Here's Jay Gillen speaking on the book at Red Emma's in Baltimore:
Friday, April 10, 2015
Planning Ethnographic Fieldwork/St Louis Schools Project work for next fall, preview of a book we'll read
Jay Gillen. 2014. Educating for Insurgency: The Roles of Young People in Schools of Poverty. AK Press.
Here's Jay Gillen speaking on the book at Red Emma's in Baltimore:
Here's Jay Gillen speaking on the book at Red Emma's in Baltimore:
Thursday, April 9, 2015
How Big Money Is Buying Off Criticism of Big Money | BillMoyers.com
Not only should we speak against big money, we need to indict the corrupt practices of (criminal) big money. This is why I'll never be a dean.
How Big Money Is Buying Off Criticism of Big Money | BillMoyers.com
How Big Money Is Buying Off Criticism of Big Money | BillMoyers.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
We will see what comes of this SLPS School Board election.
All respect to #Ferguson protestors, but Charters, TFA, Non-Profits, and Corporate Reform Agenda are not going to lead to what the #Ferguson protestors are (or seem to be) demanding.
With this corporate reform/non-profit agenda you may get some individual mobility, the symbolic achiever to show that the system still works for some people. And that symbolic body of color can be held up, and pointed to, mostly by white folks, to say look, it works. (I'm thinking of KIPP's so-called "success" stories).
But you are moving further away from deep commitments to broad-based support for high quality public education for all children. You deepen the existing system of economic and racial segregation, by solidifying the hierarchy between private, public, and pseudo-private charters. You deepen your dependence on corporate philanthropy, fickle and self-interested as it is. You weaken the possibility of demanding accountability from the state for all of its children.
For the corporate education reform movement, black lives don't matter that much, but black bodies are a good way to make money, take tax breaks, and carry on with the system. Kind of like prison. Think about it. Follow the money.
With this corporate reform/non-profit agenda you may get some individual mobility, the symbolic achiever to show that the system still works for some people. And that symbolic body of color can be held up, and pointed to, mostly by white folks, to say look, it works. (I'm thinking of KIPP's so-called "success" stories).
But you are moving further away from deep commitments to broad-based support for high quality public education for all children. You deepen the existing system of economic and racial segregation, by solidifying the hierarchy between private, public, and pseudo-private charters. You deepen your dependence on corporate philanthropy, fickle and self-interested as it is. You weaken the possibility of demanding accountability from the state for all of its children.
For the corporate education reform movement, black lives don't matter that much, but black bodies are a good way to make money, take tax breaks, and carry on with the system. Kind of like prison. Think about it. Follow the money.
St Louis Public Schools Elected Board Results: Lesson: Outside money can get you elected, quick, from nowhere.
And, against what Slay's folks always say, pretty high turnout.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
We need to be viruses of intersectionality: Ramon Grosfoguel on Decolonial Strategies and the Limitations of the White Left: must listen
Today Vitamin D welcomes for a second time Dr. Ramon Grosfoguel with whom we recently caught up at a function he was attending in London. Following from our last chat with Ramon he speaks to the contemporary political applications of decolonial thought this time around. What does decoloniality demand of the traditional white left? What is the role of the 'nation-state' in the global project of decolonization? How have our politics of liberation been historically co-opted to reproduce the same colonial logic they set out to thwart? In his usual gracious spirit and dedication towards the decolonial project Ramon tackles these and other topics including the necessity of disenchantment with the white man for any decolonial politics to bear fruit, the importance of having a critique of the state from an indigenous perspective giving the examples of Ecuador and Venezuela, the colonial relationship that connects police brutality in the U.S.A to the occupation of Palestine and much more.
Monday, April 6, 2015
More info on Show_Me15 event at WUSTL Danforth University Center-- yes paradox paradox…union meeting in the heart of the DUC? but Pres of SEIU is coming
By way of one of our network, the bees never stop buzzing:
It is my great pleasure to cordially invite you to a panel discussion on Tuesday, April 7th, featuring Mary Kay Henry, the president of the Service Employees International Union, the largest union in the US, and champion of the global Fight For $15 movement. The panel will take place at 6:30 pm in Washington University’s Danforth University Center’s Tisch Commons. Space is limited, so come early to get a seat.
Of the 188 universities participating in the global day of action on April 15th, Mary Kay Henry has chosen to speak at Washington University in St. Louis and only five other schools.
Just about three years ago, St. Louis became the third city to join the Fight For $15 when fast food workers stood up and said enough was enough. Today, 190 US cities and 40 countries have chapters all with one purpose: to win a living wage and union protection for all low wage workers. The movement has grown beyond just fast food workers to include adjunct professors, retail employees, home health care workers, and airport workers.
The panel will kick off with performances by WUSLAM and will be emceed by three student leaders in the Fight for 15. After the panel there will be a Q&A period.
Ultimately the goal is to turn out and turn up for a living wage and a union on Wednesday, April 15th. Over 1000 people will rally in St. Louis as part of a global day of action that will include 230 cities around the world and an estimated 60,000 people. There will be a barbecue in Forest Park at the World’s Fair Pavilion from 12-4 pm, a community rally at 4:30 pm on the steps of Brookings followed by a march to the Delmar Loop and actions throughout the city. Members of the WashU community will meet at Brookings at 4:30 pm on 4/15 to participate in this historic rally.
Event on 'The Delmar Divide' at WUSTL Law School
the Wash U Law School is hosting an event, The Delmar Divide, on Tuesday April 7th from 6:00pm-7:30pm in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in AB Hall.
Please join us on Tuesday, April 7, 6:00-7:30pm, in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom for “The Delmar Divide: St. Louis in Black and White.” The event will feature a screening and panel discussion of the BBC film The Delmar Divide, which documents racial and economic segregation in St. Louis. This event is part of the Ferguson-related programming that grew out of the Law School’s Ad Hoc Committee on Community Affairs. Panelists for the event will include:
- Clarissa Rile Hayward, WUSTL Associate Professor of Political Science and author of How Americans Make Race: Stories, Institutions, Spaces (Cambridge University Press, 2013);
- Chris Krehmeyer, WUSTL alum and President & CEO of Beyond Housing;
- Sandra M. Moore, WashULaw alum and President of Urban Strategies;
- Ryan Rippel, Senior Officer for CEO Initiatives at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and teacher of the WashULaw course, The Lawyer’s Role in Urban Revitalization: St. Louis as a Case Study; and
- Romona Taylor Williams, Executive Director of Metro St. Louis Coalition for Inclusion and Equity (M-SLICE).
Organized by Susan Appleton, Laura Rosenbury, and Fajer Saeed; sponsored by SBA, PSAB, BLSA, LSRJ, MELSA, WoC Law Society, OUTlaw, AILSA, ACS, EELS, NDRS, SALSA, Christian Legal Society, Immigration Law Society, International Law Society, WLC, SLAMSL, JD/MSW Society, and the Family Law Society. Food (but not pizza!) will be served.
More news on St Louis School Board Elections (Vote tomorrow April 7; be informed; take back democracy)
SLS Project does not endorse candidates. Passing on information here via longtime SLPS observer and public reporter Susan Turk.
St. Louis Schools Watch
_________________________________________________________________________
By Susan Turk
Tuesday’s Election
April 4, 2015—St. Louis--All 5 of the candidates who are actively running for school board are aware of the challenges the SLPS faces trying to educate predominantly disadvantaged urban students and regain full accreditation. All of them sound good in their public appearances. Areas of emphasis distinguish them.
