2002

by Morgan W. Brown

Cambridge, Massachusetts—As darkness fell, one day late in January of this year, young and old gathered at "the pit" in Harvard
Square to call attention to homelessness and the dire need to create more affordable housing.

Huddling together, attendees attempted to light candles in the growing chill, a chill which was only made worse by the brisk winter winds, in preparation
for a candle light vigil and the street-march to come. Whether they were busy organizing or were engaged in conversation, each
person tried to stay warm, as it grew colder by the minute.

The frigid weather could helped bring to mind why each person was there
and how urgent the cause was. Many of those participating were indeed either
homeless or formerly homeless.

The evening's initial program commenced and people stood listening to
short speeches and announcements, holding signs or sharing the task of
holding banners urging the need for housing, jobs, livable wages and for other basic human needs to be met.

After a moment of silent reflection, the drums and tambourines gave out
their beat and rhythm as various chants were called out, including:
"What do we want?" "Housing!" "When do we want it?" "Now!".

From the pit, the group—numbering over fifty people—marched down the
city blocks and streets to the steps of the Old Cambridge
Baptist Church, on Massachusetts Avenue, chanting all the way.

Once the participants arrived at the steps of the church, another program
was observed, which included inspirational speeches and songs, along with
prayers and another long moment of silence.

While the air was raw and cold, it was nonetheless highly charged with
energy and excitement—not only by the moment or the cause being addressed,
but by what everyone anticipated would take place within the coming
14 hours.

This were among the community's preliminary events held in
conjunction with the fourth annual Homelessness Marathon sponsored by the
Homeless Empowerment Project, hosted at the Old Cambridge Baptist
Church.

Based at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church, the mission of the Homeless
Empowerment Project is to play a role in ending homelessness in the
community by providing income, skill development and self-advocacy
opportunities to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Along with the production, distribution and sale of their independent,
street newspaper, Spare Change, the Homeless Empowerment Project operates a
writers' workshop and a speakers' bureau.

Several of those participating in the community events that evening would
stay for either most or all of the night-long, nationwide,
radio broadcast.

In fact, some were there to take an intensely active part in the
Homelessness Marathon. This would mean they would either be among those
speaking during the open mic periods, being a panelist or being a person
at the on-site street microphone posing questions during one of the many
discussion panels. The discussion panels focused on a given topic or contributed in many
other ways to this truly democratic event.

Jeremy Weir Alderson (aqua "Nobody") founded the Homelessness Marathon in
1998, as an offshoot of his regular radio program "The Nobody Show", which was
broadcast weekly on WEOS, a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate in
Geneva, New York.

The Homelessness Marathon—already the largest media event in America
that focused on poverty—has been widely recognized as a historic broadcast.
Tapes of the marathons have been archived by libraries at Harvard, Stanford,
Cornell, UCLA, Berkeley, the University of Chicago and many other
institutions around the country.

The mission of this acclaimed radio broadcast is to let homeless people
speak to the nation. But that is not all that happens during the annual,
overnight program that originates from a different city each year. Host
"Nobody" broadcasts from outdoors to dramatize the plight of people with
nowhere to go when it's cold. For 14 hours, he interviews experts on various
aspects of poverty in America (e.g. health care, hunger, public housing,
etc.) and takes calls from around the country in addition to talking with
homeless people.

The Homelessness Marathon is a consciousness raising, not a fundraising
event. "As a matter of policy, the marathon doesn't solicit money, because
we really want people to understand that ending homelessness isn't a matter
of charity but a matter of changing the way our society is structured,"
Alderson stated. "It's a matter of changing our national priorities. And to
do that, we've got to listen to what homeless people, themselves, have to
say."

"That first year, I was just thinking of it as a matter of conscience,"
Alderson says. "Basically, I just wanted to get on the air and say, 'This
isn't right, and I want no part of it,' and, of course, I wanted to bolster
this argument with the opinions of experts and the voices of homeless
people." He got the idea of broadcasting from outdoors in the dead of
winter, he says, because he wanted to dramatize the plight of people with
nowhere to go in the cold. And the marathon has been broadcast from outdoors
ever since, even though other things about it have changed.

Over the years, the marathon has become something more than just a
broadcast. Dozens of people, affiliated with organizations or acting on
their own, contribute their time (no one on the marathon staff gets paid) to
help get the show on the air. And each year the broadcast has been
associated with small marches and candlelight vigils around the country.

"I'm not kidding myself that just the marathon is going to change the
world," Alderson says, "But that's the goal, to create a world where the
marathon will be obsolete, because there won't be any more homeless people...I used to think I had to scold people and tell them why they ought to care,
but now I know that people really do care, and that homeless people aren't
on the streets because that's where Americans want them to be. So I've
backed off a lot, and I now mostly look at the marathon as giving people the
reasons for what they already know in their hearts."

"I've really come to believe that the American people want this problem
solved," says Nobody. "That's the good news. But there's bad news too. The
ongoing terrorist attacks and economic downturn are sure to make the numbers
on the streets spike up dramatically. I think there's going to be an urgency
to the next marathon unlike anything we've encountered before."

The fourth marathon was on at least 35 stations coast to coast, including
stations broadcasting to such major metropolitan areas as Los Angeles,
Seattle, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. The fifth marathon will be hosted
in Portland, Oregon by community radio station KBOO and Street Roots,
Portland's homeless paper.

To learn more about the Homelessness Marathon, such as how to acquire tapes
from previous broadcasts, where to listen in your region, how a
local radio station in your area can carry the broadcast or how to
call in during the event, information is available online at:

http://www.homelessnessmarathon.org

For more information about the Homeless Empowerment Project in Cambridge,
Massachusetts or Street Roots in Portland, Oregon, go to:

Homeless Empowerment Project:

http://www.homelessempowerment.org

Street Roots:

http://www.portland.quik.com/roots/

Morgan W. Brown is a serious & persistent homeless activist, writer and poet
living in Montpelier, Vermont USA.

by Willie Warren

Homeless, exiled, out in the street,

Nowhere to go for cover;

No income to function for survival,

And no one to have for a lover.

Wondering where is help for down trodden,

While survival needs are real strong;

Not knowing where your next meal exists,

"Til a stranger lets you tag along.

He teaches you about San Francisco,

And how the survival system works;

Introduces the G.A. and Disability game,

With all of it's cliques and jerks.

He tells you of a place to hangout,

To keep yourself clean and well;

He walks you through the door of,

McMillan's, 39 Fell

So onward you follow stiff regulations,

Keeping all your appointments on deck;

You sail the winds of need and effort,

'Cause your cash flow wants that check.

Your body is craving a place to rest,

Your sanity is looking for residence;

Your reputation tries obtaining payroll,

With the wallet seeking dead presidents.

Grabbing newspapers and Free Shelter Charts,

You're searching for a way off the street;

Asphalt Jungles can be intimidating,

When fatigued energy rules your feet.

Job Markets, sometimes, really do suck,

With salary offers not so swell;

It leaves you returning nightly to,

McMillan's, 39 Fell.

Each and every time you arrive,

Your tired, and patience is thin;

You can get either a 6 hour chair,

Or a shower when you sign in.

Once inside you see a different life,

Almost like a hidden civilization;

Seing the war wounds and all the scars,

Of former soldiers of our nation.

Binges, addictions, and other depressions,

With sickness have taken it's toll;

Caused by alienation and rejection,

Makes victims of all elements and cold.

All are wanting one lucky break,

To sail their ship away from hell;

'Till they're lucky they'll remain at,

McMillan's, 39 Fell.

Willie Warren

C.O.H. Volunteer

by Laurie McElroy/PNN

The three hundred block of Stockton Street, between Post and Sutter, is as alienatingly citylike as San Francisco ever gets; chrome and fiberglass rental cars shuttle blindly back and forth, and beneath the voracious wheels broken bits of glass glimmer, like tiny screaming nerves, trapped in the matte asphalt of road.

