2012

I was trying to stay out of this fight. I work for the struggle and a number of organizations in it. I have 3 part time jobs I’m barely juggling well enough to keep myself from being pushed back through the bloody and gnarled teeth of homelessness. I have family and friends and school. I suffer from anxiety, PTSD and chronic debilitating migraines. If I didn’t have access to my medication, I would not be able to function. Literally. The muscle spasms and nausea alone would keep me indoors and unable to move except to throw up for days on end. Days.

So I’m definitely in favor or legalizing it from the patient’s perspective, but this perspective keeps ignoring the other half of the coin. The half of the coin where people that can’t afford the get out of jail medical marijuana card and the folks of color that can’t access one for whatever reason it is. The half of the coin that was going to jail on the regular because they were Toking while Po’ or labeled a color or unable to smoke indoors cuz they aint got no indoors to smoke in.
I can’t tell you how many folks I’ve argued with because I’ve heard racist hAcktivists say things like…

“It’s those thug kids that are ruining the movement for us.”
And
“It’s that hip hop culture that gives marijuana a bad name.”

Even the Yes on 502 commercials are racists. Both of them feature conservative white folks talking bout how their missing out on money by keeping marijuana illegal. They cant just say that crazy sh*t though. They ALWAYS have to turn an eye sideways to communities in struggle.

“It’s a multimillion dollar industry in Washington….We would control the money…not the gangs. Let’s talk about a new approach. Legalizing and regulating marijunana.”
The new one isn’t much better. It’s this kind of stupid, blind racism that’s putting the movement at risk!
Don’t think we don’t hear you white, progressive Washington. Thugs, gangs, hip hop….we know who you’re hatin on. Folks of Color and poor folks. We know you’re barely hiding your racism and classism behind weak culture war terms. But you know what??? This issue is, always has been and always will be an issue about people in the struggle. Even if you’ve done coopted the whole damn thing.

So even though I wanted to stay out. I’m back in. I’m back in because even though a bunch of privileged white folks have totally failed to include our communities in this conversation…we have a responsibility scream ourselves back in. CUZ IF THEY SCREW THIS ONE UP…WE ARE GOING TO JAIL, NOT THEM!!!
The criminalization of marijuana is, always has been, and always will be an issue of racism. It’s not about smoking pot. It’s not about patients right. It’s about civil rights. And its about keeping folks out of jail and keeping families and communities together. So check the facts from OUR side of the coin:

* No Jim Crow law INCARCERATES MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR per year than the criminalization of marijuana.
* Approximately 15,000 FOLKS IN WASHINGTON ARE ARRESTED every year for marijuana possession…but it’s not usually privileged white folks being hauled off to jail for smoking a joint…
* People of Color are over 3 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GET ARRESTED for possession than their white neighbors.
* People of Color are 60% MORE LIKELY TO BE INCARCERATED for marijuana possession than their white neighbors.

Don’t let the handful of dispensary owners and racists runnin’ the No on i-502 Campaign fool you either:

* I-502 does NOT give cops permission to blood test you if you’re pulled over for a DUI.
The POLICE ALREADY HAVE THAT RIGHT!!
I-502 prevents them from arresting you for marijuana possession alone if you are pulled over.

* I-502 will NOT put children at risk.
What really puts children at risk? Having their parents arrested for possession of marijuana! Incarceration breaks up families. I-502 KEEPS PARENTS OF COLOR OUT OF PRISON and at home with their kids where they belong.

* I-502 is NOT bad for medical marijuana patients.
In fact, I-502 is designed so that patients will have access to higher quality medicine that’s free from chemicals, molds or pesticides. Costs will likely decrease, which also benefits low income patients.

I-502 is OUR CHANCE TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITIES PROTECTED from unfair search, arrest and incarceration. It’s time to take our rights back!!!

So let the privileged folks Legalize it for whatever crazy reason they want to legalize it. Let the racists try to chew on their own necks for a while. Vote yes cuz of the $$ Washington will get! Vote yes cuz white middle class patients will have easier and better access. Vote yes because you have a freakin Bob Marley tshirt. Vote yes because it will save the unicorns! I don’t care what makes them vote to legalize it at this point. I just care that they do.

This is one of the few moments in time that we can actually DO something that will have a REAL effect on communities of color. We can keep 15,000 people from going to jail next year for simple possession. 15,000. Yep, vote yes for the freakin unicorns, dear progressives.

But communities of color and po’ folks….it’s time to take this conversation back. It’s time to stand up for our rights no matter WHO’S trying to stand on our backs. Get out there. Protect our folks, families and communities. Vote Yes on 502!

Why the use of Tasers in a Mental Health Crisis is Dangerous and Deadly: An Open Letter to the Police Commission from Mental Health Professionals and Allies.

San Francisco Police Commission,

We are writing with an urgent plea for you to vote NO on your upcoming decision regarding the use of Tasers or “directed energy weapons” by the San Francisco Police Department.

As many of you know, the population of residents in San Francisco who struggle with mental health issues and are not provided adequate care is staggering. We see this difficult truth everyday in our workplace and on the streets. Serving a community with serious mental health issues means we are confronted with situations where we have to de-escalate those in crisis in a non-violent manner, with compassion for everyone involved, on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. We understand the desire for people in our community to want better protection when entering a crisis intervention but tasers are NOT the answer. 

532 people have died from being tasered in the United States since 2001; this does not account for the numerous taser related injuries, including injuries to small children and the elderly that happen everyday. There has been very little research on the effect of tasers on the general population, let alone pregnant woman and people who have pre-existing medical conditions.

The police argue that they need tasers in order to deal more humanely with people exhibiting mental health problems; however, the San Francisco police have failed to complete their mandated Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), as outlined by the commission. The CIT, which originated in the Memphis Tennessee Police Department, has been increasingly successful in training Memphis police to use de-escalation techniques and has dramatically decreased casualties and injuries sustained by people with mental health issues. Because of the program, Memphis police refuse to carry tasers. Why have only 2% of SFPD undergone crisis intervention training? It’s outrageous that the police have not completed Crisis Intervention Training and are now asking for tasers to deal with people suffering from mental illness.

