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pstrongAn outline of a familiy's struggle with Child Protective Services/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN/p pEditors' Note: i Our basic belief is that, as journalists in pursuit of "the story," we must give something back to the poeple who are involved in "the story." Through this method of "extreme advocacy," we believe we are practicing collectivism rather than individualism in our journalizing./i/p p Generally speaking, when breaking these cases down to the students, Court Watch facilitators explained that out of the several ways the journalists could intervene/ advocate- the most logical way was to advocate in some way for the case participants and to provide them with resources that they could m out of the crises they were in at the time./p pNeighbor's dog kills cat- neighbor denies this and angrily, to retaliate, calls Child Protective Services (CPS) regarding a 14 year old Severely Emotionally Disturbed (SED) girl, saying girl is abused (claims that girl sleeps on unlocked porched for 2 days and 2 nights) (girl had run away from unlocked porch anytime she felt like it.)/p p*CPS makes allegation of the charge and combined with other allegations like girl doesn't get presents (photographs of girl getting presents doesn't matter to CPS regarding allegations)/p p* Case goes to trial/p p* Parents get public defender/p p* Girl first placed in psychiatric hospital. They are anti-parent/ i.e. psychiatric M.D. makes psychiatric diagnosis of parentt without ever seeing parent/p p* Parent loses custody/p p* CPS worker makes more allegations/ CPS child workers practice medicine without a license/ make psychiatric diagnoses/ not qualified/p p* CPS puts girl in foster homes and group homes all over state- girl runs away/p p* Finally girl refuses all foster care and becomes street runaway/p p* Juvenile Dependency Court CPS claim ther's nothing they can do/p p* JD Court extremely biased against parent (thru entire case and in all custody cases)/p p* Public Defender not experienced int hese types of cases- court and CPS resent her for defending parent/p p* CPS abusive and divisive of family- attempt to turn child against family/p p* CPS worker threatens parent's professional stnading and job and criticizes public defender for representing parent (as a way to shut them up)/p p* Courts take jurisdiction over teen but unable to stop her from being runaway/p p* Court wants two psychiatric evaluations in order to reunify parent with teen/p p* Parent refuses two psychiatric evaluations on political grounds/p p* Public Defender appeals case/p p* Public Defender loses appeal because case law and J.D. court and appeal court are biased agianst the parent in custody cases/p p* Court Watch begins/p p* Many, many complaint letters sent to court, CPS, the city attorney by parent/p p* City attorney taken off case/p p* CPS worker taken off case/p p* Ombudsperson brought in/p p* Client asked to see report by Ombudsperson/p p* Parent never allowed to see report/p p* Therapy recommended and provided- child refused to recieve therapy services/p p* Child goes to relatives in another state against recommendations of parent, psychiatrist and social worker/p p* Placement failure- child returns to California/p p***Court Watch Responds*** /ppWe are citing some case law and welfare codes from Case #1. These need to be read in full by advocates for parents wanting to reunify with their children./p pThe Juvenile Dependency Court and Child Protective Services, in San Francisco and in other places we have ivestigated, are closed systems- the editors of POOR Magazine have had first hand experience with San Francisco systems and are glad to discuss them with anyone who hasquestions./p p In San Francisco Juvenile Dependency Cout, child welfare workers are called social workers to give them added status as expert witnesses./p pAlso in San Francisco, psychological evaluations are required for parents wanting to reunify, and the psychiatrists are paid by Child Protective services. It is always possible for anyone to get an expert witness if they are willing to pay./p p"Heresay" evidence from psychiatrists is admitted as evidence to prevent the parent from reunifying as well./p pFurther, child welfare wrokers essentially "practice medicine without a license" in that they can make psychiatric diagnoses that are used as evidence in trials./p pIn sum, psychiatry is now being used in the Juvenile Dependency Court and Child Protective Services to remove children from their parents, and case law supports these diagnoses. In totalitarian societies, people are sent to camps and to death based on the recommendations of psychiatrists. Fro some parents, not being able to reunify with their children is like death./p pCPS has gone way beyond their usefulness for extreme abuse reporting adn need to be reigned in- they have complete and absolute power, and the system has to increase its power in order to feed itself (ie pay the wages for all the people it employs)br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongThe death of Idriss Stelley and the case for increasing police crisis intervention training.../strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/517/photo_1_feature.