White-collared strangers float to and fro over the sidewalk where cracks, between the pastel-black slabs of pavement, do not go all the way down; concrete makes an uncompromising scab over the wounded earth and nothing natural can lift a blade through it. The Grand Hyatt Hotel at 345 Sutter rises like a cold monument to this illusion of urban order, a fitting place for Wade Horne and his minions to have conducted their gruesome business.

Horne is the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. He has been directed by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to facilitate a series of national “listening and discussion sessions” to help prepare policymakers for Congress’ reauthorization of welfare reform legislation next year. These so-called “listening sessions” are ostensibly being held to gauge the real effects of the much-touted welfare reform on providers and consumers around the country, but out of the 40 or so, asked to attend the October 24th session at the Grand Hyatt, there were no caseworkers at all and only one invitee was a current welfare client. Now how’s that for balanced input?

It was my pleasure as a mother and TANF recipient to attend a rally organized by local welfare rights advocacy groups such as Low Income Families’ Empowerment Through Education ( LIFETIME ), People Organised to Win Employment Rights (POWER ), Center for Third World Organizing, POOR Magazine, the Coalition for Ethical Welfare Reform, Homeless Prenatal Program and Every Mother is a Working Mother, to name a few, to protest Horne’s exclusionary tactics. Over 200 mothers, fathers, children and activists came together in an elemental show of unity and power, directly in front of Horne’s borrowed citadel, the Hyatt, to explicitly voice our disapproval of punitive “reforms” that prioritize reducing caseloads over providing struggling individuals and families a permanent exit from poverty.

The first person I spoke to at length was Leilani Luia, Board Chair of LIFETIME and mother-on-aid of three. She was competently short, dark-haired, face aglow with sweat, nearly lost in a fleecy, pajama-like teddy bear costume. “We’re out here fighting so Wade Horne hears our concerns regarding welfare reform. We don’t need low wage, dead end jobs—we need more opportunities and education for welfare families instead! Federal guidelines allow only 12 months to complete any educational-type job training, and the state allows only 18 months, but studies have shown that for a family to get out of poverty for good, they need MORE than a 2 year education. The messages they send poor women are so different from those they send women with money; we’re lazy when we want to stay home and take care of our kids. Middle and upper middle-class people get big tax breaks for their children, but most working poor families’ incomes are too low to qualify for the rebate. It’s like telling us, ‘You don’t matter’." Before she could continue, the loudspeakers came out. A rather festive picket line was forming just in front of the hotel’s gaudily emblazoned awning. “Whoops, gotta go!” She smiled fiercely, donned the costume’s bear head, and whirled away into the bristle of homemade signs.

I finished scribbling notes on Leilani, then turned to a slender young woman dressed in dark, office-casual clothes. “So what is all this about to you?” I asked. “Are you mad?”

“TANF is coming up for reauthorization,” she replied. Her name was Marisa; she was an intern at Service for Immigrants’ Rights and Education Network ( SIREN ). “They’re shutting out the community because they don’t want to hear our input or experiences. This demonstration is our attempt to force them to.” And after a short pause, “Yes, I’m mad. I can’t speak for my organization, but I agree with the basic message behind their critique, which is, ‘reduce poverty, not caseloads’!”

Singly and in groups, representatives of the organizations in attendance gave their cheerily belligerent pep talks. The picket line moved like a wedding samba. Hours flew by on militant wings. Finally, two o’clock arrived and the protesters began to disperse. Not surprisingly it was then, when everyone had apparently almost gone, that Horne and a few of the politicos from the closed session came down from their $195-a-night tower.

Horne approached me first. He was a tall, bland man, with the balding pallor and well-cut clothes of beaurocratic aristocracy. He had a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, just like all politicians.

“Did you want to speak to me?”

Playing the nervous intern to the hilt, I grimaced, shook his soft, outstretched hand, pointed him toward one of my editor’s, Tiny, and dashed off to catch the last of the comrades before they crossed Post Street, shouting, “Come back! The evil men in suits are here! Come back!”

The straggling crowd resurged. As she emerged from the building, I asked Kristin Deichert, a consultant who works for Berkeley Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, about the lack of testimony from the clients and frontline workers of local Human Services agencies. “I have no idea,” she shrugged. “All the counties were asked to bring consumers...”

“We notified the American Association of Public Service Workers,” said Sheri Stiesel of the National Conference of State Legislators, who stood beside Deichert. “We asked them to tell the agencies to bring caseworkers and consumers, but nobody showed. We don’t know what happened.”

Deichert, who had wandered away, returned and touched my arm. “There’s the one person in the meeting who is on aid. I think she’s from Nevada. She’s over there...”

When I spoke to Michelle Kramer she seemed somewhat reluctant to talk to me, although she agreed readily enough. She told me that her hearing about and being invited to the listening session was really a coincidence, that her worker had gotten an office memo, while Kramer was visiting on an unrelated matter, two days before the session. Her flight and accommodations were hastily arranged, and no offer was made to provide payment for childcare expenses or any compensation for her time. “I wish more people had been able to come,” she sighed.

So do I, I thought wryly, smiling without a hint of bitterness and thanking her for her time. So do I.

by Joe B.

Ok, on ABC's"Good Morining America" this morning I see Mr.Russel Simmons and other people strolling around on an odd two wheeled vehicled called "IT" or what inventor Dean Kamen calls an [the Segway Human Transporter.]

G.M.A. Hosts Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer took a spin on the two wheeled contraption. A new kind of people mover. [Shades of "The Roads Must Roll."

To me it looks odd with no seat or clear plexiglass to protect people from the elements of wind, rain, or floating dirt.

As for me after looking how it moves I liked and I do belive if it could hover too - what a 21st century fun vehicle it could be!

However as with most new inventions it has to be thoroughly tested by our top experts: children from 8 to 12 years old and their older highschool and colledge siblings.

I'd buy the Segway Human Transorter or in Mr. (Kamen's words) the world's first self- balancing human transporter.

I'm still miffed at not having a personal jetpack or antigravity belt.

The old fog brains in their political correctness decided to delay the process because they themselves weren't ready - That's my opinion.

"IT" has no brakes which should be fixed soon before a happless adult runs into a parked car or bus.

Hey, you budding engineer's, inventors, time to give Mr. Kamen some competition adding brakes and hover/float modes to your own inventions.

I wish Mr. Dean Kamen and other inventors present and future the best in their endeavors to improved our standard of living and healthier, longer lives.

One thing for shore if it can move up San Francisco's steep hills it has already proved its worth.

I wish I knew what other folks were working on just so I will not suffer too much future shock.

"Ginger"? a 65-pound device. [Nice short and sweet named].

Mr. Kamen said the Segway can take its rider up to 15 miles on a six-hour charge from a regular wall socket.

Environmentally Friendly alternative to cars, and expects that in the future the devices will replace the car in urban center. [Kamen's words].

"The price, inexpensive or cheap is $3000."
Not bad, he says hoping the price drops lower.

I must thank ABC's Good Morning America and Mr. Dean Kamen working hard for the "IT" machine.

For me until it flies 'n floats that 15 year old with his blood type changed from O to B by donated umbilical cord blood!

That is a huge change to me.

And although young Mr. Keone Penn will need more surgeries he will not die from Sickle Cell Anemia
disease which there is no trace in his bloodstream!

"IT", the oddball scooter may not change the world.

Its ideas of Mr.Kamen and others present or following in our near future that may repave the way.

Though that funny looking little scooter is indeed pointing the way, laugh while you can folks.

An inexpensive, non polluting, electric, solar, hydrogen, or background energy collecting vehicles could replace the old combustible engine model is on the horizon.

Just because its not here now does not mean it will never appear – it may take longer for the public to be weaned off the old reliable gas-mobile but someday it too will become another of our beloved though obsolete motorized dinosaurs.

