Story Archives 2014

(Image of Remigio Fraga with Idriss Stelley Foundation outside the Ellis Act Evictions are Elder Abuse action sponsored by POOR Magazine, Idriss Stelley Foundation, The Manilatown Heritage Foundation and the SF Bay View)

Co-editors Note-We evicted peoples wish these conscious senators luck- in the mean-time we continue with filing criminal charges on the spekkkulators)

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

MAYOR LEE & SENATOR LENO ANNOUNCE LEGISLATION TO AMEND STATE ELLIS ACT LAW TO PROTECT LONG-TIME TENANTS

Closing Loophole in State Law to Prohibit Real Estate Speculators From Using the Ellis Act to Displace Tenants in San Francisco

San Francisco, CA—Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee and State Senator Mark Leno joined State and local leaders, including Assemblymember Phil Ting and Supervisors David Chiu and David Campos along with tenant advocates, labor groups and business leaders to announce legislation closing a loophole in the Ellis Act that allows speculators to buy rent-controlled buildings in San Francisco and immediately evicting long-term tenants. To counter a recent surge in Ellis Act evictions in San Francisco, Senate Bill 1439 authorizes the City to prohibit new property owners from invoking the Ellis Act to evict tenants for five years after the acquisition of a property, ensures that landlords can only activate their Ellis Act rights once, and creates penalties for those who violate the law.

“We have some of the best tenant protections in the country, but unchecked real estate speculation threatens too many of our residents,” said Mayor Lee. “These speculators are turning a quick profit at the expense of long time tenants and do nothing to add needed housing in our City. These are not the landlords the Ellis Act was designed to help, and this legislation gives San Francisco additional tools to protect valuable housing and prevent Ellis Act speculator evictions, which already displace working families and longtime San Franciscans. This carve out is a good policy for San Francisco, and I thank Senator Leno for being a champion on this issue. Together we have built a large coalition of renters, labor and business leaders to fight this battle in Sacramento to support middle income and working families here in our City.”

“The original spirit of California’s Ellis Act was to allow legitimate landlords a way out of the rental business, but in recent years, speculators have been buying up properties in San Francisco with no intention to become landlords but to instead use a loophole in the Ellis Act to evict long-time residents just to turn a profit,” said Senator Leno. “Many of these renters are seniors, disabled people and low-income families with deep roots in their communities and no other local affordable housing options available to them. Our bill gives San Francisco an opportunity to stop the bleeding and save the unique fabric of our city.”

Ellis Act evictions in San Francisco have tripled in the last year as more than 300 properties were taken off the rental market. This spike in evictions has occurred simultaneously with huge increases in San Francisco property values and housing prices. About 50 percent of the City’s 2013 evictions were initiated by owners who had held a property for less than one year, and the majority of those happened during the first six months of ownership.

In light of the growing problem of speculative Ellis Act evictions, Mayor Lee joined Senator Leno, Assemblyman Ting, Supervisors Chiu and Campos and a diverse coalition of supporters, including business leaders, property owners and developers, to reform the Ellis Act in Sacramento. Senate Bill 1439 was the result of this effort.

“Rents in San Francisco are at an all-time high. My former neighbors and I, working families and seniors, were displaced from the place we called home for several decades,” said evicted senior Gum Gee Lee. “Those that have yet to receive an Ellis Act notice continue to live in fear, fear that they too will be evicted from their homes. For seniors such as myself who rely on public transportation and access to social and health services within our community, Ellis evictions cut our lifeline, our independence to thrive. For working class families such as my former neighbors from Jackson Street, they continue to struggle to survive in San Francisco. San Francisco is our home.”

Enacted as State law in 1985, the Ellis Act allows owners to evict tenants and quickly turn buildings into Tenancy In Common (TIC) units for resale on the market. In San Francisco, the units that are being cleared are often rent controlled and home to seniors, disabled Californians and working class families. When these affordable rental units are removed from the market, they never return.

SB 1439 will be heard in the State Senate Policy Committees this Spring.

Co-editors Note: Recent changes in statewide curriculum requirements are attempting to reduce or eliminate Ethnic Studies programs across California. Ethnic Studies departments, such as the Africana Studies Department at San Francisco State University, were implemented as a result of hard-fought battles for racial equality and justice. For many people of color, Ethnic Studies have been an opportunity to become conscious of our own history/herstory and have inspired political engagement and community organizing.  The recent cuts to Ethnic Studies departments reflect the degradation of Civil Rights victories. This article by Leontyne Smith is an example of how Africana Studies can uplift, awaken and activate revolutionary scholars. The move to downsize ethnic studies departments is a part of the war on Black and Brown folks in Amerikkka.

Adults in this era do not know their true history, because a lot of schools do not teach the truth of African indigenous ancestral heritage. I know this for a fact, because from the first day of school to the last day of high school I did not have a clue about people like Marcus Garvey, Frank Douglas, Malcolm X, and every positive aspect of black history. Western European theories consider black people to be savages.