Tasering is associated with sudden death, usually via cardiac or respiratory arrest, particularly following the use of physical control measures, including police restraints. 19% of taser related deaths discussed in the briefing paper from the National Institute of Justice were of people with mental illness. Such mortality rates most commonly arise in male subjects with a history of serious mental illness and/or acute or chronic drug abuse, particularly stimulant drugs such as methamphetamines and cocaine. Considering the population of dual-diagnosis patients—those that struggle with both drug addiction and mental health issues—this fact is especially concerning. The hypothesis that tasers may contribute to an already high level of arousal of agitated individuals, and thus eventual death, needs to be researched but it should be noted that people taking prescribed antipsychotic medications are already at increased risk of sudden cardiac death (Straus et al, 2004).

Tasers may be legal from a law enforcement perspective, but as McBride & Tedder (2006) pointed out, health researchers need to investigate their mental health consequences. Use of tasers is a public policy issue that demands the vigilance of healthcare professionals and researchers. Because of the lack of research on the use of tasers in mental health crisis situations, the side effects related to taser use that include sudden death, and the fact that the SFPD has not undergone CIT training, we strongly urge you to vote NO on the implementation of tasers for use by law enforcement in the county of San Francisco.

Sincerely,

Thinking about you…

Was just reading some poetry and looking at pictures of Al Robles during Filipino American Month. Trying to remember you, Al. Full of nonsense and a Zen mystique that played games with your love of the people. Filipino people, Asian people, Black people, Latino people, Native American people…..all people. So much love. And each one with an individual look. An individual look for each person and each friendship. And Al was full of those loves and friendships. An honest and original and child-like openness spun in the Zen Buddhist koan of Al Robles’ words. And thoughts and love. Inimitable. How can I describe it without saying too much? That twinkle in the eye and a ready laughter. Slapping your hands with his brown hands and smiling under his wispy grey mustache. A surprisingly strong grip and a straight strong body. Pretty good for someone in his late 70s. How many people did Al help out with a strong mind support? How many people did Al help out with a free box lunch? Saint Al. Al was a Saint. And Al was a friend. Always there and everywhere. Al really was everywhere. Laughing and standing strong in his army jacket and fur hat. Or his famous Hawaiian shirts and hiking boots. Thinking about you, Al. I would miss you so much I could cry except that is so contrary to what you stood for. Always moving in and out and punching and counterpunching this life. Like a Filipino flyweight fighter who asks for one more round, and one more round. But it’s hard to believe that you’re not around. It’s still hard to believe, years later. You are missed. And we love you.

October 23, 2012

I will support any proposal that will alleviate the suffering of low-income individuals and People of Color. As an African-American living in a low-income community, the Police are not friends of my community. We are disproportionately effected by the disease of Police Brutality. My mother was one of the most law-abiding and generous people I know, and like many people in our community she had issues with calling the Police.

I have seen many friends, family and neighbors whose lives were ruined by what the great intellectual, professor, activist and civil-rights attorney Michelle Alexander calls “the New Jim Crow.” In his work “Lockdown 2000,” activist-author Christian Parenti also explains one of the primary purposes of the prison industrial complex, which includes the police force, is to create a separate and unequal caste system in Amerikkka.

Proposition 36 will abolish the most insidious portions of the 3 Strikes Law that is so hurtful to my community and so central to the way the Police impact our lives. Under the 3 Strikes Law, if an individual with two convictions of violent felonies is convicted with a third felony, District Attorneys and judges are authorized to sentence them with 25 years to life regardless of whether the third felony is violent or serious. For example, under State Law a petty thief with a prior petty conviction is vulnerable to the 3 Strikes Law.

The enactment of the 3 Strikes Law was an emotional and irrational response to the murder of Polly Kauss by ex-felon Richard Allen Davis, who had a history of 3 decades of violent felonies. The Conservatives used this murder as an opportunity to fuel fear and pass the 3 Strikes Law. The emotional and irrational response to a death led to wild and irrational prison sentences.

People have been severely and harshly sentenced by the 3 Strikes Law. Over 3000 inmates have received sentences of 25 to life for non-violent and non-serious felonies. Make no mistake: everyone in the in Belly of the Beast and Behind the Wall is guilty. Many individuals are represented by overworked, underpaid and sometimes incompetent public defenders that fail to explain defendants' rights, or might simply escort them to their slaughter. The rich and the well-off have the resources to hire a private attorney to represent them the most effectively. The rich never spend time in jail awaiting trial because they have the resources to bail out of jail. On many occasions, young and less sophisticated innocent defendants plea guilty even when they are not guilty because the D.A. offers to let them go or gives them a short prison sentence. These young people only realize after they're arrested again that they just sold their souls with the previous guilty conviction.

Many brothers and sisters have changed, with the story of Malcolm X as an example of such a transformation. Many of my friends are now responsible fathers, grandfathers, brothas, sistas, uncles and relatives, who have committed crimes in the past that are classified as serious and/or violent and face the possibility of serving 25 to life for non-violent and petty offenses.

There is that old axiom, “come to California on vacation, and leave on probation.” This statement shows the overzealous nature of the Police Department and District Attorneys that has always harmed us, the poor and People of Color. The 3 Strikes Law has been used as a tool to get innocent folks to plead guilty to crimes they have not committed. If defendants are eligible for sentencing under the 3 Strikes Law, the D.A. will offer a plea bargain; they plead guilty and receive a sentence for a crime they did not commit because of the threat of receiving a 25 to Life sentence.

It has been said California spends $55,000 to incarcerate someone, and many feel that these resources could be better spent. It is difficult to argue with this logic, but regardless of what the cost is we should be against the 3 Strikes Law because the law negatively effects our communities regardless of the cost. The passage of the 3 Strikes of Law is part of the War on Communities Color and the criminalization of poverty. The results of a draconian law are defendants getting 25 to life sentence for allegedly stealing a slice of pizza, a carton of cigarettes and/or 3 golf clubs. This law operated part and parcel with the War on Drugs, which was a war on Latinos and Black folks.

The repeal of the 3 Strikes Law with Proposition 36 will take a tool the away from the Police and D.A.s that have been used to oppressing low-income and People of Color Communities. Any respite from the oppression of racism and capitalism on poor folks is worth voting for. So I say yes on Proposition 36.

