Anderson@Large

Philly’s Shame

By a vote of 15-1, the Philadelphia City Council passed a stricter curfew bill that will sweep minors from the streets during curfew hours. Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell cast the lone vote against the bill.

The bill’s sponsor, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, admitted there is no data to show curfews are effective in stemming youth violence. Still, the 99 percent will be penalized for the random acts of a few knuckleheads.

The vote was greeted with chants of “Shame! Shame!” by Occupy Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Anti-Curfew Action Committee.

It was an ironic end to this chapter in the criminalization of black youth. Evelyn “Champagne” King was 17 when she recorded the disco hit “Shame” in Philly, her adopted hometown.

The curfew will deny today’s 17-year-olds, as one witness testified, opportunities to “flourish in this city.” And that’s a low down dirty shame.

Still No Love for Black Youth in Philly

Last Thursday, Philadelphia’s City Council was expected to pass an enhanced curfew law. However, no vote was taken due to a “procedural glitch.” The bill’s sponsor, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, said she has the votes.

If Council passes the bill, it will not be the end of the story; rather, it will open up a new chapter in the fight against the criminalization of black youth.

In the meantime, I want to share my post about the curfew bill published by Race-Talk, a project of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity:

I live in Philadelphia in Center City, ground zero for a series of attacks dubbed “flash mobs” by the media. Since 2009, small groups of black teens and young adults have committed 11 such attacks at random times and on random days of the week.

In a fiery speech before Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Mayor Michael Nutter acknowledged that “less than one percent” of black youth were engaged in the attacks:

I want to apologize to all the good, hardworking, caring people here in this city, and especially our good, young people here in Philadelphia. But I have to tell you this morning that I am forced by the stupid, ignorant, dumb actions of a few -- and we will announce tomorrow actions that we will take that unfortunately will affect many here in our city.

Indeed, the 99 percent are presumed guilty. Nutter dusted off a decades-old law and imposed a “temporary curfew” that sweeps minors from Center City and University City after 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The curfew was scheduled to end after Labor Day but under the Mayor’s emergency powers, it has been extended indefinitely. The demonization of black youth stands in stark contrast to how the police handle random acts of violence and property damage committed by white youth in Center City when, for instance, the Phillies won the World Series.

Study after study shows that curfews are ineffective at stemming youth violence. But they are effective in keeping black youth out of sight. The October 2011 newsletter of the South Street Headhouse District, where some of the “flash mobs” took place, includes this call to action:

The South Street Mini-Station has enforced the citywide curfew to great success. If you have noticed an improvement in the District due to this curfew please email your positive feedback and request for continuance of the curfew to Deputy Mayor Everett Gillison.

I mentioned this “great success” to Harvard Law professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. when he was in town for a book signing and discussion at the African American Museum. The author of “The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Race, Class and Crime in America,” Prof. Ogletree told me: “America always looks better when we are swept from the streets.”

Read more: Black Youth are Presumed Guilty

Nobody Knows the Trouble ‘Sitting Man’ Has Seen

I stopped by Occupy Wall Street yesterday. They were serving lunch so I had a plate of peas and rice, plantains and a slice of watermelon.

The Occupiers include folks who march to the beat of a different drummer.

At times, the drumming was deafening. Although one Occupier called the drum circle the “heart beat” of the encampment, few want to “give the drummer some.” Instead, they want to give them the boot. The Slatest reports:

Someday the Occupy Wall Street protests will end, and the only question is whether they will go out with a bang or a whimper—or a lot of loud banging followed by whimpers.

At least one organizer fears it’s the latter. An anonymous activist wrote a letter to the literary magazine N+1 on Monday warning that drum circles are causing such an outcry that it could derail the whole movement. Really.

It seems a core group of beatniks in New York’s Zuccotti Park has been holding marathon jam sessions from mid-morning until late at night every day, punishing the eardrums of their fellow protesters and the surrounding neighborhood. Teachers at a school across the street have complained they can’t teach. And the local neighborhood community board is holding a meeting Tuesday night in which it could revoke its support of the protests if it’s not satisfied that the noise will subside.

Seward Johnson’s “Double Check” sits a few feet from the drum circle. Occupiers have renamed the iconic sculpture “Sitting Man.”

Sitting Man survived the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. I was a volunteer at Ground Zero. For both workers and volunteers, he was a talisman and symbol of hope.

Ten years later, nobody knows the trouble Sitting Man has seen. Nobody knows his sorrow.

Have You Voted Yet?

I’m part of the 99 percent.

