Currently, the OHA contracts with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide public housing to low-income households in Oakland and is reimbursed by HUD at around $500 per unit on a monthly basis. But under the new Section 8 model being promoted to end public housing, the OHA and their affiliates may be reimbursed by HUD for as much as $900 to $1,000 for the same rental units if the plan works out to their way of thinking. Unfortunately for the poor, this scheme results in the loss of Oakland’s desperately needed public housing units, and in the future public housing will be one less option for the homeless needing a place to call home.
The law of unintended consequence works in our favor some of the time. A few weeks ago the Congress of the United States fell all over itself trying to sanction ACORN. As you remember, ACORN is a community-based organization that helps the poor throughout the country. It also registers voters. The reason for the sanction was that some members of the organization were accused of giving some illegal advice. It turns out that such a company specific sanction is unconstitutional. This law must apply to any government contractor, not just ACORN.
Learning that you have breast cancer can be one of the most shocking and life altering moments of your entire life. The initial diagnosis can bring on feelings of not only worry, but life’s fragility. The idea of time being precious no longer seems like something that you just say in passing when talking to friends. Your time really does become precious and your sense of purpose kicks into overdrive.
A commercial message broadcast on national television last month by women’s breast cancer advocacy groups was assailed as outrageous, insensitive and an example of reverse sexism. It portrayed men in form fitting T-shirts and sexy tops with “tits” and “boobs.” Their message was clear if not “over the top.” If men had breasts, funding for breast cancer research and treatment in the U.S. would be a higher priority!
Tags:
alcohol consumption greater than two drinks per day,
Bayview Hunters Point,
Benzene,
breast cancer,
Camp Lejeune,
carcinogen,
community scientist Raymond Tompkins,
Department of Public Health epidemiologists,
Dr. John Kiluk,
environmental health and justice advocates in Bayview Hunters Point,
estrogens in pesticides,
federal Superfund sites,
ionizing radiation,
obesity,
osteoporosis,
perchloroethylene,
Peter Palmer,
the Bay Area Air Quality Management District,
the Department of Public Health,
the Environmental Impact Reviews,
the Environmental Protection Agency,
the George Washington Carver school,
the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard,
the Marine Corps,
The Navy,
the Parcel E landfill at the Shipyard,
the Potrero Hill power plant,
the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency,
the sewage treatment plant,
The World Health Organization,
trichloroethylene,
U.S. military installation,
women’s breast cancer advocacy groups
Stories in the Bay View about figures historically associated with prisoner issues, such as George Jackson, comprise a large percentage of the stories that the CDCR deems to pose threats to prison security and, in the hands of African-American prisoners, as indicia of gang affiliation. In other cases, the CDCR seizes the Bay View without referencing any particular article, the inference being that the newspaper itself is a threat to security, the mere possession of which is an indicator of gang association.
Tags:
a threat to security,
African-American prisoners,
an entrenched mythology that has been perpetuated for some 40 years,
Anthony Prince,
class action lawsuit,
Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Fagan,
free press rights,
gang affiliation,
gang association,
George Jackson,
juvenile offenders,
neuropsychology,
parole boards,
Pelican Bay,
Potosi Correctional Center,
prison law attorneys,
Prison Legal News,
Roper v. Superintendent,
the African American community,
the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR),
the First Amendment free speech,
the Law Offices of Anthony D. Prince,
the National Institutes of Mental Health,
the San Francisco Bay View,
the SHU,
the United States Supreme Court,
unconstitutional practices,
“compelling government interest”
Four years after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, survivors living in Houston are still fighting to keep a roof over their heads. Three women spoke recently at a news conference at the Kensington Club II townhome apartments to expose the owner’s corruption and the squalid living conditions he allows.
Tags:
Disaster Housing Assistance Program vouchers,
Eugenia Brown,
eviction orders,
FEMA,
Houston,
Hurricane Katrina,
Jennifer Whittington,
Kofi Taharka,
Lenwood Johnson,
New Orleans,
Quinna Brown,
the Disaster Housing Assistance Program,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
the Freedmen’s Neighborhood Association,
the International Action Center,
the Kensington Club II townhome apartments,
the National Black United Front,
the secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
the U.S. Justice Department
Anyone who has ever met long time Bayview resident Shirley Jones knows that she is a woman who embraces life. At a vibrant 70 years young, Jones has decided that she will no longer be complacent about her personal health issues and that “life ain’t over yet.” In fact she has decided that she has quite a lot of living to do. “I want to be healthier and be around to fully enjoy my eight grandchildren and two great-grands,” she says with conviction.
Tags:
acupuncture,
African American families,
Arizona,
Bayview,
Bayview Hunters Point Health and Environmental Resource Center,
Black Coalition on AIDS Health & Wellness Network,
Black grandmothers,
Californians for Health Education Employment and Dignity (CAHEED),
dance classes,
Galileo High School,
grief management,
healthy food demonstrations,
Marshall Elementary School,
Potrero Hill Health Center,
Shirley Jones,
soul chi,
the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA,
the Fillmore,
the Health Promotion and Prevention Branch of the San Francisco Department of Public Health,
the Mission District,
walking clubs,
welfare rights activist,
World War II,
yoga,
Yuma
More than 100 farmers, youth, internationals and Israeli peace activists marched against the Israeli separation wall Friday and, armed with car tires and a homemade ladder to climb the high wall, they managed to burn one section and pull down three others.