Charli Cooksey’s war chest has had a considerable impact on this election. The sheer volume of out of town money, especially that $30,000 check from LEE is unprecedented. Election Board staff related that not even aldermanic candidates see such large checks. Only the mayor and president of the board of aldermen have attracted such deep pockets. The half a million Civic Progress raised in their effort to control the school board 10 years ago was local corporate money after all and that money was contributed to a PAC which independently spent money on all of their candidates.
This unparalleled situation has required the Watch to carefully consider its recommendations for this election, because we believe it would be deeply unfortunate for Charli Cooksey to win a seat on the board of education. It would be unfortunate for several reasons. She is pro- charter schools, pro-SAB, pro-Teach for America and anti-raising public revenue. Plus, the unnamed in her campaign literature not-for-profit which she executive directs, inspireSTL, has recruited high performing students to leave the district for high school, lowering our graduation rates, persistence to college MAP points and end of course MAP scores, and thereby increasing the SLPS’s difficulty in regaining full accreditation. She has been working against the best interests of district for the past 5 years.
A memorandum of understanding she signed with the SLPS in December may refocus inspireSTL’s efforts to keeping those students in high performing SLPS high schools. But since its inception, inspireSTL has drained high achievers from SLPS. Half of the students inspireSTL recruited left the SLPS for schools such as Affton High School, Bayless High School, Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School, Christian Brothers College High School, De Smet Jesuit High School, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, Mehlville High School, Notre Dame High School, St. John Vianney High School, St. Louis University High School, Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School and Whitfield School. “Half of our Scholars attend public schools within St. Louis city, and half attend private and parochial institutions in the area.” From http://inspirestl.org/placements
The 15th ward Democrats survey school board candidates. In response to one of their questions, Cooksey wrote, “I am deeply committed to protecting and preserving the sustainability of SLPS as long as it continues to improve and educate students. I believe more quality schools should open and more existing schools should continue to improve. Ideally, that would be through SLPS, but good charter schools are not the enemy, but instead, partners.” At the League of Women Voters/Local 420 candidate forum April 1 she said it was not clear charter school funding hurt the SLPS.
She predicates her continued support of the SLPS on its continuing to improve and educate students. We of the Watch believe school board candidate support for the SLPS should be unqualified. We consider charter schools to be competitors, not partners. They are draining resources from the SLPS and do not do a better job of educating comparable students.
Answering a 15th ward question about how she would promote the SLPS as a viable choice to parents, she responded, “The best tool to promote SLPS as a viable choice for parents is results.” If you drain the district of its better students, as she has been doing through her work for inspireSTL, you will have much more difficulty improving results.
In her own words from the Watch candidate survey, “I respect and admire the service of the SAB”
Cooksey appears to be an advocate for corporate school reform. The financial support she has received from Washington D.C. and New York demonstrates that outside forces with a national school reform agenda are bankrolling her. If she wins, we can expect more candidates of this nature in the next few elections until the community most invested in our schools again loses influence over the governance of the SLPS. If the elected board regains its authority to govern our schools but it is peopled with candidates like Cooksey, we will be back where we were before parents began running for and winning board elections a decade ago.
Moving on to Natalie Vowell, in her campaign literature she states, “Since moving to St. Louis in 2010, I have worked on the front lines of education and poverty issues in our City,…”
When Vowell was running for 78th district state representative in May, 2014 I attempted to engage her in a discussion of education issues. She did not have opinions or an understanding of major issues facing our public schools last May. I tried to engage her in conversation about education issues again in January 2015 after learning that she had filed to run for school board. In January, she could not answer questions about charter schools, accreditation or the SAB. I came to the conclusion that wherever she had been on education issues during the past 4 years, it was not the front lines.
Since that time, she has been doing her homework and can now speak convincingly about education issues. She understands the challenges. She is appalled by the social injustice that has created the problems in our schools. However, she is new to the battlefield and she misunderstands some things.
In her response to a question on the 15th ward website on charter schools she writes,
“Perhaps it is time for SLPS administration to reach out to the charter school community and adopt some of the policies and practices that seem to be most pertinent to charter school success—particularly those charters who are able to serve our impoverished population”
Vowel does not know that students in charters and students who applied to charters but did not get in demonstrate the same level of academic performance. Charters do not improve academic performance. Very few charters out-perform public schools. The ones that do tend to have more affluent students or get signed agreements from parents and students to commit to longer schools hours and days which public schools cannot require of their students and parents. Most charter schools serving high poverty populations are performing at the same or worse levels than public schools. Also, she seems unaware that charters do not serve as many children with disabilities and especially severe disabilities so their classrooms are not as affected by legally required mainstreaming as is the SLPS, nor are there as many ESOL or homeless children in charters. She does not understand that the KIPP schools cream students by requiring them and their parents to sign contracts. The SLPS cannot require contracts from all of their students. The field of competition between the SLPS and the charters is not level. She also did not understand that charter schools are entitled to a portion of all funding received by the SLPS, including local sales tax and property taxes.
Vowel is one of those who does not understand what tenure means and does not support it. Tenure provides teachers with due process to prevent arbitrary terminations. It does not ensure perpetual employment.
At the LWV/Local420 sponsored forum Vowell said that most of public schools funding came from state and federal government and that this should stop. This is neither true nor wise. The SLPS budgets from the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal years show that federal and state funding amounted to only about a third of the district’s revenue. Most of city public school revenue comes from property taxes. She misunderstands school funding. Her understanding may have been affected by her political views. She attributes the loss of population and home ownership in the city to high property tax rates. That is an extremely simplistic explanation for a complex problem.
Vowell also thinks there is money to be saved from cutting administrative bloat in the SLPS. She is ignorant of the way the administration has been cut to the bone during the past 10 years of the SLPS being run like a business. Were the SLPS to stop accepting funding from the state and federal government, it would have to raise property tax rates to make up for the loss just to get to current inadequate levels of funding. Moreover, Vowell appears to be unaware that it is our reliance on property taxes to fund public education that is the chief cause of inequity in our public schools. Vowell’s dream of lower property tax rates is not only impractical, it is impossible.
It is possible that at some point in the future, Vowell might be an asset to the elected board. At this time, she is the least experienced and the least qualified candidate running. She would benefit from more than a few months study of the issues. That she ran for state rep last year and is currently running for school board demonstrates that she has political ambitions. Running will build her name recognition. It would not be surprising were we to find her running for office again in the near future.
Joey Hollins is a retired firefighter currently working in License Collector Mavis Thompson’s office. Shortly after filing to run in this election, he decided to pull out and remove his name from the ballot. He did not follow through however and decided to re-enter the race in early March. Although he has made some campaign appearances and gained a few endorsements, he has declined to respond to the 15th ward candidate survey, the Post-Dispatch Voter Guide or the Watch candidate survey. He did request that the Watch survey be resent to him last weekend because he had lost it among his emails. The editor, however, felt it was unfair to the other candidates for him to be given the extra time and be able to respond to the questions after having seen how they responded, so we did not comply with his request.
