Story Archives 2000

by Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Jacob Frost

Slam Bio

Green

Like a newly grown apple

Sour like lemons kiss

The smell of rain

Kissed leaves after a nights rain

Touch of soft silk

A red panda

Not many culturally centered left of my Ute people

My home is beautiful

I live in my world

My family fights to keep our culture alive

My sisters death was a difficult time to deal with

I was forced to grow up

At age 11

The streaming green light reminds me

To live in reality

But dream

like im asleep

by KaPonda

I am the mysterious product of a love supreme, nestled snugly within the creative bowels of femininity. My progressive footprints rest in the womb of humanity, as rhythmical contractions, driven by pants of excitement, prepare me for an uncertain future. A future, in an ideal life, that would open its gates as I am thrust forth from within. But I am wary also, because the grim reaper of prenatal existence, Barbara Harris, has waged a vicious war against impoverished mothers, denying them of their vested privilege of motherhood, and declaring me persona non grata.

Barbara Harris of Anaheim, conceived her campaign against poor, pregnant women in 1977, after having experienced problems with adoption. Traces of crack cocaine were discovered in the systems of her adopted children. She subsequently formed an organization, Children Requiring A Caring Kommunity (C.R.A.C.K.), based on the theory that the sterilization of poor women who use drugs would prevent birth defects in newborn babies. Ms. Harris launched an aggressive ideology, dubbed Project Prevention, which she proposed to offer poor women who use drugs approximately $200.00 to undergo any of a number of birth control procedures.

According to Ms. Harris, Project Prevent would eliminate excessive amounts of annual pregnancies among women who use drugs. She states, also, that her organization would prevent the numerous abortions and abandoned children. Furthermore, Ms. Harris states that Project Prevent would ease the burden of the foster care system. And, of course, her plan would create a decrease in drug-saturated births.

Barbara Harris has mobilized nationwide support for her campaign by making use of popular prejudices. Her destructive propaganda has incited hatred toward poor women in America at an economically critical period for women, as Congress has mandated states to transition them from welfare to employment.

The perfect child has neither been conceived nor born. Therefore, it is mean-spirited and insensitive of Ms. Harris to declare war on infants of a certain group of women because she discovered traces of cocaine in her children's systems. Researchers at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have stated in the book Your Child, "The unborn child has the capacity to sense the harm in utero, and that the workings of any baby's mind are, and will remain, inscrutable." It follows that the development of a child is much the same from one child to the next. But the way the child makes his way in life varies according to his education, environment and support structure.

According to a recent survey, nine out of 10 women are loyal and remain closely attached to their partners, as opposed to one out of 10 men who demonstrate that same faithful commitment. This statistic suggest a strong probability that many of the women who forfeit their reproductive virtues for Ms. Harris' quick cash will not only regret it themselves, but its impact will affect their partners to whom they choose to remain loyal.

There have been solutions already provided to address the concerns that Ms. Harris have raised. As Hillary Rodham Clinton noted during her visit to Kampala, Uganda on March 28, 1977, "Women constitute 70 percent of the world's poor. Based on research and first-hand personal observation by many people involved in government and politicsäaround the world, the single most important investment any nation can make...is the education of girls and women."

Organizations such as the Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP), Planned Parenthood, and even the Catholic Church have recommended investing dollars into programs that offer healthcare and drug prevention education to economically disadvantaged women. A recent finding by researchers has shown that every dollar spent on the front end of education and drug programs saves seven dollars on the other end. According to the chartbook, Health, United States, 1998, "A healthy pregnancy is directly associated with a women's healthcare education level."

To deny this is absurd. Ms. Harris should consider redirecting her economic focus by offering those same women a $200.00 cash incentive to attend some type of rigorous, intensive workshop over a two-week period. The overwhelming evidence proves that this approach would cause a drastic reduction in annual pregnancies and child abandonment. This is, undoubtedly, a humane and moral solution which would not only eliminate any hint of divisiveness, but also afford a greater number of chronically poor women an opportunity for a structured healthcare and drug treatment education. Thus, future research would show a decrease in infant mortality, an increase in contraceptive use (if needed), and healthier babies being born to healthier women.

Ms. Harris asserts that offering cash to women who use crack cocaine would cause a decrease in drug-saturated births. There is no evidence which suggest that defective births are the exclusive result of cocaine use, alone. According to Doctor Dean Edell, we should not use tests based on drugs a determinant for any social, political, economical, ethical or spiritual decisions because it is not a perfected science. Research has discovered that drug testing varies according to an individual's race. Drugs enter the pigment of ethnic groups, differently. As the cells grow, the drugs are deposited into the pigment. Traces of cocaine may appear in a black person using cocaine, but not in a white person. So, traces of cocaine may appear, let's say, in four black infants adopted at birth by a women from Anaheim, but may not be found in white children who may have been exposed to the same amount.

Birth defects have many causes, some of which have as yet been discovered. If both parents carry the defective sickle-cell gene, the baby would probably inherit the Sickle-Cell Anemia disease. Structural heart defects is the most common type of birth defect, which costs an average of $250,000 to treat. Chromosome abnormalities (including Down Syndrome) occurs with regular frequency, which requires an average of $451,000 to treat. Neural Tube Defects, including Spinal Bifida and Anencephaly, is also a birth defect which needs close scrutiny, which costs $294,000 to treat. In addition, there are many others that need careful scrutiny. Neither Ms. Harris, nor anyone else should arbitrarily single out any one group of women for what amounts to a breach human rights.

