2015

No doubt you've heard the old saying "if something sounds to good to be true, it probably is."

But even the best of us have been caught off guard by a slick talker or something that appears to be on the level.

Let's face it, it's human nature to want something for little or no effort. And that's exactly what con artists, flim flam men and online schemes count on.

Whether it's a scheme to cash a check, the the old bait and switch [the shell game or 3 card Monte] or an online scheme it all ends the same. They give you nothing and you lose money.

Recently I fell for it in the form of an online scheme that claimed I would get a free I-Pad just by answering a few survey questions. This particular scheme that got me was a variation of the pyramid scheme where they ask you to complete a series of seemingly harmless task to build your confidence and trust. It began with me first responding to a link on Facebook that got my name and other personal information with the promise of free samples and even money for answering "paid surveys."

I began receiving E-mails from various companies offering me free samples or money to answer surveys. I even got some free samples of some items.

Then an offer came along to get a free I-Pad so I jumped on the opportunity being that my PC is a world of problems these days and the many hardships of using second party computers to due the many task that the digital age has forced on us all.

So I began answering the survey and started noticing that there were "special offers" that I would be billed for later or would only cost a few dollars and I could cancel at any time. I answered an ad from a company called Eagle Moss that promised to send me a $1 silicone muffin tin just for joining their club and would receive more items that i could return.

Within the same "Survey" another company "free shipping .com" offered me free shipping for some items bought online [little did I know Eagle Moss offered free shipping]  for a non-refundable $12.95. I figured why not, I'm getting a free I-Pad right?

As the various companies and offerers were made I realized they were all asking for small amounts of money using my debit or credit so I decided eventually they would add up to more than the cost of an I-Pad.

When I received the baking cups from Eagle Moss and saw how shabby they were I decided to cancel and get my money back. When I contacted them they told me it only cost me a dollar and since I opened it it would cost more than what I spent.

Then my account got an overdraft fee so I went to the bank and inquired. I was told I was being charged by Eagle Moss so I contacted them again and they told me a package had been shipped out before I canceled so I should just write return to sender on it and bring it back to the post office. I got another over draft fee, so again I called them and was told it could take 7-10 business day's for them to receive it.

After 14 business days passed I called them once again and was told they would refund my money but it could take 3-5 business days. It took about 3, but I still got the overdraft charges. And even though I canceled the shipping .com account it was not refunded. Don't let this happen to you. All that glitters is not gold or a shiny new I-Pad !

Decolonewz-

a quarterly revolutionary, multi-generational newspaper 4 the BlackArthur Neighborhood and all of Mama Earth- a project of POOR Magazine, Homefulness & Decolonize Academy Skool

Two Issues Available so far:

Volume #1 The Gentrification Issue- 

Volume #2 Climate Change= Mama Earth's Destruction (Back cover of the issue by artist Anthony Sul is shown in the picture-other  artists and poets include Dee Allen, Thomas Greyeyes and Kehkoli Cheif

Copies of the paper are available to pick up at POOR Magazine on tuesdays or thursdays- 12-6pm

Or by mail at 8032 MacArthur Bl Oakland, Ca 94605

Submission Guidelines:

Attend at least one session of the indigenous news-making circle at POOR Magazine called Community Newsroom - meets the 1st Tuesday of every month at 6pm (or mail stories, poems, art in on issues of poverty, racism, gentrification, climate change,education, incarceration, liberation - no guarantee we will be able to publish them)

Decolonewz and POOR Magazine NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!!! Please consider placing ads, or buying bulk copies for your family , community or establishment-or becoming a monthly sustainer to POOR Magazine cuz we are in fack Po'-  Make all checks payable to POOR Magazine- 8032 Macarthur Bl Oakland, Ca 94605 or go-on-line to this link to make a one-time donation or purchase by paypal - put in the "notes" that its for Decolonewz- 

 Poor Magazine youth and adult poverty skolas and reporters are reporting and supporting on the Social Forum in San Jose

“ The only way their lives are devalued is if we don’t carry the torch for them,” said San Jose councilmember Ash Kalra during his speech at the Social Forum in San Jose, California on June 24, 2015.

I had the privilege of attending the Social Forum and the environment was like no other. Seeing all these people coming together to help create change not only for their communities but for the whole world was very inspirational.

Especially from my point of view it helped open my eyes to situations going on in my life that I never realized before. It made me think about all the people I have lost throughout my life and it wasn’t even their time to go.

It made me reflect on how as a pacific islander and an indigenous woman of color it may not affect me directly but oppression is still happening and I can’t leave my comrades to fight this struggle alone. I must stand with them and help them fight these injustices.

I also had the honor of interviewing Sandy Perry who is a part of the Community Homeless Alliance Ministry and Affordable Housing Networks organization.

He felt the need to be present at the forum because it gives people a chance to network around the Bay Area and  work together.

“The figures don’t mean anything because people are still homeless,” says Mr.Perry when the subject of how the percentage of homeless people have gone down was brought to his attention.

He also adds that it doesn’t matter if there’s an increase or decrease in the percentages because at the end of the day people are still homeless and being oppressed.

“We didn’t need a flag to tell us the history of racism and oppression in our country,” says councilmember Ash Kalra at the conclusion of his speech.

We are imperfect human beings so none of us are going to create change on our own and the reality is that to create a movement takes a lot of energy, but when we all come together the energy force is more powerful than ever.

While Ellis Act reform was being voted on in Sacramento for the second time, you probably were unaware of the recent passing of two seniors whose lives were profoundly affected by the law.

North Beach resident Elaine Turner, 78, died March 11^th, and Daly City resident Ron Lickers, 69, died February 19^th, 2015. Elaine had lived in her North Beach flat for more than 30 years while Ron had lived with his family in Daly City, having been forced out of SF through an Ellis Act eviction two years ago.

