the 886 collective was conceived 3 years ago in the living room of 886 Euclid, a home in the Berkeley Hills, by a group of us, young poets and great friends, who started regularly coming together to read our own poetry and that of our favorite poets. We are currently working on self-publishing our first anthology and starting up The WID Press.
Our goal is to unite like-minded poets, provide a space for us all to come together, share our work, and work it out in a supportive enviroment, and then take that work collectively to the streets, through anthologies, guerilla poetry, and events.
In addition to our on-going monthly readings, we plan to present four events per year, all with the goal of combining creative expression with activism, all with a diverse mix of spoken word and music, and all with a specific social/political/personal theme.
We are always looking for poets, musicians, artists, and revolutionaries we don't yet know to collaborate with, to have readings with, to perform at our events with, and for new poetic voices that might want to participate in our publishing aspirations.
We can be contacted at [email protected].
Write It Down. Read it Outloud.
Sunday, June 3, 2007 6:30pm to 10:00pm
La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, www.lapena.org
The 886 collective presents The 2nd Annual Statements of the People: An Evening of Poetry and Music Addressing the Wars Within and Across Our Borders. This year we are raising awareness and funds for the SF8, eight Former Black Panthers re-charged for crimes they were exonerated for over thirty years ago. Come join us as Bay Area poets speak up and out against war in all its forms. Open mic immediately following scheduled performances. Local organizations will be present to inform and inspire. $1-$10 sliding scale. No one will be turned away. 6:30-10:00pm. For more information contact [email protected] or 510-439-8777. For more information regarding the SF8, visit www.freetheSF8.net.
This year's "Statements" event is a fund and awareness raiser for the SF8, who are former Black Panther members that were arrested on January 23rd of this year for crimes they were exonerated for in 1973. Under the Patriot Act, current FBI agents who in 1973 were among the interrogating officers and torturers (the SF8 were tortured over several days with techniques startlingly similar to the ones at use currently and recently in Guantanamo Bay), have reopened the case, and tracked down these men who are now mostly in their 60's, and re-imprisoned them. All proceeds from this event will go to the SF8, and any expression of opinion, emotion, or protest in music or poetry under the large umbrella of our theme 'Wars Within and Across Our Borders' is welcome. Our Personal is Political. Their Political is Our Personal.
The main purpose of this event, each year, is to provide a platform for every voice. Every voice is valid and needs to be given the opportunity to be heard. Lets build community, write it down, and read it outloud. As my old pals Ghandi and Mic Linden like(d) to say, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Word.
Why Should We All Care About What Is Happening to the SF8?
With the passing of the Military Commissions Act passed in October of 2006, non-citizens no longer have the right to come to federal court to hear their charges or to plead their case, a right that has existed since the founding of this country. This could be the beginning of the undoing of the Bill of Rights, the part of the constitution that protest our rights to privacy, and once that is rewritten, couldn't it all be? Forget about right to remain silent, right to due process, right to a trial, being found innocent until proven guilty, right to free speech, right to free press, or even the basic right of knowing why you are being charged, its validity, and if there is anything than can counteract the swift arm of the neo-con cowboy.
Under this Act, immunity is given to acts of torture retroactive to August of 2001. In addition, a new category of hearing has been set up entitled a 'military commission'. These are made up of all military officials, and if this panel of three determine you are an enemy of the state, you can now be held indefinitely. That is forever. No trials. No rights.
Why Should We Care? This affects us all. Without habeas corpus and the right to due process, we are all in danger of being put in jail without hope of representation, appeals, or cause, and we will lose in a game of here-say with the altered amendments stacked against us. Our rights are no longer guaranteed. They are slowly being chipped away at with little to no fight from the majority due to the cover ups, spin and duplicity of our current administration aided by big business and media, creating a hail storm of misinformation and distraction.
This isn't something outside of any of us anymore. If we lay down complacent then we will lose the Bill of Rights and then be no different than any dictatorship. These amendements to and suspension of laws do not just affect non-citzens and proven or potential terrorists, but set precedents via a foot-in-the-door-technique that can one day be the same for citizens, leaving it up to our current and corrupt adminstration to determine if any individual is an 'enemy combatant'. They have ignored the Supreme Court, they have told the highest court in the land that what they were involved with did not concern them, as they have told the people repeatedly directly or indirectly. They knowingly use every loop hole possible, such as rendition, the movement of our captives to foreign lands by the CIA in order to not have to comply with federal laws and human rights standards set forth by the Geneva Convention. It is our responsibilty to ourselves, those injustly imprisoned, and future generations, to stand up, be heard, be counted, and take our power back.
For more information please visit:
www.ccr-ny.org
www.freedomarchives.org
www.cdhrsupport.org
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