2013

  • A Garden for Trayvon & ALL of Our Suns @ Homefulness

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Phillip Standing Bear
    Original Body

    Garden for Trayvon Martin & ALL of Our Suns

    By: Youth Skolas 2013

     

    Alexis Capers, 19 years old.

    “Dear Trayvon,

    My heart cries 4 you, I’m so sorry 4 the way you had 2 leave this life. It was incredible injustice and you did not deserve this. I feel  4 you deeply and pray 4 your family, and I am even more sorry that the demon responsible for your death was not held responsible nor punished for his wrong racist act. My school has dedicated our garden 2 you and I would like 2 dedicate my picture 2 you. This is the least I can do but I hope it helps Trayvon, you are truly missed but more importantly you are loved.”

    Michael Capers, 18 years old

    This garden in my opinion represents peace and power.  Peace being that this of nature, power is because without nature mankind can’t survive. So I’m wondering with that being said how come nobody pays attention, hasn’t nature been trying to explain how important it is? Hasn’t nature tried to help itself, well it can’t do it alone, that’s why we as mankind have to do our part and help. So that’s exactly what my new family and I did, we helped nature. So I can say with confidence, welcome to the garden of Trayvon. This garden of peace and power goes to you, may you be remembered with unconditional love, it was wrong and straight up foul what happened to you and you deserve justice.

     Jiisary Chatman, 12 years old

    Back last week we built a garden. I planted 3 different sages, growers, friends sages, pineapple sage and I forgot what the other one was but I planted them for my mom. There was an herb that cures diabetesand I am going to bring that plant to my grandma and to Elder Freeman.

    Felyx, 20 years old

    Concrete land, Rebellious plants through the cracks. Garden resilience to industrial, spiritual death.  Medicine grown in once empty yards, Aloe Vera, Echinacea, Kale, Mullin, and Chamomile. Garden beds full of life. Compost, soil, succulents bring nutrients to the dirt. Built with love, to honor grandmother past, mothers and families. Black Riders, peoples, medics coming together to liberate their peoples.

    Niani,10 years old

    “To Trayvon’s Family,

    I’m sorry about what happened to Trayvon and I know how you feel, it’s a hard thing that happens in life. Sometimes I think that whites are cruel to all people of color.”

    From: A Black Sister, Niani

     

    Kimo, 10 years old

    Trayvon was shot dead, blood on the ground red, he was a teen with a hood in the dark. It’s like you’re a seal, some like a shark stalk lurking 4 it’s next kill, like a Great White & it ain’t right.

    Jazzmond, Mama Skola

    “Our garden in mourning” Trayvon; killed in cold-blooded murder

    Evil wicked diabolic killer- premeditated murder, off you might say, my words are too strong as I write against this animal, an individual with no soul… He didn’t have a conscience. He is filled with pure hatred and there is no cure for such a thing, if that individual does not accept the anecdote of love. There is only one cure for spiritual poison! Who is the real culprit? You will either be a vessel used by hatred or you will be a vessel used by love, THERE ARE NO GRAY AREAS! A person with blood-stained hands of cold-blooded murder stands accused of that murder forever – the truth will always stand. He will never escape his own foul, guilty hands. He will wear it as a second skin for the rest of his life, een if it isn’t behind bars. God saw him, he will not go free, because he is not innocent and no matter what, the truth will always stand.

    Our garden is about Healing, and this garden stands in memory of Trayvon.  It also represents love and justice.

    Tiburcio, 9 years old

    “Trayvon, we livin’ in a Babylon, can’t even go to a barber shop or salon. Up there we see you, and you see us. Maybe the guy who had the gun was John or Shaun but never Trayvon.”

    Ajahbrielle, 11 years old

    During the prayer circle for Trayvon, I learned about the herbs and medicinal plants. I wrote a poem in honor of Trayvon Martin.

    Garden of Trayvon Martin

    Medicine, herbs, and plants, it’s all part of a garden it was made for Trayvon Martin. Thank you God for all the blessings, peace e to those people that re protesting.  The prayer circle is for courage. I learned to be strong and to BE POOR Magazine.

                    My name is Ajahbrielle and I am 11 years old. My mother’s name is Libah, sometimes I worry about my mom. My mom is the strongest woman I have ever met. I thank my mom for everything she has done for me.    

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  • PNN-TV: We Define Economics- The Spirit of Moana Nui

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    PNN-TV was honored to re-port and sup-port on this beautiful day of indigenous resistance, scholarship and medicine from our Pacific Island Skolaz -

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  • Poverty Hero: My friend Jazzie Collins

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    PNNscholar1
    Original Body

    Yesterday morning a good friend had passed. I did not know it until I found out later in the morning. She won awards and she was on more committees and boards than you could shake a stick at. She died as she had came into this world--poor. Her name was Jazzie Collins. She was born poor but her wealth was in her knowledge and love. A fan of the Giants and 49ers, she loved this City when she came in here in the 80's. Was born with two strikes against her in the City of Memphis. She was Black and Trans-Gender in a City that hated both parts of her nature. Raised in a strict Baptist family, that was not the religion she finally chose. Her term for ministers was not polite. She called them “Jack-legged preachers with their good fried-chicken eating ass”. She had seven other brothers and sisters. Was put in foster care where they abused her and milked the system at the same time. These were people of color like herself.  She was born a boy, confused and living in the wrong body. She was called James then,living in a body of a boy with feelings of a woman. She ran away and was kicked out of school for refusing to be spanked by the Principal. She ran away to her birth mother. Graduated Job Corps as a construction worker. Came to San Francisco on a bus like thousands of other dreamers. Worked a stint in the hospitals in between construction jobs as an orderly. This was in the 70's and 80's. This city will either embrace you or kick your ass out or like a lover. Spent some time in jail for addiction of unorthodox medicine. Was counseled by Police and Parole Officers, they said, "You are not a bad kid." 

     

    A few years later I got to know her in person. I met her as Staff coordinator for Renee Saucido's campaign for 'supervisor. A couple of years passed-I really got to know her better at the Prop L Committee. to raise the minimum wage of San Francisco. At this time I was homeless. The only food I got working as an unpaid activist was cookies and donuts at meetings that lasted two and three hours for one point. We got to know each other better. Back then she was more argumentative and quick tempered. Also met another good friend, Former Supervisor Cristina Olague. We got to know each other as brothers and sisters. There was no class or structure in that we were working for the same goal.

     

    Time passed--got to work with her again at Mission Agenda. She was running the food pantry at 6th Street, called 6th Street Agenda. Working with her we would walk home together and bullshit. I lived at the Isabel Hotel, she lived at 8th and Howard in an apartment building until she died. One day while working at Mission Agenda she wore a wig, dress and makeup. The wig looked like the shaved hair of a yak on her head and she said in a deep voice, “Call me Jazzie...FROM NOW ON!" I noticed a relief in her eyes and a gleam in her face. I noticed her world had changed in her mind. She got softer and more feminine as her new life began. James had died that night and a new personality had arose.  A better friend had came out of it--Jazzie. We still were friends. It took me five days to adjust to the new friend. If this had helped her, who am I to judge. Some more time had passed, The Mission Agenda had died, the founder had left and got a better job  The Mission SRO Collaborative reformed after a major partner, Mission Housing had dropped out. The new major partner, Tenderloin Housing Clinic had formed. Now you got Christina Olague as Director, Jazzie as Tenant Organizer, Bruce Allison as Part Time Volunteer. This is where I met another good friend, Tony Robles, Jen Yu, a single mother with a kid named Andromeda who now lives in Hawaii. All of us working in an office that was formerly a bar and three other people that would come in three days a month to collect the rent for THC's property in the Mission District. We did this for a few more years. Jazzie was like to me a nagging sister and a good friend. We left when the Mission Agenda was taken over by another group. I went back to Planning for Elders in City as one of their volunteers. Jazzie went on to be an organizer for the South of Market Community Action Network, better known as SOMCAN.