Both people’s lives were disrupted and thrown into chaos by the Ellis Act —one of the many tools landlords and speculators use in their arsenal to prey upon and extricate seniors and people with disabilities from their long-term rent-controlled homes, destroying the fragile fabric of their lives.

Both Elaine and Ron were valuable members of their communities. Elaine loved her North Beach home. She loved the smell of North Beach that emanated from the bakeries, cafes, the markets—all close together—in a cluster of faces and comings and goings, accentuated with voices whose words were stained with the broken English of Italian thoughts and Chinese thoughts, which were complete thoughts that were often articulated in a mere gesture, forming an unbreakable bond of communication and recognition that can only be described as true community.

She loved the hills and the music that rose from the rooftops of the houses of the working-class immigrants of the past who built them. She loved to dress up, and she never divulged her age because she didn’t have to—she was timeless. She loved singing and acting. The fragrance of her life was kept in drawers, closets, jars, pictures, paintings, notes, and those timeless and beautiful things were renewed as the sun rose and the scent of Elaine’s life flowed through the curtains and spread over the landscape and settled into the heart of North Beach.

Ron Lickers was a Native American. He was a son of the Seneca nation. He was an organizer and educator who was involved in the Bay Area Native community. As a young man, he was one of the organizers of the occupation of Alcatraz and was involved in the fight for the establishment of ethnic studies as San Francisco State College in the 1960s.

After the eviction was served on Elaine, her health began to deteriorate. “Where will I go?” she asked, terrified of what lie ahead—including the possibility of homelessness, the possibility of moving to another location without friends and community, or the hopelessness of housing waiting lists whose waits can take years.

Insecurity is terrifying for seniors whose lives are a fragile, delicate and complicated network of appointments, doctors, providers, and transportation that offers, after years of routine, a semblance of stability that is shattered under the cruel stress of eviction.

Ron had a disability as a result of a job-related accident. He was a union worker, employed by Sign and Display local 510 for many years. He lived with his wife and daughter. After they were evicted from their San Francisco home through the Ellis act, his health spiraled downward — as did the health of his wife. He suffered from multiple health issues that culminated in a series of strokes. He had received relocation money as part of the eviction, but that money ran out, leaving Ron and his family in a constant state of duress. As bad as his health had become, he still fought for Ellis act reform, going to Sacramento as part of a contingent of tenants testifying in support of Senator Mark Leno’s Ellis Act reform bill that eventually failed in committee last year.

Leno has reintroduced legislation to reform the Ellis Act. Senate bill 364 would make it illegal to invoke an Ellis Act eviction with buildings whose ownership has changed within five years. The bill was defeated by a 6-5 vote in the state assembly. We are extremely disappointed with the lack of empathy shown by the politicians who voted against this very reasonable, very common sense bill. And we are disgusted by the tactics of the real estate lobby, who shamelessly parade people to hearings under the guise of “property owners,” misrepresenting facts and outright lying to maintain their hunger for profit regardless of who it hurts. The evictions in San Francisco have done so much damage to innocent people—especially seniors looking to live with dignity and stability.

We honor Elaine and Ron’s life, and their fight. Last year POOR Magazine, with the help of attorney Anthony Prince, opened a case of elder abuse with the SF District Attorney’s office against real estate speculators who cause harm to seniors by eviction. In memory of Elaine and Ron and so many more youth, adults and families across the state, 1st nations justice fighters, anti-displacement organizers, houseless organizers, anti-police terror organizers have launched For Rich People Only- 1st Nations, Black, Brown & Poor People Across the State stand together to resistthe apartheidization of California  We will be holding state-wide press conferences and actions on May 7th in Oakland, LA, Vallejo and on May 8th  at the 850 Bryant Street at 10am and then on to City Hall at 12 noon to join the Mission Takes City Hall Action with a visit to the City Attorney's office to pursue child abuse cases against serial evictors of families.

We are collecting stories from people whose health and lives have been adversely affected by eviction. If you are a senior or person with a disability or a family with children who has struggled with eviction and displacement and want to share your story (you can remain anonymous), please contact Senior and Disability action at 415-546-1333. Or you can contact POOR Magazine at 510-435-7500 or email poormag@gmail.com or tony@sdaction.org, or theresa@sdaction.org

Transcription of PNN-TV Interview/Entrevista en texto: (Espanol sigue)

Translation by Vinia R Castro/PNN

PNN-TV: US Social Forum San Jose2015: War ON the Poor Resistor Anthony King. Organizer with CHAM and other power-FUL groups fighting anti-poor people-laws and for tenants rights in the middle of Silicon Valley, San Jose, Northern CalifAztlan.

Anthony King, a revolutionary poverty skola speaks with PNN-TV on the recent attack by Po'Lice and poltricksters of a houseless peoples encampment called "The Jungle" and the situation for poverty skolaz in Silicon Valley

PNN-TV is the broadcast channel of POOR Magazine/Prensa POBRE/PoorNewsNetwork (PNN) and is written and produced by poor people in resistance, POOR Magazine is a very grassroots, poor people-led, indigenous people-led arts organization dedicated to providing media, art, education and revolutionary advocacy to youth, adults and elders across Mama Earth.

I am Tyray Taylor reporting from PNN-TV on the case of Freddy Gray. Freddy Gray was a twenty five year old man who was killed by police brutality

Freddy gray was killed in Baltimore. When Mr. Gray was placed inside the police van, he was able to talk. He was upset. And when Mr. Gray was taken out of that van, he could not talk, and he could not breathe.

The reason why this happened is because police always target black and brown young men

My opinion as a young black man in america kkk is that thousands of young people are killed by police brutality all over the world .

A selfie can make
You healthy, wealthy
And wise

Editors Note: Ana is a student-mentee in the Revolutionary Youth Media Education(RYME) summer program at POOR Magazine

“Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.”