A reality check came to me my first year of college, when I took a class called West African tribal customs. My mouth dropped when I saw all of these classes named after African traditions and African Americans. Honestly I didn’t know that there was a difference. After taking this class with Doctor Wobogo, I fell in love with these classes, because we learned about the real customs of womanhood, manhood, in the context of our ancestral history. For example women were treated like royalty and men were treated with dignity and respect at a young age. In fact, in the tribe we studied, boys went into training around the age of five and were taught how to take care of a family and own their own land by the age of seven. Men would provide a hut, land, and animals, as well as skinning their own meat, and how to strategically how to hunt.

Learning about West Africa was awesome; I went through college without thinking about my future and what struggles I might have by majoring in Black Studies. I chose classes like Afro-centricity and the Dawn of Science, Black Religion and even a Black Journalism class. I wondered why black people in different majors would say the Black Studies major was a cop out. Still I didn't understand why people considered the Black Studies program a joke. Even some of the teachers would ask me, "Did you choose this major because we do not require statistics as a requirement?” This is absurd in my opinion. I didn't understand the politics with the Black Studies department and how we struggled so hard for this program to come into fruition. The BSU and Greeks were fighting when I attended and I would have to say Brother Maurice, and Brother Black put in blood sweat and tears. They stayed in school postponing graduation just to keep up the BSU, and what SFSU stands for. Brother Maurice always talked about unity, and people would hate on him because he was a fighter for indigenous people, even people outside of our race. He was straight out of Hunters Point and people thought he was ghetto because he grew up in the hood, but he actually stayed on the deans list and got straight 4.0 every semester. I really felt for some of the coordinators of the BSU, because a lot of people gave them a hard time. I came to a conclusion that your own people will turn on you, and a lot of people want to be the leader. Egotistical stuff ruins things, but despite all the challenges, they did keep up the kings and queens meetings.

Nine years passed by and I graduated in May of 2012 with a bachelors degree in Black studies. Every agency I sign up with for help tells me not to mention to a potential employer I have a Bachelor’s in this ethnic background. They tell me to just say “social sciences.” Now I believe people do not go to college to learn; they go to college for a high paying job in the future. It is said if you graduate from college you are guaranteed to have a job because of a piece of paper. I worked so hard in college and honestly I am proud to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Black Studies, because teachers like Nobles, Tsuruta, T Shaka and etc empowered my soul. They made me feel like I am somebody. I got a lot of support from my academic advisor. He was the only person who believed in me when I didn't even believe in myself. He was also African American, and he ran the whole undergraduate advising center. All of our teachers would send us to Marcus Bookstore for our textbooks, and a lot of the teachers wrote multiple books.

Establishing a Black Studies major was a hard-fought battle. There were riots and people died to have the chance of having something of our own. Black people in the past demanded a lot more than just having a Black Studies department, but they negotiated and even established Malcolm X plaza, and the Cesar Chavez student plaza. Even though I cannot get a job (which has been a huge struggle for me), I am going to graduate school for to get a Marriage and Family Therapist License. I will carry all the knowledge I received from my elders at SFSU. I can teach children to love themselves just based on their history, and talk to them with an Afro-centric approach and teach them what I know they will not learn in school. Hopefully I can work at the youth guidance center or a place with troubled people and help them with my knowledge of Black Studies along with the MFT license.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

I was with a friend

The other day and as

We walked down Market

Street I thought I’d

Seen the circus

6 or 7 people stood

Around and they appeared

To be wearing clown

Suits

Are those guys with

The circus? I asked

Are you crazy? My friend

Replied, those are the

Fare inspectors, they

Inspect the buses for

Fare cheats

Fair inspectors? I asked

Fare inspectors, my friend

Answered

And I continued watching

Those fare inspectors

Whose  clown suits were

Some sort of skin

Made of high quality

(or semi-high quality)

synthetics that, judging by

the ill-fitted appearance on

the human (or semi-human)

bodies they clung to, appeared

to be of the one-size-fits-all-variety

And with the

Authority of the clowns

They boarded the bus

And with clown authority

Pulled a few people aside

And wrote them tickets

On clown pad and paper

Taking their sweet

Clown time as

They did it

and the passengers

look on in silence, as

if they were being reprimanded

in some kind of clown classroom

If you really want

To fuck something

Up

As the song says

Send in the clowns

© 2014 Tony Robles

Oakland - As the massive automatic across-the-board sequestration budget cuts continue to devastate the poor in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, greedy nonprofit developers are pushing for Rental Assistance Reform (RAR) legislation that would result in higher rents for the poor, the acceleration of the privatization of our public housing sites all across the nation, and the loss of Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for the poor.

The wealthy nonprofit developers want more Section 8 vouchers to be taken away from the poor so that they can be converted into project-based vouchers for their projects.

Meanwhile, as the massive sequestration budget cuts continue to harm the poor, the executives in the nonprofit so-called affordable housing industry continue to demand higher rents from the poor, at the same time they receive massive bonuses and increases in their salaries and wage compensation.