     

    We had an election in the SOMA District. Chris Daly was an up and coming star and Jazzie was a member of the South of Market Stabilization Fund. This Fund I will get to in later articles, but this story is about a friend. I joined Poor Magazine as a Staff Writer where I found my role in their revolution. We hung out a lot, Jazzie and I, in our houses, in bars and in rallies. She recently chewed me out about my latest escapade--getting arrested and being thrown in jail for civil disobedience. One day I met another good friend who was heading for college in Seattle to get her doctorate. I was going to go to Seattle too. Jazzie along with 20 other people convinced me otherwise. I thought it over and changed my mind. We stayed  good friends through many campaigns. One campaign I can remember was trying to get healthcare for every San Franciscan, today it is known as Healthy San Francisco requiring all employers give health care to their employees. The worst of our nemesis was the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and the Chamber of Commerce. Picture this in your mind, this author (Who looks like the Geico caveman), a transgender Jazzie Collins, James Chionsini, a blind Latino Woman, and James Keys were sent to the toughest of the tough that no one else wanted. We heard, "Mack, is the table in the back by the closet ready? Keep the closet open " .We asked the manager to sign this piece of paper, he signed it and got us out the door as soon as possible. As I was in the grunt position, and Jazzie was in the command centers of Occupy San Francisco, we took over a building called 888 Turk Street, a former mental health facility. Jazzie comes in  and goes upstairs, looks the second floor over and the first floor and said, "Bruce we can house a lot of people here, come with me. I said no, I am staying with my story." I got my ass chewed out the next three weeks every day by Jazzie.

     

    Her best honor was yet to come. Being a member of the Lesbian Gay Transgender Senior Disabled Housing Task Force, she immediately became a Vice Chairperson, and she was proud of it.  I was proud of her too. About 6 months later, we go up to Sacramento, We bump into Tom Ammiano. Jazzie and I said hi. I told Tom I got married. Tom said, "See there's hope for you yet." A couple weeks later Jazzie received the honor of being among the 10 LGBT persons of the year in the state of California. A ceremony was held in the state assembly for the honorees.

     

    Two weeks ago I heard she was in the hospital. I went to Kaiser Permanente and talked to her. She was putting on a good front. I knew something was more wrong that she let on. Friday I got a call that she was in ICU As soon as I got there here eyes wee half open and glazed. I talk to her for a while, I said, "Next time you see me I will be wearing a red suit and a pitch fork. You wont be seeing my ugly mug again." I went home. The next day I went back on a Monday. They changed her clothes as I was sitting in the waiting room. Got called back in along with Tom Ammiano's Aide, Kimberly Alvarenga. I came in and said, Jazzie when you get out of here we are getting a beer. As I looked in her face for the second time this week, she looked at me with eyes glazed over, machines making here breathe. I walked out of the room crying like a baby under my breath. The next day I go to a meeting my friend said Jazzie passed.

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  • Garden We-search

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Phillip Standing Bear
    Original Body

    Garden We-Search

    By: Youth Skolas 2013

     

    Seven Curley, 9 years old

    I’m Seven Curley, I live in Oakland, California. I went to the first gardens that is on 51st st. I found blueberries, raspberries, and black dragon pepper. Marinette said that the most important thing about the garden is the soil.

    Dante, 13 years old

    We went to Muteado and Marinette’s house and seen their nice garden and they had a lot of things. Chili peppers, bell peppers and pineapples. Their stuff was nice and I wish I could have seen more if it. Then I went to my house to see cabbage, greens, strawberries, and blood tomatoes. My mom said she built the garden on August 29, on her grandma’s birthday. I said the more you water it the juicier it gets.

    Alexes L. Capers, 19 years old

    I am youth skola Alexes L. Capers. I am 19 years old and I am currently homeless with my mom and my brother. We are also a part of Homefullness, building healthy gardens with no GMO’s which we dedicated to Trayvon Martin, and our gardens are also to help feed the community and the homeless of this community. Today in camp we had a field trip in which we visited 2 other fantastic gardens in this East Oakland community, now the first one we visited was the Muteado garden which is near the BART station, and they grow jasmine, bell peppers, broccoli, purple tree kale, raspberries, and black dragon chili which is good in helping speed up metabolism, also echinacea and aloe Vera which is an indigenous medicine and mullein which is good for asthma and other issues with the lungs. Now one of the issues with Muteado’s garden discovered when they had first started out was that their soil wasn’t very clean, so the solution was to bring in clean soil and quote, “grow selectively”, also they grew some things in garden boxes and now a beautiful healthy garden now grows. Next we were off to Ms. Sherena Thomas’s garden and a quite beautiful garden at that. Now I worked the camera at this garden so I wasn’t able to get all the notes but here is what I got. Ms. Sherena Thomas grows fresh squash, broccoli, collard greens, sage, tomatoes, greens, and strawberries. Ms. Sherena and her family quote “We planted this garden August 29, in memory of our grandma.” So with that being said it is truly a blessed garden and a blessing to everyone in many sense of the word because Ms. Sherena and her neighbors barter and barter means to trade things between each other without money.  So this in my opinion is very fabulous and not to mention GMO free. Another thing I got from the garden is the fact that Ms. Sherena was letting some of her lettuce dry out so she could harvest and that healthy organic celery is hard to come by. Ms. Sherena also grows chamomile and that is good for anxiety, a fact that I did not know ‘til I visited Ms. Sherena’s garden.

    Michael Capers, 18 years old

    Today we visited 2 neighborhood gardens. The first garden was Muteado’s, I got to use the camera, so I wasn’t able to get notes and it was also my first time using the camera so I hope I got some good footage. The second garden was Sherena Thomas’s garden. I learned that she started the garden August 29th of last year which is also her mother’s birthday. I also learned that she helps feed her neighborhood with her garden. In her garden she grows strawberries, tomatoes, squash, greens, broccoli, and celery. I learned that organic celery helps your kidneys and helps fight anxiety. Once again nature shows us peace and power, I think the more we support nature the more nature can help us.

    Jiisary Chatman, 12 years old

    When I went to Muteado’s garden, I saw green, red and black bell peppers. Dante tried the black one and I tried the red one but they weren’t spicy. Muteado said he had lots of pineapple sage. But I only saw white and growers friend sage. Then when I went to Dante’s garden we saw squash, strawberries, and tomatoes. The people who helped Dante’s mom who helped build her garden was the Black Riders, Dante’s family and I.

    Sahara, 8 years old

    I built my garden on the 21st of August. My garden is the biggest one seen. I planted chamomile, tomatoes, and purple beans. Next I went to Muteado’s garden. It had lima beans, black dragon beans, semolina and mullein.

    Tiburcio Garcia, 9 years old

    I went Muteado’s and Marinette’s garden, it was fun because I got to eat a very hot chili pepper. A healing thing in their garden is white sage, it heals sinus pressure and helps with coughs. There was also Aloe Vera, “we’re not sure if the soil is safe” said Marinette, the owner of this beautiful garden as well as Muteado Silencio, “So, we grew small plants in containers.”  After we ate a few more chili peppers, we went to the garden of Ms. Sherena Thomas. There, all the plants were big. There was broccoli, tomatoes, strawberries, squash and plums that were pruning. “The more water them, the juicier they will be.” says 13 year old Dante Curley in his mother’s backyard gardens. Afterwards we came back to our own garden and said, “I’ glad to be back.” I live in 45th Ave and I am really poor, my mom had a hard life but managed to have me.  

