Stop Urban Shield 2015!

WHAT IS THE STOP URBAN SHIELD COALITION?

Stop Urban Shield is a broad coalition of grassroots community and social justice organizations primarily based in the Bay Area but with partnering community groups across the nation who have come together united against Urban Shield. Urban Shield, a SWAT team training and weapons expo that brings together local, regional, and international police-military units to collaborate on and profit from new forms of surveillance, state repression, and state violence. The Stop Urban Shield Coalition includes members from various race, faith, political and social backgrounds and successfully stopped the Urban Shield expo from being hosted in Oakland in 2014.  Our goal is to end Urban Shield and hold accountable our cities and counties from their corroboration in increased racialized repression and violence.

For updates on local organizing in the Stop Urban Shield coalition, check out stopurbanshield.org!

Last year, Stop Urban Shield and broader community organizations and members built upon Oakland’s rich history of organizing against policing and for self-determination by forcing the City of Oakland to stop hosting Urban Shield. This was a hugely significant victory for our city and demonstrated the power of our collective grassroots organizing.

But the fight is not over. Urban Shield mistakenly thinks that they can evade accountability to our communities by moving the convergence to the City of Pleasanton, even though the City of Oakland, along with cities all across the Bay Area, California and the U.S. will still be fully participating. Let's show them they're wrong! As communities around the country rise up demanding an end to racist police violence, it is now more important than ever to build upon our victories and work toward shutting down Urban Shield entirely.

While Urban Shield is just one front in the fight against the state's attempt to militarize every aspect of our lives - from its war-making here and abroad, to the increasing presence of police in our schools, to the systemic murder of Black and Brown people at the hands of police - stopping Urban Shield would be a major victory against this growing trend of militarization in cities everywhere, from Oakland to Ferguson to Baltimore. Join us in resisting violence against our communities and in fighting for genuine visions of justice, safety, and self-determination

2015 Media Round Up:

The Guardian 

The Nation

Truthout

Common Dreams - Opinion

Common Dreams - Report

 

KPFA

Balitang America 

Al Jazeera English 

SF Gate

ABC - Channel 7 Local

Fox 2 - KTVU Local 

The Independent (Pleasanton)

Daily Kos

Contra Costa Times

Workers World

#StopUrbanShield

Stop Urban Shield Coalition Photo Album 

Haggerty: Why is Urban Shield in the Bay Area

 

Ways to Join the Stop Urban Shield coalition nationally:

Sign on to our demands here.

Like the Stop Urban Shield Facebook page.

Pass this infosheet around your community (Spanish & English available).

Check these Stop Urban Shield cartoons by Ethan Heitner here.

Check this brief by Loubna Qutami: Urban Shield 2015: In-Depth

Let's fight for community resilience & end state repression everywhere!

Act now to #StopUrbanShield!

Endorsing organizations

American Friends Service Committee

Anakbayan - East Bay

AROC: Arab Resource & Organizing Center

Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition  

Bay Area Committee for Peace & Justice 

Black Alliance for Just Immigration 

Civilize the Cops

CODEPINK - Bay Area

Critical Resistance

Grassroots Global Justice Alliance 

International Action Center

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

Iraq Veterans Against the War – Bay Area Chapter

Jewish Voice for Peace - Bay Area 

Million Hoodies

OccupySF Action Council

Oakland Privacy Working Group

Oscar Grant Committee

Palestine Youth Movement  

UAW - Local 2865

Restore the 4th

San Leandro - SAFE

School of the Americas Watch - Oakland

School of the Americas Watch - San Francisco 

War Resisters League

Workers World Party

Xicana Moratorium Coalition

 

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