Join court support to free Comrade Bakari Olatunji

Occupy Da Hood SF has the back of the African working class movement when it challenges the state!

Join court support to free Bakari Olatunji
on Tues, May 8th at 2pm
at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland
at 7th and Washington,
Dept 112.

(exerpt from INPDUM Oakland website)

____________________________________________________

On Friday, May 4, 2012,
Comrade Bakari Olatunji aka Rickey Clay,
a 20+ year veteran of the Uhuru Movement,
was viciously attacked and arrested by Oakland Police
as we attempted to serve the people's subpoeana to the Oakland police Chief Jordan.

Bakari is currently being held for ransom at the notorious Santa Rita County Jail on $25,000 bail.
He has been charged with California Penal Code 69, a felony
which basically means "threatening an officer or resisting arrest with force or violence."

The struggle began as the Oakland branch of InPDUM held a press conference in front of the police headquarters in Oakland.

The purpose of the press conference at which we announced the Court for Black Justice and Reparations - scheduled for Sat, May 5 at the Uhuru House.

Through the Court for Black Justice, the AFrican community,
under the leadership of INPDUM,
will put the Oakland Police Dept on trial for crimes of colonial genocide against the African community.



The press conference was strategically planned to be held at the same time and location as the "police-community relations" meeting,
at the Oakland Police Headquarters.
The plan was to go straight from the press conference and demonstration to the police event,
where InPDUM organizers would physically serve the People’s Subpoeana to Police Chief Howard Jordan,
who was expected to be in attendance.



When InPDUM organizers attempted to enter the building where the meeting was being held
we were immediately blocked from entering the building
and told that we were not allowed to go inside.

This is despite the fact that the police were allowing people to come and go freely before, during and after our press conference.

This revealed to us that the police were only interested in allowing Africans to the event who were not interested in criticizing the brutal relationship the police have with the African community.



After long, heated debate with the police
– all in full view of InPDUM supporters and ruling class and independent media,
the police had no choice but to allow us to enter the building.

It was either that or be forced to admit
that the police is willing to abrogate our right to free speech
as a means of avoiding our criticisms of them.

When we entered the building
Police Chief Jordan was nowhere to be found,
further illustrating our point.

As we searched the room for Jordan,
several InPDUM organizers,
including President Diop Olugbala
and local leader Bakari Olatunji,
were immediately attacked by the pigs and physically removed from the building.

After this blatant attack on our movement and our right to peaceful assembly,
after the police succeeding in ousting us from the building,
Bakari Olatunji then sustained another attack.
He was targeted by the police,
placed in handcuffs and dragged away.



InPDUM Oakland immediately jumped to action,
holding another press conference to sum up the attack
and mobilize onlookers to attend the Court for Black Justice.

Later that evening we held a candlelight vigil
in honor and memory of all Africans who were killed at the hands of the OPD.
During the candlelight vigil we mobilized even more support
for the Free Bakari campaign.



By arresting Bakari
the police intended to demoralize our forces
and discourage us from resisting.

However, this attack has only served to deepen our resolve and will to resist.

We are currently moving forward to hold the Court for Black Justice
and Reparations and struggle for a People’s Sentence which will, among other things, call for the immediate release and exoneration of Rickey Clay
aka Bakari Olatunji.



WHAT YOU CAN DO :



1. Fortunately, INPDUM was prepared for the treachery of the state.
Therefore we were armed to the teeth with video cameras
that were used to document every second of our work
during the press conference and inside the building.
We caught the entire attack and arrest of Bakari on tape,
and subsequently were able to produce this video .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxFj1E4lzxU

We are asking everyone to forward this video as widely as possible
on all social media (ie Facebook, Youtube, etc.)



2. Bakari’s bail has been set for $25000.
Therefore we need to raise $2500 to get him out of Santa Rita County Jail.
We are calling on all lovers of freedom and social justice
to make a donation to the bail fund
by looging onto the link below:
http://www.wepay.com/donations/free-bakari-a.k.a.-rickey-clay


3. Call the Oakland Police Dept and Chief of Police
demanding the immediate release of Rickey Clay
on the grounds that he is a political prisoner, l
ocked up only because of his beliefs
– and NOT because he violated some law.
Chief of Police:
510-238-3131
OPD Jail Division:
510-238-3455


Caption : Bakari means "Hopeful",
Olatunji means "Honor returns".
REPARATIONS ! UHURU !