by Barbara Huntley-Smith

It is said that inspiration springs from something that has been read, an action observed or an unexplained vision. This editorial thesis was born after reading an article in the Los Angeles Times, Titled: “A Quiet Creek in South Dakota Becomes River of Death.” The story concerns the mysterious deaths of Native Americans living in Rapid City, South Dakota. The mystery that conceived this thesis was not so much the deaths, but the manner in which the F.B.I. and the South Dakota Police Force seemed to be totally mystified, or at a loss securing evidence to bring about an indictment of the person or persons involved.

The juices of inspiration began to flow as the word “indigenous” began to take hold of my senses. Webster Collegiate defines Indigenous as: occurring naturally, Intrinsic, innate and synonymous with native. However it was one component of the word that brought about my inspiration, that word was “Indigent.” Defined as: lacking the means of subsistence, impoverish, needy, poor and destitute. Observing the connection, I began to envision the plight of the Indigenous peoples that once occupied the small Island in the Caribbean were I was born.

Jamaica, an Island in the Caribbean was once populated by an Indigenous people known as the Arawaks. In grade school my mental images of the Arawaks were limited to the fact that they wore loin-cloth, fat pot-bellied men lying comfortably under trees. I was taught that they were lazy and did not like to work, so they lived in caves, ate cassava until they all died. These images I am alluding to were written, but were those images true? The origins of the Arawaks can be traced to the Casimirian people whose culture dates back to the 4000 B.C. These people were Indigenous to Central America and Belize. They later migrated north using the Yucatin Channel and the Cuban counter-current to reach the Islands of the Greater Antilles, of which Jamaica is one of that group of Islands. These Indigenous peoples were the natives who greeted Christopher Columbus during the years of his first voyage from 1492-1497.

During my junior and senior years in school, study of world history from the British point of view has always left me with the question of why there is no existing Arawaks culture in Jamaica. Reading this story of the deaths of the Native Americans of South Dakota, caused me to revisit this question.

There are three Observations I have made. First, the Annihilation of Indigenous peoples on the Island of Jamaica and the United States does have some similarities, and one specific difference. In Jamaica the Indigenous Arawaks were completely annihilated without a trace; whereas in the United States the annihilation have been continuous for two hundred years.

It was reported that Native Americans, a total of eight, were drowned in a creek under a bridge, after drinking themselves into a stupor; Or they got drunk and walked to the creek, fell asleep in their drunken haze and were drowned as the tide rose. It was reported that one of these fatalities was found in a seated position. What mystified me is, trained qualified law enforcement officials are taking second-hand guesses from sources that would not be recognized as credible in the court of law. Consequently all those deaths are still unsolved. Could it be, I thought, this lack of sufficient evidence be due to the fact that six of the eight drowned were “Indigenous?” It must also be noted that all these men were homeless.

My Second Observation concerns the word “Indigent.” These South Dakota indigenous people, specifically those who were mysteriously drowned, manifested all the attributes of indigent. They were poor, needy, lacking the means of substance, and the final manifestation of these people were their “Homelessness.”

Could it be that their status classification is the reason why their deaths were classified a such a mystery? It is written in the Constitution of the United States that men are created equal, and have been endued by their Creator with individual inalienable rights. While working on this observation, I encountered a very interesting not in the Collier’s Encyclopedia page - 251, titled: Rights of Individual: Here is that excerpt.

Our Constitution is Color-blind, and neither knows or tolerates classes among citizen. In respect of Civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.....it is therefore, to be regretted that the high Tribunal has reached the conclusion that a state to regulate the enjoyment of citizens of their civil rights solely upon the basis of Race.

Observing what followed those three words “it is therefore,” has that phrase now become the standard investigative procedure for the “Indigenous indigents?

