****************************************************************** People's Tribune (Online Edition) Vol. 21 No. 23 / June 6, 1994 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 Email: jdav@igc.org ****************************************************************** INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition) Vol. 21 No. 23 / June 6, 1994 FRONT PAGE STORY FOLLOWS INDEX Editorial 1. DON'T LET THE POLICE CONTROL THE AIRWAVES! News 2. WISCONSIN TRIBES ORGANIZE TO PROTECT RESOURCES 3. 'MEXICO IS NO LONGER WILLING TO ACCEPT ELECTORAL FRAUD' 4. LOUISIANA: WELFARE RIGHTS GROUP SPEAKS OUT ON 'WELFARE REFORM' 5. MOTHER'S DAY IN LOS ANGELES: WOMEN MARCH AGAINST BUDGET CUTS 6. 'ASSISTED SUICIDE': DON'T LET COURTS PLAY GAMES WITH LIVES! 7. EMPTY THE SHELTERS APPEALS TO YOUTH TO HELP FIGHT FOR JUSTICE 8. AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY AND THE PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS Deadly Force 9. MISSISSIPPI REIGN OF TERROR DRAWS RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY INTO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE Culture Under Fire 10. POEM: STATE VS. ALFREDO JUAN Announcements, Events, etc. 11. THE NOC NEEDS A PERMANENT NAME! Letters 12. LETTERS: 'I WILL DO WHAT I CAN WITH WHAT LITTLE TIME I HAVE LEFT' 13. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE +----------------------------------------------------------------+ HOMELESS PEOPLE REACT TO CLINTON PLAN: 'WE NEED PERMANENT HOUSING' WITH SIX MILLION LUXURY APARTMENTS EMPTY, ALL HOMELESS PEOPLE CAN HAVE REAL HOMES! AURORA, Illinois -- President Clinton's new plan to "eliminate" 200,000 people from the homeless rolls doesn't impress Rodney Wooden. "Three hundred thousand more will take their place!" said Wooden, a resident of a tent city 40 miles west of Chicago. "People are getting laid off every day!" As for the "health care" part of Clinton's $900 million plan, homeless mother Darlene Greenburg laughed. "What good is medical care if you're living outside?" "We need permanent housing," Wooden said. He's right. Homelessness could be eliminated right now if the government gave a damn. Across America, six million new luxury housing units stand vacant. Thousands of these luxury units were built with public funds handed to wealthy developers. By rights, this housing ought to belong to the people. It should be opened at once to prevent men, women and children from dying in the streets. The Clinton plan is nothing but a Band-Aid. It's drop-in-the- bucket hush money. "Trust us," the administration says to the homeless, "we'll take care of the problem." But millions of homeless people can't wait. In California, empty HUD homes have been seized by homeless people and their supporters. In New York and Philadelphia, takeovers of abandoned buildings are a regular occurrence. A new leadership is emerging out of this fight, taking its cause to the public and its struggle to the streets. The choice is clear. Either we wait and hope that the same capitalist system and politicians that created the problem will solve it, or we organize to take the housing we need, now! +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 1. EDITORIAL: DON'T LET THE POLICE CONTROL THE AIRWAVES! DEATH ROW PRISONER KEPT OFF PUBLIC RADIO Last month's decision by National Public Radio to cancel a planned series of commentaries by condemned prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal can only be called police censorship. Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther and radio broadcaster, was unjustly convicted of killing a Philadelphia policeman on Dec. 9, 1981. He was to have been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" evening news program, commenting on prison conditions, the death penalty and other issues. But when the Philadelphia police found out about Abu-Jamal's commentaries, they launched a massive and successful campaign in the newspapers, on radio talk shows and on the streets to silence this outspoken inmate. Several years ago, Leroy Martin, then police chief in Chicago, wrote an angry letter to radio station WVON protesting four talk show hosts who opened the airwaves to a public outcry against police brutality -- an outcry that led to public hearings. As a result of Martin's letter, all four broadcasters were fired. Now, as the world welcomes the establishment of democratic rights in South Africa, the Philadelphia police are deciding what gets heard on National Public Radio. Something is wrong. The question of censoring Mumia Abu-Jamal isn't just about one inmate on Death Row. It's about whether or not freedom of speech is going to fall victim to the bullying of the police -- and not just any police force, either. The Philadelphia police department, perpetrator of the 1985 MOVE bombing, was the first police department ever to be charged with brutality by the U.S. Justice Department. Historically, the Philadelphia department has