Diallos face visa battle

• Security-minded Congress a hurdle for victim's kin

With the sixth anniversary of Amadou Diallo's shooting death just around the corner, his father met with a local congressman yesterday, hoping to hear good news about the family's immigration status. Saikou Diallo and several family members have been in the United States on humanitarian visas due to expire next August. Rep. Joseph Crowley introduced a special bill in the last Congress - without success - to take up the issue, and yesterday told Diallo he has reintroduced the bill for the upcoming 109th Congress. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) may submit a separate bill, or co-sponsor Crowley's, and Sen. Hillary Clinton's office has indicated it would support similar legislation in the Senate, Crowley said. "Saikou Diallo has gone through enormous hardship with the death of his son Amadou, and his tireless work for the Amadou Diallo Foundation most certainly warrants an immigrant visa," said Crowley (D-East Bronx/Queens). Crowley cautioned, however, that he has concerns about the difficulty of pushing the bill through a Republican-controlled congress that is in a national security mode and has become "focused on even stopping legal immigration." Diallo said that besides himself, eight family members, including Amadou's mother, Kadiatou, and her new husband hope to have their visas extended, at the very least until a lengthy process of civil suits against the city and others involved in the fatal shooting plays out. Saikou Diallo's foundation, The Amadou Diallo Educational, Humanitarian & Charity Foundation, has distributed college scholarships for African and African-American students and is in the process of raising funds to buy the house at 1157 Wheeler Ave., in Soudview, where his son was killed in a hail of 41 bullets fired by four plainclothes police officers on Feb. 4, 1999. [more]

• 41 Bullets - The Amadou Diallo Archive [more]
• The Amadou Diallo Foundation [more]

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[lawrence Rodriguez]

February 04, 2006
For Immediate Release and Invitation
Casa Frela Gallery is honored to remember
Amadou Bialo Diallo

(September 2, 1975-February 4, 1999)
Casa Frela Gallery celebrates the life of Amadou Diallo with an art exhibition of paintings and photography. The exhibition commemorates the sixth anniversary of the death of Diallo on February 4, 1999, as a result of police brutality stemming from racial profiling. Ten artists have created ten paintings about Diallo’s life, death, and contributions. Featured artists like Eric Alugas, Shawn Walker Katrina Jeffiers and many more. Photographer Jim Carroll has contributed 20 poignant photographs of Amadou Diallo’s funeral procession. The exhibition runs at Casa Frela from Saturday, February 4th through Tuesday, February 28th. Please join us for the opening reception on Saturday, February 4th from 3-8pm.
Amadou Bailo Diallo was born on September 2, 1975 in the village of Sinoe, Liberia, West Africa. He was the first of four children born to Saikou and Kadiatou Diallo. Amadou has one sister, Laouratou, and two brothers, Ibrahima and Abdul Salaam. Because his father was a businessman, Amadou traveled throughout much of his childhood living in Togo, Guinea, Bangkok and Singapore. Amadou grew up with a love of reading, music, dancing and sports. Once in the United States, he became an avid basketball fan, in particular, Michael Jordan.
Amadou had a passion for education and attended some of the finest schools in the world, including The French International School, England's Cambridge University, The British Consulate College in Thailand and the Asian Institute of Microsoft. It was Amadou's dream to one day enroll in school in the United States.
In September 1996, at twenty years old, Amadou came to America. Upon his arrival in New York, Amadou worked as a deliveryman. Later, he became a street peddler selling gloves, socks and videotapes in Manhattan on 14th Street. He worked six days a week, 12 hours a day. However, he still dreamed of pursuing his education in America.
A spiritual person, when Amadou was about 18 years old, he began to focus and collect books on his religion, studying the Koran and praying five times a day in the Muslim tradition. When the family came to collect Amadou's belongings after his death, they found solace in what they discovered. Among the many things they found were writings where Amadou had begun to research the prophets. He had written the names of all the prophets along with the dates of their birth. He had highlighted passages in the Koran that spoke about the dialogues between Christians and Muslims. Amadou was on a spiritual journey.
Amadou was killed after Midnight on February 4, 1999, by four New York City police officers from the Street Crime Unit. Amadou had come home from work to his apartment at 1157 Wheeler Avenue in the Soundview Section of the Bronx and decided to go back out to get something to eat. Upon his return, he encountered the police officers who ultimately fired a fuselage of 41 shots, 19 of which riddled his body. Amadou was unarmed and did not threaten the officers in any way. Diallo’s death sparked massive public demonstrations against police brutality and racial profiling.

Casa Frela is an exciting new destination for the serious art aficionado. An impressive, renovated Stanford White brownstone centered in the Mount Morris Historic District in Harlem. Casa Frela is a welcome addition to the growing uptown art scene! This gallery presents energy and a keen insight in Historical Harlem. It is a vibrant magnet for the art enthusiast. More information about Casa Frela follows:
“In 1885 McKim & White designed a modest rowhouse nearby at 47 west 119th Street for a personal use of the contractor James C. Miller, for whom the firm would complete the Wanaque.” New York 1880 Architecture and urbanism in the Gilded Age, by Robert A.M. Stern, Thomas Mellins, and David Fishman, published by The Monacellli Press, Inc. and Robert A. M. Stern.
“Miller had been a carpenter and builder prior to 1885, when he first emerged as an actual developer, building and occupying a chaste rowhouse at 47 West 119th Street. His architect here was also McKim, Mead & White.” “An Elegant Tenement revisited” by Christopher Gray New York Times; June 11, 1989 pg.R10
Photograph circa 1940
New York City Department of Records and Information Service Municipal Archives
Casa Frela Gallery
47 West 119 Street, New York, New York 10026,
Between Fifth and Lenox Ave
Phone: 212-722-8577
E-mail: casafrela@runbox.com
Website: www.casafrela.com.
Car Service is available upon request.
On subway, 116th Street station on 2 or 3 line,
North three blocks, turn right.
Lawrence Rodriguez, Gallery Director