That's it for Curious Joe. Bye.

PS Ok, so I added a few extra lines... don't read 'em.

Please send donations to
Poor Magazine or in C/0

Ask Joe at 255 9th St. Street,

San Francisco, CA. 94103 USA

For Joe only my snail mail:

PO Box 1230 #645 Market St.

San Francisco, CA 94102
Email: askjoe@poormagazine.org

by PNN Staff

I remember standing in line at Safeway. An ashamed ten-year-old, wearing jelly shoes and mom's old Levis. We had just picked up our "check" and it was like Christmas, a cherished holiday that comes along only so often. But it was just grocery shopping day, generic and tainted with shame cause we didn't pay with "real" money. The cashier ALWAYS belittled us when presenting food stamps, we ALWAYS went over by five dollars and had to return an item, and a classmate ALWAYS seemed to be in the next line; watching, waiting to laugh at me, waiting to point and remind me that I somehow did not measure up because we paid for our food differently. I hated Safe-Way.

Here I am, years later, re-visiting this humiliation with anonymous peers. Anonymous, for people on welfare usually do not come with a name; they are lazy AFDC moms, crazy, disabled Vets, or the happily unemployed. That welfare recipients still struggle for their own name brought tears to my eyes as I sat in the Glad Tidings Church Sanctuary in Hayward last Saturday, October 27. On this emotional day parents on welfare testified to a "listening panel" of state and local officials, or more accurately, assistants to our state and local officials. Speakers discussed their experiences on welfare during the past five years, and opened the debate on welfare reform.

The morning started with a bus ride across the Bay Bridge. GROWL arranged this free transport for all the low-income folks who wanted to go. They also provided headphones and interpreters for non-English speakers so they could fully participate in the discussion, they set up lunch and snacks for all attendees, and provided childcare at no cost to the mothers. As a result, the panel of elected officials could not hide their responses behind language barriers or noisy children. One of the first ladies to hit the stage kicked it off saying: "I WILL NOT BE VOICELESS!" Applause vibrated through the church and the community pulse thumped through beating hearts.

I continued to listen as stories flowed in three different languages. I felt the pain of old bruises, for I am the adult version of the children these women are fighting to raise. Welfare reform is intended for the child I once was, right? I could almost see the ladies in my family on this Hayward stage, demanding respect, recounting the traumatic and dehumanizing experience of going to the welfare office, demanding the right to raise their own children. I saw the golden power of motherhood in the eyes of each speaker, and I glowed as I envisioned the mothers in my own family.

Speakers talked about marriage fanatics and their quest to "save" poor families. "They want to turn single parent families into criminals," said Rebecca Gordon, panel speaker and author of Cruel and Usual Punishment. This "Fathership Clause", promoted by Secretary Tommy Thompson, reminds me of Charles Murray's famous Bell Curve. Cut off aid, and single moms will cease to be; Cut off single moms, and aid will cease to be? Does Secretary Thompson think no one is paying attention? If aid had been cut off to my family, the only thing to cease would have been body mass. My father, as he existed in my family, would not have changed this grim reality.

On the Health and Human Services website they quote an article by Wade Horn that says: "Studies show that children who grow up without responsible fathers are significantly more likely to experience poverty, perform poorly in school, engage in criminal activity, and abuse drugs and alcohol." I find this personally offensive, for my father's absence in no way hindered my mother's ability to be my mom. My broken home did not break me, and the deep structure of my family carried me (US!) through the hard times. My grandmother spoiled me, my mother bathed and clothed me, my aunties looked after me, and my sister looked up to me. My father's occasional presence neither hindered nor enhanced this system. It worked, as my grandma always said, "with butter and love." I imagine that something similar to Grandma's wisdom brought Saturday's event together. A smooth, sweet rhythm carried each speaker through tears and their own versions of "butter and love."

I sat there with fellow POOR intern, Laurie. We talked about how complicated poverty is. How it has many different languages, wears so many different faces, and comes from many different backgrounds. Laurie is a single mom; she is also disabled and beautiful. I wondered what she could say to the panel, what voice she could give other single moms. When it came time for the audience to ask questions, she bravely stood up and glided to the front of the church. Laughter echoed back to me, as Laurie became an instant friend with the ladies on stage. But, alas, their good nature and smiles didn't make it to the microphone, for several panel members had slowly filtered out. Our hour was up.

GROWL members suddenly jumped out of their seats with petitions for the disappearing panel members to sign. It touched on three main issues: end racial profiling, value family regardless of marital status and recognize education as work. Only two people were willing to sign, Gustavo Vargas, a CalWorks liaison from Santa Clara and Betty Fong, a CalWorks child coordinator from Alameda. The panel member POOR Magazine most wanted to hear from, Congressman Pete Stark, did not sign. His assistant, Jo Casanave, appeared in his place on the "listening panel" and quickly led the charge off the stage and out a secret back door.

One week after the event, after the petition had been faxed to his Fremont office, Stark had no comment. After calling three times, I was asked to call his Washington office. If I had had enough quarters at press time, I would have. Consequently, I have no comment from Mr. Stark.

After searching the premises for the elusive Casanave, Laurie and I gathered our belongings and headed for the free food. Over Safeway-brand cola and generic cookies, we discussed the fatherhood initiative and what it means to us and our children and our children's children. We wondered if Tommy Thompson had ever asked himself these questions. Has Tommy Thompson ever paid differently than other people? Does Tommy Thompson know ANYTHING about the people he wants to "reform"? What will happen to the "Deep Structure" of our family if the government continues to meddle?

We then recalled one speaker's accusation that the government "is trying to get into our bedroom." Laurie sarcastically responded with her poetic voice, "Well, they're not going to like what they see."

by David Gilton Soma

1997 marked the end of an era, and the end to the life of one Rue Morrow—Egyptian immigrant, songwriter, sax player, and crack smoker.

Who shot Morrow down on a Tenderloin street corner on a cool November evening in 1997?.. and why? Was it…mistaken identity, drugs or turf rivalry? (Morrow was a street performer at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Warf)
We may never know the answer.

THE BRIDGE

Rue Morrow died that night…. but his music and his artistry refuse to be silenced, and until his song is published, the melody will continue to haunt the Third Street Bridge.

Rue Morrow was one of the few people I knew who didn’t mind being homeless. To Rue every day was an adventure. He lived at a homeless shelter at 5th and Bryant Streets in San Francisco (M.S.C. South). In the morning, at 5am, a staff member would walk between the rows of mats lined on the floor, yelling for people to wake-up. "Turn your blanket in for a breakfast ticket. Up and Adam gentleman …now!!!" Morrow would skip breakfast; instead he and his trumpet playing-partner George Stockton would head to the Third Street Bridge four blocks away to practice.

In the mid-1990's there were no apartments in the area, no live-work lofts, no dog walking yuppies to disturb the scenic backdrop of city lights, China basin, the bridge, and two homeless people making beautiful music. In fact, the only witnesses to this spectacle were the people who worked at the marine salvage company that was nestled in the spot now occupied by Pac Bell Park, and the bridge operator, himself a sax player. The marine company workers would show up at 4:45am for work as the boys were warming up on the bridge.

"Once they began to play the music was great…it was a kind of a light jazz that seemed like it floated across the water. Man I used to look forward to it. ", remembered Charlie Basset, one of the marine boat crew members.

The boys would rehearse on the bridge four or five days a week before going to Glide Memorial Church for a free breakfast.

THE WHARF

At about 9am each morning Fisherman’s Wharf can be seen teaming with tourists. They come from all over the country, and world, and they are there to see the sea lions, the Bay, Alcatraz, and yes, the street performers. The robot man who moves when you drop a coin in his cup, the spiky haired punks who, for a few bucks will take a picture with you, and of course, the music.

