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Hands Off Assata Campaign Call to Action: Support the students and organizers of the Morales/Shakur Community Center in New York.

The Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community Center at City College (of CUNY-- City Univeristy of New York) has existed for the past 17 years as a result of struggles waged by Black and Latino activists that chose to honor two significant social justice organizers and City College alumni-- Assata Shakur and Guillermo Morales. 

And last week, as a result of a slanderous, misinformed, and politically charged editorial in the New York Daily News, the chancellor of CUNY, Matthew Goldstein, ordered the sign with the Center's name on it to be taken down--without any consultation or regard for the students'' interests.

The Hands Off Assata Campaign stands in full support and solidarity with the students, staff, and supporters of the Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community Center and their right to honor the struggle, efforts, and legacy of these two freedom fighters who were both persecuted for their political beliefs.

We urge all sponsor organizations, members and supporters to join the call to action and support the students, community, organizers and supporters of the Morales/Shakur Community Center.

CALL TO ACTION:

What you can do:  Call chancellor Matthew Goldstein's office non-stop at 212-794- 5311 and express your solidarity with the student's right to maintain the name of the Morales/Shakur Community Center. 

When to act: Call non-stop this Wednesday and Thursday:

Wednesday, Dec. 20th, 2006 at 1 p.m. (EST), 2 p.m. (EST), 3 p.m. (EST), and 4 p.m. 

Thursday, Dec. 21th, 2006 at 1 p.m. (EST), 2 p.m. (EST), 3 p.m. (EST), and 4 p.m. 

Also on Wednesday, Dec. 20th, community leaders and supporters will demand a meeting with City College President Gregory Williams to express their support for the students and the Morales/Shakur Community Center. There will be a rally in front of the City College Administration Building at 138th Street and Convent Avenue at the same time. For those unable to attend the rally, be sure to call non-stop to express your full support for the students and community leaders.

It is important that we speak out against these unwarranted attacks on students’ freedom of speech, stand strong in solidarity, and demand justice now.  

For more information about the HOA Call to Action, please call the Hands Off Assata Campaign at 877-244-4708. 

For more information about the Morales/Shakur Community Center, please call 212-650-5008.

Following is a statement issued by the Morales/Shakur Community Center:

Assata Shakur/Guillermo Morales Press Release

We know that many Black people who fought for better conditions in the 1970’s were framed. We consider Assata Shakur to be one of the people who were wrongfully and purposefully framed for her activities. And we consider her a hero and role model for standing up for our people and putting her life on the line. We commend City College for asserting out right to have this room and use it to serve the community in Assata and Guillermo’s names.

I will now read from the 5 proofs that Assata Shakur is innocent, given by Evelyn Williams of the NJ crime labs in Trenton NJ and the FBI crime labs in Washington D.C.:

The finger print analyses of every gun and every piece of ammunition found at the scene showed that there were no fingerprints of Assata found on any of them.

Neutron Activation Analysis showed there was no gunpowder residue on her hands effectively refuting the possibility that she had fired a gun.

Assata was shot under her armpit by NJ State Trooper James Harper, severely wounding and paralyzing her.

A surgeon testified that “it was anatomically necessary that both arms be in the air for Ms. Chesimard [Assata Shakur] to have received the wounds that she did.

The Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community Center was named in 1989 by students who successfully countered a tuition hike. For the last 17 years we’ve been a valuable resource for the college community – from providing lower-cost textbooks to mentoring to making printing available, to running soup kitchens. We run classes and workshops on political education and the history of City College and CUNY. We retell the struggles for open admissions that our people have fought and won. We would like to thank City College for their rational and level-headed response. The college is a space for questioning and explorations of myriad opinions and perspectives.

We would like to close by saying that the American people have a right and a duty to find out the facts about this situation for themselves before they judge it. And Assata, we wish you a happy birthday and love you.

For more information on Sister Assata and her struggle please visit –

http://www.assatashakur.org

http://www.assatashakur.org/resist.htm