Dear Relatives,



This letter is written on behalf of Lehman Brightman, a Sioux/Creek Indian who in the Lakota term is an icke wicasa, or common man, and lives by 

--An interview with Tessa Murphy

“California Department of Corrections/PBSP-SHU policies and practices, have violated our human rights and subjected us to torture – for the purpose of coercing inmates into becoming informants against other inmates, etc., for the state,” writes one prisoner held in solitary at California’s infamous supermax Pelican Bay State Prison. This excerpt of his letter to the internationally renowned human rights organization, Amnesty International, is featured in Amnesty’s new report on the use of prolonged solitary confinement inside California’s ‘Security Housing Units’ (SHUs), entitled The Edge of Endurance: Conditions in California’s Security Housing Units.

The Amnesty report states that “no other US state is believed to have held so many prisoners for such long periods in indefinite isolation.” At least 3,000 California prisoners are being held today in an extreme form of solitary confinement known as “super maximum” custody. Furthermore, the CDCR reported in 2011 that over 500 prisoners had spent over ten years in the Pelican Bay SHU, with 78 having spent over 20 years there. Explaining the recent emergence of SHUs, Amnesty writes that “California was at the forefront of moves to toughen penalties, and its prison population escalated during the 1980s and 1990s following the introduction of some of the nation’s harshest sentencing laws. Once a leader in the philosophy of rehabilitation, California also passed legislation which expressly described punishment rather than rehabilitation as the central aim of imprisonment. Pelican Bay SHU, which opened in 1989, was one of the first super-maximum security facilities specifically designed to be ‘non- programming,’ that is, constructed with no communal space for recreation, education or any other group activity.”

In the Summer of 2011, prisoners held inside the Pelican Bay SHU initiated a multi-racial hunger strike that began on July 1 and spread throughout California’s prisons. While the Pelican Bay strikers declared victory on July 20, other prisoners around the states continued for up to several weeks longer. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reported that at least 6,600 prisoners in at least one third of California’s 33 prisons participated in the hunger strike. Ending the use of prolonged solitary confinement was one of the strike’s five core demands.

“Following concern among prisoners about what they perceived as a lack of progress in

implementing changes, the hunger strike resumed briefly in late September 2011, but was

called off after meetings between prisoner representatives and CDCR and further assurances that CDCR would institute changes. While no disciplinary action had been taken against the first hunger strikers, the second hunger strike was treated by CDCR as a major rule violation and some prisoners were punished by having their property and canteen privileges confiscated. Fifteen of the strike leaders were reportedly moved to harsh conditions in administrative segregation cells for a short period,” writes Amnesty International in their new report.

The CDCR has responded to the striking prisoners’ demands with their own proposals. Amnesty critiques the CDCR’s proposed reforms, arguing that “the reforms do not go far enough. There are continuing concerns about both the fairness of the procedures for assigning prisoners to what could still be indefinite SHU terms, and about the length of time in which prisoners will remain in solitary confinement…. While measures to reduce the number of prisoners held in security housing units are a positive step, in Amnesty International’s view the proposals should ensure that only prisoners who present a clear and present threat, who cannot be safely housed in a less secure setting are assigned to the SHU. Given the serious consequences of SHU confinement, the authorities should ensure that STG [Security Threat Group] validations are based on a thorough and impartial investigation, and only with concrete evidence of gang-related activity posing such a clear and present threat; that prisoners have a fair opportunity to contest the evidence; and that such decisions are subject to regular, meaningful review.”

When these concerns were raised “during Amnesty International’s meetings with CDCR staff in November 2011, the department stressed that there were inmates in the SHU with serious gang connections, but acknowledged that they ‘over-validated’ and that there were prisoners in the SHU who did not warrant such a restrictive level of housing. CDCR also acknowledged that there were people assigned to the SHU as gang associates who had no direct role in gang activity. CDCR stated that the reforms under consideration were aimed at making the system fairer as well as targeting resources more effectively, taking into account the high cost of SHU confinement and the need to manage a tight budget. Amnesty International was told that the process would ultimately reduce the SHU population to ensure that only prisoners who could not be safely housed in a less secure setting would be assigned to the SHU.”

The bottom line of this important new report: “Amnesty International considers that the conditions of isolation and other deprivations imposed on prisoners in California’s SHU units breach international standards on humane treatment, and that prolonged or indefinite isolation, and the severe social and environmental deprivation existing in Pelican Bay SHU in particular, constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in violation of international law.”

Unfortunately, getting the US to respect international law is not as clear-cut as the act of documenting human rights violations. Notably, The Edge of Endurance explains: “The USA has sought to limit the application of international human rights law in its conduct by entering reservations to article 7 of the ICCPR [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] and article 16 of the Convention against Torture as a condition of ratifying the treaties. The reservations state that the US considers itself bound by the articles only to the extent that ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ means the ‘cruel and unusual treatment or punishment’ prohibited under the US Constitution. Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the USA to withdraw its reservations as defeating the object and purpose of the treaties in question and therefore incompatible with international law.”

Last week, on October 10, following a public call to end racial hostilities among California prisoners, another hunger strike was initiated at Pelican Bay, with 500 prisoners statewide participating, according to the CDCR.

Tessa Murphy is the campaigner for the USA team at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International. She has provided the research for and worked on Amnesty's reports on supermax prisons and solitary confinement through her visits to a number of prisons, including the recent visit to California SHUs as part of the team that published the report cited above, entitled The Edge of Endurance. She also authored Amnesty's special report on the Angola 3, entitled USA: 100 years in solitary: ‘The Angola 3’ and their fight for justice.

A3N:     In our introduction to this interview, we cite several key aspects of the recent Amnesty International report about SHUs in California. As someone who visited these prisons as part of the Amnesty delegation, what did you learn about them first hand that perhaps can’t be conveyed in a written report? What did the SHUs feel like?

TM:     It is hard to convey the sense of desolation in the SHU's. From the moment you step foot in the SHU, the senses are assailed by artificial lights, stale air and muted silence.

Off long drab corridors, prisoners are isolated from each other in pods of eight cells; these pods are self-contained with a shower and recreation yard, so that, with few exceptions, they rarely leave the pod.

This bleak environment of tiny windowless cells where little natural light infiltrates, few personal possessions, no programming to offset the boredom, out of cell time in ‘outdoor’ yard with a view of a patch of sky, minimum human contact, and a view out of the cell of a dirty white wall is the totality of the prisoners' world.

A3N:     Accounts of the prisoners themselves are featured throughout your report. When it came to deciding which topics to focus on in your report, to what extent were you influenced by the striking Pelican Bay prisoners?

