Nieto Committee Collection
42 videos • 560 views • by Ray Balberan Justice 4 Alex Nieto Coalition organizes sixty-five actions. The demonstrations, marches, and rallies united the Mission District and San Francisco communities. The neighborhood children, young people and families cried out for what’s right City Government to fire races police and demand justice for Alex Nieto. Ray Balberan Mission Mediarts Archives documented fourth-five Justice 4 Alex Nieto Actions creating the Collection. Ray Balberan, Mission Filmmaker Alex Nieto was killed by San Francisco police officers in March 2014. They riddled his body with 59 bullets, even though he was unarmed and was not involved in any criminal activity. Consequently, Mission District familias, friends and grassroots organizations rose-up as a movement seeking justice, promoting the positive spirit and defending the honor of a beloved young man, Alex Nieto. Amor for Alex Nieto: Amor is love, and love for Alex Nieto existed before he was killed by the police. Our community love has always survived, but often the mainstream media, the education system, spite, pettiness, and fear obstruct the power of our amor. When Alex was alive, we, best friends, Alex Nieto, Marco “Lowride” Guardado, and I, Benjamin Bac Sierra would hit the streets with love and smiles. We’d help people out with rides, poetry, partying, education, and positive movement. When we met, we would greet each other: “What’s up with the movement?” When we parted, we would declare: “I love you, brother.” Amor for Alex was created while Alex Nieto was still alive. On March 22, 2014, the night we found out Alex had been killed by the police, it was a three-member group of Alex’s best homeboys and my family who formed a union of love and suffering. At three o’clock in the morning, I called my dear friend and fellow Hastings Law School alumnus, super-lawyer Adante Pointer, and he, even without knowing the specifics of the situation, agreed to investigate and take the case. The next morning, hungover yet hungry for justice, homeboy Marco “Lowride” Guardado and I met with Roberto Hernandez to brainstorm ideas. To summon the spirits of the Mission streets, we went cruising in his white convertible Impala lowrider. The Mission non-profit organization HOMEY, Frank Lara, Roberto Hernandez and others organized the first protest march, held on Saturday, March 29, 2014. These videos and films by Ray Balberan Mission Mediarts Archives represent the true story of “Amor for Alex,” which is the largest, most continuous movement in the United States ever to defend a Latino victim of a police killing. /// Essay by Benjamin Bac Sierra--Author, Professor at San Francisco City College Innovator, and Community Activist. “Rights: The artist of any work retains all rights to that work. Copyright has not been assigned to anyone or to any other institution; copyright is held by the artist/filmmaker/documentarian of this work. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. No further reproduction is permitted without prior written permission by the artist and/or copyright holder.”