Lastly, it is also written that upholders of the law are servants and will ultimately be accountable. The poor and homeless are at the highest zenith of their potential to receive. Is it not time that they become recipients of their inalienable rights? Those who are elected as the governing body of nations, states, cities and counties may have lost sight, or have never really comprehended the real purpose of their position. Well this is a gentle reminder: Defend the poor and fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy; Deliver the poor and needy and free them from the hand of those who will oppress them. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required. And to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask more. I believe it is about time that the Rapid City Police department and the F.B.I begin to question their own purpose for doing the work they do. A keynote from the original report was a statement made by the Police Captain in reference to the mystery of the deaths, He commented that these deaths goes beyond the appearance of mere coincidence. Many Native Americans concurred, but are not at all mystified.

by Kaponda

The voice that traveled through his consciousness was silenced by a lethal 9-millimeter weapon. Ever fastened to the distant memories of William Anthony Miller are the final words that prevailed in his hearing before the stream of bullets ended the final chapter of his life. Lying mortally wounded on Skyline Boulevard, William Anthony Miller became another victim whose blood could be traced to the guns of the San Diego Police Department.

The ghastly incident occurred not too far from the San Diego Mental Health Institute. On February 15, 2000, a mentally challenged San Diegan had been acting out on Skyline Boulevard by waving a three-foot palm frond at passersby. One of the passersby, a cyclist, had been struck on the head by the branch. In the shadows were employees of a restaurant who were familiar with the congenial nature of Mr. Miller. According to an account given by Norma Rossi of the San Diego Coalition on Homelessness, the restaurant's employees observed Mr. Miller's behavior and immediately recognized him to be "out of character."

The stainless steel baton marked the latest instrument of crime-fighting weapons used by the San Diego Police. It complemented the 9-millimeter gun and pepper spray each policeman can use in dire situations. This morning was different, however. In addition to the usual display of weapons, also present were multiple squad cars, police dogs and helicopters flying overhead.

A witness, a criminal law professor who was interviewed after the incident, was quoted as saying, "A palm branch was an inadequate weapon." Another witness, Reverend Glenn Ellison, director of Interfaith Shelter Network, speaking at a City Council meeting, stated, "It was obvious to anyone that he was mentally retarded."

In the backdrop of the County Health Mental Institute and encompassed by squad cars, dogs and helicopters, the police barked a command to Mr. Miller to drop the palm frond.

What did Mr. Miller hear? Was it the vicious barks of the canine dog behind him lurching towards him, or was it the howling of the police to get him to stand-down? The answer was delivered into needless obscurity. After six minutes of unsuccessful efforts by the police to reason with an "obviously" mentally challenged person, Mr. Miller was put down by a hail of gun fire.

On Tuesday, February 22, 2000, San Diego City Council met concerning the use of deadly force by the San Diego Police Department, and to discuss accountability and police procedures. The meeting primarily was called by the City Council in an effort to clean up the appearance of the San Diego Police Department. The San Diego Police Department has a lethal-force policy which states, "No officer shall discharge a firearm in performance of duty except when the officer has a reasonable belief that a subject poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or others." Had Mr. Miller posed an imminent threat or bodily harm to any officer's life? According to the testimonies of many witnesses, including the criminal law professor and the Reverend, there was grave concern over the role that the policemen played in the death of William Anthony Miller.

In the last 10 years, only two policemen have died in the line of duty in San Diego. This statistic suggests the immense respect that the residents of San Diego show toward their finest. However, In the last 12 months, five homeless people have died from aggressive police tactics. Conversely, this statistic suggests the immense disrespect the San Diego Police shows toward their homeless and mentally disabled. The San Diego City Council proposed two recommendations:

1) More police training; and

2) Beanbag guns.

In response to Mr. Miller's death, the San Diego Committee Against Police Brutality held a protest at the new, $13 million police station on 5th and Imperial, located in a poor, ethnically diverse neighborhood.

Among other concerns of people located in this neighborhood is, how can the City of San Diego construct a $13 million building for the police and not allocate money for half-way or residential homes where homeless and mentally disabled people can receive care and medication? The only family shelter in San Diego, St. Vincent DePaul, recently loss funding and with the governmental dismantling of Mckinney, the mentally disabled were thrown out in the streets without a place to stay.