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Leroy F. Moore, Jr/p pAs a college graduate, I had to take many different classes before I could walk onstage to get my degree, so why can't we hold up the same standard for the San Francisco Police Department? In the case of Idriss Stelley, the young Black man with mental illness shot more than 20 times by police on June 13 at the Sony Metreon Theater, the officers were informed that the call they were responding to was a “5150,” the police code for someone in psychiatric distress. But none of the officers involved had received crisis intervention training to prepare them to save Stelley’s life instead of taking it. /p pThirty officers graduated in June from the SFPD’s first class of Police Crisis Intervention training, but only those 30 of the force’s approximately 2,000 officers — or less than 2 percent — are trained to respond correctly in a situation involving a mentally ill person. That is a frighteningly small proportion of the City’s police force, especially when you realize that one in four calls to the police regards someone in psychiatric crisis./p pThis is why Mesha Monge-Irizarry, Stelley’s mother, along with activists, community members, youth and people with mental illness marched into City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 4 — up to Room 263, where the Board of Supervisors Rules Committee held a special hearing to address police violence against people in psychiatric distress. It’s been almost four months since Stelley, a 4.0 college student, was killed by the SFPD. Once again, Irizarry was in front of another committee. Why is the system constantly making this grieving mother uncover her wounds from the tragic shooting of her only child when what she’s asking for is simply common sense? /p p“My son’s fiancé called for help for Idriss but got a firing squad instead,” Irizarry said. “The SFPD knew they were dealing with someone in psychiatric distress, but the officers involved were not adequately trained. They ran in with guns drawn, and within minutes Idriss was dead.”/p pShe and the other activists are demanding that the City increase the number of officers receiving crisis intervention training to at least 25 percent of the police force within the next two years. As I took notes and pictures of the hearing, I wondered how many times Irizarry and her supporters will have to preach, plead and organize around something so painful? /p pOnce again, the Idriss Stelley campaign made an intimidating space — the Board of Supervisors’ hearing room — into a warm family room. Samantha Liapes, director of Bay Area PoliceWatch, in asking for a moment of silence, called on the spirit and strength of Idriss Stelley and other people with mental illness who have been victims of police abuse. The compelling spoken word of Po' Poets of POOR Magazine echoed that of many spirits who are not at rest because there is still no justice. /p p “The 20 plus shots fired at Idriss Stelley are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Liapes. “Every day, because of SFPD’s negligence, people in psychiatric crisis end up in jails instead of hospitals and are beaten down or shot down instead of talked down. People in psychiatric crisis deserve help, not homicide.”/p pNine representatives of various community organizations and commissions spoke about the need to increase the amount of training police receive to handle people in psychiatric crisis. Many speakers put a face on mental illness by testifying to how they feel about the shooting of Idriss Stelley. One youth spoke about the power of the Board of Supervisors Rules Committee to pass a resolution that would implement the activists’ demands and put pressure on other political leaders. /p pThe resolution, written by a broad coalition of individuals, organizations and family members who have suffered from police mishandling of people in psychiatric distress, makes the following demands: Within the next two years, 25 percent of SFPD officers must receive Police Crisis Intervention training; within one year, at least four to five officers per shift per station must have volunteered and completed this training, enabling them to take the lead in any crisis involving someone with an altered mental status; training must continue until all police officers are trained./p pSupervisor Tom Ammiano took the lead by promising that he and the committee would sign the resolution by the following Tuesday and keep the pressure on to make sure that the PCI training is implemented. Many City commissioners are lending support as well. For example, Marissa Villa Nuelle of the San Francisco Youth Commission and Carol Patterson of the Mayor’s Council on Disability both spoke from the heart about why their commissions wrote a resolution calling for an immediate and mandatory augmentation of the