An emergency press conference, called by the Still We Rise People's Assembly and March, will be held at 1 Police Plaza on Friday, May 21st at 2pm.

The conference was called after the NYPD denied the group, consisting of hundreds of New Yorkers, the right to protest at or near the Times Square Military Recruitment Center during their upcoming march. Protestors had applied for sound permits in a march that would stop at the Israeli Consulate, Governor Pataki's office, and end at the Times Square Military Recruitment Center.

In fact, the NYPD told march organizers that they must end their march at Governor Pataki's office. "At the last minute, when organizers asked for the area nearby the Times Square Recruitment Center which has been used as the site for demonstrations, the NYPD decided to deny our right to be there. We want to know why New Yorkers are being refused our right to free speech and protest?", says Hyun Lee, a Still We Rise member and Chinatown tenant organizer with CAAAV-Organizing Asian Communities.

Still We Rise is a coalition of over 15 grassroots social justice organizations who are coming together for a People's Assembly and March on Saturday, May 22nd. The purpose of this assembly is to create a "People's Agenda" by and for low-income communities of color that expresses a clear stance against war and for education, jobs, and housing. SWR will be using this Agenda as they begin preparing a grassroots response to the Republican National Convention as well as the upcoming presidential elections. The NYPD, under the leadership of Commissioner Ray Kelly and head of Manhattan South Patrol, Assistant Chief Bruce Smolka, is denying the Still We Rise coalition the right to protest just as the United for Peace and Justice coalition was recently denied a permit to protest in Central Park. This comes as part of an escalation of repressive tactics being employed by the NYPD in preparation for the large scale protests expected this summer during the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden. Already, the NYPD is revealing plans to set up "check points" and "lock down" streets from ordinary New Yorkers, the people who live and work in those neighborhoods. Homeless people, youth, street vendors and their advocates fear the repercussions of these "sweep and lock down" plans on these communities.

Families of victims of police abuse in the Still We Rise coalition have long been familiar with Bruce Smolka's abrasive and abusive treatment of New Yorkers. Smolka was the head of the Street Crimes Unit of the NYPD during the murder of African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, in 1999 by four Street Crimes Unit officers who were then acquitted despite mass public outcry. After the brutal tactics of the Street Crimes Unit were exposed, rather than hold him accountable, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly promoted Smolka to the head of Manhattan South Patrol. In May 2003, Smolka again demonstrated his harsh treatment and disregard for New Yorkers' rights when he kicked a young women in the head who was engaging in civil disobedience as part of Operation Homeland Resistance. As the head of Manhattan South, Smolka will be the officer in charge of police operations during the RNC. According to Veronica Gimenez from Still We Rise and Restaurant Opportunities Center- NY, "The denial of our right to protest on Saturday is only a foreshadow of what we can expect from the NYPD in August. We need support from our allies now because our march to the Israeli Consulate and Pataki's office will continue. Our voices will not be silenced."

The Still We Rise coalition is being represented by an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild and expects speakers at the Press Conference to include representatives from Still We Rise: People's Assembly, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, United for Peace and Justice, and Picture the Homeless /Still We Rise(Poor People's March).