Story Archives

by Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Tiny and Mari from POOR Magazine's Indigenous Peoples Media Project collaborated with Ras K' Dee (Pomo/Afrikan) from SNAG Magazine and Cassandra Yazzie (Dine') from Four Rivers Institute to lead the Native Hip Hop workshop at the Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. The Workshop included Hip Hop writing, poetry, beat-making, film and consciousness training for young people 6-18. It was a very powerful exchange of intergenerational knowledge, culture, art and indigenous resistance on occupation, land, poverty and de-colonization. Here is some of the written pieces.

Editors Note: Last week Cassandra Yazzie was killed in an automobile crash. All of us are extremely saddened by her loss and are dedicating this issue of POOR Magazine to her beautiful spirit.

November's PNN radio and Bay Native Circle on KPFA are also dedicated to her memory and family. Mari from Indigenous Peoples Media Project has wrote an article in honor of her at http://poormagazine.org/index.cfm?L1=news&category=35&story=2399

by Kaponda

The zephyr bored through the thin layer of protective
shelter and pelted the young lad as his eyes opened to
the dawn of another school day. It carried the noxious
elements of the naval shipyard to woo the uncorrupt
lungs of the middle school senior. Yet, Jimmy has
known for quite awhile that his generation has had to
endure the brunt of unfulfilled commitments by
virtually every institution of America.

The sparse surroundings of Jimmy's bedroom
bounced off his eyes through the mirror, as he
prepared to encounter another struggle at Luther
Burbank Middle School. In an effort not to frustrate
his schoolmaster, Jimmy had begun his journey at the
customary time. Looking at the abutting structures
from the window, Jimmy watched as his house
drowned in the distance, as the bus accelerated past
the density of drab houses. He mused over whether
anyone within that enclave of southern migrants --
from which he, too, is a proud product ñ- has ever
enjoyed anything other than substandard living
conditions since their arrival to the Bayview-Hunters
Point District at the height of World War II.

As he expectorated the noxious residuals from the
wind that had earlier swirled around his residential
community, Jimmy peered at a rodent, which bolted
off into a separate entrance of the Luther Burbank
Middle School. His eyes made a futile search of the
halls for anything that had not been riddled by decay.
The first battle for Jimmy will be to find a seat after
he enters his classroom, as there are not enough to
accommodate each student. There will not be a need
for him to check his coat because it will help insulate
him from the extremely cold classroom due to the
broken heating system. Jimmy has always focused on
completing his studies and passing his advanced
placement examination to continue his education at a
competitive university.

The substandard learning and living conditions to
which Jimmy is exposed may pose a threat to his
plans to further his education. For example, the
curricula offered at schools such as Luther Burbank
do not adequately prepare Jimmy for advanced
placement examinations. In addition, his problems are
compounded by a sense of inferiority, which affects
the motivation of a child to learn. These wretched
conditions were not hatched over night. Rather, they
are the result of years of Federal and State neglect.
Furthermore, these substandard learning conditions --
in which Jimmy must struggle to realize his hopes ñ
violate the laws of California, which require the State
to ensure the delivery of basic educational
opportunities for every child in California and vest the
State with ultimate responsibility for the Stateís public
elementary and secondary school system.

Neglect by the State of California to improve substandard
learning conditions in schools for people of color can be
traced as far back as the early 1950ís, when the majority of
schools for people of color were far inferior to the schools
of their white counterparts. The neglect of the State of
California to provide equal access to public education
regardless of race, color or national origin is rooted in the
May 17, 1954, Brown v. Board of Education, unanimous
decision, read by Chief Justice Earl Warren of the Supreme
Court.

In California, schools in economically disadvantaged
communities were underserved so severely that on May
17, 2000, the 46th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of
Education, civil rights groups and attorneys in California,
coordinated by the American Civil Liberties Union, lodged
a historic class-action lawsuit on behalf of students in 18
schools. The lawsuit charges that California has failed to
provide the "bare minimum necessities" required for an
education. According to the Complaint, the state of
California has allegedly "...reneged on its constitutional
guarantee to provide all students with at least the bare
essentials necessary for an education...."