To hear them tell it, Morrow and Stockton, were the best, and made the most money. Each day the two could walk away with 200 dollars in their pockets, sometimes more. George Stockton was an excellent trumpet player, while Rue was only so-so on the sax, but Rue wrote the songs and was a master at working the wharf crowds.

Rue Morrow could have been a superstar. He loved people and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for you. The problem was he also loved crack and even though the boys got professional offers they could not seem to make it to their appointments.

THE WHITE HOUSE

The White House was a nickname for a small, X-rated movie house in the Tenderloin. White was the color of the product that one was to bring, share, and consume once you arrived for the party. The White House was known by so-called deviants worldwide, and they would come from all over the globe for the sex, drugs and partying that took place right out in the open.

After they would finish their performance both George and Rue would buy some crack and head to the theater. They would smoke, party and share stories. When the dope would run out, Rue Morris would make the run to the dope man on Leavenworth Street for more. It was on one of these runs that Morrow met his fate.

Rue Morrow went out to get some drugs for himself and some of his friends. And while on that mission he was shot, gunned to death in the street. Since that time the theater has been closed, and at least for a short time the community felt the impact of the death of Rue Morrow. Four days after Rue’s death, his partner George killed himself in an auto accident in the Tenderloin.

THE MORAL

Six day before he was killed, Rue Morrow handed me a notebook full of stories. It was filled with experiences that he and many of his friends had gone through. Morrow was a great observer of people. He would point to a group of homeless folk and say, "They look like no good, unwashed, beer drinking, drug taking, mentally unstable bums don’t they? Well they are…but each one of them is a human being and each one has their own story to tell." I’m gonna get that story out if it’s the last thing I ever do.

Rue’s war stories are quite a collection and since he didn’t have the chance to tell the story, I have taken up the banner. I am in the process of writing a screen play based on Rue’s notebook, his music and his life on the street. I am calling it "Quicksand".

THIRD STREET BRIDGE (HAUNTED?)

For some time now people have used the Third Street Bridge and area to practice their horn playing. Most days you will see people standing at the bridge playing a riff…enjoying the resonant sounds of China Basin. What surprised me was hearing one of Rue Morrow’s tunes in the wind. As I walked by the new ballpark and on to the bridge, no one was to be found. I am not the only one who has heard Morrow’s sax. Charlie Basset, one of the marine workers who used to listen to Morrow play in those early morning hours, said the music continued after Morrow’s death. In fact they continued to hear the music up until the marine workers were relocated to make way for the new Pac Bell Park.

The times, well they have changed, and the party it has ended, but now the story has to be told.

by Mitch Jeserich

Here is a small compilation of information concerning the effects of war on the global disabled population. The information is still incomplete, but I think it is evident that war and violent conflict violate Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 16, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, war and violent conflict also create conditions to violate Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons.

The following information is grim, but it is worth noting that Dr. Nawaf Kabbara, from the Arab Organization of Disabled People, said that disabled people galvanized the peace movement in Lebanon's civil war from 1975-90. Furthermore, Lucy Wong-Hernandez, E.D. Disabled People International, said, "We are committed to make sure that children are protected and that children who become disabled from these situations are not left ignored, un-served, and marginalized from society. DPI will be actively present advocating for and raising awareness about war affected children with disabilities and all children during the Children's Summit at the United Nations in New York 2001." I hope as an international policy institute, WID will also take notice of war and disability.

The effects of war on people who previously had a disability:

-"Disabled children have greater difficulty escaping during attacks, especially those with a moving, learning, or visual difficulty. Parents may have to make difficult decisions about who to leave behind when fleeing. In 1993 a Lebanese man admitted that he fled his home taking a cow rather than his disabled daughter, because the cow was of more use." (CBR News)

-"Most conflicts today are civil wars—the victims are civilians rather than soldiers. Targeting civilians means that women and children are increasingly vulnerable, and yet rehabilitation services (for the disabled) often focus on men." (CBR News)

-"Other disabilities in conflict situations are linked to the breakdown in infrastructure and the economy. Disabling diseases such as polio and measles become more common because drugs and vaccines are not available. The nutritional status of children will probably worsen as food supplies decline, leading to an increase in nutritional disabilities. Warfare can be hidden, for example the trade sanctions against Iraq. The lack of food, medical equipment, drugs and fuel leads to more disability." (CBR News)

-"Most medical clinics in East Timor were burned down during the violence after the referendum. Many disabled persons were provided with health care from these clinics." (Disabled People International)

-"In a conflict situation, attitudes towards disabled persons may be worse because poverty is more widespread and disabled people are seen as more of a burden." (CBR News)

-"In refugee settlements, disabled people may not have access to relief services because of difficulties moving around, carrying, and queuing." (CBR News)

"The government pays more attention to the veterans than to the civilian even if the civilian was injured by a military weapon." (Son Song Hak, Cambodia)

The increase of disability during times of war and violent conflict:

-Since the last Intifada began in Palestine this past year, there are 2,500 new disabled persons. (Dr. Nawaf Kabbara, The Arab Organization of Disabled People)

-"Afghanistan has experienced 20 years of war that has left 15 to 20 percent of the population disabled. There are about 10 million land mines laying around the country." (CBR News)

-In the past ten years six million children have been injured in armed conflict and many more have witnessed or taken in part in acts of violence, leading to emotional disturbances." (CBR)

-"Many wars today are low intensity conflicts—they aim to wound and disable people rather than to kill them, for example, land mines. Leaving people disabled puts a greater economic burden on families and nations rather than killing them." (CBR News)

-"There are about 110 million landmines planted in the world. Over one million people have been killed or injured by mines since 1975. About 70 people are injured or killed by land mines daily. Mines are being laid 25 times faster than they are being cleared. In Angola, one person in 470 has had a limb amputated." (Mines Advisory Group)

-Children in many regions all over the world are caught in the cross-fire, and are left parentless, homeless, with serious health problems, disabled and traumatized, permanently by war." (Disabled People International)

-"Many children's bodies have been mutilated and made permanently disabled from the conflict in Sierra Leone." (Disabled People International)

"It is estimated that about 37 percent of people involved in war lose their hearing. It is estimated that 35 percent of land mine survivors in Cambodia are women." (Disabled People International).

-"Disruption of health services increases the prevalence of disabling diseases like polio and can lead to more disabilities resulting from birth difficulties." (CBR News)

-"The 1994 massacre in Rwanda left more than half a million people dead in a space of three months. Of those who survived, many had seen family members murdered and others became disabled du to machete wounds. Emotional trauma were therefore widespread among children. Some were in a state of shock while others lost the power of speech." (CBR News)

by Isabel Estrada/PoorNewsNetwork Youth in the Media intern

I was dodging sheets of rain on Wednesday November 28th as I hurried towards 340 Townsend, the offices of KMEL radio, to attend a rally and protest of the firing of Davy D. Luckily my jacket was warm enough but it wasn’t waterproof so I was glad when another woman going to the rally came up from behind and covered me with her umbrella. I wondered if maybe the rally had been canceled until I came upon a group of people huddled under an awning. Marvin X was speaking, "David "Davey D" Cook was a "victim of corporate terrorism." As an African-American DJ who used his radio show, called Street Knowledge, on KMEL 106.1 as an open forum for the voices of bay area youth, Davy D was getting in the way of the corporate media’s agenda of "dumbing down America."

Davey D was fired on October 1st 2001 after serving KMEL as community affairs coordinator for 11 years. According to the station his firing was due to budget cuts but nobody really believes that. I’m more inclined to believe that it was because he talked about important and controversial issues openly. Only weeks before he was fired he had conducted an interview with Congresswoman Barbara Lee of Oakland, the one dissenting vote on George W. Bush’s War Powers Act.