SFPD crisis intervention program. /p pWith the backing of various commissions, organizations, community activists, people with mental illness and the family, friends, and girlfriend of Idriss Stelley, you would think that Mesha Irizarry would by now have learned all of the facts regarding her son's shooting, but this is not the case. She still has not been told the names of the witnesses to the shooting. You would think that after two more shootings of people with mental illness since the death of Idriss Stelley on June 13 that there would be an independent criminal investigation by now. Not true. And you would also think that the increase in police shootings of people with mental illness would spark the Department of Justice to look at these cases as violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Not true./p pLast, but just as importantly, you would think that a representative from the SFPD would have come to hear what the public and Board of Supervisors are talking about and start to plan how the department could improve its treatment of the mentally ill. Once again, not true./p pLeroy F. Moore Jr., a reporter for PoorNewsNetwork, is also the executive director of the Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization (DAMO)./p p bSpeech made to the Rules Committee on Mental Illness, Race, Poverty and Policebr /br / By Leroy F. Moore/b/p pGood evening. My name is Leroy F. Moore, Jr. and I’m a resident of San Francisco and Founder and Executive Director of Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization, the only organization that is for and by disabled people of color in the Bay Area and, I think, in California. I am also a staff writer for POOR Magazine and The BayView Newspaper./p pMy topic today is how mental illness, poverty and police brutality play a roll in the lives of people of color, especially Black men. As a Black, disabled researcher, writer and advocate of disabled people of color, I have noticed that in every arena of life—from education, employment, services industry and yes, to the mental health system—disabled people of color, especially disabled Black men, are at the bottom of the heap./p pThe National Council on Disability reported that over 70 percent of people with disabilities are living below the poverty line. Last year, the president and the CEO of the NAACP wrote that the national unemployment rate of African Americans with severe disabilities (including mental illness) is 85 percent. This percentage has not changed in almost ten years! /p pThe San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness reported that there are more people with disabilities, especially people with mental illness, living on our streets than ever before. All of the above, including institutionalism and more, have caused a lot of added tension, stress, depression and other physiological pressures which add to the overwhelmingly high rate of mental illness among African Americans and other people of color/p pPeople of color, especially African Americans, with mental illness have a distrustful relationship with the mental health system because of their history of being over-medicated, misdiagnosed, experimented on— the Tuskeegee Experiments— and the threats of being forcibly medicated and forcibly institutionalized. Today the last real threat to African Americans with mental illness is the increase in brutality and killings, i.e. police shootings. This issue now is to teach the Black community that we must be vocal about how the police, social service providers and even family members are educated about the needs and wants of a mentally ill person in and out of crisis./p pWe all know that there has been a drastic increase in police shootings of people with mental illness all over the country. However, have we noticed that over 80 percent of these shootings have involved people of color with mental illness who are poor, homeless and outside of the disabled or Black communities? Most of them are Black men. Have we noticed recently that many police nationwide have walked away with a clear record from these shootings? (Margaret L. Mitchell of Los Angeles, Eroll Shaw of Michigan and recently, Shannon Smith of Illinois) /p pLast but not least, the brutality committed against people with mental illness has not been on the radar screen of the Department of Justice, the department in charge of carrying out the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability laws. Mandatory training is needed across the board from the police to the justice system to the families of people with mental illness, from a culturally diverse platform. /p pOne last point I would like to make is that in July, Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization and many other grassroots organizations held the first ever Open Forum on Senseless Crimes Against People With Disabilities. In this forum, many advocates and specialists on this topic concluded that the primary cause of unnatural death of people with mental illness is police shootings. To put the icing on the cake, the