Students listen to Angela Davis at an anti injunctions rally. Photo by Eric K Arnold.

The city of Oakland is divided over whether gang injunctions will help reduce a long-standing problem of street violence.  Here we report on a grassroots campaign, aiming to stop what many activists say is a problematic policy of racial profiling, that won’t help make the community any safer. Listen to the full segment and watch the three minute video below.

This program is reader supported, thanks to spot.us and is part of our investigation into how and whether gang injunctions effectively fight crime.

Portrait via Flickr (cc) user Good_1

Since the days of slavery, the African-American woman has been subjected to stereotypes: the mammy, the angry black female and the hyper-sexual woman . These stereotypes continue to this day and permeate thru pop culture.

On this edition, author and political science professor Melissa Harris-Perry speaks about the stereotypes black women face, its impacts on their identity and how it has limited the ways in which society views them as true “citizens.”

Featuring:

Melissa Harris-Perry, professor of political science at Tulane University, where she is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. She is also the author of  Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America. She is a columnist for The Nation magazine and a contributor to MSNBC, and other media outlets. This discussion was moderated by Blanche Richardson, heads the 40-year-old Marcus Book Stores in San Francisco and Oakland, California and editor, author and anthologist.

Special Thanks to KPFA for the audio.

***WEB EXCLUSIVES***

Blackface Montage from Spike Lee’s Bamboozled

Melissa Harris-Lacewell Keynote at Facing Race 2010

For More Information:

Marcus Books
Melissa Harris-Perry
Melissa Harris- Perry’s Columns in The Nation
Black Face, a history
The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)
National Association of Colored Women (NACW)

Books/Articles:

Embracing Sisterhood: Class, Identity, and Contemporary Black Women by Katrina Bell McDonald 
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America, by Melissa Harris-Perry
R.N. Bradley’s Book Review of Citizen Abstained?: Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts
‘She’s Ghetto’: Stereotypes Black Women Internalize by Bene Viera
“How Spike Lee’s ‘Bamboozled’ challenges Hollywood’s portrayal of black people on screen” by Megan Fox

Students listen to Angela Davis during a rally against gang Injunctions. Photo by Eric K Arnold courtesy of (cc) Flickr user OaklandLocal.

It’s called a gang injunction.  A controversial crime tool strategy that some people say should be illegal, and others say is a necessary last resort for communities plagued by violence.

On this edition, we go from the birthplace of gang injunctions in Los Angeles, to their newest use in London, England.  Almost 30 years later, communities remain divided about the best way to address youth violence and crime.

This program was crowd-funded on spot.us, a community supported journalism project. 89 individuals contributed micro-donations. At the over $10 level we thank: Annuana Smith, Amy Read, Lyn Headley, Patricia-Anne WinterSun, Maralyn Fisher, Sally Sommer, Renee Feltz, Molly Mitoma, Lauren Cohn, and Panafricanist Sound System. Special thanks to Omnia Foundation, stalwart supporters of our Prison Desk.

Featuring:

Angela Davis, Critical resistance founder; Freddie Hamilton, Oakland police lieutenant; Michael Muscadine, man named in Fruitvale Gang Injunction; Scott Peterson, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce public policy director; Danielle Rocha, Youth Empowerment School senior; K.E.V., Oakland-based MC; Sagnicthe Salazar, Youth Together organizer; Cesar Cruz, Homies Empowerment program co-founder; Kim McGill, Youth Justice Coalition organizer; Rocio Fierro, attorney for the City of Oakland; Kwame Nitoto, Oakland Parents Together parent education project director; Meriea Jones, Cory Jenkins, Destiny McNeil, Mohammad El-Zafri, Santa Fe Elementary School students; Jonathan Toy, Southwark Council head of community safety; Emeka Egbuonu, youth worker at The Crib; Michael Bailey, young person at The Crib; Russell Higgs, Pembury Estate resident.