A sign being held behind me reads "KMEL The People’s Station?????????????" According to Ricky Vincent KMEL is the "enemy of the people," as a station that actually took away what little space Bay Area youth of color had on air. I spot Davey D. in the crowd, facing me with his hands in his pockets looking mad and somewhat fidgety. Oddly enough, especially for him, he was silent the whole night except for the brief acknowledgements he gave when someone complimented him. When Pecoya, Soul Sista Soul, came to the microphone she had us all chant "KMEL is not the people’s station." Pecoya sees Davey D’s firing as "symptomatic of what’s going on in the nation." From making it easier to acquire a warrant for a wire tap to detaining Green Party member Nancy Oden at Bangor Airport in Maine for no apparent reason, our civil liberties are being swallowed up as I write this article.

According to Pecoya, in Davey D’s case, he was one of the few people who provided Bay Area youth of color "access to skills a lot of inner city gangsters wouldn’t get any other way." Pecoya believes that being able to attain and discuss information like that provided on Davey D’s show Street Knowledge, is "paramount to each and every one of our survival." The team working to put Davey D back on air has three demands:

1. That Davey D. be reinstated as KMEL community affairs coordinator and that his show "Street Knowledge" be put back on the air immediately.

2. Increased community access and that issues that closely relate to the listening population (i.e. police brutality, gentrification) be discussed openly on air.

3. That KMEL demonstrate a true commitment to Bay Area Hip Hop and that KMEL support Bay Area Hip Hop artists by playing their music on air.

When JR Valrey stepped up to the microphone he didn’t waste any words. "They ain’t gonna do nothing if we don’t force them," he says of KMEL. His voice rang out over the crowd as he spoke of how KMEL is constantly playing "records that don’t talk about our real situations, our real lives. It’s a hard life. Let’s talk about being hungry."

Next to speak was a tall man dressed all in black with a gold ring on his pinky finger. He had emerged during the rally from a limousine surrounded by other men dressed in suits. He had neatly trimmed facial hair and a red feather in his hat. I heard someone call him a minister but when he took the microphone he didn’t say his name or where he was from. His words glided smoothly off his tongue, speaking of how Davey D had given people "a forum [to discuss issues] that are not always in harmony with what mainstream media wants." He was interested in the bigger picture. "There’s a world coming down around us…they don’t want the people enlightened…they don’t want any voices that threaten the status quo." He said "change your listening habits" and asked people not to shop at stores that support KMEL.

There were several powerful speakers including, Eve Patterson, Executive Director of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, Keith Carson and Wilson Riles who is running for mayor in Oakland and Van Jones from Bay Area Police Watch.

To close the rally, Soul Sista again stepped to the microphone to say, "we want to hear brothers speaking." She looked around at the 40 or so people surrounding her without dismay saying that next time each person would bring "10, 20, 30" people with them and the movement would only grow. She emphasized, "this is the beginning and not the end." She then led us in chanting, "Ain’t no power like the power of the people, ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop," as we made our way over to the KMEL headquarters. There we met four police officers standing in front of the door, feat apart, hands on hips and with sour faces. We ended the chanting with louds shouts and claps. I could just see the KMEL Board of Directors squirm.

As the rally began to disperse I saw the man with a red feather in his hat walking away and being followed by the men in suits. It was still raining but I figured it was my duty as a writer to go and ask his name. I splashed through the flooded street, feeling the water soak into my socks, and finally made it up to the last man in a black suit and asked what church they were from. He refused to tell me and told me that the man with a red feather was the spokesperson. I asked again with disbelief if he could tell me the name of the church, again he refused. So then I ran up to the man with the red feather and cut into his conversation with some other men. I felt shorter than usual among these tall men but I butted into the conversation and asked the spokesperson what church he was from. He looked down and said as though surprised to see someone there, "Mosque, Nation of Islam." When I asked his name it was clear he was anxious to get back to his conversation but he paused to say "Christopher."

Besides my discomfort at approaching a man who was surrounded by what I now realize were bodyguards I felt especially stupid at having asked what Church he was from. I resolved from now on in my journalistic career to always ask someone’s denomination instead of depending on what I hear from someone else. The whole incident reminded me of the scene in the Spike Lee movie "Malcolm X" in which the white woman runs up frantically to Malcolm X and he looks at her with ridicule.

I walked away feeling angry. For some reason I hadn’t been treated with the respect that I believe I as a young woman of color in solidarity with the cause, deserved. However, the feeling of the night in general soon overshadowed anything else. As one young man named Drew put it, "If you don’t stand for nothing’, you’ll fall for anything."

by Joe. B.

On a grey, near sunless Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 a few fledgling reporters from Poor Magazine are invited to observe, participate, and report on a: San Francisco Housing Reality Tour.

First problem - the small mauve or purple-red paper invitation for the march said Civic Center Plaza better known as the United Nations Plaza. All is quiet in the United Nations Plaza.

By 4:45 pm. the crowd of merchants, customers, homeless people, and low income working folk are less as the bright white tents pack up to drive away in trucks, cars, or walk away gaps are left in their wake as bits of vegetable matter, plastic, paperbags, and foods are left on red brick walkways.

The waterfall still flows, grey-white seagulls sit, walk, eating near or flying about looking for food left by transients, homeless people, and tourists strolling the area. Its less crowded because in the daytime a thriving Fresh Food Market.

Though bland, uniformed white tent housed merchants selling all kinds of fruits, vegetables, jars of natural bee honey and other types of food in the plaza square.

At 4:55 pm. I've gone through Civic Center's United Nations Plaza all the way to the end of the Simon Buliva, Man-on-horseback statue whether made from bronze, steel, or an amalgamation of other metals I do not know.

"He killed Native American's" is Mari's angry answer knowing the dead guy's history.

She's one the 18 to 23 year old Youth Commissioner's in City Hall. Its the Mayor's input on youth involvement in government.

Anyway I'm thinking "What happened, where's everybody. There's a police car on the sidewalk going through the plaza, lots of police cars, cops on foot, cycles, station wagon, van, lots of cops are converging I have no idea where - I'm not sure I 'wanna know.

Right-To-A-Roof with Mr. James Tracy is using a mini bullhorn to gather and inspire the crowd for a legal police escorted march through areas affected or being affected by the honorable Mayor W. Brown.

In support of the National Day Of Housing Action. It begins at 5:00 pm.

Is it too late for drugs as an alternative way to deal with real life?

'Yep, too late, have to see this through - its called 'paying your dues so when one gets to their good life [while alive and breathing] no one can say she/he had it cushy all their lives.

Unknown to me and Mari the S.F. Housing Reality Tour's last minute change from U.N. Plaza in Civic Center has moved to the steps outside City Hall.

"Its a last minute change" was James Tracy casual reply.

I'm thinking [this is no way to garner popular support if stability is a stumbling block, at least the organizers should be 'um... organized.]

Many other organizations have joined plus fourteen cities are having similar demonstrations - Don't 'cha love globalizing the masses to participate in a great and noble cause like housing for low income working poor, homeless and people in shelters?

Some of the signs I read were: Housing's a human right, San Francisco needs more housing now! Families need housing not shelter.

There are many sighs in Spanish or Spanglish [Spanish and English combined, Filipino, Chinese, and other languages.

La Raza Community,
Housing Network,
Organized Labor,
Tenderloin Housing Clinic,

Housing America,
Homes Not Jails,
National Coalition On Homelessness,
National Low-Income Housing Coalition Right To A Roof/Coalition On Homelessness Religious Witness With Homeless People,
Street Spirit (Project Of American Friends Service Committee),
Food Not Bombs,
Homeless Prenatal Program,
P.O.W.E.R. [People Organized To Win Employment Rights]
and many others on this roster of people oriented orgs well know and some not.

For those unnamed my apologies there are so many of you and only one of me to write all of you down, 'sheesh.

