"STOP the Frisk" Rally Media RoundUp!

Submitted by wesware
on Fri, 05/10/2013 - 14:07

From NOLA.com/ Times-Picayune:  LGBT Group Urges Public Meeting with NOPD to Discuss 'Stop and Frisk' Policy

From The Advocate:  Protesters Push for Better Policies Against Profiling by Police

NOPD Locks Door on BreakOUT! and Community

Submitted by wesware
on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 19:54

Organizations Prevented from Engagement on Policing Reforms

Community members representing at least 18 different organizations attempted to bring a public statement to Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas this morning at New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Headquarters.

The community members, which included representatives from BreakOUT!, the Congress of Day Laborers, STAND with Dignity, Safe Streets Strong Communities, Voice of the Ex-Offender, and others were denied entry into the public building.  The ACLU and the National Lawyer’s Guild provided legal observers for the delegation.

The delivery followed a rally of over 75 people, including undocumented Latino workers, Black young mothers, Black gay and lesbian youth, transgender women, Vietnamese-American students, and many others,

File Attachment: 
BreakOUT! Press Release.pdf

STOP the Frisk, May 9th!

Submitted by wesware
on Sun, 05/05/2013 - 18:26

Do NOPD officers stop you for no reason?  Do you think it had a lot to do with the color of your skin, what you were wearing, or where you were?

If this applies to you or someone you know then join us on Thursday May 9, 2013 for STOP THE FRISK: Rally Against Racial & Gender Profiling!

We will be delivering our Public Statement, signed by over 15 local organizations, to Chief Serpas to call for a public meeting about draft policies to end racial & gender profiling.

We are calling on policed people of all ages in New Orleans who are Black, Brown, LGBTQ, and Undocumented to the frontlines as we peacefully demand change to the policies and NOPD practices that push our people into prison and out of our communities.

We will convene at NOPD Headquarters, 715 S. Broad St. at 10:30am sharp.

File Attachment: 
Press Release 5-9-13.pdf

BreakOUT! on WWNO

Submitted by wesware
on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 00:06

BreakOUT! was on WWNO's Community Impact Series last week!  Did you miss it?  Don't worry, you can still check it out here.  Many thanks to the Greater New Orleans Foundation and WWNO for this opportunity!

BreakOUT! Launches Kiki for a Cause Fundraising Campaign

Submitted by wesware
on Fri, 04/12/2013 - 13:46

Everyone loves a kiki.

And in a city with the highest incarceration rate in the world- and very few services for LGBTQ youth of color who are too often swept into the criminal justice system- we need to take all the opportunities we can get to kiki, relax, and build community with one another.  And what’s better than kiki-ing for a cause?!

BreakOUT! seeks to end the criminalization of LGBTQ youth, who are targets of both street and state-based violence in New Orleans.  As a small, community-based organization, we rely on the contributions of our supporters, allies, friends, family, & fellow community members.  Though we were only founded in 2011, by 2012 nearly 11% of our budget came from people just like you.

BREAKOUT! SAYS "SASHAY AWAY!" TO NOPD'S DRAFT LGBTQ POLICY

Submitted by wesware
on Thu, 03/28/2013 - 03:37


STOP & FRISK AN LGBTQ ISSUE

After organizing for over a year, BreakOUT! members were finally offered the chance to meet last week with representatives from the NOPD Training Academy, Policy Department, and City Attorney's Office to review the NOPD's draft LGBTQ policy prior to its implementation.  BreakOUT! was given one week to take the draft back to members and provide comments and recommendations to the policy.  Members posed the question to one another last week, Chante you stay? or Sashay away! in response to the draft. 

Today, BreakOUT! publicly says "Sashay Away," and calls on the New Orleans community to tell the NOPD and Mayor Landrieu, We Deserve Better than the NOPD's draft policy.


UPDATED: CALL TO ACTION!

Submitted by wesware
on Wed, 01/23/2013 - 02:08

BreakOUT! Holds Chief Serpas Accountable, Gets Written Commitment to Allow LGBTQ Youth to Review Draft Policy

Congratulations, BreakOUT! members, supporters, and friends!

Thanks to your help sending 275 emails to Chief Ronal Serpas and Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Chief Serpas has written back to our request. BreakOUT! received a written commitment from Chief Serpas Wednesday afternoon stating, “we have not wavered or relinquished in our previous commitment to provide BreakOUT! the opportunity to review and comment on the final LGBT policy prior to implementation.”

The draft policy is, however, already in the City Attorney’s Office, where it was sent on January 11, 2013. According to the Chief’s description of the process, the draft will be reviewed there before going back to the NOPD, then

WERK!!! BreakOUT! Hires First Two Members with Support of Job1, New Orleans Workforce Development Office

Submitted by wesware
on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 17:37

BreakOUT! is excited to announce a new partnership between Job1, New Orleans’ workforce development program, and our LGBTQ youth membership.  The partnership includes a 3-month job training program for two BreakOUT! members who will work as full-time youth organizers while learning job skills and looking for long-term employment by accessing services at Job1.

A 2011 study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, “Injustice at Every Turn,” found that transgender people experience unemployment at double the rate of the population as a whole.  Further, they reported that those who lost a job because of anti-transgender bias are 50%more likely to be incarcerated.

Since difficulty finding a job and homelessness is a key player in the

BreakOUT! Signs Statement of U.S. LGBTQ and Allied Organizations on the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

Submitted by wesware
on Mon, 12/17/2012 - 17:12

The undersigned lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two Spirit and allied organizations mark the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers by calling for support for efforts worldwide to defend the lives and rights of all people involved in the sex trades.

We recognize that systemic homophobia and transphobia, disproportionate poverty and homelessness, widespread discrimination, and an absence of pathways to immigration status, frequently limit the economic and survival options of LGBTQ people, particularly LGBTQ youth and adults of color and transgender people.

BreakOUT! Closes Out Year with Four Awards in Three Months

Submitted by wesware
on Thu, 12/06/2012 - 20:03

BreakOUT! is proud to announce the receipt of 4 national and local awards in just 3 months!

In October, BreakOUT! received the Justice for Youth Award by the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana at their 15th Anniversary Gala.  This was awarded to BreakOUT! "in recognition of the leadership that BreakOUT! has demonstrated in fighting the criminalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in Louisiana."  We were honored to receive the award alongside Juvenile Regional Services, Senator Karen Carter Peterson, Stand Up for Each Other!, Marsha Levick, and attorneys from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

In early November, BreakOUT! received the Out in the Silence Award for Youth Activism by the PBS Documentary of the same name.

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