Story Archives 2019

Poetry from the Poverty Skolaz Theatre/Poetry Writing Workshop in Occupied Seminole Territory (St Petersburg, Florida) at the Misio Dei Church with unhoused parishioners of Misio Dei and members of the Refuge Ministry of Tampa Bay.

Incarceration is hard to keep at Bay

by Steve B

On a dreary dismal day, the anger of the moment took me away.

It only took seconds to throw it all away that day.

I still smell the powder & copper, for my life it was the stopper.

Regret I do not have, the rest of my life I have to save.

To live in the street to stay free, unfortunately that’s me.

One must stay awake, there’s too much at stake.

It’s me that I can’t forsake.

Even though no regrets, I don’t want to repeat that day.

Because incarceration is hard to keep at bay.

Now it’s my chance

To keep my freedom, therefore I make my stance.

Any way possible, then homelessness

Shall stay accessible.

Looking Out of Windows that Aren’t There

By Ramires K. Farrakhan 

I like looking out

Of windows

That aren’t there

Basically an operating

System

Intrigues my soul mathematically

Would he know

What wondrous thought in

Ok I do want to be correct

Right

Which he was a small contributor

Or did he worry too far

Like many of us in glancing

Maybe there

If I lay it that freely

Will I be safe when they come

To resurrect myself a meadow

A tree a herd of goat or sheep

Let your body language as well as

Your utterances leave the message

Ancestor

Walking down a sidewalk, quietly reassuring

The faithful

Wherever we’ve come from

This is home.

THIS AGAIN

By Barbra Wright 

This again.

Not just me and my husband, but my children

Adults in poverty

Who can’t make it without community.

Where will they go?

My four happy grandchildren

Stable and protected from the struggle,

Though aware of its reality.

No longer able to house them.

On the precipice of being thrust into the struggle.

Legacy gone

Wiped out in penstrokes

From the Snakes of Amerika.

Debt not even mine

Hopeless, helpless again.

How did this happen? Why did this happen?

A bottle of pills, and I won’t think, care, feel.

The sirens as the police chase me down

And on the way to their forced detention

Reminds me I’m not free and never will be.

Poverty is my reality.

I can’t protect, only community can.

Each according to their ability and needs.

Solutions, not problems.

Unite to fight

Safety in numbers.

Community Reparations is a concept launched by Lisa tiny Gray-Garcia and is rooted in the notion of Interdependence. It is meant to be a healing medicine of resistance to the lie of independence and the separation nation, which encourages the violent act of looking away from people who are poor or unhoused. Community Reparations instructs us all to resist capitalism’s normalizing of separateness and “success” through land-stealing and wealth-hoarding. Instead, Community Reparations recognizes our shared humanity and instructs those of us who benefit from stolen or hoarded resources to engage in loving, radical redistribution of these resources.

The POOR Magazine Community Reparations model is taught to and shared with other poor and indigenous peoples movements who would like to start their own version of homefulness. Folks with race, class and/or formal education privilege who are interested in redistributing or reparating are invited to attend PeopleSkool’s Decolonization/ DegentriFUKation Seminar, or to redistribute their resources through the Bank of Community Reparations.

Bank of Community Reparations

The Bank of Community Reparations is a national fund of redistributed and stolen wealth that is distributed equally among poor and indigenous people-led land use projects. Resources redistributed to the Bank of Community Reparations may be designated to these specific funds:

Po' Mamaz Reparations Fund

Dedicated to redistributing resources directly to poor, unhoused and formerly unhoused single mamaz (fathers) and children who are unable to afford rent, a drivable vehicle, diapers, food, and other emergency needs related to their survival and thrival.

Tech Reparations Fund

Dedicated to building/preserving the equity of poor and working class communities who have been displaced or are at risk of displacement due to the presence of Tech industries and their employees.

Homefulness Community Reparations Fund

Dedicated to building, launching and growing homefulness comm-UNITIES across Mama Earth. Homefulness is a self-determined landless people’s solution to the housing crisis, and POOR Magazine is currently in the process of constructing a multi-unit housing complex in East Oakland to provide housing for houseless families. POOR Magazine is also preparing to launch Homefulness 2 in Chico/Butte County, the site of recent serious fires.