At this point, I am demanding a freeze in rent increases on the poor in all so-called affordable housing projects being operated by nonprofit and for profit so-called affordable housing developers.

I am also pushing for a salary cap of $125,000 in salaries and wage compensation for all the executives in the so-called affordable housing industry that have projects subsidized by local and federal tax dollars.

I am demanding that the executives immediately reduce, and freeze their salaries at the level of $125,000 annually.

I am asking for community support in demanding an end in rent increases on the poor in so-called affordable housing projects, and ask for community support in pushing for a salary cap of $125,000 for all executives in nonprofit and for profit housing organizations that have so-called affordable housing projects subsidized by local and federal tax dollars.

Click below for a list that includes some local nonprofit so-called affordable housing developers in the East Bay...

http://www.ebho.org/get-involved/membership/our-members

See the latest in salaries and wage compensation for some of the top executives from some local 501 c3 charity nonprofit housing corporations operating in Oakland, according to some of the latest 990 tax forms filed with the federal government that are available for
public viewing.

EAH Inc.; In 2012, more than 11 executives at EAH Inc., earned well over $100,000 per year, including 2 people raking in well over $200,000 a year. Leading the pack, Mary Murtagh, President, was paid $298,850 in 2012. Laura Hall, Chief Operating Officer, was paid $208,286. Cathy Macy, CFO, was paid $186,709. Stephen Lucas, VP Acquisitions, was paid $182,991. Dianna Ingle, VP Re MGMT, was paid $163,324.

Affordable Housing Associates; In 2010, Susan Friedland, Executive Director of Affordable Housing Associates, was paid $133,731, but was paid $152,966 in 2012, a huge wage compensation increase of $19,235 during a period of massive budget cuts to the nation's housing programs during that same period.

Bridge Housing; In 2011, the top executive at Bridge Housing took in well over $300,000 that year, with 6 other top executives pulling in well over $200,000 annually, including an additional 6 other top executives raking in well over $155,000 that year. Leading the pack, Cynthia Parker took in $330,249 in compensation during 2011. Rebecca Hlebasko was paid $278,224. Kimberly A McKay was paid $255,665. Susan Johnson was paid $235,875. D Valentine was paid $235.840. Lydia Tan's compensation was listed at $224,474 for 2011 (Severance pay on 1/3/2011, of $118,244, and distribution of an additional $106,230). Brad Wiblin was paid $200,887. Ann Silverberg was paid $196,499.

Christian Church Homes: In 2011, Don Stump, President/CEO, was compensated $181,874. Cynthia Lappin, VP Operations & COO, was paid $157,295. Winthrop Marshall, VP Finance & CFO, was paid $151,687. Leilani Siegfried, VP Human Services, was paid $138,810. Geoffrey Morgan, VP Development, was paid $130,948. Sheryl Stella, Controller,
was paid $123,832.

Eden Housing; In 2011, Linda Mandolini, Executive Director, was paid $188,834. Jan Peters, Chief Operating Officer, was paid $187,538. Terese Mcnamee, CFO, was paid $175,804.

Satellite Housing; In 2011, Ryan Chao, Executive Director, Satellite Housing was paid $175,321. Dori Kojima, was paid $105,179. Miriam Benavides was paid $100,093.

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation; During 2011, Jeremy Liu, Executive Director, was paid $125,217. Peter Sopka, CFO, was paid $125,101. Mary Hennessy, COO, was paid $110,126. Carlos Castallenos, Director of Real Estate Development, was paid $103,329. Records also show that in 2009, former Executive Director of EBALDC, Lynette Jung Lee, earned as much $140,536 that year, including an additional $5,942
in other compensation. Joshua Simon is the current Executive Director, of EBALDC.

Resources for Community Development; In 2011, Dan Sawislak, Executive Director, of received a total compensation of $127,330.

Lynda Carson may be reached at; tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

“They just told us they sold the building, none of us knows whats going to happen but now we know why all of our young people are being criminalized and their families evicted,” said Mary X, one of the long-time residents of the now no longer public housing project known as Plaza East. She was referring to a confusing announcement made by Housing Authority on Friday, Feb 28, 2014

The newest revelation in the shadowy world of RAD-gate- just got more shadows. According to Sara Short from the Housing Rights Committee, (in a post on Facebook) one of the prize jewels of the Housing Authority known as Plaza East was already sold to a private housing corporation who is partly owned by Goldman Sachs, known as MacCormack & Barron So who do we trust, and what are they hiding?

Goldman Sachs???!

If you read my original story written back in September 2013, the proposals of a new acronym known as RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) which to put it simply is the selling off of all public housing buildings across the US to private investors like Goldman Sachs was “presented” to an already bought in/mayor appointed Housing Authority board as the way “to save public housing”.

