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2020 May
Monthly Archives: May 2020
Shouting out loud: Not to free the elderly from prison now is elder abuse
For those in positions of power in this state who, for whatever reasons, choose to ignore public calls and demands for change, know that united grassroot forces will seize every opportunity to SHOUT OUT LOUD that reforms are a dire necessity.
To survive COVID, we need science, not politics
Homeless rights activist Nino Brown lives in a homeless encampment at Lake Merritt. He worries about a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic brewing in Oakland. Most scientists would agree that Brown describes a perfect condition for incubating a pandemic.
Bounty Bags
In an exciting turn of events, the Bayview Community Cooperative (BCC) is proud to launch its free Bounty Bag giveaway. During this pandemic, getting groceries, especially fresh produce, has been difficult for many.
Juneteenth 2020: Let’s adopt the mantra of Black unity and Black love
“If you do not understand white supremacy (racism) – what it is and how it works – everything else that you understand will only confuse you.” – Neely Fuller Jr. (1971)
Which side are you on, Mayor Breed?
The number of unhoused people dying on the street in San Francisco is triple the number who died last year at this time. During this pandemic Mayor Breed called for the shelter in place order ahead of other cities and even ahead of Gov. Newsom. She understood the deadly nature of the virus and her responsibility to protect the people of her city.
New Orleans sanitation ‘hoppers’ form union, strike for hazard pay, PPE, benefits
New Orleans – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. first marched with striking Memphis sanitation workers on March 28, 1968. They were demanding better working conditions and the respect and dignity due them. Their signs proclaimed, “I Am a Man.”
Was the quarantine good for creativity or nah? Bay Area visual and performing artists...
It is not an option for the much anticipated “Black Woman Is God” exhibit to be canceled; it is scheduled for Oct. 21, 2020 and is one of the premiere annual events of the Black Bay Area.
In defense of Black rebellion
Black people must rebel – and shine in the glory of rebellion.
Rwanda: ‘Victoire Ingabire should be arrested at least, killed at best’
There has been another murder. Nine armed men killed Pastor Theoneste Bapfakurera when they mistook him for shopkeeper Theophile Ntirutwa, a member of your opposition party.
‘United in Health D10’ to crush the coronavirus
Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley testing will take place this Monday and Tuesday, June 1 and 2, 2020, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Herz Playground, 1701 Visitacion Ave.
California after COVID: Recovery is not good enough
The coronavirus crisis is testing most households and businesses in California, pushing some to the very brink of what they can bear before falling off a cliff.
Massive COVID-19 testing campaign launched in Texas prisons
Clements Unit prisoners in three buildings’ close custody wings were awakened in the early morning of May 1, 2020, by the loud sounds of ranking guards telling them to get dressed and step out of their cells.
Writing While Black June 2020: Black literary artists thriving despite global pandemic
The essentials of writing and publishing have not changed under COVID-19, just the promotions aspects such as in-person appearances. Book signings, conventions and readings are postponed, online or done via the mail. Yet the work of writing continues.
Birthing Black babies during a pandemic
Some high risk patients may slip through the widening gaps of an already broken system. However, there is hope in that there are many people and organizations working to change that. The work of maternal equity has been well under way, and we have been doing our best to adapt and adjust during this pandemic to continue to support and meet the needs of the community.
Pastor Leon Scoggins: God wants us to focus on being the church more than...
Our job as pastor isn’t really about preaching great, having a big church or even a nice suit. It is 100 percent about the care, love and spiritual development of PEOPLE. Which means it’s our duty to make sure that no matter what, we are leading in a manner that protects the people that God has entrusted us with.
Jalil Muntaqim tests positive for COVID-19 and is hospitalized in New York
Jalil Muntaqim, world renowned for peace and justice initiatives over 49 years in prison, fights for his life, his parole-eligible sentence threatening to become a death sentence. On April 27, Judge Schick granted his release. But New York Attorney General Letitia James appealed the judge’s decision, preventing Jalil’s release.
Mother calls for clemency: ‘My sons were sentenced with time to serve, not a...
Melvin Dillon and Robert Dillon, brothers incarcerated at the Nevada Southern Detention Center (NSDC), are in mortal danger. Their mother, Mary Barbee, is pleading with Gov. Steve Sisalek for their release.
The Oakland-based free Sunday hot dinner program
“Ingenuity is the reigning order of the day” would be my choice of words if I had to sum up the COVID-19 pandemic’s quarantine into a sentence for small business owners.
COVID-19 puts Black political prisoners on death row
“American prisons are death traps. They are the places with the highest rate of coronavirus infection in the world. Incarceration in the time of COVID skirts the genocidal cruelty of death by disease of the Nazis.” J. Fernandez
Class war – not the media hokey pokey – is what it’s all about
Journalists aren’t supposed to “bury the lead.” But when death is the topic and corporate power is the culprit, the connection routinely goes unmentioned.