The indictment of gross negligence underscores the reason
that supports the probability that Jimmy will never achieve
an education comparable to that of his white counterpart.
Furthermore, people of color in schools throughout
California have been subjected to the following conditions
as part of their everyday educational experience, according
to the Complaint:

• Lack of Materials and Basic Resources;
• Inadequate Instruction; and
• Massive Overcrowding.

California has recently adopted a system of statewide
educational standards. It entails a criterion that must be
satisfied by each student before being promoted to the next
rung of learning. However, ìofficials of the state of
California charged with carrying out educational
obligations have failed to develop or implement appropriate
procedures to identify and correct the substandard
conditions at the schools attended by Plaintiffs,î according
to the Complaint.

Furthermore, according to the class-action lawsuit lodged
by the ACLU, ìAlthough the State has established
academic standards that students must meet, the State has
failed to meet its responsibility to ensure that schools
provide teachers who are adequately trained to prepare
students to satisfy those standards, has failed to provide
sufficient materials to enable students to have a reasonable
chance to pass tests that measure their performance, and
has failed to provide facilities in which students can safely
learn the materials they need to meet the State-mandated
standards. In other words, the State has established a
system for education but has abdicated its responsibility to
oversee and superintend that system to ensure it functions.

Jimmy was not born during the decision of Brown v.
Board of Education by the Supreme Court. However, the
Board of Education of California continues to preclude him
from any hope of attaining to the same educational level of
equality and justice as his white counterpart. Through
sheer determination, Jimmy may be one of the few among
people of color who succeed in passing the Advanced
Placement examination by rising beyond the seemingly
insurmountable obstacles of inadequate instructions,
massive school overcrowding, too few textbooks, no
access to libraries, as few as 13 percent of teachers with
full teaching credentials, chronically unfilled teacher
vacancies, and substandard living conditions.

by Dee

Walking sticks appear, seemingly from nowhere to dine on tender leaves. The spindly insects resemble trees as they slowly creep up the tail and paws of Hands and Lester.

Hands and Lester look around to find themselves deep in the countryside of North Eastern Oklahoma, It is the year 1839.
Why, lands and Lester wondered, why have we found ourselves in Cherokee country and why did we have to travel the Trail of Tears?
In generations past the Cherokee people come to this area to rebuild their nation after the westward trek from their beloved homelands in the mountainous South - Herded by federal soldiers, the Cherokees took a path in 1838-39 that became known as the “Trail of Tears.”

Why, Hands and Lester wondered? Why have we found ourselves in Cherokee country? Was it to live on the hard scrabble farms dotting the region that many Cherokees continue to live on?

Was it to attend some of the first schools west of the Mississippi for the education of both men and women? Or perhaps it was to work on Oaklahoma first newspaper published in both English and Cherokee.
After all it was only 1839 and again lester and Hands were living another of their nine lives.

That nite Lester had a dream. He dreampt he and and Hands were ill. No amount of Medicine or prayers could heal Lester and Hands in this dream. A native American spiritual leader appeared to lester in Lesters dream.

He told Lester that Native Americans regard their names as essential parts of their personalities. A native persons name is as vital to his or her identity as the eye or teeth.

If prayers and medicine fail to heal a seriously ill person, the spiritual leader tells Lester, then the spiritual leader sometimes realizes that the patients name itself may be diseased. The spiritual leader then goes to the water and with the appropriate ceremony bestows a new name on the sick person.

The healer then begins anew with the patients new name in hope that these measures will bring about restoration and recovery.
Lester anxiously awoke from his dream. He awoke. “Hands, Hands.hands"Lester said, “I’ve found the answer in a dream as to why we have found ourselves in Cherokee County in 1839.” Hands listened excitedly, while quietly purring. Lester continued “We have to find a spiritual leader and most important, ask him to change our names!”
To be Continued.

by Dee Gray, M.S.W., M.F.T

I am the co-editor and co-director of a media organization, I am also a social worker and licensed psychotherapist in the state of California.

