Blues from the Streets of 'The Other America'
J. B. Lenoir was one of the bravest political voices of his era. He sang against poverty, lynching, the Vietnam War, racism and police violence in Alabama and Mississippi.
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Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
Dark was the night and cold was the ground on which Blind Willie Johnson was laid. Yet after his death, his music would streak to the stars on the Voyager and become part of the “music of the spheres.”
Santa Cruz Faith Groups Come Together to Shelter the Homeless — and Build a Community
There is a serious lack of housing in Santa Cruz and a pressing need for shelter to provide safe, restful, overnight spaces for our 3,500 people experiencing homelessness. While the civic, business and governmental response has been virtually nonexistent, local faith communities are stepping up to meet the challenge.
U.S. Prisoners Undergo Accelerated Aging While Jailed
by Bill Berkowitz
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you are an aging prisoner in the United States, 50 is the new 65. This phenomenon
Berkeley Forum Warns of Deadly Misuse of Tasers
Speakers at the forum held in Berkeley on police use of tasers expressed concern about the terms “excited delirium” and “sudden in-custody death syndrome,” which Jeremy Miller described as “invented medical conditions” still used to describe deaths of people in police custody which Miller estimated at approximately 1,000.
WRAP Fights to Protect the Right to Rest—and Exist
Today, homeless people are being targeted by attempts to literally banish their presence. But they weren’t the first targets of intolerance, and they won’t be the last. That realization makes it all the more crucial that we prevent political officials from ever again banishing or criminalizing any other unprotected minority, anywhere.
Jack London’s Vision of Love and Revolution
“Civilizations have exposited themselves in terms of power,” wrote Jack London. “No civilization has yet exposited itself in terms of love-of-man.” He called for a world built on “love and service and brotherhood,” all of which inspired his great-granddaughter and her friends and comrades in the Iron Heel Theater Collective.
Jack London’s Iron Heel — from Oakland to Ankara
The “Citizen’s United” case signaled the collusion of government and business. The dominance of large corporations, the militarization of the police, and governmental surveillance of ordinary people are chilling harbingers of fascism. This is why The Iron Heel remains relevant today and resonates with people around the world.
Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
In “Hard Times Killing Floor Blues,” Skip James sings for the multitudes forced out of their homes and jobs — locked out of heaven itself and trapped on the killing floor of poverty.
Cold Ground Was My Bed: The Blues and Social Justice
A powerful torrent of “justice blues,” as deep and wide as the Mississippi itself, flows in an unbroken stream from the Depression-era blues of Bessie Smith and Skip James all the way to the 21st century blues of Otis Taylor and Robert Cray.
West Grand Hotel Sued by City of Oakland
Oakland Attorney Andrew Wolff has clients at the West Grand Hotel and said: “This is the worst housing condition I have ever encountered in my practice, and the level of tenant abuse is obscene. I commend the City of Oakland for taking this place down.”
United Nations Condemns Criminalization of Homelessness in the U.S.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination stated it is “concerned at the high number of homeless persons, who are disproportionately from racial and ethnic minorities and at the criminalization of homelessness through laws that prohibit activities such as loitering, camping, begging, and lying in public spaces.”