*** Segments ***

Gang Injunctions in London 

As part of our investigation into how and whether gang injunctions effectively fight crime, we looked to one of the newest places where the crime fighting strategy is being rolled out: London, England Making Contact reporter Daniel Gordon filed this report from London, where the first gang injunctions went into effect earlier this year. The story explores how economics and race are major factors in how society treats crime in England, just as in the US. And just as in Oakland, CA, many advocates and young people themselves say there are better solutions to be found.

This program is reader supported, thanks to spot.us

The History of Gang Injunction in Los Angeles

Interview with The Youth Justice Coalition’s Kim McGill, about the history of gang injunctions in Los Angeles, and the effect they’ve had on low income neighborhoods and communities of color.

The Battle over Gang Injunctions in Oakland

The city of Oakland is divided over whether gang injunctions will help reduce a long-standing problem of street violence.  Making Contact’s Andrew Stelzer reports on a grassroots campaign, aiming to stop what many activists say is a problematic policy of racial profiling, that won’t help make the community any safer.

For More Information:

Youth Justice Coalition
Critical Resistance
Stop the Injunctions Coalition
Homies Empowerment Program-Oakland, CA
All of Us or None
Youth Together
Homies Unidos
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Southwark Council
Spot.us crowd-funded journalism

Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:

Map of North Oakland gang Injunction
LAPD map of Gang Injunctions
North Side Oakland injunction report November 2011

Music:

“Colors” by Ice-T

Students listen to Angela Davis during a rally against gang Injunctions. Photo by Eric K Arnold courtesy of (cc) Flickr user OaklandLocal.

As part of our investigation into how and whether gang injunctions effectively fight crime, we looked to one of the newest places where the crime fighting strategy is being rolled out: London, England. Making Contact reporter Daniel Gordon filed this report from London, where the first gang injunctions went into effect earlier this year. The story explores how economics and race are major factors in how society treats crime in England, just as in the US. And just as in Oakland, CA, many advocates and young people themselves say there are better solutions to be found.

This program is reader supported, thanks to spot.us

Inter-Faith Protest Rally Against Islamophobia and Peter King's Congressional Hearings on Muslim Radicalization 2011 Credit: asterix611/ Flickr

Featuring:

Veena Dubal, Asian Law Caucus National Security and Civil Rights Program Staff Attorney; Lejla Duka, family member of the Fort Dix Five; Dominick Calsolaro, Albany Common Council Member; Noor Elashi, daughter of Ghassan Elashi of the Holy Land 5; Shaheena Parveen, mother of Siraj Matin; Marlene Jenkins, mother of Tarik Shaw; Sharmin Sadequee, sister of Shifa Sadequee; Tamer Mehanna, brother of Tariq Mehanna; Fred Korematsu, formerly interned Japanese American; John Frank, Clerk to Associate Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black; Tsuyako Kitashima, Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress spokesperson; Donald Tamaki, lawyer for Fred Korematsu; Peter Irons, UC San Diego Constitutional Law Professor.

—WEB EXCLUSIVES—

NYC Town Hall on Preemptive Prosecution

Full audio from December 2010 NYC Town Hall featuring family members of “wrongly accused” terrorists. Recorded by Jaisal Noor.

Full-length Interview with Veena Dubal, Staff Attorney with the Asian Law Caucus

Dubal talks about Preemptive Prosecutions, racial profiling, Department of Justice and White House strategies, and the effect they have on Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. Is there a valid comparison to the Japanese internment during WWII?

