FIERCE Ask: Whose Quality of Life are we protecting?

FIERCE applauds New York City Council and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-VIverito for taking an important step in ending the criminalization of low level Quality of Life offenses in New York City.  However, we believe that we have a long journey ahead of us to end New York City’s practice of punishing and criminalizing the most marginalized communities for not having access to basic human needs. The shift from criminal court summons to civil summons will continue to punish the homeless, people of color, poor to low income people, and LGBTQ youth of color for their lack of access. This shift in policy will continue to create a system where the law is used to force communities away from spaces where they have found safety, resources, and chosen family. This practice leads us to ask: Whose Quality of Life are we protecting?  

Quality of Life laws have made a clear statement to the people of New York City: that those with the least amount of access to resources are expendable and should be punished for their audacity to survive with very little. As an organization that has worked with LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13 to 24 since the year 2000, we have seen the impacts of these laws on our community, as one of their first uses to push LGBTQ people of color out of Times Square, making way for big developers to transform a place that was once a site of safety and survival into yet another place for economic expansion. These laws were also used to push LGBTQ youth of color out of the West Village and off of the Christopher Street Pier, and to pave the way for gentrification that has systematically displaced those who are most directly impacted by familial violence and homelessness.

The shift that Mark-Viverito falls short in that it will continue to punish the homeless, people of color, poor to low income people, and LGBTQ youth of color by enforcing fines for low level Quality of Life violations. It is unclear if this proposed shift will take individual socioeconomic status into account. However, what is clear is that the burden of monetary fines for low level Quality of Life violations can and will have a tremendous impact on the aforementioned groups of New York City residents. FIERCE vehemently refuses to accept the state of the Quality of Life laws as they stand now, and urges City Council to not only decriminalize this currently proposed short-list of laws now, but to go beyond that to further reimagine ways to maintain a livable quality of life for all New York City residents including, not in spite of, our most marginalized communities.

FIERCE has offered a series of recommendations, both to the Presidential 21st Century Policing task force and to the Our Fair City Report, that we believe are essential components  to any conversation to end the detrimental practice of Quality of Life policing.  

Those recommendations include, but are not limited to:

1. End Discriminatory Policing Practices

a.  Decriminalize all Quality of Life offenses housed in the Administrative Code

b.  Ensure that all quality of life violations take into account individual socioeconomic status as well as the impact and disproportionate application of them.

c.   End the use of Broken Windows Theory as a basis from which to create and implement police policy.    

2. Ensure local police data and statistics are open to the public and disaggregated by age, race, gender, geographic location.

3. Set up a task force to create new procedures to assess LGBTQ youth upon arrest, and to support them in decreasing their interactions with the criminal justice system, ensuring that the needs leading to police interaction in the first place are being addressed.

FIERCE IS HAVING A MOVIE NIGHT!!!

Come join FIERCE for our free movie night event. We are going to be watching The Wiz. Be comfortable, enjoy FREE FOOD,  meet other members of the LGBTQGNC community, and leave with a FREE METRO CARD!!!!:)

SEE YOU THERE!!!!

EVENT: FIERCE FRIDAY MOVIE NIGHT: THE WIZ

TIME: 5PM TO 8PM

WHERE: 147W 24TH STREET 6TH FLOOR 

Contact Lee for more information : lee@fiercenyc.org

If you work within a non-profit organization, you know the struggle and the complexities that come with working within the non-profit industrial complex.

What is the NPIC? How does it impact our work? How can we still work within this system to create effective change?

These are some of the questions we’ll be discussing at this month’s Let’s Politik! So, come join the convo!

Food and metros will be provided.

For more info, contact Lee at lee@fiercenyc.org.

*This event is for LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13-24*

Oh wait! What's that?! Another paid internship opportunity for LGBTQ youth of color?! That's right y'all. Not only are we looking for fabulous young folks to go through our Base-Building Intensive, we're also looking for a fabulous young person to help coordinate our base-building intensive!