As a mental health professional I believe that Gavin Newsom's plan called Care Not Cash (Proposition N) is so very antithetical to help for mental illness, substance abuse, etc.

CARE, the word, implies empathy, help, reaching out. Gavin Newsome's use of the word CARE is cynical, cruel, distinctly the opposite of empathy, help, or reaching out.

To remove money from the San Francisco worker's paycheck (aka;the Cash Assistance Grant given to folks on General Assistance/Welfare who do Workfare) with the idea that mental health services and all needed services will be provided instead is cynical. These services do not exist and would require several years to develop. What really exists for poor people and homeless people is meager at best.

In my opinion instead of decreasing the amount of the paycheck to the (workfare) workers, (workfare, the work that people must perform to receive their monthly cash assistance grant) yes, workers, because that’s what they are – very low-wage workers (similar to indentured servants). Instead of decreasing the paychecks, these workers paycheck should be increased to $3,000 per month, at least.

The primary reason for the pay check increase would be to pay for mental health services which for "talk therapy" and "meds" would cost from $60 per 50 minute session to $300 per 50 minute session. 50 minutes being the usual length of time per session with mental health professionals.

The $150 to $300 per 50 minute rate is the cost that Gavin Newsome can pay for psychoanalysis or psychoanalytic pyschotherapy. This type of therapy usually takes from 2 to 5 days per week. Because there is a significant amount of mental illness and substance abuse in the worker population, that in some cases date back to early child hood experiences as well as abuse by the system that poor people live with every day, daily or almost daily therapy would be the most beneficial.

I personally believe a combination of psychotherapy, advocacy, and self help is the best way of helping folks in the population being discussed. Psychotherapy in the form of long term cognitive or "talk therapy" would be of great benefit in any treatment plan or, as I have stated, long term psychoanalysis. I also would recommend any therapy be based in cultural and ethnic awareness and not be based simply on eurocentric psychology that stresses the individual over the group. Eurocentric psychology - that is, the parallel of the economic system of capitalism –

At Poor we view all labor as work and all those that labor as workers – this includes unrecognized work such as recycling, panhandling, work fare, street cleaning, (etc.)

Workers in any system normally have, or try to have, work that includes health care, vacations, sick leave, etc. Yet in the eyes of San Francisco and under Proposition N (Care Not Cash), these workers performing unrecognized work, not only do not receive benefits but are now being told that they should receive a major cut in pay – thereby making it impossible for them to acquire the expensive psychotherapy that would benefit them immensely. Additionally they are scorned for the very work that they do by those with wealth and privilege (and higher paying jobs) such as Gavin Newsome.

If these scorned workers can’t have access to the type of work benefits that the wealthy folks like Gavin Newsome have access to because they do not receive high enough wages for their work or do not have inherited wealth, then it makes sense for their employer, the city of San Francisco, to provide benefits. One of which would be a really good health care plan that provides top-notch culturally aware mental health services – the expensive kind that Gavin Newsome has access to. I also recommend that each worker have a healthcare card that identifies them as an employee of San Francisco, similar to the cards that Kaiser and UC, etc. give to their clients.

These mental health care benefits combined with advocacy and self help programs already in existence, would be what I as a mental health professional, would recommend that these workers receive. And if the city of San Francisco refuses to provide the benefits for these workers like the rest of the city’s workers receive, than I would recommend a large increase, up to $3,000 per month, in monthly benefits for each worker so that they could buy their own private mental healthcare benefits.

Finally, This Care Not Cash plan put forth by Gavin Newsome, only perpetrates misery and poverty and most important, makes a mockery of the word CARE.

by Sam Drew/ReVieWsForTHeReVoLutioN

As a staff writer at POOR Magazine, I proudly claim the title of poverty scholar since I’ve suffered through low wage and no wage security jobs at some of the most prestigious buildings in the San Francisco Bay Area. This life experience informs and infuses my journalism. Not only do I report the news, but I use media to support the community. At POOR Magazine we are not just media voyeurs but media makers.