The breach had occurred. The cascade of water alerted me that the hour had arrived that would bequeath upon me the mantle of life, and usher me through the portal of reality. It is an event in which everyone involved will remember. Its success will determine who I am and what I can become.....

by Lyn Daniels

I wonder where the poor and the homeless plan to dine today. Seeing as I am currently in that situation myself - I’ll take you on a tour of some of the more popular eating establishments for this Thanksgiving; Chez St. Anthony's, A la Glide Memorial, and finally, Martin ( de Lah') Pouresse. These three selections, are well known on the less than fortunate circuit. I know that the whole idea behind this story is feeding the underprivileged on Thanksgiving so as I said before: I went,witnessed,and ate.

I chose to visit the more upscale Martin (de Lah') Pouresse to start things off. I made thi choice not because of the food, but because I thought it would be more convenient, knowing that the lines at the other eateries would be off the hook.
Or around the corner. So by following my instincts, I hoped time would play on my side.

As things turned out, it did.

There was a woman at the front door handing out tickets with a number that I assumed corresponded with your place in line. This wasn’t the case, because there was no line. I mean there were a lot of people there, but everyone was already seated and enjoying their meal. I stepped a little further in. This other woman came up to me and asked if I would like to be seated. I said yes and she asked for my ticket. I willingly gave her the ticket and she escorted me to the next available seat where I sat down.

All of a sudden, a nice looking young lady came up to me and asked if I wanted a glass of water or cider. I chose the cider. At this point I was feeling very welcomed by the atmosphere and the service being provided.

The they brought on the food. The same young lady brought my meal to me. It was the traditional bird, dressing and gravy with a roll and sweet potatoes along with a serving of cranberry sauce. The part of the meal that stood out for me was the dessert: pumpkin pie. This pie was so good I forgot about all the other pie that was to come later.

Now, I will give a rating to the food and the experience of this first meal. I would have to rate it as very good. Two thighs up. And that bird wasn’t the only one that was stuffed.

By now the line at Chez St. Anthony’s should be somewhat shorter. You have to give consideration to the fact that it is Thanksgiving. Remember that the first meal took a lot out of me or ,should I say, put a lot in to me. Which now makes it a task to take on another meal.

I go back out to wait on the 9 bus which takes all of two to three minutes to arrive, even on a holiday! As I got on the bus, the driver proceeded to drive like his foot was on fire, so he had to step on the gas to put it out. Which helped me to reach my next destination in about 3 to 4 minutes flat.

I proceeded with courage to Chez St Anthony‘s. Now this is what an experienced diner caught between the two eateries is known to do. First, you get in line at St Anthony's and get your ticket to eat. Then you go up to Glide Church, weave and bob your way up to the front, or as near to the front of the line as you can get. It’s not recommended that someone without experience try this maneuver. This is also a way of letting time pass by so that you are right on time to get back to St Anthony’s to enjoy your meal.

The meal at A la Glide was good, especially the apple cider that it seems everyone was serving. Sometimes that’s the common bond that exists with all free meal establishments; there will always be something similar on the menu. The only thing that I hate to say which is so consistant at Glide, is the attitude of the regulars. They are there to monitor the activity of the client’s who eat there. It doesn't matter what the meal is, the time of year, the fesivity, whatever. Their attitudes are always the same: very pushy, very inconsiderate. Really, there is no need to be this way with the poor folk who are just in need of a meal .

Just because the poor are there to service the poor, it should still be done with respect for one another as human beings. It doesn't matter how good the meal is; people should be treated with respect. I give Glide a rating of two drumsticks up with one broken wing.

At this point I needed to be wheeled around in a shopping cart like you see a lot of the homeless here in the city do after a little too much to drink. I finally reach St. Anthonys. My number was going through the door. I easily slip right in line, like us veterans of the game do. I approached the ticket taker. There is a woman; their patron of the cause of goodwill on Thanksgiving. She hands me a "glad to see you" card as a token of welcome. Then I was told to be seated and my meal would be brought to me. So I sat.

And it was. How pleasant. But like Christmas, this only happens once a year. Then comes tommorrow and things are back to normal. Now to get down to the meal. Not Surprisingly, it was the same as all the rest. Turkey with all the trimmings. I wonder if today is a one-menu day? Of course; it's Thankgiving. The meal was very good. The parts of it I could put down. My rating is: "Oh St. Heavens". But by this time all the meals tasted the same.

Overall, I give my Golden Turkey Award or as the poor would have it, The Silver Turkey Award, to Martin Pouresse. It wins on the merits of service, attitude, atmosphere and that outta sight pumpkin pie.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday; rich or poor. What is more important is even though you may be considered poor, you can be rich in heart. With that I say, good day, but never goodbye .

by Richard G. Hall, JR. (PNN Prison Correspondent)

Former U. S. Supreme Court Justice, Earl Warren used to become emasculated by the mere thought of reading the daily newspaper. I guess his gut twisted in a tight knot reviewing press packed with corruption, criminality, social incompetence, in humanity and down –right failure! In the face of such a daily deluge of ‘Cess. The good stuff has little real impact. Mr. Warren always read the sports page first, to spare himself a serious stomach ulcer. Because the only thing dirty in it, was the athletes uniforms, it really made no difference how the chips of victory or defeat fell. The very best that the human spirit could give, was always exemplified to the fullest.

On March 5, 2003, I forgot all about the Earl Warren Technique. And just had to read the “Bay Area” Section of the San Francisco Chronicle, First. The caption that busted my eyes said: “Out of Balance – Oakland has more special needs students but less money.”
Rest assured, the article was both appalling, and certainly tear jerking. And this is nothing short of an understatement.

Nearly 6,000 Oakland, California school children with an array of mental, and physical disabilities, are possibly on the verge of suffering for even more unfortunate circumstances. Not because of any fault of their own. But because adults incompetently managed the economic affairs of the “Oakland Unified School District.” As it stands, certain folks are complaining that over the past 3 years, the Oakland Unified School Districts cost to care for and educate special needs kids, Has increased by one-third- to $31 million in 2002. Even though the number of special needs kids has relatively remained the same. It would be very interesting to hear the 411 on “Oakland’s Military Academy.” Which was allocated a few cool $million, to militarize and educate less than 500 kids.