People tend to judge others based on their appearances, and we have all been taught that one particular saying that you should never judge a book by its cover. However, none of us seem to abide by the things we say or our own ways of thinking.

What do I mean by this? I'm talking about a little something called “Ugly Laws.” Ugly laws made it illegal for people with “unsightly or disgusting” disabilities to appear in public.

Currently, in Berkeley, California their city council met on June 30th to vote on a proposed law that would basically make it illegal for anyone to lie in or on top of a city owned planters, spread out bedding on the sidewalks between 7am-10pm, urinate or defecate in a public place, etc.

It also regulates the size of the belongings they may carry with them to 16in. By 18in., Bob Offer-Westort from Sidewalks Are For Everyone a.k.a SAFE states, “ It's not the size of a duffel bag...it's ridiculously small...my backpack is bigger than that.”

Many people say that the proposed law will either address problematic street behavior, make a more pleasant place to visit, or further criminalize the homeless.

It's weird how this proposed law somehow connects to pauper laws. Pauper laws were basically English laws that criminalized people for being poor.

It supposedly helps poor people by forcing them into shelters which therefore, helps them gain more profit and coincidentally Berkeley is building more shelters to “help” those in need.

The legislation in Berkeley and the Pauper Laws connect to *Ugly Laws because they build these shelters to keep poor people hidden from the city's eyes because they are an eyesore to look at or be around. Creating more shelters and making sure that there are some in the area assures that poor people are kept off the streets and that people can walk in peace.

Councilwoman Lind Maio states that the ordinances aren't trying to solve homelessness, but about basic, socially acceptable roles and behaviors. This is the most outrageous thing I've ever heard. First we need to act a certain way in public and what's going to be next, we can't breathe or eat a certain way too.

People from the South Pacific also migrate here and when they do come here they can't just rely on family all the time so they end up on the streets and have to go through this type of oppression as well. As a young indigenous pacific islander woman I want to do all I can not only to help my people but other oppressed people of color as well.

Post-script: the City Council meeting of June 30th was shut down by the people who, led by Mama Vivi T of POOR Magazine and hundreds of other angry Berkeley residents yelled SHAME and made it impossible for yet another anti-poor people law to be instituted in this so-called progressive city)

*The Ugly Laws by Susan M. Schweik

"You can make lots of money.” At this moment the skies opened up and I heard every T crossed and I dotted. His mask of deception seemed almost kind and sincere.

Bam. Suddenly the dreary clouds were in my midst. There was no air. I had fell prey to the ugliest of greed. I was kidnapped, trapped, and freedom suddenly had a price. Every night was his delight.

A room with no doors. Here I was kidnapped at the age of 28 in Richmond, CA. not against my will but voluntarily and willingly.

It was one of those things, believing in his dream. I was an opportunist and when he laid his sales pitch I actually believed that moving in with his wife and kids, we /I could live “happily ever after.”

It sounded great the way he explained things to me.

"You can work the night time as the bartender and my wife will work the day time as a bank teller.” He was so convincing.

Days became weeks. The absence of home became overwhelming and besides, there was no love here. It became apparent love did not live here.

Up the dark unfamiliar stairs, on a typical night “on the job,” me and my pimp knock on a small door. The door is opened,

I see darkness and silhouettes of frail bodies shuffling from one dark room to another, there was no light.

"Go in there.” We then are directed to a room where he could begin his pitiful high, as I sat and watched, hoping he would immediately run out of money then we can go home. Thats only if no one come by and owes him a free high. My fingers stayed crossed. Usually by 3am we were free to go.

It was the same every night. He taking my money after work, dragging me around to all his local dope dispensaries, me usually finding him in a sweat of a nod at someones table, them always strangers to me .

Then there came a day when I woke like a slap in my face my consciousness of who I was, who I represent. From the blood of my elders I am that black woman that I am.

"You need to come get me.” One day I woke up and decided to leave. I set up a dramatic exodus using my brother. I called him one morning when I was being guarded by the pimp and the pit bull he used to keep me imprisoned. it was one of those morning he had to go out and get his fix. I called my brother I cave him a innocent role. Not letting him know that I was being held no longer of my choice, I ran down the address and the pitch that would free me.

When I got my butt out that door and was sitting in that car I could see the sky. Because I am a revolutionary and will not be contained.

I had to find my way out. It wasn't that I was out of state and not too far from my family but I had to make sure that I didn't get my family involved in my bullshit. I would never forgive myself if they were harmed because of my ill choices.

This time in my life, being the outlaw that I have always been, I was a renegade prostitute. The thought of a pimp controlling my body and my money was disgraceful. I was determined to run my life.

“Transients and tourists- thats all this town was built for,” my mama said, disgustedly shaking her head at the stream of 20 something white people streaming out of the downtown BART station in San Francisco. I remembered my mamas wise words standing on the steps of 812 Guerrero today to block more evictions by the  21st century colonizers I have affectionately called the gentryTECHnation. Today we are blocking the pending eviction of a disabled elder Becky, yesterday it was limiting thousands of apartments from being turned into an app called Airbnb- the day before it was in North Beach to stop the eviction of 20 elders and tomorrow it will be another 12 in one building. All of these elders, in all this terror, are folks my mama would say walked softly on Mama Earth. The folks who built the City's character but weren't supposed to stay here

Tragically, we didn’t know that being poor in the Bay Area was in some ways even harder than being poor in LA, more po”lice harassment, more nimbyism, more weird hypocritical politically conscious people and even less, if any affordable housing. So after launching and working hard in a micro-business that never really supported us, we ended up in and out of houselessness and finally gentriFUKEd out of Oakland in the first dot-com avalanche of evictions for profit, which landed us in San Francisco, of all dangerous places to be.