Please share far and wide! :) Deadline to apply: NO LATER than February 13th at 8pm Email your application to lee@fiercenyc.org or drop it off in person at our office (147 W24th Street 6th Floor NY, NY)!

*Must be a LGBTQ youth of color between 13-24 years oldto apply*

PAID INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR LGBTQ YOUTH OF COLOR IN NYC! PLEASE SHARE! <3

We're excited to announce that we will have our 2nd Base-Building Intensive happening from March to June! This internship is all about outreach, recruitment, and keeping our people involved with our work. :)

If you are a LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13-24, then you are eligible to apply. All applications are due NO LATER than February 13th at 8pm and should be sent to lee@fiercenyc.org or dropped off in-person at our office [147 West 24th Street, 6th Floor NY, NY].

Good Afternoon FIERCE Allies, Friends, and Supporters!! Are you headed to Creating Change? Looking for some dope QTPOC/QTYOC led spaces? Join us for We Be FIERCE! Queer and Trans Youth Of Color Rise Up! Day Long Institute.   https://www.facebook.com/events/655932527863438/?context=create&previousaction=create&source=49&sid_create=4036862086 FIERCE also has 13 discounted tickets of $100 for LGBTQ Youth of Color to attend Creating Change if your planning to attend the Day Long Institute.  The tickets will be first come first serve.

We are tired of our bodies constantly being on the line of fire and being targeted by the police.

It’s time to rise up, empower ourselves and each other, and shut it down. 

We will no longer be the targets of the police. Young people all over the country are fighting against police brutality/violence. We are fighting against police brutality/violence.

If you are a LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13-24, we want you to join us in the struggle for change. --- Our first meeting of the year will be tomorrow from 5:30pm-8pm. Food and metros will be provided! Contact Lee at lee@fiercenyc.org for more info!

RSVP here for tomorrow/future meetings: https://www.facebook.com/events/1054465524572867/

TODAY!!!!! TODAY!!!!! TODAY!!!!!! Come check out the Nicki Minaj Appreciation Day!!!  Eat some yummy food, play some games for your chance to win some tasty treats, TWERK and get your selfie taken.   Nicki Minaj Appreciation Day Activities include: Nicki Minaj Pictionary Jeopardy style game Twerking + pose off Take your Selfie with the #IHaveARightTo Hash-tag 3 minute Interviews Every person who takes a selfie or does an interview will be entered into a raffle to win a $dollar gift card to these awesome spots.   Chipotle, Jamba Juice,Starbucks, Subway, and Popeye’s Raffle will be announce on January 7th. Food and Metro Provided Check out more info on the campaign at ihavearighto.tumblr.com   https://www.facebook.com/events/746744235401701/?pnref=story

Broken Window policing does and has always impacted LGBTQ folks of color, but too often our stories are left out of statistics, headlines, and the media. Come through to this teach in to learn about broken windows policing and its impact on our community. After the teach in, we will be taking time to heal and honor those we have lost in our struggle for liberation.

Food will be provided. Metros will be provided to all LGBTQ youth that come through! For more information, contact Lee at lee@fiercenyc.org.

*This event is an intergenerational space and will be open to all LGBTQ GNC people of color.*

Hashtags for Event: ‪#‎ThisStopsToday‬ ‪#‎11Days‬ Follow us on on Twitter:  

RSVP Here: https://www.facebook.com/events/790434084338446/

Updated FIERCE Statement and Information Regarding the Foley Square Action today.

WAKE UP, RISE UP!!