As an alumnus of the SLPS who went on to a successful career and whose children graduated from the SLPS, Hollins understands the district. He emphasizes the need for early childhood education and concentration on literacy. He has devoted volunteer time to working with at risk youth and has been active in a community based committee which has been successful in advocating for the re-opening of L’Ouverture Middle School. However, his lackadaisical attitude towards campaigning has made it extremely unlikely that he could win a seat on the board in this election. He could, however, take votes away from the people who should win, making it possible others, who shouldn’t, to prevail. It is our hope that Hollins will run for the board in the future and devote time to a campaign that would result in victory. He has missed too many campaign opportunities to be successful this time.
That leaves incumbents, David Jackson and Katie Wessling, both of whom still have children attending SLPS.
On the 15th ward’s questionnaire Jackson wrote,
“As it stands now, I believe the District needs time and resources to continue in educating its children to the best of its ability. Adding more Charter Schools in the City really diminishes these efforts.” Jackson made a forceful statement opposing charter at the LWV/Local 420 forum Wednesday night. He has evolved on this issue. Jackson also bravely defended the importance of property tax revenue to the district against Natalie Vowell’s advocacy for lowering the tax rate. Jackson even suggested putting an increase in the rate to a public vote because city voters have always voted to support the SLPS’s financial needs. He has been a problematic board member at times. The Watch has been deeply concerned about his leadership of the board at times. But Jackson has gained the respect of a majority of board members. He should be re-elected.
Katie Wessling , quoted from the 15th ward questionnaire wrote,
“None of the non-incumbent candidates in this election have been involved in SLPS affairs over these last years. I have not seen any of them at our Board meetings, ever. I have not heard their names in connection with SLPS. They do not, to my knowledge, have children in SLPS. I think at this crucial time, as the time to transition back to the Elected Board is hopefully coming, it would be unfortunate to lose Board Members who have been active members preparing for transition and have had leadership roles in doing so and to replace them with people who, while having the best of intentions I am sure, are not “up to speed” with the current state of the Board, the history that got us to this place, or transition plans which have been carefully honed over the past few years. They may someday make wonderful board members, but right now, none of them are ready.”
“Though we cannot govern, we can still advocate, and we can prepare for transition. In other cities where citizens have been disenfranchised by removal of an elected board, and then it is returned to them, the ability of the Board to effectively return to governance correlates with the fact that a Board continued to exist and remain engaged in district affairs throughout the period of disenfranchisement. A sudden transition to a group of people who have not been involved and are not “up to speed” is a recipe for failure.”
Katie Wessling succinctly makes the case for her and David Jackson’s re-election. The Watch endorses them.
Please vote Tuesday and please ask everyone you know to vote. This is a crucial election for the SLPS.
About Cooksey’s Finance Reports.
April 4, 2015—St. Louis--I returned to the Board of Election Commissioners April 2nd. Cooksey had filed an amended report earlier in the day. The 8 day report she filed on March 30th was full of mistakes. She did not file a statement of committee organization until March 6 so she did not have to file a 40 day before the election report. However on the 8 day before the election report she filed on March 30 she reports $24,907.82 in receipts on line 1 as having been previously reported. In the amended report she filed on April 2 that line correctly reports zeros. The $24,907 was the total of her incurred debt and her disbursements. She mistakenly added her receipts and her debts and disbursements and reported that as total receipts of $63,104.82 on line 9. Her total receipts are actually $38,197.00.
She is acting as her own treasurer. This is highly unusual in a campaign. Given the mistakes she has made in reporting one can see that it was not the best use of her talents. At the April 1st candidate forum, she claimed to be an expert on finances. Her difficulties filling out campaign finance reports calls that expertise into question.
She has a total of 12 itemized donors listed providing checks of over $50 which must be itemized including that $30,000 check from Leadership for Educational Equity. The 4 out of town donors, including LEE and Bloomberg contributed $31,400 of the total. Eight checks from in town donors added up to $3,525.00. The difference of $3,272 is probably small donation which need not be itemized.
Her report summaries are in the attachments below.
_________________________________________________________________________
By Susan Turk
Tuesday’s Election
April 4, 2015—St. Louis--All 5 of the candidates who are actively running for school board are aware of the challenges the SLPS faces trying to educate predominantly disadvantaged urban students and regain full accreditation. All of them sound good in their public appearances. Areas of emphasis distinguish them.
Charli Cooksey’s war chest has had a considerable impact on this election. The sheer volume of out of town money, especially that $30,000 check from LEE is unprecedented. Election Board staff related that not even aldermanic candidates see such large checks. Only the mayor and president of the board of aldermen have attracted such deep pockets. The half a million Civic Progress raised in their effort to control the school board 10 years ago was local corporate money after all and that money was contributed to a PAC which independently spent money on all of their candidates.
This unparalleled situation has required the Watch to carefully consider its recommendations for this election, because we believe it would be deeply unfortunate for Charli Cooksey to win a seat on the board of education. It would be unfortunate for several reasons. She is pro- charter schools, pro-SAB, pro-Teach for America and anti-raising public revenue. Plus, the unnamed in her campaign literature not-for-profit which she executive directs, inspireSTL, has recruited high performing students to leave the district for high school, lowering our graduation rates, persistence to college MAP points and end of course MAP scores, and thereby increasing the SLPS’s difficulty in regaining full accreditation. She has been working against the best interests of district for the past 5 years.
A memorandum of understanding she signed with the SLPS in December may refocus inspireSTL’s efforts to keeping those students in high performing SLPS high schools. But since its inception, inspireSTL has drained high achievers from SLPS. Half of the students inspireSTL recruited left the SLPS for schools such as Affton High School, Bayless High School, Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School, Christian Brothers College High School, De Smet Jesuit High School, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, Mehlville High School, Notre Dame High School, St. John Vianney High School, St. Louis University High School, Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School and Whitfield School. “Half of our Scholars attend public schools within St. Louis city, and half attend private and parochial institutions in the area.” From http://inspirestl.org/placements
The 15th ward Democrats survey school board candidates. In response to one of their questions, Cooksey wrote, “I am deeply committed to protecting and preserving the sustainability of SLPS as long as it continues to improve and educate students. I believe more quality schools should open and more existing schools should continue to improve. Ideally, that would be through SLPS, but good charter schools are not the enemy, but instead, partners.” At the League of Women Voters/Local 420 candidate forum April 1 she said it was not clear charter school funding hurt the SLPS.
She predicates her continued support of the SLPS on its continuing to improve and educate students. We of the Watch believe school board candidate support for the SLPS should be unqualified. We consider charter schools to be competitors, not partners. They are draining resources from the SLPS and do not do a better job of educating comparable students.
Answering a 15th ward question about how she would promote the SLPS as a viable choice to parents, she responded, “The best tool to promote SLPS as a viable choice for parents is results.” If you drain the district of its better students, as she has been doing through her work for inspireSTL, you will have much more difficulty improving results.
In her own words from the Watch candidate survey, “I respect and admire the service of the SAB”
Cooksey appears to be an advocate for corporate school reform. The financial support she has received from Washington D.C. and New York demonstrates that outside forces with a national school reform agenda are bankrolling her. If she wins, we can expect more candidates of this nature in the next few elections until the community most invested in our schools again loses influence over the governance of the SLPS. If the elected board regains its authority to govern our schools but it is peopled with candidates like Cooksey, we will be back where we were before parents began running for and winning board elections a decade ago.
Moving on to Natalie Vowell, in her campaign literature she states, “Since moving to St. Louis in 2010, I have worked on the front lines of education and poverty issues in our City,…”
When Vowell was running for 78th district state representative in May, 2014 I attempted to engage her in a discussion of education issues. She did not have opinions or an understanding of major issues facing our public schools last May. I tried to engage her in conversation about education issues again in January 2015 after learning that she had filed to run for school board. In January, she could not answer questions about charter schools, accreditation or the SAB. I came to the conclusion that wherever she had been on education issues during the past 4 years, it was not the front lines.
