Social Justice Magazine
The American South can't seem to shake off the Civil War. Or Jim Crow. And yet, that region of the U.S. is undergoing some dramatic changes. How the South responds to these changes will determine how easily it will enter the modern world and usher out the racial demons of its past.Latinos are on the rise in the new South, with the nation's fastest growing Hispanic populations in the states of … [Read more...]
Donald Trump has forsaken his Republican Party affiliation, and Obama supporters should be thrilled. Trump -- the real estate mogul and self-proclaimed billionaire, reality show king, birther and now perennial political interloper -- has decided to switch his New York state voter affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated in order to leave his options open for a 2012 presidential run.The … [Read more...]
Looking at the police response to the Occupy Wall Street movement, Bull Connor would be proud.What went barely reported recently was that the United Nations has taken an interest in how the United States has dealt with the Occupy folks. Specifically, Frank LaRue, the UN special rapporteur for the protection of free expression, believes that the law enforcement crackdowns against Occupy … [Read more...]
Recently I attended the 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty in Austin, Texas. Participants included death penalty abolitionists, and members of Witness to Innocence -- over two dozen freed death row prisoners who spent years in prison, and once faced certain execution for crimes they did not commit. The day's events included a walk past the governor's mansion, and a rally on the … [Read more...]
Alright, it is clear that conservatives don’t like the Occupy Wall Street movement.Rep. Eric Cantor (R, Virginia) characterized the protestors as a mob. One Fox News host even called the protestors dirty and useless. Glenn Beck said they are only interested in destruction, while his compatriot Ann Coulter compared them to Nazis and the beginnings of totalitarianism.And presidential … [Read more...]
The execution of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia has outraged many, placing the gruesome and barbaric practice of capital punishment under the microscope.A black man who at the least was apparently innocent - and at most definitely innocent - was executed despite serious questions about his case. Most of all, there was ample evidence that Davis was not the man who killed Mark MacPhail, a … [Read more...]
Recently, the jobs crisis in America prompted New York mayor Michael Bloomberg to predict that riots will come if jobs are not created soon.“We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here.”“The damage to a generation that … [Read more...]
In the midst of a great deal of prognostication and punditry out there in the media, the blogosphere, and America's political chatterati, President Obama delivered his address on jobs before a joint session of Congress on Thursday evening.Without question, of the broad cross section of Americans who are hurting in this crippled, hobbled economy, no group was more interested in what the … [Read more...]
When the housing bubble burst, the resulting foreclosure crisis was a disaster for black and Latino families, who lost 53 percent and 66 percent of their median household wealth, respectively, between 2005 and 2009. As a result, the racial wealth gap is widening, with white households enjoying 18 times as much wealth as their Latino counterparts, and 20 times more than African-American … [Read more...]
Crown Heights riots 20 years later: A referendum on race August 19 marks the twentieth anniversary of the infamous Crown Heights riots. In 1991, the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood was rocked by three days of unrest and racial discord that became a flashpoint in black-Jewish relations and altered New York City's political landscape.For those who are in need of a recap, this is what happened: … [Read more...]
This is one of those stories that shows how far some people will go in America to make a buck - even if it means profiting at the expense of children, or exploiting the legacy of the civil rights movement.Stand for Children is an unassuming name for an organization. Just taken at face value, one would conclude that the Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit aspires to accomplish what the title … [Read more...]
The only thing more remarkable than the news of the Rupert Murdoch hacking-bribery scandal itself is the rate of its unraveling - and Murdoch’s unraveling. For this international kingmaker and media mogul - who built an empire on yellow journalism and destroying the lives of others - it seems rather fitting that his fall from grace would take place under such sensationalism and … [Read more...]
At first glance, Martin Luther King and China don’t appear to belong together in the same sentence. For myself - as a student of Asia, civil rights and international human rights - the combination makes perfect sense. And if you look more closely, it should become obvious to you as well.As America awaits the August 28 opening of the King National Memorial in Washington, D.C., this is a … [Read more...]
PCL offers monthly Open House Events on the 2nd Saturday at 2pm and 3rd Thursday at 6pm. Click here to learn more.
Loading ...
Recent Comments