Tuesday December 21st the South Central Neighborhood Council (SCNC) voted unanimously to oppose car confiscations in a resolution I drafted with the assistance of a member of the council and Cynthia-Anderson Baker of the National Lawyers Guild. The purpose: to mobilize the Black and Brown community of South Central, the region we represent, against the confiscation of cars at sobriety checkpoints and other "routine traffic stops".
The National Lawyers Guild researched police records and trainings to find that the LAPD has been racially profiling cars and drivers (big surprise). Cars considered "old and beat up" are targeted at traffic stops and would otherwise not arise suspicion, if the driver has a license. Often those who have no licenses are undocumented, parolees, and people who could not afford insurance.
These sobriety checkpoints not only attack working class people by confiscating their vehicle, they also do it in the name of targeting "drunk driving". However; numerous studies have shown that the VAST majority of people whose cars are impounded are not impounded because of intoxication. In one San Pedro study, out of 64 cars impounded 4 of them were taken due to drunk driving. Still organizations linked to the police such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving have bought into this racist fallacy and lent their name to a literal theft of the community.
According to La Opinion, the largest Spanish language newspaper in the US, the revenue generated by car confiscations is over $40 million dollars a year. In Maywood the City Council was removed from office because they were caught accepting gifts and campaign contributions from tow truck companies who took cars from people at sobriety check points. The Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa has condemned racial profiling yet has continued to allow the LAPD to racially profile the Latino community. The SCNC Anti-Confiscation Resolution is a major step against this attack.
The beginning of resistance against car checkpoints
Four years ago my mother, who recently passed, commented on the checkpoints off of Florence and Centinela (near the railroad tracks by the Inglewood Cemetery). The police would set up a checkpoint just before people turned onto Centinela where drivers could not see them waiting and could not turn around. Lined up next to the police were tow trucks and taxi cabs parasitically waiting to take people's cars away where many could not afford to pick them up from impound. The taxis would then give ride to the more desperate, vulnerable and stranded. "It makes me so angry! I wish I could just leave my car here, get out of the line and hold up a sign so people could turn around!".
The Frente Contra las Redadas-FCR (Front Against the Raids) was started as a direct action response to the car confiscations. People part of a text mob would receive messages that police were setting up checkpoints. Around 5 to 10 people would alerta la gente; show up with signs at locations before the checkpoints. Cars would turn around and the police could not do much besides try to harass the people standing there with signs. In one case, a person was given a littering citation for putting down his sign when the police initiated a talk with him. Although the police started the conversation with this activist and the protester intended to continue using the sign/banner, this person was still given a ticket.
The actions against the confiscations were largely successful. At some locations the checkpoints were shut down early because so many drivers were able to avert them. While these direct actions were effective they were draining for many of the participants as often the sign holders would start at 7pm and end at 2am.
Members of the FCR, many of whom participated in these direct actions, have recently been elected to the South Central Neighborhood Council. Running on an anti- checkpoint, anti-police brutality, pro-affordable housing, pro- legalization slate; we faced opposition from the wealthy Christian church, the business community of South Central and, of course, the LAPD. We had a landslide victory; winning 8 out of 9 positions. The youth representative position the slate lost by two votes. However; the elected youth rep has not attended any meetings and the position is now officially open.
The SCNC strategy: According to LA City law if 3 neighborhood councils approve the same resolution, the resolution must be discussed in the Los Angeles City Council. The SCNC hopes to use this tactic to get the racist car confiscations reduced/ eliminated in LA and to organize for a larger campaign against the attacks on our community. The issue of car confiscation which has focused on immigrants can also defend non-immigrants who do not have licenses because of their legal status, and financial hardship. This campaign has the potential to unite the Black and Latino community along class lines against the police and the city for stealing people's cars and making money from it. Members of other Neighborhood Councils are on board with this resolution and have pledged to fight confiscations of unlicensed people in their districts.
Another note: Part of my participation in this slate was that I would run as a socialist candidate. I also wanted to see how far we would be able to go by participating in the electoral realm of organizing rather than the majority of my experience which is not in city positions. How successful we are at ending car confiscations as well as how we are able to integrate the community in these campaigns can demonstrate the effectiveness of participating in the electoral process. Something I am learning about this experience is being able to take action in both. I have continued to organize in these areas and the other members of the SCNC are still very politically active.