been one of the most trigger-happy and repressive group of cops in history and Mumia Abu-Jamal is not the only person who knows it. ****************************************************************** 2. WISCONSIN TRIBES ORGANIZE TO PROTECT RESOURCES EXXON SET TO DESTROY WOLF RIVER "[C]ontamination is bound to occur no matter how wisely a mine is designed." -- Exxon geologist "If they go ahead with their mine, our tribe is going to be devastated." -- Sokaogon Chippewa tribal judge KESHENA, Wisconsin -- Native American tribes in Wisconsin are asking for letters of support in their fight to protect the Wolf River watershed in Wisconsin from mining-related pollution. Exxon Minerals and Rio Algom plan to mine one of the world's largest zinc-copper sulfide deposits, located in northern Wisconsin. Exxon Minerals is a subsidiary of Exxon Corporation, one of the world's largest corporations. Rio Algom is a Canadian mining company. The proposed Crandon/Mole Lake mine is at the headwaters of Wisconsin's Wolf River and next to the Mole Lake Indian Reservation. The mine, originally proposed by Exxon in 1975, would cover 866 acres, including large areas of wetlands. Local opposition to the mine forced Exxon to withdraw its proposal in 1986. But three months ago, the Exxon/Rio Algom "Crandon Mining Company" partnership started seeking state permits to begin mining. Local Native American tribes are concerned that sulfuric mining wastes will harm trout fishing and wild rice beds in the area. The mine may also hurt the water quality for humans and wildlife. The Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa, the Menominee, the Forest County Potawatomi, and the Stockbridge-Munsee tribal governments have established the Nii Win Intertribal Council to oppose the Crandon/Mole Lake mine. ("Nii Win" means "four" in Ojibwe.) [This story came from PeaceNet, a non-profit progressive networking service. For more information on PeaceNet, send an electronic mail message to peacenet-info@igc.apc.org] +----------------------------------------------------------------+ WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to: Governor Tommy Thompson State Capitol Building P.O. Box 7863 Madison, Wisconsin 53707 Phone: 608-266-1212 or fax: 608-267-8983 * Express concern for the significant environmental damage that the Crandon/Mole Lake mine might cause to Native American fishing, wild rice harvests, and to the Wolf River. * Remind Governor Thompson that he has an obligation to preserve the magnificent water resources of Wisconsin. He also has a duty to respect and protect the cultures and livelihood of all people. * Ask him to support: -- Assembly Bill 542, the "Bad Actor Bill," which will require that mining companies wishing to operate in Wisconsin disclose any fines or violations for which they have been convicted in Canada or the United States; -- Assembly Bill 341, which would close the loophole exempting mining companies from regulations protecting water quality; and -- Assembly Bill 732, requiring mining companies to disclose all releases of toxic chemicals within their operations. * Remind him that supporters of the Crandon/Mole Lake mine have been unable to give an example of even one successfully reclaimed copper sulfide mine in the United States. Also, write to: Lee R. Raymond Chairman and CEO, Exxon Corporation 225 E. John W. Carpenter Freeway Irving, Texas 75062 Phone: 214-444-1000 or fax: 214-444-1348 * Demand that Exxon inform its shareholders of the significant Native American and environmental opposition to its Crandon/Mole Lake mine. * Ask Exxon to justify its decision to proceed with the mine in spite of the opposition of the Native Americans who will be affected by it. * Urge that Exxon immediately withdraw its application for mining permits. Please send copies of your letters to: Nii Win c/o Menominee P.O. Box 397 Keshena, Wisconsin 54135 They would like to use these letters during their presentations, rallies, and meetings to show international support for the protection of their cultures and their environment. For more information, contact: Global Response Environmental Action Network, P.O. Box 7490, Boulder, Colorado 80306 [phone: 303-444-0306]. WATER Campaign, P.O. Box 311, Springbrook, Wisconsin 54875. Midwest Treaty Network, 731 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53703. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 3. 