Standing Rock Benefit in L.A. to Feature Common, Moby, More

By E.C. Flamming  |  April 7, 2017 | 12:56pm
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty
Politics News Standing Rock
Standing Rock Benefit in L.A. to Feature Common, Moby, More

#RESIST: Speaking Truth to Power, a special event series dedicated to celebrating resistance and fighting injustice, will begin with a benefit focused on raising funds for legal representation for the Water Protectors of Standing Rock. The event will feature live musical performances, talks from special guests, in-depth discussions, artist pop-up shops and more. Scheduled to perform are notable artists including Common, Moby, Aloe Blacc, Antoine Edwards Jr. and Yaz Like Jawz. All proceeds raised will go toward The Freshet Collective, a nonprofit formed by Water Protectors that manages the Sacred Stone Legal Fund.

The last camps at Standing Rock were raided in March, and resulted in 800+ cases of Water Protectors being unfairly charged with felonies (i.e., jail time) such as “inciting a riot” for engaging in unarmed resistance. Now, the trials have already begun, and indictments are ongoing without sufficient funds or resources for fair representation in North Dakota. The Freshet Collective has raised money for a team of court support, attorneys, anti-repression and legal support. They’ve already spent $500,000 on bail fees alone, and they’re running out of both funds and people trained in legal affairs. “We continue to be in great need of criminal attorneys and those with a legal background who are willing to live and work in North Dakota for a number of months,” Freshet said in a statement.

The benefit will be #RESIST’s first event, and the cause is certainly timely. In a statement, the event series’ organizers make their mission clear:

#RESIST is dedicated to celebrating the resistance across our country and coming together to stand up for our brothers and sisters against injustice and white supremacy. We stand against the criminalization of dissent, the threats to freedom of speech, institutional racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and all other forms of injustice in America. #RESIST stresses the importance of an intersectional movement that fights for all of our brothers and sisters, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, creed, religion, nationality or gender.

Partners of #RESIST include Women’s March, Black Lives Matter, We Take Note, Avenue Pink, Sacred X and more. The Standing Rock benefit takes place on Saturday, April 15, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time at Six01 Studio in Los Angeles, Calif. Tickets start at $25, and can be purchased here. You can learn more about the event series here, make a donation to The Freshet Collective here and then reward yourself with audio from Moby’s 2011 Daytrotter Session via the Paste Cloud player below.

 
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