Since that time, she has been doing her homework and can now speak convincingly about education issues. She understands the challenges. She is appalled by the social injustice that has created the problems in our schools. However, she is new to the battlefield and she misunderstands some things.
In her response to a question on the 15th ward website on charter schools she writes,
“Perhaps it is time for SLPS administration to reach out to the charter school community and adopt some of the policies and practices that seem to be most pertinent to charter school success—particularly those charters who are able to serve our impoverished population”
Vowel does not know that students in charters and students who applied to charters but did not get in demonstrate the same level of academic performance. Charters do not improve academic performance. Very few charters out-perform public schools. The ones that do tend to have more affluent students or get signed agreements from parents and students to commit to longer schools hours and days which public schools cannot require of their students and parents. Most charter schools serving high poverty populations are performing at the same or worse levels than public schools. Also, she seems unaware that charters do not serve as many children with disabilities and especially severe disabilities so their classrooms are not as affected by legally required mainstreaming as is the SLPS, nor are there as many ESOL or homeless children in charters. She does not understand that the KIPP schools cream students by requiring them and their parents to sign contracts. The SLPS cannot require contracts from all of their students. The field of competition between the SLPS and the charters is not level. She also did not understand that charter schools are entitled to a portion of all funding received by the SLPS, including local sales tax and property taxes.
Vowel is one of those who does not understand what tenure means and does not support it. Tenure provides teachers with due process to prevent arbitrary terminations. It does not ensure perpetual employment.
At the LWV/Local420 sponsored forum Vowell said that most of public schools funding came from state and federal government and that this should stop. This is neither true nor wise. The SLPS budgets from the 2012-13 and 2013-14 fiscal years show that federal and state funding amounted to only about a third of the district’s revenue. Most of city public school revenue comes from property taxes. She misunderstands school funding. Her understanding may have been affected by her political views. She attributes the loss of population and home ownership in the city to high property tax rates. That is an extremely simplistic explanation for a complex problem.
Vowell also thinks there is money to be saved from cutting administrative bloat in the SLPS. She is ignorant of the way the administration has been cut to the bone during the past 10 years of the SLPS being run like a business. Were the SLPS to stop accepting funding from the state and federal government, it would have to raise property tax rates to make up for the loss just to get to current inadequate levels of funding. Moreover, Vowell appears to be unaware that it is our reliance on property taxes to fund public education that is the chief cause of inequity in our public schools. Vowell’s dream of lower property tax rates is not only impractical, it is impossible.
It is possible that at some point in the future, Vowell might be an asset to the elected board. At this time, she is the least experienced and the least qualified candidate running. She would benefit from more than a few months study of the issues. That she ran for state rep last year and is currently running for school board demonstrates that she has political ambitions. Running will build her name recognition. It would not be surprising were we to find her running for office again in the near future.
Joey Hollins is a retired firefighter currently working in License Collector Mavis Thompson’s office. Shortly after filing to run in this election, he decided to pull out and remove his name from the ballot. He did not follow through however and decided to re-enter the race in early March. Although he has made some campaign appearances and gained a few endorsements, he has declined to respond to the 15th ward candidate survey, the Post-Dispatch Voter Guide or the Watch candidate survey. He did request that the Watch survey be resent to him last weekend because he had lost it among his emails. The editor, however, felt it was unfair to the other candidates for him to be given the extra time and be able to respond to the questions after having seen how they responded, so we did not comply with his request.
As an alumnus of the SLPS who went on to a successful career and whose children graduated from the SLPS, Hollins understands the district. He emphasizes the need for early childhood education and concentration on literacy. He has devoted volunteer time to working with at risk youth and has been active in a community based committee which has been successful in advocating for the re-opening of L’Ouverture Middle School. However, his lackadaisical attitude towards campaigning has made it extremely unlikely that he could win a seat on the board in this election. He could, however, take votes away from the people who should win, making it possible others, who shouldn’t, to prevail. It is our hope that Hollins will run for the board in the future and devote time to a campaign that would result in victory. He has missed too many campaign opportunities to be successful this time.
That leaves incumbents, David Jackson and Katie Wessling, both of whom still have children attending SLPS.
On the 15th ward’s questionnaire Jackson wrote,
“As it stands now, I believe the District needs time and resources to continue in educating its children to the best of its ability. Adding more Charter Schools in the City really diminishes these efforts.” Jackson made a forceful statement opposing charter at the LWV/Local 420 forum Wednesday night. He has evolved on this issue. Jackson also bravely defended the importance of property tax revenue to the district against Natalie Vowell’s advocacy for lowering the tax rate. Jackson even suggested putting an increase in the rate to a public vote because city voters have always voted to support the SLPS’s financial needs. He has been a problematic board member at times. The Watch has been deeply concerned about his leadership of the board at times. But Jackson has gained the respect of a majority of board members. He should be re-elected.
Katie Wessling , quoted from the 15th ward questionnaire wrote,
“None of the non-incumbent candidates in this election have been involved in SLPS affairs over these last years. I have not seen any of them at our Board meetings, ever. I have not heard their names in connection with SLPS. They do not, to my knowledge, have children in SLPS. I think at this crucial time, as the time to transition back to the Elected Board is hopefully coming, it would be unfortunate to lose Board Members who have been active members preparing for transition and have had leadership roles in doing so and to replace them with people who, while having the best of intentions I am sure, are not “up to speed” with the current state of the Board, the history that got us to this place, or transition plans which have been carefully honed over the past few years. They may someday make wonderful board members, but right now, none of them are ready.”
“Though we cannot govern, we can still advocate, and we can prepare for transition. In other cities where citizens have been disenfranchised by removal of an elected board, and then it is returned to them, the ability of the Board to effectively return to governance correlates with the fact that a Board continued to exist and remain engaged in district affairs throughout the period of disenfranchisement. A sudden transition to a group of people who have not been involved and are not “up to speed” is a recipe for failure.”
Katie Wessling succinctly makes the case for her and David Jackson’s re-election. The Watch endorses them.
Please vote Tuesday and please ask everyone you know to vote. This is a crucial election for the SLPS.
About Cooksey’s Finance Reports.
April 4, 2015—St. Louis--I returned to the Board of Election Commissioners April 2nd. Cooksey had filed an amended report earlier in the day. The 8 day report she filed on March 30th was full of mistakes. She did not file a statement of committee organization until March 6 so she did not have to file a 40 day before the election report. However on the 8 day before the election report she filed on March 30 she reports $24,907.82 in receipts on line 1 as having been previously reported. In the amended report she filed on April 2 that line correctly reports zeros. The $24,907 was the total of her incurred debt and her disbursements. She mistakenly added her receipts and her debts and disbursements and reported that as total receipts of $63,104.82 on line 9. Her total receipts are actually $38,197.00.
She is acting as her own treasurer. This is highly unusual in a campaign. Given the mistakes she has made in reporting one can see that it was not the best use of her talents. At the April 1st candidate forum, she claimed to be an expert on finances. Her difficulties filling out campaign finance reports calls that expertise into question.