This pseudo-public meeting of the San Francisco Housing Authority, held just two weeks before the “deadline” to turn in the RAD proposal, was attended by a very small pre-selected group of non-profit housing organizations, many of whom would be beneficiaries of the RFP’s that would go out to “control” read: receive funding, to manage the housing authority buildings.

This meeting was the first time I or any of my fellow public housing warriors heard about the RAD program.  And I only happened to be there because I had to advocate for a tenant on an unrelated matter.

“The RAD program will enable these buildings, many of which were in serious (intentional) dis-repair to be saved, was the constant refrain from careful speaking Mayors office representatives selling the meeting on RAD’s benefits.

Public housing needed to be “saved” we were told, because the perfect storm of (intentional) “bad management” and (politrickster-stolen) stripping of funding from HUD made them uninhabitable so the only ‘answer’ presented was non-profit and for-profit privatization of public housing buildings. This budget genocide to HUD’s budget which began as far back as Nixon has been painstakenly researched and documented by poverty skolaz at Western Regional Advocacy Project

But this clean, simple corporate-esque solution was missing so many pieces, like what about the intentional blighting and boarding up of unit after unit of repairable housing in Hunters Point, Sunnydale and Alice Griffith?   What about the endless jaws of John Stewart and Lennar waiting in the wings with millions of dollars for redevil-opment, buy-outs and removal, followed up by racist, plantation worksites that don’t hire locally and racist plantation management that create age-separated capitalist ghettos, demand credit checks, incomes and place insane rules on their tenants.

No, family- RAD, just like its older brother Hope IV is a deep, dark lie of corporate mayors and corporate gentriFUKation and actually part and parcel of a more frightening process to control, eradicate, remove and criminalize public space, and us black, brown and poor people who convene, shop or live there.

RAD Evictions begin with Our Black and Brown Youth

“I can’t control my 19 year old son,” Sabrina Carter, African-American single mama and life-long resident of public housing in San Francisco, who is but one of over 7 families whose children have been criminalized, have been forced to sign stay away orders against for their own children, followed up by insanely unfair stipulated judgements which are adjudicated by San Francisco Judge Quidachay and end up in their eviction.

I a 10 year resident of Asheville Housing Authority in Asheville, NC. Last year our Housing Authority told us that they was applying for RAD and promoted to the residents like nothing is wrong with it and its there only option because they are running low on funding. I wanted to know if there is anyone we can contact to get help on how to address this. (comment to PNN)

Notwithstanding all the “confusion” about when Plaza East was privatized and why, what we know for sure is the criminalizations and evictions that Sabrina and so many families from San Francisco to North Carolina who just received in public housing have recently been increasingly facing  are but a small taste of what we as public housing tenants have to look foreward to as we face the privatization of what used to be public housing.

This a clear example of the overall plan to send poor people across the US to the other “Public housing” aka plantation prisons, all locally all the remaining low-income peoples of color out of this increasingly wite, rich City.

Click here to see the buildings in San Francisco approved for RAD funding

POOR Magazine is seeking a conscious law firm to represent the families of public housing in a class action suit. Any families who would like POOR Magazine to come out to your buildings and help you organize about RAD please email deeandtiny@poormagazine.org

Please join us in Singing in Sprit for Our Families in Struggle Action at SF CIty Hall @ 9am, Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

The San Francisco Tenants Convention held on February 8^th, 2014 was cited as the largest one since the late 70’s by the organizers ,The Anti-Displacement Coalition. I attended and recognized several familiar faces including former supervisor Chris Daley and current supervisors John Avalos and Davis Campos.

The event was held in an elementary school and it was not so much a convention as it was a one-room meeting. It was hosted by one of the many “non-profits” in this city who manage to make money off your name or warm body (requiring your signature upon entrance so they can get funding), and yet somehow do nothing to actually help you. It also felt like an infomercial for the supervisors who were there to champion their cause. (The ones in attendance are admittedly likable people, but isn’t that the point?)

Sorry if I sound jaded, but once you’ve gone to as many non-profits in this city as I have, you can’t avoid feeling that somehow it is a preconceived conspiracy. Each time I’ve tried to receive help from these non-profits, I’ve been told instead to go along with the “man’s” demands. I actually thought I’d get somewhere when they asked me to describe the “wrong doing” of the other party, but it never amounts to anything. I believe that what happens instead is they take that info and pass it along to the other party (which is highly illegal). This is racketeering and nobody seems to do anything about it, not even the FBI or city attorney - who is suppose to protect consumer rights! I believe this happened when I was evicted by Tenderloin Housing Clinic (one of the biggest housing poverty pimps in San Francisco whom I am certain is affiliated with The Anti-Displacement Coalition).

