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2018 March

Monthly Archives: March 2018

Missouri guards called the Cowboy Gang say, ‘We’ll make your murder look like a...

I hope this letter gets to the Bay View because correctional officers are destroying my outgoing mail. I had to defend myself against a correctional officer when he swung on me and I ended up busting his jaw and knocking him out. The results: All my property was destroyed, I was jumped on in cuffs and shackles, not fed, slept on concrete naked for weeks and everything imaginable. Corrections Officers have made death threats on my life.

Bay View offers solution to North Carolina crisis: Prisons too dangerous, guards quitting, so...

My January 2018 issue of your newspaper has been disapproved by the facility I am at, Alexander Correction Institution in North Carolina. According to this notice I was given, your newspaper is on the “Master List of Disapproved Publications” and thus I am not allowed to appeal the disapproval. As soon as I complete this letter, I will be composing a formal grievance on this matter. The Bay View seeks professional legal help, willing to file suit if necessary, to back up Tommy Accardi’s brave grievance.

Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize awarded to Charles Onana and Phil Taylor

The 2018 Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza Democracy and Peace Prize was awarded on Saturday, March 10, 2018, in Brussels, Belgium. The prize honors Rwandan political prisoner Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza. Despite the African Court of Human and People’s Rights’ 2017 ruling that her imprisonment is unjust and that Rwanda should free her, she remains behind bars. This year’s Victoire Prize went to Cameroonian French journalist Charles Onana and Canadian radio broadcaster Phil Taylor.

Remember the My Lai Massacre on its 50th anniversary

The My Lai Massacre occurred on March 16, 1968, 50 years ago during the Viet Nam War. Over 500 babies, children, women and men were slaughtered by American soldiers. Many Vietnamese women and girls had been raped. Huts were burned, livestock was killed, food supplies destroyed. Besides the My Lai Massacre that occurred that day, another massacre occurred in the nearby hamlet of My Khe.

Now that Treasure Island is the new hope for San Francisco housing after the...

For both armed and unarmed combat, the United States military is unparalleled in the world. So, when the U.S. Navy points the finger for its bungled Hunters Point cleanup at Tetra Tech to deflect from its own liability, it’s a carefully thought-out advance strategy that has worked for decades on contaminated Naval bases around the globe.

Wanda’s Picks for March 2018

I don’t know how Avotcja does it all: host two radio shows, perform with her band Modupue and curate such a phenomenal series of poetry and storytelling events. Yet she does and has for more years than we have fingers and toes. This is why, though I appreciated and loved “Beloved Oakland,” I think two culture workers were left out: Avotcja and Paradise. I would not have excluded any of the awardees; however, to omit Avotcja is like forgetting to bow to the Queen (as in Califa, not Victoria).

‘Black Panther’: Reflection on cultural solidarity and historic debt

Black Panther in a nouveaux peacock chair making deals with the CIA! I am like hold up?! Are you out of your mind? This must be a slapstick thrown in to distract and confuse the audience who do not know their history and who probably believe it’s OK to share secrets with the U.S. government. Like Okoyo, the CIA is all about meddling in international affairs that threaten white supremacy and its economic and military dominance. Wakanda has a seat in the U.N. Council.

LWOP (Life in Prison Without Parole): Dreams derailed or deferred

Imagine for a moment the faces, emotions and mind-set of teenagers and/or young adults from all walks of life who suddenly find, as I had, that because you are closely associated with someone or provided something to someone who committed murder, you too, under the law, are now just as responsible for capital murder without ever having such intent or a clue that anyone would be seriously injured or killed.

War, what is it good for?

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Edwin Star sang those lyrics in 1970 on his album War & Peace. The song “War” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 15 weeks. In 1970, the U.S. was deeply involved in the Vietnam war. I was 19, prime age for feeding the war machine. The lyrics have influenced my life ever since. Massive spending on our military hasn’t resulted in peace. Instead, we have more war and terrorism. Funding peace-building and peace-keeping should be a top priority of every member of Congress.

‘Farrakhan’

He was born in 1933. He, of course, is Minister Louis Farrakhan but, like Oprah or Prince, one name is enough to garner recognition. Say “Farrakhan” – and everyone knows of whom you speak. This has especially been so since Oct. 16, 1995, the day his call for the assemblage of a million Black men was met by at least a million Black men. What other Black leader could have done this?