She has a total of 12 itemized donors listed providing checks of over $50 which must be itemized including that $30,000 check from Leadership for Educational Equity. The 4 out of town donors, including LEE and Bloomberg contributed $31,400 of the total. Eight checks from in town donors added up to $3,525.00. The difference of $3,272 is probably small donation which need not be itemized.
Her report summaries are in the attachments below.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
The Jewish establishment has banned these four valiant Jews. Why?
Lots of lessons here --
This is an excellent description of one subset of the broader actors and forces who are trying to contain and divide Ferguson and other solidarity movements in St. Louis.
This is a good background for understanding why the Museum, pressured by the JCRC and the ADL, censored the Ayotzinapa-Palestine-Ferguson event.
This also why Washington University engaged in a serious breach of academic freedom when it censored an open academic debate on the BDS movement last year.
This also details why, following these courageous figures, we must resist censorship and racism in all their forms. Definitely worth reading...
From Mondoweiss:
The Jewish establishment has banned these four valiant Jews. Why?
"Levy said the demand is something out of the Spanish Inquisition. “There’s a single definition of being Jewish: I have to be a Zionist, 110 percent uncritical of Israel, otherwise I can’t call myself a Jew. And I think there’s something wrong with that.”
Rubin said the thought control reminds him of Communist days, when friends said he should never criticize the Soviet Union because Russia was the savior of the working class, and criticism would hurt the movement.
“Now Israel is the savior of the Jewish community so don’t say anything. Israel is supposed to be a Jewish country–and they don’t want Jews to argue? This is not the way that Jews do business.”
Zellner said Israel is not a Jewish country, any more than the U.S. was a white country when 12 percent of the country was back. But she said the demands of Jewish nationalism have made Jews sick.
“What’s happening now in the Jewish community, the enforced loyalty to the state of Israel, has made us sick. We are a sick population, we are under such extreme tension. We have people storming out of seder meals, and we in Jews Say No, when we’re out on the street. I have seen normal people who you would not look at twice go from zero to 60 in a second and become raving maniacs. Calling us everything that you can possibly say. We are in a situation where people can’t ask the questions and they can’t talk. “
She said the young Jews in the room were the “prize” that the older Jews are fighting over, and the Fingerhuts will lose. READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Monday, March 30, 2015
Mayor Slay's education liaison to lead state charter school commission : News
Toward the further dismantling of public education -- that is, the dismantling of mechanisms of democratic accountability, the infiltration of private and corporate interests, and the further segmentation and segregation of schools via the discourse of choice – the expansion of charter schools in St. Louis will continue apace (though you need public schools to contain the most "challenging" students):
Mayor Slay's education liaison to lead state charter school commission : News
NPR Story: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/slay-s-top-education-adviser-will-head-missouri-charter-school-commission
Mayor Slay's education liaison to lead state charter school commission : News
NPR Story: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/slay-s-top-education-adviser-will-head-missouri-charter-school-commission
Spence Jackson, spokesman for the late Tom Schweich, found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound : News
Spence Jackson, spokesman for the late Tom Schweich, found dead of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound : News
Withholding speculation for the moment, but my gut tells me that this is an index of the broader Missouri political culture at work. Not just anti-semitism, there's something else going on here.
Withholding speculation for the moment, but my gut tells me that this is an index of the broader Missouri political culture at work. Not just anti-semitism, there's something else going on here.
Friday, March 27, 2015
More on censorship at the Missouri History Museum: ADL and JCRC pressured museum to exclude Palestine (press release and news stories below)
Compiling various press accounts (see bottom of this post).
|
For immediate release: March 26, 2015
CONTACT: JVP: Maya Harris & Arielle Klagsbrun; stl@jewishvoiceforpeace.org
Sunshine request reveals JCRC board member demanded Missouri History Museum exclude Palestine from Public Event
Through a Sunshine request with the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Jewish Voice for Peace revealed that pressure from a Jewish Community Relations Council Executive Director Batya Abramson-Goldstein lead to the museum’s last minute demand to exclude Palestine from a public dialogue on activism including Ferguson and Ayotzinapa.
Facing criticism for the censorship of Palestinian voices, the Missouri History Museum attributed the panel’s cancellation to miscommunication between Museum staff and event organizers. Panelists and partner organizations refused to break their coalition ties between people of color by removing Palestine from the event.
Organizers and community members rallied on the museum’s front steps in support of the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee.
“I had absolutely no intent to silence you,” said Missouri History Museum President Frances Levine to St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee member Sandra Tamari before the rally in front of the museum.
The following day, St. Louis Jewish Voice for Peace officially submitted a Sunshine request under the Freedom of Information Act to the Missouri History Museum, requesting access to museum emails containing specific terms such as “JCRC”.
In a series of emails obtained, Abramson-Goldstein calls for the removal of Palestine from the panel; she wrote to Levine “ "I am writing because I have been receiving emails and phone calls expressing dismay at the upcoming History Museum Program: Ferguson to Ayotzinapa to Palestine: Solidarity and Collaborative Action. I can understand the dismay.”
After the event’s cancellation, Abramson-Goldstein wrote to Levine “When you and I eventually have our breakfast/lunch/coffee we can look back at this incident as an illustration of a potentially damaging incident defused."
Regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Karen Aroesty also expressed concern over the event when she wrote to Levine “[I] wonder if you have contacted Metro PD to let them know you may need additional personnel.”
In a post from their website, The St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee states “in [our] work to promote freedom, equality and justice in Palestine and Israel, we reaffirm our commitment to principles of anti-racism and anti-oppression... We stand opposed to Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, all forms of racism, and any other expressions of bigotry directed at any person or group.”
"Our organization affirms that support of black struggle in Ferguson while at the same time supporting Jewish privilege in Israel are incompatible stances and must be rejected,” said St. Louis Jewish Voice for Peace member Maya Harris.
“When Ferguson started, I found it very interesting that the Jewish organization, the Anti-Defamation League put out no fewer than three statements saying ‘don’t compare Ferguson and Palestine,’” Tamari says. “Our solidarity is obviously very powerful and people are scared of us joining forces. The event at the museum is just one example of how we are challenging the status quo.”
###
Emails obtained from the Sunshine Request are available from JVP upon request.
Video Sources:
Frances quote:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10155299220290181&pnref=story
See also:
Press reports
Wicentowski, Danny. 27 March 2015. "MO History Museum Contacted Jewish Group Before Nixing Ferguson-Palestine Event." Riverfront Times.
Weiss, Philip. 27 March 2015. "Emails show Missouri museum canceled 'Ferguson to Palestine' event under pressure from Jewish Group" Mondweiss.
Story in StudLife, spins the Museum PR version: http://www.studlife.com/news/region/2015/03/26/emails-reveal-communication-between-jewish-group-and-museum-leadership/
Story in Post-Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/history-museum-pressured-speakers-panel-to-exclude-palestinian-group-emails/article_c26cfa1b-2b8a-5c34-8aef-24f3b48c11f9.html
In St. Louis Business-Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2015/03/26/jewish-group-contacted-history-museum-before-it.html?ana=twt
Opinion:
Ayah Abo-basha, StudLife. MO History Museum should change its mission statement to "erasing the narratives of people of color"
Alex Leichenger, StudLife. "Whose History do we select?"
Earlier posts:
Statement of thanks for solidarity support: http://stlouisschoolsproject.blogspot.com/2015/03/message-of-thanks-to-our-allies-in.html
Censorship and more background on history of corruption at MO History Museum.