During the Tenants Convention, one of the Co-editors/Poverty Scholars from POOR Magazine was admonished for speaking on the direct action we at POOR Magazine did in front of 850 Bryant St. because we are not affiliated with the Anti-Displacement Coalition. POOR magazine organized a powerful action at the Hall of Injustice in which we formally filed murder charges - for evicting elders who subsequently died as a result of being forced into homelessness - against the following landlords: Elba Borgen, Benny Chetcuti , WB Coyle , Kausik Mulji Dattani, Ashok K. Gujral and Todd W. Rhodes, Ted Hulbrush and Ron Jankov, Sergio Iantori,  Thomas Iveli and Bog Sigmund, David McCloskey,  Matthew Miller, Bonnie K. Spindler, Kwong Chung Wong and Har Wan Luk. These landlords had been warned that this would happen and did so regardless.

Ellis Act Evictions help real estate speculators evict tenants simply for profit through a loophole in tenants’ rights. Now in Sacramento, there are efforts being made to remedy this situation by creating statewide legislature that would reverse the Ellis Act.

Author note’s:  WHIP, the music video, has so many deep meanings in and outside of Krip-Hop Nation for me its social justice and collective resistance through video & song.  Wife and husband, Kaya  Carine Gabriel and Deacon Burns, team makes up, Kounterclockwise, a punk/hip-hop band from OH.  Deacon is a wheelchair user and with Kaya has experienced raw discrimination on many fronts of race, sex, class & disability.  With fabulous animated video/movie expert, Jim Lujan, both have created (in my book) the first animated music video representing Krip-Hop resistance toward avenues of oppression i.e. police brutality among others, call WIPE.

ALSO CHECK OUT THEIR NEW ANIMATED  FILM, FOREVER-LAND (Press release after the interview below.)

Krip-Hop Nation (KHN) First of all explain what this video/song WHIP means to you all and how all of us can relate to it and give us the roots of this song/video?

Kounterclockwise: The song Whip is basically about getting whipped and deceived by the government.  We are being whipped into submission.  It's based on Alex Haley's book "Roots."  Remember when Kunta's slave master kept whipping him and forcing  him say his slave name Tobey, "What is your name?." and he answered Kunta he was whipped again, "What is your name," until he finally submitted and said Tobey.  We as a people are still being whipped and oppressed into submission.  This song is a call to reverse and instead whip the oppressors.  In this video we win as all of us disabled and oppressed people get together and whip oppression.

KHN:  Tell us how did you all meet and explain the working process on this video.

Jim Lujan: Deacon and Kaya online contacted me. They had seen some of my cartoons on YouTube, and really liked my work.  I had other offers to do music videos, but their genuine love and knowledge of my work sold me. They gave me creative freedom on all the videos and I ran with it. Really inspiring working with them.

KHN:  We have come a long way!  I read that MTV back in the day gave Stevie Wonder a hard time about his video because of his blindness.  Now today we have your video and other outlets.  What is the future of this music video and do you think the music video channels are ready for it?

Jim Lujan: I don't think its even a question if the world is ready for it. I think its about being so good they can't deny you. Make them want what you do and they will make themselves ready. It's time now.

Kounterclockwise: We totally agree with Jim,  In 2013 it's time for us to be heard and people are more then ready to embrace our unique style.   The doors have definitely opened, now we have to push through them and give it all we can. 

KHN:  Please name the characters in the video and the plot:

Jim Lujan:  Whip takes place in "Hell County" (population zero) and features "Sheriff Evile and his wicked posse." They harass Kounterclockwise for no reason, arresting them and taking them to jail. Kounterclockwise use their one phone call to contact the Krip-Hop Army to come rescue them. All hell breaks loose.

Kounterclockwise: Yes and Leroy Moore calls the Krip-Hop Nation army into action to set us free and incarcerate the villain's of injustice.  We win!!!  Justice prevails and we all celebrate in a huge parade.

KHN:  Jim tell us was it hard to draw characters with disabilities and did this project change your view around issues concerning people with disabilities?  Also explain your process of putting together the story line.

Jim Lujan: Wheelchairs are hard to draw, but I've kind of made up my own version. A cartoonish wheelchair.  Not super-realistic, but functional. I think the more non-disabled people are exposed to and entertained by disabled artists, the ground will become more equal and any stigma goes away. Everybody has something to bring to the table. Just because someone has wheels under them, or a physical, intellectual disability, that doesn't make them any less of an artist.

KHN: As a husband and wife creative team tell us how this video and its storyline represents oppressive realities you two have to deal with out in the community.

Kounterclockwise: We have always experienced various forms of racial profiling and being stereotyped even before my accident.  Now that I’m disabled we experience it on a whole other level.  Our eyes have been opened to just how much more injustice people with disabilities experience.  We have grown closer and are fighting harder then ever before to see change.  We always fought for the misfits but now we are fighting on such a larger scale.  To expose the injustices of all people as we are all one in this fight for freedom and equality.  "Times New Roman"">

KHN:  I know you all are working on something big.  Tell us!

