A Freedom Ride Organizer On Nonviolent Resistance

May 4, 2011, marks the 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride. To commemorate the occasion Fresh Air is replaying interviews with civil rights activist James Farmer Jr., one of the organizers of the 1961 Freedom Ride, and historian Raymond Arsenault. Arsenault's book Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice has just been rereleased as a companion volume to the film Freedom Riders, premiering May 16, 2011, on PBS.
The late James Farmer Jr. was one of the architects of the civil rights movement in America. In 1942, Farmer co-led what he believed was the first coed civil rights sit-in in American history at a Chicago restaurant that refused to serve African-Americans.
The same year, Farmer co-founded CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, which was one of the first civil rights groups to apply Gandhi's principles of nonviolent resistance.
"At that time, I was a pacifist — a conscientious objector from World War II — and as a pacifist, I was concerned with finding nonviolent solutions to violent conflict situations domestically," he told Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1985. "But my primary interest was, of course, race. And therefore, I was driven to study Gandhi, an architect of the technique which he called satyagraha, meaning soul force. We have come to call it nonviolent direct action, or nonviolent resistance."
Farmer's nonviolent demonstrations were answered by attacks by white mobs and arrests of CORE members during the Freedom Rides in the early '60s.
CORE's early groups of Freedom Riders rode buses through the Southern states, to see to it that the Supreme Court decision banning segregation in bus terminals was actually being enforced. The resulting drama focused national attention on the violence of Southern racism.
"By the time the buses reached Montgomery, [Ala.], one of the buses had been burned to the ground," he said. "Freedom Riders had been brutally beaten. Jim Peck, a white Freedom Rider from New York was left for dead, lying in a pool of his own blood, and he had 56 stitches taken in his head."
As the South desegregated, Farmer's emphasis shifted to fighting economic and political discrimination and other problems faced by black communities.
Farmer became the national director of CORE from 1961-1966. He also belonged to the Big Six, a national coalition of top civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, John Lewis and Whitney Young.
Farmer attempted to work for social change from inside the government after accepting the position of assistant secretary of health, education and welfare under President Nixon. But he left in frustration after one year and went back to consulting, where he continued to work on issues like education and political discrimination. In 1985, he published his autobiography, Lay Bare the Heart. The same year, he spoke to Gross about his time in CORE.
Via @nprnews: A Freedom Ride Organizer On Nonviolent Resistance | http://t.co/rmJly8j

Commentary: Is Slavery Back in Effect?

With so many Black men being incarcerated, are we seeing a new form of slavery?

By Charlie Braxton

Recently, a friend sent me a link to an article that contained some disturbing information about African-American males. According to the article, there are more Black men under some form of correctional supervision (incarceration or probation) now than were enslaved prior to the Civil War.
My first reaction was that this couldn’t be accurate—not after all of the many struggles we’ve waged to make this country better, not just for African-Americans, but for all people. Slavery and segregation are relics of the past. We even have a Black president, for Pete’s sake. There is no way we could have backslid like this. I refused to believe it. But the historian in me knew better than relying on a gut reaction, so I did some investigation. Well, I was wrong. Not only is Jim Crow alive and well, it is likely living in an area near you.
According to legal scholar Michelle Alexander’s groundbreaking best-selling book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, this disturbing fact is true, despite reports that violent crime is steadily decreasing. The mass incarceration of Black males is largely due to the tough drug laws implemented during the Reagan-Bush era. Under these laws, more poor people of color than whites were locked away on non-violent drug offenses. These laws were enacted in order to appeal to the largely white Southern voting base that makes up a significant portion of the Republican voting constituency. As a result of these discriminatory laws, nearly half of young Black males have been branded felons for life.
As felons, they are given permanent underclass status that prevents them from voting, gaining access to public housing and some forms of federal assistance that could help them get back on their feet and become productive members of society. Thus, the likelihood of these felons returning to prison becomes extremely high. All of this bodes well for the burgeoning prison industrial complex that profits off locking people up, but it has devastating effects on African-Americans. Add this to the fact that the 13th amendment of the Constitution outlawed any type of involuntary servitude except when the State is punishing an individual for a crime and the implications of this mass incarceration are outright frightening.
There’s an old saying that goes "the more things change, the more they remain the same." As an ardent student of history for the past 30 years or more, I have seen historical patterns that emulate some sort of eerie time warp. It’s high time we did something to break free from the chains of this pattern.