Radical Redistribution

Dedicated to emergency needs of Po folks- not related to a specific fund but rather the need of traditionally silenced, criminalized communities in struggle.

For more information on Revolutionary Giving to the Bank of Reparations call (510) 435-7500 or email poormag@gmail.com. To register for the next PeopleSkool Seminar in Black August for Folks with Race/Class Privilege email deeandtiny@gmail.com or go on-line to www.racepovertymediajustice.org or www.poormagazine.org

Reparators Tell their Stories of #RadicalRedistribution and Community Reparations 

"Growing up with both material and spiritual poverty, I learned to cling fearfully to what access privilege could get me to replace the lack of community and basic human needs I had been living through. I grew up with quite a few situational disadvantages and have had to work through a lot of fear of the isolation that can come from various marginalizing positions, rural poverty, queer, assigned female at birth within a fanatical religious group...POOR has helped me to loosen the hold that that fear has had and to recognize more fully the embedded belief I've had that I need to bank on the safety and access that my white (and other) privileges grant me to make it in this world. POOR has helped me to realize the places I'm still blinded with fear and that the freedom I want comes from interdependence that surrenders any possessive attachment to individual gain and relies fully on the mutual gain of togetherness, that anything I gain on the back of another will never give me freedom. It has been an incredibly healing and empowering gift." 

Hate with a gun was the primary tactic used when this country was stolen from the Natives of the land and it is clear from the “history” books that this infection has no cure in sight.

With the recent school, synagogue and police shootings comes the terrifying reminder that hate can come in many forms and strikes without notice. Hate with a gun does more harm, destroys the good and displays blatant disrespect to those who pay homage- and to the Almighty altogether rather the place of worship be a baptist church or synagogue.

Suspected shooter 19-year-old John T. Earnest was in court this week and was charged with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder, among those hurt was rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and an 8-year-old child. 60-year old Lori Kaye, who was known as the “Matriarch” for her contribution into creating the Chabad of Poway synagogue was killed in the tragic shooting. Lori’s daughter Hannah Kaye had spoke of her mother as being “an advocate of peace”

John Earnest was said to have a bulletproof vest, several magazines holding at least 50 rounds of ammunition, a helmet and a riffle in his possession along with premeditated hate in his heart.

Earnest faces the death penalty if convicted and he has pleaded not guilty.

In mid-April, Connecticut police officer Devin Eaton opened fire on a car parked near Yale University, injuring 22-year-old Stephanie Washington in the gun blaze when she was struck in the face but Washington’s boyfriend, Paul Witherspoon was not hurt in the shooting.

The police officers thought the car occupied by Washington and Witherspoon matched the description of a vehicle used in an armed robbery and Eaton had shot at the car when Paul Witherspoon supposedly had exited “abruptly”

Protesters in Connecticut have gathered for peaceful demonstrations all during the week following the incident involving the black, unarmed- profiled couple.

Alleged gunman Trystan Andrew Terrell was charged with 2 counts of murder and 4 counts of attempted murder in the University of North Carolina (Charolotte campus) when he shot at students on the last day of school killing Ellis Parlier, Riley Howell and wounding 4 other students. Howell was praised as being a hero when he fought with Terrell, disarming him and preventing further loss of life.

The disregard for human life may be glorified so many ways in today’s society but there is no logical reason for conscious wickedness. The root reasons of hatred and anger must be addressed and dealt with accordingly because the “violent video game” excuse is long played out and the re-insertion of what is fact/fiction and what is right/wrong must be brought back to the table because it is time for accountability. People also have the right to be able to pray and celebrate their deities safely no matter if it’s in their homes or other places of worship without the fear of death. When was the last time you heard of a rash of violent attacks perpetrated by humble folks against churches that welcomes those of satanic faith? (everyone has rights, right???) One good reason could be that there are people on this earth who are too busy walking in truth, love and in the faith that peace is to come.

Hundreds of  pro-choice rallies were held across the nation, including on the steps of the supreme court in opposition to politicians who are tightening the vice-grip on the already restricted abortion laws. A little more than 45 years has passed since the landmark ruling in the case of Jane Roe vs. Henry Wade when on January 22, 1973 the supreme court had voted 7-2 making it unconstitutional for a state law to ban abortions (except for in life-threatening circumstances) The decision was also based upon a woman’s right to privacy extending to the fetus she was impregnated with enabling access to a legal and safe abortion if a woman elects to terminate a pregnancy.

