Stonewalled – Still Demanding Respect!
AI's Campaign to End Police Brutality Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the U.S.
Amnesty International's campaign against police brutality (Stonewalled, begun in September) has now been joined by thirty-six nations! The international campaign focuses on the four key cities in the U.S. highlighted in the report: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Antonio.
- A quick look at what we have accomplished since the AIUSA launch
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- Press conferences to launch Stonewalled were held in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, three of the four cities highlighted in the report, on 22 September 2005. (The planned launch event in San Antonio was cancelled due to the impact of hurricane Katrina.) Stonewalled received extensive coverage in both LGBT and mainstream media. Public events were held in Chicago and New York City in conjunction with the launch.
- Workshops and discussions highlighting the findings of the report were held at all the AIUSA fall 2005 regional conferences, and at Creating Change Conference, the largest annual LGBT activist gathering in the country organized by the Task Force. AIUSA also participated at annual rallies organized by the October 22nd Coalition to protest police violence and to remember the victims who died in the hands of law enforcement.
- YOUR PARTICIPATION HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE
The action on Kelly McAllister generated thousands of letters, and the issue of police brutality, particularly as it impacts on transgender people, is back on the map in Sacramento, CA. Since the launch, police departments in DC, San Antonio (Texas), Fargo (North Dakota), Memphis (Tennessee) and Lexington (Kentucky) have signed the AIUSA pledge. The pledge asks police department across the country to promise to take concrete steps in combating police brutality against LGBT people.
For more updates in the target cities, please see enclosed city profiles (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Antonio).