justice system—jurors, judges and lawyers—has a lack of knowledge and special training in working with people who have disabilities. We also found out that there is a state organization called the Crime Victims with Disabilities Initiative that is setting up Crime Victim with Disabilities Specialists to provide awareness training to the general public, the justice system and the police and they also will be creating a speaker bureau on this issue. /p pFor more information contact Dan Sorensen of the Crime Victims with Disabilities Initiative of California at (916) 651-9304. /p pThere are too many mentally ill people of color, especially Black men, who have been turned away from the system and ended up in the grave because of police shootings and other street crimes./p pPlease, for the mother, family, friends and supporters of Idriss Stelley, lets make sure that no more youth, adults or elders with mental illness have to suffer what Idriss and his family had to! /p p***Find this story and more on the San Francisco Bay View's online site atbr / a href="http://www.sfbayview.com"www.sfbayview.com/abr / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/519/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Liam Holt/p p On Thursday 27th, September 2001, an Ordinance tobr / amend Public Works Code 1407-1415 was debated by thebr / Rules Committee - a board consisting of Supervisorsbr / Tony Hall, Matt Gonzalez and President Tom Ammiano.br / This was the third in a series of meetings discussingbr / new municipal legislation proposed by President Tombr / Ammiano which would require that twenty four hourbr / notice be provided before the removal of unattendedbr / personal property. This legislation is being foughtbr / for by homeless people and their advocates to protectbr / the basic civil liberties of those living on thebr / streets. /p pThe basis of the legislation is the humanbr / right to own personal property. The legislation hasbr / become embroiled in many issues and has highlightedbr / many conflicts in the city. The concerns voiced by thebr / Parks Authority and Department of Public Works (DPW)br / pertained, for the most part, to the increasedbr / workload they would shoulder and the possiblebr / ambiguities that the legislation might cause./p pReferring to the previous two meetings, Supervisorbr / Gonzalez, who chaired the board, prefaced thebr / discourse by stating, “I think that the way that thisbr / whole discussion is being framed is losing sight ofbr / why people are compelled to do this. If many rulesbr / which exist were implemented properly, then there wouldbr / not necessarily be a need for this legislation.br / Unfortunately, the reality, when seeing the videobr / tapes which show what happens when there are encountersbr / between the DPW, police and the homeless isbr / disturbing.”/p p The concerns of the Park Department are chieflybr / that the legislation would contradict existingbr / anti-encampment laws. The department continues to pushbr / for amendments to exempt parks from the notificationbr / requirement citing a lack of resources to do so.br / However, John Viola of the Coalition for the Homelessbr / makes the point that, “It is important to recognizebr / that this is a statute about people’s basic rights.br / [Concerns regarding work burden] may not be the mostbr / appropriate way to look at this legislation.” /p p Indeed, if departments are not able to consider these rightsbr / with current staffing and procedures then thatbr / situation urgently needs to be examined. The samebr / necessity to reevaluate the importance of civilbr / liberties also applies to similar concerns from thebr / DPW regarding the feasibility of giving individualbr / notice. The discussion needs to be brought back, firstbr / and foremost, to those basic rights that must bebr / considered. /p pThe DPW head, Ed Lee, did suggest positive action.br / Speaking of collaborative and rehabilitativebr / initiatives, Mr. Lee said, “We have put brooms in thebr / hands of people in Caesar Chavez and have seenbr / results.” Referring to an initiative to encouragebr / collaboration rather than conflict at clean-ups in thebr / area, he rightly highlights the efficacy of suchbr / shifts of attitude. He continued, “We have contractsbr / with the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners; itbr / is their business to encourage homeless to build jobbr / skills and help us clean streets during hours when webr / cannot. We are very committed to going further in thatbr / direction. Obviously not everyone can do that, but forbr / those that are capable and willing we will encouragebr / that.”