Feature Archives

On November 5th, Adisa Banjoko of the Hip Hop Chess Federation hosted a panel at O'Connell High School in San Francisco's Mission District that included Immortal Technique, Cesar A. Cruz and the Watsonville Brown Berets. The panel addressed issues on US imperialism, police abuse and murder, black & brown youth repression, indigenous resistance and hood liberation.

On November 8th, the SF Bay Area Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal organized an event in San Francisco focused on three innocent men, Troy Davis, Kevin Cooper, and Mumia Abu-Jamal, who may soon be executed depending on upcoming court rulings. Laura Moye, the Director of Amnesty International's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign spoke about Troy Davis, and Moye will also be speaking on behalf of Amnesty International at a press conference in Washington DC on November 12th.

A memorial mural of Gary King Jr was painted on a support column underneath the BART tracks on Martin Luther King Boulevard after Oakland police officer Patrick Gonzales shot and killed Gary King Jr at the spot in 2007. On September 24th, 2009, the mural was removed by BART employees. The new mural also includes images of Anita Gay, Andrew Moppin, Casper Banjo, and Oscar Grant — all murdered by police in Oakland and Berkeley.

Rainbow Theatre, the only multicultural theatre arts troupe in the UC system, will be kicking off their 16th season on November 5th and continuing through November 15th. In the tradition of Teatro Campesino, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, and Theatre of the Opressed, Rainbow strives to bring the untold stories of people of color to light.

On November 1st, the 16th annual Peace & Unity March took place in Watsonville with over 100 people in attendance, including many families of victims who have died from violence.

Raj Jayadev writes: "On Oct. 24, the San Jose Mercury News released the video of a San Jose State math major getting beaten and tased by the San Jose Police Department in his home on Sept. 3, 2009. Police were called to the scene after 20-year-old Phuong Ho allegedly wielded a knife during an altercation with his roommate. All the viewer can hear, in between groaning cries of pain and calls for mercy, are the cracking sounds of the batons as they meet 20-year-old Phuong Ho’s head and body, and the torturous zapping of a Taser gun. It is, in a word, disturbing."

On October 19th, in a federal court house in Los Angeles, Alex Sanchez was once again denied bail. Sanchez, a nationally recognized activist and peacemaker, is accused of maintaining ties to his former gang and participating in a conspiracy to murder. Bail was denied after Judge Real suppressed testimony from father Greg Boyle, an expert in Los Angeles gangs.