Code 33--Emergency! Clear the Air

From the performance by the same name, by Suzanne Lacy, Julio Morales and Unique Holland, with Kim Batiste, Raul Cabra, Patrick Toebe, David Goldberg, and Anne Maria Hardeman, Oakland, 1998-2000.

On a crisp fall evening, dozens of black cars and white cars with headlights blazing converged on the rooftop of a downtown-parking garage. In the spotlight of their beams, 100 police officers and 150 young people talked candidly and intensely about issues that affect them--crime, authority, power and safety. Code 33 is a cutting-edge public art project by an Oakland-based organization of artists, community activists, teachers and volunteers. Oakland Police Chief Richard Word placed youth relations as one of his top priorities, "If the Police Department needs to improve on anything, it's our relationship with young people in the community. Code 33 represents a model of youth-oriented policing." The performance included 50 youth dancers lit by a helicopter, 80 community members responding in small 'backyards' created for the event, and live video and web site presentations.

The video features the Code 33 performance and a behind-the-scenes look at both police and youth perspectives, including the very real physical danger both experience.