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California SHU prisoners begin hunger strike July 1
June 30, 2011
Prisoners in the Security Housing Units, SHUs, at Pelican Bay and Corcoran state prisons in California are beginning an indefinite hunger strike on July 1, 2011, to protest the cruel and inhumane conditions of their imprisonment in what is being called “an unusual show of racial unity.” Breaking news: Prisoners at Centinela have joined the hunger strike. A prisoner there reports: “Only a few inmates are walking the yard. No Blacks or Hispanics have left their cells. No one has gone to work. He said all the races are united in this fight.”
Geronimo ji-Jaga: Tributes from Black Panther comrades and current political prisoners
June 20, 2011
On Thursday, June 2, 2011, came word that former Black Panther leader, Geronimo ji-Jaga (née Elmer G. Pratt) died in exile in Tanzania.
Wanda’s Picks for February 2011
February 10, 2011
On Feb. 18, 7 p.m., at Modern Times Bookstore, Krip-Hop Nation will present an author panel of new books by Black disabled writers and friends, including Toni Hickman of Texas, Adarro Minton of New York, Allen Jones of San Francisco and friends of Krip-Hop Nation, DC Curtis and Bones Kendall of Los Angeles.
The People’s Human Rights and Hip Hop Film Festival
February 10, 2011
The People’s Human Rights and Hip Hop Film Festival is a four-day event that will be kicking off on Friday, Feb. 11, at the Twinspace, 2111 Mission St. in San Francisco, that captures the aura of the Bay, politics and young people’s art.
Wanda’s Picks for August 2010
August 3, 2010
I am excited about going back to Haiti, which I visited at the four-month anniversary of the earthquake. It has been six months now and from what we have heard and seen from trusted media, the situation is not any better and for many people it is worse.
Remembering Althea Francois, beloved Louisiana Black Panther, prison abolitionist, ‘pillar in our struggle’
March 12, 2010
Althea, I see and visualize you walking around heaven with Harriett, Martin, Malcolm, John Brown, Nat, George, Clara, Billie etc. You fed the hungry – mentally, spiritually and physically – and clothed the needy. You gave the blood of your intellect for the liberation and spiritual salvation of all the oppressed and exploited people, the masses.
To serve the people: Angola 3 celebrates common cause with Common Ground
September 18, 2009
We are not surprised that Malik Rahim is being hailed as one of the heroes of Hurricane Katrina. In 1997, Malik rediscovered information on our case and made it his mission to bring attention to the plight that Albert, King, myself and so many other Louisiana prisoners have endured in being unfairly convicted and sentenced. The Angola 3 went from obscurity to international recognition thanks to Malik’s efforts.
Wanda’s Picks for August
August 1, 2009
Black August begins with a campaign for the acquittal of Francisco Torres, the only member of the San Francisco 8 still charged. Go to www.freethesf8.org for messages to phone or fax to Attorney General Jerry Brown, urging him to drop the charges. Cisco’s hearing is Aug. 10 if the charges aren’t dropped.
SF 8 victory dance: Prosecution admits evidence is insufficient
July 7, 2009
What was amazing about the hearing Monday was the prosecution’s admission that it didn’t have enough evidence to convict these men. As attorney Daro Inouye said of Jalil Muntaqim, who pled no contest to the prosecution’s charge of conspiracy, his client picked up a loaded grenade to save his brothers, his friends, his fellow defendants, and he didn’t plead guilty. That language did not pass his lips.
Wanda’s picks for July
July 2, 2009
Required reading for Americans pre-fireworks and festivities should be an important speech given by abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass, who, in “What to the American Slave is Your Fourth of July?” questions this holiday which took place while citizens were denied their right to justice, freedom and equality. At the Oakland Public Conservatory, Michael Lange and youth wordsmiths Ayinde Webb, the drummer in the Frederick Douglass Youth Ensemble, and Jamani Williams will read excerpts.
Wanda’s Picks for April 24
April 24, 2009
Happy Birthday, Mumia Abu Jamal! On Wanda’s Picks Radio, we are celebrating Mumia Abu Jamal’s birthday and his new book, “Jailhouse Lawyers,” with an introduction by Angela Davis.
36 years of solitude
March 13, 2009
An 18,000-acre complex that still resembles the slave plantation it once was, Angola Prison is where Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3 has served nearly all of his time in solitary confinement – 36 years, 2 months and 24 days.
Wanda’s Picks for Nov. 21
November 21, 2008
Dropped in to see the McCoy Tyner Trio with Marc Ribot on guitar. Tyner is always a treat and this ensemble featuring Gerald Cannon on bass and Eric Kamau Gravett on drums is phenomenal!
From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King
November 18, 2008
Robert King takes us on a lyrical journey “From the Bottom of the Heap” to the depths of a darkness so dense flashlights can’t pierce the intangible conscience or sensibility of a nation or a people who would subject another citizen to what King describes in his autobiography as a normal state of affairs for Black men.
Wanda's Picks for Nov. 7
November 7, 2008
I think I’m still in shock. Imagine, 200 years after chattel slavery was legally abolished in the United States, we have a Black man elected to this nation’s highest office: Barack Hussein Obama, president elect, this nation’s 44th president as of Jan. 20, 2009.