Nevertheless, this is not the time to waste time elaborating on printed paper currently. Regardless of California’s current budget fiasco. There are exceptions to the rule, when it comes to the budget ax. Especially disabled school children. It’s ironic how the U. S. Government can fling American tax-dollars to countries all over the Globe. In order to allegedly assist them in improving their social condition. That’s all well and good. But what about the downward spiraling conditions of Americas poorest communities? And it is even more of a slap in the face, that U. S. Government officials would even consider extending “Turkey” possibly $30 billion. Just to use that country as an allied task force military launch pad. For the sole purpose of the destruction and bloodshed of war against Iraq.

That’s a brilliant idea! The U. S. Military could park a few jets and tanks on the grounds of a few Oakland Public Schools. And charge the government a couple billion dollars. That would certainly save the Oakland Unified School District from losing its educational freedom to the scourge of bankruptcy! So what if it now costs $31 million to educate special needs kids. America’s – professional athletes in quite a few cases, have contracts bigger than that. How much does a single nuclear weapon cost.

All that matters is, 47% of Oakland’s special needs kids have learning disabilities. What so-called moral citizens should worry about, is the 25% of those kids who are afflicted with language and speech impairments. Who is unempathetic enough to look the 12% of them who are mentally retarded, and tell them they may be booted out in the cold because the O. U. S. D. is short on cash? The most despicable wretch on earth would not dare stoop so low! Did I mention the 2% that suffer from Autism? I could bring up the 1% who no sweat off anybody’s back that fewer than 1% are deaf, deaf and blind, have multiple disabilities, and brain trauma injuries?
It is bad enough that Oakland’s healthy school kids are suffering from the O. U. S. D’s Below substandard promotions. Now This!

Another stupendous irony can be reflected when the “California lottery” was started. What happened to the high sounding punch line!” It Will Help California Schools?”
Considering quite a few California School kids don’t even have text books to sorta learn from. And many of them that do, use outdated ones. So much for the California Lottery helping school kids. While every body is being spooked about possible terrorist attacks to come. Especially the so-called threat of Bio Chemical weapons. It might be a damn good idea to inoculate quite a few folks with ant- selective amnesia and selective empathy vaccines.

some folks have even gone so far as to claim, because of the money used on special education, the Oakland Unified School District is in the financial mess its in. Can you believe that? There’s no shortage of cash to slam folks in state prison, with a 25-to-Life sentence for stealing a G. I. Joe from J. C. Pennies. And I’ll assure you, if any of Oakland’s Special Needs kids, God forbid, Committed
adult type crimes. The only thing that will be out of Balance is real Justice! And God knows there will be plenty of available cash to lock them us. “God Bless America is an all wrong Song to Sing.” It should be!” God save America’s children. Especially those with special needs!”

by Muteado/PNN Migrant and Poverty Scholar

Scroll down for English

El tambor hablo y el humo difundió una energía positiva por todo el sitio. “Dicen que toma un pueblo para criar a un niño, sin embargo, también toma un pueblo para poder mandarlo al colegio. Entonces el pueblo salió y hablo. El concierto, “Educación or the Bullet” (Educación o una bala) tomo lugar en el centro cultural de SOMArts. Organizado por HOMEY (Homies organizando a la Misión para apoderar la juventud) el evento se enfoco en la prevención de la violencia y la enseñanza de jóvenes, para que busquen maneras creativas para poder expresarse y motivar a los jóvenes que vayan al colegio.

Varias organizaciones comunitarias como: POWER, que se enfoca en temas que afectan a comunidades de color, MECHA, una organización estudiantil, Back Student Unión (Unión Morena de Estudiantes), Clínica Martín Baro, Huaxtec, Cultura Pherma Indígena, la comunidad Filipina y POOR Magazine vinieron a apoyar el evento.

El evento se comenzó con danzantes que bendijeron el edificio. Los MC’s presentaron a Deuce Eclipse, un artista de la área de la bahía, que hizo que comenzara la fiesta al compartir su música de consciencia. Desde el comienzo hasta el final, el evento estuvo lleno de grandes talentos, poetas, y raperos, no solo de la bahía, pero también de Los Angeles. Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer MC compartió una letra poderosa, hablando sobre la opresión de las mujeres en todo el mundo. Cuando se le pregunto porque tomo parte de el evento, ella respondió, “Amo el área de la bahía y la energía de la juventud que hay aquí.” Le pregunte porque no hay tantas mujeres MC’s y ella respondió diciendo, “Hay muchas mujeres MC’s. Hasta hice un MySpace de solo mujer MC’s pero algunas veces no somos invitadas. Eso es lo positivo de este evento que organizo HOMEY.” La presentación de Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer fue impactante, con un “slide show” pasando en el fondo mostrando estadísticas y datos sobre la realidad de la opresión de las mujeres en todo el mundo, mientras que ella cantaba.

“Como la historia ha sido escondido de nosotros”

El grupo HAIRDOO también bendijo el escenario con consciencia e unidad como siempre lo hacen. Tuve la oportunidad de hablar con Shaka, uno de los miembros de HAIRDOO y pregunte, “¿Por que vinieron a el evento de “Education or the Bullet?” Bueno, tenemos una conexión intima con Alejandro y BRN BFLO. también pensamos que apoyar este evento es importante porque hay hermanos convirtiéndose a victimas de homicidios y alguna de nuestra propia gente son los que están matando, la separación entre la comunidad morena y latina. Nos tenemos que unir para no solo derrotar al imperio, pero para también levantarnos, para poder conectar ese puente hacia la liberación como seres humanos.”

“Tenemos que conseguir nuestra educación por cual quieres medios necesarios.”