It was here in gentriFUKation city that my mama became most angry and clear about the fate of poor folks like us. It was here in this side of Ohlone Land that we knew our days were numbered.

“After my wife died, i was unable to keep working, as soon as i was late on my rent the landlord gave me an eviction notice.” said Richard X, African Descendent elder, poverty skola who panhandled right next to our little unlicensed vendor stand in the financial district. All of us Po’ folks existing on the margins of San Francisco’s capitalist dreams would meet on the streets, collaborating against po’Lice calls  knowing even then in 1999 that it was only a matter of time before people like us would be cleansed out of this town.  A town built to resemble European aristocracy with aspirations to become part of the pseudo -fuedal nation. It was in these street workshops that POOR Magazine was born  

So here we are in 21st century SF - governed by a mayor who offers millions of dollars to rich people and corporations to be here while allowing the mass out-migration of its few remaining Black, Brown and working poor residents  and the eviction of elders and children for profit while turning all the rest of its homes into different forms of tourist hotels and temporary rooms, aka airBNB's.

So what of Becky the disabled elder who is being swept out of her home of decades and Mario, the Italian elder who faces eviction from a trumped up owner move-in out of his North Beach home of several decades and  Ron Lickers the 1st Nations elder and Elaine Turner who died shortly after the trauma of eviction on their bodies and souls? all being swept  out of their homes of decades by the evil hand of the gentryTECHNation, their real estate speculators and their wanna-be beneficiaries In the cases of Becky and all the other tenants fighitng the case to live in their homes at 812 Guererro, its courtesy of Google itself- their lawyer, Jack Halperin

“All the folks who are homeless now walking the streets have stories, I don’t want Becky to become another one of those tragic stories, “ said Claudia Tirado, revolutionary teacher, mama and fellow tenant of 812 Guerrero.

We do have stories, stories of tragedy and near death, constant police harassment , anti-poor people-laws and the loss of home, which more often than not kills us. Just because you don’t hear from us once we are evicted it doesn’t mean we fade away , it just means we have become silenced. Our outcome is too impossible for most people to even hear. 

It is why POOR Magazine helped three brave elders launch elder abuse cases against landlords and speculators who evict for profit with the District Attorney on May 8th and are inviting other elders to join us. It is why we keep telling our untold stories. It is why we connect the dots from this 21st century mass displacement to the 19th century removal and genocide of 1st Nations peoples

“The system doesn’t care about us, and that’s why we need to fight,” said Gloria Esteva, indigenous Oaxacena revolutionary and reportera of POOR Magazine’s Voces de immigrantes en resistancia who stood along-side me and dozens of others in the rain at 6am to block the eviction of Becky.

At 10:50 am on Wednesday we finally got word that there would be no sheriff today for Becky. But the intervention was too late for Ron and Elaine and so many more. And what will it take for the tourist stop that is the 21st century San Francisco to become a city again, with apartments, and houses and working peoples and thriving communities of color? This poverty skola hopes that there will be never be a sheriff coming for Becky, or Mary or Theresa, or any of us.

--

Editors Note: Heidy is a student-mentee in the Revolutionary Youth Media Education(RYME) summer program at POOR Magazine

The Ugly Laws In The 21^st Century

By: Heidy

From the late 1860s until the 1970s, several American cities had ugly laws making it illegal for persons with "unsightly or disgusting" disabilities to appear in public. Some of these laws were called unsightly beggar ordinances. Better known as * The Ugly Laws.

They pretend it ever happened. The first appearance of the ugly laws were in San Francisco Ca, the Bay Area. Even thought they deny the ugly laws ever existed they're still evident in the Bay Area.

The Berkeley City Council is has proposed multiple example of modern day ugly laws which they call- "regulating behaviors in the streets of the city". To the oblivious person this seems like a great thing, the council is trying to make the streets safer. They don't realize how many people this law is screwing over.

A recent proposed ordinance which was heard at the city council meeting of June 30th plans is targeted for the homeless only. The proposal would ask the city manager to look into the possibility of implementing ordinances prohibiting unpermitted cooking on public sidewalks, panhandling within 10 feet of a parking pay station and deploying bedding on sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.. . It also includes recommendations to consider extending youth shelter hours beyond the winter months and ensure the availability of public restrooms. They are regulating the size of their belongings. The measurements are 16 in. x 18 in. which is ridiculous they're making it so small. This information is provided by Bob Offer-Westort from Side Walks Are For Everyone (S.A.F.E.)

Pauper Laws try to help poor people, but in reality it forces people to live in shelters. It works perfectly with the city ordinances. Since the city is building more shelters and prohibiting all of these things that poor people will be forced to go to the shelters, which just make the people who own it rich. It a perfect combination for the poverty pimps.

As a young Honduran migrant I'm concerned my people that are migrating and dont have a place to live will fall for this vicious cuycle of explotation.

(Post-script: the City Council meeting of June 30th was shut down by the people who, led by Mama Vivi T of POOR Magazine and hundreds of other angry Berkeley residents yelled SHAME and made it impossible for yet another anti-poor people law to be instituted in this so-called progressive city)

referece: *The Ugly Laws By Susan M. Schwek

In April we went to city hall in San Francisco. Before we went into city hall we were telling our stories at a rally in front.

"Rad is going to privatize all of our poor people housing" said Tiny.

After that we walked inside city hall and went to the first supervisor office and said can you save our homes cause rad will kick our families out of our homes. After we went to all the supervisor offices we had went out side to the black lives matter protest. While we were in the protest they started to say names of the people who got killed by the police. We left cause we had to go eat lunch.

My opinion is that I was happy we went in there cause we saved a lot of people's lives.