After more inspired speeches from many organizer's and regular working folk the organized march and protest rally began from the steps of City Hall growing as many struggling, folks joined in our march.

Escorted by police on cycles, walking along side us as a protecting or arresting arm probably a little of both if things turn sour.

We must be really dangerous for all these blues watching over us.

Our first of many stops is at 450 Golden Gate Avenue outside The Philip Burton Federal Building and United States Court House the State building is across the street.

There are two police guards inside, some workers, and regular folks wandering about.

We surge on to the Page Hotel a concerned citizen tells me.

At the Page, as people walk carry in sighs, in their hands, children on shoulders I believe it's Ms. Gretchen another Poor Magazine student/contributor who informs me of other cities doing what we're doing now.

New York, Baltimore, Seattle, and others.

I'd sure like the other 10 cities and more to hook up, maybe we can help each other. All Of Our Cities!, not needing our help could help us so the shit now rolling on us from on high can be backed up and lots of dirt or worse lands on those folks in Washingtoon Deplorable Compost, OOP's I mean Washington DC

Hey, you other cities? Going through similar cow chip housing crisis with possible solutions not looked or listened to because the fire hasn't reached their flushed-with-cash comfy asses yet.

Who knows after 6 or more of most of the citizens in every city, small town, or hamlet protest everyday maybe the powers that be will finally get a clue to why everything is slowly grinding to a halt they still may not care but by The Eternal they'll have to start earning their keep instead of sitting on their rumps like updated high tech robber barons.

Lets light 'em up-laser those tender poop buts until, the trapped methane gas blows heated flame from all their stuffed up holes or is it orifice's. Join up, brain storm, lets stop leaking green blood and heal or housing problems once and for all.

From the Burton Fed Building, The Page, across the street at 146 at Golden Gate is the Hospitality House besides shelter it serves lunches and has instructors in the arts of painting, sculpture, drawing, and pottery all free. Item: Painted American Flag on the window is realistically done I like the stripes.

Then to the former Empress that was vacant for 20 years as its tenants and working folk looked for housing and slept or died in the streets then it reopened as The West Cort, where a finger salute was clearly given by either a manger or owner but he seemed a bit peeved at the crowd milling around the building this night.

Passing the Tenderloin Police Station with its many cars, station wagon, empty.

I don't like that they are empty-it does not make me feel all that good because they're here ready and waiting to be filled and as I said before lots of cops.

On to the Family owned Fang Building where the San Francisco Chronicle now resides sold to the Fang Family by the Hearst Family.

Its nice to know some family traditions still hold true, there are a few traditional family values we must get rid of like the corporate monopolies.

Its 6:30pm, really dark, I'm tired, losing my voice from chanting, my feet are on automatic, but I'm in the march because its a good thing to do, and somewhere down this road generations of young adults, single, married, and working poor with better pay, and children, yet unborn will benefit.

On 7th Street, around the corner, I'm still tired..." Oh-Joe, stop"
Didn't Mari have some 'kinda meeting in chambers at City Hall as a member of the Youth Commission?"

Mari does not understand my reporting style thinking every I say on tape will be reported as dictated. She thinks I'm a rotten reporter.

She's half right I am not a reporter, but I am rotten as a reporter.

Where was I... "I'm tired, the protesters are heading in my direction. I'm going home."

Last stop for me is the Warfield Building owned by the Fang Family at 988 on Market and Taylor Streets.

I go home weary, sleepy meanwhile the protest heads across the street to the building with art hanging off the building but the ploy is waring thin as its a building that can be renovated for low income people, not suddenly turned into another high priced tourist hotel.

Some pasta 'n potatoes, bread and water and my night is over.

by Joe. B.

Yeah, yeah, rotten metaphor but 'ya can't ignore the visuual.

Except for minor logistics, in time and human errors everything went without a hitch, an expensive lesson is learned in that contracts will be signed so that 20% does not suddenly inflate to 30%.

A rainy Saturday night, November, 10, 2001 6pm. to llpm. POOR's first CD (Audio-Compact Disk) Party for the 'PO Poets.

The Lab had their own scultures glossy and bright color arts-on-alunmium canvas show installation Our Long Awaited and for me slighly fearful CD Release Party: that's [Conpact Disk to Off Worlders, Persons in Cryogenic Cold Sleep, Suspended Animation or otherwise frozen in time.]CD's are made, tested, listened to.

Some people didn't make the cut to be on and could be on a next one if possible.

I personally carefully with sterile fingertips placed the silver "grade A" quality circular audio disks in their square covers unwrapped in clear cellophane. They're naked, in their clear plastic covers as the square slick expensive paper that shows in multiple 6 to 14 or more fonts or points for picky typeset readers.

'Po Poets, and many guests are on hand that rainy night to cheer each other on, eat food, drink, and just plain have a good time without all the madness of September 11th.

Sometimes a brake is needed before going on or our human physical, psychological systems will brake down from fatigue and mental stress and I personally know about job burn-out on low wage jobs - higher paid upwardly bound job/career must be way worse because everything is intensified to the 'max.

This night is for sitting back, breathing, no-thinking, and listening to folks celebrate surviving, thriving, on the low rungs of life... those everyday hero and heroine's, single father's, mother's, children, and regular folks waking up and not giving up as the many struggle through constent economic turmoil.

Some of the food arrived late but there was enough brought by in case problems happened across the bay.

I have a hasty made escape plan as soon as I am finished with my own babbling.

Lateefa Simon(not the big boned healthy one with the talk show) she's petite, lythe, wiry sprite MC
(Mistress of Ceremonies) keeping the people energized with her rapid fire - hyper energy presence and words.

Rap Artists from Hip Hop's Prophets of Rage, Renaissance, Munaf, Keith Savage, Tiger, Pecoya, and singer Ananda.

It was an elevating, electrifying night of music, song, poetic verse, jokes and a break for working folks to just sit in their seats and relax not thinking of overdue bills, balloon mortgages, rent, food, or war.

There are serious talk about our changed America to be sure but for a little it is set aside for one night of celebrating a small victory by and for poor folks.

Soon my turn came to mumble words of deathless prose and after the escape.

I speak of escape because being at many a rally/protest with ubiqutous black, brown, green, yellow, or clear plastic bags some hapless few must do clean-up of tables and floors and using said plastic bags there is always a chance of spillage.
Any small to large hole from one object or many causing a puncture that spills, sprays, or gets dumped on the floor creating a mess where moments past it was clean.

Not this time! Oh, no - an escape is planned to the second after my spoken word is over I'd listen one maybe two more people then gracefully say good by so I can visit my family for a few day and be away from The City.

Now to realities, we're selling the CD's for $10 maybe when or if they go into well known big name stores they'll be sold for more is in the air for now but I believe deals have been made to ensure this.

You know below after most of my columns you see the:
Send this or that and Blah, blah, blah.

Well, have something to sell. Anyway maybe like rappers of old who sold their tapes from trunks of cars or on the street when rap was deemed a fad, 'pol's feeling threatened as it grew beyond its confinds of inner city neighborhoods.

I say my words trying to memorized 9 lines of verbage and failing then creatively adding and subtracting until my time off stage has ended.

Dharma spoke in her musical haronic voice and I whisper "Missed some, good cover up."

Then quietly announce to Lisa and Dee that of my rapid departure from the City, head out the glass door, around the corner to my families car fade into the night.

Escape is right, someone will take my place cleaning up tables, floors, chairs, and putting out the garbage but I'm glad it won't be me.

As the car glides across the superstructure of the Golden Gate Bridge a sigh of relief escapes from me, a long comfortable ride with loved ones and zzzzz's begin a siren call and I'm lulled to sleep.

Well stay well folks. I'll be resting up for a while... Bye.

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by Joe B.

Is the Anti-Cosby thing a backward or backlash comment saying this is a good a show as the Cosby Show was? Or is it a way of saying the show is slightly different from Cosby? Just read on folks.

