(2019-07-01). In San José, Japanese Americans Protest Plan to Jail Migrant Kids. indybay.org Members of the Japanese American community and allies gathered near the steps of the historic Issei Memorial Building in San José's Japantown on June 27 to say, "Never again is now." | In related video (see link), a protest in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma is interrupted by military police on June 24. The Oklahoma location once held Japanese Americans during WWII without due process and before that it imprisoned Native Americans. Protests in San José and Ft. Sill were demonstrations against the Trump administration plan to reopen Ft. Sill to imprison the children of asylum seekers. | Please credit the photographer: Wes Chan…
(2019-07-01). SF PRIDE 2019 "One Job Is Enough!" Unite Here Local 2 & Free Chelsea & Assange. indybay.org At San Francisco PRIDE march and rally on June 30, 2019, Unite Here Local 2 workers and leaders talked about why they support PRIDE and also supporters of Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange marched and talked about the jailin of Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange.
(2019-07-01). Facebook to Censor Ads that Discourage People from Voting. telesurenglish.net The social media giant Facebook Inc. will ban ads that discourage people from voting ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, according to its second annual Civil Rights Audit published on Sunday. | RELATED: | Facebook Says 'No Evidence' Russia Meddled With Brexit Vote | According to Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's recent blog post, Facebook will put its "don't vote" policy prohibition into effect in the fall, before the U.S. elections that are set to take place on No…
(2019-07-01). Trump renews threat of mass immigrant raids "sometime after July Fourth" wsws.org The passage of a bill funding immigration detention centers last week, with the support of the Democratic Party, makes the Democrats full partners in the savage repression of immigrants.
(2019-07-01). Stop ICE Raids! Stop Detentions! indybay.org San Francisco Federal Building | 7th Street at Mission | San Francisco (near Civic Center BART station)…
(2019-07-01). #CloseTheCamps: National Protests Against Inhumane Detention of Children & Families. indybay.org Protests around San Francisco Bay Area, throughout California, and nationwide | Find an event in your area (keep checking back as new events are being added): act.moveon.org/event/close-camps-now_attend/search/…
(2019-06-30). "The Damned Don't Cry: Pages from the Life of a Black Prisoner and Organizer" fightbacknews.org Chicago, IL – I've been waiting for this book. I first read an earlier draft of Frank Chapman's memoirs in 2014. I thought then and now that this needed to get published, first and foremost, because the revolutionary movement needs it. As a result of the prison abolition movement, there is a broad awareness of the injustice of mass incarceration, but this book sees the revolutionary side of the misery. | There's a specific section of society which needs this book: those in prison. Chapman relates how becoming a communist led him not into his frustration, but out of it. The book belongs in the genre with the Autob…
(2019-06-30). Civil Rights Group Denounces New Racist Voter Suppression Law Signed By Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. blackstarnews.com 
Civil Rights lawyer Kristen Clarke says Florida Governor DeSantis' signing of SB7066 will deny voting opportunities to over 1 million Blacks and Latinos… | The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued a statement after Governor DeSantis Friday signed SB 7066 into law on Friday–which undermines Amendment 4 to the Florida Constitution. | Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement: | "Florida joins a host of states actively working to suppress the rights of voters on the eve of the 2020 election cycle. This…
(2019-06-30). You can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com you can't choose two out of three. dissidentvoice.org 
The central argument of Amusing Ourselves [Neil Postman] is simple: there were two landmark dystopian novels written by brilliant British cultural critics — Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell — and we Americans had mistakenly feared and obsessed over the vision portrayed in the latter book (an information-censoring, movement-restricting, individuality-emaciating state) rather than the …
(2019-06-30). Eddie Africa, MOVE 9 member, released after 40 years. workers.org 
MOVE 9 member Edward (Goodman) Africa was released on parole June 21, following prior releases of Debbie, Michael, Janet and Janine Africa. MOVE 9 members Merle and Phil died in prison. From far left: Fred Riley; Carlos Africa; Eddie Africa; his son, Little Eddie; daughter-in-law Sukona; and Raymond Africa Jr. . . . | Continue reading Eddie Africa, MOVE 9 member, released after 40 years at Workers.org
(2019-06-30). Abolishing Child Migrant Jails Is the Least We Can Do. truthdig.com 
Debating the fate of jailed migrant children is important, but the life-and-death crisis that they have been thrown into demands immediate action.