White culture isn’t good for anyone even white people, “ the words of my mixed race ghetto skola mama sailed through my ears when the sci-fi horror movie called Rachel Dolizol unfolded. As the white skinned daughter of a mixed race, disabled,, houseless, single mama I have always claimed my wite-skin privilege. I have named its infiltration powers and the ways this deeply racist, amerikkklan society stolen by settler colonizers who look like me have continued their legislative, education and institutional terror over everyone of color. I was taught early by my mama and our life of struggle that it was not only essential,  but dire, that I  use every ounce of my skin privilege  so me and my family could survive as well as every other person in our same position.

The Sci Fi Movie called Rachel D.

So why was Rachel so afraid of her white-ness? Perhaps because it is so evil, and in her twisted, fairy-tale desiring mind she was empathing instead of owning. Owning is hard. It means you have to swallow the hard pill of  perpetration. Everyday In everything you do and walk and see and be.. And yet what she might not have understood is this is the same confusion the saviors of NGO’s and non-profit industry workers and media producers, artists and actors who write, act, speak, create and profit off of poor people don't get. We don’t want your fake empathing,saving, story-telling and/ or helping, what we want is what you and your ancestors, stole from us and continue to steal from us so we can re-build, create, make and manifest ourselves.

Hussling skin privilege to survive

From early on I had to understand that our houseless family would rely on my skin privilege or not make it.  I was told that every bit of my white-looking self would be exploited for our collective survival.  From apartments to motels to broke-down cars to jobs to customers the implicit racialized perception of “goodness” my “honesty” held by this racist kkkapitalist society was used to hustle access for us. When we did get a little bit of blood-stained dollars together, I was sent out to rent an apartment  or motel room in a k-mart suit with a rent starter kit, i.e. a story,  i was a single 25 year old girl making 65,000 a year at a full-time job. It never failed. I would get the place. We would run little surveys just for fun. My mama would go out and try the same thing and get heavily questioned, rejected, or just plain not called back. And best believe because of our recent experience with the launching of Mama House by me and three other mamas of color from 2007-10 nothing has changed.

More and more Rachel’s to come
Sadly the Dolizol woman’s strange sci-fi theft of culture and identity, spray tans and hair weaves, will probably become more prevalent over the years as settler colonialist with fuzzy connections to gentry and colonial genocide begin to face their own positions of un-culture in an increasingly Black and Brown world. Not to mention when profit margins and “research” grants are discovered by "white-science" and kkkoporations when they figure out how to make robots and change DNA and morph faces and skin color.for all the confused white people of the not to distant future

The capitalist away nation fueled by akkkademia, wealth-hoarding, the lie of land ownership, angst, colonization and racism is evil and yet it could not continue without the complicit and explicit support by all the white people who continue to benefit.

Trans-racial to Trans-Poor'?
The so-called Trans-racial process or fronting of Dolizol  reminds me of all the people i have met over the years who front like they are poor, wearing dirty clothes and not washing their under-arms and "squatting" when they have perfectly good homes with loving families across the country to return home to. But instead, like Rachel, they decide to "front" , take up meager space, say nothing about the people they are actively displacing and stay in urban cities suffering from serious displacement crises, often adding to the displacement and gentriFUKation of hundreds of poor and working class people and people of color from their homes and neighborhoods of generations.

These are the hard lessons us Poor white, Black, Brown & Indigenous, gentriFUKed, houseless, disabled, Bordered, colonized, and racialized  poverty skolaz at POOR Magazine’s PeopleSkool base our entire body of work around. Beginning with Theatre of the POOR about our multiple stories of trauma, racism, criminalization, houselessness, false borders, poverty industry pimping, colonial land theft and ableism from all four corners of Mama Earth, we teach young people with race, class and formal education  privilege how to un-pack their relationship to our oppression,. How unlike the thousands of messages and lessons taught in the capitalist away nation that clearly teaches the lie of individualistic success, motherism and independence which relies on our separation from our families and communities and cultures, the pathologizing, profiting, researching and pimping of our stories and our lives and the endless reign of white –supremacist planned land theft and colonization, conscious white people can activate and create real change with a model we poverty skolaz call Community Reparations. This concept teaches back peoples love and spirit and humility, which we all have and institutes a radical concept in capitalism called Inter-dependence.

Selfish Appropriation vs Active Reparations

These lessons of truth taught to the descendents of the original land stealers, current perpetrators of Mama Earth's destruction, academics and multiple poverty industry executives are nothing less than urgent. Forget the guilt, fear or selfish appropriation white people.  As our insanely twisted corporate culture continues its drive towards hyper displacement, and destruction of mama earth, it is more important than ever for people to understand, confront and  activate movement, change and reparations based in realness, not hyper-realness so we can all heal and actually repair our colonized souls..

To find out more about the upcoming session of PeopleSkool's Decolonization/DeGEntriFUKation & Community Reparations Seminars in August email deeandtiny@poormagazine.org

1st Nations. Black, Brown & Poor Peoples Demands for Justice and Self-Determination

2) State-wide Moratorium on Luxury Housing Development /Condominium Development

3) State-wide Anti-Speculation Tax be imposed on all new developments- ( example would be San Francisco's Prop G introduced as a state-wide initiative)

4) Institute Rent Control /renters rights protections in "exempt" regions like Salinas

5) Demand the Conviction of Police Officers who Murder the citizens they claim they here to protect

6. Support/Fund/Implement Community Autonomous Elders Councils and Restorative Justice Models to Move off the US myth of Security and Policing

Leroy Moore interviewed Sulekha Ali, who is speaking out after her autistic brother was profiled by police. The transcript is below.

Leroy Moore: First welcome to Krip-Hop Nation & Poor Magazine on Hard Knock Radio KPFA here in Berkeley, CA and tell your brother, Abby, a belated birthday. You are talking from Ottawa, Canada. Tell us about yourself, family and brother and what happen to him on June 3rd.

Sulekha, Ali: Thank you Leroy. It's an absolute delight, and sincerely thanks for that. Yes. I'm located in Ottawa, Ontario.