The San Diego Internal Affairs Division is currently investigating the death of William Anthony Miller. It will pass its findings to the Citizen's Police Review Board, which oversees police activity but cannot change the findings of Internal Affairs. If the Board is dissatisfied with the findings, its only recourse is to take the matter to the City Manager, the proverbial bureaucratic loop.

The death of Mr. Miller has broken the silence in the community of San Diego over the conduct of policemen. No one will ever know which voice dominated the ears of Mr. Miller during those last moments of his ill-fated demise. However, his death has produced a voice for homeless and mentally disabled people that has resonated throughout the state.

by Tiny

PROPOSITION 21 PROMOTES INCARCERATING YOUTH RATHER THAN EDUCATING THEM.

For More Information About Black Folks Against Prop 21, how to get involved within the coalition as a volunteer or intern, please contact (510) 451-8813 or (510) 533-6629.

Art or Vandalism?

By Lisa Gray-Garcia a.k.a. "La Tiny"

It was 8:30 am on a Sunday morning, in Venice Beach, California. On this hot morning in June, the sun was out long enough to cook the asphalt into a black steaming stew emitting warm tar vapors like a simmering curry. On any other day it would have been too late to achieve the special quiet-ness an artist needs to create their work, but in Venice Beach, on a Sunday morning, only the pigeons and the waves lightly rippling against the shore, were awake. A vague medley of swishing palm fronds and the occasional runner blended into a cacophony of morning-nature that surrounded me as I caressed the canvas with my sweeping brush strokes. A soft restfulness, washed over my head far from the over- loud sounds of home, school, poverty and stress that filled my life on every other day... suddenly, the low rumbling of an approaching car... the spray can in my hand dropped to the ground registering a tinggggg- I looked up to see my work-, my art-work; on the dividing wall in front of me, I heard a loud ca-chunk of a thick door slam behind me... the heels of large boots hit the asphalt...."You're under arrest", the command sliced the air.

I was 14 years old at the time, that was 13 years ago - if the juvenile crime prevention act was in place - I would have been convicted as an adult, charged with a felony as opposed to a misdemeanor (under the act, $400.00 of damage is automatically a felony) and served "hard" time for this art "crime". Or in the case of young Lance Dolan, a twenty year old "tagger/artist, who is currently serving a16 month term for vandalism (read Graffiti), convicted under the three strikes law. The idea being, that if you remove young gang members from the "streets" by incarcerating them, you will be separating them from the influence of gangs. Unfortunately this idea fails because, the organization of gangs are at their most powerful in penal institutions, and just to survive, a mere gang "wanna-be"/ graffiti artist must become a full-fledged gang member just to survive while serving a jail sentence.

The question now urgently becomes what is art? What makes something "vandalism" instead of site specific public art? For example, the art of Rigo, known for his large single word messages on the walls of large buildings, Barry Mcgee, known for his art critic sanctioned "graffiti. "Tagging" instead of a "text-based art piece" such as the conceptual work of Barbara Kruger, known for her ad-like text-pieces or "style" like the fashion designers who used to "borrow" the look of the "streets" when creating $3,000 graffiti Style"" jeans.

Perhaps, the difference is resources and education, I and most of my very poor friends, never had the financial resources to go to art school, which is one of the channels to visual art recognition, validation and a chance to leap inside of the margins of "acceptability. My lack of educational access, luck or financial resources, insured that my art would remain on the "outside" and reliant on the art critiques of the Gang Task Force. (nationwide; Police forces have launched special task forces focused on gang activity) Consequently, through the concerted efforts of neighborhood clean-up campaigns and the police, my art and the art of Lance Dolan remains illegal, unsanctioned and undeserving of any title but; "vandalism".

The other important questions are, what or who determined that the lack of graffiti on a wall makes it "clean" or desirable? In other words, that the public lack of color, shape and form is the way things should be. In indigenous cultures throughout history as well as Greco-Roman times - the use of walls for messages images, the recording of history, and art, was the norm.