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  • PNN-TV: The Pachamama/Mother Earth Garden @ Homefulness

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    (Pictured- The Magical-Mama Carrots & her babies grown at Pachamama/Madre Tierra Garden by Ancestors, Orisas, Creator and the landless peoples movement of Homefulness! Ase-O, Ometeotl, Semign Cacona Guari, Ahoooo!)

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  • Abbass, the Director of Al Manarah, an Association of Arabs Persons with Disabilities Loves his peeps

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Leroy
    Original Body

    Today Monday July 15, 2013 Krip-Hop Nation posts a very powerful audio interview with director of Al Manarah,  Abbass Abbass.  Also you can read Abbass Abbass’ statement about my work with Krip-Hop Nation.  I interviewed Palestinian political Hip-Hop group DAM last month on their involvement with a disability awareness song that is not release yet.  In June 2013 Tamer Nafar talked to Krip-Hop Nation through skype about Al Manarah, an Association of Arabs Persons with Disabilities and its director Abbass Abbass how they lead the vision of the song.  Also you learned last month that Nafar’s father was a wheelchair user that had his own organization of people with disabilities. 

    Listen to this audio interview right here

    Abbass, the Director of Al Manarah, an Association of Arabs Persons with Disabilities wrote this about Krip-Hop Nation:

     

    “As a disabled social entrepreneur, who believes in the power and energies of people with disabilities to change the world, I really appreciate Leroy’s wonderful initiative of Krip-Hop Nation creating an amazing platform for people with disabilities to express their challenges and dreams, through music and performance and spread it throughout the world. Leroy, you are doing a wonderful job in which you engage people all over the world, moving beyond issues of nationality or country, and to be unifying people through a common and vital cause. I am very keen to keep following your work and to keep cooperating and learning from your experience. Keep up the great work my friend!”

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  • Oakland to Anaheim - the Struggle Continues- PNN re-ports n sup-ports on the Anaheim Po'Lice Protest

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    PNN Editor's Note:  On July 21, 2013, the statewide march against police brutality took place in Anaheim, CA.  The march was held on the one-year anniversary of the murder of Manuel Diaz (killed 7.21.2012) and Joel Acevedo (killed 7.22.2012) by Anaheim police.  Bus transporation was organized by Answer Coalition from different parts of the state so people could attend, One of POOR Magazine's Poverty/disability Skolaz re-ported n Sup-ported, this is her report.      

    As a poverty scholar I learned how to demonstrate my writing and incorporate it into my own life. I have done many stories, but the Anaheim case was the most crucial experience that I have had thus far working with my family at PNN. People talk about being in the struggle, but when it comes time to show up and show out not everyone agrees to the misled violence. My heart was pounding before I even got there, because I would be on a bus with people I didn't even know. I was scared to go, because in one article it talked about how Anaheim police killed seven innocent victims in one year.  I was thinking, 'Oh hell no,' but I went anyway and prayed the whole time.  It was midnight when we left, and everybody was kind and respectful to one another. People from all over the East Bay got on the bus, people from Sacramento to Stockton were there.

    As I was riding on the bus, I met mothers who are victims of police brutality, mothers whose children have been killed by police.  As I listened to one mother, she started to cry and shared that her sixteen year old son was killed, and they wouldn't let her see him while he was dying. Police said they couldn't identify him, but the mom mentioned she was the only one who knew where his birthmark was. She gave me a hug and I felt honored. It was rough to see so many mothers on the bus and in Anaheim.

    When we arrived, we had breakfast at the Answer Coalition organization. People from as close as Los Angeles and far as the East Coast were there.  People everywhere are outraged by police brutality.  When we arrived to City Hall where the demonstration started, I talked to so many mothers and I met Manuel Diaz's mother. She was so humble and sweet, and not angry one bit. She was confident, and strong for talking to the newscasters before the march. I took a picture of her and she thanked me.  I look up to all the mothers who came and spoke about the injustice and pain they have experienced. After all the mothers spoke they marched to the police station. Not only did mothers speak they all shared similar stories and it was the one-year memorial of Manuel Diaz, and Joel Mathew Acevedo's killing.  Furthermore on December. 11, 2009 Caesar Ray Cruz was fatally shot by Anaheim police in front of Wal-Mart. All this trauma from one police station.  Fifty-two percent of the population in Anaheim is of indigenous descent.  I just cant believe police would kill so many innocent victims and the family receives no justice. There are so many other people who were killed by police, and what made the march even more upsetting was Zimmerman getting off for the killing of Trayvon Martin. All the Anaheim police had all white jurors and no people of color. A lot of Hispanic people, as well as every other race, want more minorities on to know about these situations. As I watched and stood in the crowd, I was thankful that a riot didn't break out. People were friendly and loving, especially all the mothers I met. The mother of Ernesto Duenez Jr., from my last article on police brutality, was also at the march.  Evidently they have a group every week to survive from the trauma they experience from the loss of their children. The Duenez family of Manteca gave me so much love.

    One more thing that afflicted me was Genevieve, the mother of Manuel Angel Diaz, has a tattoo that said, first bullet in lower back, and second bullet back of head. She even brought her only son's ashes. Genevieve wanted to just have a peaceful outcome, and she learned a lot about racism after the shooting, she said. It opened up her eyes to reality within the neighborhood, and how it is practically an epidemic that is happening in Anaheim.  At the end of all the mothers crying and talking on stage, Genevieve made a plea for peace, and recommended that people should not go crazy and start a riot like the first time. It was a painful yet beautiful experience for mothers, protestors and some cops. Every thing seemed to work out, and I noticed after the protest we got on the bus with an awesome driver, and people were humbled about all the trauma, because these organizations are built to advocate for people all over the United States. There is going to be a live radio show soon, and I sincerely believe when that information comes out everyone should listen. The protestors got back on the bus and everyone was a little emotional, but you could still feel the loving attitude from everybody. We were sad, and even though the victims are not alive, we made a statement. Another thing that was so absurd - the police in San Francisco had cop cars surrounding the bus. I was scared but everything worked out. Towards the end of the ride a mother cried on my shoulder which made me feel special. We all had a long day, and a lot of us were worried that we would get arrested, but we didn't. As a woman was saying on the way back, no matter what, these killer cops will reap what they sow.  I nodded and we both fell asleep. 

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  • Palestine Disability Through Political Hip-Hop & Advocacy

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Leroy
    Original Body

    Although Krip-Hop Nation is international with musicians with disabilities singing and rapping their politics and life, there are countries that Krip-Hop haven’t touched or are only now making baby steps to get into. We, in America, especially us on the left might know one or many things about Palestine. As a lover of international Hip-Hop beyond the US border, I’m always looking for Hip-Hop stories around or focus on people with disabilities with a hard hitting message so when I read that the only Palestinian Hip-Hop group that I knew of, DAM that was teaming up with a Palestinian organization for and by Arabs people with disabilities, I had to get the 411 on both sides!

    After a good friend, Nico D who is from Palestine and still have family there told me to get intouch with Tamer Nafar of DAM and I did just that with a Facebook message request for an interview and he said yes and then a day later Abbass Abbass, the director of Al Manarah, an Association of Arabs Persons with Disabilities said yes to an interview. If you are on the internet, you can listen to both interview. What follows are highlights of the audio interviews.

