Militarization and Its Impact on Women of Communities of Color to be Discussed at SSoWA 3rd Session
NEW YORK: With mammoth protests wracking the United States over police brutality, the third session of AF3IRM NYC’s Summer School of Women’s Activism acquires even more relevance and urgency. To be held on July 25, noon to 4 pm, at a designated safe space, the session will look at the policy of militarization at the international, national and local levels of the US government.The session will be facilitated by Joan Ariete and Leani Auxilio, with input from guest presenters who are engaged in resisting the militarization of communities in New York. It will also provide practical training in knowing one’s rights, what to do when confronted by the police, and how to demand and obtain justice in the event such a confrontation devolves into violence.With over 68,000 missing black women and scores killed by the police under the pretext that the victims were “mentally disturbed,” it has become incumbent for women of color to understand the roots of the policy of militarizing communities and unleashing a virtual “war on terror” on people of color. The economic dislocation caused by the massive transfer of work overseas is one factor for the creation of a surplus population which police authorities use to continue to fatten budgets and increase man power. This is aided and abetted by a pervasive political tyranny that ensures the monopolization of political power by certain clans and families.This assault on democratic processes and the preference for militarization have inflicted suffering and tragedy on communities of color in the US.Interested participants can register at www.SSOWA2015.eventbrite.