Month: September 2017

The Poetry of the People

Poetry
Mother Mary Ann Wright/ Saint of the Poor/ slept sitting up all night/ so she could feel/ the suffering/ of the homeless/ all over earth’s shores/ hearing God’s call/ to take blankets/ food and clothes/ to the homeless/ on the streets/ in the darkest nights/ Mary Ann Wright did go

Defending the Lives of Farmworkers and the Salton Sea

Features   News
Elisa Guevara leads protests over rent hikes and high rates for undrinkable water “We’re a forgotten community. We’re invisible,” she said. “There’s hardly any housing for farmworkers, so park operators can rent us dilapidated trailers. Workers go without electricity and a sewer system, or live with contaminated water.”

Braceros Organize After Death of Farmworker

Features   News
A farmworker’s death in Washington prompted his fellow braceros to put their livelihoods in jeopardy by going on strike and risking deportation. The death pushed the workers into an action unprecedented in farm labor history. When they were fired for protesting, they joined the new union for farmworkers.

Future Blues: Brain Death for Stress Relief

Fiction
A holographic video urges me inside, saying, “This procedure will relieve you of unnecessary suffering due to your mind.” As I walk inside, a man runs out with his head opened up, screaming at the top of his lungs. Robots catch up with the man and inject him in the shoulder.

We Must Listen to the Voices of the Streets

By Andy Pope on
Opinion
All we really wanted out there on the street, any of us, was to be treated with human respect and dignity, and treated as equals, not as inferiors. We wanted to be listened to, we wanted our voices heard. But people wouldn’t listen to us. They sure talked to us though.

Easy to Be Hard, Easy to Say No

By Andy Pope on
Opinion
Imagine the hurt and pain I felt when my own brother refused to let me stay in a spare room at his house after I had become homeless. Multiply that pain by 15, when, one by one, my closest friends and family told me I could not stay with them.

Hidden Crisis of Homelessness on Tribal Lands

Features   Uncategorized
Large U.S. cities are known for high rates of homelessness. The housing emergency on tribal lands is hidden, but just as devastating. Housing shortages and evictions have created a quiet crisis of homelessness for Native Americans. The Trump administration plans to slash housing funding to Native American tribes.

Considering the Best Ways to “Kick Nazi Ass”

By Carol Denney on
Opinion
SNCC members in the Bay Area are capable of telling their stories of personal sacrifice and nonviolent organizing — undeniably one of the greatest American stories ever told. Their insights into nonviolence can be shared with those who wonder what might be more powerful than makeshift shields from Home Depot.

Four Decades of Resistance to Duke’s Racism

By Terry Messman on
Opinion
The hatred and violent racism of white supremacist groups is written plainly for everyone to see. It is inexcusable that Trump has been unwilling to take a stand against right-wing extremists. And it is heartening to see widespread repudiation of everything the KKK and neo-Nazis stand for.

Boycotts Close Restaurants Owned by Duke Supporters

By Lynda Carson on
Opinion
One way to fight back against the hate being spread around by the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and white supremacists is by exposing the supporters of hate and violence in the United States. Carson’s stories have led to boycotts and closures of restaurants owned by Duke supporters.