Big Dan de el grupo BRN BFLO que también participaron en el evento dijieron, “Nosotros estamos aquí apoyando a HOMEY, apoyando el movimiento y apoyando a los estudiantes indocumentados, porque todos merecemos una educación. Entonces tenemos que ser el cambio que queremos ver, hay que hallar lo que nos gusta hacer y hacerlo.”

“Welfare Queeeens!”

Las WelfareQueens de POORMagazine también estuvieron presentes. Hablando sobre la opresión de la mujer, que viene de el sistema y la separación de generaciones impuesto por la manera de pensar de el Oeste. “Las mujeres bien portadas nunca se meten en problemas” y las WelfareQueens no se portan bien. Compartiendo la verdad y hablando sobre las condiciones en que vivimos, trajeron con ellas su energía y compartieron su palabra.

“Ayude a su gente”

Somos One, de BRN BFLO, también compartió algunos pensamientos sobre el evento, “No, nomás somos artistas, somos maestros, estamos en el movimiento, estamos para apoyar a la juventud, para apoyar el evento de HOMEY. El evento estuvo muy bien organizado gracias a Alejandra, Nancy, Erik y que sigan participando en lo que les guste y ayude a su gente.”

“Que se joda la policía, que se jodan!”

Ise Lyfe también estuvo y compartió sus rimas y difundió consciencia sobre la opresión policíaca en nuestras comunidades de color y hablo sobre la matanza de Oscar Grant en una de sus nuevas canciones.

“Ahora salio un articulo donde decía que los latinos son el mayor porcentaje de gente encarcelada en Los Estados Unidos de Amérikkka.”

Mientras que tomaba el BART para regresarme al Este de Oakland, Sagnicthe- de Huaxtec y un organizador de la área de la bahía- hablo sobre la comunidad Latina y la educación. “HOMEY y Huaxtec han trabajado juntos y han tratado temas que afectan nuestras comunidades Latinas. Nosotros entendemos que la educación o la falta de educación es un problema con que la comunidad tiene que liriar. Vemos que lo que se le ofrece a la comunidad es la militar, el complejo industrial de las prisiones, o las calles. Es triste que mucha gente peleo por el sistema educativo que hoy tenemos y no lo aprovechamos, algunas veces lo recibimos con una actitud de resistencia y nos enfocamos en maneras negativas de expresarnos. Necesitamos cosas positivas para nuestra comunidad.

El evento de HOMEY, “Education or the Bullet” fue un concierto impactante que discutió la educación en los Estados Unidos de Amérikkka. Como sobreviviente del sistema publica de escuelas, veo la necesidad que hay, en apartarnos del enfoque europeo, y salir del sistema que ha sido construido para que comunidades de color salgan derrotadas.

-------------------------

Education Not the Bullet

HOMEYSF sponsors an event focusing on the education system in Amerikkka

As the drum spoke and the smoke spread positive energy through the room, the danzantes blessed us with their moves. A voice spoke, “Every danza has a meaning and the next danza is meant to clear the bad energy in the room.” They say it takes a village to raise a child but it also takes a village to send a child to college and so the village came out and spoke. The "Education or the Bullet” concert took place at the SOMArts cultural center. Organized by HOMEY (Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth) the event focused on violence prevention, teaching young people to look for creative ways to express themselves and encouraging young people to go college.

At the event, different grassroots organizations like POWER, who deals with issues that affect communities of color, MECHA, a student organization, Black Student Union, Clinica Martin Baro, Huaxtec, Indigenous Pherma Culture, Filipino Community and Poor Magazine came out to support.

The event was kicked off by some powerful Danzantes who blessed the building. The MC’s introduced Bay Area’s own, Deuce Eclipse, who busted out some conscious lyrics and got the party started. From beginning to end, the event was packed with amazing talents, poets and rappers not only from the bay, but also L.A. Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer MC ripped the mic with powerful lyrics, speaking on the oppression of women in the world. When asking her why she took part of the event she replied, “I love the bay area and the energy that the youth have out here.” I also asked why there are not as many women MC’s and she answered: “There are a lot woman MC’s. I even created a myspace with only MC women, but sometimes, we don’t get invited. This is the positive thing about this event that HOMEY organized.” Cihuatl-Ce Una Mujer’s performance was powerful; she had a slide show and put out facts and statistics on the oppression of women in the world, while performing.

“How history has been hidden from us.”

HAIRDOO also blessed the stage with consciousness and unity like they always do. I had the opportunity to talk to Shaka, one of the members of HAIRDOO and asked, “What is HAIRDOO doing out here in ‘Education or the Bullet’?”

“Well, we have a close connection with Alejandro and BRN BFLO. [We] also think is important to support this event, because there are brothers becoming victims of homicide and some of our people are doing the killing, the black and brown separation. We need to unify ourselves not only to defeat the empire, but to also uplift each other, to be able to connect the bridge to the path to liberating ourselves as human beings."

“We need to get our education by any means necessary.”

Big Dan from BRN BFLO who also participated in the event said, "We are here to support HOMEY, support the movement and support the undocumented students, because we all deserve an education. So be the change that you want to see, find what you love to do and just do it.”

“Welfare Queeeens!”

Poormagazine’s own WelfareQUEENS were also in the house speaking on the oppression of women by the system and the separation of generations imposed by Western thinking. “Well-behaved women don’t get in trouble” and the WelfareQUEENS are always in trouble. Speaking powerful truths and telling it like it is, bringing their offspring into the stage, and sharing their powerful words.

“Ayude a su gente”

Somos One, of BRN BFLO, also dropped a couple of thoughts about the event, “No, nomas somos artistas, somos maestros, estamos en el movimiento, estamos para apoyar a la juventud, para apoyar el evento de HOMEY. El evento estuvo muy bien organizado gracias a Alejandra, Nancy, Erik y que sigan participando en lo que les guste y ayude a su gente.”

