NSA Spying | Black Agenda Report

U.S. Rulers Have No Solution for Urban Crisis

The powers that be have no solution to the crises confronting Detroit and other U.S. urban centers, said Abayome Azikiwe, editor of the Pan African News Wire. A federal judge has been hearing testimony on the state-appointed Emergency Financial Managers plans to bankrupt the city. From the White House to Wall Street, all the way down to the state capitals and municipal governments, all they offer is more debt to float more bonds, said Azikiwe. Theres no discussion about jobs, economic opportunities, repopulating the cities. The narrative is austerity and more austerity.

Dollars Trump Black History in Richmond

The Black Mayor of Richmond, Virginia is opting for a baseball stadium rather than preservation of Shockoe Bottom, the citys historic center, once home to the nations second largest slave market. It really doesnt have anything to do with whether or not hes pro-history or anti-history its money, said Ana Edwards, of Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality. Shockoe Bottom is the price that he is willing to pay for developers to make their money.

Free Marissa Alexander

The case of a Black battered wife who fired a shot into her ceiling to fend off her abusive husband has become a focus of agitation in Florida. If convicted on aggravated assault charges, Marissa Alexander could spend two decades in prison. This is whats happening with the criminalization of Black women, said Aleta Alston-Toure, of Free Marissa Now, in Jacksonville. We need a movement to stop the race, sex and class bias of the criminal justice system. Black women are more than two and a half times as likely to be killed by a male as their white counterparts.

Feinstein NSA Bill Legalizes NSA Abuse of Power

The FISA Improvement Act, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, an apologist for NSA spying on Americans, doesnt improve anything; it codifies practices that already exist, said Matthew Kellegrew, a legal fellow with the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. Kellegrew says rival legislation, the USA Freedom Act, is a step in the direction towards reining in the Patriot Act and out-of-control government surveillance.

Activists Charge Black Studies Chairman with Betrayal

More than 100 student and community activists gathered in Philadelphias historic Church of the Advocate to denounce Temple Universitys Dean of Liberal Arts for persecuting African American Studies professor Dr. Anthony Monteiro, and to rebuke Dr. Molefi Asante, the programs new chairman, for betraying his former colleague. Dr. Asante has turned on Dr. Monteiro and hes turned on the community, said Patrice Armstead, of Building Peoples Power. He seems to have reversed course relative to building African American Studies at Temple and connecting that project with the lives and struggles and problems of the Black community, said Dr. Monteiro.

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NSA Spying | Black Agenda Report