Isa, Guante Headline a Concert to Get You “Up in Arms”!
Get fired up! Shades of Yellow, Minnesota’s only Hmong LGBT organization, is sponsoring a night of hip-hop and spoken word at Macalester College on Saturday night, in memory of Fong Lee, and in opposition to police brutality. (Poster with lineup here)
“Regardless of our race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation/gender identity, and/or age, we all need to come together to support this cause,” wrote Kevin Xiong in an email advertising the event. Xiong is the new Executive Director of SOY
Lee was shot eight times – three in the back, five in the chest – by Minneapolis Police Officer Jason Anderson as he ran from officers on a summer night in 2006. Officers say the 19-year-old was holding a gun, but Lee’s family accused the police of planting the gun next to Lee’s dying body. Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan awarded Anderson the department’s Medal of Valor for his actions, but fired Anderson a few months later because he was accused of assaulting his wife. A grand jury later absolved Anderson of guilt in the case, but many in the Hmong community remain unconvinced, and Lee has become a poster child for police brutality towards the Twin Cities’ minority communities.
Headliners for the show, to be held at Mac’s Kagin Commons, include Magnetic North, and several local hip-hop powerhouses including Maria Isa and El Guante. Doors at 7:30 / $5-$10 suggested donation.
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