Tags:
Ahmed Mousa,
Arafat Khawaja,
Israeli peace activists,
Israeli state,
Kiryat Sefer,
Maccabim,
Mattityahu,
Muhammad Khawaja,
Nakba,
Na’ale,
Ni’lin,
Ramallah,
Ramle and Lod,
the Green Line,
the Israeli separation wall,
the West Bank,
Tristan Anderson,
Yousif Amira
Andante Higgins produced this documentary, “Bay View Hunter’s Point: San Francisco’s Last Black Neighborhood?” in 2004, featuring commentary by SF Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff and other residents familiar to Bay View readers. Part 3 tells the story of the 1966 Hunters Point Uprising, the second major U.S. “riot” in the ’60s after Watts in Los Angeles.
Tags:
16-year-old Matthew Johnson,
1966 Hunters Point Uprising,
Andante Higgins,
Bay View Hunter's Point: San Francisco's Last Black Neighborhood?,
Cheryl Towns,
Chris Agee,
Cordell Hawkins,
Dante Higgins,
Malaika Parker,
Melvin Sanders,
Mesha Irizarry,
National Guard tanks,
rebellion,
redevelopment,
San Francisco history,
San Francisco police sharpshooters,
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano,
SF Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff
Since Israeli missile savagery first hit Gaza, everything started to become blurry to me. My vision was totally unclear – all the horrible events went in slow motion as if I was watching a horror movie, but the most realistic one I’ve ever seen.
You’re invited as M1 of dead prez brings his Ghetto to Gaza Speaking Tour to East Oakland 9/24, San Francisco 9/25, West Oakland 9/26, San Jose 9/27, Santa Cruz 9/28 and Sonoma 9/29, comparing his experiences in Gaza, Cairo and Europe with ghetto life in the U.S., benefiting SF Bay View and Block Report Radio. Be there! And check out M1 in his own words.
Tags:
Ayman from the rap group P.R. (Palestinian Rappers),
Cairo,
Charles Barron,
Cynthia McKinney,
Fattah,
Fred Hampton Sr.,
Hamas,
imperialist aggression,
medical supplies,
Mutulu Olugbala,
the bright-futured college students,
The Egyptian government,
the Gaza Strip,
the imposing embargo,
The Israeli government,
the Jewish Rabbis,
the Preachers for Peace,
the Viva Palestina caravan,
Yasser Arafat
The CIA report predicts “an inexorable movement away from a two-state to a one-state solution as the most viable model based on democratic principles of full equality that sheds the looming specter of colonial apartheid while allowing for the return of the 1947-1948 and 1967 refugees. The latter being the precondition for sustainable peace in the region.”
Tags:
Albert Einstein,
Argentina,
Barack Obama,
California,
Harry Truman,
Iran,
Israel,
Jeff Gates,
Jerusalem,
Likud Party,
pro-Israelis,
Russia,
Secretary of State George Marshall,
South Africa,
Tel Aviv,
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
the Gaza Strip,
the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
the Soviet Union,
the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency,
Uganda
Throughout history, students have played a crucial role in furthering social change. During the Vietnam War, there was a nationwide youth rebellion in the U.S. against America’s imperialist war in Southeast Asia and the ensuing atrocities. On university campuses across America, from the University of California, Berkeley, to Columbia University, students organized sit-ins, teach-ins and rallies, printed flyers and occupied campus buildings to protest against the injustices occurring at home and abroad. These protests were not only a sign of moral outrage; they were also strategically designed to end the involvement of American universities in perpetuating the atrocities in Vietnam and other social ills.
Tags:
Adam Hudson,
Columbia University,
Condoleezza Rice,
Donald Rumsfeld,
Pacifica Foundation,
Stanford University,
the Bush administration,
the Hoover Institution,
the Iraq War,
the KPFA Local Station Board election,
the University of California,
the Vietnam War
New Orleans – “A school should not feel like a prison. A school should feel positive, safe and welcoming. A school should feel like a second home. As I walk through the doors of my school, I want to be treated with dignity.” These are the words of Vernard Carter, a rising 10th grade Rethinker at a well-attended press conference held July 23, 2009.
Tags:
Attorney Tracie Washington,
Hurricane Katrina,
New Orleans,
New York City public schools,
Orissa Arend,
the International Institute for Restorative Practices,
The New Orleans public schools,
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU ),
the Public School Facilities Master Plan for the City of New Orleans,
Vernard Carter,
“Safely with Dignity: Alternatives to Over-Policing of Schools”
We are not surprised that Malik Rahim is being hailed as one of the heroes of Hurricane Katrina. In 1997, Malik rediscovered information on our case and made it his mission to bring attention to the plight that Albert, King, myself and so many other Louisiana prisoners have endured in being unfairly convicted and sentenced. The Angola 3 went from obscurity to international recognition thanks to Malik’s efforts.