TM:     AI's report on California is part of a body of work on conditions in prison isolation units in the USA; including Arizona, and Texas as being of particular concern. When we began our research into conditions in California’s SHUs, a number of issues became apparent very quickly; First that there were a large number of inmates who had been held in the SHU for very long periods of time, secondly, that the majority of inmates in the SHU were being placed there for alleged gang affiliation/membership, thirdly, that there was no step-down system to allow these individuals to transition out of the SHU, and fourthly that physical conditions, particularly in Pelican Bay, were very harsh. Based on this initial research, the organization requested access to California SHU units before the prisoners initiated the hunger strikes.

When the strike began, we were contacted by members of the mediation group who made us aware of the prisoners’ demands. During the course of researching the report, we were in close contact with the mediation team, as well as families and friends of inmates held in the SHUs, as well as with lawyers, as well as state employees, including legislators as well as grass roots groups. Of course, we also sought information from CDCR.

A3N:     The Amnesty report states that “the growth of super-maximum security facilities has been linked to the huge rise in the numbers of people incarcerated in the USA from the late 1970s onwards, together with a shift away from rehabilitation as a goal of imprisonment to more emphasis on punishment and control.” Can you say more about how mass incarceration and prolonged solitary confinement relate to each other? Why did they rise together?

TM:     The prison population in the USA has quadrupled since 1980; this has come about due not to rising crime but to harsher sentencing policies that emanated out of a "get tough on crime" attitude pervasive in the 90's, such as three-strikes law, truth in sentencing laws, as well as mandatory minimums.

Supermaximum prisons were borne out of this need by elected officials need to be seen to be tough on crime, as well as to respond to the needs of an increasingly overcrowded prison system. The first such prison to be built, designed with social and environment deprivation inbuilt was SMU 1 in Eyman State prison in Arizona, this was the prototype for Pelican Bay Prison, built in 1989. Many states followed in building their own supermax prison, and many retrofitted current prisons to supermax criteria of holding prisoners in isolation with minimum social interaction for prolonged periods.

States rationalized the building of these prisons with the argument that only by the large scale isolation of the "worst of the worst" prisoners, could violence be controlled throughout the prison system. However, studies have shown that predatory violent prisoners are but a small proportion of those held in isolation, which is replete with individuals with mental illness, persistent rule breakers and those alleged to be in a gang.

A3N:     With over 2.4 million prisoners today, the US now has the most total prisoners and the highest incarceration rate in the world. Much of the world has rightly condemned the US for the well-documented torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, but what do you think the state of human rights inside prisons within US borders says about the US?

TM:     The US does have the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. It also is the only country that uses prolonged isolation as a routine prison management tool in prisons built for this purpose. This reliance on long term isolation has profound consequences; first, it costs significantly more to house a prisoner in isolation than it does to house them in general population; secondly, the focus on punishment, rather than rehabilitation, that forms the backbone of this prison tool, has severely negative consequences on the prisoner—from mental and physical health, to their success in positively reintegrating back into society. So the costs on society are huge in both financial and other terms.

The conditions and policies of supermax prisons that affect over 30,000 prisoners across the country, falls short of international laws and treaties governing the humane treatment of prisoners, to which the US is a party. This casts a large shadow over any claim by the US administration that it is a champion of human rights.

A3N:     In two previous interviews (1,2) we covered the case before the European Court of Human Rights, of Babar Ahmad and Others v The United Kingdom. Recently the Court ruled against the co-appellants, who are fighting extradition to the US on grounds that the US tortures prisoners, which writer Chris Hedges has argued, “removes one of the last external checks on our emerging gulag state.” What do you think is the significance of this Court ruling for the US, Europe, and beyond?

TM:     Although the ruling denied the appeal, it conceded that there were circumstances in which prolonged incarceration in ADX could amount to a breach of Article 3. It accepted that there were sufficient safeguards in these particular cases on the basis of information provided the US government while largely disregarding the submissions provided by the lawyers for the applicants. We will be following the actual conditions under which these prisoners are held post-extradition.  See this link to the statement AI issued last week.

In terms of the ruling having broader consequences for other cases, each new case that comes before the court will need to be examined on its specific facts and evidence. When it comes to obligation of non refoulement (no transfer to risk of human rights violations of different kinds) a large part of the analysis in each case is highly specific to the evidence in the particular case.

A3N:     Shifting to another campaign you’ve worked on, why is Amnesty International calling forthe release of Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace of the Angola 3 from solitary confinement?

TM:    Amnesty has been working on the case of the A3 for over a decade; however it became a priority case in recent years when the focus of our work shifted to the issue of long term isolation in US prisons. Our support for the case rests on a number of issues: first that they have been held for such a long period in conditions of deprivation; that the process for reviewing their placement in these conditions is no more than a rubber stamping exercise by prison authorities; that serious questions exist about the legitimacy of the legal process - including the evidence used to convict them, the lack of DNA evidence to link them to the crime; and that their political beliefs may in part be responsible for their continued placement in solitary, and even for the charges originally brought against them.

Both men are in their late sixties, the decades of incarceration has debilitated them physically, they have no disciplinary violations, they have never demonstrated that they are a threat to the safety of the prison – or to others, or themselves (and this was confirmed by prison mental health staff). Do they conform to the definition of the “worst of the worst” predatory inmates for whom prolonged detention in solitary confinement is the only administrative option? No, far from it, and yet there they remain after 40 years.

A3N:     How did Amnesty’s choose the title for the video-interview with Robert King, Slavery Still Reigns in US Prisons?

TM:     The title comes from a quote by Robert that despite the abolition of slavery in the USA, the 13th Amendment legalizes slavery in US prisons.

A3N:     Were you surprised that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal refused to meet with the Amnesty International delegation that hand-delivered a 67,000 signature petition to his office on April 17, 2012?

TM:     No, we weren’t surprised that he didn’t meet with the delegation as he hasn’t engaged at all with AI on this case. In July 2011, we wrote to him asking that we meet to discuss the case at the soonest possible opportunity. He chose not to respond.

A3N:     AI responded to Gov. Jindal by launching a newer petition targeting James M. LeBlanc, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. What was your strategic thinking behind targeting the Dept of corrections?

TM:     Over the years, a number of statements have been made by authorities involved in this case that are not supported by evidence. This includes statements by Attorney General James Caldwell that Albert Woodfox is “the most dangerous man on the planet” as well as being a violent rapist. Albert’s prison conduct does not support Caldwell’s first statement, and Albert has never been charged with – let alone convicted of rape. And yet, Caldwell is not held to account for such assertions.