(2019-06-30). 'Saving Lives Is Not a Crime': Captain of Refugee Rescue Ship Arrested in Italy, Faces Up to 10 Years in Prison. commondreams.org "This is clearly one of those examples when legality is a matter of power, and not a matter of justice. She should've been welcomed with honors." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/carola_rackete.png…
(2019-06-29). Tiffany Cabán's Candidacy For District Attorney Threatens To Upset Queens Mass Incarceration Exploitation Machine. blackstarnews.com 
Cabán's campaign has some Whites worried about the dismantling of Queens incarceration machine… | Tiffany Cabán's grassroots campaign in the Democratic primary race for Queens District Attorney has her poised to deliver a staggering blow to the borough's racist mass incarceration criminalization machine. | If Cabán can maintain her lead, with some 3,000 votes still to be counted, it could greatly benefit the Black and Latino communities in Queens. Councilman Rory Lancman, told the Black Star News, before he dropped out of the Queens District Attorney race, that "Queens sends more people to Rikers Island for mi…
(2019-06-29). Tech privacy pioneer Ola Bini released after 70 days of extrajudicial detention in Ecuador. mronline.org 
After 70 days in preventive detention without formal charges, Ola Bini's request for habeas corpus was granted, and shortly after, he was released from prison. | Source
(2019-06-29). Stonewall Proved That Resistance Is Always Possible. thenation.com Stonewall Proved That Resistance Is Always Possible…
(2019-06-29). Smart Ass Cripple: Happy Birthday Olmstead. progressive.org Twenty years ago, a civil rights victory helped disabled people escape institutional life.
(2019-06-29). Nationwide 'Close the Camps' Demonstrations Announced to Protest Horrific Conditions at Trump Detention Centers. commondreams.org "We need to fight for immigrant families and stop Donald Trump's racist policies, and we can only do it together." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/close_trump_camps.jpg…
(2019-06-29). Nationwide Demonstrations Announced to Protest Immigrant Detention Centers. truthout.org As appalling details of the conditions at immigrant detention centers in the U.S. continue to pour in—with one doctor recently comparing them to " torture facilities"—a coalition of rights groups on Friday announced nationwide "Close the Camps" demonstrations for next week to protest the Trump administration's treatment of migrant children. | "We've seen the images and heard the stories coming out of child detention centers," said MoveOn.org, one of the groups help…
(2019-06-29). Video of Obama-appointed lawyer defending the denial of child detainees soap, toothpaste sparks outrage. wsws.org Justice Department attorney Sarah Fabian argued that it is legal to deny immigrant children in detention soap, toothpaste, blankets, and a place to sleep for days or weeks on end.
(2019-06-29). History Has Taught Us That Concentration Camps Should Be Liberated. We Can't Wait Until 2020. theintercept.com 
Few of us have fully considered what we would do if concentration camps were built and operated in our nation, by our government, on our watch, on our dime.