Sitting in a half empty movie theatre suffering through trailer after trailer of bombastic summer blockbuster films, my senses were suddenly awakened as I saw Don Cheadle on the screen decked out in polyester and plaid with his 1970’s style butterfly collar shirt open to his navel. "Oh, no” I thought to myself, “not another movie about a street smart Black man who says outrageous things and wiggles out of difficult situations by fooling uptight whites and saves the day by spreading peace, love and SOUL to America.”

If you’ve seen one of these movies you've seen them all. Eddie Murphy, Eddie Griffin, Chris Rock, Chris Tucker and the Wayans Brothers excel in this type of standard Hollywood fare. I almost gave up on this movie just by viewing the trailer. But something said give this movie a chance. Don Cheadle’s body of work has been stellar and Director Kasi Lemmons has shown a sensitive and powerful touch in movies like “Eve’s Bayou.” This is one of the few times the small voice in my head was right.

Don Cheadle portrays Ralph “Petey” Green an ex-con who becomes a mainstay on Washington D.C. radio during the turbulent 60’s. His tell it like it is disc jockey style makes him a hero to the average joe in chocolate city. He has no fear calling Motown’s head honcho Berry Gordy a pimp because of his exploitive contracts with young people. He routinely undresses crooked politicians over the radio without fear. It is his relationship with the community that turns him into a folk hero.

A watershed moment in the movie occurs when Petey gets his chance to perform on “The Tonight Show” in New York City. For Petey’s former radio director and now career advisor, The Tonight Show is a slice of assimilated heaven; a crossover dream realized.
Sitting across from Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon as a black man was almost entirely unheard of before than and to many signaled that the entire race had risen.

When Petey is about to perform his comedy routine he is hit with an epiphany. These well heeled white folks have come to laugh at me not with me. As he walks out on the Tonight Show, Petey also walks out on his career as a disc jockey. His personal demons catch up with him and his career comes to a grinding halt. There are ramifications for not falling in line with societies pressure to conform.

But what made Petey a hero to the average person was his willingness to take on power and privilege, yet remain true to his roots. For him to become mainstream would require him to turn his back on what made him popular to begin with.

I can totally identify with Petey’s dilemma. At POOR Magazine what separates us from the mainstream is the fact we embrace our disabilities and poverty and incorporate them in our journalism, poetry and books. To turn your back on this would be like turning your back on what makes you unique. This would be turning your back on your community. The motto at POOR Magazine is that not only do we report the news but we sup-port too. Through his unwillingness to change and conform to society’s wishes, Petey did just the same.

by Valerie Schwartz/PoorNewNetwork

Sunday September 8, 2002 was a warm gorgeous day in the Haight district of San Francisco, or so I had been thinking. I felt good as the warmth of the sun hit my face. Cotton wisps sparsely placed as they mingled with the never-ending blue sky. I closed my eyes and drifted of into a daydream...Then all of a sudden I was slapped back into reality when I heard, "I can't tell you...they'll kill me!, "They piped me in the head and stabbed me." Then I heard a discordant wave, an aftershock, of frantic and frightened voices: "Somebody call 911!, he looks pretty bad, he's losing a lot of blood...what happened?"

I walked up to the sidewalk and laying in between two-parked cars was a tall, thin, young man clad only in his briefs. He was covered in blood. He looked familiar, he looked like a homeless guy I used to see on the streets downtown and in the Tenderloin. I wasn't positive, although I rarely forget a face, but at that point I still was not sure who he was. His face and body were smeared with different shades of reds and rust-brown, his life leaking out of him.