How have we created a society that is so enthralled with the cleanliness, blank-ness, or white-ness of everything? The homogenous corporate aesthetic has become our norm. Nationwide, communities converge for the "great neighborhood graffiti clean-up". On one such clean-up in Los Angeles last week, a graffiti cleaner attested to the fact," that as soon as he cleaned the wall someone else would "tag" it - but never fear he would be there to "fix" it - could it be that in an odd way, a new form of marginal collaboration is in progress, or is it just another example of American citizens working for the corporate vision, even if by default.

The solutions? Use some of the financial resources being directed at "Gang Task Forces" and the building of more prisons into well-developed art programs for inner city and poor rural school districts. And as a society approaching the millennium, we need to re-think our notion of "art" and canvas, or we will continue to incarcerate our most determined art-makers, who are attempting, like all artists, to be seen, heard and recognized.

by Kaponda

The violent collisions between the howling winds and leaves of the palm trees in front of the red-brick building had captured my attention as my editor and I walked to the front of the still in-development PAC-BELL Park. We had come out to the Park at China Basin to attend a press conference to protest the enormous amount of attention this ballpark is getting in contrast to the lack of attention given to victims of SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotel fires. Protecting her hair from the sort of droplets caused by the sudden burst of clouds overhead, Frances Pinnock began her attack on the administration of Mayor Willie Brown.

"There is this wonderful ballpark which is about to open on time with 1,800 construction workers working on it everyday. And there are at least seven or eight hotels in San Francisco that are having no work done on them. Our clients are still homeless. The hotels should be repaired. Our clients are demanding that the Mayor speak to the owners [of these hotels] and say [to them] that you can repair these hotels. We like the ballpark. But we want the City of San Francisco -- and we know you can do it because there is massive amounts of money here in the City -- to get these hotels repaired for your tenants and my clients."

Frances Pinnock represents 87 former tenants of the Hartland Hotel and 29 former tenants of the Thor Hotel. As a result of the owners' neglect to bring these hotels back on-line for occupancy, Frances has lodged two Complaints in the Superior Court of California. According to the Complaint filed by Ms. Pinnock, the owners of the Hartland Hotel have received "large settlements from the insurance company, but have as yet to apply for a building permit for the repairs and remodeling."

On February 12, 1999 at 11:00 a.m., the 150-room hotel at Geary and Larkin that had been born out of the 1906 earthquake by the Hartland brothers was ravaged by fire. The fire allegedly began in a lightwell filled with debris. It was not the first fire to occur in the lightwell at the Hartland Hotel. As a result, according to the Complaint, "Years of neglect and decrepit conditions created nightmarish living conditions for people with few housing alternatives, and ultimately led to the fire that displaced all the residents of the Hartland Hotel." One-hundred fifty tenants of the Hartland were displaced as a direct result of the fire.

"The question must be asked of the Mayor," continued Ms. Pinnock, "'Why is this ballpark able to be finished on time and there is no work being done on these hotels at all?'"

Richard Marquez had come to the press conference on behalf of Mission Agenda to state that during the last two years there have been seven major fires in as many SRO hotels. "Mission Agenda, therefore, created a coalition to compel the City to urge owners to compensate tenants fairly, and at the same time, to force them to rebuild the hotels." According to Richard, there were 150 tenants living at the Hartland at the time of the fire. There are 70 tenants scattered around the city who cannot be located.

David McGuire is one of the 150 tenants at the Hartland Hotel who were displaced. A former tenant of five years, he was forced to move out everything that he owned into a storage area. According to David, as he moved his personal belongings out of the Hartland Hotel, he sustained an injury because neither the Hartland, nor the City provided services to move victims out during emergencies. As a result of his injury, he needed crutches.

David McGuire is secretary of the Hartland Hotel Tenants Union. He is one of the plaintiffs in the Complaint against the Defendants, Hartland Hotel. His traumatic experience at the Hartland has catapulted David into full-time service, advocating for a state-of-emergency declared so that federal money can be made available to repair hotels. David state that "There are approximately 1,000 to 1,100 SRO's that are off the rental market due to owner negligence, and some of them have been off the rental market since 1988."