(2019-06-29). My friend is in a prison in Ecuador. mronline.org 
Two months ago, the police in Ecuador arrested my friend Ola Bini at Quito airport. Ola was on his way to Japan for a two-week martial arts course. He's a software developer from Sweden who has lived in Ecuador since 2013. Ola is not merely a software developer — to be honest. He is also […] | Source
(2019-06-29). History Has Taught Us That Concentration Camps Should Be Liberated. We Can't Wait Until 2020. commondreams.org The scene outside the U.S. Border Patrol station where lawyers reported that detained migrant children had been held under bad conditions in Clint, Texas, on June 26, 2019. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/immigrant_detention_center.png…
(2019-06-29). If Elected in 2020, Bernie Sanders Vows First Executive Orders Will 'Reverse Every Single Thing President Trump Has Done to Demonize and Harm Immigrants'. commondreams.org "This is a disgrace," Sanders said in response to a new report on widespread hunger at child detention facilities | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/bernie_sanders_0.png…
(2019-06-28). SPLC: Sentencing of James Alex Fields Jr., who killed Heather Heyer at 'Unite the Right,' will not heal victims or their families. splcenter.org James Alex Fields Jr., who was sentenced to life in prison today for murdering a woman who was protesting a white supremacist rally two years ago, is a remorseless killer and a domestic terrorist.
(2019-06-28). Alabama woman charged with murder of her unborn baby as woman who shot her walks free. rt.com 
An Alabama woman has been indicted for manslaughter after another woman shot her in the stomach, killing her unborn child. The shooter was not charged, but her victim was blamed for inciting the fight and faces 20 years in prison.
(2019-06-28). Sri Lanka Hires Executioners as Death Penalty Gets Green Light. telesurenglish.net One day after reinstating the death penalty in Sri Lanka, two executions have been hired, prison authorities confirmed Friday. | RELATED: | Sri Lanka: Curfew Imposed Post-Sinhala Muslim Clashes | The pair were chosen from 100 applicants, aged between 18 and 45 years, who eagerly awaited the execution of four prisoners convicted for drug offences. | "The recruitm…
(2019-06-28). Working in Prison, I Witnessed the Inhumane Conditions of Solitary for Incarcerated Women. aclu.org Solitary confinement can amount to torture. One practitioner witnessed this first hand, and shares her story and her journey to action. | At the first checkpoint at Tennessee Prison for Women, there was a large, scrolling television screen behind the desk displaying the image of two pairs of hands — one pair with a key and one pair in handcuffs. The message read, "You can either be one of us or one of them." I had been working in the facility for less than a year, but this message exemplified an uneasiness I had long felt without articulating: The prison's faàßade of "rehabilitation" masked a system s…
(2019-06-28). Charlottesville Federal Court Sentences James Alex Fields to Life in Prison for 'Unite the Right' Killing. splcenter.org A neo-Nazi sympathizer from Ohio received two consecutive and 27 concurrent life sentences in federal prison for killing a counterprotester and injuring others in the aftermath of 2017's racist "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
(2019-06-28). Georgia Tried to Ban Abortion, So We Sued. aclu.org Abortion bans place people in danger, and Georgia's is no exception. | Alabama. Arkansas. Kentucky. Ohio. And today, Georgia. That's the list of states where the ACLU has had to go to court over the last few months to challenge laws banning abortion. | The Georgia law bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy and is in clear violation of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade. In fact, that is the whole point of the law. Georgia politicians, including Governor Brian Kemp, emboldened by President Trump's appointment of two new justices to the Supreme Court, think this is their chance to get the court to take aw…
(2019-06-28). Florida Governor Introduces a Poll Tax, Curtailing Amendment 4. aclu.org The law forces returning citizens with criminal records to pay for the right to vote. | On November 6, 2018, nearly 65 percent of Florida voters—more than 5 million people—resoundingly approved Amendment 4, restoring voting rights to over a million of their fellow citizens. By passing Amendment 4, Floridians successfully ushered in the largest expansion of the electorate in nearly 50 years. The people of Florida did it on their own, using a constitutional ballot initiative, to finally achieve change where Florida politicians had failed. | Instead of celebrating this progress, Florida politicians are t…