20 states are at risk of overturning the Roe vs. Wade decision including Arizona, Idaho, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee just to name a few and with “politricksters” easing in “TRAP” laws (Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers) that denies women the right to an adequate medical procedure and criminalizes both the patient and the abortion provider. Texas is one state that imposes the “TRAP” laws and in the case of Whole Woman’s Health vs. Hellerstedt, The supreme court had ruled that 2 abortion restrictions in the state of Texas were unconstitutional and would lead to the closure of clinics causing an “undue burden” for Texas women to access safe, legal abortions.

This year different states introduced hundreds of new abortion restrictions with 10 states in favor of the 6-week ban, which prohibits abortions once a heartbeat has been detected but overlooks the fact that at this early stage in pregnancy a woman may not even be aware that she’s pregnant. In the state of Alabama it is a felony to have an abortion altogether while Bret Kavanaugh, an established anti-pro choice supporter under the Trump administration has promised to nominate judges who would “automatically” overturn the Roe vs. Wade ruling.

Regardless of the political outcome, there are still states like New York, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Mexico who have passed a “Reproductive Health Act” bill that is protected under the law as “a legal health procedure” that ensures a woman’s right to abort legally and safely.

The Hyde Amendment, the poor and the people of universal majority (color):

With The Hyde Amendment, a 40 year old ban on federal funding for abortion with the exceptions of rape, incest or life-threatening cases, how can a low-income woman pay out of pocket for a procedure that can run in the thousands without the sacrifice of food and shelter?

Abortion is a medical choice and all the restrictions and bans would put more poor women’s health and lives at risk who would look to illegal and “self-help” abortions as an option.

What do the people say?

Majority of US voters overwhelmingly support the Roe vs. Wade law and would rather it be a personal medical issue than to have political interference from mostly men who controls a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body. In my opinion, it seem as if these lawmakers are playing the “slavemassa” role by creating another form of forced breeding and imposing on a woman’s privacy and with that said, you add the separation of families and what do you have- Another generation of chattel slavery that is profitable under the laws of wite (non) supremacy.

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that he is creating a task force to tackle the steady-rising issue of homelessness. After reports of the homeless rate skyrocketing and the failed attempts at “band-aid” solutions, Newsom has proposed for a 1 billion dollar budget to help finance employment and housing assistance programs. Homeless and poverty statistics for California alone was amongst the highest in the nation, with around 130,000 houseless folks and according to the HUD annual homeless assessment report of 2017, there were over 550,000 homeless people in the US in total.

Although lawmakers had allegedly approved a 2 billion dollar bond to create new and affordable housing over two years ago, no money has been spent to house adults, elders, people with disabilities and households with children as of yet- leaving one to believe that poor people and people of color were left for dead with another “pie-crust promise” backed up by “ghost funding”

The constant demand for housing from highly paid non-natives of the communities (gentriFUKation) and the boom for million dollar “luxury” devilopments (development) in the real estate-snake game has been the primary reasons SF is now known as “tent city” plagued with chronic homelessness and with very little support for residents dealing with mental illness, alcohol and drug addiction, life-threatening illnesses and the trauma of being treated less than human.

Gavin Newsom has also named Sacramento Mayor Darryl Steinberg and Los Angeles county supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas as co-chairs of the task force in collaboration to end the homeless crisis. Someone needs to have the courage to challenge the fact that there is a layer of abuse and a violation of one’s human rights when children, elders and folks with disabilities are forced out into the streets with the extra slap in the face being that it is a crime to sleep in cars, tents or parks when there is nowhere else to go without being dehumanized any further.

What makes sense?

Create affordable housing for low-income, impoverished folks by utilizing empty, abandoned, unused lots and spaces of land that don’t come with multi-million dollar price tags. Instead of spending money on just beds for “clients”, spend money on providing enough space for not only a bed, but a kitchen, bathroom, a bedroom- A WHOLE ROOF! As POOR Magazine does with the HOMEFULNESS project and how many tribes before have done before being poisoned with capitalism and colonization.