"We've been working on the residential hotel issue for about the past four to five years and have been trying to do something about the rash of hotels fires which have been totally out of control during the last three years," stated Chris Daly, Coordinator of the Mission Agenda, in response to the concerns of David McGuire. "The Mayor¼s office, to an extent, has talked about better emergency responses to these situations."

With tears in her eyes and uncertain of her future, Carmen came to the microphone to testify on concerning her experience. For 35 years Carmen, an elderly lady of 89 years old on a walker, was a tenant of the Hartland Hotel. She lost everything she owned as a result of the February 12, 1999, fire. Carmen was so distraught at the press conference that she could not go forward with her planned statement.

Ramona Herrera is a former tenant of Hartland Hotel and is now homeless. He states, "Its been a year, and I am still homeless. I would like to see them fix the Hartland. We are still on the streets. We are still going from hotel to hotel, and it is devastating."

The rain did not stop or shorten the press conference; there were many more people who stepped up to the plate to testify of their losses and anguish on that windswept day at Pac Bell Park. The final box score, according to the press release circulated by Mission Agenda, was Pac Bell Park, $320 million to construct a brand new building in record breaking time, and the SRO hotel fire victims, $0 for badly needed restoration and renovation of damaged buildings.

by Kaponda

The land and surrounding waters mourned in silence
for Fred Aslin and his eight siblings after their
abduction to the state mental institution. The land and
water would never again be aroused by the delicate
stewardship of Aslin and his Native American sisters
and brothers.

During the height of World War II, in 1944, Aslin
laid helpless on the operating table at Lapeer State
School, an old-fashioned mental institution in
Lansing, Michigan, where he was placed after his
father died. In his first years in the Spartan conditions
of his room at the institution, Aslin reflected on the
invasive surgeries forced upon his brothers and
sisters by the state of Michigan. At age 18, he knew
that sterilization would ravage his Ottawa and
Chippewa heritage, and; therefore, he had refused to
provide any consent to this genocidal scheme.

Like a tiger out of the wild, Aslin felt estranged as his
eyes opened to the closed-in walls of the bleak room.
He was suddenly overcome by a tingly sensation.
Aslin knew at that instance that he had become the last
of his sisters and brothers to be "fixed." The people
of the state of Michigan had heard him reject any
aspect of sterilization, but they nevertheless visited
this cruel act upon him under the pretense that he did
not measure up to the criteria set forth by the
Legislature. He was considered, according to the
hideous standards of enlightened science,
intellectually inferior and had to be sterilized. These
standards were employed by many countries during
World War II as the race for genetic superiority
progressed.

It would take the state of Michigan 50 years to
discover the horrible truth about Aslin. Before he was
committed, Fred Aslin had the ability to learn,
understand or think abstractly as well as, if not better
than, any other citizen of the United States. He had
always known that he was not "mentally retarded" or
a "feeble-minded moron," attributes given to him by
the state of Michigan.

On Tuesday, December 9, 1941, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt began his speech to the nation by stating
that, "The sudden criminal attacks perpetrated by the
Japanese in the Pacific provide the climax of a decade
of international immorality...."

Also, because of the barbarous practices by
Germany, on September 20, 1945, the Allied Forces
included, among other requirements to be imposed on
Germany, Section IX, paragraph 42(a), as an
amendment to the June 5, 1945, Declaration. It states,
in part, "....The German authorities will comply with
such directions as the Allied Representatives may
issue for the rescinding of German legislation
involving discrimination on grounds of race, colour,
creed, language or political opinions and for the
cancellation of all legal or other disabilities resulting
therefrom."

As Roosevelt identified the source of the evil of the 40's as
"international immorality," and as Germany had been
brought to her knees and made to vacate her blatant racist
practices, 27 states in America were either considering or
had passed legislation allowing or mandating forced
sterilization of "mental defectives."

When Aslin was released from the mental institution, he
left the memories of the many belt beatings and knocks of
hatred in the drab environment of the Lapeer State School.

