Civil Rights organization Helps Distribute Music Video Outlining Dangerous, Racially Discriminatory Police Practice

New York, NY – Today hip hop artist Jasiri X in partnership with This Week in Blackness released a new song titled, “10 Frisk Commandments.” The track and accompanying video address the New York Police Department’s practice of engaging in illegal stops, searches and frisks that lead to unlawful arrests and other violations of civil liberties, primarily in communities of color. 

ColorOfChange, which last week launched a petition calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to end to New York City’s discriminatory Stop and Frisk program, features Jasiri X’s new video on the organization’s blog and today began sharing it with its network of supporters on Facebook and Twitter.

“Jasiri’s video makes plain the targeting by law enforcement and subsequent humiliation that too many Black and Latino New Yorkers, especially young men, face every day,” said ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson. “Our members have already begun to sign our petition calling on Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly to end this unjust practice. Now we’re partnering on distribution of this creative and provocative video that people can share with friends and family. 

We’re proud to join Jasiri and This Week in Blackness in their efforts to spread the word about Stop and Frisk in a way that highlights and validates the experiences of too many in our communities.” According to the campaign email that ColorOfChange sent to members last week,  NYPD officers made nearly 700,000 stops last year, 89% of which were of Black or Latino New Yorkers. Most of these people were stopped without any suspicion of wrongdoing.

“The NYPD’s use of Stop and Frisk practices have created two New Yorks — one in which New Yorkers are treated differently on the basis of race, income, ethnicity, and where they live,” Robinson said. “We are thankful to Jasiri X and This Week in Blackness for continuing to elevate this important issue.” The video, which ends with a link to the ColorOfChange petition and a text message short code for people to get involved, can be viewed here: http://colorofchange.org/blog/2012/jul/18/listen-jasiri-x-new-track-surviving-stop-and-frisk/ With more than 800,000 members, ColorOfChange.org is the nation’s largest Black online civil rights organization.