Sulekha, Ali: Right. Well, I don't even know where to start as it relates to telling you about my family. But what I will say is that my parents immigrated from wartime Somalia back in 1990. They came here with literally nothing in their pockets.  I would say that I'm always, I was so grateful for what they instilled within us the wisdom to understand that there's more purpose to your life than anybody could ever tell you.  And that you have to actually find it for yourself. So my parents have seven children. I'm the youngest. Abdullahi aka Abby is actually the third child. He's autistic and he was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old. And he's severely autistic. So, he's mute. He cannot communicate through-- he communicates through touch and sound. And that's the way that he's able to, to uh, voice his concerns, as much as he can.

But what happened on June 3 is something that I'm still truly baffled about, but I'll speak to things that I can actually speak to, because these police officers won't give us any more information. What they stated is that they received a tip- OK. So on June 3, the police officers, the tactical squad came into my house with force. They had a warrant, because they received a tip stating that they had reason to believe that somebody in this household has a gun. So that is all that they will provide us in reference to any sort of information as they-- there was three people present at home at the time. My brother, Abbey, was one of them and he is 22 years old. My two other brothers were at home at the time as well. All three of them were arrested.

And, one thing that I really want to address is that, I'm not upset about the reason why they came into my house, because they have to do their job. They are notified. They have to-- if a tip comes in, it is their duty. We as citizens have to be protected by them. And I have absolutely no qualms about that whatsoever. What I have an issue with is that if you're going to investigate a household that you claim has a firearm, you should look into that house with information, including all the people that live in that house. So you should have known that somebody with autism could be present in the household at that time. What I'm upset about is the lack of expectation on their part, once on the premise, prior to when they were even in my household, and then even more so, once they had Abdullahi, aka Abby, in custody. So they arrested my brother. My other brother was in the household at the time. He was screaming. He was trying to tell them that Abbey can not understand their commands. They, the police officers, kept telling "Abby, to get on the ground" but he,was not, you know, reciprocating to their demands, because again, he's not understanding them. He's mute. So my brother's yelling at them, saying, "he can't understand. He's autistic!"  Well now, they have my other brother in handcuffs. They yelled at him, they say "why is he not listening, and have to repeat it for the third time."  And finally they moved Abby outside on the stairs with his other brothers. And his brother had to calm Abdullahi down and told him, no, do not come downstairs Abby, it's going to be OK.

 So the officer had Abby in cuffs at this point. Walking him down the stairs. And then they got my other brother in the cop car. And then, so all, two of the boys that are not autistic are in the cop car at this time. Finally the third one out of the house is Abby and he's barefoot!

They put him in the back of the cop car. All three are in there for an hour and a half. My older brother who is essentially the caregiver for him, Abby, during the daytime while we're all at work, is acting for his well-being. Questions starts to come out like, Does he have water, is he OK? I'm worried about him, can you communicate? The cops are not responding to him, they're not allowing him to speak to my brother. Nothing at all, there's no communication. There's no air conditioner. He has on, uh, a wet diaper. Uh, it's already an hour and a half into the investigation, that they call my dad to come pick up Abby from the back of the cop car. All charges were dropped within the same day, because they found nothing. They left the house in complete dismay. They will not provide any further, uh, information. I went to the police station to ask them for a report, they stated that they don't have one ready for me. I asked them why they don't, and they can't speak to why they don't. I even contacted the local newspaper and she, uh, as a journalist said that it was really baffling to her because when she called and inquired about it, the police didn't have any information for her. And she said it was really bizarre. Nothing has been in the media about this. And that's what bothers me because if they did find anything, of course it'd be all over the air. Is it, because they're at fault, nothing is in the media. And nobody wants to listen to the story. There's money missing from my house. We have property missing. They've damaged everything, they're not willing to pay. And I really cannot tell you how much this has fueled me to ensure that people with disabilities do not go through something like this ever again. Ever.

Leroy Moore: Definitely. Definitely. I'm so glad you're telling your story. I'm a person with a disability, and I'm African American so I totally understand, you know, your cause and stuff. I'm a poet, you know, I do poetry and I do activism. And I wrote this poem called Disabled Profile. Because I've been profiled a lot. You know. Like, your brother. You know, tell us, you know, has your brother got support from both communities, from the black community and the disabled community?

Sulekha, Ali: They did. One thing that I will say is that I've reached out to his advocacy worker. I reached out to him on numerous occasions, because I want to get him legal representation. And I still have not heard back from them. I've left them numerous voicemails, I've emailed him. And I have not heard back from him. But I'm hoping to get that as soon as I can. They, the community, in Ottawa here is amazing. Like my brother grew up until the age of 18 at Cooper Valley. And they have been nothing but supportive. They've been sharing his story on Facebook, they've been asking if there's anything that they can do, wanting to volunteer to help clean the house. So to me, those people have been truly the light at the end of the tunnel. Because it's just nice to know that your brother is supported outside of the people within his household.

Leroy Moore: Yeah! As you know in the US we have Black Lives Matter what can Black Lives Matter happen to your brother? What can Black Lives Matter learn from what happened to your brother.

Sulekha, Ali: So one of the things that people can learn is that there needs to be more conversations.  There needs to be transparency that relates to information about cases of this nature. Why has this not been told? Why is this story not out there? Why is it that, if only they had found a firearm, which we have never been criminals. Like, I've used my words to empower people and I was never raised in way my parents spoke to violence.

Violence is not the answer to anything. I've never seen a gun. I barely even know how to pronounce the word gun, to be honest with you. But to me, what I want people to know about this is that, we need to have the tools to understand, what power do these people have? And when I say these people, the cops. Why is it that they are not protecting people with disabilities when it comes to them doing their job? There has to be some news. There has to be a happy medium. I understand you have a job to do. My brother also has a right to be protected by you and against you.

