Seattle Police Strike Again! The following is a statement from Randee Eddins, poet, community activist and leader concerning the case of her son, Rajni. The attached MP3 in the email is a segment of the TWOMP News, audio DJ B-Girl Chillz, Merc, and I captured outside of Seattle Courthouse on the initial day of Rajnii’s hearing. Please air this segment on your radio shows, burn it on your mix tapes, and post it on your websites! Please forward widely and voice your support in this continuing battle for justice and lasting change in the criminal justice system~Julie C He came armed with a question. Yes, admittedly, he did do that. My much loved only son, Rajnii Alexander Gibson-Eddins, a well-known young Arts Educator, Performance Artist and Youth Advocate, approached a police officer’s car armed with a question. For that, he was frisked, handcuffed, detained, arrested and charged with obstruction of a public official. My son, who had no criminal history; had no disrespectful bravado for the police officer who arrested him, had nothing more in mind than the safety and security of a young black adolescent who he had been told by one of his students was being carted off to jail for spitting out gum. The over the top response of the officer, R. Nelson came about, reportedly, because he was afraid for his safety and his fellow officers’ safety. Afraid of Rajnii? Afraid of this most gentle articulate young black man; artist educator, poet, actor, youth advocate, community activist, and former elder foster brother to more than 50 youth? Afraid of his question? “Let’s examine this closely, shall we? Was it the…” excuse me officer, I’d like to know what this child is being charged with so I can notify her parents?” Was it because when they told my son, my Rajnii, to move back from the vehicle and he promptly complied, not once, not twice but 3 times but continued to persist with the question, was that what made the officer feel unsafe? Was it that some police officers in certain neighborhoods have forgotten they are paid to serve us and not paid to detain us, humiliate us, harass us or arrest us? Ironically, my son is the grandson and nephew of law enforcement officers; my late father was a retired police officer and my brother is an officer with the sheriff’s department. My son has served youth in a positive manner from Redmond to Tacoma, co-founded a spoken word community organization to allow a culturally diverse group of young people to flex and hone their voices in a variety of venues. Rajnii has performed spoken word from the Seattle City Council chambers to Benaroya Hall, to Seattle Center, to colleges and universities, libraries, bookstores, cafes, nightclubs, festivals, theatres, community and cultural arts centers. He was chosen to be part of Seattle’s National Slam team for both 2004 and 2005 and nominated for Seattle Poet Populist. Rajnii has worked at many local Seattle area schools as both a teaching assistant and teaching artist and volunteered thousands of community service hours to improve the lives of our community’s youth. Rajnii is only 26 but has already designed and implemented a curriculum using positive hip-hop and taught a host of teachers how to engage their disaffected students using it as a tool; has taken students into the studio out of his own pocket and cheered them on at their every effort to realize their artistic dreams. Rajnii is considered a fierce mc in the hip-hop community, he writes and performs his songs, his style, his way and definitely knows how to rock the mic and move a crowd. He has been on countless albums to support his peers with both lyrics and singing. He is known affectionately by family and friends and the wider youth advocacy community as the Peace Bringer’. Further, at 24, Rajnii was invited by two high schools in New York to be their keynote speaker performing with the great eloquence, passion and clarity he is known for and receiving standing ovations at both events. You see, I am the fiercely proud mother of a great son; the kind of son, friends used to borrow as an example to their own. A son known for his respectful demeanor, known for kindness, generosity and humility, known for brilliant artistic talent and his uncanny ability to engage and redirect youth toward positive pursuits. And yet, we are here, standing at this impasse; outraged, stunned, dismayed, apprehensive, indignant, and determined. Why should my son have any stain on his impeccable record? Why did this officer decide in this case that discretion was not the better part of valor? And most importantly, when have our police gotten so frightened for their safety that they arrest educators who demonstrate concern for a student rather than applaud them? After all, he was only armed with a question. I guess the lesson the police would have our community learn here is we must warn other educators do not approach the police armed with a question, mothers and fathers do not, youth do not, students do not, concerned community members do not, advocates do not, activists do not, spoken word artists do not, performance artists do not, elders do not, ministers do not, business owners do not approach the police whose salary you pay armed with a question…especially if you are black. If you who are reading this in 2007 America are as outraged and concerned as I am, email our Seattle mayor, our Seattle city attorney’s office, our Seattle chief of police, newspaper editors, your community organizations, school boards, share it from your pulpits, discuss this with your friends. If you are able to offer any support financially please contact me at webepoets@yahoo.com, because as a mother, a former foster mother, a community activist and advocate for the positive development of all youth, I recognize the issue is much greater than just my son and will contribute where ever I can to help see the necessary changes made to protect other youth from this debilitating experience. However, we need to make all police departments answer to how being armed with a simple question in America can throw any fine young man in jail. We need to refuse to have the Rajnii’s of the world criminalized, humiliated and their positive efforts diminished due to overzealous punitive response by those sworn to protect and serve. Let’s choose to have this conversation and seek positive resolution about this ugly issue of racial profiling and find a new way to keep the Officer Nelsons from overreacting. Perhaps retraining, perhaps censure, perhaps removal from service in the heavily populated minority community that he/they, apparently, fear so much? We have to remember, need to remember, it was Rajnii today and it could very well be, you or your loved one, tomorrow. Any and all efforts of support us in these efforts are very much appreciated. Peace and Blessings. Randee Eddins Less