I was watching a new show on the Fox Channel Sunday called the Bernie Mack show.

Its about a successful Comic who becomes saddled with three children and how he has to deal with a new situation he's thrown into.

The 3 back to back shows is a good idea I wish that had done the same with "24" a riviting drama where time is counted in seconds and the same scenes are literaly in real time from different angles as different situations are constantly unfolding.

One really has to keep eyes-on-the show to see its twists, turns.

Back to "Bernin Mack" The guy is his rough gruff exterior and tender when it called for works and as the Anti Cosby thing, well Mr. Cosby is one type of comedian and Mr. Mack is another his tough urban "got the money, don't touch - don't even look at my stuff." demeaner from the start of the show is refreshing and will not go stale because the man has range slipping from harried new-father/uncle figure, macho among friends, and loving husband/boy- friend (forgot which?) Is a stand out show and packs a lot into a half hour.

The last one about the Las Vagas trip and he trying not to catch the flu, just as computer generated floating green germs permeate a children's birthday party with signs written on-screem or camera points to those being infected by casual contact is subtly funny as well.

Mr. Bernie Mack bragging to his freinds of being healthy waring masks, rubber gloves, using extension reach tools and donning protective near radiation gear and getting cake deciding not to eat healthy and when eats the germ infested cake Mr. Mack is down for the count blaming the kids when actually it was his choice of food that did his health in Was worth watching all three shows.

I hope this show gains popularity because it shows black folk as normal everyday people, Bernie Mack is a successful comedian, actor.

It also shows the struggle goes on and his "ghetto survival skills" are still needed but not for the great white world but three little kids seemingly out to ruin a life he has grown to love; namely buying and doing things on himself and not worried about to many people. How he ajusts to his new situation varied situation as father/uncle figure in "these strange kids" lives is an interesting though not new premise Mr. Mack adds his special blend to the mix.

I wish him the best. I hope it runs for years so the 'bro can sit on his can get those royalty checks from sindication, animation, and movie, rights.

Oops, my bad-hope the show has a long run and others with Bernie Macks refreshingly normal every black guy sensibilites like the "Steve Harvey Show" on the WB network can shine also on Fox -2, 20, 44, 36, or other high and low channels along the remote. But that's just me... Bye.

by Donna L. Anderson

The Insiders’ Instruction Manual

Part three in a series of satirical policy explanations for government and private social service providers. The prevalence of hypocritical practices in social services leads PNN Texas correspondent Donna Anderson to conclude that there must be an interagency conspiracy to keep the poor poor. The scenarios and statements presented here are based on her actual experiences during 12 years in social services.

Donna L. Anderson

Tuesday, ----, 2001:

Policy Statement: Keep the Poor Poor

Strategy No. 3: “Kiss My Assets!”

This is the third strategy in the domestic policy for government, quasi-governmental and non-profit institutions in support of our nation’s necessary evil, poverty. It addresses the problematic issue of the poor having a net worth. Though the illusion of “getting ahead” keeps the poor from being too disquieted, we must assure that for every one step forward, there are two steps back.

The premise behind this strategy is that poor people should not be allowed to have or acquire anything of financial worth if they are going to seek assistance from the government. The poor must be made to utilize their assets before accessing the taxpayer dollar or even the charitable dollar. Many poor mistakenly believe that help might be available in time of need, layoff, unemployment, disability or even old age, to prevent them from getting so far behind that financial stability is not within reach.

On the contrary, the social services safety net is a net of last resort, not the net on top of their personal safety net. We serve poverty from the bottom up, giving aid first to those most in need first. Not only is it logical, it appears humanitarian to the public. And because of insufficient funding to really address the problem of poverty, serving from the bottom up ensures that people on the verge of becoming poor or homeless must “bottom out” to reach the safety net, rather than being able to access assistance at a less critical point. This whirlpool action has an ancillary mental castigating effect that prevents the poor from trying too hard to build assets again in the future.

For our purposes, assets are defined as IRA’s, 401K’s, cash-value life insurance policies, checking and savings accounts, automobiles and pawnable items such as stereos, televisions, bicycles, jewelry, and in some cases, gold teeth. Though a house is normally considered an asset in calculating net worth, we exclude houses in this definition because they cannot be quickly and easily liquidated for cash to meet immediate needs like food, utilities and rent. A poor person’s house could not possibly be worth much anyway, or he/she could not afford to pay the mortgage, insurance and property taxes.

How is it that the poor ever build a net worth in the first place? There are the unlikely windfall assets such as lottery winnings, gifts or inheritances. More often though, the poor build assets by working for large corporations and businesses that offer benefit packages. The benefits inadvertently assist the poor, though they are actually directed toward professional staff. Due to the almost socialist nature of current human resource practices, lower-paid employees benefit from 401K and IRA plans as well. Therefore, the stable, low-paid worker can “get ahead,” even if solely through employer contributions.

Preventing unnecessary asset build-ups is, of course, the ideal. Whereas many large concerns are too well scrutinized by unions and are easy prey for legal action, smaller businesses can employ shrewd tactics to avoid asset-building benefits and even raising salaries. One brilliant tactic worth sharing comes from the cotton industry in Texas. Every three years, Company X is sold, maintaining everything the same, except the name. (We don’t know who buys Company X, but the profits stay in the family.) Though the flow of work is uninterrupted, every employee is “new” to the company, starting at ground zero for benefits and salary increases. Employee retirement plans fold unvested. Only employees of longer than six years would even notice the pattern. Those longer-term employees are likely too complacent or intimidated to agitate for change.

Where asset-building prevention efforts in private industry fail, our systems can intervene. Some poor who have managed to build assets will fall again on hard times. This is our opportunity to liberate them of their assets, allowing them to live unencumbered, one day at a time, without regard to the future.

In terms of procedural steps to carrying out this strategy, the process of applying for aid should always be riddled with paperwork. Make the applicant prove his financial situation by providing supporting documentation such as the three most current IRA, checking, savings and 401K statements. This should be done even if the applicant’s assets exceed the limits for receiving aid. The waiting encourages the applicant to liquidate tangible assets at that noteworthy and time-honored institution, the pawnshop.

A minimal level of assets is permissible, usually up to $2000 per household. It is no great threat for a man to own a car, for instance a 1989 or earlier model, or keep a small savings or IRA in his name. For people with disabilities, the limits are lower, but pertain to cash assets, like checking and savings accounts. After all, if a person with disabilities manages to accumulate more than $999 in cash, he can’t be that disabled now, can he?

Once the applicant has supplied documentation showing assets in excess of the limit, no further human interaction is necessary if the agency has a form rejection letter in place. Simply notify the applicant by mail and state the reason succinctly, “Assets exceed limits.”

An enterprising poor person will know what this means. Time to cash in that IRA, penalties and all. Time to trade in that ’95 Explorer that he bought before the layoffs, for a more economical ’82 Monte Carlo. Time to return that rented furniture. Time to sell the washer and dryer to the neighbor who has been working steadily at the ice factory for six months. And time to pawn anything that is not nailed to the floor.

When all he has left of value is his gold tooth, he can return to apply for aid, which should be grudgingly granted him after he has completed the application process again in full. Finally, warn the applicant that his continued aid is contingent on remaining asset free. Random asset tests can be conducted using the consumer’s social security number and FBI and CIA databases.

We certainly do not want the poor to become miserable enough to revolt. Therefore, the occasional “rags to riches” story is useful to keep hope alive among the masses. But we must take measures and be ever cautious to contain class shifting thereby preserving the social order and our American way of life.

