[SDCPJ] FREE CHELSEA ~ 1 YEAR COMING OUT ANNIVERSAY ACTION!

August 22nd will mark the 1 year anniversary of Chelsea Manning's coming out! Join local activists in an action to raise awareness in San Diego about her campaign for freedom and transgender issues both carceral and otherwise.

Friday, August 22nd
5:00PM - 7:00PM
5th Ave & University Ave ~ Hillcrest ~ San Diego

This action organized by
The San Diego Coalition to Free Manning

Facebook Event Page:  https://www.facebook.com/events/901396016542057/

*Action to include speakers, street theatre, leafleting, chanting, solidarity photos, & cake to celebrate the courage of Chelsea Manning.

PROGRAM: 
( Not Finalized )

MC ~ Sean Bohac of  San Diego Coalition to Free Manning & LGBTQ rights organization SAME Alliance

Gloria Cruz of ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties on lawsuit over Manning's proper medical treatment

Jamie Messer of the LGBTQ rights organization Canvass for a Cause will speak on Chelsea Manning's role in following the rich community "Spirit of Stonewall" tradition of speaking truth to power.

Nile & NemoBeats will perform their song "Drones"

Patricia Gracian will read Amnesty International's statement demanding clemency for Chelsea and her immediate release.

Nick Bernabe from The Anti-Media will speak on the current war on journalists and their sources including whistleblowers like Chelsea and others.

Gabriel Conaway will read a statement by Joseph Crews of San Diego Veterans for Peace's recent statement: "Chelsea's Manning Anniversary"

Martha Sullivan of Women Occupy San Diego will speak.

Rick Greenblatt from the San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice will speak.

~ Endorsing Organizations ~
( Not finalized )

Black and Pink - San Diego
http://www.blackandpink.org/chapters/san-diego/

Canvass For a Cause 
@[NjQyMTgzOTU5MjA4MTA3Omh0dHBcYS8vd3d3LmNhbnZhc3Nmb3JhY2F1c2Uub3JnLzo6:http://www.canvassforacause.org/]

Green Party of San Diego/Partido Verde de San Diego
http://www.sdgreenparty.org/

Guerrilla Pride San Diego

Peace Resource Center of San Diego WWW.PRCSD.ORG
@[NjQyMTgzOTU5MjA4MTA3Omh0dHBcYS8vcHJjc2Qub3JnLzo6:http://prcsd.org/]

SAME Alliance 
San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality
@[NjQyMTgzOTU5MjA4MTA3Omh0dHBcYS8vc2FtZWFsbGlhbmNlLmNvbS86Og==:http://samealliance.com/]

San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice
http://sdcpj.org/

San Diego Veterans for Peace
@[NjQyMTgzOTU5MjA4MTA3Omh0dHBcYS8vd3d3LnNkdmZwLm9yZy86Og==:http://www.sdvfp.org/

Women Occupy - San Diego
http://womenoccupysandiego.org/

*****PRESS RELEASE*****

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 8/19/14

 Media Contact: Sean Bohac 619-218-3192, info@samealliance.com

 Come Out for Chelsea, Locals Gather to Celebrate the Courage of Chelsea Manning

 "Four years after Chelsea was first imprisoned for her heroic acts, we gather to celebrate her courage, courage to join the army in a time of war, courage to tell the truth when she witnessed war crimes, and courage to reach personal honesty and publicly transition to her life as a woman." said Sean Bohac one of the organizers of Come Out for Chelsea. "August 22 2014 is the one-year anniversary of Chelsea coming out as trans-gender, we are gathering to celebrate that anniversary and to build awareness of her wrongful detention." Organizers plan street theater, public speakers, solidarity chanting and free cake on the corner of 5th and University Aves from 5-7pm on Friday August 22nd.

 

The level of support for Manning is rising and broadening, from individuals like Maggie Gyllenhall, Ron Paul, Michael Moore and Daniel Ellsberg, to organizations including Veterans for Peace, the ACLU and Amnesty International. "The US government must grant Chelsea Manning clemency, order her immediate release, and implement a thorough and impartial investigation into the crimes she uncovered." said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director Amnesty International. Amnesty International is one of many human rights advocates who are working hard to honor Manning's contribution to democracy and transparency and to order her release from detention. Both the commanding officer of the detention center where she is held, and the President of the United States can provide relief in the form of clemency or pardon, we encourage everyone to contact them to express urgency in the release of Chelsea Manning.

 

 Beyond the trials and tribulations of her well known Wikileaks contributions, she also has been a bold role model for members of the trans community demanding appropriate treatment and therapy for what is referred to as "gender disphoria" or a transgender identity. A day after her sentencing, the then Pvt. Bradley Manning issued a clear statement of her identity as Chelsea Manning, and her intentions to pursue hormone therapy. Her trans identity and other heroic acts have been celebrated in LGBT Pride marches across the country including contingents in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, New York City, San Diego, and was honored as the Honorary Grand Marshal of San Francisco Pride in 2014.

 

 Most recently, the ACLU has joined a lawsuit against the military demanding that previously approved treatment be provided. "Chelsea Manning has continued to be denied her necessary treatment for political reasons." said Jamie Messer an organizer with Canvass for a Cause. "This is cruel and unusual punishment if she is denied her treatment, we demand that Chelsea immediately receives the treatment that she needs, if not her immediate release."

 

 Before, during and after her trial, Manning has talked about her reasons for divulging the evidence of U.S. war crimes, "I believed that if … the American public, had access to this information… it could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan." She has always been clear that she felt it was her duty in a free democratic society to divulge the motives and lack of success of the Afghan and Iraq war efforts, "I felt I had accomplished something that allowed me to have a clear conscience based upon what I had seen … and knew were happening in both Iraq and Afghanistan every day."

 

 While not all present and past military have shown support, Chelsea Manning is respected by many. Local Veterans for Peace member Joe Crews said this "Manning was motivated by her commitments to democracy, justice and human decency. She chose to disclose information directly to the public, at great cost to herself, so that citizens and taxpayers could be fully informed of the facts." He continues "Manning never sought to profit from the documents she revealed, and does not deserve to be in prison, [she is] a hero who deserves a full pardon by the President."