Anti-brutality group to host block party

Colorado Communities United Against Police Brutality will be hosting its first community block party in mid-May.

Denver area citizens formed Colorado CUAPB in October 2006, after Loree McCormick-Rice and her daughter, Cassidy, were brutalized by Officer DeShazer of the Aurora Police Department. The group is a coalition that currently includes members of the Mexican National Liberation Movement, the International Action Center, Cop Watch, and the New Black Panther Party, along with other individuals.

CUAPB actively resists some of the most common forms of oppression: brutality, harassment, and persecution by law enforcement and social service agents.

Members assist those being targeted by drawing public attention to these abuses through demonstrations and media exposure; observing and recording police stops in progress—known as “cop-watching”; providing legal referrals and information about people’s rights; and attending court with defendants whose rights have been violated.

Since the police and other agents of the state most often perpetrate their abuses against persons and communities of color, CUAPB encourages members of these communities to unite to fight back against their common oppressor. At the same time, the organization recognizes that there are differences in their struggles, and promotes self-determination for these oppressed communities.

CUAPB mainly focuses on local police brutality. However, the coalition recognizes and seeks to spread awareness about the connection between the local and international struggles of oppressed peoples against imperialism.

The purpose of having community block parties is to raise awareness about the prevalence and extent of the abuses, and to organize resistance against them.

The first gathering, the Malcolm X block party, will occur on May 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. It will be held at La Raza Park in Denver, which is on the northeast corner of Osage St. and W. 38th Ave. CUAPB intends for the park to be a “no drugs, no alcohol, and no cops zone” during the event.

The block party will feature M1, from the rap group dead prez. Other performers will be local, and will include Paas, Jaime from the Flo Bots, and AKX. There will be speakers including Glenn Morris of the Colorado American Indian Movement (CO AIM); Melissa Kleinman of Fight Imperialism, Stand Together (FIST); Glenn Spagnuolo of Recreate 68; Larry Hales, Danny Salcido and Shareef Aleem of CUAPB; and Dahlia Wasfi, an Iraqi woman, who will speak about the U.S. war on and occupation of Iraq.

While the theme of the party will be seriously political, the gathering will also be fun and family-friendly. There will be no charge for food and beverages. Services such as massage therapy, acupuncture, confidential HIV/AIDS testing, and self-defense and street medic training will also be offered for free. Youth will be invited to help paint a mural of political heroes.

As a way toward holding the police accountable, CUAPB plans to form a people’s tribunal to review cases of police brutality and other state abuses, and to expose the perpetrators and pressure officials to truly bring about “justice for all.”

To get involved, come to the Malcolm X party for some serious fun or call the Colorado CUAPB hotline at 303-279-6348.