Provide adequate resources and treatment to people in need and employ staff or fellow poverty “skolars” who possess helpful, compassionate non-judgemental spirits that don’t take pride in representing the “agents of the state” and meeting “quotas” that contributes to the despair of the people.

Powers that be- stop investing in big money corporations that cruelly displaces lifelong residents by creating “booms” that raises the rent so high that the city caters only to those with higher incomes and privilege thus creating an exodus of evictions and cultural destruction/change. It is known that the Ellis Act and real estate snakeculation (speculation) are in the same bed together and if politricksters focused more energy on putting restrictions on high-powered corporations that evicts children onto the streets instead of restricting a woman’s right to choose then the vote will come in as some sort of progress towards a solution to an inhumane problem.

She took shifts sitting by both her son's sides after they both were shot and almost murdered by a lone police officer in Olympia Washington.

As she sat at her son's hospital bed sides she heard on the news of what happened. The news blasted the radio traffic call the officer had made to dispatch about the shooting that late evening/early morning when he shot both her sons.

As the news people went on and showed a video of her youngest son playfully doing air tricks with his skateboard, she knew right then and there what happened to her sons would be twisted to make them look like thugs, poor, thieves, niggers etc.

it was Olympia after all, the Capital of Racism..

And she was right...

The officer made a statement after 5 or 6 days of reviewing this video and then typed out a 6 page letter on what went down

This officer and his buddy's in blue helped him get his bogus ass story about being attack by a skateboard together so this piece of shit officer would be justified

The way the media portrayed what happened and how the police were doing their own investigation bothered her a lot

She was hurt and upset that a police officer who was sworn to protect and serve chose to pull his weapons and excessively fire those weapons multiple times at her sons as they ran for their lives

"Yes, weapons"

Cops voice over radio traffic said....

they're aggressive just so you know...

Seconds pass Cops voice comes over the radio again and he says...

Shots fired one down, then a few seconds after that, Shots fired, second suspect down, what she heard that came across the radio was devastating to hear...

When she heard the cop say they're "aggressive" and just 'so you know," sent a chill through her body,  she felt sick to her stomach, 

in her mind she questioned what he said,  

did he say that just incase if they die he would be justified and his brothers in blue would help cover up for this reckless cop?

Yup and that's exactly what they did, help cover up his shit......

Her sons were in the hospital fighting for their lives, while that officer went home to his family and girlfriend on paid leave..

She sat at her youngest son's bed side holding his hand, talking to him, hang on son, momma is right here, please open your eyes baby, he was in critical condition and she was scared he wouldn't make it, she had know idea how many bullets entered his body, all the bandages and tubes hooked up to his body was overwhelming, she broke down crying in disbelief 

Frantic she needed to see her other son she didn't know what his condition was, she and her daughter got into the car to head to another hospital where her other son had been transported to

She thought why the hell would they separate them

She arrived at the hospital 40 mins later where her other son had been transported too, her son was conscious and alert, she was so relieved too see his eyes open and he was talking but he was in shock, terrified and crying, 

he was concerned for his younger brother and was in disbelief at what had happened to him and his brother

After a while had passed she heard that the narcissistic psychopath cop was justified, just like all the rest of these cops that shot and murder unarmed citizens all across the USA.

Protect And Serve that's a bunch of BULLSHIT!

We Must Protect Our People

Instead of the Cop going to jail, her son's were handcuffed and brought to jail after several weeks in a criminal trial

Her heart broke into a million more pieces watching all this unfold, 

She couldn't not believe what she was seeing, these cops that sat at the back of the courtroom were giving each other hi fives and patting each other on the asses after leaving the court room, this was so fucking sickening to watch

The OPD is Corrupt

The City Of Olympia WA is Corrupt

The whole damn system is Corrupt

Real life story

Written by

Crystal Chaplin

Mother of Andre & Bryson

They Survived

As I looked up at a bus stop on my route home, I recall thinking about the choice I had in that moment to show up or plead exhaustion and go home. Home. I have a home. The irony that I was choosing between going back to the comfort of my house or to a rally explicitly for the housed to show up for the unhoused is more obvious to me now. But I do remember thinking about what POOR has taught me, no, MODELED for me, in the past few years about what it looks like to show up.  And so I turned around and headed towards City Hall.

