Brooklyn Based Musicians' Collective Brings Artists And Activists Together In Support Of Police Accountability

On Thursday May 17th, C'mon Everybody will host the second edition of the Sound Mind Collective's Uplift: Brooklyn! benefit concert series. This time around, all proceeds collected from the door and other means (raffle, text-to-donate, etc) will be donated to the Campaign For An Elected Civilian Review Board (ECRB). An impressive lineup of speakers and musicians has been assembled to energize New Yorkers looking to support a positive social movement through music. Artists on the lineup include Bajah & The Dry Eye Crew, M.A.K.U. Soundsystem and the Resistance Revival Chorus (who recently performed alongside Ke$ha at this year's Grammy Awards).

More about the ECRB:

This democratically run campaign consists of ordinary New Yorkers working together to replace the ineffective oversight structures our city has in place for abusive police officers with something more equitable and transparent.

Currently, complaints against police officers are filtered through the CCRB (Civilian Complaint Review Board), which consists of individuals appointed to their positions by the mayor, the police commissioner and City Council members. Prosecutions against police officers are handled by the DA's office, which has a vested interest in maintaining a good relationship with NYPD.

The amount of conflicts of interest in the current system suggests that it is designed to create the mere appearance of accountability rather than actually seeking to promote a healthy relationship between police and citizens, and the outcomes we constantly see (for example, officer Daniel Pantaleo, who murdered Eric Garner, continues to be employed by the department) show us that cops getting away with abusive behavior is the current norm.

ECRB Campaigners have drafted legislation that will replace the CCRB with a Review Board consisting of elected citizens, and will create a Special Prosecutor position to handle prosecutions against police, bypassing all the current conflicts of interest, and operating transparently. Last year, the campaign made a huge step forward by finding a City Council sponsor, Inez Barron, for its legislation, and this year the campaign seeks to spread the word and channel all the voices throughout the city critiquing the current status quo towards the realistic, tangible, systemic solutions this legislation proposes.

More about The Sound Mind Collective:

The Sound Mind Collective is a growing Brooklyn-based organization aiming to connect independent musicians and artists with our local communities in order to encourage meaningful positive growth in education, social justice, and creation. The group was founded in the Spring of 2017 by Katherine Powell (manager, The Nth Power), Chris St. Hilaire (musician, The London Souls) and Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (musician, Antibalas) and has thus far conducted two well received workshops for independent artists and musicians and one benefit concert, raising funds for Exalt Youth, a school-to-prison pipeline prevention program, last December. SMC members have been engaging with the ECRB Campaign since the start of the Trump era and are excited to collaborate via music towards a safer, more equitable NYC.

For more information about The ECRB, please visit www.stoppoliceviolencenyc.org

For more information about The Sound Mind Collective, please visit www.thesoundmindcollective.org

Purchase tickets to benefit show here: https://tinyurl.com/ya3ezuz6

Donate to the ECRB's GoFundMe campaign here: https://tinyurl.com/y9k6over

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