Kounterclockwise:  "Times New Roman""> We are working on our first full-length feature film called Kounterclockwise in Forever-Land.   FOREVER-LAND is a film about a hidden dimension where strange characters, creatures, and lands exist under the iron harsh rule of Infinitus…destroyer of all things funky. Kounterclockwise has been transported to this dimension to retrieve “the glove”, an item of cosmic importance, from the clutches of Infinitus. “Who shall wear the glove shall rule the funk of 40 thousand years”. Can Kounterclockwise save the universe from the reign of Infinitus, restoring the order of the funk , and rock the crowd in the process? HELL YES.  FOREVER-LAND is an animated hand drawn musical film created by Jim Lujan starring us and is currently in production . We’ve been wanting to do this for-eva…for-eva? For-eva-eva??

KHN:  Jim being from LA and into film/animation, do you think WHIP and the other work with Kounterclockwise will have an audience inside and outside of bling bling Hollywood?

Jim Lujan: I think the work I've done with Kounterclockwise is really powerful on a few different levels. I think general audiences will grasp the look and music right away, but there is always a really interesting subtext. It's pretty subversive, yet easy on the eyes and catchy to the ears. Our collaborations always run deep. Lots to notice with multiple viewings. Make good stuff and people will respond.

KHN:  Also this video/working relations breaks so many grounds beyond disability.  Jim you are Latino and Kounterclockwise are Black so in reality this video is a collaboration between race and disability.  Each one of you tells us your hopes around this video and future work for the brown/black community using cultural and video avenues.

Jim Lujan: I think we've connected so fast and deep that the issue of race has never played a role in defining our work together. Never ignored, but never something that consciously has effected us. At the same time, we'll always be whom we were born as. You need different flavors to make a great recipe. That is some love right there…true harmony!

 Kounterclockwise "Times New Roman"">Absolutely!  This is what it's all about.

KHN:  How can people help in spreading not only your work but also your social justice message?

Jim Lujan: People can pass word along to their friends. Facebook, Twitter, email links to our work. The more eyeballs that see…the more fans we can pick up. The more fans, the more the message gets out.

KHN:  Give us your contacts and again what are your new projects together and separate from one another.

Jim Lujan: My own website is www.jimlujan.com. People can subscribe to our YouTube pages: www.youtube.com/jimlujan and www.youtube.com/kounterclockwise. The Jim Lujan Animation Page is on Facebook, too.

 Kounterclockwise:  The Jim Lujan Animation Page is on Facebook, too. We have a mixtape called Pills in the works and it should be out by the end this summer. (the song "Whip" will also be on it)

"Times New Roman""> and we are working on another video for "Up The Nose" which is also featured on Pills and will be directed by William Neiheiser.   We will also put out the Forever-Land movie and soundtrack album by the end of this year. 
Here are some of our links:

"Times New Roman";color:black">www.kounterclockwise.com

"Times New Roman";color:black">www.reverbnation.com/kounterclockwise

"Times New Roman";color:black">www.facebook.com/kounterclockwise

"Times New Roman";color:black">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kounterclockwise-in-Forever-Land/513153038737526

"Times New Roman";color:black">and you can contact us at kounterclockwise@gmail.com

Kounterclockwise in Forever-Land, a Jim Lujan Movie

(March 3, 2014) The KOUNTERCLOCKWISE in FOREVER-LAND Movie is Cleveland’s first sci-fi animated single hand drawn film based on the location of Cleveland created by Jim Lujan starring Kounterclockwise.

FOREVER-LAND is a hidden dimension where strange characters, creatures, and lands exist under the iron harsh rule of Infinitus…destroyer of all things funky. Kounterclockwise has been transported to this dimension to retrieve “the glove”, an item of cosmic importance, from the clutches of Infinitus. “Who shall wear the glove shall rule the funk of 40 thousand years”. Can Kounterclockwise save the universe from the reign of Infinitus, restoring the order of the funk, and rock the crowd in the process?

This positive, inspirational movie is produced by Jim Lujan who is known as an underground animated filmmaker for the following pieces of work: "Freakdaddy", “Spike and Mike” and Creator of “Sanjourno Must Die” on Rugburn” by Titmouse/Six Point Harness and is now working on a new feature film; Revengeance with music by Kounterclockwise along side Oscar nominated independent animator Bill Plympton.  Jim is also the winner of the Bill Plympton Indie Animation Award.  Jim really believes that this film is something special as "the film was an organic creation that just took off. It just happened because there was so much love for it. We've been having fun every step of the way and challenge each other (Deacon Burns) creatively. While I did have a road map, it's been a lot of fun to just go crazy and let it go where it goes. This film will do a lot of good. I truly believe that." Starring role Deacon Burns of Kounterclockwise wants the world to watch this film because “Kounterclockwise in Forever-Land is the first ever disabled hip hop inter-galactic animated hero that saves the day in a wheelchair! Now that’s some gangsta s!@# right there”.  Jim and Deacon have never personally met but have worked together for a straight year, and through the magic of technology completed this masterpiece.

