Feature Archives

Bicicleta Bandito writes, "Felipe explains that the police had initially pulled him over for riding his bike incorrectly but then started asking him where he's going (home), where he's coming from (soccer practice), if he's in a gang (no), and then take his picture. He points out that his street is the next block over and that it makes little sense to cross 30-40 feet of pavement just to cross back in a couple of seconds. He also points out that he's seen little girls riding their bikes the way he has and asks me if I think the police would have pulled them over."

As the longest running festival of its kind, the UCSC Women of Color Film and Video Festival has sparked dialogue across communities – locally, nationally, and trans-nationally – by providing a platform for critical explorations at the intersections of race, nation, class, gender, ethnicity, and sexuality. The festival took place March 14th and 15th at UC Santa Cruz along with spoken word and hip-hop on Friday night at the Hide Gallery in Santa Cruz.

On Tuesday, February 19th, in a ruling unrelated to the pending US Third Circuit Court decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected death row journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal’s appeal of a 2005 ruling by Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe, which denied Abu-Jamal’s Post Conviction Relief Act (PCRA) petition, on grounds that it was not "timely." Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted—many believe falsely—of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, and his trial was riddled with improprieties.

On Wednesday, February 20th, students at D-Q University, which is California's only tribal college, reported that Yolo County deputies had begun arresting them for allegedly "trespassing" on campus. As many as four students were taken to the Yolo County Jail, and it is believed that more arrests are likely. Students are calling for support from the community, and are asking for people to come out and witness the deputies' actions. D-Q University is located at 33250 Road 31 in Davis.

On February 11th, more than two hundred participants of the Longest Walk 2 embarked on a five-month journey on foot from San Francisco. They plan on arriving in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008. Native American tribal leaders, religious groups, environmentalists, teachers, students, and people from throughout the world are joining the walk with its "peaceful and spiritual call to action to protect Mother Earth and defend human rights."

Native Americans have been in the United States from the beginning, yet according to health and employment statistics, they, like other people of color, still have not achieved equality. For example, between 1998 and 2000 Native American infants in the United States were 1.7 times more likely to die than white infants in their first year of life.

On January 10th, Boatamo Mosupyoe, Professor of African Studies at CSU Sacramento, spoke at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Cruz. Dr. Mosupyoe is an expert on mediation and interest-based negotiation, conflict resolution and civil society’s role in mitigating and resolving conflicts. Mosupyoe addressed Africa’s unique contribution to the growing appreciation of mediation and conflict resolution methodologies and ethics in addressing regional and world problems.