This is a blog for the community, by the community! Submit writings, opinion columns, and/or pics of anything you think is important to share with fellow Denver Harbor residents!
All submitted things will be given the credit of the person who wrote or sent in the work. Email us @ ourdhstreets@gmail.com.
Listen in to radio show Nuestra Palabra tonight!!- 90.1FM KPFT @7:30PM to hear about the upcoming Word Around Town Poetry showcase featuring poet/activist/writer Deniz Lopez - who is from Denver Harbor & helps maintain the Our DH Streets community website!
Join All Communites Against Brutality (ACAB) this Saturday, November 6, 2010 @ 1pm as they Demonstrate in support of Oscar Grant, his family, and friends:
ACAB invites the community to take part in this National call for Oscar. We are interested in keeping a peaceful demonstration and creating a space for our gente to come together to talk about Oscar's case, about their own thoughts on the true role of police in our neighborhoods, call for an end to police violence, and most importantly, to build connections with each other around the issue of police brutality- that we can all be affect by- just like Oscar- at any moment.
For more info about Oscar's case- See Below:
http://www.californiabeat.org/2010/11/03/sentencing-nears-for-ex-bart-cop-johannes-mehserle
Sentencing nears for ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle-
On Friday morning, one of the final chapters of a tragic high-profile Bay Area story will be written.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge is set to sentence former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle on Friday for the shooting death of Oscar Grant at the Fruitvale BART station platform on January 1, 2009.
The incident was captured on numerous video recorders and disseminated throughout the world. The video sparked widespread protests and rioting throughout Oakland in the days following the shooting. Later, protests broke out in response to the jury’s decision to convict Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter with a weapons enhancement — and acquit him of murder — in June.
Mehserle is white, while Grant was black. The controversy over the killing took on racial overtones and unleashed long-held animosity between city residents and law enforcement.
The former officer, now 28, has been jailed at a Downtown Los Angeles jail since the day the verdict, awaiting sentencing for the crime.
Judge Robert Perry, who presided over the trial, will sentence Mehserle, who could be sentenced to anything from probation to a maximum of 14 years in state prison.
The involuntary manslaughter verdict angered members of Grant’s family and prosecutors, who argued that Mehserle murdered Grant when he drew his firearm and shot the unarmed 23 year-old father once in the back, killing him. Mehserle’s defense contended the action was a mistake and that the former officer meant to Tase Grant when he drew his service weapon instead of the Taser.
The jury agreed, in part, with the defense argument that the shooting was accidental when it came to a verdict of involuntary manslaughter. Legal experts said that the weapons enhancement charge was a compromise solution for the jury.
Dueling public relations campaigns
The families of Grant and Mehserle have undertaken very public and bold steps at soliciting public support before Friday’s scheduled sentencing.
Grant’s family has urged Perry to seek the maximum sentence for Mehserle, a 14-year stint behind bars.
The family has drawn support from the International Longshoreman’s Worker’s Union, whose members shut down operations at the Ports of San Francisco and Oakland for one day in September in a public display in favor of the maximum sentence.
“We want justice,” said Christopher McKay, an International Longshore and Warehouse Union worker. ”We want [Mehserle] to serve his time just like anybody else would serve their time — to the fullest extent of the law.”
The union’s organized community events put together to draw attention to the shooting have the blessing of the Grant family, who said they would be in the courtroom Friday for the sentencing.
Meanwhile, the family of Mehserle is waging its own campaign to urge Perry to go in another direction: being lenient towards the former police officer.
After nearly 18 months of silence from Mehserle and his supporters, friends and family members have initiated an aggressive and highly visible outreach campaign to get “his side of the story” in the public domain.
This yacht has made regular appearances at McCovey Cove outside AT&T Park drawing attention to the Johannes Mehserle sentencing date.
During the San Francisco Giants’ playoff run, Mehserle’s father, Todd, who sells sailing equipment for yachts, has paraded a large ship with “Free Mehserle” banners during home games in McCovey Cove. The move drew attention — including from the Fox Sports baseball telecasts — to the high profile case and the upcoming sentencing date.
Last week, Mehserle gave his first interview to KTVU Television from the Los Angeles County Jail, telling the television station that he expects to walk out of the court “a free man” on Friday.
”The decision I made was to Tase Mr. Grant, it wasn’t to shoot him, and I know that,” he told Channel 2 reporter Rita Williams.
Sentencing Day
Sentencing is set for 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Downtown Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Superior Court says that the few seats available to the public will be distributed via a lottery held at 8 a.m. outside the courthouse.
In court filings, the former officer’s defense attorney has asked Perry for a new trial, citing a Kentucky case where a police officer whose Taser was configured for a dominant hand cross-draw — just like Mehserle’s, and unlike other gun-Taser confusion cases presented at trial — mistook his gun for his Taser. Perry will rule on that motion before Friday’s sentencing.
The Beat will provide updates on the sentencing from Los Angeles on www.californiabeat.org and on its Twitter page. The Beat News Service contributed reporting. Contact Steven Luo, Jennifer Courtney and Tashina Manyak at news@californiabeat.org.
