The First City to Defeat Gang Injunctions? It Could Happen in Oakland.
America is not a total police state, but Oakland sure damn feels like one sometimes. Police murders of unarmed civilians, ICE raids outside middle schools, cops brutalizing anti-war protesters down at the docks — welcome to The Town. And now, just down the block from me in Fruitvale – the…
Dear Sarah Palin
It’s funny how things happen sometimes. Last week, I was back in Madison, WI for a couple days to host a First Wave show, see old friends…and hopefully get a glimpse of the massive people’s uprising that’s taken Wisconsin by storm these last few months. Luck was on my side,…
“On Leadership in the Movement” — My one poem for National Poetry Month
On Leadership in the Movement (For Wisconsin, Egypt, and everyone who campaigned for Barack Obama in 2008) Strong people don’t need strong leaders. – Ella Baker an activist friend of mine thinks the problem is that we spend too much time preaching to the choir. but maybe the problem isn’t…
Big Events in April: A Lecture, a Slam, and a Return to Madison!
It’s April, it’s 75 degrees and drenched in sunshine here in Oakland, and I’ve got some events this month that have me exploding with spring fever. In a good way. First off, I’m giving my first-ever college lecture this Monday, April 4 at UC-Berkeley. Not a show, not a town…
“The Real Education Reformers” — New Piece in Tikkun
My new article in Tikkun just came out, and given all the struggles going on from my old home in Wisconsin to my current home of Oakland, it couldn’t be more timely. The piece is about grassroots education activists vs. corporate “reformers” a la Waiting for Superman. Here is a…