You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Demand an Executive Order on Racist, Violent Policing.

According to KilledByPolice.net — a site that aggregates mainstream media accounts of people killed by law enforcement, at least 238 black Americans were killed by police in 2014. The FBI stats say police kill a black American every three days. Most certainly, extra judicial police killings are underreported as we rely on a combination of police department records and eye witness accounts to piece together incidence of racist policing.

Even with the coverage in Ferguson and protests across the country following the murders of too many since Mike Brown, indictments remain rare and apparently the federal government can do something about it — without needing congressional action.

Diego Iniguez-Lopez and Alan Jenkins put the current climate in historical context at Truthout, explaining why this call for President Obama to act is not without precedent:

“Fifty years ago, activists in Selma looked to the federal government when they were faced with violence at the hands of state and local law enforcement. Similarly, federal action is now critically needed on the issues of police killings of youth of color and equal justice for all. The Obama administration has an opportunity and obligation not only to shape its legacy, but also to use its federal authority to prevent civil rights abuses by police departments.”

Color of Change is among those calling for President Obama to issue an executive order which would: "crack down on violent and discriminatory policing by issuing an executive order to direct the DOJ to enforce our civil rights laws more aggressively.”

You can sign and share their petition at ColorOfChange.org asking the president to help end this national civil and human rights crisis.

Short of abolishing the police — which many are advocating for, but which the president couldn’t unilaterally accomplish, we are left to demand laws, justice, and force not be left to individual cops to enforce. And to hold violent police and their departments accountable.

Sign the petition, share the articles, demand action. We shouldn’t need video of an unarmed man being shot in the back for there to be a chance at justice.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN and share the Color of Change petition: "President Obama: End discriminatory, violent policing and its unjust consequences”

Additional Activism/Resources:

SIGN and share: "Demand the Post and Courier issue a public apology for shameful #WalterScott article”

SIGN and share: "Tell advertisers to ditch Bill O’Reilly”

Sources/further reading:

"President Obama Already Has a Way to Prevent Policing Abuses” by Alan Jenkins and Diego Iniguez-Lopez of The Opportunity Agenda”

"The Origins of Modern Policing” via The Indypendent

"Police ‘Reforms' You Should Always Oppose” by Prison Culture

"Black Americans killed by police in 2014 outnumbered those who died on 9/11” at RawStory

"Abolish the Police. Instead, Let’s Have Full Social, Economic, and Political Equality” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Keep Housing Fair.

Since the Supreme Court did the unthinkable two years ago and gutted the Voting Rights Act, social justice advocates can no longer assume decisions on longstanding affirmative laws and policies put to SCOTUS will go their way. Next up on the chopping block to have the enforcement provisions stripped is the Fair Housing Act.

The court heard arguments in January on Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, which challenges a key aspect of the Fair Housing Act known as the "disparate impact.” In a time where increasing attention is being drawn to the long-term impact of redlining and gentrification and cities like Chicago are tearing down housing projects while failing to build the promised “mixed income” buildings, it seems impossible that the Supreme Court would take away this vital tool for fighting discrimination.

Senator Elizabeth Warren explained in a Washington Post op ed that stripping out “disparate impact” would affect more than just those who are directly discriminated against.

"As with the voting rights decision, a decision limiting the scope of the housing laws would ignore the will of Congress and undermine basic principles of racial equality. But there is even more at stake in the fair housing case, because the wrong decision would reduce economic opportunities for working families and raise the risk of another financial crisis.”

As this is an issue of racial justice and economic justice, many organizations and elected officials have spoken out over the past few months. The National Fair Housing Alliance and other social justice groups created a hashtag — #KeepHousingFair — to spearhead an awareness campaign with events, speeches, shareable graphics and more. You can follow the latest via their Twitter and Facebook feeds. As always, proactively letting your representatives know that fair access to housing matters to you through ContactingTheCongress.org is a valuable action should the court make an unfortunate ruling.

Also, a reminder for Chicago listeners: your current mayor has been no champion of fair housing, mainly continuing the broken promises policies of the Daley dynasty. Rahm Emanuel is facing Jesus "Chuy” Garcia April 4th in a runoff election. You can find your polling place at ChicagoElections.Com.

Fair housing needs to be on the radar ahead of the 2016 primaries. ProPublica writer Nikole Hannah-Jones has a series of articles as well as a book — a $1.99 Kindle download — "Living Apart: How the Government Betrayed a Landmark Civil Rights Law” that’s a must read for anyone who wants more of the history on unfair housing practices in the U.S. so that they’re prepared to be part of the effort to ensure it’s a an issue next year. The thought of such a long election season may be exhausting, but with republicans already announcing, it’s never too early to raise public consciousness on vital issues that should be part of debates, platforms and campaigns.