(Photo:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/MCT/Landov)

Shackled no more: Justice for Juana

the Nashville, TN Sheriff's office has been found guilty of violating the Constitutional rights of Juana Villegas, a pregnant immigrant woman who was inhumanely shackled during labor and denied proper treatment after a traffic stop, of which she was later cleared.

Back in 2008, through documentary and our interactive experience, Homeland Guantanamos, we put a face to Juana Villegas's story.  Because of an agreement between local police and federal immigration authorities, called 287g, she was picked up, detained and shackled during labor.  She was not allowed to use a breast pump to nurse her newborn child.  Villegas said, "The nurse brought me a breast pump... she asked permission for me to take it to jail... again the sheriff said, no."Watch our first interview with Juana below:


Villegas's case sheds light on the grave injustices in our broken immigration system.  As we continue to tell these stories, in the hope of similar successes, we ask that you play our new Facebook game, America 2049, which weaves human rights issues into each week of game play. Next week, the game explores the struggles of Latino immigrants.
This ruling against the Nashville Sheriff's office is a historic step.  We will continue to tell stories, invite conversation, and inspire action that will help America move even further in the right direction.

The One

A Wrongful Conviction In The Makings

 

In the County of Lamar - Paris, Texas, The case of Bobby Yates and at least twenty others handled by Lamar County Attorney Gary Young, are in need of in depth investigations by the United States Department of Justice. Lamar County Attorney Gary Young's thirst for convictions by any means necessary, results in wrongful convictions, excessive sentences, and alarming rates of juveniles tried as adults. In the case of disabled, Bobby Yates (currently age 51), an indictment was secured for Sexual Assault of A Child.

A hunting accident which occurred twenty (20) years ago, resulted in  Mr.Yates' lower body being amputated, he also underwent a penectomy (removal of the penis). Penectomy's result in NO sexual desires.  On September 22, 2008, Yates was arrested and charged with Sexual Assault of a Child by using his fingers. Bobby Yates is Innocent! 

Even though Bobby Yates called 911 for help, the police reports state that the the 16 year old white female called 911. The 911 tapes tell the true story. The tape however does mention that the female was so high on drugs that her speech was slurred. To secure an indictment, a photo of Bobby Yates was taken to make it appear as though he was not handicapped. Yates is confined to a wheelchair with a lower body amputation. His height was omitted and there was no explanation of not having lower limbs. This is yet an additional attempt of Lamar County Attorney to secure a conviction by any means necessary.

 Bobby Yates lived in Ridgeview Town homes for 5 years without problems.  He had no criminal history. On March 18, 2008 at approx 1:30 or 2 AM, Bobby Yates got a knock on his door that would change his life.

A 16 year old white female and two adult white males, asked Bobby if they could enter into his home while claiming they were locked out of their own homes. Bobby reluctantly allowed them in. Several hours later, Bobby made a 911 call. He told the operator that three people were in his home threatening his life and he was afraid of them and they would not leave. He said one of the three assaulted him by beating him in his face. Bobby can be heard on the 911 call telling the group to get out of his home and telling them not to come near him. The police came and Bobby told them the three had refused to leave and they jerked the phone from him preventing him from using it the first time he tried to call. He attempted to leave out his front door and they grabbed his wheelchair and prevented Yates from leaving. The female claimed Bobby touched her vagina even though the two men were in the same room with her -- the entire time she was in Bobby’s home.

Bobby Yates Was Forced To Move

Nigger Move and KKK

Bobby Yates

Nigger Move and KKK Written Outside

Bobby Yates Former Home

Bobby was forced out of this home

Justice For Bobby Yates http://t.co/InlueQv