Once I arrived, albeit a good 20 minutes late, I saw the powerful circle of ceremony that had been created by the Poverty Scholars, and about a dozen of us who were there in solidarity.  Within minutes of sitting on a bench, I felt re-energized by the medicine of what was being shared by both Poverty Scholars and those who had been invited to speak for the housed. Soon, the three of us Solidarity Family members were called to share our stories at the mic.

Here’s what I shared.  That I’d spent the past decade of my adult life organizing from my oppressed identities—queer, poc, assigned female at birth—until I saw that I wasn’t fully acknowledging and leveraging the power that I have as an academic with access to skills, networks, and legitimacy in this society. And that thanks to POOR, I’ve been learning how to enact Community Reparations with gratitude for what it opens up in me, as I see it not only as my duty and responsibility, but also a tangible practice to shift away from the individual-minded system I (and most of us!) have been trained to operate within.  And that Poverty Scholarship continues to teach me what including my whole self in these movements looks like; that my solidarity is most effective when I speak from my own experiences. Finally, I shared how important it was that I and other folks with race, class, and academic privilege talk about these issues with others especially because looking and sounding like us gave us what Poverty Scholars call “Linguistic Domination Skills,” or the ability to use language that is most likely to be heard and respected by people in power within non-profit, government, and financial worlds.

There’s so much more I could share, but I’ll end with my gratitude for encountering POOR Magazine, attending PeopleSkooL (the next one is happening August 23-24, 2019--don’t miss it!), being a part of the Solidarity Family, and most recently being invited to share my words at the rally.  It’s true that I both still have so much to (un)learn and NOW is the time to enact change.

-Miyuki Baker, PhD candidate, UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies

Growing up, I’d ask my parents why there were people living on the street. What we should do about it. They didn’t have an answer. Neither did the city. That was almost 30 years ago, and houselnessness has only increased in San Francisco.

A few weeks ago, I stood with POOR Magazine, SF DSA and other community members outside SF City Hall. It was an explicit call for housed people to show up for our unhoused neighbors. To say that we don’t support anyone being "swept" away like trash instead of given housing and having their basic human needs met. 

Growing up, I knew that it was wrong for my family to have so much while others had so little. To drive past people asking for a dollar under the freeway at 5th and Bryant and go quiet. This feeling of wrongness turned into anger. I didn’t know what to do with my anger. They told me to forget it, that guilt helps nobody. I didn’t know that what I needed instead was accountability.

POOR Magazine is where I found it. They taught me how to heal from the anger, how to face it at the source. 

As people with class privilege, as people with housing in this impossibly expensive place in this world torn apart by capitalist greed, we have a responsibility. These “sweeps” are being done in our name. We are the people whose"quality of life" the city wants to protect by making it so we don't have to see the suffering the system perpetuates. 

The question isn’t just why are there people living on the street. The question is why are there people living in 2nd and 3rd houses? Why are there people who own empty houses where no one lives at all? Why do we hold on to so much hoarded wealth? Why can’t we just let go?

POOR Magazine gave me the opportunity to let go. To heal with community reparations. 

We can’t just drive past and go quiet. Can’t just shake our heads and ask why. The other side of poverty is wealth hoarding. Those of us with hoarded wealth can step out of our paralyzing guilt and into community. We grew up in a society that’s broken. We can grow together into something new.

- Yael Chanoff, Poor Magazine Solidarity Family Member

Final paper for Decolonized English class by Ziair Hughes

It is because I am black that I chose the subject Being Black in Amerikkka. Being black in Amerikkka means its difficult to go outside with a hoodie on because if we have a hoodie the poLice will frame us as a criminal. Being black in amerikkka means you can’t ride a bike because the poLice will pull u over for riding it while black. This is why my essay will focus on why it's hard to be young and black in Amerikkka.                                   

Here is my case study. On September 2016 my brother, my mom and I were driving in the Eastmont mall parking lot when suddenly…..two poLice cars came up behind our little white hooptie and put on their lights.

“STOP THE VEHICLE” they shouted out their speaker phones.  Two white men suited and booted up with artilleries pulled out their guns. I didn't know what to think, and I put my hands up in the air. My mom did the same.  “STOP” they shouted.  

