#RiseUpOctober!

There are only two sides - for police terror or against it!  Every person of conscience MUST Stand Up and Be Heard.  Silence=Complicity! Wherever you are!


Find out more about the National Movement and link up.

Bring 100 family members of victims of murders by police to NYC for the October 24th March!

Download materials from the National Website and post them at your school, university, community center, church, on social media, and everywhere else!

To connect with organizers e-mail worldcantwaithawaii@yahoo.com.

Honolulu Events coming up:

-  "SAY THEIR NAMES!  STOP POLICE TERROR!"
     Video, Forum and Discussion at Revolution Books
     September 27, 3pm.  For info. 

-  MARCH AGAINST POLICE TERROR & MASS INCARCERATION
   October 22, 4pm
   Gather at the State Capitol by 4pm for a march through downtown.  March will end at City Hall. 






Aloha `Aina March in Waikiki

Sunday, August 9:   More than 10,000 people came together for an “Aloha `Aina” march in Waikiki.  The unifying theme was a call for protection of the `aina (land).  Most were Native Hawaiians who have been energized by courageous protests against the construction of theThirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the summit of Mauna Kea.  Others came to speak out against rapacious “development”, militarization of Pacific islands, destruction of farmlands, Monsanto, and GMO’s.  

As people assembled for the march, activists with the Honolulu Ad Hoc Committee for #RiseUpOctober distributed hundreds of copies of a leaflet headlined: “From Ferguson to Mauna Kea:  The Whole Damn System is Guilty”, along with the palm card calling for people to go to the march in NYC.   As soon as the banner with photos of victims of murder by police was displayed, children gathered round to read it to each other and ask questions.  “Look!  She’s littler me!  Why they kill her?” (pointing to the picture of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, age 7).  

Then the march took off down the main avenue through Hawai`i’s busiest tourist district and activists holding the #RiseUpOctober and World Can’t Wait’s “Humanity and the Planet Come First” banners jumped into the mix.    The distinctive blowing of the conch alternated with Hawaiian chant and song.   At times the march stopped completely and marchers turned to tourists lining the streets and performed hula.  Tourists along the route eagerly grabbed Hawai`i's #RiseUpOctober leaflet.   Participants in neighboring contingents saw that tourists were taking our leaflets and asked for stacks to help distribute.

The just anger of the Hawaiian people against a racist system that has overthrown their nation, stolen and desecrated their lands, condemned many to lives  of poverty and incarceration, and now criminalizes them for speaking out, has erupted in the form of the struggle to protect Mauna Kea.  But it isn’t limited to that.  The Hawaiian people are increasingly stepping to the frontlines of struggles against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), against militarization, for the preservation of agricultural lands, and against police brutality.   The Hawaiian people are rising up. 


Following are some photos from the march.

March in Solidarity with Protests in Baltimore
Saturday, May 2, 6:30pm
Meet at Honolulu Zoo (Kalakaua/Kapahulu)

Stop Police Murder!  Justice for Freddie Grey!

Yesterday 7,000 people were marching in NYC; thousands in D.C., Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and other cities - and they are continuing.  The movement against police murder and brutality is growing.  New revelations of police murders, brutality and cover-ups have become part of the conversation on the media as young people in Baltimore speak out about their experiences at the hand of the cops, express their demands for justice, and share their hopes and dreams.   Be part of building this movement!    The epidemic of police murder must stop -- and only continuing and determined resistance can stop it!

Bring signs or pick up one of ours.  We'll be marching on Kalakaua and will return to Honolulu Zoo.

 

April 14 in Honolulu


When students walked on McCarthy Hall at UH-Manoa on Tuesday morning there were big big banners hanging from the 3rd floor of the Art Department or displays of victims of police brutality on construction walls, in hallways and stairwells, bulletin boards, and pillars. 

No one could miss that there is an epidemic of police murder in the U.S. - and that Hawai`i is no exception. 

Leafleters held a banner with pictures of victims of police murder on the Campus Center Mall and passed out leaflets and stickers.  Within a few hours about 200 students were wearing big stickers reading: "Stop Police Murders!  #ShutDown A14"  A student who said he was from a barrio in LA said he had been stopped almost every day and expected that when he came to Hawai`i he would leave all that.  However, while he isn't stopped as often, he said police still harass him.  He stopped by several times yelling "Fuck the Police!" 

