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Mehserle shooting of Oscar Grant considered a non-violent offense
May 24, 2011
Because California penal code does not classify involuntary manslaughter as a “violent” or “serious” offense, Johannes Mehserle, the convicted killer of Oscar Grant, could be released as early as mid-June of this year, after serving less than one year behind bars.
Blues man: an interview wit’ Oakland’s Augusta Collins
April 24, 2011
“My latest release, ‘In the Studio with Augusta Collins,’ is produced by Emmy award-winning producer Anita S. Woodley. On this album, I am channeling Leadbelly. I am performing my music with something to say about each song.” – Oakland blues man Augusta Collins
Pierre Labossiere on welcoming Aristide home to Haiti
April 10, 2011
“I was at his (President Aristide’s) house, we heard a roar of shouts of joy, and then over the walls people started coming in, pouring into the courtyard of the house when they saw the car. People were accompanying the car as many as three miles from the airport to his house,” relates Pierre Labossiere of the jubilant welcome that greeted the Aristides on their return to Haiti ending seven long years of exile for them and brutal repression of the people they had to leave behind. Pierre tells the story of the Haitian people and how their never-say-die spirit continues to inspire the world.
The art of rappin’ ‘in Black & White’: an interview wit’ rapper Hasan Salaam
March 29, 2011
I have known the talented emcee Hasan Salaam for about half a decade, and I have always admired his style on the mic, his insightful lyrics and his deep recognizable vocal tone. He is one of the more humble rappers on the East Coast scene as well as one of the dopest.
Wanda’s picks for March 2011
March 3, 2011
Women’s History Month and the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day March 8, 2011 – what a great month to toast the New Year. The name itself is an action, a call to action: MARCH – Move!
‘I Heard That’: Black Media Roundtable with Mayor Lee; The State of Black San Francisco …
March 1, 2011
The Black population in San Francisco drastically declined when urban renewal, Redevelopment and the gentrification of the Fillmore/Western Addition started in the ‘60s, bulldozed the hearts of African Americans, many forced to move out of the City.
Survival Radio
January 31, 2011
We don’t need to be “given” a voice. We have a voice. What we don’t have is our own radio transmitters, television and radio broadcasts, and TV stations. PNN is the voices of people who are never heard.
‘Poems About This Roller-Coaster Ride Called Life’: an interview with poet Kaira Espinoza
January 14, 2011
Kaira Espinoza is a poet from the Mission district of San Francisco who recently completed her debut book of poetry called “Poems About This Roller-Coaster Ride Called Life.”
Wet paint: an interview with visual artist Sophia Dawson
January 11, 2011
Sophia Dawson is an artist I met in Harlem, New York, at this year’s Black Panther Film Fest, where she had a striking painted piece of Black Panther co-founder and Chairman Bobby Seale. I have seen a lot of dope, conscious-minded Black visual artists over the years; she is definitely one of the more talented ones.
Myron Standing Bear gets housing justice – almost
January 7, 2011
“We don’t work with Indians,” SFHA had told Myron. He began his story with this, the first in a series of discriminatory statements made to him by SFHA. The injustice began in August of 2009, when the family was informed of that their Section 8 voucher had been approved; they’d been on the list for 11 years.
Hunger strike of the Lucasville uprising prisoners starting Monday, Jan. 3
December 31, 2010
Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Bomani Shakur (Keith LaMar), Jason Robb and Namir Mateen (James Were) will start a hunger strike on Monday, Jan. 3, to protest their 23-hour-a-day lockdown for nearly 18 years. They were sentenced to death for their alleged roles in the 11-day Lucasville rebellion in April 1993. They are innocent! They were wrongfully convicted! They are political prisoners.
Scott sisters to be freed! Gov. Barbour demands a kidney for their freedom
December 30, 2010
At long last the Scott sisters will be free! Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, based on public pressure, used his commutation powers to grant the sisters their freedom. He suspended Jamie and Gladys Scott’s double life sentences for taking part in an $11 armed robbery. The women have always maintained their innocence. This good news is the people’s victory! Listen to Minister of Information JR’s Block Report with the Scott sisters’ attorney, Chokwe Lumumba, broadcast Dec. 30 on Flashpoints.
The Mehserle effect: Vallejo shooting tests era of police accountability
December 24, 2010
In the Bay Area, the veneer of police impunity seems to be thinning even as high-profile cases of police shooting unarmed Black men – in Oakland and nearby Vallejo – continue to occur. Guy Jarreau Jr. was shot and killed by Vallejo police Saturday, Dec. 11. Facing the officer with his hands up, “Guy didn’t have a gun,” said witnesses.
Fighting for our jobs
December 14, 2010
I am back with you fighting for our jobs at a time when I should have been preparing to choose many of you to work with me to build the new Bayview Library. The contract to build our library in our neighborhood was taken from my company, Liberty Builders, and awarded instead to a white contractor, K C K Builders, whose bid included no Blacks at all. This time we won’t let the gate swing shut again for another dozen years. We’re all fighting back – and we’re winning, especially with the passage of Supervisor John Avalos’ Mandatory Local Hire ordinance.
‘Equinox’: an interview wit’ film-maker Baayan Bakari
November 16, 2010
“Equinox” is a ground-breaking film on Black male and female relationships by local director and filmmaker Baayan Bakari. It will be screened Thursday, Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m., at the Black Dot Café, 1195 Pine St., West Oakland. Watch the trailer and learn more about the cast and the film at http://www.equinoxmovie.com.
‘Change … comes through continuous struggle’ – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
January 1, 2009
My call last month for an end to the lockout of Blacks from construction is catching fire. This month, let’s get some work! Everyone who wants to work construction, pack the BART board meeting Thursday, Jan. 8, 9 a.m., Kaiser Center, Third Floor, 344 20th St., Oakland. Dr. King taught us, “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability but comes through continuous struggle.”