There was a great urgency for volunteers to participate in
the Korean campaign. Like so many other Americans,
Japanese, Germans and others throughout the world,
across time and space, Fred Aslin demonstrated an
unselfish allegiance by defending his country for the
posterity of others, since his state had denied him any hope
of namesakes only four years earlier. Aslin displayed valor
in his stand for his country. He sustained a life-threatening
wound to the lung, but never complained about Armed
Forces policies although racial discrimination and
segregation prevailed.

On Friday, March 3, 2000, a probate judge dismissed a
lawsuit against the State of Michigan for his forced
sterilization, lodged by Fred Aslin. The judge stated that
the three-year statute of limitation has run out since the
rights of Fred Aslin were violated by the state of Michigan.
However, his attorney, Lisa McNiff, urged him to appeal
as there is a precedent in the courts of Michigan to set aside
the statute in situations where an individual had no way of
knowing that their rights were violated.

A successful appeal could have far-reaching consequences,
as the 27 other states which passed laws allowing forced
sterilization of mentally disabled persons will also be
watching this matter very closely to determine the
magnitude of their liability. The state of Michigan has to
show that their conduct was not grossly negligent to
prevail against Fred Aslin.

Meanwhile, Fred Aslin reflects on his 73 years in his home
in Hobbs, Indiana. With his wife and her two sons,
Aslin1s world is like a supernova. His luminosity has
exploded onto the gracious members of his community, as
he is the center of their universe. His family has given him
the strength, once again, to appreciate the sacred grounds
once reserved only for them to whom wisdom of earth was
granted. He has come the full circle in that he is, once
again, the caretaker of the splendid resources of nature.

by D'Shawn Williams

I close my eyes for just a moment and dream
that...... ....the soft whish of car exhaust brushing
past my face is actually a warm tropical breeze from
an island I have never vacationed on.

I know that warm air, that smell I used to have a car
- I used to drive up Second street towards the Long
Beach Freeway out of the city. into the warm
recesses of the adjoining suburban landscapes.

Aaaaah to be going HOME.. home, with a plumbing
problem and a temperamental sprinkler system, or
even a temperamental landlord- these aren't my
"problems" any more - my life such as it was - was
based on a reality I could not maintain- their were
too many demons in my head - to close them out -
post traumatic stress syndrome - that's what the
therapists called it when I returned from home from
Vietnam. After maintaining a home, 40 to 50 hour a
week inventory and warehousing job and even a
spouse - I cracked - the one paycheck away from
homelessness adage applied, and within weeks I
was down to my last dollar -

Fast Forward six years - I am feeling your car
exhaust against my calves - my mind wanders to
comforts of days past and I beg for your spare
change. I have tried to get into a recovery program,
but in Los Angeles as in most places across the
country, access to recovery programs and mental
health services for low-income people are almost
non-existent.

The State Supreme Court gave a nod to municipal anti-begging laws this Thursday, ruling that they do not regulate the content of a person's speech and are not "constitutionally suspect."

The 5-2 ruling has no bearing on Los Angeles' attempt to ban so-called aggressive panhandling because the ordinance is blocked in federal court. But the recent ruling basically robs me and my fellow panhandlers of the ability to defend our right to freedom of speech.

The sad fact is, certain members of the community just don't want poor people such as myself in sight, just as Mayor Daly didn't want to see young African-American youth standing on street corners in Chicago (until the Supreme court ruled to the contrary on that case).

All I'm saying is eradicating images and individuals in poverty doesn't take away the problem or help the individual who is suffering - it just furthers the urban trend of economic apartheid. I'm not going to hurt you just because I am here, I am just here.

by Leroy F. Moore Jr.

In a recent study, reserchers at the Universtiy of California at Berkeley School of Social Welfare found that at least one-third of Blacks receiving psychiatric care in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area emergency wards were given twice the dosage of an anti-psychotic drug, compared with patients of other races. This is not surpising because African Americans have a long history of being over-medicated by the mental health system.