My mom and my brother and I were terrified. My mom got out and they grabbed her and slammed her on the concrete. My brother and I were still in the car sitting still as a rock. Luckily somebody we knew came to save us and police then realised we didn't do a crime  

“We are sorry, Ma’am,”said the police. At that point they tried to give me a sticker and act like everything was ok. 

I felt like everything was on fire. I was scared for my mom. I thought I was going to get shot. I thought the world was over and I was going to be laying there in a casket. I wanted to put those poLice officers in prison just like our people get put in everyday. Those two OPD officers were over-policing and being bullies to us. I was angry at them because they slammed my mom and they told me to put my hands in the air. This is a formal sign of criminalization. 

Being black in Amerikkka means always being scared and always fearing for your life. On that day I learned that officers aren’t always officers and are not always your friend. That day I learned that you cannot drive while black. You have to be in disguise, they are all lies. When they say they try to help us it's not really true. Let me tell you from the beginning.

 Now I know that we often are exposed to hegemony. Being black in America, we have to act like the oppressor. We get jobs like being poLice officers or lawyer, which isn’t bad, but we sometimes act hegemonic. We are also very much targeted because of the color of our skin. We have to dress like the white man, we have to buy nice cars and nice houses just to be associated with them and fit in. 

We are invisible to society and sometimes we don’t get recognized. We also get profiled for being black in America. For example, Mr. Stephon Clark was killed in his grandmother’s backyard in Sacramento, California, on March 18th, 2018. He was killed because of a vandalism complaint (washingtonpost.com). Being black in America also means we experience systematic oppression. The police officers that shot Mr. Stephon Clark were not prosecuted for killing him, yet YNW Melly, a rapper from Florida who shot two people during a home invasion was charged with the death penalty despite his diagnosed mental illness (complex.com). This is an example of a double-standard because YNW Melly is a black man who killed, the police officers killed as well but YNW Melly now faces the death penalty. 

The same with Mario Woods. “A young black man killed by San Francisco police had 20 gunshot wounds, including six in the back, according to an autopsy report released on Thursday...The shooting was captured on video and circulated widely online, igniting ongoing protests ‘Justice 4 Mario Woods’” (theguardian.com). He was a disabled man that was homeless at the time of his murder. He died on December 2nd, 2015. He was shot 26 times and then he dropped to the floor. He was shot in his head, legs, abdomen and buttocks by SFPD. This is so sad. He was a black man that was profiled as dangerous and they already had the mindset to kill him. It took them 15 minutes to kill him. Sadly, his family settled for a lawsuit against SFPD but they did not win and the police were not prosecuted. 

This is very sad. It happens to all the young black people; we are targeted. The system is the most criminal-based place in the world. It’s a gang. Every gang member has a part - the leader is the government and the police community are the gang members. They take out all the black people they can. Being black in America means that I have to hide my identity, put a mask on, and pretend it is me.

Another example is Sandra Bland. Sandra Bland, an Illinois native made a series of excited phone calls to friends and family, celebrating what she thought was a successful interview for a job at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, her alma mater..

Sandra Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on July 13, 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide, they say, but really it was because she was a woman of color.

 “Officials announced that they have fired the Texas state trooper who pulled over Sandra Bland, whose death in jail last summer fueled criticism of police and their treatment of minorities Trooper Brian T. Encinia, 30, was formally fired Wednesday by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, who said the officer's actions during the traffic stop with Bland violated department standards. McCraw met with Encinia on Feb. 5 and oversaw months of investigation.”

In this case, we see a police officer actually being prosecuted for their crime. 

"I have carefully considered all the points raised by you in our meeting," McCraw wrote in his letter of final termination. "I have determined that you have not rebutted the charges set out in the statement of charges of January 28, 2016. No cause has been presented to alter my preliminary decision" (latimes.com).

“The death of Alejandro "Alex" Nieto occurred on March 21, 2014 in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Nieto was shot by four San Francisco Police Department officers before a night shift at work. A confrontation between Nieto and another civilian led to a bystander calling 911. Nieto was wearing a taser. Police allege that Nieto pointed the taser at them. The responding police officers also claim to have believed that the taser was a firearm

The San Francisco County District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges against the four officers involved in the shooting. Nieto's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging wrongful death. In March 2016, a jury cleared the four officers of all charges.Nieto, 28, was born on March 3, 1986 in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California, to parents Refugio Nieto and Elvira Nieto (née Rodriguez), Mexican immigrants from the town of Tarimoro, Guanajuato.