“Fuck the police, fuck em!”

Ise Lyfe was in the building, sharing rhymes and spreading conciousness about police oppression in our communities of color and speaking on the killing of Oscar Grant with his new piece.

“Ahora salio un articulo donde decia que los latinos son el mayor porcentaje de gente encarcelada en Amerikkka.”

“Today, I saw an article that said Latinos are the highest percentage of people incarcerated in Amerikkka.”

While riding BART back to East Oakland, Sagnicthe-from Huaxtec and an organizer in the Bay Area-spoke about the Latino community and education. “HOMEY and Huaxtec have done work together on issues that affect our Raza communities. We understand that education or the lack of education is a problem is our community that we have to deal with, we see that what is offered to our community is the military, prison industrial complex or the streets. It is sad that a lot of our people fought for the education system that we have now and we don’t take advangtage of it, sometimes we have an attitude of resistance and tend to focus on negative ways to express our selves. We need positive things for our community.”

“It takes a village to raise a child.”

HOMEY’s ‘Education or the Bullet’ concert was a powerful event that addressed the education in Amerikkka. As a survivor of the public school system, I see the need to ‘un-euro-centricize the educational system and move to be a more diverse curriculum in order to become relevant to our youth, who often drop out because they feel left out, powerless and cannot relate to an educational system that has been set up for them to fail.

by Anastacia, aka Stacey D. Langley/PNN Texas correspondent

Ingles sigue

I’m not currently homeless, but with the fickle stoner landlady that my partner and I have, that could change at any moment. We don’t want to be homeless again. If we lose our place here, we can’t afford another one here in Austin.

I’ve been homeless on and off since 1992, when I left home because my mom just refused to get along with me. At first I lived off my savings, but when that ended, I started crashing with friends and occasionally sleeping with guys to have a place to stay for the night. I smoked pot and dropped acid, so I don’t really remember much from 1992 to 1995. .

At the drop of a hat, if I ended up with some money from a little job, friends, or church, I’d decide to go off to Austin, Nashville, Dallas, or some other town. I’d work there for a while, but never could save enough to find a place. .

I met a guy with a lot of privilege and we dated all summer. I guess he liked having a little street girl to fool around with for a while, until his rich psychiatrist daddy freaked out after I got pregnant (I found out later that Daddy-O paid for my abortion.) Then my boyfriend literally dropped me off in front of a teen homeless shelter. Two months of depression and drug use ensued. .

I met a British space physicist and had a semester-long affair with him, once again ending up pregnant. This time, I was not going to terminate my pregnancy. I was able to find a supportive midwife who moved me to North Texas, where I gave birth to Maya in 1996.

I returned to college in 1997,but it only lasted a year. My parents and I had reconciled by that point, so I ended up moving in with them in El Paso. I was able to find a good job as a telephone operator, but once again, depression reared its ugly head, and I got fired. .

My parents told the State that I was not fit to care for my daughter because of my mental illness, so they took her from me, promising me that they would give her back when I was more stable. Then the State charged me with child endangerment because some anonymous asshole reported that I had left my child alone and didn’t feed her. I got probation, but pissed it away after my mom told me not to see my daughter. I ran off to Houston in 1999 after CPS refused to assist me in obtaining mental health services. .

I got pregnant again the next year after a fling with an eighteen year old. I went off to San Francisco, but returned to Austin after six weeks. I moved in with some friends from the LGBT community, and gave birth to Ethan in 2001. .

I had odd jobs and help from friends, and that’s how I survived with Ethan then. We traveled around the country, but the grass was not greener on the other side. We always returned to Houston. .

In 2004, we were living in a mentally ill group home in Houston when I met Todd, a fellow resident. We quickly fell in love and got our own place, but that didn’t last long, because I was so afraid of CPS and the State coming to get me. I left for Austin that summer, and Todd followed me a few months later. .

I became pregnant and we moved to Albuquerque, where we stayed until Zen was born in early 2005. We returned to Austin, where we stayed at the Salvation Army for six months until we qualified for a housing program. We moved into our own apartment in a nice area and Ethan began school. Almost immediately after moving, I once again got pregnant with Serenity, born in 2006. We spent that year moving from one apartment’s “$99 move in special” to another. .

Todd got a part-time job in 2007 and we moved into a house. Unfortunately, he became physically disabled in addition to his mental illness, so we lost the house. We spent most of 2007 going around the country trying to find him better health care for his neurological disorder, caused by the negligence of his psychiatrist. .

In September of 2007, we moved back to Austin and briefly stayed in the Catholic Worker house. Unfortunately, the woman there didn’t like Todd and threw him out, so the kids and I left the next day. Unbeknownst to us, she called CPS on us. .

We got help from the School District to move into an cramped apartment in a bad area of town. To help pay the rent, I started stripping, but fell back into drug abuse, so I just wasn’t able to take care of the kids like I should have. Todd was basically bedridden at that point. CPS came, but they saw nothing wrong, so they closed the case. .

March 2008 was when the shit hit the fan. Our apartment complex was sick of fixing our windows broken by the neighbors playing soccer, so they threatened to evict us. The next day, I received a call at work from CPS saying they were removing my children because of neglect. My house was a total pigsty because I was too depressed to care, and the police were called. They discovered my warrant for probation violation, arrested me, and sent me back to El Paso. They sent Todd to the mental hospital. .

After I was sentenced in El Paso, I was arrested for child endangerment again in Austin, and was transported back. The whole time I was incarcerated, I only got one visit from friends. I ended up serving my sentences concurrently, and was released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in December of last year. .

Todd and I went to court and had our parental rights terminated and so our children went to foster care, then adoption. It is still very hard on us ten months later. .