(2019-06-28). We are Fighting for Immigrants' Rights. Here's What You Can Do. aclu.org We know that a better future is possible, and we at the ACLU, along with our supporters and allies, are daring to create it. | The images of Oscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his daughter Valeria, who lost their lives trying to seek refuge in the United States, have left us haunted. They serve as an ever-important reminder of the urgency of the fight for immigrant justice on our southern border and the need to stand up to the Trump administration's policies denying humanitarian protection and basic due process to families fleeing for their lives. | We remain at the frontlines of the family separation fight…
(2019-06-28). 'Beyond Spin Control': Anti-Busing Past Not Going Away as Biden and Staff Dig Themselves Deeper. commondreams.org "Joe Biden's campaign going all in on states rights in the civil rights debate. Just rejecting the entire premise of the civil rights movement!" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/biden_again.jpg…
(2019-06-28). Harry Hay: Communist pioneer in the fight for gay liberation. peoplesworld.org 
Beginning with the "ghetto riot" at the Stonewall Bar in Greenwich Village in 1969, an open gay liberation movement came into existence which has been a significant force in the larger peoples' movements for almost a half-century. While most people identify gay liberation with the "New Left" of the 1960s, it, like the civil rights, …
(2019-06-28). Mexico: 143 Honduran Migrants Rescued from Abandoned Trailer. telesurenglish.net Over one hundred Honduran migrants were rescued by members of the Mexican Federal Police and the Secretariat of National Defense after being locked and abandoned in a trailer along a highway in the state of Veracruz. | RELATED: | Haitian Begs for Aid for Dying Son in Mexican Dentention Center | "Members of the Secretariat of National Defense and Federal Police managed to rescue dozens of people without documentation who were locked in the box of an abandoned trailer," the gove…
(2019-06-28). Josh Gottheimer Warned Democratic Leaders He Had Votes to Block Bill Mandating Better Conditions for Children in Detention. theintercept.com The bill passed by Congress "does nothing to hold a rogue agency accountable for its cruelty," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal.
(2019-06-28). Now We Know. counterpunch.org 
Perhaps you can commiserate. For the past few weeks I've felt an aching in my chest; an angst I cannot escape. The darkening skies of an ever besieged biosphere aside, the specter of rising fascism undoubtedly looms large now, and war, a global war, now seems inevitable. It's true that the saber rattling has been More
(2019-06-27). Progressive Leads Queens DA Race, Shocking the Establishment. therealnews.com 
31-year-old Public Defender Tiffany Caban ran an AOC-style grassroots campaign calling for an end to mass incarceration and radical reform to the prosecutor's office…
(2019-06-27). Statements by Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP, on Supreme Court's Democracy Rulings. naacp.org 
Statement on Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek: "The Court's rulings today upend our democratic principles by allowing party politics to determine the outcomes of our elections. Extreme partisan gerrymandering has infected our electoral process for far too long. Exercise of the franchise, which many fought and even died for, must not be …
(2019-06-27). Headlines for June 27, 2019. democracynow.org 2020 Democratic Primary Debate Kicks Off with Focus on Immigration, Healthcare, Senate Passes Border Aid Package After Rejecting House Version, Bank of America Ends Relationship with Migrant Prison Companies, Asylum Officers Say Trump's "Remain in Mexico" Policy Threatens Migrants' Lives, Family of Black Man Shot by Indiana Cop Sues Officer, City of South Bend, Twin Suicide Bombs Rock Tunis, Trump, World Leaders in Osaka for G20, Court Rules France Failed to Properly Address Air Pollution, U.N. Expert Warns of Impending "Climate Apartheid", NYC Votes to Declare a "Climate Emergency", Dems Vote to Subpoena Kellyan…
(2019-06-27). What the Concentration Camps of Bosnia Can Teach Us About the Abuse of Immigrants on the U.S. Border. theintercept.com 
I never thought the pattern of abuse and deceit that I saw at Serb-run prison camps in the 1990s would be relevant to America — but it is.
