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Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective calls for a Yellow Overalls Formation for June 2 |
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by Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective
Email: cincyyabasta (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified!) |
23 May 2001
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Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective calls for a Yellow Overalls Formation for June 2nd |
Ya Basta!- Enough!
Enough of Racism!
Enough of Police Brutality!
To the people of Cincinnati,
To the people of the world,
With the murder of Timothy Thomas, one of many African American men killed by police, the city of Cincinnati has erupted into protests and riots. A sleeping city was turned on its head as it was forced to confront issues of racism and police brutality. In the continuing process of the push for social change, a series of events have been organized for June1-3 with two major actions happening on the 2nd. The organizers have invited all
to attend. This is a call to action for a yellow overalls formation for June 2nd by the Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective. All are welcome!
The Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective wants to make visible the issues of racism and police brutality. We wish to tear down the veil of silence and the wall of separation that divides people in this city. We are rebelling against the invisibility of such oppression in our communities, the invisibility of it in the media and also in the conscious attempts to ignore this reality in the hearts and minds of many people. We wish to show our rage and discontent as visibly as possible in order to not be ignored.
The Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective is a local manifestation of the Ya Basta! and yellow overalls movement. The colors orange and yellow represent a warning to show that our communities are in trouble! The yellow and orange chemical suits were chosen as a strong image to symbolize the conditions of invisibility imposed on the marginalized, segregated and exploited people of our community and the rest of the country. The overalls represent the clothing worn by some of the most exploited classes of people in American society. They represent the uniforms worn by working people and especially by
those workers with the most dangerous jobs. The overalls also represent the uniforms of all those locked up in jails, prisons and workgangs. We mask our bodies and our faces to be anonymous because we are leaderless and work together in harmony beyond the limits of ideology. Our suits and masks are not to conceal our identity but to reveal it. We are giving our resistance a face, for by putting on our masks and suits we reveal our unity. By
raising our voices in the streets we call attention to the facelessness of Power and the blinding institutionalization of racism and exploitation.
The Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective is forming for the upcoming actions based on the following agenda:
1) To call attention to the pervasive level of racism and police brutality in the city of Cincinnati and the United States, in general.
2) To adopt a confrontational, non-reformist stance while acknowledging the need for concrete action.
3) To understand that the problems of racism and police brutality directly effect the African American community on a day to day basis in ways many people do not have to
deal with nor understand. Therefore, we will not impose our ideas on the African American community but instead seek dialogue and understanding in order to find a solution.
4) Participate in the March for Justice on June 2nd with respect for the parameters set forth by the organizers, namely that of a peaceful and legal march. Ya Basta! will take part in the march to express solidarity with other organizations and causes and to express opposition to racism, police brutality and inequality. We will remain somewhat subdued yet visible, with or without overalls. The point is NOT to up the ante on the possibility of
police violence during the march in an already tense town. There is no reason to bring more police into Over the Rhine, a community already under siege. The march starts at
11am on Fountain Square in the heart of downtown. More info on the March for Justice can be obtained from MFJ (at) che-2000.org http://www.che-2000.org/MFJ.html .
5) Participate in the CRAC(K) (Cincinnati Radical Action Collective) action in close cooperation with the organizing committee and within the guidelines set forth by them.
This will definitely be a yellow overalls event! Come prepared! We are asking for a yellow overalls formation during this action. The purpose is to occupy a section of Hyde Park (a wealthy, high traffic, mostly white neighborhood) in order to bring the issues of racism, police brutality and privilege home to the city of Cincinnati. It is also to call attention to the nature of privilege as well as a recognition of how we all play a part in the maintenance of privilege. The occupation will create a liberated zone in which the search for alternatives will become a possibility. More info to come and can be obtained from CRAC(K): cracj2 (at) hotmail.com
Everyone is welcome to join up with the Cincinnati Ya Basta! collective in the marches and actions. You can join by wearing the suits and working together with us.
Yellow overalls will be available upon request and at the site of demonstration. However, you should come prepared. Please join us!
For more information and requests for suits please contact: cincyyabasta (at) yahoo.com. Until a website is completed, articles about Ya Basta! and the Yellow Overalls can be found on the web at www.idrive.com. View the archives by entering \"zapatismo\" in the visitor box. For protection and defense strategies visit the NYC Ya Basta! website at www.freespeech.org/yabasta
We have heard the calls for change from the African American community, the residents of Over the Rhine, and the poor and marginalized peoples of the city of Cincinnati.
We wish to stand in solidarity with you.
To us you are not invisible!
We say Ya Basta!--Enough!
-The Cincinnati Ya Basta! Collective
cincyyabasta (at) yahoo.com
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