No Picture

Housing Watchdogs Call Post-Katrina Ordinance ‘Racist’

Source: NewStandardNews

Outraged by a controversial local ordinance, civil-rights activists say that although Hurricane Katrina wiped out just about everything in Louisiana’s St. Bernard Parish, a legacy of segregation clings stubbornly to the community’s racial landscape.

In a 5-2 vote last month, the St. Bernard Parish Council passed an ordinance that would restrict owners of single-family residences from entering into rental arrangements with anyone except "blood relatives." Renting such dwellings to anyone else would require special approval by the Council. Owners and occupants who violate the ordinance would be subject to fines and civil penalties. read more

No Picture

Taking Notes in Oaxaca, Mexico

"What we manage to do each time we win a victory is not so much to secure chance once and for all, but rather to create new terrains for struggle." -Angela Davis, from Abolition Democracy

Oaxaca is wide awake. While many of us seem to be in a deeply unconscious state, oblivious to the world’s realities of violence, exploitation and oppression, the people of Oaxaca are rising up. Tired of their historical suffering under policies of domination, the people have organized a liberation movement that is opening eyes around the world. The movement in Oaxaca is a current, inspiring demonstration of popular power, and although every people’s struggle must create its own path, Oaxaqueños are offering us valuable lessons about organization, solidarity, and resistance. read more

At work in the radio

From a Jail to a Community Radio Station: Revolution in Venezuela Made Tangible

The neighborhood of El 23 de Enero is like many improvised neighborhoods in Caracas clinging to the hillsides of the city; multi-colored apartments made of brick and cement were stacked on top of each other forming labyrinth-like alleyways and streets. One of many barrios in Caracas, the community was self-assembled by immigrants from the countryside, most of whom began by squatting land on the hills outside the center of the city, and assembling houses next to and on top of each other.