(2019-06-27). Supreme Court Finds that Wilbur Ross Lied To Put Citizenship Question on the 2020 Census. aclu.org The ruling affirms that the Trump administration cannot offer pretextual reasons to cover up its anti-immigrant attacks. | This morning, the Supreme Court told the country what we and our clients have long known: that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross provided a false reason for his decision to add a citizenship question to the Decennial Census. The court explained that the Trump administration's stated reason for adding a citizenship question—enf…
(2019-06-27). The truth about reparations: They're a condemnation of U.S. capitalism. peoplesworld.org 
"Enslavement was about the devil's work of predatory capitalism." — economist Julianne Malveaux For the first time in over a decade, on June 19, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held its first congressional hearing on reparations. Though it's a discussion that's taken many forms over the years, the …
(2019-06-27). After Rio Grande tragedy, UNICEF chief highlights 'dire' detention centres on US-Mexico border. un.org The shocking image of a drowned Central American migrant and his infant daughter on the banks of the river dividing Mexico and the United States, continues to evoke strong reactions, the latest from the head of the UN Children's Fund.
(2019-06-27). In First Debate, Julián Castro Challenges Democrats to End the Criminalization of Immigration. democracynow.org 
The Democrats' first debate was held in Miami, Florida. The venue was less than an hour away from Homestead, Florida, where more than 2,000 unaccompanied minors are incarcerated in a for-profit detention center run by Caliburn. Trump's former Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly sits on its board. Prior to the debate, Senators Warren and Klobuchar visited the facility. During the debate, Julián Castro, the former secretary of housing and urban development, criticized the immigration policies of fellow Texan, former Congressmember Beto O'Rourke. We air part of the debate and speak to Ana María Archila of the Center for…
(2019-06-27). What Should We Do About Concentration Camps in Trump's America? progressive.org Portland, Maine is welcoming a wave of migrants with kindness as the administration comes under fire for its cruelty at immigrant detention centers.
(2019-06-26). Egyptian Officials Threatened Morsi Days Before Death in Court. theantimedia.com (MEE) — Mohamed Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders in prison in Egypt were given an ultimatum by top officials to disband the organisation or face the consequences, Middle East Eye has learned. They had until the end of Ramadan to decide. Morsi refused and within days he was dead. Brotherhood members inside and outside Egypt now fear for the lives …
(2019-06-26). Vile act of torture prohibited 'under all circumstances', UN chief affirms on International Day to support victims. un.org While the prohibition of torture is "absolute, under all circumstances", UN Secretary-General António Guterres bemoaned the fact that "this core principle is undermined every day" – in detention centres, prisons, police stations, psychiatric institutions and other places where captor can prey on captive.
(2019-06-26). I've Lived on the Border My Entire Life. The Courts Must Shut Down Trump's Border Wall. aclu.org Communities, public lands and property are threatened by the president's abuse of emergency powers. | The ecological destruction of Arizona, New Mexico, and California hangs in the balance as courts decide whether to block President Trump's abuse of emergency powers to secure funds for a border wall Congress denied. | On Feb. 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency so that he could raid the military budget for billions of dollars for border wall construction. The declaration came after the president put the country through the longest government shutdown in U.S. history over Congress's refusal to…
(2019-06-26). Equity Must Be at the Heart of Marijuana Legalization. aclu.org With an equity-centered bill, Illinois just became the 11th state to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. | Illinois just passed what may be the most progressive marijuana legalization bill in America. Gov. Pritzker didn't surprise anyone by signing the bill yesterday ( he campaigned on the issue), and with the work of the state legislature Illinois is the 11th state to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. This is a deceptively momentous criminal justice reform whose nuances show ju…
(2019-06-26). Raising our Voices for Equality at Stonewall and the Supreme Court. aclu.org 50 years after the riots at Stonewall, we are telling the Supreme Court not to roll back protections for LGBTQ people. | It's been half a century since the Stonewall uprising began on June 28, 1969, the reason we celebrate Pride each June. But there's another fitting date to commemorate this month, and it falls just two days before the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. | June 26 marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in 2003 striking down state laws that criminalized same-sex intimacy. T…