Leroy Moore: Yeah, yeah, definitely. So what do you want activists in Ottawa and here in the Bay Area to do to highlight the injustice toward your brother.

Sulekha, Ali: I think that awareness is key. If we collectively can come together to shed light on this, then maybe they will listen and understand that there's something that they need to do to better themselves. And again, I want to keep saying that I don't want to be seen as though I'm attacking the police force.  Because that's not my mandate. I really want to empower them to empower themselves to do better by us. Because we're living in a world now where I see more bad than good.

And is it because that's all I'm prone to searching online? Perhaps. But it bothers me because there is something we're going through that I have to speak on. And I, I write music. And I try to write music so that I can get people to put themselves in someone else's shoes. Just for a second. Because our story is not the only story that's being told. And I think there is something profound with that very notion itself.

Leroy Moore: Yeah you know. I really believe in the power and healing of culture work. Your are an artist/singer. Will you write a song about what happened to your family and your brother?

Sulekha, Ali: I think sub-consciously I've already written one. And I don't know if it's foreshadowing. For me, the poetry that comes from the songs that I write comes from life experiences. So I can only speak to what I have written. And I can say that a lot of it has to do with atrocities against, like-- I have a song titled, Somalia.

Leroy Moore: Yeah, I love that song.

Sulekha, Ali: Thank you so much. And you know, I've never, let me very briefly, I've never been violated as a woman. I feel, I've been there. But in that song I took on that role, of seeing that at a young age. And because those are the lessons that other people have taught me, um, about going to things like that and how it is important for them to heal.

Through us, using words that are powerful. Like, the word rape is a powerful word. But it's how we use it, it's the context we use it in, right. So we have to use it in a way that allows them to feel empowered. Yes, it is a hurtful word, because rape is not something that anybody wants to raise their kid with. But, use it. If you've been raped, empower yourself to be able to say, I have been a victim of rape, but I will not allow it to define me. So my brother is a disabled individual, but he does not allow it define him. It is not the core of who he is. It's a part of him, but it's not everything that he is. So for me, it's about protecting each other. And I really, I want to protect his legacy.

Leroy Moore: Yeah, and I want to, as Krip-Hop, put your story out there and really tell you, your brother and others that disability is a culture. It has a history, it has a community. And you know, being in the US I would love to keep on supporting him, your brother through Krip-Hop Nation and all the work I do. What does justice look like to you, in your definition right now? 

Sulekha, Ali: Justice, to me, is somebody being able to be themselves freely. So my brother should freely be everything that he is without somebody imposing on that. And that's what they did on June 3. They imposed on his right to be a person who can not communicate. When you forced him outside of the realm of what he's capable of doing. So they attacked him in a way that he did not deserve to. And they lied, really, really. I am like, completely shocked still. But he hasn't been himself since. He really hasn't. He hasn't slept.  I noticed that he's, he's not as affectionate as he used to be. And again, it's still very new, right. And I shouldn't expect him to bounce back quickly. But freedom to me, is - and justice rather, I should say--to me, would be for him to be himself even when somebody tries to take that, or take that away from him.

Leroy Moore: Now tell me what is next for you, and tell us one more time how can we help in the US and around the world.

Sulekha, Ali: Well, I think you’ve already done it just by allowing me to share the story. Um, what's next for me is that I am going to use this as a pillar of really propelling this newfound love that I have for advocacy. And it's not only limited to individuals with disabilities but it's about humanity. We have a right to be protected, and we have agreed to protect one another. But for me, I found a new sense of purpose. Behind every tragedy lies some sort of light. And I think that I found that within-this, as sad as that is. So I'm grateful.

Leroy Moore: Now tell us how people can contact you.

Sulekha, Ali: People can contact me, um, I'm on Facebook. My name is Sulekha Ali on Facebook. You can also contact me by email, connectwithsulekha@gmail.com.

Leroy Moore: Is there a Facebook page for your brother?

Sulekha, Ali: No. I do have an artist page, uh, which I've been posting, you know, things that are related to what he went through on June 3. However, I have made a vow to start a non-profit organization called Do It For Abbey with the premise to create awareness for children and adults with disabilities, and how police have a duty to ensure that they are protecting them from any sort of thing that they have to take on. So ultimately this is still brand new. I'm searching on how-- because this is still very new for me. An idea that relates to a non-profit organization. So I don't really know where to start, but I do know that I have purpose. And I think that's all I need at this point in time. But as soon as I get more information on that, I'd be more than happy to provide that to you.

Leroy Moore: That's great, that's great. You know, Krip-Hop is doing a film documentary on police brutality against people with disabilities, so we would love to add your story to it. You know.

Sulekha Ali: Absolutely, I'd love that. And I really, really can't thank you enough Leroy, for everything that you've done. I just really appreciate it.

Leroy Moore: Well thank you so much, and we'll stay in contact.

Sulekha, Ali: Sounds good, will do, and if you need anything from me at any point in time don't hesitate to reach out. OK?

Leroy Moore: All right.

To Hear the Full radio interview click here

A Communities Victory

By: Heidy

On July 7^th there was a protest celebration in San Francisco at 521 Natoma. The celebration was about the victory of the family not losing their home. “To celebrate victory for the family stability in Natoma.” was their goal for the celebration said, Rudy Corpus from the United Playaz. The fight was important because “keep families in Natoma. The people in this neighborhood stabilized” Explained Rudy Corpus.

The building was sold and had received a new landlord and he issued a three day eviction notice, so the families living in the building decided to get together with the community and take the problem to court. Evan Matteo the landlord with big tree properties tried to kick out the family.

The Filipino community members are supporting 'Just Cause' Eviction Protections 2.0. If it passes it could benefit the tenants in many ways. For example They need to discourage unnecessary evictions and stabilize rent increases.