'MEXICO IS NO LONGER WILLING TO ACCEPT ELECTORAL FRAUD' MEXICAN REVOLUTIONARY SPEAKS IN ILLINOIS By Laura Garcia CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Illinois -- On May 18, in a room full of Latinos, Pedro Castillo drummed up support for the Zapatista cause. Castillo is one of three representatives of CONAC -- Coordination of Civic Action for National Liberation -- now touring the United States. CONAC is the legal wing of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). On Jan. 1, the EZLN began a war against the Mexican government. Their objectives are that the rights of the indigenous peoples, the workers and other sectors of Mexico be respected. "The struggle in the jungle of Chiapas is one of liberation," Castillo stated. Castillo came to the United States to talk about the 34-point plan of the Zapatistas. Central to this plan is a clean and democratic presidential election Aug. 21. "The Mexican people have to choose their own government. The people are tired of the Mafia that controls the government. Mexico is no longer willing to accept electoral fraud," said Castillo. Asked which candidate the EZLN supported, Castillo answered, "The EZLN does not support a presidential candidate. What it does support is free and clean elections. What is important to us is that the will of the people be respected." He told those present that democratic organizations were working together to fight for clean elections. Nonetheless, if these elections are not clean and the people are robbed once again, the EZLN is prepared to pick up arms to support the popular struggle. He emphasized that without the aid of the U.S. people, their struggle will not be effective. "The support of the U.S. people is basic and strategic to achieve democracy," he said. He stated that there are now reports of large amounts of military and riot-control equipment worth millions of dollars moving across the Texas border to Mexico. Civil rights organizations in Mexico concluded that the riot gear indicates Mexican officials are worried about "civil unrest" during the presidential election. There is no doubt that the best support we, the U.S. people, can give the Zapatista cause is to demand that the U.S. government stop sending military equipment to Mexico. Military equipment will not guarantee clean and democratic elections for the people of Mexico. It will only strengthen the hand of the Mexican government against people who are fighting for liberty and democracy. "Zapata lives! The struggle continues, continues, continues..." chanted Castillo to end his talk. ****************************************************************** 4. LOUISIANA HEARING: WELFARE RIGHTS GROUP SPEAKS OUT ON 'WELFARE REFORM' By Leslie Willis NEW ORLEANS -- Within the chorus of "amens" to welfare reform, two opposite views can be heard. The booming voices of politicians want to blame and punish welfare recipients. It's time we heard the other side! That's why 160 people, most of them welfare recipients, came to a public hearing hosted by Louisiana's Welfare Rights Organization at the Treme Community Center in New Orleans May 19. WRO wants "to end welfare as we know it" too, but that's where agreement with the politicians stops. Besides the proposals of Clinton's Working Group on Welfare Reform, there are two Republican welfare reform bills in the U.S. Congress: HR 35 in the House and SB 1795 in the Senate. These bills include the punishing call for "two years and you're out." They would force recipients to work off their checks; authorize the hiring of bounty hunters to "catch" fathers; limit family size to two children; and force teen-age mothers to stay with their parents. Under the provisions of these bills, states would not have to give aid to undocumented immigrants and would be prohibited from giving more than one year of aid. "Allowing you two years to find work is unacceptable," said WRO director Viola Washington. "In the state of Louisiana, there is no work." Under the proposed bills, if you cannot find work, it will be up to each state to decide if you should be cut off or put to work in a public service job. Washington pointed out the obvious problems this will create for those who now hold these low-paying public service jobs. Unemployed fathers of children on welfare will be charged $69 a month for one child. "They will hire bounty hunters and when they round them up, they will put them to work to pay for their arrears in child support," Washington said. "After the football games and parades, like Mardi Gras, these men will do the cleanup that the prisoners do now. If they refuse, they will put them in jail." Either way, the state benefits, said Washington, as "Louisiana is presently selling prison labor under contract." Also hotly opposed are the limits on family size. Viola Washington said such family caps "will cause the children to end up in foster homes, as the state will remove the children you cannot take care of. A lot of children will simply be left homeless and hungry." The outspoken participants at the May 19 hearing decided to urge Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson to take a new bill to Capitol Hill -- a bill they will write for themselves. They plan to mobilize and go to Washington, D.C. to fight for true welfare reform. A statement issued May 19 provided a preview of the WRO bill: "A guaranteed annual income, an annual cost of living increase. Couple it with universal health care. Add guaranteed housing as a