——

For More Information:

ACLU-Northern California Civil Rights Groups Call on Bay Area Police Departments to Cease Joint Operations with the FBI
Asian Law Caucus San Francisco, CA
Coalition For a Safe San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Council on American Islamic Relations Washington, D.C.
Free the Fort Dix 5 Fort Dix, N.J.
Information on the Newburgh 4 Korematsu Institute San Francisco, CA
Manufacturing the Muslim Menace: A report by Political Research Associates
New York University School of Law Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress Of Civil Rights and Wrongs: The Fred Korematsu Story Project Salam
San Francisco Human Rights Commission San Francisco, C.A.
Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF) Sikh Coalition
10 Years After 9/11: National Priorities Project resources
Surveillance in the Homeland: Investigative reports: Truthout and ACLU project
David Ray Griffin
Noliesradio.org
Patriots Question 911
9/11 Ten Years Later: When State Crimes Against Democracy Succeed
NYPD CIA Anti-Terror Operations Conducted In Secret For Years

9/11 videos:

Beyond the Frame Alternative Perspectives on the War On Terrorism:  Klein Chomsky
Hijacking Catastrophe 9/11 Fear & the Selling of American Empire
Building a Landmark Event in the History of the 9/11 Truth Movement:  Susan Wolfe (19min in)
Making of Out of the Ashes: 9/11 Podcast
Out of the Ashes: 9/11 Trailer
RadioActive: 9/11 reflections by teens and women
Jeff Siddiqui, Pakistani-American, Muslim, blogger on his efforts to combat anti-Muslimism in the US

9/11 Audio (PRX):
Treating heroes still dealing with 9/11 related illnesses
Crockett Grabbe: the World Trade Center collapses were the result of pre-planted explosives
Hasan Elahi, “Hiding in Plain Sight”
Radio Rootz: Racial Profiling of the South Asians: Hear our Voices’

Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:

Muslims Reject SFPD Surveillance Program San Francisco Human Rights Commission Hearing:  US Law Enforcement Profiling & Surveillance of Muslims-Arabs-South Asians

Music:

Halou – Seperation
Halou – Alaska
Mark Lingard – In a Lonely Place

Incarcerated mother in Decatur Prison’s Nursery Program and Reunification Unit. Photo courtesy of Shannon Heffernan http://www.timeontheoutside.com/prison-nursery

What’s it like to give birth or raise an infant, inside the walls of a prison? Or even worse, have to give up your child the day it’s born? On this edition, a look at pregnancy, and motherhood, inside Americas jails and prisons. What does the huge number of incarcerated women in prison foretell for the next generation of America’s kids?

Special Thanks to segment producers: intern Shaunnah Ray, and freelancer Shannon Heffernan. Heffernan’s Time on the Outside project is produced with support from the Soros Justice Media Fellowships Program of the Open Society Institute. Thanks also to Sarah Olson for voices from her 2007 Making Contact edition, Lockdown on Life: Stories from Women Behind Bars.

Featuring:

Michelle Alexander, Author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarcerationin the Age of Colorblindness; Hukee, Prison Doula Project Birth Attendant ProgramCoordinator;  Simon Conrad, Marin Fahey, Sarelle Caicedo, Doulas; Teresa Correll &Genisis, Women who gave Birth at the Washington Correctional Center For Women; Casey & AJ, Mothers at Decatur Prison; Susan Creek, Decatur Prison Warden

— SEGMENTS FROM PROGRAM —

A Visit to a Prison Nursery
What happens when a women gives birth behind bars? Usually those babies are sent home with family members or put into foster care. But some prisons are trying an alternative: prison nurseries. Nine states currently have prison nurseries. Reporter Shannon Heffernan spent six months visiting one nursery in Decatur, Illinois, to find out how the experiment in keeping families together, at least for the infancy stage, is working.

Prison Doulas-Supporting Pregnant Women Behind Bars
For most women, the way their pregnancy, labor, and recuperation is handled by the correctional system has a lot to be desired. But there are some advocates for pregnant prisoners on the outside, working hard to provide access to those behind bars. Making Contact’s production intern Shaunnah Ray brings us this story about The Birth Attendants-Prison Doula Project, who offer their services at the Washington Correctional Center For Women in Olympia Washington.