A loving farewell to Anita Labossiere, champion of environmental justice

Anita Corine Sanderson-Labossiere, beloved mother, caring grandmother, dedicated daughter, loving sister and friend, departed on Thursday, Feb. 22, at the age of 62. She was active as a rank-and-file union member of IFPTE Local 21, as well as in a number of other organizations. Among those, Anita was very passionate about one in particular, the Shafter Avenue Community Club, a community organization dedicated to environmental justice in the Bayview Hunters Point District in San Francisco.

Rally, press conference and court solidarity to end sleep deprivation

On Feb 8, 2018, Northern District Judge Vince Chhabria held a hearing on a motion by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to dismiss civil rights lawsuits brought by two prisoners, Christopher Lipsey and Maher Suarez, who are suing CDCR for violation of their Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment. Specifically, they have brought their lawsuits to put an end to the sleep deprivation of prisoners caused by “security/welfare checks.”

‘Business in the Black’ is coming to San Francisco

“Business in the Black: The rise of Black business in America, 1800s-1960s” is a documentary. Finally there’s a film that looks at the achievements of African Americans in the arena of business starting with slavery times. This film is special because little is said about the accomplishments of slaves and African Americans in the area of business. "Business in the Black" is showing in San Francisco at Safehouse Arts Center, Saturday, March 10, 7 p.m. reception, film at 7:30 p.m., admission $10, tickets available on Eventbrite.

Free Mumia, free Meek Mill, free them all!

The frame-up of rapper Meek Mill by Philadelphia cops bears a telling resemblance to the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Both stand as indictments of the entire injustice system. Recent revelations about the fraudulent arrest and imprisonment of Mill demonstrate what police and prison abolitionists have known for decades: The entire institution of mass incarceration is a crooked, racist system. When we say, “Free Meek and free Mumia!” we also say, “Free them all!”

Solitary crackers: Sleep deprivation is a whiplash to our souls

The cop enters the section, cracks a metal wand on a metal “security” button outside each cell. This contact-cracker creates a loud beep. They crack that pipe on each damned button until it elicits a response. Then continue on to the next button. Crack-crack-beep, crack-beep, crack-crack-crack-beepity-freakin’ beep. Try and sleep when all this happens every 30 minutes, 24 hours, seven days a week.

Oakland students embark on study abroad in South Africa

Twenty-eight Oakland students from McClymonds, Castlemont, Skyline, Oakland Tech, Emery High and Ile Omode Schools will soon travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, to participate in “The South Africa Project,” a two-week study abroad program. Kharyshi Wiginton, founder of Culture Keepers, works to build cultural awareness through study abroad opportunities for Oakland students. This year will be her third cohort of Oakland students participating in “The South Africa Project.”

No justice yet for Humboldt State University student David Josiah Lawson

As the months fly by, the commitment of holding vigils every month for Humboldt State University Student David Josiah Lawson has remained. These vigils are a way to remember the life of Lawson that was ended way too soon by an act of violence. They also serve the purpose of keeping a light on the fact that his case remains unsolved and that his killer remains on the loose.

New legal action is a path to Mumia Abu-Jamal’s freedom, but a re-ignited international...

For over three decades, thousands of organizations and hundreds of thousands of individuals around the globe have mobilized to save Mumia Abu-Jamal from execution, to overturn his conviction, to demand his freedom. Without these international mobilizations, crucially including the organized labor movement, we would not have saved Mumia from two warrants of execution and compelled the state to concede defeat in trying to execute him.

San Francisco’s celebration of Black History Month done right

Congratulations, San Francisco! We did it. We began with our Black History Month Kickoff Reception, which was held at our local CBS-KPIX Main Studios on Jan. 31, where celebrities enjoyed mixing it up with our community. City Hall followed by launching their own impressive venue to celebrate Black History on Feb. 2. It was a huge success because of speakers like London Breed and Malia Cohen. We also rocked the house at our own Southeast Community Center with the celebration of Dr. Espanola Jackson Day.

West Oakland’s class warfare

Oakland’s gentrification was supposed to benefit all Oakland residents; instead, gentrification displaced many of Oakland’s most vulnerable citizens. Oakland’s gentrification may be failing because no one made plans for the displacement of the displaced people. So they live in homeless encampments visible throughout the city. Seeing these encampments, alongside the gentrifiers’ displays of privilege, highlights the inequality of Oakland’s gentrification.