constitutional right and free education, from birth to death." The fight for such a bill is the fight to survive. For more information, call the Welfare Rights Organization at 504- 529-1113. ****************************************************************** 5. MOTHER'S DAY IN LOS ANGELES: WOMEN MARCH AGAINST BUDGET CUTS By Maria Teixeira LOS ANGELES -- Two days before Mother's Day, hundreds of women marched in front of the state building here where Governor Pete Wilson's office is located. Wilson is proposing a 25 percent cut in public services including Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Black roses were passed out at the march to express what a deadly situation these budget cuts will cause. Women of all colors took part in the march. This was important because Wilson's strategy is to pit Latinos, blacks and whites against each other. There will be hearings on the proposed budget cuts June 6 at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Be there! United we stand, divided we fall! For more information, call 310-428-2618. ****************************************************************** 6. 'ASSISTED SUICIDE': DON'T LET COURTS PLAY GAMES WITH OUR LIVES! By Ron Seigel HIGHLAND PARK, Michigan -- The medical establishment is trying to head off public concern about the health care crisis by selling the idea that the way to cut health costs is to let more people die. Prejudice against the ill and those with handicaps is being shamelessly used in the big sell. Those marked for death are labeled as having an "inferior quality of life" and, essentially, as being human lives of inferior quality. The drive to legalize "assisted suicide" could give the medical establishment a free hand to kill people without their consent. The main goal of assisted suicide advocates like Jack Kevorkian is to get courts to declare it a constitutional right to "help" people commit suicide (though there is nothing in the Constitution that says it is). They are pushing the courts to overturn all laws against assisted suicide without seeking standards of proof that patients really desire death. In short, the courts are expected to allow patients into the Great Beyond without making sure that they want to go. This could allow unscrupulous people awesome power to cover up killing and patient abuse. In our society, those most threatened would be those with the least power, those most subject to prejudice: African Americans and other racial minorities, the poor and those with handicaps. Can we blindly trust our judicial system to protect our rights? No. We have to speak out. President Clinton has recently nominated Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Resistance Movement of the Michigan Handicapper Caucus is urging people to write the Senate Judiciary Committee, c/o Joseph Biden, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510 and write their own senators urging that Breyer be asked during his confirmation hearing how he stands on reading euthanasia into the Constitution. Let those in power know that we don't want the judicial system playing games with our lives. For further information, write: Resistance Movement, Michigan Handicapper, P.O. Box 03015, Detroit, Michigan 48203. ****************************************************************** 7. EMPTY THE SHELTERS APPEALS TO YOUTH TO HELP FIGHT FOR JUSTICE By Empty The Shelters, Chicago CHICAGO -- Homelessness is one of the most blatant examples of widespread poverty in this country. In Chicago alone, there are more than 60,000 people who are homeless, while more than 8,000 units of public housing stand vacant. What's up with that? Homelessness is a result of the many social and economic problems facing this country. It is a result of a lack of decent-paying jobs, a lack of affordable housing, insufficient health care and a crumbling education system. Young people are increasingly feeling the effects of these problems. We are growing up in a world shaped by racism, poverty and injustice. They tell us to get jobs, but we can't find work (except for McDonald's). They want us off the streets, but our parks and schools are falling apart and are unsafe. They tell us to get an education, but they won't adequately fund the schools. So what are you gonna do? Empty The Shelters says -- NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL, IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE! It's time to get educated and take action. People all over the country are getting organized and fighting for their rights, basic needs and for justice. Young people must do the same. We must begin to understand the forces that shape our lives and then learn to work together to change them. We are looking for 15-20 people to work with us full time this summer (July 5-August 21). There are also summer projects being held in Oakland, San Francisco, Atlanta and Philadelphia. The summer will include: political education -- so that we understand what's going on; skills training -- so that we can do something about it; placement in community organizations that are doing good work, and working together with other organizations on projects and campaigns. Some of the projects will include combatting police harassment and brutality of low-income people, homeless people and youth, fighting gentrification and organizing for a just welfare policy. We will be learning, working, fussing, challenging each other and the powers that be, having fun, speaking out, stirring things up, and above all, fighting for justice in Chicago. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, or if you just want more information, contact Empty The Shelters at 312-435-4548, or write us at 1325 S. Wabash, Suite 205, Chicago, Illinois 60605. ****************************************************************** 8. AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY AND THE PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS By Ebon Dooley Every year since 1972, African Liberation Day has been celebrated by hundreds of thousands of people around the world with marches, speeches and militant demonstrations. ALD began as a manifestation of support by African Americans for the armed struggle waged by African Liberation forces against the European colonial powers. One after another, the armed masses in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia and other countries wrested political independence from their colonial masters. The recent elections in South Africa signal the final stages in the elimination of colonialism from the African continent. Increasing words of caution are being heard, however, as we prepare to celebrate ALD this year. More and more people are speaking out against the ravages of neocolonialism and the increasing danger of the recolonization of Africa. Current African governments inherited the old colonial structures and boundaries and have not been able to free themselves from the economic shackles of the past. Almost all of them are now burdened with enormous debt payments to imperialist institutions. The recently concluded Seventh Pan-African Congress held in Kampala, Uganda identified IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs and U.S./U.N. military interventions as the greatest present threat to African independence. Resolutions adopted by the Congress condemned the harsh terms exacted by the IMF-World Bank, such as the devaluation of African currencies, the insistence on "free market" economies and the return to colonial cultures. Freedom-loving forces everywhere must unite to combat this new danger to African Liberation. Our celebrations must be tinged with vigilance. Only an Africa united under the banner of Pan- Africanism can beat back this latest challenge to freedom and independence. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ DELEGATES TO THE SEVENTH PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS AVAILABLE TO SPEAK The Seventh Pan-African Congress in Kampala, Uganda in April made history. Delegates from all of Africa and the diaspora met to discuss and struggle over the direction of Pan-Africanism for the 21st century. The issues discussed at the Congress included: the crisis of geopolitical cultural conflict; the threat of recolonization; the crisis of capitalism expressed in war, famine and disease throughout Africa; and the revolutionary response. Delegates from the United States came from all fronts of struggle. They included representatives of Up and Out of Poverty Now!, the National Welfare Rights Union, the National Union of the Homeless, the Black Awareness Community Development Organization and Mothers Reclaiming Our Children. Trade unionists, community cultural activists, local electoral activists and scholars were also represented. The delegates included National Organizing Committee members from all over the country. The delegates have returned and are anxious to talk to your group about the experience. There are delegates in every major city in the United States. To reach some of them, contact the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau now! Call 310-428-2618 or 312-486-3551. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Deadly Force" is a weekly column dedicated to exposing the scope of police terror in the United States. We open our pages to you, the front line fighters against brutality and deadly force. Send us eyewitness accounts, clippings, press releases, appeals for support, letters, photos, opinions and all other information relating to this life and death fight. Send them to People's Tribune, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Ill. 60654, or call (312) 486- 3551. