woman who filmed the video, as is her right, as an “intellectually bereft dolt”.

The entire article is fraught with sentiments that are particularly disturbing as James Carnell is a sworn officer on active duty in the Boston Police Department. Carnell’s statements are not at all helpful to the Boston Police Department which has made recent attempts to repair and strengthen its relationship with Black, Latino & Cape Verdean communities.

More from: http://blackstonian.blogspot.com/2011/03/public-condemnation-james-carnell.html

Labels: Boston , BPD , Police , Police Brutality

Thursday, March 24

Framing the Innocent: Crimes Under Color of Law at the Massachusetts
US Attorney's Office

7 pm
Northeastern University School of Law
240 Dockser Hall
65 Forsyth St.
Boston, MA

Come hear from Councilor Chuck Turner, the author of Boston's
Transgender Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, on the evening before he
goes to jail due to FBI repression of political activists.

Speakers:
Chuck Turner--Five-term Boston City Councilor representing Roxbury and
Dorchester, and a lifetime activist for social justice, recently
targeted by the FBI and the Massachusetts US Attorney

Bob Boyle--Attorney representing many activists and political
prisoners targeted by the FBI's infamous Counter-Intelligence Program
(COINTELPRO)

Laila Murad--Organizer from the Tarek Mehanna Support Committee

Michael Avery--Professor of Law, Suffolk Law School, won a landmark
civil suit against the Boston FBI on behalf of four men wrongfully
convicted of murder
Labels: Event , Events

Labels: Event , Events , Hip-Hop / Poetry

Saturday, March 19 at 12 noon
From Boston to Baghdad: End the Occupation!
Fight for Jobs & Education! Say 'No' to Racism!

Rally and March
Southwest Corridor Park at Ruggles Station
MBTA: Orange Line
(click here for map)

The momentum is building for the March 19 anti-war actions. In less than two weeks, demonstrations will take place across the country to mark the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. In Boston, we will gather for a rally at Southwest Corridor Park at Ruggles station followed by a march.

Eight years after the U.S. invasion, Iraq remains occupied by tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and foreign mercenaries. The war in Afghanistan rages on. Now, the U.S. government and its allies are setting their eyes on oil-rich Libya as a potential next target.

The wars abroad are directly connected to the war on poor and working people at home. Thirty million people in the U.S. remain unemployed or severely underemployed. Unions in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere are fighting to survive. Yet the government will spend $1 trillion for war, occupation and weapons in 2011 alone.

Our communities in Boston, too, are under attack. Mayor Menino's hand-picked School Committee has moved to close seventeen schools and are pushing additional cutbacks. Police brutality and racial profiling continue to plague Black and Latino neighborhoods, yet 7 out of the 10 highest paid city employees are Boston police officers. More than $30 million were spent to build a state-of-the-art police station in Roxbury.

Gov. Patrick is trying to bring the anti-immigrant law enforcement program “Secure Communities” program to Massachusetts, and gentrification continues to push working families out of communities like Jamaica Plain.

It doesn’t have to be this way! From Egypt and Tunisia to Wisconsin and Ohio, people are fighting back. Now more than ever it is clear that our movement must stay in the streets. Join us on March 19th for a rally and march to say "From Boston to Baghdad: End the Occupation! Fight for Jobs and Education! Say 'No' to Racism!"
Labels: Events

Framing the Innocent:
Crimes Under Color of Law at the Massachusetts US Attorney's Office

When: Thursday, March 24, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Northeastern University School of Law
240 Dockser Hall (65 Forsyth St., Boston)

Speakers:

Chuck Turner--Five-term Boston City Councilor representing Roxbury
and Dorchester, and a lifetime activist for social justice,
recently targeted by the FBI and the Massachusetts US Attorney

Bob Boyle--Attorney representing many activists and political
prisoners targeted by the FBI's infamous Counter-Intelligence
Program (COINTELPRO)

Laila Murad--Organizer from the Tarek Mehanna Support Committee

Michael Avery--Professor of Law, Suffolk Law School, won a landmark
civil suit against the Boston FBI on behalf of four men wrongfully
convicted of murder

***


Over the past few years, an atrocious history of government
misconduct at the Massachusetts US Attorney's office has emerged in
the court record, but few people have heard about it.

In the case Ferrara v. US, the court found that US Assistant
Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn worked with an FBI agent to coerce a
witness into maintaining false testimony, withheld evidence of the
witness's recantation from defense counsel, and perjured himself in
court. Other members of the office have

--Withheld information about misconduct by FBI agents

--Consistently and deliberately withheld evidence of the innocence
of defendants from defense counsel and from the court

The head of the Massachusetts US Attorney's office has shielded
assistants and acted to cover-up government misconduct. Auerhahn
was given responsibility to prosecute "terrorism" cases, where he
continues to handle government informants and "cooperating
witnesses."

The Massachusetts US Attorney has also demonstrated a clear set of
political priorities: contempt for basic civil liberties and due
process rights; an anti-immigrant agenda; selective prosecution of
black political leaders; and the prosecution of an overwhelming
number of indigent defendants and people of color.

Although the US Attorney's office has extraordinary power, people
who are concerned about government abuses have paid comparatively
little attention to its role within the criminal justice system.

Come participate in a public discussion about the Massachusetts US
Attorney's Office and what we can do to hold it accountable to our
concerns.


For more information, contact usattywatch@hushmail.com

Sponsored by

The Northeastern School of Law Chapters of the NLG (National
Lawyers Guild), EPIC (Ending the Prison Industrial Complex),
and BLSA (Black Law Student Association)

and by
Community Church of Boston, Boston ABC, Black and Pink


This message was distributed through usattorneywatch@lists.riseup.net, a list dedicated to the campaign to further expose the history of severe misconduct at the Massachusetts US Attorney's office. For more information and to subscribe visit the list homepage: https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/usattorneywatch
Labels: Events

Labels: Boston Public Schools , Education , Youth

By Associated Press

BOSTON - A coalition of lawyers and educators has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Boston public schools over a school closure plan it says discriminates against black and Latino students.

The Boston Bar Association’s lawyers’ committee for civil rights under law and the Black Educators’ Alliance of Massachusetts announced Monday that they have filed their complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

The complaint alleges that the district’s new "redesign and reinvest plan," which proposes to close several schools in the district, disproportionately affects black and Latino students since those schools are in largely minority neighborhoods.


But Boston Superintendent Carol Johnson said the schools slated for closure were selected because they are among the lowest chosen by families and have been struggling academically.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1320005
Labels: Boston , Boston Public Schools , Education , Youth