I finally was able to access mental health services and chemical dependency treatment, and now I am receiving Supplemental Security Income as well as Todd’s. Unfortunately, it is hard to locate affordable housing in Austin nowadays, so we rent an RV month to month. We don’t know when our college student landlady is going to flake out on us and want us to move. I don’t know what is going to happen then, but I am a survivor, so I know I’ll make it through. .

by Staff Writer

Part 2

Part 3

by Staff Writer

Last Friday in the San Francisco Chronicle I read independent booksellers didn’t do well in the Antitrust case against Borders, Barnes & Nobles Book stores.

I’m not going into details, lets say U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick saw the big chain’s view.

What can small independent book sellers do?
Yes. Barns, Borders, Crown, and other giants have blocks of room for volumes of new and popular works, large advertising budgets, and coffee shops for patrons wanting to slow down to sip their hot tan to black liquid with pastry, bagel, English muffin, French or American Toast.

Where did the coffee shop idea come from? It was originally from modest independent bookseller’s with innovative ways of thinking.

They had to compete against other shops for customers.

Most if not all big chains think:bottom-line, what will get people to buy and not browse, bigger=better is their notion and if coffee shops, bar and bakery combos will get the public in they’ll spend the money raising/cutting prices on food items for added cash revenue.

Big Book chains are Glitzy, posh, expensive, and slightly innovative. How can independent booksellers compete? They don’t; like successful Mom& Pop or one-owner bookstores of the past they can do-be innovative, different in ways huge chains cannot.

Remember "The Purple Onion" or "Hungry Eye" in the 1950’s and 60’s with poets, comedians individual stand-up or groups and of course authors of various works.

Then there is malt shops, PC, I-net spaces and independents joining for a better diversified customer base.

Not following the chain crowd could be what saves independents. It seems when chains have a successful model they don’t change they tend to look the same and if an ordinary behind-the-counter has an idea dumb or brilliant she/he may not be listened to because of the Chain-of-Command top-down structure of most chains.

in a small shop with four or less people one person with a dumb or brilliant idea can ask the boss too without c-o-c wait and his or her idea can be tried.

Think of chain bookstores as slow moving monoliths that may communicate swiftly with other monoliths but c-o-c’s make ‘em get in their own way.

Sometimes bigger is better and at other times what is wanted and needed is
a small nook for books not well known, like small diamonds and gems constantly overlooked.

remember all new books get old eventually and big chains have to move their products.

Small stores with combo café’s, author visits, PC-net services will always be an alternative to large chains because readers are interested in so many kinds of books that chain stores may disdain or dislike not taking the effort because of adverse publicity.

>p>The "If its not here its not anywhere" attitude will no longer be applied as long as independents say. "These ideas, works, authors, theories, whatever are here for readers, not for big chains to pick and choose what our tastes are to fill their already full coffers.

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by Andy DellaRocca/PNN Media intern

"Andy, grab yourself something to eat." I was startled to hear somebody
call me by my first name. How did this woman know my name? Why was she so
concerned about my diet? I then remembered the name tag that I had been
given at the front entrance, on which I wrote "Andy: Poornewsnetwork." The
tag hung from my upper chest, and as I sat in the wooden fold-up chair in
Susan Cieutat's living room, I pondered how nice it would be if we all wore
name tags, all of the time. "Please, you must be hungry."

I wasn't at all hungry, I had just eaten. But after a third person
requested that I take advantage of the platter that was spread out in the
dining room, I rose and squeezed past the others to arrive at the table.
There before me stood a table full of bagels, cream cheese, and fruit salad.
"Have you been eating enough fruit?" rang my mother's voice in my head,
and despite the affirmative responses I've always given her, I knew that I
hadn't been, so I filled my plate with blueberries, bananas, melon, and
apples, and went back to my seat. I ate the food quickly, eager to get back
to reading the pamphlets that were handed to me concerning Oregon's
comprehensive Health Care Finance Act, Universal Health Care in San
Francisco, and the Universal Single Payer Health Care Resolution. As I read
these, and ate my fruit, I thought about how justified my mother's concerns
were, both that I was living without a health plan, and that I didn't eat
enough fruit.

"I have to pay $100 dollars to find out if I still have cancer? That's
immoral," Jose Ramirez, a Cuban emigrant, now living in the United States,
told us he had said to a doctor from whom he received treatment in the past,
and who had presented to him a bill for a medical exam. We were all
introducing ourselves, and when I heard the statement by Jose, I realized
that I'd better start the tape recorder.

Health Care For All San Francisco, a local non-profit group, was hosting
this event in Susan Cieutat's living room. Amongst the tall bookcases that
lined the walls of her bright home sat about 25 adults of all ages, who
represented a variety of organizations such as the Gray Panthers, Neighbor
to Neighbor, and Health Care for All. The featured guest was Anne
Sunderland, who works for the Institute of Global Health at the University
of California, San Francisco. She recently attended the World Health
Organization's conference on biotechnology and health in Havana, Cuba, and
was here to speak about Cuba's biotech industry, as well as the state of
health care around the world. My tape recorder whirred as she stood up to
speak.

"Although it's relatively easy to be unaware of this while living in the
United States, we are really living in a time of great crisis in terms of
health around the world. And this crisis is fueled in large part by what
are referred to as 'diseases of poverty'. These are infectious diseases
that disproportionally affect poorer regions of the world."

Her discussion had begun, and she outlined for us the statistics that many
of our brothers and sisters are coping with in the more impoverished areas
of the world. Ten to fourteen million people dead of infectious diseases
each year, 90% of whom live in developing countries. Sixty-five to 75% of
the 40 million individuals infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa.
Ninety percent of the one to two million malaria deaths that occur each year
are children, under the age of five, living in the same region. And two
million people die each year of tuberculosis. The numbers are astounding.