Kounterclockwise was born out of Cleveland Heights as an alternative punk-hop act over a decade ago.  Lead, Deacon Burns is known for has worked with artists such as including DJ Swamp, Source, Yela Wolf plus many more.  Kounterclockwise has also scored the music for full-length feature film; Love Rome by Carter B. Smith and their beats were featured on the television show “Skate Maps.”

They have an album out named “Daylight Savings Time”.

In 2007, as the group was courted by several indie & major labels; fate took a wrong turn when Deacon had a tragic accident – breaking 5 vertebrae, several ribs, collapsed both lungs and had a hairline neck fracture. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury that resulted in paralysis of both legs. As a true entertainer, Deacon decided that the show must go on no matter what. Their concerts have been labeled as “visual art” and now turned actor and moviemaker, they premiere their first film - Kounterclockwise in the Forever-land Movie.  Jim & Deacon also produced the soundtrack for the movie, which includes 17 tracks.

The movie will be available March 11th on https://www.youtube.com/user/jimlujan.  Additionally, there are plans to premiere the movie in Cleveland after this date.  They are currently looking for distribution strategies for the movie.

For more information go to http://www.forever-land.com

About Jim Lujan: http://www.jimlujan.com

About Kounterclockwise: http://www.kounterclockwise.com

Web Site: http://www.forever-land.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kounterclockwise-in-Forever-Land

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CviZG74eW14&feature=youtu.be

Promo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT0RG1v-LyI

Release date: March 11^th, 2014

Genre: Sci-fi Animation

Starring: Kounterclockwise

Directed by: Jim Lujan

Written by: Jim Lujan and Deacon Burns of Kounterclockwise

Screenplay by: Jim Lujan

Produced by: Jim Lujan & Scott Hinze

Music by: Kounterclockwise & Jim Lujan

For more information, please contact:

Mai Moore

Knowledgeable Marketing

+1 216-785-0010

mai@knowledgeablemarketing.com

www.knowledgealblemarketing.com

Last month’s Community Newsroom at POOR was in honor of Black History Month ( even though we know at POOR Magazine, that every month is Black History) One of our guest speakers, named Kinara Sankofa, blew the crowd away. Being that I graduated from an Africana Studies program his name automatically intrigued me because Sankofa is an important part of black history. Though our guest did not talk about the meaning of ‘Sankofa’ I thought it was important to understand the history context of this historically significant name. According to Black Student Union coordinators at the University of Illinois:

“The concept of ‘Sankofa’ is derived from King Adinkera of the Akan people of West Africa. ‘Sankofa’ is expressed in the Akan language as ’se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki.’Literally translated, this means ‘it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.’ ‘Sankofa’ teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward. That is, we should reach back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us, so that we can achieve our full potential as we move forward. Whatever we have lost, forgotten, forgone, or been stripped of can be reclaimed, revived, preserved, and perpetuated. Visually and symbolically, ‘Sankofa’ is expressed as a mythic bird that flies forward while looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the future) in its mouth. This ties with our motto: ‘In order to understand our present and ensure our future, we must know our past.’ “

Kinara Sankofa is an inspiring artist, entrepreneur and leader. He has been writing poetry for years. When I asked him what kind of poetry he writes, he said his biggest dream is to write about love and the beauty of the black women. He went on to explain how valuable black women are and that we deserve to have good men in our lives. He moved to Australia for about twenty years where he fell in love with a woman who inspired much of his poetry. He also talked about how men are disconnected from their femininity. He said that for men to cry and show vulnerability is actually a sign of strength, not weakness. In an insightful linguistic flip, he used the term “white inferiority” instead of white supremacy, and he made it clear that we have to stop blaming other people for our problems. He said that we need to educate the next generation of powerful black revolutionary leaders by teaching our history in our communities (such as the often forgotten fact that Oklahoma used to be the black Wall Street) and celebrating people such as Malcolm X, Assata, Muhammad.

Among his many accomplishments, Kinara Sankofa has also written a book, and started a clothing line. Black Power Clothing has a beautiful logo of a black fist with African colors. Visit his website at www.ashaybythebay.com.

He closed out his presentation at the POOR magazine newsroom with a poem entitled “The Coldest Summer Ever.” He captured the moment with his last sentence in the poem saying, ‘niggas’ spelled backwords is ‘saggin.’  This poem was awesome and really got the newsroom thinking. There were no disagreements with anything he was preaching. After his poem, we finished with a drum circle and a prayer. What can you get that is better than that?! Even though February is the shortest month of the year, we celebrated Black History Month with unity and community at POOR magazine.

We stood strong youth and elders together walking, calling, singing manifesting spirit. The spirit of our African ancestors, our indigenous ancestors, our Freedom Riders, Our Freedom walkers, into the hallowed, marbled floors of City Hall to save another Black family from forced Out Migration.

 Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.

But this wasn’t 1967. This wasn’t Mississippi or Atlanta, South Africa, or Argentina- this was San Francisco and this was the new Freedom Ride.  We were trying to save another Black family from eviction to make way for privatization and corporate profit-making. We were walking to save single mama Sabrina Carter and her three suns from an unjust, racist eviction from her housing to the streets. An eviction about to drop tomorrow at 5:00am

Ain't gonna let no Devil-opers turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no Devil-opers turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.