A young woman told about being sexually assaulted by several GI's in Waikiki and then being assaulted again by police who were called to the scene.  A young Hawaiian woman commented:  "You think it's bad here?  Try Waianae!"  Another woman enthusiastically took a sticker and leaflets saying "a lot of my friends have been harassed by the cops."   Many commented that they had seen the posters; a professor stopped and said she'd been stunned by the line of photos of victims of police murder lining the stairways in her department saying: "very, very effective."   While a real "walk-out" didn't happen, it wasn't "business as usual" on the campus either.

By 3:30 in the afternoon people were assembling at Thomas Square to hold signs along the busy King Street thoroughfare.  By then we had received beginning news from across the U.S. and had heard that demonstrations had shut down the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC, the Metro train in LA, Mission Street in SF, and that there were some significant high school walk-outs.  Even though our numbers were small, and there was an ocean between us, the excitement of being part of a much larger movement took hold and was reinforced by the enthuasiastic response from passersbys. 

By 4:30 our group of about 15 people marched to the Honolulu Police Department headquarters, where we had a short rally.  Danger tape was wrapped around the stair railings and the sidewalk along the street was chalked with slogans and outlines of victims.

 

 


We had learned only the day before that an out-of-town police accreditation team was holding a "listening session" at HPD on A14 and that the public was invited to share "compliments and complaints" so by 5pm we were headed in. 

When our group entered the room with our signs and banners we filled more than half of the seats, and by the time the accreditation team sat down only an additional handful of people had arrived (not a big surprise since this "listening session" had only been announced in a very small blurb in the Star Advertiser newspaper the day before!). 


One after the other people stood up to register their complaints.  A legislature decried the high incidence of sexual harassment by police.  A college instructor recited a litany of outrages:  a recent incident in a local bar where undercovers  punched and kicked customers, and which was caught on surveillance and televised broadly; a woman who had been sexually assaulted by a cop during a traffic stop; the beating of a young man who tried to video the police; and much more.  The spokesperson from SMIN-Hawai`i agitated against police murder and demanded justice for Sheldon Haleck (who was recently tasered to death by a cop).  A student we had met on campus spoke out against her assault and subsequent ridicule by police,, and was reinforced by another woman who said she was moved by her testimony, and was outraged that her testimony was not unusual but reflected experiences of many women at the hands of the police.  A witness to police murder recounted how police had discredited his testimony and had lied about the testimony of other witnesses.  KITV News covered the hearing.   While they covered a portion of SMIN-Hawai`i's remarks, it managed to avoid information about the National Protest.  However it was definitely not "business as usual" at HPD as person after person spoke out against police brutality, murder, and sexual assault.  As the hearing ended, activists stood and chanted "Every City, Every Town, Has Its Own Michael Brown."   Unfortunately, this wasn't included in TV coverage. 

Be sure to go to the national Stop Mass Incarceration website for the latest reports about what happened across the country. 



#A14 Plans

The relentless murders of innocent human beings by police is intolerable.

The protests set for April 14 must witness thousands insisting that:

THIS MUST STOP – NO MORE!

If not now, when?
If not you, who?

 See more:

Actions in Honolulu:
10:30am:  Walk-out at UH-Manoa and got to Sustainability Courtyard for a speak-out
3:30pm:  Gather at Thomas Square for a Rally & March

Rally at the corner of King & Ward in the park.  The march will begin at about 4pm and will head to Honolulu Hale for short agitation and chalking before going to HPD Headquarters on Beretania.

There's been a new development!    An International Police Accreditation Team will be holding a "Listening Session" at HPD beginning at 5pm.  The public is invited to voice their complaints. Click here and here for more information. 

Demand an end to police murder and brutality!  Demand that information about police murder and brutality be made immediately available, and that results of all investigations of police murder and brutality be open to the public. 
Heard!



Justice for Walter Scott

Justice for Walter Scott!

and All Victims of Police Murder!

 

#ShutDownA14

 

UH Manoa:  Walk out at 11:30

and Converge at Sustainability Courtyard

 

3:30:  Rally & March

Gather at Thomas Square for a rally and march to the State Capitol and HPD!

 

Wherever you are, STOP BUSINESS AS USUAL on A14!

 

Don't keep your actions hidden!  #ShutDownA14

 

 

 

 



#ShutDownA14

15 people responded to our Call to a Vigil/Signholding in front of Iolani Palace to
Demand Justice for Sheldon Haleck on very short notice.  A small memorial was set up and our signs lined King Street during rush hour

Many commuters honked their horns; a few stopped their cars to ask what had happened; several pedestrians stopped to talk, thank us, or tell about their own experiences with police brutality.