—–

For more information:

The Rebecca Project for Human Rights

Legal Services for Prisoners With Children

The Center For Young Women’s Development

National Advocates For Pregnant Women

The Birth Attendants Prison Doula Project

Women and Prison: A Site for Resistance

Illinois Department of Corrections

Bureau of Justice Statistics: Parents in Prison and Their Minor Children

Washington Corrections Center for Women

Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:
For more photos of the nursery at Decatur prison
Pregnant Behind Bars: The Prison Doula Project

Noor Elashi, Daughter of Ghassan Elashi of the Holy Land 5 Credit: http://antiauthoritarian.net

Featuring:

Veena Dubal, Asian Law Caucus National Security and Civil Rights Program Staff Attorney: Lejla Duka, family member of the Fort Dix Five: Dominick Calsolaro, Albany Common Council Member: Noor Elashi, Daughter of Ghassan Elashi of the Holy Land 5: Shaheena Parveen, mother of Siraj Matin: Marlene Jenkins, mother of Tarik Shaw: Sharmin Sadequee, sister of Shifa Sadequee: Tamer Mehanna, brother of Tariq Mehanna: Fred Korematsu, formerly interned Japanese American, John Frank, Clerk to Associate Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black; Tsuyako Kitashima, Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress spokesperson; Donald Tamaki, lawyer for Fred Korematsu, Peter Irons, UC San Diego Constitutional Law Professor.

—WEB EXCLUSIVES—

NYC Town Hall on Preemptive Prosecution

Full audio from December 2010 NYC Town Hall featuring family members of “wrongly accused” terrorists.  Recorded by Jaisal Noor.

Full-length Interview with Veena Dubal, Staff Attorney with the Asian Law Caucus

Dubal talks about Preemptive Prosecutions, racial profiling, Department of Justice and White House strategies, and the effect they have on Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities.  Is there a valid comparison to the Japanese internment during WWII?

——

For More Information:

ACLU-Northern California Civil Rights Groups Call on Bay Area Police Departments to Cease Joint Operations with the FBI

Asian Law Caucus
San Francisco, CA

Coalition For a Safe San Francisco
San Francisco, CA

Council on American Islamic Relations
Washington, D.C.

Free the Fort Dix 5
Fort Dix, N.J.

Information on the Newburgh 4

Korematsu Institute
San Francisco, C.A.

Manufacturing the Muslim Menace:
A report by Political Research Associates

New York University School of Law Center for Human Rights and Global Justice

Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress

Of Civil Rights and Wrongs: The Fred Korematsu Story

Project Salam

San Francisco Human Rights Commission
San Francisco, C.A.

Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund (SALDEF)

Sikh Coalition

Articles, Blogs, Reports and Videos:

Muslims Reject SFPD Surveillance Program

San Francisco Human Rights Commission Hearing: US Law Enforcement Profiling & Surveillance of Muslims-Arabs-South Asians

MUSIC:

Halou-Seperation

Halou-Alaska

Mark Lingard-In a Lonely Place

Michelle Alexander, Associate Law Professor at Moritz School of Law and Author of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness." Credit: http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/

Michelle Alexander has struck a chord in so-called ‘post racial’ America.  The Ohio State University law professor makes the case that the United States’ current criminal justice system policies can be traced directly back to slavery.  Those targeted now, as they were then, are African Americans.

On this edition, Michelle Alexander talks about her book, ‘The New Jim Crow.  Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’.

Special Thanks to KUOW Radio in Seattle.

Featuring:

Michelle Alexander, Ohio State Law Professor and Author of ‘The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’

For More Information:

ACLU on Criminal Justice

Blacks Far More Likely Than Whites To Be Jailed For Low-Level Drug Crimes

Brennan Center for Justice

Critical Resistance

KUOW Radio

Michelle Alexander

Michelle Alexander on Democracy Now!