Roxanne, a resident of the neighborhood, was sitting in the street next to him. Roxanne told me that he had come out of the park across the street, Buena Vista Park, and had made it as far as the curb. She had propped him up against the rear bumper of a car and was applying pressure to the stab wound in his chest. She pushed a shirt and two-fingers directly into the wound, which had been, spurting blood and plugged it. I listened to her talking to him to try to keep him from going further into shock than he already was. I heard her ask him in a very soft and calm voice, "What Happened?" He again replied, "I can't tell you... they'll kill me." He was more than frightened but she kept him talking and I truly believe that she saved his life.

What was even more incredible was when the first officer on the scene got out of his car. He cleared the street of traffic, approached the victim and sarcastically said, "What happened buddy, drug deal gone bad?" He then told Roxanne that she really shouldn't be touching him because of all the blood. A man standing on the sidewalk also parroted this message. Listening to these statements dumbfounded me. I was amazed at the phobia and attitudes of indifference and the general disregard of this young man as a person, a human being. At this moment, I was reminded of the indifference of the proposed legislation Proposition N, aka "Care" not Cash, which talks about homelessness as though it had nothing to do with human beings.

Eventually the Fire Department arrived and quickly attended to the young man. As the paramedics made their way over to where he lay, Roxanne got up. She didn't leave his side until they were next to him. Roxanne told me later, "If I had stopped putting pressure on his wounds he might have died, because the cop sure wasn't going to do it." Roxanne then told me, "I walked away and the cop called me back and asked me, "Will you get some 411 (information) for me? He won't talk to me." She continued, "I went over to him and asked him again, what happened?" "I told him that he didn't look too good and maybe he needed to tell me what happened." Roxanne told me that he then reluctantly gave her his name and birth date.

Still strong in my belief that he was the homeless person I once knew, I asked Roxanne some more questions. "Do you think that this man was homeless?" I asked. She hesitated as she thought and replied, "At first I didn't know what to think because he wasn't dressed... But as I kept him talking he told me they took his sleeping bag, he was upset about his sleeping-bag." She then went on to tell me that, "He never once mentioned any money and although they took his wallet it did not seen to bother him at all." "He said they took his wedding ring, but he never asked for his family, wife, or spouse to be notified of his condition." I asked Roxanne, "Did he say if they took his clothes?" She said, "He didn't say they took my clothes, he said nothing about them."

I am still bothered by the statements made to the victim by the first officer on the scene, in reference to a drug deal gone bad and his phobia of blood. Does this mean that because the victim was stripped to his briefs that he was: A. A crazed dope-fiend? B. A sex-industry worker? C. A pervert, a trick, or a gay man? D. Homeless? E. All of the above? I feel that the officer automatically stereotyped him into one, if not all of these categories upon his arrival. Therefore by the statements of this officer, did this mean that the young man/victim more than likely got what he deserved because, a judgement had been formulated that, the man was a walking "Petri-dish" of diseases and viruses? The reality is that first and foremost this young man is a person and should have been treated as such.

I called the SAGE-Project(Standing Against Global Exploitation) and spoke to Sammy Formo who is a peer counselor for the men's services at SAGE. The SAGE Project deals with women and men who have been sex-industry workers, that have experienced domestic violence, substance abuse, self esteem and parenting issues, homelessness and more. I asked him if he had any reports of violence or attacks of his clients in Buena Vista Park. He replied, " I don't have a lot of clients who will admit to working in that park. It does happen though. I feel that people get robbed more than attacked up there. People are afraid to come forth, It's an issue of shame. If they came forward--look how the police treated this young man--they are afraid of what would happen. They're afraid of how they will be treated."

I then asked Sammy, "Are many of your clients homeless?"

"A couple of them and some of the clients I have who will be released from jail don't have a place to go."

I then asked Sammy about Proposition N "Care-Not-Cash" and how he felt about it. " Don't get me started", his words rushed through the phone line. He added, "It's ludicrous, It's unbelievable... it will create more poor people."

