On July 22 and 23 a Freedom Ride from Austin to the Never Again Rally in
Tulia was held. This was a historic event that, as Rev. Ed Sanders said was
"pregnant with possibility." This inspirational event brought together
hundreds of people - white, Latino and black - in a call for justice and an
end to the war on drugs. Below is an article by the organizers of the
Freedom Ride. Hopefully, thee experience will help you develop similar
events in your community. Photos of the Never Again Rally are now on
the website of the Friends of Justice: http://www.drugsense.org/foj/
Articles and other materials on the rally can be seen at:
http://www.csdp.org/news/news/profiling.htm Links to many press reports
are also at the end of this article.

LESSONS FROM THE TULIA FREEDOM RIDE

By Tracey Rochelle Hayes (mmmtexas@hotmail.com), Joe Ptak
(headsup@haysco.net) and Noelle Davis (nellybelle74@hotmail.com) - Texas
Network of Reform Groups

The experience of organizing the Tulia Freedom Ride was like experiencing a
poem as it was being written. The apparent simplicity of the idea versus
the reality of it's execution reveals the complexities involved in
developing relationships with many individuals displaying a variety of
motivational levels and aptitudes all at once. Consistently keeping our
eyes on the goal, and adapting to rapidly changing circumstances with grace
and humor, we achieved all of our short-term goals, placing us in perfect
position to achieve our long-term goals.

The seeds have been planted and are sprouting.

The Vision:

We based our vision of the "Freedom Ride" on the actions of early civil
rights workers who brought together black and white, rich and poor,
minister and sinner into a common struggle for equality and justice.

Our goal was to take a diverse group of people, significant in size and
representation, to stand in solidarity with the Friends of Justice, ACLU,
NAACP, LULAC, etc., and families of the incarcerated on the 2nd anniversary
of the sting at the "Never Again" rally held July 22, 2001 in Tulia, Texas.

In going to Tulia, we hoped in addition to making a physical presence at
the rally, we wanted to leave behind emotional and material support to the
affected community with plans to return and develop political support in
the future.

The Manifestation of the Vision: What we done did.

Promotion Team

To get the word out, recruit riders and educate the public flyers were made
and distributed; individuals, organizations and media were contacted; 40
copies of the Tulia video were copied and 30 distributed; meetings were
held weekly to recruit volunteers and gauge progress; presentations were
made at other group's meetings; and a Tulia Teach-In was held.

In June a press conference was held on the south steps of the State Capitol
to publicize the bus trip and rally. Newspaper stories about the events
were published in the Austin Chronicle, NOKOA, the Villager, and The Dailey
Texan. The "Never Again" rally and "Freedom Ride" were also discussed on
Fox TV news and in interviews on several Austin Cable Access television
shows. Several interviews were conducted as well on KOOP and KAZI radio in
Austin.

Advance Team

The Advance Team drove to Tulia 4 days in advance of the arrival of the
Freedom Riders.

They first contacted Warden Young at the Formby State Prison to give him
notice of our plans for the vigil then scouted the route to the prison and
identified the best rally site and locations to park the buses. They also
contacted the Swisher County Sheriffs office and coordinated security
arrangements with them.

Once in Tulia, they were also were able to assist the Friends of Justice
with last minute details and lobbied the area legislators and local citizenry.

They walked door to door and spoke with about 350 households, explaining
what the Never Again Rally was all about, listening to the expressions of
the citizens, and inviting their participation.

The advance team also went to Amarillo and visited the offices of state
House of Representatives members David Swinford and John Smithee, state
Senator Teel Bivens and federal Congressman Mac Thornberry, discussing the
events in Tulia and inviting their support.

Then they met Dorothy Gaines at the Amarillo airport and accompanied her to
the Tulia Program sponsored by the NAACP in Amarillo, Friday
night. Dorothy served almost 6 years of a 20-year sentence on federal
cocaine conspiracy charges. She gained her release from prison due to a
Presidential Pardon from Bill Clinton in December 2000, after getting her
story out.

Dorothy spent her time Saturday meeting with family members of those
arrested and other Tulia residents sharing her story of hope.

The Advance team also was able to identify prospects for further
investigation of support in Amarillo, Canyon, Plainview, Hale Center, Big
Spring, San Angelo, Mason, Eden, Brady, and Llano.

Freedom Ride

On Saturday, July 21, around 11 p.m., 64 people gathered in the parking lot
of Crockett High School, with pillows, blankets and water bottles, prepared
as well as possible, for a 36 hour journey from Austin to Tulia, and
back. We loaded the bus full of school supplies for the Tulia drug war
orphans, food items for donation, coolers of PB&J to feed the riders, water
guns, toys, books, and signs and banners, and sleepy people, and took off
at midnight to head towards Tulia.

There was an unfortunate mix-up with the bus company and their drivers who
thought we were going to be prisoners they would be driving, the moral of
the story is, when planning a bus trip, establish communication with the
drivers of the buses, not just the bus company. I do not believe any of
the miscommunications were intentional, just funny.

