Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee

SOLIDARITY with the TRAYVON 2!

The Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee (BARC) stands in solidarity with the Trayvon 2 in their fight against racist profiling and prosecution by Oakland’s Police Department (OPD) and District Attorney’s Office. On July 15, 2013, Hannibal Shakur (Lamar Caldwell) and Tanzeen Doha joined hundreds of other Oaklanders who took the streets in protest at the injustice of George Zimmerman’s acquittal for the murder of Trayvon Martin. Hannibal & Tanzeen were subsequently arrested and charged with felony vandalism after police alleged to have witnessed them break the window of a Men’s Warehouse store, a highly questionable allegation given that police arrested the two after snatching them out of a larger crowd of individuals all wearing dark hoodies in honor of Trayvon.

The Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee is outraged not only by these baseless allegations, but also by the clearly evident racist and Islamophobic targeting at work in this case. Hannibal and Tanzeen, two young Muslim men of color, are the only individuals facing felony prosecution for their participation in the Trayvon Martin protests in Oakland.

We are outraged that when hundreds of Oaklanders fill the streets to demand that some value be placed on the lives of young black men like Trayvon Martin, the City of Oakland’s response is to prioritize the protection of corporate windows.

We are outraged that in a context of severe budget cuts that are choking our schools, hospitals and social services, the District Attorney’s Office has decided to allocate extensive resources to prosecuting these two young men for their alleged involvement in breaking a window. When young black men like Trayvon are brutally murdered, the justice system fails to act. But when a corporate window is broken, it pursues and prosecutes with a ferocity that is blind and merciless.

The Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee calls upon all concerned communities to stand in solidarity with the Trayvon 2. But in doing so, let us remember that solidarity is not simply expressed – it must be enacted. Solidarity requires actively defending each other from state repression. Here’s how we can do so for the Trayvon 2:

1)       Fill the Courtroom!

Pretrial hearing on March 6, 9am in Wiley Manuel, Dept 112

Show the DA’s office that we will not stand for its racist and Islamophobic profiling by flooding the courtroom with our bodies and disrupting this unjust prosecution.

Check here for court updates: https://thetrayvon2.wordpress.com/

2)       Donate to the Travyon 2 Fund

Help by contributing for legal expenses and enabling the defendants to withstand the material impacts of this long drawn out prosecution. Our support will enable them to continue to fight.

Donate here: https://www.wepay.com/donations/1872666567

3)       Spread the Word!

Take the time to inform your friends, family and community about this case and encourage them to get involved.

Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee (BARC)

Originally formed to support Occupy Oakland actions, the Bay Area Anti-Repression Committee (ARC) stands against political repression and is in solidarity with all those who challenge the state, capitalism and other forms of systemic oppression and domination. We provide support for actions that are anti-patriarchal, anti-racist, anti-imperialist & anti-capitalist. Our support work comes primarily in the form of education, information and referrals. We also manage an anti-repression bail fund for those that do not have the resources to bail or bond themselves. We are a first resort for education and information on solidarity and a last resort for financial support.