    So who is DAM and why did they get involved with Al Manarah? Taken from their Facebook Page (Suhell Nafar, Tamer Nafar, Mahmoud Jreri)

    “Heralded by the major French newspaper Le Monde as “the spokesman of a new generation,” DAM, the first Palestinian hip hop crew and among the first to rap in Arabic, began working together in the late 1990s. Struck by the uncanny resemblance of the reality of the streets in a Tupac video to the streets in their own neighborhood of Lyd, Tamer Nafar, Suhell Nafar, Mahmoud Jreri were inspired to tell their stories through hip hop. DAM’s music is a unique fusion of east and west, combining Arabic percussion rhythms, Middle Eastern melodies, and urban hip hop”

    I had a chance to talk through skype, with Tamer Nafar of DAM and he gave me some background on why DAM decided to do a song about Palestinians with disabilities. Like in most stories when something happens to you and your family than it becomes more real or having personal experiences changes everything. Come to find out that Tamer’s father was in a car accident and lived the rest of his life as a person with a physical disability. Tamer also told me that his father started an organization of people with disabilities. Besides Tamer’s personal experience with his father disability, Al Manarah approached DAM and invited DAM to visit the center and from there DAM made a song that was finished last year but still waiting to release it. Just like Krip-Hop Nation, DAM is very political and like Krrip-Hop Nation has release songs about police brutality and so much more. Their latest CD is called Dabk on The Moon.

    In 2006 I had a chance to be in the audience at an international disabled film festival in Munich, Germany and saw my first ever Hip-Hop video singing a rapping about Arabs with disabilities. The Music video was entitled Difference is Normal that was directed by Rayess Bek and was shot around the country of Lebanon featuring people with disabilities just living. He was commission in 2006 by the United Nation to compose and produce a song for a special awareness campaign on disability. The song and video, “Ekhtilef Tabiyeh” (“Difference is Normal”) was part of the first media campaign promoting acceptance of people with disabilities in the Middle East. It has been broadcast in over 20 countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

    Now almost seven years later I just had my first skype interview with Abbass Abbass, the director of an Arab disabled organization, Al Manarh, in Nazareth, Israel. The organization mission is to change the way in which the Arab and Israeli societies view disabilities through a powerful combination of advocacy, education and empowerment. As the only organization working for the advancement of Arabs with disabilities within Israel, Al-Manarah is committed to revolutionizing disability rights and social inclusion within Israel, and beyond. Al-Manarah promotes systemic social change through projects aimed at inclusion and access, as well as self-change through empowerment, community-building and professional training. Abbass Abbass picks up where Tamer Nafar of DAM left off talking about he song that DAM did for people with disabilities:

    “There is a story of the song. One day I had a lecture for parents of children with disabilities after I took a taxi and I heard a Hip-Hop song from DAM and I told myself wow Hip-Hop is good so I was thinking somebody should do a Hip-Hop song about people with disabilities. I called the radio station and got contact info of DAM, Tamer Nafar, and invited him to my office. I told him we wanted to rise the awareness of the rights of people with disabilities how about using Hip-Hop to do that. Tamer told me about his father’s disability so we shared ideals about the song highlighting famous people with disabilities. I told my stories of discrimination. Tamer wrote the song and it is/was very powerful. We are thinking about to creating a music video for the song……”

    I’ll post the audio interview with Abbass Abbass SOON. Below are the links of website and music videos of DAM. Both will email me the song when it is official release. Thank you DAM, Tamer and Abbass Abbass

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjnFbe7D9pY
    Dabke on The Moon
    www.damrap.com
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMF8cZSqTcU
    FACEBOOK: DAM Palestine https://www.facebook.com/DAMRAP?fref=ts

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  • Moving off the Killer Kkkourts for Trayvon

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    Ending the dependency on wite-supremacist In-Justice

    A challenge to all revolutionaries.

     

    “We have to move off the white –supremacist court system,” said revolutionary writer, media producer and black Panther Kiilu Nyasha. Kiilu has made this assertion many times over the years and then recently in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the cold-blooded murder of Trayvon Martin.

     

    As all conscious peoples know there really is no justice in the kkkolonizer created kkkourts, aka the same peoples who stole this land they call Amerikkka from indigenous peoples, African peoples from Africa and resources from billions of peoples all across Pachamama in the name of fake wars and false borders will never provide us with anything that resembles justice. But we still have to fight for crumbs because all us peoples are living here, trying to raise our children, and live our lives in the only way that has been presented to us even when it kills us. Or do we?

     

    As conscious lawyers and organizers fight for the justice crumbs in a twisted system stacked against us po’ folks and peoples of color, it is also important for us to actively move off the lie of security set up by wite-supremacists who would like to see us all incarcerated or dead.

     

    There are many other lies embedded in the death of Trayvon Martin-lies of safety and security constantly spoken about in Amerikkkan cities, lies that build gated communities and neighborhood watch programs, lies of wite-supremacy and people of color trying so hard to be white (Zimmerman) that they act more wite than the KKK themselves and lies already in place to protect the kkk wite-man in the kkkourts which deems the word justice a complete oxymoron.

     

    But as we sort through our pain from this peychic, spiritual and actual murder of this young African sun and search for answers of what to do, I would like to challenge all revolutionaries, people-led, not institution led groups to follow in the footsteps of our poor people-led/indigenous people-led family at POOR Magazine and launch different forms of community accountability/justice. We call it Family council and its modeled after the ways of our indigenous ancestors.

     

    First like our forefathers and foremothers in the Black Panther Party we have a No Po-Lice Engagement mandate in place, no matter what happens,  this is VERY hard to follow, especially because so many of us po’ folks are struggling with trauma, broken spirits, violence to ourselves and others, and deep poverty of the spirit.

     

    But its what we do by any means necessary. And then when serious issues come up, which they do ALL the time, we convene a family council with at least two of our elders present and all persons involved in the issue until we achieve some kind of solution, no matter how long it takes.

     

    Again, by no means is this a perfect process, and its rife with so many problems, but neither is our incessant and hypocritical reliance, engagement, involvement and dependence as African peoples/indigenous peoples/peoples of color and poor peoples on the systems that kill us, wite-supremacist ruled systems like Police, Neighborhood Watch, CPS, APS, etc

     

    Other resistance efforts to the wite-mans kkkourts include restorative justice movements springing up around the nation as well asr community-led, no po'lice engagement movements like CUAV and Critical Resistance

     

    And just like our sisters and brothers who have created people-led solutions to emergency medical services like The Peoples Community Medics, and people-led solutions to food sharing and direct service like the Kenny Harding Jr Foundation, our own communities can create their own systems of security and justice.

     

    “We stood there, de-escalating the situation, not escalating like the skkkool Pigs were doing,” said Askari from the Black Riders Liberation Party, a black-led grassroots, revolutionary group based in Oakland described their recent people-led. Police free mediation they created in a potentially violent situation at Castelmont high School in Deep East Oakland. As young African warriors they are also clear about who and what to rely on for their own liberation.

     

    At POOR we honor Black life, Brown life/indigenous and Poor life because we honor ourselves. We create our own media and people-led education. We know that our mamaz and daddies and uncles, grandmamaz, ancestors are our best teachers and we practice inter-dependence not the capitalist created cult of independence. Our Homefulness proect is modeled our work after landless peoples movements across Mama Earth, movements like the Zapatistas in Chiapas and the Shackdwellers Union in South Africa and MOVE 9 in the US.

     

    But POOR Magazine’s  no Po’Lice engagement is just part and parcel of a poor and indigenous peoples-led liberation movement of education, media/art creation and self-determinaton because what we as oppressed peoples are very clear about is you can’t actually activate change if you are still dependent on the people and systems who make profit off of your poverty, oppression, incarceration and ongoing destruction.