In 2007, Nieto obtained a California state license to work as a security guard.Nieto graduated from the community college, City College of San Francisco, with a concentration in criminal justice. During this time he held an internship at the City of San Francisco's juvenile probation department.

Alex's parents retained the Law Offices of John Burris and filed a federal civil rights claim arguing the police wrongfully shot their son. The trial ended on March 10, 2016, a jury unanimously cleared the four officers of all charges. It was found that the taser's clock, the weapon’s trigger, was pulled. Nieto's prior issues with mental health were discussed, as toxicology reports found he was not on medication when he was killed. Also discussed were two separate incidents in 2011 when Nieto had contact with law enforcement and resulted in 72-hour mental health holds. The family argued that the police used excessive force and that there was contradictory evidence and details about what happened.” 

 In the case of Rodney King, who was beaten by police officers in 1991, the police officers were not charged for their brutality. 

“Rodney Glen King was an American construction worker turned writer and activist after surviving an act of police brutality by the Los Angeles Police Department. On March 3, 1991, King was violently beaten by LAPD officers during his arrest for fleeing and evading on California State Route 210. A civilian, George Holliday, filmed the incident from his nearby balcony and sent the footage to local news station KTLA. The footage clearly showed King being beaten repeatedly, and the incident was covered by news media around the world.” (wikipedia)

“The four officers were tried on charges of use of excessive force; three were acquitted, the jury failed to reach a verdict on one charge for the fourth.” 

A few hours after they were acquitted the LA riots started, and black people in LA were upset about the verdict. 

“The rioting lasted six days, during which 63 people were killed and 2,373 were injured; it ended only after the California Army National Guard, the United States Army, and the United States Marine Corps provided reinforcements to re-establish control.”

The police officers were then taken to federal court for their crimes after the riots. 

“Their trial in a federal district court ended on April 16, 1993, with two of the officers being found guilty and sentenced to prison. The other two were acquitted of the charges. The city of Los Angeles awarded King $3.8 million in damages, in a separate suit. He struggled to start a business, but was not successful. In 2012, he was found dead in his swimming pool two months after publishing his memoir.” 

In conclusion aside from Oscar Grant, Sandra and my own family, being black in America, we are looked at as hazardous. Our race is an endangered species. We are looked at as disgusting, ghetto and poor. They stereotype us as being criminals. This country does not protect us. We are listed as the dangerous people. The reason why they kill us is because they are scared of us. These stories relate to each other because they were killed by police who have power. Police are seen as the “good guys,” and the governement cleans up the dirt when they murder black and brown people. I feel like there will be no black people left in the future if this keeps happening. 

I would take away weapons from police and stop the selling of weapons. I would get all the black people out of the penitentiary so that the fathers could teach their children how to not use a gun and how to fight so that they all the black on black crimes disappear. And for the police, I would teach them how to talk to people and use their words so they can figure out the situation before shooting. And, I would teach them how not to profile and ask “hey, did you do this?” 

I would tell any other kid that went through what I went through with my mom that they shouldn’t fear the police. Just do what they say, that is how I stayed alive. Don’t forget to be a kid and don’t let this get to you. My advice if you feel scared is to make sure your mom is okay (that cheered me up). 

Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. We are often exposed to racism in this country. Being black in America means you are looked at with prejudice. The only way we will survive being black in America is to either be hegemonic or revolutionary. Hegemony, or acting like the oppressor, means that black people have to fit in with white people. 

Reference

https://www.complex.com/music/2019/02/ynw-melly-interview https://www.latimes.com

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/12/mario-woods-autopsy-san-francisco-police-fatal-shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Alex_Nieto

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/how-the-stephon-clark-shooting-unfolded/2018/03/22/7165a116-2e0e-11e8-8dc9-3b51e028b845_video.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.68c27 I\ovenc108356 

Final paper by Kimo Umu.