/p p Those advocating the legislation (including thebr / Coalition for the Homeless, POOR news, and homelessbr / people) cite, above all, the need to protect thebr / homeless, a vulnerable population who are alreadybr / massively disadvantaged by their situation. Kathleenbr / Gray, a homeless woman and member of the coalitionbr / pointed to the inefficiencies and dangers of currentbr / practices. “When you have systems which givebr / people blankets and medicines,” she said, “then turn around andbr / take them away, [it] is not only wasteful of resourcesbr / it is also very debilitating.” (See “Where’s Mybr / Stuff?” by Clive Whistle, POOR News Network, 7/10/01)/p pGray emphasised, "This legislation is aboutbr / permitting people to own things, to accumulate things,br / to go beyond just collecting bottles in a cart, tobr / have some nice clothes to enable to them to work abr / job.” She makes an important point about the currentbr / vicious cycle: Even if a homeless person can work,br / they cannot guarantee the safety of their possessions,br / they cannot save or accumulate property in order tobr / better their situation. She continued, “This is aboutbr / people’s right to own property. [That right] is selfbr / empowering, and those who are self empowered improvebr / their lives. When their lives are improved, thebr / neighborhood is improved.” /p p Ms. Gray referred to earlier comments by members ofbr / the 7th Street Commercial Association (SSCA) andbr / residents of the Potrero Hill area. The feeling frombr / these groups was that this legislation would makebr / their lives and business more difficult by augmentingbr / the accumulation of trash in those areas. The debatebr / has evoked strong feelings in many, some based onbr / perceptions which the homeless community is constantlybr / battling. /p pMaurine Sullivan of the SSCA implored, “Webr / are very concerned about this. To do an ordinance likebr / this would really cripple all of us who live and workbr / there. There was a cart in our driveway with brokenbr / bottles and syringe needles; it was terrible. I ambr / upset with that. The kids have a bad problem. We havebr / to escort employees after dark. We know thebr / statistics, we know [that some] are felons, we [alsobr / realise] that there are those who are mentally ill whobr / seriously need our help. You have got to help us. Webr / cannot be going through human excrement all the time.”/p pSullivan voices the erroneous fears shared by manybr / residents and business owners: that this legislationbr / will worsen these problems by hampering the police andbr / DPW in their work. The legislation does not intend tobr / do so. The language clearly accommodates the necessitybr / to remove articles posing a health risk (i.e. syringesbr / and broken glass) and the retrieval of stolen propertybr / (the abandoned shopping carts which are repeatedlybr / cited as cluttering large areas). /p pSupervisor Gonzalez attempted tobr / assuage Sullivan’s fears about the “felons.” Speaking frombr / his experience as a public defendant he contested, “I think when you’re speaking about felons,br / there is a huge difference betweens felons who havebr / engaged in violent activities and those who havebr / become felons due to very minor [infringements]. I canbr / assure you that you would not be scared of [thebr / majority of felons], and the ones that you would bebr / sc /ppared of are in the state prison.”br / Ms. Sullivan’s comments further highlighted thebr / need for this legislation as she asserted, “Abr / very small percentage of people have personal propertybr / in carts, they have all manner of objects that theybr / have gathered from goodness knows where, they are notbr / personal items.” This one sentence is justificationbr / enough for the legislation. Ms. Sullivan, the DPW, and thebr / police are not in any position to determine what mightbr / be useful to a homeless person or what might be valuedbr / personal property. Ifbr / individuals are notified that their belongings will bebr / removed if not claimed, they will make that judgmentbr / call; they are the only ones who can and they are thebr / only ones who have a right to./p pThe concerns of the affected departments, worriedbr / residents and business people are currently based uponbr / conjecture. The reality is that the homeless arebr / currently vulnerable; their lives are at risk. If thisbr / small piece of legislation can help then it should bebr / accepted, it should be given a chance. As Supervisorbr / Gonzalez points out, the Sunset provision will providebr / monitoring of the of the legislation. Post-br / implementation it will determine its effects ˆ”bothbr / positive and negative” and will make sure that it isbr / effective in its goals. If problems determine thebr / necessity, the board may modify the language of thebr / ordinance to facilitate the well-being of all. Whatbr / should not be confused is the legislation’s intent./p p During the course of discussion, Supervisors Tonybr / Hall and Matt Gonzalez and others have reiterated manybr / times that it is not only the city that will removebr / unattended property. When homeless people are forcedbr / to leave property unguarded, “whether it be to work abr / job, to go to hospital, because they are arrested orbr / just because they must use the bathroom,” thatbr / property may be stolen or removed by those notbr / authorized to do so. The point has been repeatedlybr / made that the