Racial Justice in the Criminal Justice System

Black Man

In an article published in the Chicago Reader last summer, Mick Dumke and Ben Joravsky asserted, “People all over Chicago smoke pot—but almost everyone busted for it is black”. It was a great line that definitely caught my attention.The appeal of this article crossed racial and ethnic boundaries. Judging by the comments it generated, many readers were surprised that what seemed to be an … [Read more...]

What Good Is Black History Month?

obama tuskegee airmen

I was going to let Black History Month pass without contributing an article this year. Nothing worth writing came to mind, but then I got a call from Sandra Moura, the LGBT Liaison for the Los Angeles Police Department.Officer Moura was sending a press release for the LAPD's upcoming Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) Community Police Academy that starts this April. She wanted to … [Read more...]

The Movie, “The Help”

the help cast

The movie, The Help, has received accolades from across the Hollywood spectrum. Heralded as the most popular film of 2011, it's been recognized by the NAACP Image Awards, The Golden Globe, The Hollywood Film Festival, The Screen Actors Guild,  The People's Choice, and the Academy Awards - with millions scheduled to tune in this weekend to see if it picks up any Oscars.But before all of those … [Read more...]

Kamala Harris: Foreclosure Settlement Scores Points, Raises Questions

kamala harris

On Friday, a day after announcing one of the largest settlements in California's history, Kamala Harris spoke to the California Democratic Party's African American Caucus, which was meeting in San Diego at the Party's convention.Greeted with a standing ovation, the first black attorney general and a rising star in California politics restated many of the details she covered in her earlier … [Read more...]

California Attorney General Kamala Harris Agrees to Monumental Settlement

Kamala Harris

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced a tremendous victory for the state of California in the national mortgage settlement deal. Her complete statement can be seen and heard in the video below. Harris, who became California's first female Attorney General in 2010, has been reported to be one of the key reasons the bank negotiations were settled as favorably as they were. The … [Read more...]

Cenk Uygur: Can Progressives Reclaim the Democratic Party?

Cenk Uygur 400x434

Cenk Uygur, host and co-founder of The Young Turks, will address the California Democratic Party's Progressive Caucus at its upcoming state convention in San Diego this Saturday, February 11th. The topic: Can Progressives Reclaim the Democratic Party?The Progressive Caucus, which had its certification tabled by the CDP for several months during 2011, was the only caucus of 19 not to be … [Read more...]

California AG Kamala Harris Standing Firm Against Foreclosure Settlement

kamala harris

On October 1, 2011, the Wall Street Journal reported, "California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris pulled out of settlement negotiations with the nation's biggest banks over alleged foreclosure abuses, calling the proposed deal 'inadequate for California homeowners.'" This came after months of talks.Then last week, the banks sweetened the deal for California but. A.G. Harris took a stand no … [Read more...]

Activist Kwazi Nkrumah Arrested at Long Beach Port (updated)

kwazi nkruman

Occupy Activist ArrestedThis morning, one of our readers contacted the LA Progressive to report that long-time activist, Kwazi Nkrumah, had been arrested in Long Beach where the Occupy Movement was gathering as part of “Occupy the Ports”, a coordinated West Coast port shutdown.I met Kwazi several years ago in law school and have grown to respect and admire him for his unyielding … [Read more...]

Bishop Eddie Long Takes a Sabbatical

bishop-eddie-long-wide

Bishop Eddie Long has announced that he will be taking a sabbatical. This announcement, reported in the Associated Press, comes days after his wife Vanessa announced that she had filed for divorce -- only to retract that announcement within hours of making it.This strange sequence of events comes just a year after the sex scandal that put Long in the headlines. Bishop Eddie Long had been the … [Read more...]

The US Human Rights Network Conference

national human rights conference

Did you know that the Guinness Book of Records describes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the most translated document in the world? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration that was adopted by the United States and scores of other countries, including the United Kingdom, France, China, Afghanistan, Denmark, Liberia, New Zealand, Canada, Haiti and others shortly after … [Read more...]

Wife of Bishop Eddie Long Does Not File for Divorce

Bishop Eddie Long and Vanessa Long

Bishop Eddie Long -- described as “one of the most virulently homophobic black leaders in the religiously based anti-gay movement” -- has gone through a year of scandal, starting with allegations of sexual relations with several members of his ministry for teen boys. (Specifically, it was alleged that Long had sex with four boys in his congregation.) After the allegations were made public, … [Read more...]

The Federal Reserve Bank – National Day of Protest

Occupy LA Mural

Of the Federal Reserve Bank, Wikipedia says,The twelve Federal Reserve Banks form a major part of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. The twelve federal reserve banks together divide the nation into twelve Federal Reserve Districts, the twelve banking districts created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913.[1] The twelve Federal Reserve Banks are jointly … [Read more...]

Professionals Moving to Organized Labor

afl-cio

Although labor union membership has declined significantly in the United States over the last 50 years, there is a segment of the labor market that is showing remarkable signs of increased union activity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, professionals and white-collar workers are joining labor unions in record numbers. According to independent labor writer, Cynthia Green,  white collar workers … [Read more...]

Occupy Wall Street Shut Down

police brutality

In a surprise sweep in New York City, while many of the Occupiers were asleep, the New York City Police Department entered the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti aka Liberty Park and cleared it out. In videos and still shots that are circulating online, NYPD can be seen using pepper spray and teargas to force the Occupiers to evacuate the public space. … [Read more...]

Los Angeles Occupy Encampment Still Stands

pdsmm-ron-kovic-wide

Occupy Wall Street was shut down last night and Occupy encampments across the country have had bad encounters with police. Hundreds of arrests have been made. Occupiers have been injured and this week, in addition to the shut down of the encampment at Zuccotti Park and Oakland, other Occupy encampments are being cleared out across the country. But so far, Occupy LA appears to be firmly established … [Read more...]