To those we have lost to police brutality: Eleanor Bumpurs, Tyisha Miller, LaTanya Haggerty, Tanesha Anderson, Aura Rosser, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin . . .   And those we have lost to the communal violence justified by the policing of our bodies: Sakia Gunn, Tiffany Edwards, Zoraida Reyes, Mia Henderson, Kandy Hall, Yaz'Min, Shancez, Terrell Anderson, Islan Nettles...   To the Falsely Accused, Detained and Abused: Venice Brown, Terrain Dandridge, Renata Hill and Patreese Johnson (The Jersey Four), Marichuy, CeCe McDonald and for all the names we do not know.   In the telling of our names, what is most apparent is that our lives are seen as disposable and undervalued.     We are clear as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color that our safety is contingent on the preservation of all Black and People of Color bodies.  We have been righteous in fighting against anti-Black racism & anti-immigrant oppression, that allows for state controlled white supremacy to exist and justify the murder of our people.  The murders of Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley and Eric Garner prove that Black lives are seen as dangerous and expendable.  For those of us that are Queer, Trans, Black and People of Color, our bodies, our gender expression and who we love puts us further away from the "norms" and has falsely perceived us as the most threatening, less than human, and even more dangerous of all bodies.     In New York City, where our organizations live and organize, we have seen the impact of racist, classist and capitalist policing on our communities for decades.  In the early 1990's, former Mayor Guiliani promoted the now infamous "Quality of life" policing practices based on broken windows policing. There are camps on both sides arguing for and against the effectiveness of such policing practices. As organizations that work with Queer and Trans people of color communities, we know these policies disproportionately impact our communities through racist/gender policing.  Our communities are the most targeted by discriminatory practices of policing and Stop & Frisk that lead to Black and Latino men being incarcerated and Black women being the fastest growing prison population. The United States is a country built on white supremacy, colonialism, slavery and genocide, it has attained wealth, power and privilege from the massive removal and displacement of our communities through deportation, criminalization, and policing.   The fact that Eric Garner was killed due to suspicion that he was selling "loosies" (single cigarettes) is an atrocity in itself.  Based on broken windows policing theory and practice, Eric became a target due to the irrational fear that communities of color, that Black people will only continue to break the law, to escalate, and be out of control.   Whether or not he was selling "loosies" is irrelevant when we compare these quality of life crimes to more heinous crimes that are constantly overlooked or justified.  This includes: when banks are allowed to engage in predatory practices that target communities of color and force groups to remain in poverty; when Detroit can declare bankruptcy on a city of mostly black communities and then take away basic rights such as water; when corporations are allowed to abuse other countries and depress US economies; when the US Military continues to back and support Israel's oppression of Palestinian people and land.   While our work is important and has made critical change, it's not enough. We need to wake up, we need to rise up.  In the words of Audre Lorde - "We were never meant to survive." We need to be prepared for this hyper level of policing; we need to develop safety strategies for ourselves and our communities that uplift's our survival and existence. We've been resilient in our movement strategies & in our organizing traditions. We've been at the center of this work for decades.  It's the legacy of our ancestors, the legacy of the civil rights movement, the legacy of the uprising of Stonewall, the legacy of the migrant farmworkers movement and many others. We have been here and we will continue to be here.  In this moment, what are we willing to do to be free?

~Written by Cara Page, Executive Director of The Audre Lorde Project   & Krystal Portalatin, Co-Director of FIERCE   In Solidarity, The Memberships, Staff and Board of The Audre Lorde Project and FIERCE      FIERCE will mobilize tomorrow (Thursday, 12/4) at Foley Square at 5:30PM to demand justice for Eric Garner. If you want to Join FIERCE contact Fred fred@fiercenyc.org.     We will be demanding:

Nearest trains to Foley Square: Foley Square (J/Z to Chambers, 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge City Hall)  

“FIERCE Outraged At Grand Jury Decision for Darren Wilson; State Sanctioned Anti-Black Violence is An Epidemic That Must Be Shut Down “

 FIERCE is a membership-based organization building the leadership and power of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth of color in New York City.  

What is justice in the United States of America?  Who does the justice system serve and work to protect?  FIERCE, people across the United States, and the world are asking these questions after Monday’s announcement of the grand jury's decision not to indict white Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the murder of Michael Brown.