St Louis School Board: Opportunities to engage the candidates, reclaim public education for the people of St. Louis
From Susan Turk Commonsense:
There are two opportunities next week to hear the candidates speak and ask questions. There are 5 candidates, Natalie Vowell, Charli Cooksey, David Jackson, Katie Wessling and Joey Hollins. There is a sixth name on the ballot, Tom Oldenburg but he has decided not to run. Charlie Cooksey has raised over $30,000 for the race. The other candidates are all self-funding their campaigns and were not expecting to have to raise money. Cooksey is making things much more of a challenge. So, come hear the candidates and vote! This is a light turn out election. Your vote can make a difference.
Monday March 30, 6pm, 18 Ward Democratic Political Forum, Trinity Church 600 N. Euclid
Wednesday April 1, 7pm, League of Women Voters & Local #420 Political Forum, Carr Lane School, 1004 N. Jefferson
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Anatomy Of A Protest | Common Reader
Anatomy Of A Protest | Common Reader
One reading - with some serious flaws – of the Students Against Peabody sit-in of Spring 2014.
One reading - with some serious flaws – of the Students Against Peabody sit-in of Spring 2014.
Why did the Justice Department conclude that 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' was a myth?
Why did the Justice Department conclude that 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' was a myth?
STL Public Radio -- still parsing their read. But nobody has explained to me yet why the two shots to Michael Brown's head were coming from above.
Good coverage for much of the process. On that note, STL Public Radio also reporting today with a softball story on Monsanto fighting the possible carcinogenic designation for Roundup.
Monsanto giving lots of money to St Louis Public Radio... and Ameren... Peabody next? So much for "public"?
STL Public Radio -- still parsing their read. But nobody has explained to me yet why the two shots to Michael Brown's head were coming from above.
Good coverage for much of the process. On that note, STL Public Radio also reporting today with a softball story on Monsanto fighting the possible carcinogenic designation for Roundup.
Monsanto giving lots of money to St Louis Public Radio... and Ameren... Peabody next? So much for "public"?
Protesters, former inmates want the St. Louis workhouse to close : News
Protesters, former inmates want the St. Louis workhouse to close : News
This kind of snide dismissiveness is indicative of a white political machine on the defensive. Classic way of speaking coming out of mayor's office. Conjure up the image of the [white] "people of St. Louis" and oppose them to anybody who questions the system (we hear the same thing in the education arena):
This kind of snide dismissiveness is indicative of a white political machine on the defensive. Classic way of speaking coming out of mayor's office. Conjure up the image of the [white] "people of St. Louis" and oppose them to anybody who questions the system (we hear the same thing in the education arena):
Maggie Crane, spokeswoman for Mayor Francis Slay, said the workhouse passes city standards. She said a grievance policy allows inmates to file complaints.
She said the workhouse won’t be shut down soon.
“I don’t think the people of St. Louis would be happy with us if we did, except for the dozen people outside today,” she said
Hope for ST Louis: Active Engagement on Education in the 7th Ward: School Board Candidate Survey Responses
From the 7th Ward website: School Board Candidate Survey Responses
And, here are dates for more School Board candidate forums:
Wednesday March 25, 7:30pm, 24th Ward Democratic Org., Carpenter's District Council, 1401 Hampton Avenue
Thursday March 26, 7pm, 15th Ward Democratic Org. Candidate Forum,Mekong Restaurant, 3131 S. Grand
Monday March 30, 6pm, 18 Ward Democratic Political Forum, Trinity Church 600 N. Euclid
Wednesday April 1, 7pm, League of Women Voters & Local #420 Political Forum, Carr Lane School, 1004 N. Jefferson
And, here are dates for more School Board candidate forums:
Wednesday March 25, 7:30pm, 24th Ward Democratic Org., Carpenter's District Council, 1401 Hampton Avenue
Thursday March 26, 7pm, 15th Ward Democratic Org. Candidate Forum,Mekong Restaurant, 3131 S. Grand
Monday March 30, 6pm, 18 Ward Democratic Political Forum, Trinity Church 600 N. Euclid
Wednesday April 1, 7pm, League of Women Voters & Local #420 Political Forum, Carr Lane School, 1004 N. Jefferson
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Another kind of "Autonomy" -- Armed "Autodefensa" in Mexico -- Grassroots response to narcotrafficking? Or risky turn to vigilantism
Two Years of the Autodefensas Movement in Michoacán, Mexico: Persecution and Politics - Upside Down World
On February 24, 2013, the citizens of the municipality of Tecalpatepec, in the heart of the Tierra Caliente region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, rose up in armed resistance against the Caballeros Templarios [Knights Templar] cartel. Sick of the violence, the abuses and the indifference and complicity with which the authorities were treating the narcotraffickers, the citizens decided to solve the problems that none of the three levels of government: municipal, state and federal, had dared to confront up to that date. The Autodefensas [Self-Defenses] of Michoacán had been born.
On February 24, 2013, the citizens of the municipality of Tecalpatepec, in the heart of the Tierra Caliente region of the Mexican state of Michoacán, rose up in armed resistance against the Caballeros Templarios [Knights Templar] cartel. Sick of the violence, the abuses and the indifference and complicity with which the authorities were treating the narcotraffickers, the citizens decided to solve the problems that none of the three levels of government: municipal, state and federal, had dared to confront up to that date. The Autodefensas [Self-Defenses] of Michoacán had been born.
The news spread quickly, and in fewer than three months the municipalities of Buenavista Tomatlán, Coalcomán de Vásquez Pallares and Apatzingán de la Constitución, members of the regions of Tierra Caliente and Sierra-Costa also rose up. 2013 was, on the side of the citizens, a year of confrontations against the criminals; on the side of the governments, on the other hand, it was a year of reflection about the possible solutions to this crisis of legitimacy, which put in doubt nothing less than the monopoly of the State over violence.
Want to Rebuild the Left? Take Socialism Seriously | The Nation
Want to Rebuild the Left? Take Socialism Seriously | The Nation
By Kshama Sawant, Seattle city council member.
By Kshama Sawant, Seattle city council member.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Grassroots Organizations Unify to Resist the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Issue-based coalition building, in this case, re: TPP
Joseph Stiglitz on the Trans Pacific Partnership: "This is a Big Deal"
Alexandros Orphanides (In these Times)
The TPP is a massive trade agreement between the United States, Canada, Chile, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
"Critics of the agreement say it amounts to the promulgation of corporate globalization and neoliberalization and have likened it to “NAFTA on steroids.” In a recent interview in Salon, Noam Chomsky described the TPP’s aims as to “maximize profit and domination and to set the working people of the world in competition with one another, to lower wages and increase insecurity, ... [and] to protect at the same time ... the top wealth sector.”
"The Community Meeting With Joseph Stiglitz
READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE
Joseph Stiglitz on the Trans Pacific Partnership: "This is a Big Deal"
Alexandros Orphanides (In these Times)
"What Is TPP?
The TPP is a massive trade agreement between the United States, Canada, Chile, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
...
"Critics of the agreement say it amounts to the promulgation of corporate globalization and neoliberalization and have likened it to “NAFTA on steroids.” In a recent interview in Salon, Noam Chomsky described the TPP’s aims as to “maximize profit and domination and to set the working people of the world in competition with one another, to lower wages and increase insecurity, ... [and] to protect at the same time ... the top wealth sector.”
...
"The Community Meeting With Joseph Stiglitz
...
