The Youth Make the Revolution

Children come through the doors ready to eat, learn and play. They know that when they come in, their breakfast is being prepared, because the Black Panther Party knows the importance of having breakfast in the morning. It wakes them up and gives them strength to exert their energy.

Being an assistant teacher, I have an opportunity to be amongst the children and start a conversation, and stimulate their minds to seeing clearly the state of repression that we are living in. What is so fascinating for the teachers and parents is to see how quickly their minds work, and are able to elaborate and go into detail. We know that our children are brilliant, all you have to do is show them and guide them in the right direction. Most of the children raise their hands without even being asked, to speak of the ten-point platform and program, what is happening in their community, pigs, and Panthers. They are given posters and can tell you all of the names, such as: Huey, Bobby, Eldridge, and others. And when you speak of Eldridge they say, “He’s free, he’s eating watermelon and the pigs can’t touch him.”

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Irreplaceable You

Anthony Morgan

I want you to know now more than ever before how much you mean to the movement.

This is more of a love note of sorts, rather than essay or scholastic piece of writing. I want this letter to be direct and purposeful in its intent to unveil gratitude and appreciation for the collective works, ideals, and actions from the front line to the back burner—none of it goes unnoticed. The mission to be vessels that counterpunch injustice is risky and tireless at best, and is seldom rewarded or embellished. I am reminded daily of the courageous and zealous acts of the “opposers of oppression” who continuously mount deliberate levels and layers of resistance for the people within the movement. To be aware is to be in a fragile and restless position—one that demands constant reconnection, forthright action, and sensitivity to the plight that befalls those who care enough to pursue credible and tangible change.

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Death by Gentrification: The Killing That Shamed San Francisco

Rebecca Solnit

On March 4, on what would have been his 30th birthday, Alejandro Nieto’s parents left a packed courtroom in San Francisco, shortly before pictures from their son’s autopsy were shown to a jury. The photographs showed what happens when 14 bullets rip through a person’s head and body. Refugio and Elvira Nieto spent much of the rest of the day sitting on a bench in the windowless hall of the federal building where their civil lawsuit for their son’s wrongful death was being heard.

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Another Murder in Berrien County by Sheriff Paul Bailey

Rev. Pinkney

Marquette Branch Prison / March 2016

One of the most outrageous and not well published lynchings in Berrien County has taken place. I cannot believe for one moment that Martell Hadley committed suicide. I cannot and will not believe anything that Sheriff Paul Bailey of Berrien County says.

I believe this cold-blooded, calculated slaughter was carried out by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department. This pattern continues, like never before, as Berrien County Sheriffs and vigilantes routinely gun down, lynch, and brutally beat blacks with impunity with freedom from punishment. No one has been held accountable for their action and inaction.

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Reclaiming the Commons

The 5th Annual EcoJustice and Activism Conference—Reclaiming the Commons: Diverse Ways of Being and Knowing—kicks off the evening of Thursday, March 17 with a talk by Peter Linebaugh entitled “The World Turned Upside Down.” Be sure to check out the complete program of talks, panels, and workshops.

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