We decided to target James le Blanc because he issued a statement on the anniversary of Albert and Herman’s 40th year of incarceration, that they were being held separately from other prisoners to protect prison employees, other inmates and visitors. Yet neither man has had any serious prison infraction for decades, and the prison’s own mental health records indicate that neither man pose a threat to themselves or to others. So, we decided to hold Secretary Le Blanc to account, and ask him for the evidence behind this claim.

--To begin rectifying these human rights abuses, Amnesty is urging California authorities to:

• Limit the use of isolation units so that is it imposed only as a last resort in the case of prisoners whose behaviour constitutes a severe and ongoing threat to the safety of others.
• Improve conditions for all prisoners held in isolation units, including better exercise provision and an opportunity for more human contact for prisoners, even at the most restrictive custody levels.
• Allow prisoners in isolation units to make regular phone calls to their families. 
• Reduce the length of the Step Down Program and providing meaningful access to programs where prisoners have an opportunity for some group contact and interaction with others at an earlier stage.
• Immediate removal from isolation of prisoners who have already spent years in those units.

--Angola 3 News is an official project of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3. Our website is www.angola3news.com, where we provide the latest news about the Angola 3. Additionally we are also creating our own media projects, which spotlight the issues central to the story of the Angola 3, like racism, repression, prisons, human rights, solitary confinement as torture, and more. Our articles and videos have been published by Alternet, Truthout, Black Commentator, SF Bay View Newspaper, Counterpunch, Monthly Review, Z Magazine, Indymedia, and many others.

PNN-TV/PNN-Toronto speaks with R3 Collective- indigenous resistance, culture, performance and art from Toronto. Check out their medicine.

This PNN-TV segement features sounds from Cherish Blood, and interviews with Ill Na Na, and Sedina Fiati

I had just seen a news report telling of a catamaran collapsing and sinking into San Francisco Bay.  The mast, the sum of parts that made up this vessel seemed to tangle in the rise and fall of water which made it appear as unstable and flimsy as a cheap umbrella in a rainstorm.  The reporter indicated that the catamaran was part of Team Oracle, part of the big to-do known as the America’s cup.  The dramatic images make for good TV but I couldn’t get emotionally attached like so many millions over this spectacle--the fate of this symbol of rich man’s watersports—with accompanying privilege and arrogance-was something I couldn’t care less about.  Shortly after the newscast, I spoke to a friend who summed up my feelings about the sinking catamaran and the America’s Cup:  “Please tell me Larry Ellison was on that boat”.  Was he?

While these folks made it to the six o’clock news, flaunting said wealth and privilege, African descended elder and native San Franciscan Kathy Galves tries to maintain a roof over her head.  Ms. Galves lost her home of 40 years to foreclosure.  Ms. Galves, a black woman, a black elder trying to stay in the city of her birth.  A city whose mandate to erase the black community that was conceived and hatched by the agents of redevelopment and business long ago, a city whose black exodus is a mark of its shame, an exodus that is killing the heart and soul of the city.

However, you won’t see Ms. Galves story on the news.  Eviction of black elders in the city doesn’t seem to be newsworthy to those who own and control media, at least, not as newsworthy as Larry Ellison’s boat.  Ms. Galves now stays in a motel and is a step away from houselessness.  The owner of the motel tried to evict her after 30 days residence—the period in which she would establish tenant’s rights in the city of San Francisco.  Ms.Galves walks with a dignity that cannot be sunk, her eyes still holding light, unsinkable in the arid landscape of gentrifiers and corporate unaccountability.

Ms. Galves story is more important than the sinking catamaran with the oracle logo.  It holds more meaning than all those boats on the bay and everything they stand for.  Their lack of dignity and humility—floating on the bay—is a blight on our city, an eye sore to those with eyes who see a city losing its spirit, its heart, its soul.

Ms. Galves moves forward, dignity in place—looking for a place to call home, in a city that is her home, yet filled with exiles and those displaced in a city that was their birthplace, a birthplace of dreams, an escape from Jim Crow terror to become the blueprint model for gentrification.

Kathy Galves—let her name ring out in every corner, every rooftop, every street, every inch of the city.  We are not going to forget.

(Image of Ruyata Akio McGlothlin and Joseph Bolden(seated) at the Poor Peoples District 5 Candidate forum sponsored by POOR Magazine and the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper)

I'm Joe, a po' strugglin' black man and this is my attempt at a voter guide- with a note- Alot of my African -American ancestors died fighting for my right to vote-so i think this is our duty!

This is a run through of most if not all the Propositions on our ballot from 30 to 40.

My Source: Official Voter Information Guide or Book of The
California General Election (and lil ole me!)

Prop. 30 Temporary taxes to find Education Guaranteed local Public Safety Funding
Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Vote Yes: The state will increase personal taxes on high income tax payers for
seven years. The new tax revenues would be available to fund programs in the
state budget.

Vote No: The state would not increase personal income taxes or state taxes,
state spending reductions primarily to education programs, would take effect in
2012-'13.

Prop. 31 State Budget. State and Local Government. Initiative Constitutional
Amendment and Statutes.

Vote Yes: Certain Fiscal responsibilities of the legislature and Governor, including
state and local budgeting oversite procedures, would change. Local governments
that creates plans to coordinate services would receive funding from the state and
could develope their own procedures for administering state programs.

Vote No: Badly flawed initiative that locks expensive and conflicting provision into the
constitution causing lawsuits, confusion, and cost. 31 threatens public health, the
environment, prevents future increases in funding for schools, and blocks tax cuts.
Teachers, Police, conservationists, tax reformers vote on Prop. 31.

Prop. 32 Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction. Contributions to Candidates,
Initiative Statue.

Vote Yes: Unions and Corporations cannot use money deducted from employees
paychecks for political purpose.

Vote No: Unions and Corporations keep taking from employee paychecks for
political purposes.

Prop. 34 Death Penalty, Initiative Statute.

Yes Vote: No offender could be sentenced to death under the law but re-sentenced
to life without the possibility of payroll.

No Vote: No change to offenders the Death Penalty stands.

Prop. 35 Human Trafficking, Penalties. Initiatives Statute.