Stay tuned for the next strategy in the Keep the Poor Poor Policy, “Useless Life Skills: Learn them again and again.”

by Gretchen Hildebran/PoorNewsNetwork

The crowd shouted wildly as it approached the corner
of 6th and Howard in the early evening darkness.
Laughs, songs and cheers washed over the frustrated
honks of the nearby commuters like a fresh and
exuberant wind. As we approached the intersection, a
cluster of waving people appeared in the second story
rooms of the giant empty building on the corner
that used to house hundreds of people and families.
Two Banners unfurled from the windows welcoming us and
echoing our cheers, they read: "Aqui estamos y no nos vamos! and
Everyone has a right to a roof!"

Last Wednesday's march and Housing Reality Tour was
organized by the National Affordable Housing Trust
Fund Campaign, a coalition of local and national housing rights
groups, tenants, poor people, homeless folks and
families. While the US spends approximately one
billion dollars a day to fight a war in Afghanistan,
poor people and activists are organizing this campaign
to make the government put its resources into fighting
poverty at home. The Affordable Housing Trust, which
could be funded for one year by the last week of
government military spending alone, would build 1.5
million affordable homes in the United States over the
next ten years.

The protest began with a group of several hundred people
gathering in the late afternoon shadow of City Hall.
Families, SRO tenants and homeless folks held up
placards reading Housing for All! and Housing for
the Homeless! to passing cars as local gospel group
Bay City Love sang Down By the Riverside. Krea
Gomez of the Homeless Prenatal Program, one of the
campaign organizers, started things up by
reminding the crowd that we all struggle with the need
for affordable housing, and that this everyday reality
cannot be ignored anymore.

James Tracy from Right 2 A Roof explained next that
this day was designated as the National Day of
Housing Action. This protest was a national one,
happening simultaneously in 20 cities across the US,
and advocating to Congress the importance of the bill,
to be voted on early next year. Maria Orsonio and Cindy Weisner
from POWER (People Organized to Win
Employment Rights) added that economic justice must also
be part of any affordable housing program. Living
wage jobs are just as important as affordable
housing, so that people can keep and care for their
homes.

The crowd had swelled to over a hundred as night fell
and I picked up a sign as the march began. ìHousing
is Hope. Hope did pick up momentum, even as we made
our way to various sites in the Tenderloin and South
of Market that represented the greed, ignorance and
misrepresentation that perpetuate the current lack of
housing for so many. With the revving engines of
police motorcycles surrounding us, we walked to the
offices of Housing and Urban Development. There
speakers addressed the government policy which has
pulled back financing of subsidized housing over the
last 20 years. Someone in the crowd yelled, We need
a NEW new deal! and cheering erupted.

At the Page Hotel, our next stop, a SRO resident spoke
in Cantonese about how SROs are often the only
available housing to the most vulnerable people ñ
especially families and recent immigrants. Tenants at
this SRO have organized against the managementís
racist and illegal eviction procedures. Miguel Barrera
of Hogares Sin Barreras then made the point, ìWe all
should be able to demand housing no matter our
culture!

Next was the former Empress Hotel, an SRO that was
shut down by the city for health reasons in 1981. The
owners of the building recently invested millions in
the hotel in order to illegally reopen it as the now
tourist-only West Cork Hotel. Meanwhile these same
landlords have left their other SRO hotels (most
notoriously the Alder Hotel on 6th St.) in disrepair.
An SRO resident spoke about the need of owners and
government to respect peopleís needs and the laws,
reminding them, don't forget about the people who
were here before you.

By the time we made it to the Examiner building to
protest that newspaper's smear campaigns against the
poor and homeless of the city, we were informed that
local housing activists were already occupying a
nearby vacant building and needed our support.
In a phone interview from inside the infamous
"defenestration" building at 6th and Howard, Ted
Gullickson of the San Francisco Tenant's Union
explained why the activists had chosen to occupy this
building. "Notorious landlord, David Patel evicted the
building's tenants about twelve years ago, and now is
asking the city to pay an inflated $2 million to buy
it. While this building's 75 apartments would be an
important first step towards addressing the need for
low-income housing in the city, real estate
speculation and government inaction have left it
vacant"

Alison Lum of Homes Not Jails, also occupying the
building, said that the group planned to not only.
house over a hundred people at this location but to
also employ them in fixing up their future homes.
Local activists are determined to not just campaign
for the government to recognize the housing needs of
our communities, but to also take an immediate stand
against the city's unwillingness to create low-income
housing. As Alison stated, We will not let
people suffer while buildings stand vacant!

The following day after the police forcibly removed the protestors only the voices of resistance remained, whistling through the now-empty building, "Aqui Estamos Y no Nos Vamos, Everyone has a Right to a Roof"

by TJ Johnston and PNN Staff

It didn’t exactly surprise fellow POOR Magazine supportive reporter, Laurie McElroy, or me when the Board of Supervisors once again put off deciding on important legislation: to have Department of Public Works give 24 hours notice before removing a person’s belongings. This legislation has a serious impact on the lives of San Francisco’s homeless citizens.

But before we could set foot on City Hall to view this legislative inertia, the building was evacuated because of a bomb scare, putting the regularly scheduled meeting on hold for about one half-hour.

In the interim, we strategized on street-level lobbying to get the DPW to place 24-hour tags on a person’s stuff. We even rehearsed a reworded Rolling Stones classic: “I Can’t Get No Notice Action” (we never got the chance to sing it). Then the bomb squad determined the infernal device to be a dud in this latest development of the five-year effort by several economic justice organizations, including the Coalition on Homelessness (COH).

The proposal cites, above all, the need to protect the homeless, a population historically at the short end of the stick. Kathleen Gray, a homeless woman and COH member, sees current practices as a catch-22. “When you have systems which gives people blankets and medicines, then turn around and take them away, (it) is not only wasteful of resources, it is also very debilitating.”

Gray emphasizes, “This legislation is about permitting people to own things, to accumulate things, to go beyond collecting bottles in a cart, to have some nice clothes to enable them to work a job.” Currently, this civil right (not to mention one’s possessions) is at risk.

“That right is self-empowering,” continues Gray, “and those who are self-empowered improve their lives. When their lives are improved, the neighborhood is improved.”

While the Supes listened to Falun Gong advocates, who were there in numbers, we visited the offices of five Board members including Sophie Maxwell and Leland Yee (initially, they supported the 24-hour advance warning, but have since backpedaled). We delivered a letter addressed to each supervisor thanking them “for their continued support” (fully realizing the irony of this phrasing).

Some of us even placed orange stickers of our cause on the doors. At the urging of the COH’s Mara Radar, we removed them immediately. Supervisor Tony Hall of the Rules Committee himself returned one of our stickers. He didn’t seem too pleased about it!

After tabling a resolution condemning Chinese persecution of the Falun Gong and deciding on other measures, the Board eventually kicked our locally based proposal back to the Rules Committee. This hearing is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18.

In order for the measure to be adopted, six out of eleven Supervisors must vote yes; to override a likely mayoral veto, eight “yea” votes are required. Curiously, this body, one of the most progressive ones this city has seen, has just as much trouble arriving at a decision as previous Boards. After five years, where many have navigated mazes in often-futile efforts to retrieve their possessions, such a decision is long overdue.

(For more about this policy, see “Where’s My Stuff?” by Clive Whistle, on POOR News Network, 7/10/01.)

by Phil Goldvarg

The eagle is not down,

he's in a different sky,

wings still moving

against the currents of injustice,

there is no death for this peaceful warrior,

he looks down on us,

his quiet fire eyes say,

tu eres mi otro yo,

you are me,

I am you,

somos juntos

en la tristeza de la noche,

en la felicidad

del dia,

the eagle is not down,

he's in a different sky

y los chuecos,

the greedy growers,

the legislators

who legislatre los farmworkers

and their ninos to death

are shaking in fear,

they know there's going to be

some serious huelgas

in heaven and hell,

sabes que, hermano,

the eagle is not down,

he's in a different sky,

there is no death

for this peaceful warrior.

Para Cesar 4/26/93

C/S