Se Ve! Se Siente! El Pueblo Sera Presente! Tomorrow, Saturday, May 1st, 2010, Houston will join an international call to March for dignity & respect for all human beings. May 1st marks International Workers Day and historically was used to celebrate the gains of several labour movements throughout the world. In recent years, especially in the U.S., it's come to mark a day of political protests and rallies to demand workers rights and immigrant rights.
With the recent signing of SB 1070 by Arizona's governor, this May Day March is especially important and especially significant. SB 1070 "makes it a state misdemeanor crime for an alien to be in the United States without registration documents required by federal law,[8] and requires police to make an attempt, when practicable, to determine a person's immigration status if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is an illegal alien." This bill is problematic because it gives police officers who suspect you may be illegal, the right to stop, question, and detain you. Arizona says that officers will use things like 'how someone is dressed' to decide whether they may be illegal. The law pretty much gives police the right to racially profile brown people. This law is a slap in the face for all Brown people that have come here due to the promise of the American Dream. And it's a slap in the face to the Brown ancestors that maintained, worked, and roamed this land long before borders. Houston will stand in solidarity with all Brown people suffering due to laws imposed on them. Houston also marches to demand respect to immigrant workers’ rights, for the right to be acknowledged, “to come out of the shadows”, through a just immigration reform for all the contributions immigrants make, for the right of family unification and a stop to the raids and deportations, for respect to the human rights of all immigrants and refugees, for Passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act, for justice for all, and for unity amongst ALL communities.
We at OurDHStreets post the information here for all interested in taking part of this March. We understand what this means to all Latinos, Mexicanos, Xicanos, Mexican-Americans, Immigrantes, etc in this country and throughout the world. Brown people have a long and proud history in the Southern states, and it's upsetting and saddening that after all that we have given, law makers work day in and day out to destroy our cultura.
The march organizers invite people to bring signs, whistles, drums, etc to make lots of noise & bring attention. Houston is sending a message to Arizona, the lawmakers here, and the country, that we do not support unjust laws. It may be rainy, so be sure to bring umbrellas, raincoats, etc & water to drink. Details are below.
Date: Saturday, May 1, 2010 Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm Location: Starting Point: Bellaire and Renwick Street: 5900 Bellaire Blvd. City/Town: Houston, TX Ending Point: Rally @ Burnett Bayland Park (Chimney Rock & Gulfton)
Visit www.houstonmarches.info for more details. You can also call or text (832)497-5035 for more info. Visit the Facebook Page for this Event, here.
TEJANO ASSOCIATION FOR HISTORICAL PRESERVATION www.tejanoahp.org
Lorenzo de Zavala Chapter and Other Participating Organizations present the 11th Annual CESAR E. CHAVEZ PARADE in Houston, Texas deep in the heart of the East End
The 11th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Parade will be held March 27, 2010, Saturday, at 10:00 a.m. in Houston, Texas. The parade line up will begin at 9am at 601 North Cesar Chavez Boulevard and end at Hidalgo Park 7000 Ave. Q Houston, TX 77011. Elected officials will be participating as well as veteran groups and students. Festivities will follow at Hidalgo Park and elected officials will be delivering speeches at the gazebo in Hidalgo Park.
Come and show your support for the Cesar E. Chavez Parade. There is no charge for non-profit organizations to participate.
For more info. regarding the Cesar Chavez Parade please contact TAHP President, Loretta Martinez Williams at 713-673-1418 or email at latejana@comcast.net
Valentines Day this year in Houston was not the sunniest or brightest, but that didn't stop the people from getting out of their homes to find that special something for that special someone. Stands lined both sides of Lyons Avenue this past weekend, full of flowers, teddy bears, candy, and your occassional heart-shaped balloon hook-up too!
Lyons Avenue is one of the most visited streets in DH, so, from what I could tell, the vendors had little trouble finding last minute shoppers. All the options also made it a great spot to bargain ourselves a deal.
The best thing about the entire sight was that all the people running the stands were from DH. That meant that the money we gave to purchase a sweet for our sweet went right back into our community. Doing this ensures that on a neighborhood level, we can all maintain with eachothers help. It's great to see that this type of exchange can still exist in such a modern and fast-paced world!
So, what was the merchandise like? Well, my mom loved her cute little glass vase filled with gorgeous, deep red roses!
On Friday morning, one of the final chapters of a tragic high-profile Bay Area story will be written.
is dressed' to decide whether they may be illegal. The law pretty much gives police the right to racially profile brown people. This law is a slap in the face for all Brown people that have come here due to the promise of the American Dream. And it's a slap in the face to the Brown ancestors that maintained, worked, and roamed this land long before borders.
from
Valentines Day this year in Houston was not the sunniest or brightest, but that didn't stop the people from getting out of their homes to find that special something for that special someone. 
Stands lined both sides of Lyons Avenue this past weekend, full of flowers, teddy bears, candy, and your occassional heart-shaped balloon hook-up too! 