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  • Standing Up For Marcus Books-The Oldest Black-Owned Bookstore in the Country

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    Marcus Books- the Oldest Black-Owned Bookstore in the Country Faces closure due to 21st Century Devil-opment (as we call it at POOR Magazine) & Real Estate Snakkking. London Breed proposed a legislation to keep the store and the family that launched the revolution in their proper home. The Legislation was unanimously approved to go before the board. Stay Tuned! - the Fight continues.

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  • The Devilopers Are at it Again

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Phillip Standing Bear
    Original Body

    Leontine "Tina" Collins sent a letter to the Mayor of San Francisco a year ago seeking help because the infamously ruthless deviloper John Stewart Company, so graciously attempted to turn her life upside down but now a year later she's still holding on to her sanity her existence.

     
    In the letter to the Mayor that was sent on September 4, 2012 Tina stated that she had been unlawfully evicted from her residence at Martin Luther King/Marcus Garvey Co-Op Apartments. The next series of events unfolded beginning January of the same year, while off her medication she takes due to her disability ( she has been diagnosed with a learning disability and with Schizophrenia) she was evicted and separated from her family who also lived in the apartment. She felt as though she had been treated unfairly and had not been given a proper modification for her disability.
    She had to endure the runaround in the court system as some of us can relate. Calling one number to find out you need to call another only to be told you've got the wrong office and led to another and so on before you get to the right one(we all know the drill) well she had to go through that in the court system but that did not deter her, she was persistent. When one thing failed her she went somewhere else and eventually she went to Neighborhood Services and asked them for resources for those with disabilities, they gave her the name of Brandon Riley who informed her that there is a court system for people with disabilities (which she had been told there wasn't)he further informed her that ALL judges should be aware of this program. Mr. Riley issued her the application that the courts should have given her.
     
    The eviction that she was given goes back to the day she was arrested for battery which took place on New Year's morning with her high school aged daughter in which she had been having problems with. Her desire was for her daughter to graduate and they had had many altercations due to this subject. On the morning of January 1, 2012 it was no different except the police were called and the cops thought that a familiar phrase which is stated in the African American community( "I brought you in this world, and I'll take you out") was considered in their professional view as a threat and therefore arrested her. 
     
         Although my mother never said it to me many of my family members have said to their children and parents of friends have uttered it as well but we or they as the children knew their parents weren't going to physically take them out, what it actually means is you better straighten up or you're gonna get a whipping, but it gets your attention and lets you know that momma and daddy aren't playing around they mean business.
    During this fight and arrest the two younger children ages 9 and 7 were at church with a friend so they weren't home when the drama took place. During the time the officers were there her other daughter preceded to inform them that her mother Tina Collins was a Crack Cocaine user(which at the time she wasn't) she was clean from the use of Cocaine for 12 1/2 years but she had been drinking. One of the officers then went outside to speak with her daughter Myisha Collins and when he returned he informed her she was under citizens arrest. She was taken to the Northern Station and was released on January 4th due to lack of evidence, when she returned home she was told by her daughters that she had been evicted by the property management and was not allowed in the apartment. Both she and her daughters went to the managers office at 1680 Eddy Street to pay rent and the manager Anna Lokshina informed her that she (Tina)was not suppose to be on the property, Tina asked why not? She was told it was because of the arrest. Ms. Collins explained that the charges had been dropped but she stated it was out of her hands and would not accept the rent and told her to leave the office or the cops would be called.
     
    Other events took place as well after the lawyer for John Stewart gave her a Notice to Quit and informed her that if she was caught on the property again "all of her daughters would be kicked out". Tina left the office not knowing what to do but wanted her daughters in a safe and secure environment so she did what she thought was in the best interest of her children and left, allowing her two older children to care for the younger two (Sometimes mothers have to make huge sacrifices for the betterment of their children).
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  • Houston to Hollywood Shut Down For Trayvon

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    (Image by Angelica Salazar)

    No justice, no peace! was chanted from Houston to Hollywood yesterday for Trayvon. I was at Powell at the Cable Car turn-a-round station in Downtown San Francisco. One of PNN's other mama Skolaz, Vivi T was in Oakland. On Both Sides of the Bay the crowds were in the thousands. 

    When I arrived downtown it was a little after 4 pm and there were about 50 people present. Within ten minutes it had doubled before we left that site we were at least a hundred strong. As we marched peacefully yet strongly up Powell to our next destination we chanted no justice no peace!

    People stood on the sidelines of the sidewalk in silence as we passed sending our message to all that would hear us, while tourist stood waiting in the line to move forward to catch the cable car some took pictures from their phones and camcorders while others rooted us on and some even joined in on the march. Traffic was at a standstill but they didn’t mind, no one became belligerent they just waited on us to stop so they could go. The cops thought we were going to get out of hand but we didn’t. We marched to Union Square with signs and bullhorns in hand, chanting “whose street? Trayvon’s street” was the response and “George Zimmerman’s, guilty!”

     

    After a stop there and listening to the drummers drumming and the speakers stirring us up we were ready to move mountains if we had too. We left there peacefully and walked down Stockton Street to Market where we stopped traffic altogether and took over three lanes, buses were stopped, Streetcars were at a standstill and one of the drivers encouraged us on with high fives and well wishes. Some drivers turned off the ignition and stepped out of the vehicles to watch as we continued to chant and move our bodies in unison to the beat of the drums that seemed to build strength where some of us were losing it (me included). We got to Kearney and Market and stopped in the middle of the street to listen to another speaker talk about the injustice of our system and how we feel this trial was set up from the get up. I personally feel people were paid off but that’s just me after all I am entitled to my opinion.

     

    After being there a few minutes we continued going down Market heading toward Embarcadero. As our numbers picked up so did SFPD but what I noticed was there were some on the force that was silently rooting for the cause as well. We marched to the Herman Plaza at Embarcadero and heard a few more speeches, we were told that a group of at least 500 were peacefully marching as well over in Oakland and there were several groups all across the United States of America that were marching as well. When I got to the end of the route I looked back to see hundreds of people still in route, it had to be at least 700 strong of us marching for justice to be served.

     

    Our sincere prayers go out to Trayvon Martin’s family as they are trying to cope in the aftermath of a huge let down in the trial of George Zimmerman vs. Trayvon Martin. We are looking to God for His judgment and understanding in this matter. I am an African descendent mother and I worry about my son every time he leaves the house, I worry about my daughter every time she leaves as well, this is no way for family to live, in constant stress praying for safety to leave and return without being profiled or shot down and killed over nothing. My question is still the same, what was Trayvon going to do with a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea? And my statement is still the same…if George Zimmerman had just listened to the dispatcher and not pursued Trayvon, he wouldn’t have gone to court and Trayvon would still be alive. Message to GZ, the courts may have freed you, but you’re still a prisoner within your conscious and that will haunt you for the rest of your days because you will have no peace until true justice is served.

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  • A Clenched Fist Goes Out To You ALL!/PNN Hunger Striker Correspondent

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    Editors Note: Jose is one of several power-FUL PNN Plantation prison correspondents involved in the Hunger Strike to end all solitary confinement and the in-human treatment of all of our incarcerated brothers and sisters.

     

    A clenched fist goes out to you all!

    I wanted to update the people about what is currently taking place to po’folks in these dungeons. We are on a hunger/work strike in California prisons which began here in  pelican bay shu. For those who don’t know, the shu is (security housing units) a place where the prison population is terrorized and stuffed into these windowless cells where we get no sunlight and no human contact, we are even forbidden to even say “hi” or even pass someone a magazine to read as the state has in its perverted way labeled this as gang activity.