Tags:
Albert Woodfox,
Angola 3,
Black Panther Party,
CCR (“Closed Cell Restricted”),
Common Ground Collective,
Common Ground Relief,
Emmett Till,
Herman Wallace,
Hurricane Katrina,
life sentence,
life-without-parole sentences,
Loubertha Johnson,
Malik Rahim,
prison industrial complex,
Robert King,
slave syndicate
Ayo the Wordslanger is one of the most intense poets that I have ever met in Oakland. She is not just somebody who can rhyme – she can do that. She is somebody with the life experiences to back up her lyrical passion. She doesn’t do cafe poetry; she does street poetry for the masses. There’s nothing Afro-bourgeois about her lyrical content; it’s straight hood. Check her out in her own words.
Tags:
Afro-bourgeois,
Ayo the Wordslanger,
Black Apes Music production,
drama,
General Rock Thesis,
music,
Oakland,
poetry,
public school,
SoundWaves Studio,
The Lower Bottom Playaz,
the North American Afrikan,
the San Francisco Theater Festival,
the Theater Bay Area Playwrights Festival,
WolfHawkJaguar,
“Mama at Twilight: Death by Love”,
“SorrowLand Rebellion”
Welcome M1 of dead prez to East and West Oakland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Sonoma, San Jose, Santa Cruz – 7 events in 7 cities on 7 days, Sept. 23-29, comparing his experiences in Gaza, Cairo and Europe with ghetto life in the U.S., benefiting SF Bay View and Block Report Radio. Check out new M1 interviews, with Min. of Info JR and KPFA Morning Show.
Tags:
Africa and the World,
Arab,
Arafat,
Black Panther,
Cairo,
capitalism,
Charles Barron,
Chrystania,
Copenhagen,
Cynthia McKinney,
dead prez.com,
Denmark,
depleted uranium,
Europe,
F-16 Expander Missiles,
Fatah,
Finland,
Gaza,
George Galloway,
Gottenberg,
Helsinki,
Henry Kissinger,
human rights,
Immortal Technique,
imperialism,
M1 of dead prez,
Minister of Information JR,
Mutulu Olugbala,
Nancy Mansour,
Nazi,
Palestine,
Rafa,
Rebel Diaz,
Scandinavia,
Shadia Mansour,
Stockholm,
Sweden,
the Aryan Brotherhood,
the genocide,
the government of Hamas,
the West Bank
When Lenwood E. Johnson, the son of Texas sharecroppers, moved into Houston’s Allen Parkway Village project housing, the Freedmen’s Town section of the city had yet to be designated historic and the village had yet to be saved. By the end of the 1990s, the village was preserved and Johnson had proved to be something of an unlikely hero here in Houston’s 4th Ward, historically one of the poorest sections of the city – but always ripe for redevelopment because of its proximity to the downtown.
Tags:
African-American,
coalition building,
education,
Ethiopia,
HACH director Robert Wood,
Houston Mayor Jim McConn’s Urban Policy Board,
Houston’s 4th Ward,
Houston’s Allen Parkway Village project housing,
HUD’s Office of Distressed and Troubled Housing Recovery for the renovation of APV,
Joan Dinkler,
John and Augustus Allen,
legislation,
Lenwood E. Johnson,
litigation,
Mickey Leland,
mpowerment,
National Commission on Infant Mortality,
Peter J. Riga,
public housing,
public housing in Houston,
Texas sharecroppers,
the Civil War,
the Congressional Black Caucus,
the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the homeless issue,
the Housing Authority of the City of Houston (HACH),
The Houston Post,
the National Register of Historic Places,
then-HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros,
U.S. Rep. Martin Frost of Dallas
So Van Jones, activist, joins the Barack Obama administration, as the green energy czar, a field he’s passionate about, to provide jobs in Black communities and conserve natural resources as part of a larger change in America’s addiction to oil. But, almost immediately, Jones comes under attack from forces in America that really don’t want change.
Tags:
clean energy,
Dow Jones,
Harvard,
jobs,
Lani Guinier,
Martin Luther King Jr.,
Mumia Abu Jamal,
police violence,
the Barack Obama administration,
the Clinton administrations Justice Department,
the environment,
Van Jones,
Wall Street,
Yale,
“communist”,
“Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. the U.S.A.”,
“racist”
This beautiful event is celebrated all over the world, but from my experience, can’t nobody do it like the Chi (Chicago). Due to the national nature of the SF Bay View, it is important for us to cover events and campaigns from around the world that can lend a hand to our education and understanding of the war that has been and is being waged against us.
Tags:
Chairman Fred Hampton Way,
Chicago,
Chicago member of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee,
Defense Captain Mark Clark,
Dr. Margaret Burroughs,
Fred Hampton,
Kazi,
Kazi The Blak,
King of Chicago,
NewSense,
O.G.,
Phenom,
POCC Minister of Information JR,
Poetree Chicago,
PsychoDrama,
Rhythm,
SF Bay View,
Skoochie,
The Chairman Fred Hampton Street Party,
the Chicago Police Department,
the December 4th Committee,
The Dusable Museum of African American History,
the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party,
VonJovie
English