It is estimated that we have 7 billion people that live on earth today. That means that there are 7 billion people that need to be fed and taken care of, which also means gas, water, medicine and land. In today's day and age our production and use of resources have grown because our populations have increased . So because of this increase in populations, places like the US(United States) and CHN(China) that have enormous population density, their supply and demand would be more. In the united states we waste 133 billion pounds of food. That is 30-40 percent of the US food bank.    

In the United States we have a population of 300,000,000 people. The United States is one of the largest countries in the world, alongside China and India. China has 1,386 billion people. This amount of people is enormous, but this means for every new person that comes into this world they will need the use of resources for everyday life.

The percentage of the world’s resources used by China is 11% The percentage of resources used by the US is 10%.

Food and water for example are resources  it is very important for our way of life and well being to be sustained. As of 2011, food consumption of the US person was up to 1,996 pounds of food per year.

We use 10 billion tons of water in the US and China as of 2015.  The U.S has consumed 322 billion gallons per day. China consumes 116,000 gallons of water. At the same time, agriculture – especially intensive agriculture, characterised by monocultures and aimed at feeding farm animals is one of the sectors that generates the highest amount of emissions of CO2(Carbon emissions).( Life Gate.com)

How much fossil  fuel is used in the US and China?

As of 2015 the US consumed 140.43 billion gallons of oil

China consumes 19.9 million barrels a day

How much plastic does us and china consume?

China consumes 3 billion plastic bags a year.

According to the EPA, the average American person will produce about 5.91 pounds of trash, with about 1.51 pounds being recycled; 4.40 pounds is the rough average daily waste per person. 

Destruction of Mama Earth leading to Climate Change through extractive industries  

Fracking  

In western states like Texas and Colorado, over 3.6 million gallons of water are needed per fracture. 

A local example of climate change and pollution is Medicine Lake, (Something we learned about and marched for in our school- Deecolonize Academy). Medicine Lake is a sacred site for the first nations people located northeast of mount shasta in the mountains of northern california the pit river, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk and Wintu tribes. 

In the highlands of Medicine Lake there are efforts being made to use geothermal hydraulic drills to fracture for oil. Fracking would cause the water supply of Medicine Lake to be polluted, this is a major issue since Medicine Lake is the largest water supply to the state. The mountain captures and discharges over 1.2 million acre-feet of snowmelt annually, emerging as the Fall River Springs, the largest spring system in the state.Save Medicine Lake

In conclusion these four issues are related because the high rise in global population causes the increase in pollution due to increased use of everything. For example, plastic bags are used dominantly by China and the US which causes pollution to the ocean and its eco-system, and even though China decreased their use the US still uses more bags than almost any other country. 

In addition Climate Change can be very dangerous for everyone’s water and food systems. Digging up fossil fuels could put communities at risk for contamination of water and starve people to death.

 Search of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Pollution and Climate Change’

On the green planet (My term for planet earth) we consume more than we produce maybe we're biting of more than we can chew. In our own selfish search for new lands                                                                             to colonize, like we did to Turtle Island (The Americas) we are looking for planets that have plentiful resources to sustain our way of living.

On the Green Planet we have a population of 7 billion people from different countries with different values but one thing is common they all need self-sustaining resources, but since we're using up these resources.  Industries constantly are damaging the Earth, producing products that pollute the earth like oil that cause carbon emissions, plastic damage since oil is used to mak.                                                                                                        

One solution to our overwhelming resource issue  would be to find other planets similar to our own. An Earth Analog is a term to describe planets that are similar to our own. Earth Analogs could have the same resources like Water, Food, Oil, and Land, it is very important for the human race to consider if we were to make contact with extraterrestrial life.

If humans were to reach an Earth Analog they may encounter extraterrestrial life and it may not be the alien from the X files, we might not be able to see these aliens, they could be microorganisms. We may find microorganisms called extremophiles that can survive in conditions like volcanoes or the deepest parts of this new ocean.   

A planet that has self-sustaining resources considerably would be from Mars is 33.9 million miles away making it the closet Earth Analog near us. Mars has water in the forms of ice and vapor also there's water underneath Mars surface. Extracting water from mars would help countries with water issues to help fight against Global Warming that is destroying ice glaciers and fresh water supplies.

I care about the planet because on this green planet are my friends, family, and way of living. I wanted to present to people issues and solutions about the Earth. It's time we made adjustments in the way we live and think and not be so selfish and appreciate the little things.