[Antiracism] ALERT: Defend the Somerville 5!

[Nick Camerota]

THIS UPDATE JUST IN: The Somerville 5 trial WILL NOT take place on Monday, 
March 13.
At the request of Somerville 5 defense attorneys, the judge has granted a 
continuence. Boston IAC will send out a notice with the new date as soon as 
the judge assigns one.
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[WMass IAC] IN THIS EMAIL:
[1] Defend the Somerville 5! Picket and Pack the Court!
[2] Benefit Concert for the Somerville 5 (Ticket Locations), March 25
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[1] DEFEND THE SOMERVILLE 5: Hands Off Our Youth! Stop Racial Profiling & 
Police Brutality!

Somerville 5 case spotlights racist oppression
Trial begins March 13, benefit concert March 25

Major community support actions for the Somerville 5 will take place over 
the next two weeks. On Monday, March 13 supporters will picket and pack the 
Cambridge District Court, 40 Thorndike Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 
starting at 8:30 a.m. on the beginning day of the trial and through its 
duration.

On Saturday, March 25 a “Fight for Justice: Benefit Concert for the 
Somerville 5,” will take place at the Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street, 
Roxbury, Massachusetts. Events scheduled include cultural presentations, a 
fashion show and a speak-out against racial profiling and police brutality. 
Tickets are $3 for youth and $20 for adults; no one turned away for lack of 
funds. All proceeds will go to defray the five’s legal expenses.

The Somerville 5 - Calvin Belfon, 17, Cassius Belfon, 15, Earl Guerra, 16, 
Isiah Anderson, 17, and Marquis Anderson, 16 - were victims of racial 
profiling and a brutal, unprovoked attack by Medford police on April 20, 
2005. This attack by racist police was quickly covered up. The police, 
courts, D.A., local media and education officials have all worked together 
to frame these young men.

The five went out to enjoy a carnival in Medford, Massachusetts. But the 
night turned into one of horror that changed their lives forever. The five 
were beaten, maced, arrested and psychologically traumatized by 10 white 
Medford police. False charges against them include assault with a deadly 
weapon, assault and battery, and disorderly conduct.

The five young men, all high school students, have endured, along with their 
families, unjust expulsion from school even before their cases are heard and 
have had to spend thousands of dollars for lawyers to rebut this frame-up. 
The five’s unjust treatment is part of an institutional practice of racial 
profiling and police brutality in the Greater Boston area and nationwide as 
detailed by recent local media reports.

“These young men are good students and fine athletes. They have no prior 
records. This is nothing but an orchestrated cover-up by the police and the 
D.A. and the media to take the focus off of who the real criminals are 
here,” said Robert Trayhnam of the Committee to Defend the Somerville 5.

“It is the Medford police who should be put on trial for racial profiling 
and police brutality. We must keep the pressure on and make our voices 
heard,” Trayhnam concluded. =30=

Readers are urged to contact Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, 40 
Thorndike St., Cambridge, MA 02141, phone (617) 679-6500, fax (617) 
225-0871, and make the following demands: drop the racist-frame-up charges 
against all five youths immediately; independent community investigation 
into Medford Police; stop racial profiling and police brutality.
For more information: http://www.iacboston.org; also visit 
http://www.brphrd.com
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Picket and Pack the Cambridge District Court, 40 Thorndike St.
Drop all Charges NOW against the Somerville 5!

We need the largest presence possible on this date to express our outrage at 
the railroading of these five young Black men.

Police brutality has reached epidemic proportions in the communities of 
color in Boston. Police attacks against youth of color are an everyday 
occurrence. While the U.S. enters its third year of war against the people 
of Iraq, it is also waging war against poor people and people of color here 
at home. The billions of dollars used to kill Iraqis are stolen from us in 
the form of huge funding cuts for our schools, housing, food, childcare, 
healthcare, jobs, etc. The Pentagon and Bush are wiping out the future for 
our youth. The only thing they can offer is jails and the military. Let's 
stand up and defend our youth!

For more on the cost of the war, open this link
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002780385_spending03.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
[2] "The Fight for Justice!" A March 25 Benefit Concert for the Somerville 5
TICKET LOCATIONS:
- City Councilor Chuck Turner's office, 51 Roxbury St., Roxbury (phone 
617-427-8100)
- Nova Sheen, 417 Blue Hill Ave., Dorchester (phone 617-442-0488)
If you can't come to the concert, please make a donation. If you have been a 
victim of police brutality or racial profiling, come and speak out! Take a 
stand with others and fight back!
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International Action Center
- Boston:
617-522-6626
iacboston at iacboston.org
http://www.iacboston.org
- Springfield: 413-896-5219
wmassiac at hotmail.com
http://www.iacenter.org

Troops Out Now Coalition
http://troopsoutnow.org
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