This verdict sent a loud and very clear message about the value placed on the lives of black people.   It says, that black lives mean nothing.  It says, that it is okay to kill black people just because of the color of their skin.  It says, Jim Crow laws and culture are not an era of atrocity in history but a present vicious subversive reality used to continue to imprison, beat, and kill black bodies with no accountability for the anti-black genocide that is being committed in this country.     

As LGBTQ youth organizers fighting against police brutality since 2000, we see this as an issue for not only black people but for queer people of color.  We are often forced to choose between our Queer identities and our identities as people of color.  FIERCE for the past 15 years has been working to bring all our experiences and identities to the table in which to organize from and for.  Our complexity and our intersections are the foundation from which we dream and work towards freedom for ourselves, one another and the communities we stand in solidarity with.  We took to the streets the past two nights as Queer people of color, as Queer & Trans youth of color to stand in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Missouri to call an end to the anti-black genocide being committed by those who wear blue and a badge.  

We stand strong with Michael Brown’s family, the people of Furgerson, black people, black, women, queer people, trans women, and our allies because we can no longer be silent.  Enough is enough!  Not one more Black life lost!  We are calling on our community and allies to stand strong.  We call on you to continue to stand in solidarity to show that black lives matter.  Our lives matter! We call on you to demand justice for Mia Henderson, Aniya Parker, Tiffany Edwards, Yaz’min Shancez, Brittany-Nicole Kidd-Stergis, Alejandra Leos, Kandy Hall and all Trans women of color who were murdered this past year and whose lives were treated with complete disregard demonstrated by the lack of justice delivered.   As Queer & Trans people of color, we often see and hear stories of black Trans women being brutalized and killed by police.  These stories are almost never covered by mainstream media.  

For black lives lost from police brutality, we call on you to demand justice for Yvette Smith, Eleanor Bumpurs, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Tarika Wilson, and all other black women who lost their lives to police brutality.  We call on you to demand justice for Eric Garner, Ramarley Graham and for Akai Gurley. We call on you to demand Justice for Mike Brown and to sign the online petition on colorofchange.org calling for President Obama and Attorney General Holder to bring federal charges against Officer Wilson for the murder of 18 year old, Michael Brown.

FIERCE will continue our critical work of organizing Queer and Trans youth of color led campaigns that work to decriminalize and empower our communities by holding the NYPD accountable for unlawful, abusive and discriminatory policing. As we demand an end to broken windows policing, we demand justice for Mike Brown and all victims of police violence. No Justice! No Peace!  

None of us can deny Nicki’s flawless selfies, but we can sure serve face just like she does. Let’s celebrate Nicki Minaj’s selfie game by taking our own! FIERCE’s #IHaveARightTo campaign is all about the selfies right now. We’re asking folks [LGBTQ youth] to write down what THEY think they should have a right to and snap a *flawless* selfie finishing the hashtag: “#IHaveARightTo…” We’ll be coordinating selfie stations for folks to participate in and will be asking participates a couple of questions about your hashtag. ADULT ALLIES: Please support by sharing this event with youth that you work with. This event is for youth between the ages of 13-24. For more info, contact Fred at fred@fiercenyc.org! Food and metros will be provided!

If you are a LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13-24 and you are:

A. Sick of the policing and profiling of LGBTQ youth

B. Believe that LGBTQ youth should have access to public/safe space

C. Ready to organize and fight back against the forces that oppress LGBTQ youth of color

and/or

D. Ready to be FIERCE & fabulous while doing so...

Come through to a new member orientation and get involved with FIERCE!

For more information and/or to RSVP for a new member orientation, contact FIERCE Organizer, Lee at lee@fiercenyc.org!

We hope to see you soon!

If you are a LGBTQ youth of color between the ages of 13-24 and you are:

A. Sick of the policing and profiling of LGBTQ youth

B. Believe that LGBTQ youth should have access to public/safe space C. Ready to organize and fight back against the forces that oppress LGBTQ youth of color and/or D. Ready to be FIERCE & Fabulous while doing so

Please email FIERCE Organizer, Lee at lee@fiercenyc.org to schedule a new member orientation!