- Vote against the war on drugs.
- Vote for drug treatment – not punishment.
- Vote against mandatory minimum sentencing. Mandatory minimum sentencing takes the sentencing power away from the judge.
- Spread the word about mass incarceration and The New Jim Crow.
- Vote for better public schools – schools for everyone – not charter schools for a few.
- Tell everyone that we want to be a land of opportunities, not a land of oppression.
- Vote to have drugs controlled by pharmacies and taxed.
- Get angry.
- Stay angry.
Racial Disparity – Likelihood of Imprisonment
“More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. For Black males in their thirties, 1 in every 10 is in prison or jail on any given day. These trends have been intensified by the disproportionate impact of the “war on drugs,” in which two-thirds of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color.”
See on www.sentencingproject.org
14 Year Old Girl Mistaken As Burglar Is Killed By Stepfather
“Another tragic killing in Colorado. This time, it’s in Colorado Springs. It’s a breaking story, so there’s not much information yet.
Police spokesman Larry Herbert gave a statement saying that Monday morning, around 6 a.m., a call was made of a burglary-in-progress. When police arrived on the 4300 block of Ascendant Drive, off North Carefree Circle and Peterson Road, they found a 14 year-old girl had been shot by her step-father. She was taken to an area hospital where she died of gunshot wounds. ”
…
Community Village‘s insight:
Father throws son off high-rise – CNN.com Video
A man in the midst of a bitter custody battle threw his son off a Manhattan high-rise before jumping to his own death.
Community Village‘s insight:
I hear stories every year about men who take vengance out on their own family.
How do we best teach men that they don’t have the right to murder?
See on www.cnn.com
Creating Words and Redefining Words – Hidden Power of Words Series, #5
As a writer, I regularly find it necessary to create new words and occasionally to redefine existing ones. I have done this in my academic writing, creative writing, and online writing. I believe w…
Community Village‘s insight:
I like these examples about paying attention to the suffix of words.
“people are not “poor” – they are classed or classized as poor”
and
People are not slaves – they are enslaved.
Saying that people are slaves puts the burden on the enslaved, as if they have a choice in the matter. Saying they are enslaved puts the burden on the enslaver, saying that they have a choice to not enslave.
See on andrewpegoda.com
Pennsylvania Judge Sentenced For 28 Years For Selling Kids to the Prison System
Mark Ciavarella Jr, a 61-year old former judge in Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison for literally selling young juveniles for cash.
See on blog.blacknews.com
Smiley and West – Jeffrey Stout
Smiley-and-West-PRI-podcast
Princeton religion professor Jeffrey Stout highlights the success stories in the struggle for justice, as laid out in his latest text, “Blessed Are the Organized: Grassroots Democracy in America”.
Plus, Professor Stout joins Smiley and West in the Hot Stuff as they look back on the unproductive year in Washington. And a listener from Florida takes Smiley and West to task for making him depressed.
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Listen on Stitcher
Listen on Soundcloud
Listen on iTunes
Listen on PRI
The Baldwin-Kennedy meeting
The Baldwin-Kennedy meeting (May 24th 1963) was when Robert Kennedy met James Baldwin to talk at length about race in America. Dramatis Personae: Robert Kennedy – president’s brother, Attorney Gene…
Community Village‘s insight:
This account is telling of current race relations in the U.S.
The oppressors still don’t get it and they think they are not oppressing.
See on abagond.wordpress.com
Jesus Huerta 17 died from ALLEGED self-inflicted gunshot WHILE HANDCUFFED in the back of a police cruiser
“The Durham Police Department says Huerta died on November 19 from a self-inflicted gunshot while handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser.”
Community Village‘s insight:
A similar incident happened to Chavis Carter a 21-year old American male who was found dead from a gunshot while handcuffed in the back of a police patrol car on July 29, 2012
The police car’s recording device in the Carter case had “problems” and didn’t record the sound just before and at the time of the shooting.
See on www.cnn.com
Arrest of Indian diplomat sparks international outrage
Ms. Khobragade stated that she would pay her domestic worker $4,500 dollars a month. Instead she paid her $3.31 an hour or $573.07 a month.
Ms. Khobragade instructed the domestic worker to tell U.S. Embassy officials that she was being paid $9.50 an hour.
Community Village‘s insight:
In India $3.31 an hour may be somewhat common. But in the U.S. – no.
See on blog.angryasianman.com