Now some California legislators are looking at expanding forced treatment under Assembly Bill 1800 (AB 1800), authored by Assembly Members Thomson and Senator Perata. AB 1800 will expand involuntary treatment for people with mental illness. What some legislators in Sacramento are missing is that people of color, especially African Americans, already have a mistrust of the mental health system, seeing it as yet another racially biased correctional facitity. Expanding involuntary treatment will only strengthen the mistrust of the mental health system, and will also strengthen the mistrust that people of color have with this system..

The 1997-98 annual report from San Francisco's Mental Health Board confirms that most mental health providers are white, but their clientele is overwhelminglycomprised of people of color. To add to this picture, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, wrote in the New York Times that the American Psychiatric Association is predominately white and male. Of its current 38,2000 members, only 2.3 percent are African Americans. This suggests one reason why African Americans are misdiagnosed and over represented as schizophrenic. Also, both Dr. William Lawson at John McClellan Veteran Hospital in North Little Rock, Ark. and Keh-Ming Lin, M.D. M.P.H., of the center on Psychobiology of Ethnicity at UCLA Medical Center found the above statement to be true in their work and research.

California's and the nation's mental health system need to be revamped from the bottom up by diversifying input to include the voices of people of color in policy making. As the system stands today with a lack of diversity, misdiagnoses and over-medicating, it is no wonder there is a mistrust of the system by the African American community. AB 1800 will further this mistrust, causing African Americans to resist reaching out for help because of the real fear of being involuntarily treated: in clearer terms, of being locked up for being mentally ill. African Americans are over-medicated because of societt's conditioned fear of them. AB 1800 is just one more avenue to control and incarcerate American Americans.

The fear of institutionalization and forced treatment of medication will crumble the already weak foundation of communication between mental health professionals and people of color.

For more information, contact;
Leroy F. Moore Jr.
Founder & Chair of Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization, DAMO
phone: 415.695.0156
fax: 415.647.5932

by PNN Staff

Sooo much Green, corporate green grass dotted with bright white slivers of clean white government buildings . Large blue strips of sky tore through a gray wall of storm. "What do we want? " "Justice!!!" "When do we want it ?"- " Now!!"

Representatives from Women's Economic Agenda Project (WEAP) , The California Nurses Association, The Janitors Union, Lifetime, POOR Magazine, Hotel and Restaurant Employees' Union, Local 250, SEIU, Mills College students and many more gathered at the mouth of the Department of Human Services, ( Welfare ) in Oakland to launch the beginning of the POOR People's March, organized by WEAP.

"We are marching for our economic human rights, guarenteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the birthright of every human being. We are fighting to break the isolation of poor people across the globe to create unity and organization among the poor..." Teena Boyd from WEAP told the crowd in a rally preceeding the March.

Several dynamic speakers spoke before the crowd including Diana Spatz from Lifetime who chronicled her struggle, "This is the first time I have ever been able to not worry about paying my rent, this is the first time I have not worried about covering my food and utility bills, and that is because I fought and won the battle to get my education, as a poor single mother on welfare I was discouraged from getting an education, and that made me so mad, that after i won my battle and went on to recieve my education, I started an organization to help other women like myself"

The march was an effort in solidarity with The Kensington Welfare Rights Union, who began the struggle to march for poverty rights with the inception of the Welfare Reform Bill two years ago. Members of WEAP brought those causes home to California in regards to the fact that over half of the families recieving CalWorks live in counties where the fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment is actually higher than the maximum grant for a family of three.A one bedroom going for $647. 00 per month while the Calworks grant for a family of three is $565.00.

Article 23: The right to jobs at a living wage and just conditions of work.

Article 25:is the right to well-being of a person and their family, which includes food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services. and finally.

Article 26: The right to a good education.

Although we were in the middle of a heavy storm in Northern California, the sky glimmered with a temporary sun for the beginnning of the March -

"What do we want?"

"Justice"

"When do we want it..."

"Now !!!"