"Imagine looking around the room today and knowing that, without a doubt,
one in every four of us was HIV positive."

The room was overwhelmingly filled with middle-class white folks, and I was
fairly confident that very few of those around me, if any, were infected
with the virus. In sub-Saharan Africa however, almost everyone would be
poor and black, and one in four would be positive.

"How many of you in the room have been impacted by tuberculosis, or have had
a loved one impacted?" Anne asked.

Two hands went into the air, and one of the women that raised hers conceded
that it were elephants in the zoo which she knew were infected.

Anne explained that much of the disparity between health care systems around
the world is due, in large part, to the lack of biotech industry in
developing countries. Biotechnology is the application of biological
knowledge and techniques to create new products and technologies. It is the
medical implications of this technology that is relevant to international
health. Vaccines, for example, are a biotechnological creation. The
establishment of biotech industries in richer countries, and the absence of
such industry in poorer ones, has been labeled the "genomics divide."

"Only 1% of the new drugs that were brought to market between 1975 and 1997
were developed specifically for a disease of poverty. Why is this
happening? Well, essentially, most of the biotech capacity, in terms of
technology and infrastructure and funding and trained scientists, just
resides in the developed world. Many of these resources reside in companies
of the developed world which function in market economies, where making a
profit is the overwhelming objective.

"Despite the huge numbers of potential patients in the developing world for
treatment for a disease of poverty, they don't necessarily represent BUYERS,
or customers, in the fact that neither they, nor their government in many
cases, can afford to pay the prices that the drug companies feel they need
to charge to recoup their investment costs to get a profit... to give you
the background of the INDUSTRY perspective of why this market failure has
occurred and is continuing to occur."

Cuba is important because it stands as an exception to the rule of the
genomics divide. Cuba's biotech industry is extensive. This is due to the
country's leader, Fidel Castro's, commitment to health and the health
sciences and his continued investment in the biotech sector. Even during
the 1990's, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic aid for
Cuba that went with it, Fidel put one billion dollars into the industry.

What has been the result of this investment? The development of original
vaccines for certain forms of hepatitis and meningitis. The production of
generic drugs which have been exported to regions of the world where the
high prices demanded by the biotech corporations of the industrialized world
cannot be paid.

Cuba's health system has treated many individuals from outside of Cuba.
Persons from the Ukraine, who were affected by the Chernobyl disaster, went
to Cuba for treatment. Many Americans have likewise been treated by the
Cuban health system.

"We are really talking about a needs-based system where the health needs of
the citizens dictate what products are researched or developed by the
industry. The meningitis vaccine, for example, was developed after an
outbreak of meningitis in the 1970s."

As she said this, I couldn't help but think about the way that the market
has failed to address the health needs of the capitalist world. At POOR, we
once discussed "sleeping sickness," a disease for which there is a very
simple treatment. However, many people throughout the poorer regions of the
world continued to die from the disease. The cure, in the meantime, was no
longer being produced, because it was deemed unprofitable. Once the drug
was discovered to help relieve acne, however, companies began to produce it
once again. Only because well-to-do adolescents were worried about
"pizza-face" were impoverished individuals in the poor world allowed access
to the easy treatment of sleeping disease.

The state-run health system of Cuba, which is free to all of its citizens,
has resulted in infant mortality rates and life expectancy rates almost
identical to those in the US, "despite the fact that Cuba continues to live
in what we consider third world poverty, in terms of material poverty,"
emphasized Anne.

The successes of Cuba's health sector lies in stark contrast to the
deficiencies of the United States health care system, where I've been denied
coverage because of a past bout with bronchitis, and where Jose needs to
fork over $100 for his doctor to tell him the results of his cancer test. I
looked around the room and saw many seniors in the chairs, listening to Anne
talk. Some of them may be dealing with health issues as we speak. Perhaps
their retirement portfolios have dissolved in the wake of the Wall Street
scandals. Who is going to provide them with the necessary health care? If
I break my foot and can no longer work my job, will I need to go onto the
street because I can't cover my medical expenses?

Health Care for All has been advocating a Universal Single Payer Health Care
Resolution for the state of California. To learn more, check their website
at www.healthcareforall.org.

by Laure McElroy and Tiny/poverty and race scholars, Vincent Bevins/race, poverty and media justice intern; introduction by Jeff Adachi

Introduction

On Sept. 21, 2005, at 11:00 in the morning, Tyrelle Taylor, then 18, was shot at least three times, twice in the back and once in the hand, while running away from the SFPD near his home on Northridge Road. Police are claiming that Tyrelle pointed a weapon at them. At the time of the incident, several witnesses said that Tyrelle was running from the police at the time the shots were fired.

Although no shots were fired by Tyrelle, he was arrested and then charged with assaulting three police officers who shot at him. Initially charged with attempted murder, he was later charged with assaulting a police officer, brandishing a weapon, resisting arrest and being a member of a gang.

Tyrelle, who is now in custody in the San Francisco County Jail, recently had his preliminary hearing before a judge to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to support the charges. Judge Marla Miller dismissed several key charges, including charges that Tyrelle was a gang member, rejecting the prosecutor’s claim that the alleged assault on police officers was done for a gang related purpose.

The judge heard the evidence at the hearing, which lasted for five days, and found that the gang charges were not true. It was a significant setback for the prosecution.

A trial date was set, but instead of proceeding, the prosecution dismissed the case and then brought the case to a grand jury – a secret grand jury – where the case is presented without the presence or involvement of a defense attorney. Tyrelle is now charged with eight counts of assaulting police officers – even though only three officers were named as supposed victims – and the prosecution added a sentencing enhancement that would add 10 years to each charge.

This is a clear case of overcharging, where the prosecutor has made charges just to increase the time in prison this young man faces. Before going to a grand jury, there were only three charges of assault – now there are eight.

