LGBTQ+ MUST CARE!

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail

In solidarity with The National Day of Protest this Wednesday October 22, please join the LGBTQ+ community for a conversation on why we should care about Ferguson.

LGBTQ+ & Black Oppression: Why We Should All Care About Ferguson
Location: Black Space, 2847 Cherokee St, St Louis, MO 63118
Time: 6-8pm

Contributors:
Ashley Yates with Millennial Activists United
http://millennialau.tumblr.com/

Ashton Rome with Socialist Alternative
http://www.socialistalternative.org/

Ed Reggi with ShowMeNoHate
http://www.showmenohate.com/ 

“One very tangible way it [Ferguson] affects the Queer Community is in the issue of intersectionality. LGBTQAIP people are not just white. This community is unique in that we are made up of an incredibly diverse group of people. According to polling done in 2012, 33% of LGBT people are people of color. Those of us who are not people of color tend to forget that there are LGBTQAIP people in every different culture, race, and class. We are looked to as the community of acceptance, and we constantly demanding equality. But equality is not a reality if it is only being granted to one group of people. We cannot ignore the injustices happening around us while we demand the freedom to live our lives peacefully. These issues are linked. They are not isolated from each other. Stories like CeCe McDonald’s illustrate where homophobia and transphobia meet racism and prove that the attitudes perpetuating racism are often held by the same people displaying hatred for the Queer Community.”

- An excerpt from Anthony Doubek’s reaction to Ferguson. Read full story:
http://boxersandbinders.com/2014/08/why-the-queer-community-should-care-about-ferguson-mo.html

Read background on CeCe McDonald:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-transgender-crucible-20140730

MEDIA COVERAGE OF UNIVERSITY CITY LAW

The St. Louis Beacon and CBS St. Louis covered the growing number of people against University City proposed bill 9112 at the City Council meeting last night.

THE TEEN ISSUE

Staff writer Robert Joiner

Most speakers were against a proposed University City ordinance to make it illegal to stand or walk on a public sidewalk or street in a way that impedes others from using the sidewalk or street.

Among those urging the council to reject the initiative, which was tabled, was Sara Ferrill (right), a former University City resident who now lives in Jefferson City. She told the audience of her own days when she and youngsters such as herself were "persecuted" because of the way they dressed. She recalled it was not unusual for her to have magenta hair, an eyebrow pierced, striped stockings and cut-off pants.

"I'm now 32 years old, a very responsible mother and contributing to society. These kids are disenfranchised, too. They have nowhere to go, nothing to do after school. They are not thugs. We need to offer them a chance to engage in our community rather than turn them away."

She urged merchants and others to have more dialogue with youngsters about why they visit the Loop, their parents and what their home environments are like. Getting to know the youngsters will help them engage in positive activities, she said.

The public criticism of teens and young adults in the Loop began the weekend of April 9 when warm weather drew many people to the area. Merchants and some others complained that some of the young people were rude, harassing customers and impeding traffic on crowded sidewalks and streets. The criticism quickened after a St. Louis police officer allegedly was assaulted by a 21-year-old man when the officer attempted to make an arrest at the Metro Station just east of the Loop.

Reports of arrests this spring, since April 8, show that juveniles aren't the only people causing disturbances in the Loop. During the past five weekends, police have arrested 17 people in the Loop, 11 adults and six juveniles. Some merchants have accused juveniles of taking items from sidewalk tables. Two such incidents have been reported to police in five weekends. Both occurred on April 8 and 9.

In one of the incidents, police say a large group of males ran past an outdoor table and took a wallet and cell phone. In the other incident, police say a cell phone was also taken from a sidewalk table. The police reports don't indicate that juveniles were involved in either incident. Most of the juveniles taken into custody in the Loop this spring have accused of fighting or curfew violations. A University City police spokesperson reviewing the crime statistics said the volume of incidents this spring seemed no different from last year.

Many of those who spoke against the proposed new ordinance said the plan raised constitutional issues because the law would end up targeting African-American youths. Ed Reggi (right), who describes himself as an entertainer, told the council that he was troubled by the proposed ordinance. "I come to the Loop two or three times a week to eat, shop or go to the Tivoli," he said. "These laws are usually created in cities that can't deal with crowds, and they are used to target African-American youngsters."

University City Police respond that they do not target anyone but merely confront or apprehend anyone who is caught breaking the law.

William Schwulst, who lives in University City, argues that the proposal as written is too broad and too vague. When in the Loop last week, he said he saw instances where the ordinance would have applied to law-abiding people "blocking my way, children and families pushing strollers and window shopping. But they were blocking my personal way to the sidewalk. This law is a little bit overkill."

