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.

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.

Gov. Brown increases prison budget, cuts basic services

“We applaud the goal of reducing corrections spending; however, the way to do that isn’t to increase the corrections budget,” comments Debbie Reyes of the California Prison Moratorium Project. “Why are we increasing General Fund spending on Corrections by 10 percent while we’re cutting In Home Supportive Services (and) public colleges?” asks Reyes.

Congressman John Lewis in Oakland: Civil rights legend takes center stage

Excitement filled the sanctuary as five generations sat in the audience waiting to hear a legend speak. Oakland’s Beebe Memorial Cathedral was packed from the main floor to the church balcony. The congregation jumped to their feet and clapped for over five minutes when the moderator said, “Tonight we will hear from Congressman John Lewis!”

Paramilitary gangs join UN force in preying on Haitian population

by Dady Chery, Haiti Chery Members of the dissolved Haitian army parade at Camp Lamantin, a former military base in Port-au-Prince. – Photo: Ramon Espinosa, AP For several weeks, armed groups of young Black men, presumably Haitian and too young to be veterans of the Haitian Armed Forces (Forces Armees d’Haiti, FAd’H) disbanded in 1995, [...]

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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.