ordinance in question only goes a verybr / small way towards providing security for homelessbr / people. Their property can only be secured if betterbr / facilities are provided- that is, storage lockers.br / This legislation is only a first step, a very basicbr / protection of the civil liberties of the homeless. /p pThe storage issue was expanded upon in Thursday’sbr / meeting by George Smith of the Mayor’s Office on thebr / Homeless. Mr. Smith outlined that there are threebr / storage facilities currently in operation: 219 lockersbr / at South Beach Resource Center, 100 at Bayview Hopebr / Center, and a center serving 375 low-income andbr / homeless people at 150 Otis street, a total of aroundbr / 700 storage units. Mr. Smith said his office wasbr / exploring possibilities to expand, mentioning thebr / use of shipping containers and the creation ofbr / self-storage sites along the lines of systems inbr / operation at airports. Mr. Smith said that he had madebr / a recommendation to the Mayor to convene a meeting. Hebr / suggested that this meeting would consist of abr / dialogue around the storage issues and requested helpbr / from advocates and interested parties. It is verybr / clear that providing safe storage is the essentialbr / next step, all parties agree on this. /p pIt has been pointed out that many interested partiesbr / may be precluded from this discussion due to the factbr / that the board meets on a nine to five schedule. Ifbr / you are unable to attend meetings because you arebr / unavailable at these times, your comments can bebr / directed to board by mail. Write to:/p pCity Hallbr /br / 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlet Place Room 244br /br / San Francisco, CAbr /br / 94102/p pAlso, all video taped meetings can be observed remotelybr / on Channel 26 or at a href="http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/" title="www.ci.sf.ca.us/"www.ci.sf.ca.us//a. Video tapes ofbr / meetings may be requested from the main offices of thebr / public library, where they are stored for up to 30 daysbr / after the meeting. To order video tape copies or tobr / enquire about the scheduling of meetings call (415)br / 557-4293.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong* Strategy Session: Community actvists respond to current McCarthyism in the radio airwavesbr /br / by Dae-Han Song /strong/p p*..DAVID DAVEY D WAS FIRED!.by Corporate radio moguls Clear Channel Communications from his post as Community Affairs Directorbr / br /by Jeff Chang/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/521/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Staff Writer/p pbSTRATEGY SESSION:Community actvists respond to current McCarthyism in the radio airwaves /bbr /br / by Dae-Han Song/p pOn Saturday October 13th, in a packed room in the Oakland YWCA, representatives from Books not Bars, Let's Get Free, POOR Magazine, Media Alliance and Solid Thoughts met together with other community members to strategize ways to fight against the increasing McCarthyism emerging after the September 11th tragedy that had led to the firing of David D. During this strategizing meeting among community activists, David D made an appearance and stressed the importance of a strategized approach to protesting, warning of short-lived protests that begin and end with picket lines./p pThis coalition not only strategized ways of getting David D rehired, but also saw this as an opportunity for the community to reclaim the radiowaves. The resolution statement, in addition to demanding that David D be rehired, demanded local play for local artists and community access to corporate dominated radiowaves, by means of community shows. To meet these goals, those present planned to launch a massive publicity campaign that would include bumperstickers, flyers, and most importantly the strength in word of mouth. /p pb**.DAVID DAVEY D WAS FIRED**/bbr / br /By Jeff Chang/p pMost of you may know his work as a committed young progressive activist ofbr / color and one of the most articulate, sensitive voices for young people outbr / there today. He's developed a national reputation in over 15 years of beingbr / on the radio, and his show and his activism have given voice to the unheardbr / at some of the most important junctures in this generation's recent memory:br / the LA rebellion and its aftermath, the deaths of Tupac and Biggie, and nowbr / the war. He's spoken honestly and forthrightly for peace and forbr / consciousness./p pIt's really ironic that Clear Channel would fire him now. This is thebr / company that, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks out of its west coastbr / division, assembled a list of songs that whose lyrics were deemedbr / "sensitive"--songs which reportedly included John Lennon's "Imagine", Catbr / Stevens/Yusuf Islam's "Peace Train" and the entire Rage Against the Machinebr / catalog. /p pIn its efforts to counter-spin media outrage about this alleged blacklist,br / Clear Channel helped coordinate a Relief Fund that has raised millions ofbr / dollars to