     

    Chicanos are the vast majority of the peoples targeted for shu, of the block I live in and 50 prisoners here 90% are Chicanos and the rest of the shu here mirrors this institutionalized oppression.

     

    We Have tried to take other routes via mediation with the state and even via lawsuits to no avail, we are stripped of not only our civil rights but also of our human rights and we say no more to this!

     

    We have identified the cause of our oppression on national oppression plain and simple. It is not about making money to criminalize huge swaths of Aztlan, New Afrikans on the first nations it is about national oppression! Prisons are used to control po’folks and the SHU’s are used to terrorize and neutralize po’folks who rebel within U.S prisons.We are snatched off the prisons general populations at the precise moment when we become conscious, we are then tagged and sent to be broken or brain washed into working for the state as informants. We refuse to be pawn’s for the capitalist controlled state and we resist the only way we can at this point in our torture and that is by depriving our bodies food in an attempt at stopping the torture, any way we can and shining the light on our oppression in the process.

     

    Today is the third day in our hunger strike and we see ending our actions no time soon. Like the brave men in Guantanamo- who are also po’folks- we stand up to white supremacy even tho’ we are shackled head to foot bound with 500 years of chains and yet we rise above this oppression that has afflicted Po’ Brown, Black and red folks for so long and we say enough is enough, we will stop this madness any way we can!

     

    Free The People!

     

    La Lucha Sigue

     

    Click here to read PNN Plantation Prison Correspondent Amari X & the list of demands

    I am Hungry... 4 Justice ..PNN Plantation Prison Correspondent on Hunger Strike

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  • THE SIN'S OF THOSE HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Phillip Standing Bear
    Original Body

    I like everyone who has heard about it wonders if there is any truth to it. We wonder because we saw it posted on Facebook as a Youtube video. You cannot trust everything you see and read especially on these sights but every once in a while you'll come across something that is legit, this happens to be one of those legitimate times.

     
    Most people said, "this cannot be true because it would be all over mainstream media". I said the same thing because nobody from CNN to TBN reported it. This is huge news yet none of them were reporting it.
    Made you wonder what was really going on but then something started happening, the Pope resigned as the March 4th date approached without prior warning or announcement, the Queen of England became instantly sick with a severe stomach ache as that same date approached and all went into hiding....hum. I thought maybe there is something to this.
     
    According to the Peoples Court in Brussels, if they didn't turn themselves in on or before March 4, 2013 an international citizens arrest warrant would be issued for the Pope Benedict XVI, the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada.
    I wondered if they would turn themselves in even though in the back of my mind I knew they wouldn't. But the bigger question is what did they do to deserve a sentence of 25 years in prison?
     
    Apparently, their sins go back some years, the Bible says in Galatians 6:9 Be not deceived for God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. The main points of this passage of scripture is: whatsoever, soweth and reap. You plant a seed today(good or bad) you reap a harvest tomorrow, be careful what you do today because you'll see it again years later. So that being said The Pope, the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada opened a school in Canada for the Indigenous children, made it mandatory for them to attend and severely mistreated them.
    The claims according to the courts in Brussels the parents and governmental officials these children were physically abused and sexually assaulted. They were enslaved to do harsh manual labor and didn't have proper nutrition nor were the dormitories up to codes.
    The Pope, the Queen and the Prime Minister may or may not have physically participated in the heinous acts but because they knew of it and did nothing to stop it they are just as guilty as the perpetrators. Because they were still funding the project that makes them guilty by association and if you are not guilty why pay money? I know if I was accused thing I didn't do I'm not paying nobody nothing. To me that's what makes it all seem true, either it's hush money or their guilty because according to a Yahoo! News article by Gillian Flaccus on March 15, 2013 stated that the Catholic Church paid more than 450 Native Alaskans and Native American "VICTIMS" in 2011 for "MOLESTATIONS" at Jesuit-run schools across the Pacific North West. So there must be something to the allegations and for that yes they should go to prison for a long time. To cause damage to another individual is never acceptable no matter who you are and who the victim is, wrong is wrong and should be dealt with,but I'm not the judge nor a member of the jury that has made the decision but I will say this though if they are guilty of any wrong doing and justice is not served on earth it surely will be served before the Creator come judgment day.
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  • "I AM" :Youth Skolars 2013- part 1

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    Tiburcio Garcia

    My name is Tiburcio Garcia son of Lisa gray Garcia and Anthony David Robles.   He has high blood pressure so I hope I can cure it with the garden.  I live near the beach in the Richmond district on 45th Ave. The street Looks like a rainbow, the beach from far away looks like a big blue field with little foamy specs a field id just want to lie in. In my neighborhood there are a lot of front yard Gardens.  The end.  Age 9

     

    Jiisary Chatman

     

    My name is Jiisary Chatman.  I am 12 years old.  I live in east Oakland.  Sometimes I like to go to the park and play basketball with all of my friends.  I am the son of Sherri and Jody.  My grandma has diabetes. She caught it because her parents’ wasn’t around to tell her not to eat any candy and not even her neighborhood would tell her not to eat candy.  Then, she eventually caught diabetes.  I think that eating a lot of healthy fruit and vegetables??  Sometimes, we eventually have to grow vegetables because at the store they be fake.

     

     

    Michael Capers

     

    The garden in my opinion represents peace and power.  Peace being that it is of nature, power because without nature mankind can’t survive so I am wondering with that being said how come nobody pays attention.  Hasn’t nature been trying to explain how important it is? Hasn’t nature tried to help its self?  Well it can’t do it all alone.  That’s why we, as mankind have to do our part and help.   That is exactly what I and my new family did.  We helped nature.  I can say with confidence, welcome to the Garden.

     

     

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  • Fighting For Our Mama Earth

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    (Scroll Down to Watch More PNN-TV interviews from the March)

    The bible says it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it will be for a rich man to make it into heaven. I didn’t understand what that really meant until now. The greed of money and power will cause you to lose track of the importance of life. The wealthy whose god has become money will screw their own family to have it. It doesn’t matter whose back you overwork to have it or whose life has to be snuffed out so you can keep it and it doesn’t matter who has to lose everything they have so they can continue to get rich and richer.

     

    When we think they have done it all they (the wealthy) go and pull something else out of their bag of tricks or should I say their bag of harm to humanity and beast alike, in other words they will screw themselves over for the almighty dollar. The bible says in Hosea 4:6 “My people perish for a lack of knowledge”, in other words you die for what you don’t know. The bible also says in john 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. The truth in this world seems to always be hidden from the 99% of the population of inhabitants and is only revealed when it’s too late to do anything to change it. Well my story is no different but I say better late than never cause with truth we have the power to unify and fight back or succumb to the reality that greed of money and power rules with deadly impact.

     

    “Fracking” is a word that you will want to know about, a word you will teach your family about, a word that should be talked about in your social networking, church settings, schools and everywhere else you go. This is the only way to get the word out and organize to change the course of devilment that is damaging the Earth that God gave us all dominion over to take care of.

    You may be wondering what fracking is, you wouldn’t be the first because personally when I heard it for the first time I didn’t know what it was but after doing a google search of it I do now. Fracking is the hydraulic fracturing technology that the energy industry hopes to use to expand “natural gas” production in the United States. You may think this is harmless but wait until I tell you what it is doing in the environment and to mankind.