Labor unions, community organizations and Nobel laureates don’t often share a public school auditorium, but that was precisely the constellation of characters that gathered on a recent Wednesday night at P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights to discuss the potential ramifications of the TPP, which is slated for congressional fast-tracking.
Around 400 people attended the community meeting, organized by a variety sponsors, including the WFP, Make the Road New York, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Terraza 7 (a local bar and community space) and others. The crowd of unionized workers, small business owners, activists and local residents filled the elementary school auditorium to discuss the implications of the trade agreement and hear Joseph Stiglitz’s remarks on the agreement. Within the economics discipline, Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner in economics and Columbia University professor, has been one of the TPP’s most outspoken critics.
“One of the reasons you should know [the TPP] is important is that they’ve tried to get it passed without anyone knowing about it,” Stiglitz began. “And that should make you suspicious.” The bill’s backers “always say ... they’re going to create jobs. If that were really true, you’d expect the unions that represent the workers [affected by the bill] to be all in favor of it.”
Alluding to the 2008 financial crisis, he continued, “The people that are in favor [of TPP] are the people in Wall Street.”
READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE
‘For the Sake of All’ tackles early education - St. Louis American: Local News
‘For the Sake of All’ tackles early education - St. Louis American: Local News: Researchers behind the “For the Sake of All” report held a forum at the Parents As Teachers national center in St. Louis on Thursday, March 12…
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Message of Thanks to Our Allies in the Missouri History Museum Controversy
Message of Thanks to Our Allies in the Missouri History Museum Controversy
Standing in solidarity with Palestine is a challenging endeavor. Time and time again, we have witnessed attempts to silence discourse on Palestine in St. Louis and across the country. Supporters of Israel know that our stories of Israeli brutality and oppression are powerful tools in the struggle for Palestinian freedom. When the PSC made the decision to stand in solidarity with the black liberation movement in Ferguson, we did so because it was the right thing to do. We never expected or anticipated that that movement would, in their time of great struggle, need to step up for us. We can’t express enough our appreciation for your unwavering support, especially to the Organization for Black Struggle, who we consider family. We are grateful for our new relationships with Latinos En Axion Stl, AltaVoz and the Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America and affirm that the solidarity you have shown to us is a debt we carry and strive to repay in action. PSC member, Suhad Khatib, said it best at the Ferguson October Rally in Kiener Plaza last year,
“BLACK LIBERATION IN THIS COUNTRY IS LIBERATION FOR ALL OF US!”
The St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee
Women Up in Arms: Zapatistas and Rojava Kurds embrace a new gender politics. | Other Worlds
Women Up in Arms: Zapatistas and Rojava Kurds embrace a new gender politics. | Other Worlds
On the topic of movements pursuing forms of intersectionality within/across identity/class struggles.
On the topic of movements pursuing forms of intersectionality within/across identity/class struggles.
How LBJ's Speech on Voting Rights Was Inspired by Grassroots Activism
How LBJ's Speech on Voting Rights Was Inspired by Grassroots Activism
There have been too few moments like this. Too often, presidents have tried to resist when grassroots movements create pressure for political action. They see the activists as politically naïve and essentially incompetent when it comes to “real” politics.
But sometimes the grassroots activists know exactly what they are doing. They are spot-on when making their arguments about what Washington needs to do. And sometimes, like on March 15, a president understands this and reacts by joining them rather than pushing them aside. As the nation today tries to deal with so many huge problems—ranging from economic inequality to immigration, to racism within urban police forces—this is a speech that we should look back to for inspiration and guidance.
Friday, March 20, 2015
This is how anti-semitism works in Missouri politics (and how big money moves, or doesn't move), and more revelations
See Post-Dispatch story.
And statements from John Hancock, here.
Update March 20, 2015: Danforth doubles down, tries to get other donors to call for Hancock's ouster. Ok, so, like the History Museum, clearly the Republican party is a donor-driven entity, but who in fact is 'clear' of the crudest forms of racism and anti-semitism in that party? Danforth story here.
Update March 24, 2015: Somehow, hard to believe anything any of these people say. Hancock ups the ante, hands one back to Danforth. Humphreys backpedals on the affidavit below, and sends out a new one, here, says it wasn't November, it was September. Which means that... not anti-semitic after all?
Ferguson Revelations: "The Workhouse" - A St Louis Institution, needs to be shut down.
More Ferguson Revelations:
From MORE:
From MORE:
For the last seven months, I’ve been part of a team of people providing jail support to Ferguson protesters. While doing jail support, we spent many hours talking on the phone with people (protesters and not) who were locked up in the City's Medium Security Institution (aka "the Workhouse"). From those conversations, it was clear that conditions inside the Workhouse are inhumane; people are forced to endure dirty, cramped quarters, disgusting food, and physical and psychological abuse. Often, they are not given the medications they need to survive.
Additionally, most people in the Workhouse are awaiting trial and have not even been found guilty yet. Many are locked up for non-violent crimes simply because they do not have the money for bail--sometimes as little as a few hundred dollars. It is clear that the Workhouse exists to criminalize, punish, and warehouse poor people.
So, this Tuesday, March 24th at 9:15am at the City Justice Center (200 South Tucker Blvd) we will call on Richard Gray, the City's Public Safety Director, to shut down the Workhouse. Folks who have been locked up will speak out about the facility while, inside the Justice Center, city officials meet with private vendors hoping to win a new food service contract with the City’s Division of Corrections. We will make sure they know that we will not tolerate inhumane jail conditions and mass incarceration in St. Louis.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
History Museum cancels Ferguson-Palestine discussion : News
History Museum cancels Ferguson-Palestine discussion : News
Recent discussion on 'ethics' and transparency at the Zoo-Museum District Board (the board which oversees the taxpayers' money), not to be confused with the Museum Board itself, which is mostly private corporate interests. The two boards are supposed to share power to run the Museum, but in practice there are a number of problems, chief among both, lack of transparency and accountability.
Our local NPR station receives funding from @MoHistoryMuseum. They have been publishing negative stories about the ZMD side of the arrangement. I read this as an attempt to discredit the more public side of the governance arrangement, but this is a hypothesis, for the moment. (Local NPR did not cover the story about the emails that showed pressure from donors to censor the Palestine-related event, a combination of racial discrimination and censorship. But they are covering this story with relish.)
KWMU stories on ZMD code of ethics issues:
Feb 2, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/zmd-ethics-code-finally-moves-forward
March 9, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/second-zoo-museum-district-board-member-resigns-less-year
March 19, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/protest-springs-canceled-museum-event
April 6, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/zoo-museum-district-cant-agree-ethics-language
Background on corruption and private hijacking of this public institution from the Archibald days:
Dec. 20, 2012: Archibald resigns: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/archibald-resigns-history-museum-president
Jan. 13, 2014: Editorial: stumbling toward transparency on John Roberts, former Civic Progress head, then chair of MOHM board of trustees
April 22, 2014: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/conflict-interest-allegations-lead-zmd-board-resignation-and-push-stronger-regs
Dec. 11, 2014: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/zoo-museum-district-makes-no-progress-ethics-code-zoo-audit-accepted
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_55f3956e-cd04-5037-9b07-0491964ff349.html#.VQx2Da_ugFc.twitter
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/new-missouri-history-museum-head-lauded-report-adds-criticism-institution
When public-private 'partnership' means: public giving away money to support the interests of the wealthy political class.