Vote Yes: Longer prison sentences, larger finds for committing Human Trafficking
crimes.

Vote No: Existing criminal penalties for human trafficking would stay in effect.

Prop. 36 Three Strikes Law. Repeat felony offenders. Penalties Initiative State.

Yes Vote: Means some criminal offenders with two prior or violent felony convictions
who commit certain non-serious, non-violent felonies would be sentenced to shorter
terms in state prison.

No Vote: Three Strikes Law stays as is with two strikes violent felony criminals
continue to serve longer or life sentences for third non-violent felonies no change in
three strikes law.

Prop. 37 Genetically Modified (Engineered) Foods, Labeling Initiative Statute.

Yes Vote: Means Genetically Engineered Foods sold in California would have to be
 specifically labled as being genetically engineered.

No Vote: Means Genetically Engineered Food would not have specific labeling
requirements.

Prop. 38 Tax to Fund Education and Early Childhood Programs. Initiative Statute.

Vote Yes: Personal income tax rates increase for 12 years. The Additional revenues
would be used for school, childcare, preschool, and state debt payments.

Vote No: Means State personal income tax rates would remain at their current levels.

Prop: 39 Tax Treatment For Multi State Businesse. Clean Energy And Efficiency Funding.
Initiative Statute.

Yes Vote: Means Multi State Businesses would no longer be able to choose the mothod
for determining their state taxable income that is most advantageous for them.

No Vote: Means Multi State Businesses continue choosing which method one or two to
determine their California taxable.

Prop: 40 Redistricting. State Senate Districts. Referendum.

Yes Vote: Means State Senate district boundaries certified by Citizen's Redistricting
Commission would be continued to be used.

No Vote: Means the California Supreme Court would appoint (special masters) to
determine new state senate district boundaries.

I’m Papa Bear. That’s my alias. My real name is Abdullah. What’s coming down on the street - I know you’ve seen it in the papers - is Sit/Lie laws are starting to be enforced in the Haight area and big time in the Tenderloin.

The shelter beds were full. I slept in an alley. I was arrested. I had to accept the Judge’s ruling. One year probation, and a stay away order from the alley I slept in. If I’m caught in the alley I slept in, I get a year in county jail.

Having your freedom taken away is the worst thing that can happen to you. Someone telling you what to do - I’m my own man.

I’m a double Vet. I spent 2 years in the army, 2 years in the Marine and too many years in Vietnam. I fought hard and worked hard for this country. I died for this country. In Vietnam, I woke up on a cot and they took me to surgery for 56 hours. I’m still hurting.

Sit/Lie law is not joke. They are promoting it big time. Enforcing it big time. In the Tenderloin, there are more black and whites (cop cars), more undercover, and everyone is enforcing Sit/Lie.

People are scared. They’re terrified. You want to speak out, but people are scared. So many undercover, people are like, “man, we scared” - but you got to go to sleep soon, where you gonna go?

[ Editors Note: Support Berkeley Homeless & Low Income Kids @ Upcoming School Board Meeting on October 24 @ 7.30 pm ]

I am a poor, African-American single parent, who did not graduate from a 4-year college.  Neither of my parents obtained a college degree.  Not one person in my family has attended a 4-year college. A quality education can give racial minorities, low-income individuals and women opportunities they may not otherwise have. 

When my daughter started out at Berkeley High School, I was scared. BHS is the largest high school in the Bay Area, and it was known for its Racial Achievement Gap at the time, which is the largest in California. 

Now she's in her senior year, and she has performed at an exceptional level at the Berkeley High International School.  She will have the opportunity to attend the college of her choice. A quick analysis her high school performance:  She sits well within the top quartile of all students in the country as far SAT Scores, she is a 3-year varsity wrestler, with a high G.P.A., and a list of extra curricular activities.  So she has done well, but she has had a zealous and vigilant advocate in me, offering her the guidance she would not have received from Berkeley High School staff.

During her education she was eligible for the free lunch program, and received assistance under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Educational Act.  I know my daughter's performance is hers, but I wonder where she would be without the assistance she received under the McKinney-Vento Act.  Many students at BHS owe their graduation and success to the assistance under this law.   

The federal government enacted a statute over 30 years ago to assist homeless families and students in obtaining an education.  The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act, more formally known as Title 42 § 11341 et. seq., mandates that states and local school districts break down and eliminate all barriers to homeless students enrollment, success and participation. In addition, local school districts must do outreach at shelters, and where there are homeless students and families. Is Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) performing its duty?  An example of their failures, as when we were having habitability issues at our home, and my daughter was hospitalized because she was ill. When she turned in an assignment late, her teacher refused to credit her for that assignment, causing her a “B” grade instead of an “A.”  So I don't think the staff at BHS has an understanding of what poor students go through, and I believe many of them don't care.   

At a time when homelessness has increased in the nation, BUSD is slashing funds to implement programs that assist its McKinney-Vento families.  The “Berkeley High School Self Study” for Western Association and School and College (WASC) illustrates tales of two high schools, one for the African-American and Latino students and another for Asian and Caucasian students. 

In America you can speak about racism without speaking about race. Income does play a role the Berkeley High Racial Achievement Gap.  They lead the state in the Gap.  Not all Black and Brown students are eligible for services under the McKinney-Vento Act. However, the majority of the students receiving assistance under the act are Black and Brown. Examples of these mathematical disparities are: the GPAs of African-American and Latino students are 1 full point average less than White students at BHS, and SAT scores for African-American and Latino Students are nearly 500 points less than their White counterparts.

They never look through the lens of struggling students that may lack material needs. For example, I have seen many students enrolled math classes in which graphing calculators are necessary that cost 90 bucks, and they fail the class because they can't afford to purchase one.  Or how about when some teacher mandates the class homework be performed on the internet, when students lack consistent housing, let alone access to a computer or internet. Many low-income and homeless students lack the material resources to perform the most rudimentary in many of their classes.   

If BHS was in compliance with the McKinney-Vento Act, and keeping track of its homeless students as they are required to do by the Act, they would have data on who is homeless. The numbers in their own reports show that the economically disadvantaged are suffering. What does the district do? They cuttings funds that are meant assist homeless students. 

Does BUSD understand the struggles of low-income students? Does BHS attempt to guide our children through the maze of Berkeley High School?  According to the BHS WASC report my people are struggling.  The Achievement Gap shows how the BUSD in general and BHS specifically are crushing the economically weak.  They perpetuate the racial and income inequalities of America.  Only when threatened by WASC with possible loss of accreditation has Berkeley High explored the possibility assisting some of its most needy students.        