     

    The reason why fracking is so harmful to the earth, it’s people and beast is because back in the 1940’s pipes were laid under the earths surface about 10,000 ft below, in those pipes is gas. When you see the fuel trucks at the gas station with the hose going from the truck to the ground they are pumping gas into the pipes that lead to the pumps where you are able to get fuel for your vehicles. In the 40’s it seemed like a safe thing to do right? Well now a discovery has been detected and in truth there isn’t really anything that can undo the error of man; the pipes are now leaking and the gas that is 10,000 ft below the earths surface has now seeped into the soil that you plant in, it’s in the water we drink and its in the air we breathe, not to mention in some places here in the United States when they turn on their faucets they expect water to flow out but instead sparks and fire is what they get because it is in over 500,000 wells across the US.

     

    Yesterday August 3, 2013 I attended a march and protest in Richmond, California where the Chevron refinery is, even as I got out of the car you could smell the gas in the air and I thought at that moment what are the head officials at Chevron thinking about? Oh yeah they only think of money, greed and power to hell with the residents of Richmond. I stood listening to different ones talk about the injustice to mother earth and all I could think about was the people who suffer from breathing in the toxins with no where else to move, I thought about the ones who now suffer with debilitating illnesses all in the name of blood stained Amerikkkan dollars. Shame, shame, shame on them.

    I wasn’t interested in what the activists had to say as much as I was the residents. As an activist we are deeply concerned about the well being but for the most part we live elsewhere and come to the aid of those that don’t feel they have a voice, so instead of keeping up with the march I broke off and went to interview some of the residents who are really suffering. Few declined and one in particular struck me, even though they shunned away from me and I understand why but I thought “what is the only way to keep the suffering, suffering?” by supporting them. Yes that is right, the Chevron Corporation is financially supporting the below-poverty stricken houseless shelter living residents of the Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond, I thought wow!

     

    One man I spoke too was all too happy to thank us for taking a stand; he said, “He remembers it like it was yesterday. It was 6:15 and I was standing on my porch talking to my neighbor when I heard the first explosion and I asked my neighbor what was that? And before he could answer we both heard the second explosion and we rushed to my back yard and saw smoke rise 400 to 600 ft in the air the wind picked up and carried it north that was on August 6th two years ago”. Milton Griffin

    Right before that interview I spoke with the Mayor of Richmond Gayle Mc Laughlin, she said a lot of things but one of her concerns is for the safety and health of the residents of Richmond. “Our kids and community are traumatized as a result of this Chevron fiasco. We want Chevron to take responsibility for the negative impact this has had on our city.” She went on to state that “ 4.5 million metric tons of emission are given off every year” that is what’s in the air looming over this city like a cloud of doom. She said “1.2 million dollars is given to elections for those running for positions who are Chevron friendly”. Once again it proves that these big KKKorporate companies don’t give a damn about the 99%. If you’re lucky to find one that does it’s like a needle in a haystack.

     

    I walked about three blocks down and saw a group of people standing out watching what they thought was a parade and so I stopped and spoke to another person who was willing to speak with me, her story broke my heart. Mayra Rodriguez said” we heard the first explosion and my children started crying because they didn’t know what was happening and neither did I but I was afraid too. Then minutes later we heard the second explosion and it was louder than the first one then people started running to see what was going on and that’s when we saw a huge cloud of smoke rising in the sky, my daughters thought the sky was on fire. They were traumatized and within hours both me and my kids were itching and my youngest daughter was breathing funny, I was so scared cause I didn’t know what was happening so I took her to the emergency room and was told that because I didn’t have insurance they couldn’t help her. So I went to Mexico and they told me what was wrong with her but they couldn’t give her the treatment because I wasn’t insured there and didn’t have the money to pay for the service. It wasn’t until recent that I was able to find out what was wrong with her and get her the help she needed”. I asked her if her 3 year old has Asthma and she said “yes”. She also stated that the other child who is 5 sees a therapist behind being traumatized. 

    See Below for More PNN-TV Interviews at the Powerful Rally:

    Nathaniel Arnold- Union Leader

    Pastor Kamal Hassan

    Wounded Knee DeOcampo

    Mayor Gayle McLaughln

    Pacific Island Skolaz-

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  • PNN-TV: The March for Justice for Ernesto Duenez Jr

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Phillip Standing Bear
    Original Body

    Along with my POOR Magazine/Prensa POBRE family I attended a powerful rally and march for justice for Ernesto Duenez Jr  who was shot by Manteca Police 2 years ago and I got touched by the beauty of this family. The Duenez family are victims and I sincerely believe this story is about  murder. I fell into tears while watching the Youtube video of the incident and I had to cry.

    As a writer with POOR Magazine we are taught as poverty scholars to start with the approach of how I relate to the story and why I think it is important. I am really humbled to speak with the poor mother of this beautiful guy that got murdered in front of his home, and yet no justice for an innocent man. This is something the world needs to see that the people who police the communities should have rules and guidelines. Police are supposed to protect, guide, lead, and keep the peace within the neighborhood or district they are assigned to. There is not one reason for a cop to shoot at people because of a power issue within the person. This officer by the name of Moody shot Earnest Duenez several times when he had no knife, his back was facing the officer and his foot was stuck, In the video that was from a police dash cam that the attorney had to plead for was released to the public.

    The Manteca daily newspaper stated that the "incident" was a routine traffic stop. As I watched the cop shoot him numerous amount of times, was because the police officer feared for his life when he had no proof of something on him. The officer said drop the knife yet his hands were in the air. This is racial profiling and it has to stop. This officer should be tried for a crime and not a civil suit. Instead of saving this guys life the officer ripped his shirt open looking for the knife and put him in handcuffs while he was bleeding to death. The Mom begged for the officer to call the ambulance and she was screaming that he was dying. The officer told her to back up and had a gun pointed to her as well. The officer that shot the gun was only put on a three day suspension and now he is teaching other cops. This is outrageous and it needs to be talked about with the world. In December the DA decided it was a justifiable murder, they are going to have another trial in March because they want it to be justice for the family and a crime case instead of a civil case. The officer Moody was investigated by his police station and not another. Which made it a given that he wouldn’t get in trouble.

     

    This was an act of injustice and yet the family was so peaceful and caring. They had cold water for everybody and popsicles for the kids that were walking. The Duenez family goes to the police station every Sunday to have a rally, as well as praying and performing peaceful resistance. The same officer Moody put a restraining order on Earnest Duenez’s younger brother for telling him not to take pictures of his children. How is that harming his life? Every time they attack the family it back fires on them. They have even modified the facebook pages of him and the family, because they do not want the story to be heard.

     

    After the initial rally in memory of Earnest Duenez they had a barbeque and post cards of other murders that happened to other people of other races around the world. This has become an epidemic and something has to happen. The Mother stated that she wanted everyone to be peaceful and not have to suffer from the same thing she went through after loosing her son. He was on parole for only three more weeks and he has reported to be clean for more than a year. Even though he slipped up a little bit the probation officer said he would only be held for a month and then he would have a clear release from everything. This is the coldest part about it how he was doing so well and the cop just killed him despite all of these things. The family will continue to protest every Sunday and if it doesn’t affect Moody one day he will pay for what he did whether or not if he goes to jail. No justice no peace, and that was the last words I heard while leaving the rally with the brown berets.

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  • "I AM": Youth Skolaz 2013- Part 3

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Tiny
    Original Body

    Jazmond Howell

     

    Life

    Health

    Mind food

    Homefulness!

     

    Permaculture….

    Family Club

    Roots

    Nature for Ever

     

    Sahara

     

    My name is Sahara.  I am 8 years old.  I live in Oakland.  I like to read. .  I learned that you can grow medicine.  My Nana got sick from taking the wrong medicine. 