We also heard some potentially important new information.  According to someone who was within several hundred yards of the killing but did not personally see Sheldon get tased,, Sheldon was "dragged from the street" rather than "escorted," as the HPD report claimed, and  several people he had spoken with overheard conversations between the police immediately after Sheldon was tased saying they were "worried that the woman cop who tased Sheldon had tased him too long."   At this point facts are still sketchy, but while we held signs we couldn't help but note that there were a number of surveillance cameras in the vicinity that might hold important information.

A Press Release was sent to members of Hawai`i's media; only Channel 9 came out.  The photographer took a lot of pictures, but we haven't seen any coverage.  However, we do have the power of the social media - if we utilize it.  Put pictures of Sheldon Haleck on facebook.  Spread the picture of the memorial everywhere.  Call the press. And get ready for April 14!   As we said in our Press Release:


We  Say NO MORE!   World Can’t Wait-Hawai`i calls on the people of Hawai`i to demand the truth about the circumstances surrounding the death of Sheldon Haleck.
We challenge the media to vigorously investigate the actions of the HPD and to refuse to parrot police reports and attempts to vilify victims of police brutality and murder. We challenge the people of Hawaii to stand with the victims of police brutality and create an atmosphere where families can talk openly about their loved ones, and where witnesses of police brutality can step forward to tell the truth.  In the wake of the police murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, people across the U.S. righteously stood up against police murder and brutality, the targeting of Black and Brown people, and the lack of prosecution of the police for their crimes.

People of different races and nationalities, and from all walks of life, joined together to say, “We  Can't Breathe,” in solidarity with those being victimized. Through many different forms of protest and resistance, the entire society was finally forced to confront this burning injustice.  Meanwhile, murder by police continues unchecked.


In the last 8 months HPD has killed at least 5 unarmed Hawai`i residents.  Hawai`i has one of the highest rates of police murder and brutality in the U.S. 
The epidemic of police murder and brutality must end!   NOW! 

On April 14 we wo;; be joining with people across the U.S. calling for a Shut Down to Stop Murder (#ShutDownA14).  Go to www.stopmassincarceration.net to connect with the growing movement against police murder, brutality and mass incarceration!

Demand Justice for Sheldon Haleck!
Friday, March 20, 4:30-5:30
Vigil from 4:30-5:30;  Press Conference at 5pm
King Street, in front of Iolani Palace

Sheldon Haleck posted this picture of himself with his son on Facebook on March 8, 2015.  One week later he was dead after being pepper sprayed and then tased twice by HPD.
 

Sheldon Haleck was 38 years old.  He was born in Samoa and moved to Hawai`i with his family as a child.  He graduated from Kaiser HS and owns a home in Milillani.   His facebook is that of a proud father, filled with pictures of his young son.  A friend he knew described him as  "very kind-hearted, soft and humble man,...Sheldon was loved by so many and always will be."
 

Reports of what happened are sketchy but there's enough to raise a big alarm. 

HPD alleges they were trying to arrest Sheldon on "suspicion of disorderly conduct" and that he became "combative" after being pepper sprayed and tased twice, and then tripped and fell to the street in front of Iolani Palace.  They allege they "escorted" him to the sidewalk, where he suddenly become "unresponsive"  and was transported to Queen's where he was pronounced dead. HPD has classified his death as an "unattended death."   Results of the autopsy are expected to take up to 4 weeks.


What happened to Sheldon Haleck?  What caused him to be "acting erratically" when his friends say this is completely "out of character?" Where are the witnesses?  Surveillance tapes?  (this is in front of Iolani Palace and the U.S. Post Office!).  Why should anyone trust a report by HPD given their record of cover-ups?  Remember the case of Stephen Dinnon of Waimanalo who was beaten by HPD and later died?  Or of Aaron Torres of Nanakuli, who was asphyxiated after calling HPD for help?


THIS MUST END!    WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO BE SILENT!  We must learn from the people of Ferguson, who rigteously rose up to demand justice for Michael Brown!


We must build a community that supports victims of police murder and brutality!


Join us on Friday, March 20, to demand justice for Sheldon Haleck!  Bring signs.  Bring flowers or messages for a memorial.