Michelle Alexander on Huffington Post

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Prison Activist

The Sentencing Project

Attendees at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) conference, smoke marijuana in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels, File)

In November 2010, Californians went to the polls and narrowly defeated a bill to legalize marijuana. Much of the debate centered on tax revenue and potential job creation. In this show, we examine how the failed war on marijuana has put hundreds of thousands in jail and given them crippling criminal records.  On this edition, we look at the transforming culture that put Prop 19 on the ballot.

Featuring:

Froggy, Los Angeles resident;  Jill Harris, Drug Policy Alliance managing director; Charlie Rangel, New York City Congressman; John Russo, Oakland City Attorney; Jeff Jones, Oaksterdam University Los Angeles campus chancellor; Richard Lee, Oaksterdam founder and Prop 19 bankroller; Tamar Todd, Drug Policy Alliance attorney; Marisa Garcia, former college student who lost financial aid due to marijuana conviction; Bishop Ron Allen, No on 19 spokesperson, Casey Given, Jessica Wong, Jeff Yunis, University of California at Berkeley students; Dan Rush, UFCW Local 5 special operations director; Andrew Dupree, Humboldt Patient Resource Center grow room employee.

For More Information:

Yes on Prop 19

No on Prop 19

California Legislative Analyst Office’s Report on Prop 19

Weed Wars-Sacramento Bee Blog on Prop 19 and Marij

uana Related News

Oaksterdam University

Drug Policy Alliance

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy

ACLU Marijuana Law Reform

NORML-The National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws

Incarceration Nation — Marijuana Arrests For Year 2009 Near Record High – Alternet

Educating Voters on California’s Prop 19: the Highs, the Lows, and the Crazies

Stoners Against the Prop. 19Tax Cannabis Initiative

Is Pot Legalization the Gay Marriage of 2012?

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/end-prohibition/0HNSczSS

Music:

Devin the Dude — What we be On

Keak Da Sneak — That Go

The Pack — Vans

Conscious Youth Media Crew

Art is everywhere…from ancient cave paintings to metropolitan opera houses. But why do we do it? Why do we create symbols of our cultural experience and labor to tell the world who we are through artistic expressions? On this edition, we speak with young artists of diverse backgrounds and motivations who use their independent experiences and creative impulses to talk about race, identity, and politics, and along the way to self-reflect.

Featuring:

Angelina Jackson, spoken word artist; Chinaka Hodge, poet and playwright, ‘Mirrors in Every Corner’; Daveed Diggs, actor, ‘Mirrors in Every Corner’; Evan Bissell, artist and youth educator, ‘Mirrors in Every Corner’; Brian MacArthur, co-director of independent film ‘A Choice of Weapons.’

—

Poet Angelina Jackson on Self Expression
Through Art

Angelina Jackson is an African American poet and spoken word artist who grew up on the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Executive Producer Tena Rubio spoke with her about why she feels self expression through art and writing is so important.

—

Chinaka Hodge Discusses Debut Play
‘Mirrors in Every Corner’

How do we talk about race in contemporary America?  That’s what 25-year-old poet and playwright Chinaka Hodge is trying to answer in her debut play, ‘Mirrors in Every Corner.’  Correspondent Emily Wilson spoke with Chinaka on the significance of exploring important personal and social issues through art.

—

Brian MacArthur Talks About New Film
‘A Choice of Weapons’

Brian MacArthur is co-director of ‘A Choice of Weapons,’ a film made through Conscious Youth Media Crew. It’s an organization that trains San Francisco’s high risk youth in digital media.  Correspondent Joaquin Palomino spoke with Brian.

—

For more information:

Angelina Jackson

poetangelinaj[at]yahoo.com

Conscious Youth Media Crew

San Francisco, CA

Intersection for the Arts

San Francisco, CA

The Living Word Project

San Francisco and Oakland, CA

Youth Speaks

San Francisco, CA

Music:

My Journey by Angelina Jackson
Dirty Little Secret by Angelina Jackson
Eple by Roy Scopp
Hype Violin Beat
On My Block by Scarface