Something is wrong with this picture. I plan to ask District Attorney Kamala Harris to personally review the case.

Tyrelle’s situation worsened when he was re-arrested one year after the initial incident for weapons possession and additional charges were added to his case, which is set for trial in June. Although this complicates the case, I still firmly believe that the punishment called for by the charges is completely out of line with what actually happened.

Tyrelle Taylor was shot three times – no officer or anyone else was injured in either incident – yet he is the one who faces 20 years in prison.

Tyrelle was one of the five children who were attacked by police on Martin Luther King Day 2002, as their parents and neighbors crowded around. The case resulted in a settlement for some of the children who were injured.

Although I haven’t seen any evidence that the earlier incident was connected to the 2005 incident, I know that Tyrelle grew up in an environment where he was fearful of police. Running from the police may seem unwise to someone who has never had negative dealings with police, but Tyrelle’s experiences have been very different.

Tyrelle grew up in Hunters Point, where he lived at the Northridge housing projects with his mother. He grew up very poor, and had to fend for himself, living in a dangerous neighborhood. His father has been incarcerated since he was a little boy, so he had little support.

Tyrelle did well in school but then began receiving poor grades in his early teens and later dropped out. He was attending the Life Learning Academy at Treasure Island at the time of the September 2005 incident.

According to the police report, police say that they received a call of two young men in a car with a gun. Several San Francisco police officers, known as “specialists,” a version of SWAT team, responded and began pursuing the vehicle. They then claim the vehicle stopped and Tyrelle came out and pointed a gun at them.

The police did not have to discharge their weapons

'I don’t believe that it was necessary to discharge their weapons, and I do question their claim that Tyrelle actually pointed a gun at them.' These words from San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi give validity and official support to the most fundamental conclusions of witnesses who watched in horror the morning of Sept. 21, 2005, as 18-year-old Tyrelle Taylor ran from police sharpshooters emptying their guns into his back.

Adachi, who is personally representing Tyrelle, sat down with Poor Magazine and poverty scholars Laure McElroy and Tiny to talk about Tyrelle’s case. It was after our interview that the prosecutor heaped the new charges on Tyrelle, and Adachi graciously offered to update our story by writing the foregoing introduction.

'He’s running from the police. There are about three to six police officers behind him. They’re everywhere. I yell out his name; he yells back and says, ‘Sister, I can’t run no more. They’re trying to kill me,’' Lata Price, Tyrelle’s neighbor, recounted in a story she wrote for the San Francisco Bay View newspaper. 'And police – damn near all of them – shooting at him as if he had a grenade launcher pointed at them.'

'They never once said freeze or stop,' said Ebony, another neighbor and witness.

Now, ironically, it is Tyrelle who faces 16 charges from this and his subsequent arrest last year. Yet Adachi sees hope in the young man’s future.

'Tyrelle is a good hearted person. It’s just that he has not had the opportunity to really know himself, and he hasn’t had the kind of mentorship he needed at crucial times in his life,' Adachi said. 'He loves to read – and has been reading a new book every week since he’s been in jail.'

After Adachi remarked, in reference to Tyrelle’s voracious appetite for books, that 'some people don’t get an opportunity for an education until they’re in jail,' Tiny began to silently cry, recalling her own awakening while incarcerated.

It is extremely rare that a public defender – Adachi’s responsibilities include supervising the 93 attorneys who work for his office – actually takes a case himself, let alone such a controversial one. In response to Laure’s question as to how he feels about the fact that some San Franciscans might think he is doing it for public relations value, he simply responds that his job is to lead and he chooses to lead by example.

Adachi has made a reputation for himself as a smart and fiery defender of the people of San Francisco, and he does not hesitate to define the larger context in which the incident took place and its implications for the community – in his words, 'laws that institutionally oppress people of color, courts or law enforcement that target them,' and “gentrification.”

By way of examples, he offers a statistic and an anecdote. Only 15 percent of drug users are of African American descent, but 70 percent of people incarcerated for drug offenses are of African American descent. The poor, of course, are also disproportionately targeted.

In a recent case, a Rite Aid executive who embezzled $1.3 billion received a sentence of five years. A mother of two who was a small-time “drug mule” received a sentence of 20 years.

If Tyrelle Taylor is convicted, he could receive a similar sentence. This resonates deeply with Tiny and Laure’s poverty and race scholarship that informs their work in the welfare queens play and media project, addressing the rise in the incarceration of poor mothers.

Adachi has come to know young Taylor well since his shooting and visits him often. “I don’t think he’s somebody that would have pointed a gun at police,” Adachi says.

This is what Adachi argued at Taylor’s recent preliminary hearing. The evidence showed that there was no bullet in the chamber of the gun allegedly possessed by Taylor.

“Who would do that? What’s there to gain by simply pointing a gun at some cops, not firing and then running away?” These are some of the question that will be raised at Tyrelle’s upcoming trial.

With his trial likely to begin in June, Adachi said that Taylor receives occasional visits from family members and friends, many of whom have sent him books to read. “He enjoys reading,” Jeff Adachi repeats.

Upon hearing this, Tiny jumps ups from her chair. “Well, let’s see if he would be down to start reporting for PNN, start writing, that is.”

Jeff nods emphatically. Laure and Tiny register excitement – a new poverty and race scholar is born.

Listen to the interview with San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi on KPFA’s Morning Show broadcast Monday, March 12, at 7:30 a.m. in the archives at www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?arch=19133. Read more about issues of poverty and race written by the people who face them daily at www.poormagazine.org. The interviewer, Laure, a woman of African descent like Tyrelle, has written extensively about her experiences with race and class oppression. Tiny, a mixed race poverty scholar, recounts her experiences in and out of jails due to her poverty and homelessness in her new book, “Criminal of Poverty: Growing up Homeless in America.”