Our first stop was in Lubbock. We arrived at 8:30, ate our sandwiches,
played with the 64 squirt guns in the heat of the early Texas morning, and
in preparation for the press conference, had a wonderful open dialogue
about why we were all there together on the trip to Tulia. While the press
conference didn't happen, several reporters including Fox new showed for
individual interviews. A reporter and photographer met us in Lubbock and
went with us through out the day. Both Indy Media Austin and a reporter
and photographer from the Austin Chronicle traveled with us and were
present for all of our discussions. Independent Journalists Angela Keaton
and Dan Forbes were also passengers on the Freedom Ride.

We left Lubbock at noon and drove to the Plainview Wheeler Felony Substance
Abuse Facility at the Formby Unit State Prison. For an hour, we stood
outside the prison on the street holding signs that read "EDUCATE DON'T
INCARCERATE", "DRUG WAR EQUALS RACISM" and other signs pertaining to racial
and social injustices related to the war on drugs. Visitors and employees
read our messages as they entered the parking lot. The Associated Press,
Austin Chronicle, Daily Texan, Lubbock Fox 8, and Indy Media where among
the media that documented the vigil.

We got back on the buses and drove the last half of an hour to Tulia. We
arrived at 3:30. Once there, we unloaded EVERTHING in the park so that our
drivers could get to their hotels as quickly as possible and get at least 8
hours of sleep before the 10 hour drive back to Austin. We then loaded the
supplies into a truck and trailor and took them over to the Memorial
Building, which was supplied for us by the Friends of Justice. Only 4
blocks away from the park, it was the perfect place to freshen up and
escape the heat of mid-afternoon. Women from the Tulia branch of the NAACP
supplied sandwiches, cakes and beverages to all of the Freedom Riders, and
we all relaxed and enjoyed each others company until around 5 o'clock when
we began over to Conner Park to be fed by the Amarillo NAACP and prepare
for the start of the rally.

We estimate that there were over 400 people (including children) at the
Never Again Rally. This is because we brought 340 T-shirts to hand out to
participants, and we got rid of them all by the beginning of the rally. It
didn't seem that anybody took more than one for themselves, and there were
lots of people wanting T-shirts after they were all handed out.

The Entertainment was varied and inspiring. Some very talented people sang
and performed for us. Rodrick, aka Traps was a freedom rider that performed
a couple of raps for the audience while Adam Bean accompanied him on the
drum. All of the entertainment was a wonderful way to gather the attention
of the floating crowd. At 7pm, the long list of talented and committed
speakers began. Charles Kiker was the first to speak before Joe Ptak
introduced Tracey Hayes, the coordinator of the Tulia Freedom Ride. Other
riders to speak throughout the day were Rosemary Simmons and Karen Heikkala.

Six hours is a long time to maintain well-focused attention. People
wandered in and out of the speakers' pavilion at their own needs. They
shifted from lying in the shade, discussing politics or otherwise, playing
basketball, and returning to the pavilion to listen again. It was a very
comfortable and inspiring atmosphere, full of friendly faces, and a strong
feeling of solidarity and liberty.

At midnight everyone took a candle and we marched to the courthouse singing
"We shall Over Come." Once at the courthouse Lydia Bean and Darlene Grant
each sang a song and then Reverand Sanders of the Metropolitan
Interdenominational Church said a benediction. We walked back to the park
in a satisfied silence.

Links to press articles:

"Freedom Ride Scheduled For Late July"
Pubdate: Tue, 26 Jun 2001
Source: Daily Texan (TX Edu)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1149.a02.html

"Women On Crusade To Change Law"
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2001
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1304.a01.html

"Claims Of Racial Bias Will Be Voiced"
Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jul 2001
Source: Tulia Herald
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1308.a06.html

"Weekend Rally Marks Tulia Drug Raid Anniversary"
Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2001
Source: Plainview Daily Herald (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1320.a08.html

"Tulia Rally To Mark '99 Drug Sting"
Pubdate: Sat, 21 Jul 2001
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n000/a160.html

"Never Again The Rallying Cry In Tulia"
Pubdate: Sun, 22 Jul 2001
Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1329.a08.html

"Rally Held To Protest Drug Bust"
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jul 2001
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1333.a05.html

"350 Protest 1999 Drug Bust In Tulia"
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jul 2001
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1333.a04.html

"Freedom Ride Hits Tulia"
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jul 2001
Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1334.a11.html

"Rally Commemorates Arrests"
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jul 2001
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1343.a09.html

"Protesters Challenge Drug War In Tulia Rally"
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jul 2001
Source: Daily Texan (TX Edu)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1346.a08.html

"Editorial: Ground Zero In The Drug War"
Pubdate: Mon, 23 Jul 2001
Source: Daily Texan (TX Edu)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1353.a10.html

"Conner Park Rally And Demonstration Is Peaceful"
Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2001
Source: Tulia Herald (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1355.a02.html

"Tulia Remembers Drug Sting, Prosecutions"
Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jul 2001
Source: The Houston NewsPages (TX)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1412/a06.html

"'Never Again!' Rally Keeps Drug War Spotlight on Panhandle Town"
Pubdate: Fri, 27 Jul 2001
Source: Austin Chronicle (TX)
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n1376.a02.html

"Tulia Blues"
Pubdate: Wed, 01 Aug 2001
Source: Village Voice (NY)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1398/a07.html

"OPED: Never Say Never, Except In Tulia"
Pubdate: Sat, 04 Aug 2001
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1387/a03.html