Now that I have your attention :-), I hope you will “just take five” and vote for me for the 2011 Women’s Media Center Social Media Award.

Thank you.

No Love for Black Youth in Philly

Last August, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter declared an emergency and imposed a “temporary curfew” that sweeps minors from Center City and University City after 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The curfew was scheduled to end after Labor Day but it has been extended indefinitely. Later today, City Council is expected to expand did not vote on Bill No. 110633. The legislation would amend the decades-old law and make it a crime for a minor to be in any “public place” after curfew hours.

Although facially race-neutral, the curfew disproportionately impacts black youth. The People’s Law School at Occupy Philly wrote that this law:

Makes it illegal for law-abiding adults to escort non-custodial minors and family members (i.e. nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers) in Philadelphia – this includes all “publicly accessible” areas like the movie theater, theater, stores, restaurants, etc.

Targets black youth and aims to prohibit their movement within richer neighborhoods.

Nijmie Zakkiyyah Dzurinko, executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union, told the Philadelphia Tribune:

Unfortunately, many of the students impacted by the curfew enforcement areas are working part-time jobs downtown, where they are unable to navigate home in sufficient time. The students enjoy being downtown as much as tourists. Not all large or small groups of students lead to violence.

Individuals who break the law should be dealt with on an individual basis. Collective punishment targeting a small geographic area is not going to solve the root issue.

If you are concerned about the criminalization of black youth, contact your Council member and make some noise.

UPDATE: City Council tabled the bill; no vote was taken. Council may pass or amend the bill at its next meeting (Oct. 27).

Occupy Philadelphia showed black youth some love.

Occupiers stepped up to the mic and spoke truth to power. Khadijah Costley White described the bill as a “backdoor approach to enforcing a widespread segregation and caging of Philadelphia’s youth, and believe it echoes the Black codes and slave codes of America’s history.”

To get involved, please join the Facebook group, Philadelphia Anti-Curfew Action Committee.

Day Tripping at Occupy Wall Street

On the one-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, I went to Zuccotti Park to see what was going on.

The half-acre public space has been transformed into Liberty Square, a self-contained encampment of unemployed 20-somethings, homeless, progressives, anarchists and aging hippies “veteran leftist activists.” There is also a garden variety of nuts and thieves.

While it’s messy, the park has not been trashed. I was expecting a scene out of “Hoarders.” Instead, OWS is organized chaos with a “Good Neighbor Policy.”

Don’t even think about trampling the flowers:

Keep it clean. This plaza and these flowers are important to the community. Our ability to uphold the beauty of this park well represents our commitment to a better world.

There’s a kitchen that serves healthy and free food.

They were serving breakfast so I helped myself to scrambled eggs, hash browns and a bagel.

The Occupiers have everything one would need in an encampment that never sleeps, including a cellphone and laptop charging area, generator, Health Care and Comfort stations, and Sanitation Department.

They even have some kitchen sinks.

The encampment is surrounded by the NYPD. If Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the order, the police could clear out the tent city in, well, a New York minute.

Right now, OWS is the place to see and be seen. It’s the latest tourist attraction in Lower Manhattan. A Quinnipiac University poll found overwhelming support among New York City voters.

Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement:

It’s a free country. Let them keep on protesting as long as they obey the law, New Yorkers say overwhelmingly. Critics complain that no one can figure out what the protesters are protesting. But seven out of 10 New Yorkers say they understand and most agree with the anti-Wall Street views of the protesters

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll found most Americans have no opinion of the Occupiers:

Given Americans’ apparent lack of knowledge about the Occupy Wall Street movement, it is not surprising to find a minority of Americans describing themselves as supporters (26%) or opponents (19%) of the movement. A majority, 52%, say they are neither supporters nor opponents, with another 4% not having an opinion.

Until the Occupiers figure out what their goals are, it is an open question whether it’s a moment or a movement.

As Occupy Wall Street celebrates its one-month anniversary, it remains a collection of grievances. If and when the General Assembly adopts goals, there is no plan to achieve them.

As the unwashed body count rises, the temperature drops and media coverage fades away, the General Assembly will be asked: Why are you still here?

Occupy Wall Street

I’m in New York City. While here, I’m going to make the pilgrimage to the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park.

I’m wearing a knockoff of a Picasso scarf that I bought from a street vendor a few years ago when I was in Madrid.

I had just left Museo Reina Sofía where I viewed Picasso’s “Guernica.” I was so inspired by the painting that I said I would only wear the scarf into battle.

I’m not looking for trouble but as we know, sh stuff happens.