I have also become more aware of a willful ignorance of the governmental process on the part of some activists. Some socialists and anarchists think that the less they know about, for example; who their city council is or what elections are going on, the more militant they are. We participate in capitalism by our own existence. It’s not a choice; it’s the system. Propositions that are voted by the public on are enforced by the state; the police, sheriffs and military will impose the system and rules of the state whether we know about them or not. We must work for a living, pay taxes and do other things we would rather not do to just live. As socialists and revolutionaries it is helpful for us to not only be aware of what is happening in our communities, but also if there is an avenue to fight back against it, to participate in that struggle as resources permit. If we are against racist legislation such as SB1070, then we should propose edicts that directly counter and eliminates those laws. If we are for direct action then we should also be for those who fight for direct action along with a socialist political platform. Run your own candidates in your City Council while putting resources into multiple avenues within your city. Organize your community, workplace, school etc, build community support so that when you are attacked you’ve proven to the community what side you’re on. You will have campaigns going on simultaneously so that people can see and participate in the fight back.
Lastly, we need a socialist party in the US that the working class controls and participates in. There are many socialist organizations and self-proclaimed parties. And although in some working class individuals are members and participate in these groups, the majority of these groups are less than 100 people and the majority also a minority of people of color membership and virtually no Black membership. How is that representative of the US working class?! We need to build representation in our organizations for a larger socialist organization that is democratic, racially representative and has a people of color particularly women in the leadership of it.
We can begin to build for a truly representative working class socialist party by supporting openly socialist candidates who present their politics, participate in ground level direct action and then continue to put forward socialist ideas. A group that does direct action, occupations, and left wing unionism can show the community concretely the benefits of supporting socialists.
Today we will hold a press conference in front of City Hall with the resolution as well as go to the Mayor's office and tell him to stop taking cars away from unlicensed working class people! City Hall TODAY @4:30PM. I am a contact for the press so contact me or post to this blog for more information.
Here is the resolution in full:
RESOLUTION OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL, CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, CALLING FOR AN END TO CAR CONFISCATIONS AT SOBRIETY CHECK POINTS AND AN ADPOTION OF THE CITY OF OAKLAND POLICY REGARDING THE IMPOUNDING OF CARS OF UNLICENSED DRIVERS IN LOS ANGELES CITY
RESOLUTION: PASSED UNANIMOUSLY
THE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL FOR THE SOUTH CENTRAL AREA HEREBY FINDS DETERMINES AND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, the California Vehicle Code requires that all vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers be impounded, and may not be released from impound for thirty days except under certain designated circumstances; and
WHEREAS, among the reasons vehicles may be released prior to the end of the thirty days period are “mitigating circumstances” and,
WHEREAS, those persons who’s vehicles are impounded are entitled to a prompt and fair hearing to attempt to establish the mitigating circumstances which should entitle them to an early release of their vehicle; and
WHEREAS, the policies and laws of the State of California make it difficult or impossible for undocumented persons to obtain drivers licenses; and
WHEREAS, many unlicensed persons are not licensed through no fault of their own and suffer serious financial and familial hardships when their vehicles are impounded; and
WHEREAS, the sobriety checkpoints established by the City of Los Angeles consistently impound vehicles from drivers who are not intoxicated and do not have a blood alcohol level of .04% in accordance with City of Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, the constant impounding of vehicles through sobriety checkpoints disproportionately targets low income communities such as the South Central area; and
WHEREAS, the largest Spanish newspaper in the United States, La Opinion, has reported about the disproportionate use of checkpoints in South Central Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, La Opinion reported that $40 million dollar revenue generated by these checkpoints in 2009; and
WHEREAS, the impounding of vehicles at sobriety checkpoints of drivers with a legal blood alcohol level imposes undue stress, aggravation and financial hardship to the community of South Central; and
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland has adopted a policy of allowing officers to only tow a vehicle of an unlicensed driver after an opportunity has been granted to allow the unlicensed driver to relinquish the vehicle to a licensed driver already on scene or secure his or her vehicle on scene after a waiver has been signed; and
WHEREAS, the South Central Neighborhood Council wishes to reduce the hardship attendant upon unlicensed drivers who are unlicensed through no fault of their own, to the maximum extent consistent with state law.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT;
The South Central Neighborhood Council opposes the confiscation of cars by the Los Angeles Police Department at sobriety checkpoints and other checkpoints of unlicensed drivers for reasons other than an a blood alcohol level of .04% and calls on the Los Angeles City Council to prevent Los Angeles Police Department from confiscating vehicles of unlicensed drivers who do not have a blood alcohol level higher than the legal limit of 0 .04%. In addition, the South Central Neighborhood Council also opposes the confiscation of cars of unlicensed drivers at traffic stops. This resolution calls on the Los Angeles City Council to adopt the Oakland City Policy of car confiscations which allows police to only tow a vehicle of an unlicensed driver after an opportunity has been granted to allow the unlicensed driver to relinquish the vehicle to a licensed driver already on scene or secure his or her vehicle on scene after a waiver has been signed.