go toward relief efforts and the families of those who are nowbr / jobless because of the attacks./p pClear Channel is now eliminating the Community Affairs Director position atbr / KMEL, despite a requirement by the FCC that commercial stations havebr / community affairs programming. The future of such programming is in doubt./p pMake no mistake. While most commercial stations have treated communitybr / affairs as a stepchild in the early hours of the weekend, making itbr / impossible for folks to reach an audience, Davey D set a high standard bybr / making his show an open talk-oriented show geared towards young persons ofbr / color./p pHe took on controversial topics, hosted controversial guests (most recentlybr / Barbara Lee and Boots Riley of The Coup), even had folks like Hillarybr / Clinton come and pay respect. It was a program people talked about on Mondaybr / morning, and many other urban stations modeled their community affairsbr / programs after his./p pImagine a Rush Limbaugh type show, but geared towards a progressive, youngbr / set. Don't progressives always moan and groan about how we wish we had this?br / Well, Davey's been doing it, for over 15 years, around a decade at KMEL. Inbr / recent years, honest, reliable, truthful community radio outlets have beenbr / harder and harder to come by as media monopolization and community radiobr / in-fighting has intensified./p pIf you're as outraged as I am about the decimation of forward-thinking,br / challenging, truthful, youth-of-color-focused radio, here's what you can do!/p p*Call KMEL's General Manager Joe Cunningham at b415.538.1061/bbr /br / *or send an email to:bjoecunningham@clearchannel.com/bbr /br / * If you do send an email, send a hard copy ofbr / the letter to:br /br / Joe Cunningham, KMEL General Managerbr /br / 340 Townsend Stbr /br / San Francisco, CAbr /br / 94107/p pPeace.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrong pIts been one month and a day,br / to the Commericial Planesbr / Suicide Bombing of, the Worldbr / Trade Towers in New York City./p pMeanwhile folks in America andbr / in other countries are stillbr / pissed off... br /War!br / /pp so how 'yabr / 'doin out there folks?/p/strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Joe B./p pbThursday, Oct. 11, 2001, 8:55 am./bThe start of a sunny day faint, light clouds, pigeons - not to many on the ground, new yellow and white page phone books on an old wooden desk temporarily put there so tenants can bring them to their rooms./p pSteam clean and dirty red brick sidewalks. Not to many people on the brick streets today. /p pI've learned to glide between converging Market Street musing from my private life. /p pThe interim of long, rambling conversations with other street folks or monologues to my-self are slowly being filtered out and should not be part of I.T.M.'s ongoing series./p pbFriday, Oct. 12, 2001, 8:25 am./b Dirty red brick sidewalks dirtier black tar, gray-white, yellow-green-clear saliva fresh and old, gum, ground in cigars, cigarettes, skin, blood, urine, fecal matter, and other things part and partial on any street USA./p pBusses, trucks 'n trains, b[trolly cars]/btourists, and regular streets folks and I are walking the streets this pleasant day./p pIt’s a pleasant day. Blue sky, faint clouds thin, clear, and transitory as pigeons flock dropping more gives from on high./p p12 noon is semi regular lunch at St. Anthony's cornucopia of choices. b[one can get full if the food-line isn't long]/b More or less to eat is the choice not variety of food as in cafe's, restaurants, or fast food places; however zero prices or alternative eateries all over or across the bay by Bart are choices street folks make daily.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pstrongbThe Po’Poets Projectbr /br / a project of POOR Magazinebr /br / C.D. Release Party br /br / and benefit... cause POOR is in fact PO’/bbr / /strong/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/524/photo_5_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby PNN Staff/p pThe Po’ Poets Project©br /br / are...br /br / Poets in Poverty br /br / using the Word br /br / to HeaL..EducatE.. br /br / on how to SurVivE..br /br / ThRivE and StaYbr /br / AlivE br /br / Through Race and br /br / Classbr /br / OpPressioN/p pThe Po’ Poets Projectbr /br / a national spoken word projectbr /br / because until low and no incomebr /br / adults and youth get to tell their stories..written by thembr /br / in their own voice- we will not be able to make change happen/p pbCome to celebrate the Po Poets Project’s first CD release!!!!