Tina Shaft from the migrante organizers community was there speaking on the celebration. She made a very important point, “San Francisco needs to recognize that they can't live without the working class people.” The city can't progress with only the rich people.

I also learned about Tenants In Common. It describes a co-ownership where each owner is free to choose who will inherit his/her interest. But in practice, tenancy in common, tenants in common, and TIC, are commonly used to describe narrow sub-categories of the wide TIC world, leaving the uninitiated confused about how the various types of TICs relate to each other

I am very happy for the family and the Filipino community for keeping their people in San Francisco. It really is a communities victory.

April 28, 2015

WHAT DID YOU PUT IN YOUR POCKET?

It occurs everyday in this natural food holler:
Something looks suspicious, somewhat askew.
Doesn't look like a Yuppie, probably don't have a dollar.
Any Black man, any poor brother will do.

Like a solid shadow, the watchdog follows his steps
Through neat, crowded aisles of health:
Past free-range chicken, organic kale, turn left
Tailing a brother, walking by himself.

ARE YOU SHOPPING AT OUR STORE? OR STEALING?

Ready to justify their low-paid position,
Guard refrigerators filled with another's wealth
Past almond milk, rice cream, halls of nutrition,
The watchdog catches a brother----scoping out
the cold kombucha shelf.

UNLESS YOU'RE HERE TO BUY, LEAVE. NOW.

No stories printed in the newspaper,
No photos on TV news, when push came to shove,
But the watchdog feels satisfied, busting a
nothing "caper"-----
On warning flyers, a brother is made an example of.

IF YOU SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AGAIN,
9-1-1 WILL BE CALLED. BELIEVE THAT.
_______________________________
W: 4.8.15

The honorable bronze statues at Birmingham, Alabama's Kelly Ingram Park showed a display of courageous youth, some young as 8 years old who refused to be silent and stood up for justice. Despite the vicious attacks by po'lice dogs under the command of klansmen (yes, many po'lice officers were klan members, and still are today!), to the flesh-ripping power of the water hose, even the murders of youths Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley when "Dynamite Bob", along with two other Amerikkkan terrorists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church did not deter their mission. The children still continued to march on and advocate with a stern promise that they will "turn the jails upside down" if incarcerated by Birmingham's so-called "finest". From the Bay Area, to New York, Baltimore to Texas, the assaults and cold-blooded killings of our children goes on.

Youth attending a pool party in McKinney, Texas were reminded that Black lives do not matter in this racist society when they were assaulted by McKinney PD and threatened with guns. Po'lice were throwing to kids to the ground, pointing guns and threatening jail to those who refused to be silent about the wrongness of the situation and according to a statement made by McKinney PD, part of the statement says that "The initial call came in as a disturbance involving multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live here in the area or have the permission to be there, refusing to leave." Now either that is some good po'lice work, to be able to look at someone and determine where they are from, or another example of "You don't belong in this neighborhood, darkie!"

In the video, there was a young girl who lived in the area whom was with the 15-year old girl who was slammed to the ground and treated as if she was sub-human by a rude kkkop with a fragile ego and not a care for any of the lives that were present. The youngsters were randomly "picked out" by these confused kkkops to get on their faces and when the po'lices' attempt to "restore order" failed, all hell broke loose. The kkkop who had not one, but TWO knees in the 15 year old's girl's back had nothing but vulgar, disrespectful comments and threats of incarceration even towards the child who was crying hysterically from the brutality committed by McKinney's "finest", Eric Casebolt.

The video was also like a display of "slavemassa control" of "If you don't be a good nigra and walk away and ignore this injustice, you will go to jail or die!" And the ego-feed of listening to youth beg and say "sorry, sir" to a unyielding beast has always been one of the many tools to break my people by forced submission and be of acceptance of oppression, no matter how barbaric it may be. With that said as a mother of young black children, and a survivor of an po'lice attack when I was seven months pregnant it is heart wrenching to experience this level of injustice while the agents of the state can beat and murder our children of color with impunity. What is really sickening is that the ill actions by the kkkops are being backed up by some of the neighbors who could care less, just as long as that same thing don't happen to white children because there will be hell to pay! My question is was the "disorder" the gathering of young black youth in a majority white neighborhood that "frightened" the neighbors because of the sub-conscious fear of an uprising whenever Blacks congregate? My question is indeed tied to a historical fact that we were tortured and killed when we had gatherings out of the so-called "slavemassa's" sight or control. Blacks have always been stigmatized as being violent and unruly by our violent and brutal oppressors and that lie has been the platform behind why our children are still being slaughtered (alongside with our elders and adults) without any consequences. What the highly decorated Po'lice Eric Casebolt is seen doing on the video is child abuse and endangerment, plain and simple. The pointing of the guns and the unnecessary force inflicted on the minors was an offense that even blood relatives would have been punished for. Eric Casebolt got the PAL treatment (paid administrative leave)

I remember Malcolm X had spoke on the issue that white men protested and made clear of their right to defend white women and children, and that Black men should have that same right, too. What did that kkkop Eric Casebolt do when he saw the 2 young men step up? He pulled that gun and did whatever he wanted to do to the young female... Ring a bell? History and Herstory repeats itself, it just teaches the same lessons in different ways. Some of the residents thanked the officers for a job well done and showed support for their "keeping us in line". This show of support isn't nothing new under the sun for even the Ku Kluckx Klan had back up from those who believe in upholding non-white supremacy. One would assume that no "gud o'l wite folk" wanted to punish the (2008) officer of the year!

Dear children, do not continue to be distracted by the ways of the world and its falsehoods. Your great legacies are at stake and THAT is worth fighting for, and one day my grandchildren will visit your statues of courage in beautiful parks because you too, like our ancestors were not afraid.

Photo credit: Foot Soldier, by Shino https://www.flickr.com/photos/ms-ito/4634035315