On September 19, 2012, at a BUSD Board Meeting, I spoke on how I have seen many kids who have benefited from receiving assistance under the McKinney-Vento Act, but by no means was the implementation of this law funded adequately.  Reducing the  funding will have drastic and dramatic effects on students in BUSD eligible to receive services under the act.  The BUSD board members were alarmed and worried about the reduction of McKinney-Vento Act funding, and decided to bring up the issue before the Board again on October 24, 2012, at 7.30 pm.  The community needs your support!  Please come and attend!!!

Many of these same kids are the homeless kids on the streets in Berkeley. The ones City Council wants to stop from sitting on the streets.  When we have city schools that are fulfilling their legal responsibility to their most needy students, and when these students fail to graduate, they find legal mechanisms to attempt to purge the streets of the City of Berkeley.  The street kids are the result of failed social and economic policies.  The passage of Measure S would make the result of these economic policies invisible.

For over 10 years of my life, starting when I was 11 and my mama became disabled and unable to work, we struggled with different forms of houselessness. Sometimes we would scrape together enough money to afford a cheap motel, sometimes we would squat a storefront with no heating, or electricity, freezing at night and/or burning ourselves almost to death with mini fires ( I still have the scars). But  most of the time we resided in our car. In every one of these scenarios we were criminalized, watching for cops/sheriffs, “landlords” and/or security gaurds, always there to protect the most valuable resource in AMerikkkka; private property.

In the end, when I was 18 I was incarcerated for the act of being houseless in Amerikkka and for the crime of sleeping on the streets without paying “rent” or having a piece of paper stating that we "owned" the stolen land we were on.

I reflect on all of this pain now with the fight to bring the insane, hate-filled, 21^st century version of the Dickensian pauper laws into the allegedly progressive Berkeley in the proposition S, backed by businesses, mini-corporate interests and the politrickster mayor of Berkeley currently in office. This law would make it (more) illegal to sit or lie in Berkeley streets.

Because of revolutionaries like attorney Osha Neuman and my fierce Black-indian mama who never gave up, no matter what, I am conscious and alive today, but in all of those years, the criminalization, the endless citations, harassment and eventual incarceration caused me so much trauma that I still suffer today. And in many instances, tried to take my own life due to that trauma.

Fighting for Proposition S we have the 21^st century settlement house workers and missionaries like Options Recovery founder Davida Cody saying this will “help” (read: save) all of us poor people because it will force an “intervention” on all the “drug addicts” who sit on the street in Berkeley.

My mama and me never used any substances, drugs or alcohol. We couldn’t afford it. If we did we wouldn't have had enough to pay for the meager food we would score at corner liquor stores and discount supermarkets. And no matter how many times we were "helped" with incarceration it never made a difference in our impossible struggle with poverty and houselessness.

As I read a beautiful op-ed  recently published in the SF Bay Guardian by Osha Neuman, entitled The Return of the Ugly Laws, I was reminded of the insane way that the non-profit industrial complex, places like Options Recovery and others, literally makes profit off the broken backs of us poor folks, and when Cody fights for the so-called “helping” aspect of Proposition S, she is following in the footsteps of what Susan Schweik points out in her book entitled the Ugly Laws, gathering as many of us up through criminalization so she can get paid by the county for filling the beds in her recovery homes, aka make a profit.

How did we get here? Because capitalism is based on products and consumption and poor people and our multiple problems and the ways we are intentionally kept poor and denied access to reparations as African Peoples, indigenous peoples, im/migrant peoples for all the work, time, blood, sweat, struggle, resources, land and labor we have given or that was stolen from us, to make a few people profit is NEVER considered, because if it was it would throw off the peaceful lie of exploitation that occurs silently everyday in Amerikkka.

Prop S is a lie, like all of the other sit-lie lies (laws) that proceeded it in cities like Santa Cruz, Santa Monica and San Francisco. Or the Ugly Laws, Pauper laws and debtor prisons from the past. It is just about poor people getting hated and scape-goated because its easy to do so and because in the US we have a myth about the existence of poverty. If we can't see it, it must not be there.

And besides there are ALOT of non-profit plantations, prison plantations and corporate plantations there to make money on our increased harassment, incarceration, "saving" and "treatment".

Native American Elder and Spiritual Leader Fred Wahpepah and his wife Laura are currently facing houselessness. This is part of the United Snakes of America’s continual culture-cide and genocide perpetrated on Native Americans.

Fred is 82 years old. They are living on a fixed income which recently was disrupted due to some bureaucratic bullshit. Now their monthly mortgage payments are approximately 5 times their income. Besides needing money to keep theor house, Fred had fibromaialgia, limited mobility, and heart disease and needs 13 medications and supplements. Laura has limietd mobility from an injury, and Fred needs full time care. The house needs serious work, including a new roof and taking care of mold problems which must be taken care of immediately. Their vehicles are old and tired.

Fred is consistent in leading sweats, ceremonies, and showing up for sobriety talks. This work is deeply needed in his communities and the entire world -  passing on traditions that are targeted for extinction. We must all support him so that he doesn’t stop a day before he has to.  This means making sure he has everything he needs, including the house - other wise he will be forced to move back to Oklahoma and not be able to spend time sharing his spiritual leadership.

Please donate and think of people you can ask for donations. Through monthly sustainers, we can raise Fred and Laura’s rent and medical money every month. There are also other types of support needed - to find out more contact ________

Biographical Sketch

We are fortunate to be living in an age when many people are seeking to re-establish meaning in their lives. While some are finding new paths for spiritual enrichment, many are also looking toward the more ancient traditions found in the indigenous cultures of our continent.

Fred Wahpepah, a Native American elder living in Richmond, California, is providing an opportunity for a growing community of people to participate in traditional ceremonies from  the Native American heritage. Born in rural Oklahoma in 1930, Fred is of the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox tribes. In 1975, he attended his first Native American spiritual gathering since his childhood. This inspired hum to spend the next sixteen years “on the road” studying with tribal elders and participating in ceremonies throughout the North American continent. He began carrying the Sacred Pipe in 1978 and has been involved in the Sacred Sundance Ceremony every year since 1979.