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 9. MISSISSIPPI THEN AND NOW: REIGN OF TERROR DRAWS RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY INTO FIGHT FOR JUSTICE By Tonny Algood, reporting on the National Interreligious Task Force meeting in Mississippi GULFPORT, Mississippi -- I can remember the first time I saw Lloyd "Goon" Jones, now the sheriff of Simpson County, Mississippi. It was the end of May 1970 in Jackson, Mississippi. Two Jackson State University students had been killed when the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the Jackson City Police opened fire with shotguns on a gathering of students. The officers shot all the glass windows out of an enclosed four-story stairwell. After the killings, a Congressional committee was scheduled to come to Jackson for hearings. Local officials wanted the windows taken down before the hearings. It was 2 a.m. when three students from Jackson State came to my apartment. They found out the Mississippi National Guard, Highway Patrol and Jackson City Police were coming to take the windows down at daybreak. They wanted white students from Millsaps College to join them in a human barricade in front of the women's dormitory. We recruited as many students as possible and went to the Jackson State campus. I remember seeing the National Guard, Highway Patrol and City Police in formation -- ready to move on the dormitory. A Jackson State student pointed out Lloyd "Goon" Jones, who was in the Highway Patrol at the time. Jones had a reputation for terrorizing civil rights workers. There were rumors that he had been in on the shootings a few nights earlier. We expected the officers to attack and forcibly try to remove us. They did not. Maybe it was because it was daylight and the media were there. It was night when the students had been attacked and the two murdered. Maybe they were afraid of what the response would be if they attempted an assault on such a large number of peacefully assembled students. It was a standoff. The officers left. The windows stayed up until after the Congressional hearings. Having grown up in rural Mississippi, I had hoped back then that, nearly 25 years later, things would be better -- that the "Goon" Joneses would have gone, that there would be no more lynchings or murders by those in uniforms. This, of course, is not true today. In many ways things are worse. "I have to believe there are decent people" In April, I had an opportunity to attend part of the Conference of the National Interreligious Task Force on Criminal Justice held near Gulfport, Mississippi. There I heard firsthand accounts from some of the remaining family members of those who had been killed while held in Mississippi jails. There had been 48 deaths by jail hangings from May 1987 through May 1993. I spoke with Ms. Esther Jones Quinn, head of the Jackson, Mississippi chapter of the NAACP. Her 18-year-old son, Andre Jones, was found hanging in the Simpson County jail just 19 hours after being taken into custody -- the day before he was to enter college as an engineering student. The state said his death was a suicide. The family authorized their own autopsy. A private investigation was also conducted. The conclusion was almost predictable: lynching disguised as suicide. There is no doubt in my mind concerning what is happening in Mississippi. Blacks and nearly just as many poor whites are being lynched in Mississippi jails. The reign of terror worsens as the economy deteriorates. The number of deaths from hanging in Mississippi jails has doubled since 1986. Nonetheless, there are still those who are willing to step forward and put their lives on the line to expose these crimes and to end the lynchings. People like Esther Jones Quinn and her husband, Charles X. Quinn, have formed the Mississippi Coalition for Justice. There is Andrea Gibbs with The Victim's Voice and countless others who have joined with them. I have to believe there are other decent people who are aware of what is going on and who also want to put an end to these murders. [The author was born and raised in rural Mississippi and is a founding member of the National Organizing Committee.] +----------------------------------------------------------------+ RELIGIUS LEADERS DENOUNCE JAIL DEATHS 'MISSISSIPPI NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THE NATION IS WATCHING' [Editor's note: Below we print excerpts from the statement made at a press conference held April 9 near Gulfport, Mississippi by the National Interreligious Task Force on Criminal Justice.] The National Interreligious Task Force on Criminal Justice, affiliated with the National Council of Churches of Christ, is meeting here on a matter of grave injustice. We have come as representatives of organizations, religious bodies and individuals. As people of faith and conscience from across America, we have come to say No to death, brutality, torture and negligence, to say No to the violation of basic human rights in the jails and prisons of the state of Mississippi. We are asking that people of conscience who want to see the killing stopped and justice served contact The Victim's Voice or the Cheney Foundation and support the work