Interview with Emmanuel Andre of Circles and Ciphers for Quentin VerCetty - PO Box Artist Talk on July 23, 2021

Circles and Ciphers - impact of MK on the work - July 2021

I wrote this song for the streets, to remind us of the world we're trying to build. I live in South Minneapolis, a short bike ride away from where George Floyd was murdered by the police in 2020. The "reforms" the city has been trying to make since Jamar Clark was murdered here by police in 2015 have had no impact. 

This November, Minneapolis will be voting on whether we should replace the current police department with a new department of public safety (which may include licensed peace officers as necessary). "Voting YES means we will have more options for community safety than the current 'police-only' model."—https://yes4minneapolis.org

There are other ways to keep us safe besides just policing. The cops don't do work that prevents shootings—they can only show up after the fact. Defunding the police doesn't mean we're getting rid of helping people; it means investing that money back into the community for housing, jobs, food, and education. When people's needs are provided for, violence is prevented. We can dream better dreams and have a city where all people, including the most vulnerable, are safe. 

>> Thanks to SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE for additional beatboxing and engineering (https://soundcloud.com/see-more-perspective)

Further notes and links below the lyrics.

Lyrics:
We keep us safe
I am my sister’s keeper
We keep us safe
In our community

We keep us safe
I am my brother’s keeper
We keep us safe
In our community

We don’t want your cops
Defund the police
Invest it in the kids (Invest it in the youth!)
No Justice No Streets!

We keep us safe
I am my sibling’s keeper
We keep us safe
In our community

We don’t want your cops
Defund the police
Invest it in more jobs
No Justice No Streets!

We keep us safe
We are the children’s keepers.
We keep us safe
In our community

We don’t want your cops
Defund the police
Invest it in more homes
No Justice No Streets!

We keep us safe
We are the elder’s keepers.
We keep us safe
In our community

We don’t want your cops
Abolish the police
Invest it in the schools
No Justice No Streets!

We keep us safe
We are the people’s keepers.
We keep us safe
In our community
In our community
In our community


Notes: "No Justice No Streets!" is the rallying cry of George Floyd Square. Activists have asked that the streets at 38th & Chicago not be opened until these 24 Demands are met. You can read the 24 Demands of Justice Resolution 001 here: https://linktr.ee/38thandchicagogfs 

If you need an introduction to abolition, there are many excellent resources. This one from the Mennonite Church USA is very solid. https://www.mennoniteusa.org/abolition-curriculum-intro/

Junauda Petrus's poem, "Give the Police Departments to the Grandmothers" continues to be an inspiration.
https://realblackgrandmothers.com/in-the-arts-could-we-please-give-the-police-departments-to-the-grandmothers/in-the-arts/

As the good folks at the Minneapolis Police Report Card say, "There was a time before policing, and there will be a time after."— www.mpd150.com

We Keep Us Safe

Grief moving through me
Let my body
Feel the waves of love and grief…

Grief, grief and love
Let me feel it all
Let me feel it all

Grief and Love

Beatrice and Jules speak with Mariame Kaba and Melissa Gira Grant about the importance of understanding the library as a site of political contestation and a rare expression of the commons in contemporary US life, and how left organizers are fighting back against right wing attacks on public space. 

Transcript: https://www.deathpanel.net/transcripts/library-mariame-kaba-melissa-gira-grant

Join up with For the People: A Leftist Library Project here:
https://www.librariesforthepeople.org/

And find the latest updates here: 
https://librariesforthepeople.substack.com/p/library-solidarity-with-palestine

Read Melissa’s piece, “Librarians Didn’t Sign Up to Be Queer Activists—but This Year, They Are” here:
https://newrepublic.com/article/175567/librarians-new-queer-front-lines

Referenced in this episode:

“The Prison in Twelve Landscapes,” directed by Brett Story (2016)
https://www.prisonlandscapes.com/

“The People and the Library: Reflections on Grass-Roots Efforts to Preserve and Expand the Library As a Commons” here: https://justseeds.org/the-people-and-the-library-reflections-on-grass-roots-efforts-to-preserve-and-expand-the-library-as-a-commons/

Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism

Pre-order Jules' new book here:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/733966/a-short-history-of-trans-misogyny-by-jules-gill-peterson/

Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch

As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod

Death Panel

Death Panel 473 Taking Back the Library w/ Mariame Kaba & Melissa Gira Grant (11/09/23)

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Taking Back the Library w/ Mariame Kaba & Melissa Gira Grant (11/09/23)

Music and organizing have more in common than you think. We talked to one of the co-founders of Circles and Ciphers, Emmanuel Andre, a New York-raised public defender and restorative justice practitioner based in Chicago.

Circles & Cipher is a hip-hop-infused restorative justice organization led by and for young people affected by violence. Learn about the inception of the organization and how its work changed and expanded over time. Emmanuel also touches on the importance of "getting out of the way" of young people and how stepping back or sunsetting can create more opportunities for youth to lead as we center them in this work.

More information about Circles and Ciphers:
Website: https://circlesandciphers.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/circles_ciphers/

Project NIA Sunset Spotlight - Emmanuel Andre

Interviews gathered at the #SayHerName Rekia Boyd action on October 15th, 2015. Featuring words from Ethan Viets-VanLear, JeNae Taylor and Rekia's brother, Martinez Sutton.

We Do This For Rekia

Launched in 2009, Project NIA is an advocacy, organizing, popular education, research, and capacity-building center with the long-term goal of ending youth incarceration. We believe that several simultaneous approaches are necessary in order to develop and sustain community-based alternatives to the system of policing and incarceration. Our mission is to dramatically reduce the reliance on arrest, detention, and incarceration for addressing youth crime and to instead promote the use of restorative and transformative practices, a concept that relies on community-based alternatives.

Project NIA Sunset Spotlight - Emmanuel Andre

Project NIA Audio

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