Recent discussion on 'ethics' and transparency at the Zoo-Museum District Board (the board which oversees the taxpayers' money), not to be confused with the Museum Board itself, which is mostly private corporate interests. The two boards are supposed to share power to run the Museum, but in practice there are a number of problems, chief among both, lack of transparency and accountability.
Our local NPR station receives funding from @MoHistoryMuseum. They have been publishing negative stories about the ZMD side of the arrangement. I read this as an attempt to discredit the more public side of the governance arrangement, but this is a hypothesis, for the moment. (Local NPR did not cover the story about the emails that showed pressure from donors to censor the Palestine-related event, a combination of racial discrimination and censorship. But they are covering this story with relish.)
KWMU stories on ZMD code of ethics issues:
Feb 2, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/zmd-ethics-code-finally-moves-forward
March 9, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/second-zoo-museum-district-board-member-resigns-less-year
March 19, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/protest-springs-canceled-museum-event
April 6, 2015: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/zoo-museum-district-cant-agree-ethics-language
Background on corruption and private hijacking of this public institution from the Archibald days:
Dec. 20, 2012: Archibald resigns: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/archibald-resigns-history-museum-president
Jan. 13, 2014: Editorial: stumbling toward transparency on John Roberts, former Civic Progress head, then chair of MOHM board of trustees
But when about $10 million in taxpayer money passes through your hands every year, the rules are different. Newspapers and the public at large have a right to ask questions.Jan 21, 2014: KWMU: New director
Then there’s the History Museum, which is used to taking the public’s money and not providing the public any answers. Change is hard.
April 22, 2014: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/conflict-interest-allegations-lead-zmd-board-resignation-and-push-stronger-regs
Dec. 11, 2014: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/zoo-museum-district-makes-no-progress-ethics-code-zoo-audit-accepted
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/new-missouri-history-museum-head-lauded-report-adds-criticism-institution
When public-private 'partnership' means: public giving away money to support the interests of the wealthy political class.
'Diplomas Aren't Bulletproof': TFA's Brittany Packett
Being honest about the problematic reputation of TFA and the need for disruptive change..
'Diplomas Aren't Bulletproof'
'Diplomas Aren't Bulletproof'
Solidarity Rides Again: #Ferguson #Ayotzinapa #Palestine
March 19, 2015
A Statement of Solidarity with the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee
A panel entitled “From Ferguson to Ayotzinapa to Palestine: Solidarity and Collaborative Action" was planned for Thursday, March 19 at the Missouri History Museum. Two days ago, the Missouri History Museum informed organizers of the panel that the Museum could not host the event unless the topic of Palestine and the participation of the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee were removed from the panel. We, the undersigned, condemn this silencing of part of our community and this brazen attempt to divide communities of color. Instead of talking about solidarity, we find ourselves actualizing solidarity by rejecting the Missouri History Museum’s demands. We stand by our Palestinian partners and are postponing the original panel until an alternative location can be confirmed.
The panel is being organized to explore intersections among our distinct struggles. We are baffled by the decision of the Museum, a publicly funded institution, to censor discourse. The Palestinian narrative has for too long been silenced and needs to be heard. The St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (PSC) was formed in 2009 by a group of grassroots activists in the St. Louis, Missouri area to respond to Israel’s devastating war on Gaza in the winter of 2008-09 and advocates for freedom from Israeli occupation, equality for Palestinians and Israelis, and justice for Palestinian refugees. We question what factors contributed to this decision to censor the panel. Shouldn’t an institution dedicated to intellectual inquiry and research be open to all viewpoints?
Our conversations leading to this panel demonstrate that we have much to learn from one another. Our stories of oppression and resistance are understood by us all. We recognize the overlapping state and economic forces that contribute to our trauma. While our histories and struggles are unique, deep in our hearts we know that no one is free until everyone is free. This attempt to divide us hurts us deeply and must be condemned.
We call on all people of conscience and heart to join us in telling the newly dubbed “Selective History Museum” that their decision to silence us is wrong and contributes to the deep racial divisions in St. Louis. Join us to tell the Museum that justice is not selective and solidarity means we must stand together. We invite you to join us on Thursday, March 19 at 7 pm in front of the “Selective History Museum” at 5700 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112 for a press conference and presentation of a plan of action to hold the Museum accountable for its shameful decision.
AltaVoz
Organization for Black Struggle
Latinos en Axion STL
Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America
Declaración de Solidaridad con el Comité de Palestina en St. Louis
El Panel llamado “Desde Ferguson a Ayotzinapa a Palestina: Acción Solidaria y Colectiva” estaba planeada para este jueves 19 de Marzo en el Museo de Historia de Missouri (Missouri History Museum ) ayer, el Museo de Historia de Missouri informa a los organizadores del panel en el Museo no podrá llevarse a cabo a menos que el tema de Palestina así como la participación del Comité de Solidaridad de Palestina en St. Louis (St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committe fueran removidos del panel. Nosotros, los que abajo firmamos, condenamos el silenciamiento de una parte de nuestra comunidad y este descarado intento de dividir a las comunidades de color. En vez de hablar de solidaridad, nos encontramos ahora y en solidaridad rechazando las demandas del Museo de Historia de Missouri (Missouri History Museum.) Nosotros apoyamos a nuestros aliados Palestinos y estamos posponiendo el panel original hasta que encontremos una ubicación alternativa que podamos confirmar.
El panel estaba organizado para explorar las intersecciones en las distintas luchas. Estamos desconcertados por la decisión del Museo, una institución financiada con fondos públicos, para censurar un discurso. El tema de Palestina ha sido por mucho tiempo callado y es necesario ser escuchado. El Comité de Solidaridad de Palestina en St. Louis (PSC) fue formado en el 2009 por un grupo de activistas comunes en el área de St. Louis, Missouri para responder a la guerra de Israel contra Gaza en el invierno del 2008 -2009 y aboga por la libertad dela ocupación Israelí, igualdad para los Palestinos e Israelitas, y justicia por los refugiados Palestinos. Cuestionamos que factores contribuyen a esta decisión de censurar el panel. ¿No debería una institución dedicada a la investigación y a la investigación intelectual a estar abiertos a todos los puntos de Vista?
Nuestra conversación de llevar a cabo este panel demuestra qué todavía tenemos mucho que aprender los unos de los otros. Nuestras historias de opresión y resistencia son entendidas por todos nosotros, Nosotros reconocemos que las fuerzas estatales y económicas que soplan contribuyen a nuestro trauma. Mientras nuestras historias y luchas son únicas, en lo profundo de nuestros corazones sabemos que nadie es libre hasta que todos seamos libres. Este intento por dividirnos duele profundamente y debe ser condenado.
Hacemos un llamado a todas las personas de conciencia a unirse a nosotros en la recién denominada "El Selectivo Museo de Historia " que su decisión de silenciarnos está mal y contribuye a las divisiones raciales profundas en St. Louis. Únete a nosotros para decirle al Museo que la justicia no es selectiva y que solidaridad significa que debemos estar unidos. Te invitamos a acompañarnos el Jueves, Marzo 19 a las 6:30pm en frente del “Selectivo Museo de Historia” Localizado en el 5700 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63112 para una conferencia de prensa y presentación de un plan de acción para exigirle cuentas al Museo por esta vergonzosa decisión.
Alta Voz
Organización for Black Struggle
Latinos En Axion STL
St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee of Latin America
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)