/bbr /br / With Guest Hip Hop artists: The Prophets Of Rage br /br / D.J.SAKE ONE -Sppinnin Sounds of Resistance...br / and MmmmmCcceeee;Lateefah Simon /p pThere will be Food, Music, Rap, Baile,(Dancin) and Ed-U-Ka-Shun!!! br /br / All Ages Welcome!!! All Voices Heard!!! br /br / Open mike to Speak Back TO all “waRs” on Communities of Color and Low and No income folks locally and globally - /p pThe Po’Poets are: low income mothers and children, elders, hipHOP artists, poor youth, youth of color and folks, speaking back to race and class oppression through poetry and spoken word..../p pDonation $10.00-$20.00 at the door (No one turned away for lack of funds)br /br / CD’s on sale at the event-br /br / bwhen:/b7:00pm Saturday, November 10th 2001br /br / bwhere:/b@ The LAB artspace @ 2948 16th street at Capp st in the Redstone Bldg (1 block below Mission street) in Friscobr /br / For more information or to sign -up to read, sing or learn call tiny@POOR Magazine br /(415) 863-6306 /p pThe Po’ Poets are: George Tirado, Tiger Walshe, Jewnbug, Mari, Tanyica Simmons, Ananda, Leroy Moore, Dharma,Tiny, A. Faye Hicks, Anna Morrow, Leroy Moore, Belen, Joseph Perryman, Joseph Bolden, Dani Montgomery, Aldo Della Magiorra, Taisol Lopez, Marlene Sanchez, Helen Campbell, and “Tita” and special guests from The Homeless Prenatal Program, Coalition on Homelessness, Center for Young Womens Development, Youth Speaks, 3rd Eye, and more..... /p pAll proceeds go to the Po' Poets and to support POOR Magazine, a non-profit grassroots arts organization providing media access, creative arts and vocational education to low and no income communities locally and globally.../p p The CD production was made possible in part from support by The Friedman Family Foundation, The Themis Fund of The Tides Foundation, The Creative Work Fund, The SF Arts Commission, The California Arts Council, Raising Our Voices Program of Media Alliance and the help of all our supporters and subscribers!!/p pbEach week preceeding the Release Party we will be featuring the work of three Po'Poets. To find the entire collection of local and national Youth and Adult Po' Poets, click on the Po'Poets Project Button on your PNN pagebr / /b/p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/530/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Mari/p pAs I was talking to my friend asking her where are you going to sleep tonite?br /br / See, my friend got kicked out of her hotel that nite.br /br / i wanted her to stay with me, but she can't because I am homeless just like her.br /br / Then up and here comes this yuppie/dotcommerbr / thinking he's better than me and my friends. br /br / He stops and asks "What is this place?"br /br / WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!!!!br /br / What do you mean what is this place? br /br / This is where I sleep, eat, live, and breathe. br /br / This is where I wake up every morning. br /br / This place is a result of the gentrification you helped along. br /br / This place is the only housing I have left to hold on to. br /br / Then I look back at him and say "Do you know where you live,br / you live in a place wherebr / working class familiesbr / used to live until they got evicted, br /then you moved into thier house. br /Thats where you live.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/530/photo_1_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Mari/p pSee, I'm caught up in this system that's made to bring down you and I. br /br / This system is made to oppress our people till the day we die. br /br / This system is called... br /br / EDUCATION! br /br / That's right I said it, EDUCATION! br /br / Where we learn that Columbus sailed the Ocean blue in 1492, but did youbr /br / know he and his men RAPED, KILLED, and STOLE from human beings like mebr /br / and you! br /br / This system forces me to go to a class where my people are put down, br /br / disrespected, and made to look like dirt. br /br / This is where I learn that we are the immigrants of this so-called country, br /br / and about how we crossed the border, well you know what? WE didn't crossbr /br / the border, the border crossed us! br /br / Is this America? NO, this is turtle island! br /br / How could this land be named after someone who is not even from here! br /br / So I stand up and say, Fuck this educational system, and the whole US of A!br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p

pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Samuel Irving/p pIn a prehistoric method,br /br / I study lifebr /br / From the point of br /br / The culture less exposurebr /br / To the sun, br /br / I am told that I am not br /br / A man even thoughbr /br / My hairs count many years br //p pBut yet affects br /br / Of my so called br /br / Taming ring throughbr /br / The echoes of cursed names/p piBoy/i/p pBecomes my titlebr /br / As I am engaged tobr /br / This field of order, br /br / Unlike the miseducationbr /br / That scorns my tired hands/p piBoy/i/p pI guess that’s me, br /br / Time is nothing br /br / But a beating awaybr /br / From the norm, br /br / For me and relativebr /br / To a common situation/p piBoy/i/p pRight away master, br /br / To pick some good br /br / Crops amongst ignorancebr /br / Entrapping my views/p pBOY IS NOT MY NAME/p pWhile the response comesbr /br / Through the blood scars br /br / Of my back, I am given a nicknamebr /br / That my own people adopt, br /br / But I can’t identify tobr /br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p