Mayor Welsch says growing public opposition was behind the council's decision to table the measure and perhaps take up a revised proposal in two weeks.

"I came in today and had lots of email from people around University City and St. Louis" against the proposed ordinance, the mayor said Monday. "The issue that resonated with me was whether the ordinance was specific enough on how the police could enforce it. This ordinance is not directed toward one group. It in no way mentions children, does not mention the color of their skin. We were thinking of a way to try to keep traffic moving on nice days when we have hundreds of people coming to the Loop."

She said the city attorney would take another look at the proposal "just so we are clear that what we are proposal is in fact constitutional."

For entire St. Louis Beacon article click here

U. City Reconsiders ‘Move Along’ Measure
Michael Calhoun

UNIVERSITY CITY (KMOX) - University City leaders are holding off on proposed hefty fines for sidewalk obstructors — a.k.a. loitering teenagers. The restriction is meant to quell a surge of teenagers, flocking in packs and jamming passageways along the Delmar Loop. Shop owners have claimed they chase away customers on Friday and Saturday nights. The fine for ”interfering with the use of sidewalks or streets” would be $1-thousand per violation.
Council members agreed to postpone the issue, in part due to concerns raised by a majority of speakers at Monday’s night council meeting.

Civil right activist Ed Reggi pointed out a series of relevant laws, already on the books, including failure to comply with a law enforcement officer, interference with city officers or employees, fighting in public, panhandling, unlawful assembly, harassment and noise.
But the most appropriate, he said is disturbing the peace, which deals with ”physically obstructing vehicle or pedestrian traffic,” extremely similar to the language in the proposed new ordinance.

To that end, he questioned whether the ordinance is designed to overtly target African-American teenagers. “That will be by far a bigger public relations nightmare that University City will never be able to fight,” he said. “For us to say that we’re going to target one particular group, just really hurts my heart as a member of this society,” former resident Sarah Farrell added. ”These are kids. They are not thugs. They simply are wanting something to do and we need to offer them a chance to engage in our community rather than turn them away.”
She said she was once a rowdy teenager in the Loop, and noted techniques which were effective in the mid-1990s to battle the loitering: beautification projects, planting trees and flowers, street art, music performances.

Council members, after discussing the legality of the proposal with the City Attorney and the set of already-existing laws with the Police Chief, will reconsider the matter at their next meeting.

UNIVERSITY CITY POSTPONES BILL 9112

In a sudden turn of events this evening, the University City Council and Mayor decided to postpone the passing of Bill 9112, also known as the "Obstructing the sidewalks" law that opponents suggest will target black youth standing, walking, and strolling on the Loop during busy peak hours.

We must remain vigilant until the Bill is killed, defeated or tabled forever.

ShowMeNoHate wants to thank the following organizations and people:

ACLU - New Jersey

ACLU - Eastern Missouri

Fairness Campaign - Louisville, Kentucky

Beyond Housing - St. Louis, Missouri

Normandy School District

Denise Lieberman

Sara Jean Ferrill

Samati Niyomchai

William Schwulst

And many other citizens who made calls, wrote letters and spoke at City Hall tonight against new Bill 9112. We need you to return on Monday May 23, 6:30pm when the Council will again attempt to vote on the new ordinance. Stay tuned here for details.

Please share with your folks on social media. We understand there are problems in the Loop during peak weeknight and weekend hours; however, these problems needs to have smart solutions.

Let's make the City Council and Mayor come up with clever, smart, highly creative and race-neutral solutions.

UNIVERSITY CITY POISED TO PASS DISCRIMINATORY LAW THAT TARGETS BLACK YOUTH

On Saturday April 9, a St. Louis City police officer suffered minor injuries trying to make an arrest near the Metrolink station on Delmar Boulevard. The suspect, a 21-year old adult male, was taken into custody. Charges were taken under advisement and the man was released. Local media has portrayed this violent incident as a result of black youth taking over the Loop, yet the suspect who injured the officer was an adult male. Days after the incident, University City Council members under pressure from Delmar business owners, drafted a new ordinance to limit standing on city sidewalks.

Yes! You read that correctly.

University City Bill 9112, better known as the "Obstructing or interfering with use of the sidewalks and streets," will make it unlawful for anyone to "block" public sidewalks located anywhere in University City, Missouri. Those arrested and charged with the crime of "blocking the sidewalk," can be fined up to $1,000 per offense. The Police Department has gone on record with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that, "no warnings will be issued."