     

     

    Joyous

     

    Hi, my name is Joyous and I am 11 years old.  I live in funk town.  I live in an old apartment.  There are always a lot of things happening outside and I like to play basketball with my friends.  I am the daughter of a freedom fighter and revolutionary.  My mom had cancer but it left.  I learned about a plant that can help kill cancer.  You see, my life is really interesting and I love it.

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  • Valerie Schwartz, Poverty Hero

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Bad News Bruce
    Original Body

    (There will be a memorial service next Tuesday, August 13th at 2 pm at Richardson House at 365 Fulton, SF to honor Valerie Schwartz. Please join us in honoring this Poverty Hero, Valerie Schwartz, and her life.)

     

     

    “I had a sense of unity to come and that the tear in the fabric of humanity is being repaired slowly, methodically, and with love and with a voice that will not allow itself to be stifled or censored any longer. "We are still here and more determined."

    - Valerie Schwartz

    “In retrospect, I have somehow, for reasons not yet revealed to me... survived a long and incremental suicide and today I can say that I have made a conscious decision to join the living...

    I have re-found the desire to; live again, learn to live life on life's terms and the desire to become a whole person...

    I'd like to be self-assured rather than arrogant, afraid, and unsure. I want to learn new things and re-learn some of the things I never truly grasped or held onto for whatever reasons... to find my voice.”

    - Valerie Schwartz

    “They don't even have a paupers graveyard anymore, I'm not sure what they do with the ashes of the homeless.”

    - Valerie Schwartz

     

    Dear Val,

    I miss you. I hardly knew you, but for the brief period of time we came into each others' lives, you taught me so much. I wish I could have told you that, and I am sorry that I did not.  Sitting here after your passing, I am reading your stories from over ten years ago and crying. You are teaching me even after your departure from this place. I wish I had been brave enough while you were alive to get closer, to tell you that to me you were important, that you were brave and brilliant and I could feel your generosity and mentorship on the other end of the phone as we spoke.

    I am struck by your fierce commitment to not give up hope on community, people, and connection even when this place and the people in your midst did not reach their arms out to you. You had been through so much. You came to POOR magazine in 1999, as a houseless, formerly incarcerated, recovering addict; and as an amazing writer and dedicated teller of truth and stories. Tiny told me that in 2003, when POOR magazine was in limbo, losing all of our grants and Mama Dee being diagnosed with heart disease, we lost track of you. But you came back into our lives in 2010 when POOR found a home at 2940 16th Street.

     I met you in community newsroom in April of this year. You came to tell your story, and to ask us for our support. Speaking with you on the phone several times and writing to each other it struck me how even after everything you had been through (poverty, isolation, slander, violence, houselessness, incarceration; being outcasted, being harmed, and being alone) you still gave us, and gave me a chance. I am grateful for that chance as I sit here, realizing after knowing you my life will never be the same.

    Working with you on a story, I admitted to you that this was my first time writing for POOR magazine. I remember you calling me more than once to encourage me, and to gently and firmly offer me guidance. Your wisdom about writing, about telling a story, about journalism, and about teaching deeply impacted me. Your generosity of spirit, of guidance, and of love sit on my chest and in my belly. My fingers are alight with your encouragement as I type now, looking at this document of your words I compiled so recently before you died. You called me “kiddo,” and told me I was making “a valiant effort,” and told me not to be scared if people were angered by my truthful words. You helped me learn how to edit, how to honor what needs to be honored through words, and what it means to tell stories that need to be told. Your impact on my life will unfurl with time, I am sure. Thank you for trusting me during a time when it was really hard to trust people. Thank you for trusting us enough to come to us with your stories and your fears. Your power and grace are profound and will not be forgotten.

    I am reading your stories now. I am struck by your analysis, your allyship to so many, and the grace and holiness you saw and communicated from what you lived on the streets. Your honoring of Lula Bell Seymour and the way she prayed as she grilled anything she had and shared it on the streets of the tenderloin, your poignant and almost poetic ability to differentiate between the whole beauty that radiates from a person and the distracting beauty of the reflections of shattered glass that surrounds someone one as their head rests on concrete, and your unwillingness to give up on the right that everyone deserves to just treatment, including yourself, humble me. You have been an unsung poverty hero, and today and into the future you shall be sung. In a story you wrote about homeless deaths you said, “they don’t even have a pauper’s graveyard anymore, I’m not sure what they do with the ashes of the homeless.” We will honor you as we live, and scatter your teachings, your words, and your courageous love in this city that was your home. We will sing you here.

     

    Stories written by Valerie Schwartz for Poor Magazine:

    Even After all This, I Still Refuse to Hate You

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/4787

    The Life...

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/997

    We Need 10,000 Lawyers like Lynn Stewart...

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/1109

    IF DIRT WERE DOLLARS

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/1145

    The Homeless cannot Rest in Peace...

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/1173

    Looking Homeless

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/979

    A Mama’s Love...

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/1033

    Open Letter to the SF Examiner aka Gavin Newsome’s Other Publicist

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/1117

    White Collar Time

    http://www.poormagazine.org/node/1169

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  • THE SIN'S OF THOSE HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM

    09/24/2021 - 08:54 by Anonymous (not verified)
    Original Author
    Phillip Standing Bear
    Original Body

    I like everyone who has heard about it wonders if there is any truth to it. We wonder because we saw it posted on Facebook as a Youtube video. You cannot trust everything you see and read especially on these sights but every once in a while you'll come across something that is legit, this happens to be one of those legitimate times.

     
    Most people said, "this cannot be true because it would be all over mainstream media". I said the same thing because nobody from CNN to TBN reported it. This is huge news yet none of them were reporting it.
    Made you wonder what was really going on but then something started happening, the Pope resigned as the March 4th date approached without prior warning or announcement, the Queen of England became instantly sick with a severe stomach ache as that same date approached and all went into hiding....hum. I thought maybe there is something to this.
     
    According to the Peoples Court in Brussels, if they didn't turn themselves in on or before March 4, 2013 an international citizens arrest warrant would be issued for the Pope Benedict XVI, the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada.
    I wondered if they would turn themselves in even though in the back of my mind I knew they wouldn't. But the bigger question is what did they do to deserve a sentence of 25 years in prison?
     
    Apparently, their sins go back some years, the Bible says in Galatians 6:9 Be not deceived for God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. The main points of this passage of scripture is: whatsoever, soweth and reap. You plant a seed today(good or bad) you reap a harvest tomorrow, be careful what you do today because you'll see it again years later. So that being said The Pope, the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Canada opened a school in Canada for the Indigenous children, made it mandatory for them to attend and severely mistreated them.
    The claims according to the courts in Brussels the parents and governmental officials these children were physically abused and sexually assaulted. They were enslaved to do harsh manual labor and didn't have proper nutrition nor were the dormitories up to codes.
    The Pope, the Queen and the Prime Minister may or may not have physically participated in the heinous acts but because they knew of it and did nothing to stop it they are just as guilty as the perpetrators. Because they were still funding the project that makes them guilty by association and if you are not guilty why pay money? I know if I was accused thing I didn't do I'm not paying nobody nothing. To me that's what makes it all seem true, either it's hush money or their guilty because according to a Yahoo! News article by Gillian Flaccus on March 15, 2013 stated that the Catholic Church paid more than 450 Native Alaskans and Native American "VICTIMS" in 2011 for "MOLESTATIONS" at Jesuit-run schools across the Pacific North West. So there must be something to the allegations and for that yes they should go to prison for a long time. To cause damage to another individual is never acceptable no matter who you are and who the victim is, wrong is wrong and should be dealt with,but I'm not the judge nor a member of the jury that has made the decision but I will say this though if they are guilty of any wrong doing and justice is not served on earth it surely will be served before the Creator come judgment day.
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