of these and other grassroots organizations and coalitions. We are asking that law enforcement or corrections officers who have knowledge of brutality and wrongful death come forward and speak the truth in fulfillment of their duty and in accordance with the laws of this nation and the state of Mississippi. The National Interreligious Task Force on Criminal Justice will continue to monitor the situation here and will covenant to pray for and assist the victims' families, The Victim's Voice and other grassroots organizations however we can in this important struggle to make right what is very wrong. Mississippi needs to know that the nation is watching. The days of police violence, brutality, torture and injustice are over. The day of police accountability is here. For more information, contact the National Interreligious Task Force at 410-685-7845; the Mississippi Coalition for Justice at 601-922-0297; or The Victim's Voice at 601-896-7778. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 10. POEM: STATE VS. ALFREDO JUAN [Editor's note: After 64 days of unjust incarceration in an overcrowded youth jail in Houston, an innocent, 16-year-old victim of police, judicial and jail abuse was released April 12. A jury found Alfredo Juan (not his real name) innocent of four counts of aggravated assault. Members of the Houston Police Department's newly formed HPD Gang Squad had tried to railroad this youth to prison. That same week, the national press reported that New York police officers have grown so accustomed to lying in court that some officers have invented a special word for this practice -- "testilying." The following poem was written by the Houston teen-ager's trial defense lawyer in celebration of wresting Alfredo Juan from the claws of "the law." It is dedicated to "Teen Life-Vida Juvenil," a newly formed group of barrio teens and their parents who defied police intimidation and threats of deadly retaliation and testified at Alfredo Juan's trial. People may reach "Teen Life-Vida Juvenil" by writing to the People's Tribune at P.O. Box 7431, Houston, Texas 77248-7431.] +----------------------------------------------------------------+ State vs. Alfredo Juan Shut that prosecutor's mouth! This is my son's flesh caught in his freakin' fangs. My innocent man-child's dream swirls and turns to vomit, blood, and jail-stained nightmare at the sound of that prosecutor's mouth. Shut that "testilying" policeman's jaws! These are my son's bones mashed and ground between the baton and those gnashing teeth that pulverize truth, to be mixed with venomous lies for purposes of lethal injection. Open that pee-stained jail cell door! Finally a jury has spoken: "Not Guilty!" ...but only after the Apple of my Eye has eyed what no child should ever eye ... suicide, AIDS passed in humpin' desperation, hallways of heads hunched over plates of malnutrition, hands scratching at rashes shared by sullen youth, sullied by unwashed linen and peed-up clothing; tuberculosis circling the air, riding the phlegm exhaled by infant spirits broken on a medieval wheel, ... the crushing of caged children. Open that pee-stained jail cell door! I'm taking my man-child home. -- Maria Elena Castellanos ****************************************************************** 11. THE NOC NEEDS A PERMANENT NAME! We need a name for our organization. "The National Organizing Committee" is a temporary name for our organization. We carried this into our founding convention and we have been using it for the past year. We need to choose a permanent name as soon as possible. This is a call for all NOC committees and members to submit written proposals to the Steering Committee by July 1, 1994. We need your help in getting the following: 1. a new name for our organization; 2. a symbol for our organization. We also need suggestions for organizational slogans, songs and a uniform (one or more articles of clothing). You should use the following as guidelines for your political thinking and creative imagination: 1. The NOC program for action and education is what we agreed to at our convention and therefore on that basis we need a name that represents what we stand for. 2. We have a revolutionary history: the resistance of the Red Nations, the African Americans, the Mexican people, Puerto Ricans and the general working class movement and therefore we need a name based on our history that expresses our revolutionary striving. 3. We are people thrown into battle as revolutionary fighters from all aspects of the society and therefore we need a name that loudly proclaims our revolutionary outlook in a bold and militant way, especially to young fighters. 4. We need to base ourselves on the insurgent popular culture of those forced into poverty and victimized by police and prisons, especially when we transform the original language of rap poetry as well as the songs of the church, the trade union movement and the civil rights movement into forms of collective expression. (We need to sing at our meetings and find ways to renew our spirits). 