Dear Brother Hugo: Letter from a young revolutionary

Brother Hugo, you inspire me to do better. After I read your letter to your comrade Terry, you sent me into a thinking and reflecting mode. I am a 24-year-old Afrikan revolutionary fighter, and I have been going through a transformative process using the Malcolm self-evolvement way.

Hugo Pinell: Is 42 years in isolation about to end?

If we would have been self-transforming for the last 60, 50 years, there would not be millions of new slaves today and we would have the power to be making an impact and difference toward the building of the New World. Our teachers kept saying: “No matter what, we gotta keep pushing and growing. It’s the only way to continue our growth and become free.”

Memories of Maroon

His name is almost legendary: Russell “Maroon” Shoatz, an affiliate of the Black Panther Party, activist and Black revolutionary.

We denounce exploitation of any kind

This is an example of the unprofessional practices that we constantly deal with in respect of our food, program and privileges. PBSP behaves in this way in order to compromise the psyche of prisoners through sensory deprivation. Prisoners are commodities. They are worth $56,000 a head in general population (GP) and $75,000 a head in the SHU.

Palestinian prisoners’ mass hunger strike concludes after agreement is reached

After nearly a full month of fasting, around 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners ended last night their mass hunger strike upon reaching an agreement with the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) to attain certain core demands. Family visits that have been denied based on vague “security reasons” will be reinstated.

Protesting police murder of Alan Blueford and war on Afrikans

On Tuesday, May 15, the bereaved family members of Alan Dwayne Blueford eloquently addressed those members of the Oakland City Council who were present, seeking justice in a case that is looking suspiciously like a criminal assassination of the 18-year-old student in his senior year at Skyline High School. He was due to graduate in June.

Potential for mass movement grows

Not long ago, on Feb. 26, Trayvon Martin was just another unknown African American whose young life was tragically and brutally cut short. Today Trayvon Martin’s name has become a universal rallying cry for justice in every nook and cranny of the unjust U.S.

Sanford Weill and Paul Kagame: Doctors of Humane Letters?

On May 12, Sonoma State University awarded honorary doctorates in humane letters to former Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill and his wife Joan, paid for with a $12 million “donation.” On the same day, William Penn University awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters to Rwandan President Paul Kagame, despite his army’s atrocities in Rwanda and Congo.

Give Life, Save Life: The Brittany Crawford Foundation

Brittany Crawford, 20, was killed in a fatal car accident on April 1, 2012. Her organs were donated, and her generous gifts saved the lives of four people. Her parents were led to start a foundation, “Give Life, Save Life,” a non-profit organization to focus on education and awareness of organ procurement and creating a database of African American donors.

Poor little rich Haiti to be fleeced of copper-silver-gold via Caracol deep-water port

The real plan for Haiti’s northeastern region – especially the Caracol Bay area – is one that was hatched by Canadian mining corporations, with the U.S. and South Korean sweatshop zone being a side project and distraction. If this mining plan is given a green light while Haiti is under foreign occupation, it will permanently strip the country of much of its mineral, cultural and ecological wealth.

Upcoming Events

Legendary prisoner ‘Mousy Brown’ perishes

On March 24, 2012, Leonard “Mousy Brown” Fulgham passed away while in the custody and care of the California Department of Corrections. His obituary read: “Mousy’s formative years occurred during the period known as the Black Power Struggle and the Civil Rights Movement … This man’s presence will forever be felt, missed and recognized by the masses!”

James Beasley: Ex-drug kingpin determined to gain redemption

The name Beasley has rung true in the streets of Bayview Hunters Point since before the Double Rock housing projects were built in the 1950s. Of all of the Beasleys, there was none who controlled the streets like James Beasley Jr. James tells his amazing story in the soon-to-be-released autobiography and documentary entitled “Deep Rooted.”

Wanda’s Picks for May 2012

We give honor to Mother Earth, her birthday celebrated the weekend of April 22 with many great events in the Bay Area, “Love Yo Mama” in East Oakland hosted by Nehanda Imara of Citizens for a Better Environment, one of my favorite community events. My granddaughter and I enjoyed visiting the Tassafaronga Farm.

Big D does it big!

They call it “Big D” and there is a reason for it. The Dallas International Film Festival with its “Star Awards” closing weekend is just a reminder that “they do it big in Texas.” The Dallas Film Society pulled out all the stops as it honored Laura Linney, Bernie Pollack, Eric Pleskow and Gabourey Sidibe with “Dallas Star Awards,” kicking off the concluding weekend.

Dregs One’s ‘Wake Up Report on Police Brutality’ features Fly Benzo

Oscar Grant. Kenneth Harding. Trayvon Martin. These are just a few names of young Black men who have yet to receive justice in the criminal justice system. Dregs One addresses the issue of police brutality and the abuses of power that have been committed by police and the justice system.