Cointelpro 101 & discussion - NY - Brecht Forum, Sat June 18th

Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2011


Panelists:
Former Political Prisoners
Shaba Om, Laura Whitehorn, Francisco Torres

On the panel: Shaba Om is one of the Panther 21; Cisco Torres is the
remaining defendant in the San Francisco 8 case. So you'll hear a lot
more than the history of government repression. I'd love to see you
there. - laura


COINTELPRO 101

Film and Discussion

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Brecht Forum, 451 West Street
(between Bank & Bethune Streets, Manhattan)

4 to 6 pm

We have tight time constraints,
so we WILL be starting sharply on time!

Panelists:
Former Political Prisoners
Shaba Om, Laura Whitehorn, Francisco Torres

Beginning in the 1950s with a focus on the Puerto Rican independence
movement and continuing through the 1960s and into the 1970s when
much of its focus had shifted to the Black Liberation, Chicano
Liberation and American Indian Movements, COINTELPRO racked up a
number of assassinations, false imprisonments and ruined lives. No
government official was ever punished for actions taken under the
program's auspices. The film by Freedom Archives details this history
through the artful use of still photos and moving images of the
period covered. Films of police attacks and protests; still photos of
revolutionary leaders and police murders graphically remind the
viewer of Washington's willingness to do whatever it takes to
maintain its control. Organizers who began their political activity
during the time of Cointelpro discuss the effect the program had on
them and the organizations and individuals they worked with. Indeed,
several of the interviewees were themselves targets and spent years
in prison (some under false accusations, as in the case of Geronimo
ji-Jaga Pratt) or on the run.

Former Black Panther member Kathleen Cleaver states toward the end of
the film that Cointelpro represented the efforts of a political
police force making the decision as to what is allowed politically
and what is not. Anything outside the parameters set by this force
was fair game. Nothing that was done by government officials or
private groups and individuals acting on the government's behalf was
perceived as wrong or illegal. As Attorney Bob Boyle makes clear in
his final statement in the film, Cointelpro is alive and well. The
only difference now is that most of what was illegal for the
government to do during Cointelpro's official existence is now legal.
The PATRIOT Act and other laws associated with the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security have insured this.

Cointelpro 101 is a well made and appealing primer on the history of
the US police state. Produced, written and directed by individuals
who have themselves been the target of tactics documented in the
film, it has an authenticity and immediacy that pulls the viewer in.
Although too short to cover the history in as full detail as some may
desire, the film's intelligence and conscientious presentation of the
historical narrative makes it a film that the student, the citizen
and the activist can all appreciate.

Light Refreshments will be Served!

To download a flyer, click here!

Sponsored by:
NYC Jericho Movement, Malcolm X Commemoration Ctte, NYC Leonard
Peltier Defense-Offense Ctte,
ProLibertad, NYC Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition