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2019

Yearly Archives: 2019

Trigger-happy Rwandan police mow down prisoners

FDU-Inkingi, the United Democratic Forces of Rwanda, a coalition of groups opposed to the current Kagame regime, condemns the murder of five prisoners in Huye Prison in the night of Jan. 23, 2019, allegedly for their attempt to escape. It calls on the government to end this barbarism that has become common in detention at police stations and government prisons.

Resisting the US-backed coup attempt in Venezuela

Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution that has empowered the country’s poor and working class is under assault by a U.S.-orchestrated coup effort. Join us for a forum on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., to learn the facts about Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, the U.S. attempts at overthrowing the democratically elected government of Nicolás Maduro and what we can do to fight back. A video of the San Francisco March in Solidarity with Venezuela will be shown at this event.

Keep the Redstone Labor Temple a community center

Early Saturday, Jan. 12, activists and artists gathered in a theater at the historic Redstone Labor Temple to advocate for the preservation of one the largest community centers for justice organizing in San Francisco. The Mission Economic Development Agency placed a bid of $18 million in December to purchase the Redstone and allow the current nonprofits to operate in the area. If the current owner accepts the MEDA bid, the building could be preserved as a place for low-budget nonprofit organizations in the Mission for the foreseeable future.

Greensville Correctional Center Human Rights Committee demands humane living conditions, rehabilitation, no slave labor

History has shown that the individual, disunited voices of incarcerated people will always fall on the deaf ears of prison officials, which ensures that our misery and suffering behind the walls will continue unabated. So we, the incarcerated class here at Greensville Correctional Center have come together out of necessity to form this Human Rights Committee as a mechanism to unite prisoners from different racial groups, religious affiliations, organizational ties and geographical locations so that we can speak with ONE VOICE in communicating and articulating our demands to Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) officials for humane living conditions, greater access to rehabilitation, an end to slave labor etc.

The new conservatorship law will incarcerate and steal from unhoused people

“This (conservatorship law) sounds like slavery to me,” reported Memphis, houseless poverty skola reporter for POOR Magazine’s RoofLESS radio after a terrifying town hall on SB1045, the new anti-poor people conservatorship legislation that was just signed into law by then-Gov. Brown and will be enacted as a “demonstration” in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

A legacy of mistreatment for San Francisco’s Black special ed students

This is part of an ongoing series, “Learning while Black: The fight for equity in San Francisco schools,” being broadcast on KALW’s Crosscurrents. African American students across the country are much more likely than any other student group to be placed in special education, and that’s true at San Francisco Unified too. The district’s troubled history has plenty to teach us about what is and isn’t working for Black students with special needs today.

An invitation from the Venceremos Brigade: Work and learn in Cuba this summer

For five decades, people across the U.S. have been travelling to Cuba on Venceremos Brigades. They’ve defied travel bans to see first hand how the Cuban people are building a society where gross inequality and exploitation are gone, where all health care, childcare and education are free. They’ve met with ordinary Cubans who enthusiastically travel overseas whether it’s to defeat apartheid or the ebola virus. The Venceremos Brigade invites you to learn more about the Brigade, which will be travelling to Cuba this summer.

Hunger strike in Corcoran 3C against indefinite lockdown and group punishment

Since Jan. 9, 2019, an estimated 250 prisoners are on hunger strike within Corcoran State Prison’s 3C facility in response to an indefinite lockdown. They have asked that this info be made public and that their demands be heard. The hunger strike representatives have requested phone calls be made to both the warden and headquarters in Sacramento to amplify the demands. Put aside some time this Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 23-24, to make some calls!

Anti-imperialist dilemma: What if the US is ‘right’ about the election in DR Congo?

With regard to foreign conflict, Ajamu Baraka has said: “You have to ask yourself when has the U.S. intervened on the side of the people. And the answer is: Never.” That’s my own rule of thumb regarding U.S. “interventions” and no doubt that of most Bay View readers. However, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) poses a consequent dilemma: What if the U.S. is supporting the candidate, Martin Fayulu, who most likely won the Dec. 30, 2018, election in DRC?