I then called Jennifer Friedenbach at the Coalition On Homelessness to ask her about violence against poor homeless people of our fair city. I asked Jennifer if she thought the citizen's of San Francisco were aware of the violence and hate that is happening on a daily basis, and that many of these people who are the recipients of this are poor and or homeless. Jennifer gave a quick reply with a sigh, a simple, "No."

I then asked Ms. Friedenbach if she thought the corporate media's editorial policies are biased and if she felt that they portrayed poor and houseless folks in a negative light?" Jennifer said, "Yes definitely. I think the corporate media has created a feeling of safety among people who are creating hate crimes against the poor homeless people and this is done by constantly demonizing and constantly portraying the poor and homeless in a negative light."

Jennifer and I briefly discussed "Care-Not-Cash". "How do you feel about the mainstream media's coverage of Proposition N, or lack of coverage?" I asked.

Sounding firm and concerned she replied, "It has been horrendous. It has not been properly characterized, it just repeats the rhetoric and lies without ever explaining what the legislation says." Ms. Friedenbach then added, "It will increase poverty and homelessness."

Being that I have lived on the street and have been assaulted, been homeless and have myself slept in Buena Vista Park. I can understand and make sense of the statements made by this young man: He was worried about his sleeping bag and his wedding ring, and that he did not seem to be worried about his wallet. When you are houseless, a sleeping bag is far more beneficial than an empty wallet. I have never seen an empty wallet cover a person and fend off the chills of the night. I can also see why a ring is of importance, sentimental importance. I know very few houseless people who would worry about their clothes being taken for they can always get more. As far as material possessions go: they are not often as valued as the basics. I understand the omission of his family because of shame. I can tell you first hand, that the poor and homeless of San Francisco worry about Proposition N. I can tell you that safety is on homeless peoples mind often, they do worry about violence and the pecking orders that living in poverty can create. Poor and homeless people do worry about how their treatment will be hindered by bias and stereotyping and the fear it produces. "I can't tell you... They'll kill me."

by Dale Ray and Tony Robles/PNN

Editor’s Note: Dale Ray’s article was facilitated by Poor Magazine columnist Tony Robles. It Reflects one man’s experience with the burden of trying to overcome the injustice and stigma of an accusation of molestation. POOR Magazine understands the severity of child molestation upon its victims and families. It is POOR Magazine’s position that a person who commits this crime against children should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. POOR also realizes that the system by which individuals are accused and incarcerated—at The same time is flawed—incarcerating and stigmatizing innocent individuals. This article is written to inform the public of this situation.

by Tendai R. Mwanaka

You have come from the east?

Have you been here before this?

Of-course, she believed the stars!

Even though you are aiming at me,

I might as well admit it!

The food was not so bad.

But did you see what she saw,

Standing so gaily like
breaking shadows?

An empty house on
an empty street.

by Boys and Girls Club of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Kaylah

Slam Bio


Blue

Sour

Sweet

A bird that can fly over my mistakes

Ignacio

Down town neighborhood

My baby sis, my bro, my mama

My mind is making everything a struggle

by PNN staff

On Tuesday, January 16, 2001 the Mission Anti-displacement Coalition (MAC), Senior Housing Action Network and several other neighborhood groups held a rally to support SanFrancisco’s new Board of Supervisors. The rally will call on the new board to vigorously protect our neighborhoods from displacement and promote a progressive agenda that includes more affordable housing, environmental and economic justice, a people’s budget, and community control of city planning-- the spirit Proposition L.

Last December’s election of a progressive slate of district supervisors
culminated a year of community organizing and movement building by MAC, SAN and other community groups across the city. Everyday people tired of the

corruption at city hall won a clear mandate for an independent Board of
Supervisors, one that will enact a progressive agenda to safeguard San
Francisco as a city for working people.

The rally of several hundred San Franciscans will serve to celebrate our
electoral victory as well as to remind the supervisors that we will be
actively participating in the legislative process. Speakers from various
neighborhoods and constituencies will be present along with community
members, supervisors and their staff.