2020
Yearly Archives: 2020
Ruchell Cinque Magee speaks
As the ugly truth about US suppression of, especially, Black people’s resistance to white supremacist slavery oppression increasingly educates the People, Ruchell Cinque Magee’s brilliant fight to free himself from decades-long wrongful incarceration as a US political prisoner highlights the compelling need for the People’s support for release.
Oregon statewide groups organize mutual aid fundraiser for imprisoned firefighters
Oregon steps up to honor imprisoned firefighters’ human dignity. Organizations are shining the love light bright in gratefulness for 285 imprisoned firefighters putting their lives on the line for a mere $6 per day to save lives, homes, pets, wildlife, forests and fellow free firefighters (up to $25.07 per day).
Time constraints
Brother Taquarius Ford first skillfully rolls out the prison sentencing conundrum. Ford then points to the mistake of extinguishing federal parole in a time when incarcerated people numbered 500,000 nationwide, breaking down the domino effect of this one act on what we see today in our 2.4 million incarcerated population.
Organizing to win!
Barry Hermanson encourages advocates in the fight for good, affordable health care to embody the slogan “Don’t mourn. Organize!”, while acknowledging that winning is difficult, but not impossible. Hermanson also proclaims the reality of value in numbers – the more people engaged in the struggle, the greater the possibility of claiming the prize.
Torment in Indiana prisons: The abuse, the lawsuit, the death of Phillip Littler
This horror story is unique to Phillip Littler – but not. Kevin ‘Rashid Johnson has told the story again and again, and as a revered artist, he lays bare these atrocities in drawings, exquisite in the pain they reveal, imploring us to listen, feel and act to abolish the existing evil culture killing our fellow human beings.
George Jackson to George Floyd
Kevin Sawyer deftly describes the murderous culture of police in our communities and guards in the prison system. The past 50 years between George Jackson’s assassination by guards at San Quentin, and the brutal murder of George Floyd by police on the streets of Minneapolis, shines the light brighter on the ongoing tragedy of blind hatred towards Black human lives.
Know your enemies from your friends
From behind the walls in a well of complexities, emerges clarity on the state of our humanity and the cloak of domination, oppression and abuse worn by Black and Brown people, even as some of that number are part of the fabric of the cloak.
CORE Nigeria: “We will fight for our total liberation”
The recent police killing of a young man in Ughelli, Nigeria, sparked the people’s uprising against SARS’ increasing police brutality in the militarization of politics and social life, along with a strong clientelist trend of administration. The streets are quiet now – temporarily – the people are not satisfied.
San Francisco public defender launches ‘CopWatch SF’ database to ensure public access to available...
This is not a case of too little, too late – it is instead: FINALLY! Thanks to Sen. Nancy Skinner’s 2019 law, SB 1421, records from SFPD, DPA, the District Attorney and the SF Police Commission are being released to the new CopWatch SF database, which now contains a growing list of local cops with records, available to the public.
29 years ago today, we took the Bay View torch, and today we pass...
With courage and gratitude, this tribute to what was, transitioning to what is, brings celebration, tears of joy and sadness, inspiration, hope, hard work, and renewed raised-fist commitment to everyone connected in myriad ways to the icon that is the SF Bay View newspaper, serving so many, inside and outside.
Mother Brown’s serves up respect on the day of gratitude
While mainstream media wasn’t/isn’t looking – ever – Dr. Willie Ratcliff joined in love and gratitude at Mother Brown’s celebrating the Bayview community and Thanksgiving with the best homemade, healthy food laced with the usual warmth and good tidings to feed the spirit and body.
Transgenders and Blacks at Lane Murray Unit: Victims of abuse and torture
To feel the words of the abused and tortured, to believe what they tell us they experience behind the walls of our prisons, is our opportunity to feel their pain, to feel the injustice of their being caged and treated worse than animals, and to acknowledge the open door to the opportunity to stand up in support and protection of our fellow human beings.
Eclipse: Dedicated to Tookie Williams
From behind the walls are jewels that are at times able to grace the lives of those waiting for their creators’ return.
The messy truth: Extortion, bargaining, and how we must oppose the new SFPOA contract
Jeremy Miller breaks down the complexities of the efforts of the San Francisco Police Officers Association to convince the SF Board of Supervisors that the City needs the SFPOA, and SFPOA members need to be paid well, have millions in assets, more millions in budgets, and be protected from the public as they continue killing unarmed Black and Brown folks with impunity.
Steven Taylor’s Addie Kitchen: A grandmother’s fight for justice
It is a collective wound that keeps being opened by the racist killing machine of the police departments in our communities of Black and Brown people. We can stop the bleeding by standing up in our collective outrage for Grandma Addie’s Steven Taylor, and every new injustice and pain perpetrated upon another family in our community.
Advocacy without results is dead
The election is over – the work is not. What’s not working for Black and Brown people, and what’s killing them, is one long familiar list. And there’s the other list that continues to demand our devoted attention to change and build the world we deserve by loving and uplifting our ravaged communities through relentless action.
A look at the Bay View’s fabulously successful 2020 fundraiser!
A spectacular simultaneously real and virtual party/fundraiser lifted the love and light on Nov. 20-21, 2020 in the Bayview community! The SF Bay View editor’s torch was passed by Mary and Willie Ratcliff to Malik Washington who, along with Wanda Sabir and new managing editor Nube Brown and so many others, remembered the ancestors and highlighted art, dance, music, food, interviews, homegrown business and voices from the community.
D10 Supervisor Shamann Walton’s press conference, Nov. 23, 2020
West Point, Bayview Hunters Point – On Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, Supervisor Shamann Walton held a press conference to announce a three-point strategy addressing the uptick of violence in our district.
An interview with Damien Posey of US 4 US Bay Area
Bayview, San Francisco – Editor Malik Washington sits down with community leader and Bayview Hunters Point native Damien Posey, aka Uncle Damien.
Release – don’t transfer – 50,000 medically vulnerable people from California prisons
UCSF White Coats for Black Lives leaves no uncertainty how Gov. Gavin Newsom and his appointee, Kathleen Allison, are playing the shell game, toying with the lives of our elderly and infirmed caged community members, and all Californians. CDCr is exposing all of us to ravaging and likely death by COVID-19. Equally troubling is the mental torture of all prisoners, their families and loved ones.