Bayview-based toxic stress leader Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is California’s first surgeon general

The toxic health crisis, one of the most underreported and serious health conditions in the United States, affecting as many as 35 million children, is moving under a giant spotlight this week, with historic new leadership on the issue and ambitious new advocacy efforts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment today of toxic stress leader Dr. Nadine Burke Harris as the state’s first surgeon general is a ground-breaking step and an important validation of the need for greater awareness of toxic stress.

Leonard Peltier: How Native Elder Nathan Phillips defeated the MAGA punks with a song

I just saw the incident taking place in Washington, D.C., in which a demonstration between the white Make America Great Again (MAGA) representatives and a Native Elder singing a religious song took a horrendous turn. There were threats and insults by the young punk wearing the red MAGA hat while an Elder, who happens to be my long time AIM friend and comrade Nate Phillips, was singing a religious song. Now, I see the media and folks changing it around like it was the Native Elder’s fault. Let me explain to you what the song’s history is.

El Bethel Arms seeks affordable housing administrator

  El Bethel Arms - Administrator (Affordable Housing)  HumanGood is looking for an Administrator for El Bethel Arms, an affordable senior housing community located in San...

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Remembering Martin King

In the 20th century, few names, especially of Black people, ring louder than that of Martin Luther King. His life, his dedication to the civil rights movement and his martyrdom in April 1968 made him a global icon of social justice. Born in 1929, if he were not martyred, he would be enjoying his 90th year of life. But he was martyred and, too, he was considered an enemy of the state. Why?

Stop privatization of SF General Hospital pharmacy and other departments, workplace bullying and systemic...

The City and County of San Francisco is moving to privatize thousands of jobs through the EPIC program and the LEAN plan while outsourcing city jobs to non-union low paid workers. Part of this outsourcing drive is taking place at the pharmacy at San Francisco General Hospital, renamed Zuckerberg, where the Department of Public Health management and San Francisco Human Resource Director Micki Callahan are intent on more privatization and outsourcing for more profits.

Outraged Hunters Point residents demand Gavin Newsom fire Tetra Tech

Hunters Point residents suing Tetra Tech for the worst eco-fraud in US history demand that Gov. Newsom rescind the state’s contract with Tetra Tech for Butte County wildfire cleanup. This contract is an insult to residents who remain fearful for their very lives over the radiated Shipyard given the unusually high incidences of cancer, cancer deaths, respiratory diseases and other medical conditions among Hunters Point residents that scientists and doctors have indicated are caused by the Shipyard’s radiation and other toxic releases. A town hall meeting and a press conference are scheduled for MLK Day.

On MLK Jr. Day, SF city workers demand the firing of HR Director Micki...

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community – Justice 4 Mario Woods demands that Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors take real action and fire Department of Human Resources Director Micki Callahan due to her documented involvement in systemic racial discrimination of Black city workers. Leader of the group and SEIU 1021 steward Phelicia Jones said, “After this press conference, politicians of San Francisco will have breakfast in this hotel with the Labor Council and pay lip service to Martin Luther King Jr., as they do every year. Then they will walk away and do nothing for Black folks in San Francisco. When will justice for Black people actually matter to them?”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s ‘Opportunities for All’ initiative kicks off with career fair...

On Jan. 23, the Wednesday following Monday’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, hundreds of youth ages 13-24 will attend and participate in a career and resource fair called “Advancing the Dream.” The event is part of Mayor London Breed’s Opportunities for All, a program to address economic inequality by ensuring that all young people can be a part of San Francisco’s thriving economy. The event includes a series of workshops for youth to participate in mock job interviews, work on their resumes and profiles for LinkedIn, and build their social networks.

First Step Act: US Senate passes bipartisan criminal justice bill

On Dec. 19, the United States Senate voted 87-12 in favor of watered-down legislation that will roll back a few of the most draconian provisions of the federal criminal justice system. The “First Step Act,” short for the “Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act,” goes back to the House of Representatives, which passed a slightly stronger version last May by a vote of 360 to 59. When it comes to locking people up, the United States stands on top of the heap.