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NEWS & LETTERS, May-June 2010
Fight the 'injunktion'
Oakland, Calif.--On April 22 over 100 people gathered at the courthouse under the banner "Injunktions equal injustice!" City Attorney John Russo filed a "gang injunction" against 70 people who have not been charged with any crime. A hearing was being held on whether to permit Oakland to give police the power to suspend the civil rights of people the police suspect of gang association. The police could arrest "suspected gang members," determined mostly by racial profiling, for being on the street after a certain hour, or for meeting on the street with even one other person designated as a "gang member." A similar injunction in L.A. had no effect on crime.
Protesters pointed to the need for youth opportunities, not more powers for the Oakland police. Many carried signs with pictures of victims of police killings.
All Of Us Or None, comprised of former prisoners, organized the demonstration. They are also pressuring the Oakland government to "ban the box" on city job applications that indicates whether a person has ever been convicted, in effect constituting job discrimination.
--Prisoner support activist
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