5. We need to point to greater struggle and final victory in such a way that people grasp our name, symbol, slogans and songs as their own, deep in their bosom, with great emotional attachment, and with such fervor that they will go against great odds, holding high our banners with great optimism. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ JOIN THE NOC The National Organizing Committee (NOC) is a fighting organization. When homeless activists seize empty buildings, look for us. The NOC will be there. When the unemployed fight for jobs, look for us. The NOC will be there. When the victims of police state brutality speak out to expose injustice, listen for us. The NOC will be part of the chorus. We are revolutionary fighters from every battlefront. Our mission is to forge the revolutionary force necessary to destroy this capitalist system, a system of poverty and injustice. We are an organization that believes the poor and exploited people can be educated, organized and inspired to rise up in our millions. We want to create a new system based on justice and economic prosperity for everyone. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 12. LETTERS: 'I WILL DO WHAT I CAN WITH WHAT LITTLE TIME I HAVE LEFT' DEATH ROW PRISONER OFFERS SUPPORT TO PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE Dear People's Tribune: My name is Fernando G. I am a prisoner in the state of Texas on Death Row. I have been here since 1989. I, too, am a prisoner of politics, but that is not the reason that I am writing to you. I am not a subscriber to the People's Tribune, but I would like to be, if possible. I cannot afford to pay for it, but I can contribute my time, effort, and talents in any way possible through correspondence with you. I could keep you informed about current events about D.P. [the Department of Prisons] and other things happening in this state. I could also donate to you some of my arts and crafts for you to use as you wish. I don't have a voice to talk for me, so I am asking for you to be my voice. So, please let me know in what way I [can] serve you best. I will do what I can with what little time I have left. Thank you for the time that you have taken to consider my request. Sincerely, Fernando G. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE RESPONDS We are deeply moved by the words of this condemned prisoner. We accept his humble offer of support and will continue to be his voice, and the voice of all similarly railroaded by the system. But we can't do it without the help of every one of our readers. Our drive to raise funds for a one-time Special Prison Edition of the People's Tribune is in its second month. If, like us, you are moved by the simple yet profound words of Brother Fernando G., unjustly convicted, marking time on Texas' Death Row, then do something about it. Help us continue to be part of the voice Fernando G. speaks of. Send in your contribution to the People's Tribune. Today. Sincerely, The Editors +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 13. ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, published weekly in Chicago, is devoted to the proposition that an economic system which can't or won't feed, clothe and house its people ought to be and will be changed. To that end, this paper is a tribune of the people. It is the voice of the millions struggling for survival. It strives to educate politically those millions on the basis of their own experience. It is a tribune to bring them together, to create a vision of a better world, and a strategy to achieve it. Join us! Editor: Laura Garcia Publisher: National Organizing Committee, P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, IL 60647 (312) 486-0028 To help support the production and distribution of the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, please send donations, letters, articles, photos, graphics and requests for information, subscriptions and requests for bundles of papers to: PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE P.O. Box 3524 Chicago, IL 60654 Respond via e-mail to jdav@igc.org Reach us by phone: Chicago: (312) 486-3551 Atlanta: (404) 242-2380 Baltimore: (410) 467-4769 Detroit: (313) 839-7600 Los Angeles: (310) 428-2618 Washington, D.C.: (202) 529-6250 Oakland, CA: (510) 464-4554 GETTING THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE IN PRINT The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is available at many locations nationwide. One year subscriptions $25 ($35 institutions), bulk orders of 5 or more 15 cents each, single copies 25 cents. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654, tel. (312) 486- 3551. WRITING FOR THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE We want your story in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. 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