Janine Grantham resumed the chant as the line of protestors opened the sky and marched into the horizon.

by PNN Staff

On Wednesday, April, 12th, Mission community
organiza-tions, tenants, and supporters met in front of
the former National Guard Mission Armory holding
the dot-com industry and real estate developers
accountable to the interests of communities of color,
working-class and middle-income residents,
neighborhood nonprofits, artist groups & local small
business. In the last year, two of San Francisco's
oldest neighborhoods, the Mission and South of
Market, have suffered incalcula-ble upheaval as a
result of: Ellis Act evictions, condo conversions,
live/work loft construction and the rising rates of
small business & light industrial dis-placement that
have accompanied dot-com development.

Fueled by the engine of this new economy, the
"sell-ing" of the Mission district is indicative of
city-wide gentrification, increasing radicalization of
the digital divide, and growing income inequalities in
San Francisco.

With last year's purchase of the BayView Building at 22nd
& Mission, over 40 local businesses and non-profits await
a July eviction. The Bryant Square Pro-ject slated for
retrofit & construction this year, will occupy an entire
Mission district block as a site for dot-com companies and
commercials lofts -- making the Mission a major
multimedia investment zone.

The City has failed to appropriately make dot-coms
re-sponsible for the displacement they cause. Moreover, in
February, Supervisor Leslie Katz proposed amending the
City's Planning code to reclassify dot-coms and
multimedia firms as research and development, not
of-fices. This legislative maneuver would substantially
reduce what firms would pay to meet the City's
requirement of building affordable housing and would
exempt multimedia firms from the voter approved growth
cap, Proposition M.

We are speaking out in front of the former Armory to
protest the displacement that will likely be caused by the
development of this landmark fortress by Eikon Ltd.
Eikon's intention is to develop 250,000 square feet in the
Armory for dot-com firms. Such development will greatly
impact the housing stock and ethnic di-versity of the
Mission community. When dot-coms compa-nies move
into low-income communities, their high-paid employees
scour the neighborhood looking to buy or convert available
housing, realtors speculate existing properties and
corporate ancillary services follow -- all this leading to the
displacement of tenants, local small business and the loss
of blue-collar jobs.

by PNN Staff

Last Tuesday, the Housing and Social Policy
Committee of the SF Board of Supervisors conducted
a hearing on "musical rooms". This is the illegal
practice of many residential hotel operators who
routinely force their residents to leave for an evening,
only to check back into a different room the next day.

"Musical rooms" is a violation of California Civil
Code 1940.1 which states that no landlord is allowed
to force a resident to move before a period of 30 days
in order to prevent that resident from gaining tenant
rights.

"Musical rooms" has caused much hardship for
hundreds of San Franciscans trying to stabilize their
housing. Sandra James and her son, Isaiah, lived at
the Hotel Sunrise on Valencia Street for a year,
moving out every three weeks. "I didn1t even realize
what they were doing to me and my son was illegal. I
just figured that I had to do it just to keep a roof over
our head." Tony Hester was forced out of his room at
the All Star Hotel on 16th Street over a period of 4
months. "It created great instability and turmoil. I
didn1t know from one week to the next where I
would be living. Being disabled and a recovering
alcoholic, getting kicked out of the hotel was another
obstacle placed in front of me. It created the inability
to formulate plans of action to further myself in life."

(top of article)
The practice of "musical rooms" not only disrupts the lives
of individual hotel residents, it also wrecks havoc on hotels
in general. The practice increases rent as weekly rates tend
to be higher than monthly rates and as rents' increase
without the protection of rent control. The practice of
"Musical rooms" also works to deteriorate hotel conditions
as owners shirk responsibility without permanent tenants
there to hold them accountable. Moreover, "musical
rooms" is a big contributor to homelessness in San
Francisco.

Last month several tenant and housing organizations sent a
letter to the City Attorney raising the issue of "musical
rooms". They asked for a meeting with the City Attorney
to talk about a strategy to deter "musical rooms".
Unfortunately, the City Attorney never responded.
Although the City Attorney has filed one lawsuit regarding
"musical rooms", the tenants and housing advocates such
as Mission Agenda believe they need to launch a flurry of
lawsuits in order to curb this practice.