“You can’t sing in here, you are constituting an unlawful assembly” As we walked , 30 deep, youth, adults, elders, singing the spirit, we were stopped by three sheriffs who said we were in fact, an unlawful assembly because we were singing.

:”I thought this was our constitutional right to free speech, to free song,” I said.

“No, you are protesting, therefore you are an unlawful assembly.”

“We aren’t protesting, we are singing,” I continued to say

Then more sheriffs came. They talked among themselves. They had guns, and batons. We had our voices. We were walking spirit of our ancestor freedom fighters inside the politrickster-infested walls of soul-ed out peoples of color, trying to get mines, capitalist pawns and apologists of the ruling class.

“Where are you going?”

“To see the Mayor”

“Well you can’t see the Mayor if you are singing, You can’t protest in this building,” As the man with the badges and the guns spoke, the walls shook. The floors, trembled. The statues of politricksters past shook slightly on their marble podiums. Mama Sabrina’s face shook with tears, her strong young 10 year old and 17 year old suns looked down as they stood valiantly by her.

Ain't gonna let no Greedy Landlords turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let no Greedy landlords turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.

“Well, if we can’t sing we are going to speak. We can speak right? Sister, freedom fighter, and POOR Magazine family member Theodora Mayes took her fierce voice of spirit and resistance and began whispering the words into the walls, alongside our spirits, our orixas, our Creator, our hope.

Ain't gonna let Privatizers turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let Privatizers turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.

We walked up the marble stairs. In unison. One step, one note, one less Black family forced out of this stolen Ohlone land because of the greed of devil-opers MacCormack & Barron who “manage” the Plaza East Apartments in the increasingly wite and rich Fillmore district of San Francisco, which used to be a powerful Brown, Black and working-class community before 1960-70’s re-devil-opment.

And then we were at the top of the stairs and our whispers rose to the rafters and our voices rose into the heavens.

Ain't gonna let Privatizers turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around

“I gave you a direct order, You can’t sing in here, I will have to escort you out now,”

So we started to speak again, we spoke about eviction, about Negro Removal, about redlining, about racial profiling and criminalization of our children, about the history of out-migration of Black families, about the greed and  theft of stolen Ohlone land, about the re-devil-opment of  our people,, about wealth hoarders and wealth hoarding enablers like Mayor Lee, Newsome and Brown before him who invited  large corporation after another into this City, giving them tax breaks and corporate welfare benefits and other gifts to lure them here ending us in the wholescale eviction of so many of our people. The RAD ( Rental Assistance Demonstration) which is the selling off all public housing buildings in the country to private investors, about the fact that we have nowhere to go. That we have nowhere to go, that Sabrina and her babies will be evicted tomorrow and she has nowhere to go.

“Do you have something for the Mayor,?” Suddenly in the middle of our deep truth-telling another tall man from the mayors office asked us what we had for the Mayor. We gave him our demand notice

DEMAND FOR CONSCIOUS FROM MAYOR ED LEE - in the name of Uncle Al Robles, Uncle Bill Sorro and all of our ancestors who Ed Lee, the activist, fought alongside in the struggle for the Intl HotelCall off the Unjust Eviction of Sabrina Carters Family from the Plaza East Apartments

Sabrina Carter and seven other families were evicted from the Plaza East Apartments because of the criminalization of their children and to ready the buildings for RAD. You can intervene Mayor Lee and save 1 more African-American family from Forced Out-Migration under your watch to ready these buildings for RAD Funding

Landlord: MacCormack,  Barron & Salazar  Lawyers – Bornstein & Bornstein

After a few more minutes another man in a suit appeared, “I am Karl, I am here to listen, I will report this back to the Mayor,”

“We are here to call upon the conscious Mayor Lee, the Mayor who stood with other elder Chinese and Filipino tenants to fight off the devil-opers of the 70’s. Who cared about people. He can call this un-just eviction off, he can call one of the people he knows in the multi-national corporation MacCormack & Barron.

“Karl listened, He thanked us for remembering Mayor Lee’s conscious days. He said he will get back to us about Sabrina Carter’s family. He said he didn’t know if Mayor Lee could stop the eviction but they would see what they could do.

We walked down the stairs. We sang the spirit of our ancestors out of the building. We held our hearts, we walked our bodies, we raised our voices in resistance until this family received justice.

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
Turn me around, turn me around
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around
I'm gonna keep on a-walkin', keep on a-talkin'
Marchin' up to freedom land.

We are asking the community to please call the mayor and ask them to intervene and stop the eviction of the Sabrina Carter Family. (415) 554-6141. As well POOR Magazine’s Revolutionary Legal Advocacy Project (Jailhouse lawyers outside of jail without a degree) are trying to do a last minute emergency legal maneuver to save this family from the street.