Columbia University Students Against Mass Incarceration

We stand in solidarity with the students in Mizzou, Yale, South Africa, and every other institution across the world where BLACK people are marginalized and threatened. We will not stand by as countless institutions and administrations fail to act in the face of gross injustice. We refuse to be your silent, respectable markers of diversity.

On Thursday Nov 12th, we joined BLACK people across the country as we wore ALL BLACK, ALL DAY. That evening Columbia students gathered at the Sundial in the middle of campus to heal, express ourselves, support each other, and most importantly celebrate the courage and resolve of our brothers, sisters, and siblings around the world.

To those at other campuses and other institutions around the world, please join us in solidarity by organizing your own actions and spaces. This is a movement, not a moment. Spread the word.

Come through CU School of Social Work this afternoon, SAMI will be leading a workshop on Organizing Students to End Mass Criminalization and Incarceration in room 311 from 130-4!

Today & tomorrow check out Barnard Center for Research on Women's Action on Education conference. Our homies from BYP 100 willl be facilitating a workshop called "Girls Behind Bars: Black Girls and the School-to-Prison Pipeline" from 12:30-2:00pm in Diana Event Oval. https://www.facebook.com/events/980790991949613/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Action on Education Speakers include Ujju Aggarwal, Lalaie Ameeriar, Abigail Boggs, The Black Youth Project, Nuala Cabral, Natalia Cecire, Jaz Choi, Tressie McMillan Cottom, Kandice Chu, Antonia Darder, Dána-Ain Davis, Ejeris Dixon, Tadashi Dozono, Melanie Duch, Rod Ferguson, Cindy Gao, Jamaica Gilmer, Dana Goldstein,…

Registration is live for the 5th annual Beyond the Bars conference on mass incarceration at Columbia University, March 6-8th. Check out the student organizing workshop SAMI is hosting on the last day!
http://centerforjustice.columbia.edu/event/beyond-bars-2015/

Beyond the Bars: Transforming (In)Justice - The Center for Justice at Columbia University March 6th – 8th, 2015Columbia UniversityFeaturing Michelle

"There is no benign institution."

Check out this footage from the die-in organized by BSO x SAMI at CU's Tree Lighting Ceremony: http://columbiaspectator.com/multimedia/news/2014/12/10/Students-hold-die-in-at-Tree-Lighting-Ceremony

Students hold die-in at Tree Lighting Ceremony This is a video of the die-in that took place on Dec.

Photos by Henry Murphy from our Die-In at the Tree Lighting Ceremony last night

"Strange Fruit"

Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South
The bulgin' eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burnin' flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

"Strange Fruit"

Southern trees bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root
Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze
Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South
The bulgin' eyes and the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burnin' flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck
For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

FERGUSON ACTIVISTS MEET WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA TO DEMAND AN END TO POLICE BRUTALITY NATIONWIDE

The group’s demands include:

+ The federal government using its power to prosecute police officers that kill or abuse people.
+ Removing local district attorneys from the job of holding police accountable, and instead having independent prosecutors at the local level charged with prosecuting officers.
+The establishment of community review boards that can make recommendations for police misconduct, instead of allowing police departments to police themselves.
+Defunding local police departments that use excessive force or racially profile. Instead of having the Department of Justice (DOJ) wholesale giving more than $250 million to local police departments annually, DOJ should only fund departments that agree to adopt DOJ best practices for training and meaningful community input.
+The demilitarization of local police departments.
+Investing in programs that provide alternatives to incarceration, such as community-led restorative justice programs and community groups that educate people about their rights.

http://fergusonaction.com/white-house-meeting/

Breaking: Ferguson Activists Meet with President Obama to Demand an End to Police Brutality... Today President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder met with seven Black and Latino organizers – from Ferguson, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; Miami, Florida; and New York City – who have been leading some of the ongoing actions to disrupt a status quo that is intolerable.

Tonight!! SAMI + MPE Workshop!

https://www.facebook.com/events/222403437929908/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

CU SAMI demands an end to the ongoing efforts by Columbia's administration and board of trustees to disenfranchise low-income communities and people of color.

CAGe Creates Guide for Understanding Columbia University’s Expansion into West Harlem CAGe Creates Guide for Understanding Columbia University’s Expansion into West Harlem - TALK

Get excited! Films for Liberation tonight ! Popcorn, snacks, and good conversation will be provided!



https://www.facebook.com/events/1490273311224928/

LET THE FIRE BURN - official US trailer In the astonishingly gripping LET THE FIRE BURN, director Jason Osder has crafted that rarest of cinematic objects: a found-footage film that unfurls with th...

Political prisoners are incarcerated because their ideas are dangerous.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Mumia-Abu-Jamal-Selected-as-Commencement-Speaker-for-College-277536971.html

Mumia Selected as Commencement Speaker for College Prisoner, former death row inmate, author and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal will give the commencement speech at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.