Supporters of the ordinance, especially businesspeople in the Delmar Loop business district, say the ordinance will curb loitering and youth gatherings. However, since the ordinance provides absolutely no enforcement guidelines, opponents are sure it will be unfairly used against black pedestrians specifically targeting black youth. Furthermore, University City already has a list of ordinances that protect the businesses from loitering, larceny, noise, assault and aggravation of their customers. The fact remains, police already had enough power to arrest, ticket and charge the suspects who injured St. Louis City police officer on April 9 but they didn't. Bill 9112 was crafted to signal Loop business owners that University City Council is listening; unfortunately, it does nothing to solve the problems which include needing additional police and better understanding of public management in an urban city.

I need you to contact the University City Council and the Mayor today. Politely tell them to kill the discriminatory ordinance bill #9112, which will make standing on the sidewalks in University City a crime. Understand they might express how this law is only targeted at those teens who "block" the sidewalks and cause trouble; however, remain vigilant and educate them that University City Police already have laws to address real crimes in the Loop:

9.04.010 Assault of a law enforcement officer.
9.04.020 False reports.
9.04.030 Resisting or interfering with arrest (or detention).
9.04.050 Failure to comply with (an officer).
9.04.060 Interference with city officers and employees.
9.04.070 Interference with duties of firefighter.
9.04.090 Refusal to identify as a witness.
9.04.100 Concealing an offense.
9.08.010 Affrays (fighting in public).
9.08.015 Elder abuse in the third degree.
9.08.020 Assault in the third degree.
9.08.040 Disturbing the peace.
9.08.045 Panhandling.
9.08.050 Unlawful assembly.
9.08.060 Rioting.
9.08.080 Drinking in public places prohibited.
9.08.090 Public drunkenness.
9.08.100 Urinating or defecating in public.
9.08.120 Possession or control of a controlled substance.
9.08.180 Sexual misconduct.
9.08.210 Harassment.
9.08.240 Noise.

Mayor - Shelley Welsch..... Mayor@ucitymo.org or 314-505-8606

Ward 1 Council Members
Terry Crow..... terry@cttlaw.net or crow@cttlaw.net or 314-918-0045, ext 2
Stephen Kraft..... kraftstephene@gmail.com or 314-863-1136

Ward 2 Council Members
L. Michael Glickert..... lmglickert@yahoo.com or 314-863-1812
Lynn Ricci..... ricci.ucity@gmail.com or 314-725-9090

Ward 3 Council Members
Byron Price..... pricebyron@hotmail.com or 314-726-2953
Arthur Sharp..... qforlifeasj@att.net or 314-721-5954

If you are available to speak against the law, come to University City City Hall, 6801 Delmar Blvd. 5th Floor, Monday May 9th, 6:30pm and submit your name to speak before the vote of Bill 9112. Citizens who show up are allowed to speak for 3 minutes. It's critical you explain how you understand there's a problem; however, we must remind our elected officials that the solution is not criminalizing the public with $1000 fines.

Lastly, University City prides itself as a progressive city. So I need progressives to express their disgust of these kinds of anti-sitting, anti-standing and anti-laying down laws. They do nothing but allow the police to ticket, harass and silence citizens who wish to use public sidewalks as a forum for democracy!

P.S. Feel free to use the following template and email to every Council member. Copy and paste the following emails:

Mayor@ucitymo.org, terry@cttlaw.net, crow@cttlaw.net, kraftstephene@gmail.com, lmglickert@yahoo.com, ricci.ucity@gmail.com, pricebyron@hotmail.com, qforlifeasj@att.net

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Dear Mayor and University City Council:

It has come to my attention that University City is prepared to pass a law that will limit my and others ability to walk, stroll or stand freely on the sidewalks in University City; including the shop-filled sidewalks in the business Loop district.

Do not pass this law.

Recognizing there are recent safety concerns in the Loop, I understand this law is an attempt to curb the overcrowding of sidewalks. However, my personal concerns are that Bill 9112 will be used to unfairly criminalize and discriminate against black youth walking, shopping and yes, standing on the sidewalks in the Loop.

I ask you vote no on Bill 9112 and direct city police to enforce the current University City laws that target theft, violence, noise, panhandling and harassment directed at Loop customers. See ordinances 9.08.040, 9.04.050, 9.08.045, 9.08.050, 9.08.060, and 9.08.210. Standing, meeting my friends and sharing conversations on the sidewalks of the Loop, is what made the Loop what it is today. Sadly, if this law does pass, you must remove the entire St. Louis Walk of Fame, since it encourages people to "stand still" and "block" the sidewalks while tourists read those stars--a clear violation of ordinance 9112.

Ticketing black youth (or any citizen) for standing in University City will solve nothing. It will only add more racial tension between St. Louis County and St. Louis City. Lastly, as a frequent customer in the Loop, if this discriminatory law does pass, I might find myself standing in a different city spending my money.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

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