His life is now dedicated to the INdian ways and to the reawakening and preservation of the Earth-centered spirituality of his forebears, with a special interest in sharing native wisdom with people from all nations. By conducting traditional Sweat Lodge and Pipe Ceremonies, as well as leading “VIsion Quests.” Fred is galvanizing a community of people interested in nurturing and supporting each other on their spiritual paths.

Through classroom presentations, lectures and workshops, this respected elder educates and inspires children and adults to the present day importance of traditional spirituality and reverence for our Earth. His gift for speaking is reflected in his use of storytelling and warm interaction with his listeners. Fred is committed to serving the community with his compassion, skills, and knowledge.

My Perspective on What Elders Are

My definition of an Elder: A revered relative who is a link to our old ways, a teacher who brings lessons and food for thought. Elders teach in a way that gives us an opportunity to use our gifts of sight, hearing, mind and heart. An Elder is someone that - because of their rich life - has patience, tolerance, compassion and insights. They are also more vulnerable. Their bodies are more tired, they usually live with chronic pain, and they really care. They are always concerned about children, youth and all people finding a good spiritual path.

It has been said that our Elders and small children are closer to the Creator. They live in the Southerly direction - the “Path of the Creator.” They’re color-blind, like to play, have a great sense of humor, are soft spoken and have a great deal of dignity. Everyone learns from mistakes an Elders are no exception. Whenever they feel a need to “prompt” someone, it’s done with total love. Some of them can get grouchy and appear to be fools. Pay Attention!

Talking with an Elder from home, he said, “Wish I’d paid more attention to my old folks when I was young. I was too busy playing.” Once I told my elder Aunt, “It sure must  be great to have lived as long as you have and be a respected Elder. (She was 88 years old.) She told me, “Naw, it’s not that great - it hurts too much.” Another time I wanted to visit with a clan Elder and learn from him. He wrote directions to his home, and then turned to my son and daughter and had a nice chat with the. I waited, as I wanted an appointment. After we left, it dawned on me -- he had given me directions, I could come anytime.

Who are Elders? At home in Oklahoma at the tribal community center Christmas, the onese who are 50 years old and older are acknowledged with special gifts. They are also on the list for all the “Elder activities” in the tribe. When your Mother and Father have gone to the Spirit World and there is nobody in your family older than you, that generation has moved on and you are an Elder. You are an Elder if in your travels to spiritual gatherings and ceremonies you look around to see you are probably the oldest of one of the oldest. Young grandparents can be considered “Elder Trainees.: If someone is a day older than you, they have had one more day of life than you. The lakes, rivers, mountains and trees are teachers and elders. Elders serve the people, they have an open door to an open heart. They walk in humbleness and walk in truth. They deserve our love and respect as they are our role models. Much inspiration comes through them.

Elders die a lot from heartache as they see the old ways going, the children being disrespectful, and Mother Earth being hurt. How should we treat our Elders? Help make life easier for them. It’s a fair exchange; they did the same for their Elders.

-- by Fred Wahpepah

(image of Mrs. Martha Hollins, life-long resident of the FIllmore district and advocate speaking her truths to the candidates)

"We went to city Hall over 65 times last year and at the end of the day we got no support from the City for our young people," said Martha Hollins, mama and auntie to many at the Plaza East Housing Complex in the (post-gentrified) Fillmore district of San Francisco. I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs Hollins because my sister-mama/welfareQUEEN, Queenandi XSheba and I were talking about what to do about the violence and ongoing death and disconnection that this majority Afrikan peoples community faces daily and how maybe we could bring some desperately needed attention to the neighborhood through a candidate forum.

"I am schooling every young person who stands in front of my house," QueenNandi explained to me as she and i spoke like we do weekly and daily about what we can do as mamaz in resistance about the strong young Black and Brown folks who stand on corners in this neighborhood (undergoing a new wave of gentriFUkation) and often end up dying behind rampant gun violence.

Mrs. Hollins, Queenandi and I and all of the POOR Magazine poverty, race, disability, migrant, indigenous, youth and elder skolaz and artists did end up deciding to host a candidate forum right there in the "Housin' project community room. Our night was full of community voices and cultural art ( cause that's how we roll, even a candidate forum don't got to be boring) so we had spoken word, poetry and performance from the Po Poets project and welfareQUEEN's which includes life-long Fillmore residents, Queenandi, Jewnbug, Ruyata, Tony Robles, and family from all over the bay in solidarity, as well as the Village Time-Keeper - cause at POOR Magazine we really ARE the Village that so many politricksters talk about- a poor people-led,indigenous peoples- led self-determined revolution.

And the night had most of the candidates, Christina Olague, London Breed, Julian Davis, Thea Selby and Andrew Resignato who all spoke their platforms and answered communities' questions.

"I am from here, grew up right down the street raised by my grandmother," London Breed stood up and told her story and vowed to bring resources to Plaza East.

"I have been organizing with low-income communities of color for a long time, I didnt just invent myself as an organizer, I am committed to listening and supporting this district, incumbant Christina Olague declared 

I am a mother, its why i got into politics, I am also a small business-owner committed to this district, " Thea Selby said.

"I will be organizing and keeping my door in City Hall open, I have a long-time track record of working in the community as an organizer", Julian Davis said

"I really care about poverty, thank-you for naming it, it needs to be spoken directly about," said ANdrew Resignato.

“Our kids can’t go outside and play,” said Mario Rogers, son of revolutionary ancestor Maria Rogers who worked tirelessly against the deep and wrong displacement that happened to Afrikan peoples and Filipino peoples and Japanese peoples of the Fillmore thanks to the wrongology of San FRancisco Re-Devil-opment agency moves in the 1960's and 70's

In the end, the night was fast and furious, people were angry. Black children and elders are dying every week in this neighborhood. And Voices were defintely heard. Not always an easy pill for candidates to swallow but big love to all that came and stayed and listened.

From our perspective at POOR Magazine, we believe that as poor, indigenous, landless peoples we need to create our own self-determined futures. With our meager resources (cuz POOR is in Fack Po', ) we did this event to make sure that this silenced community is really truly listened to by whomever wins this District 5 election. But the real change will only come from the people moving together with our own backs to do the work we already know how to do Mamaz and Daddys being supported to Raise our children, feed our babies, teach the ways of respect and eldership and love. Listen to our ancestors. Which is why POOR Magazine family will be faciliating a mamaz/grandmothers/