The STEP UP Coalition is made up of the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) and various other activist groups in Providence. The CSA is a citizen-proposed ordinance that would address racial profiling and other abuses of power by police. Mayor Jorge Elorza recently said the CSA could pass before the end of the year.
This is the ninth year for PRONK! (Providence HONK!) which takes place every Indigenous People’s Day. It is not a Columbus Day parade. Local bands, such as the Extraordinary Rendition Band, What Cheer? Brigade, and Kickin’ Brass participated, as well as bands from around the country. Organizers describe PRONK! as “a cacophonous street celebration with out of town brass bands! We are a street intervention like no other, with outfits and misfits from Rhode Island and beyond – musicians, artists, activists, makers – taking over the streets as part of the Providence HONK Parade.”
Organizers go on to say that PRONK! “spawned from the original HONK! Festival in Somerville, MA that has “grown into a new type of street band movement—throughout the country and across the globe—outrageous and inclusive, brass and brash, percussive and persuasive, reclaiming public space with a sound that is in your face and out of this world.”
]]>A subcommittee of the Providence City Council is slated to consider on September 1 the Community Safety Act – a proposed bill that would make police officers more accountable to the people they detain and reduce racial and other forms of discrimination.
A coalition of community groups called the Step Up Network have launched a campaign to promote the legislation – the group includes DARE, the American Friends Service Committee, Providence Youth Student Movement, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association and the White Noise Collective. On Thursday, a Black Lives Matter action called on the City Council to pass the CSA.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steve Pare does not support the Community Safety Act. RI Future has asked for an interview with Mayor Jorge Elorza about it. We will be reaching out to members of the City Council as well.
Click here to read the full text of the proposed Community Safety Act.
]]>Saying the owner of a local money-wiring business stole thousands of dollars from them, a group of Olneyville residents who frequently send money to family members in other countries will hold a rally at near the corner of Chalkstone Boulevard and Academy Avenue Saturday at 2pm.
“I work two jobs- usually 16 hours a day- just to support my family. Losing my hard-earned money had a huge impact on my family,” Eduardo Gonzalez, a customer of the business and event organizer, said in a press release. ” I am working with other … customers not only to get my money back, but to make sure that no one else goes through what we went through.”
The owner of the business could not be immediately reached for comment.
Susan Beaty, of the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, which is helping to organize the action, said some people have lost as much as $5,000 and others between $1,000 and $2,000. She said it’s hard to quantify the number of victims – which is one of reasons for the protest – but the group has held three informational meetings since learning of the potential crimes about a month ago and each meeting has attracted about 20 people.
Olneyville residents with family in other countries often utilize such businesses as a way to send money to their families back home. Undocumented workers often pay in cash. This makes them an easy target because they may fear going to the police with their problem because it could spark questions about their immigration status. Police have not been contacted yet.
“Many of these customers are Latino immigrant who used the service to send their hard-earned dollars home to support their families in Guatemala, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere,” according to the press release.
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