TAKE ACTION:

Follow #KeepHousingFair through The National Fair Housing Alliance on Facebook and Twitter

Additional Activism/Resources:

CHICAGO VOTERS: the mayoral runoff election is APRIL 7. Rahm has continued harmful Daley policies, so Find Your Polling Place

READ: "Living Apart: How the Government Betrayed a Landmark Civil Rights Law” — a $1.99 Kindle Single by Nikole Hannah-Jones

Sources/further reading:

"Supreme Court’s Latest Race Case: Housing Discrimination” by Nikole Hannah-Jones at ProPublica

"Segregation Now: Investigating America's Racial Divide” by Nikole Hannah-Jones at ProPublica

"Housing Discrimination, Gentrification and Black Lives: We Call These Projects Home” by Monique "Mo” George at The Huffington Post

"After SCOTUS Gutted Voting Rights Act, Is Fair Housing Act Next?" by Jon Queally at Common Dreams

"African-American vote could be key to Chicago mayoral election” by Rick Pearson, Cynthia Dizikes and Juan Perez Jr. at The Chicago Tribune

"Elizabeth Warren: Supreme Court housing decision could put our financial well-being at risk” by Senator Elizabeth Warren at The Washington Post

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #908 "Unfair housing, unfair society (Racism)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Demand Congress Address Civil and Human Rights.

Even those with only a cursory knowledge of the work done by Martin Luther King, Jr and the millions of Civil Rights activists from the founding of our country through today can look at the current climate in our courts and Congress and see the systematic dismantling of the protections fought for with blood and sweat and tears.

From the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act to the announcement made by the newly GOP-lead Congress that the words “Civil Rights and Human Rights” had been deleted from the Senate Constitution Committee, the infrastructure that provided some measure of relief from pre-Civil War and Jim Crow days is crumbling.

Perhaps the Grand Old Party thinks we are, indeed, post-racial and post-patriarchal. Or perhaps they simply don’t care about civil rights. Or perhaps they feel threatened by it. Or perhaps they are just trying to reduce their work load and simplify their jobs — we all know how hard they work the 132 days they’re in session.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has a simple, important action at Civil Rights.org under the “Take Action” tab. Add your name to the letter with the clear title: "Congress Must Address Civil and Human Rights Priorities in 2015.” Apparently this is something we must now remind our legislators is part of their job description.

The letter urges your legislators to make 2015 a year of action on civil and human rights issues. The three categories this coalition of civil rights groups seeks to address are: Economic Security and Opportunity, Voting Rights, and Criminal and Racial Justice.

Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, responded to the Senate’s decision to rename the Constitution committee. She said, in part:

“The new Senate Republican Majority’s decision to expunge civil rights and human rights from this subcommittee’s name is a discouraging sign given the growing diversity of our nation and the complex civil and human rights challenges we face... Names matter. This, after all, is a subcommittee with jurisdiction over the implementation and enforcement of many of our most important civil rights laws... We cannot afford to demote the importance of civil and human rights in the 114th Congress. While we have made progress, we still have a long way to go to address issues such as voting discrimination and hate crimes and violence committed against individuals because of their race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. In addition, the recent deaths of unarmed African-American men and boys at the hands of police have spurred a movement across the nation calling for reforms to our nation’s justice system, which would likely fall under this subcommittee’s jurisdiction.”

Take two minutes and support The Leadership Conference in demanding that Congress tend to the needs and rights of all the citizens they represent. Considering their behavior so far this session, we’re going to need to continually remind them and it’s best we get started immediately.

Also, if you haven’t yet, go see Ava DuVernay's “Selma.” The movie grabbed a nomination for Best Picture, but she was snubbed by the 94% white, 76% male academy voters in the director’s category. Anyone who’s seen the end of any awards show knows how rare this is; your movie is nominated, you clean up in additional nominations and typically in wins as well. When you see “Selma," you can feel the director’s influence; it would be an entirely different movie without her perspective behind the camera.

It’s not enough to know what happened during King’s lifetime and be able to list the accomplishments of the movement — especially at a time when that legacy is being dismantled. Go see Selma and feel what happened.

TAKE ACTION:

Add your name: Congress Must Address Civil and Human Rights Priorities in 2015 via The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Additional Activism/Resources:

Go. See. Selma. Find listings HERE

Sources/further reading:

"Will Justice Scalia Be the Savior of the Fair Housing Act?” at ACLU.org

"Civil and Human Rights Coalition Troubled by Deletion of “Civil Rights and Human Rights” from Senate Constitution Subcommittee” press release from The Leadership Conference

“Yes, The Oscars Are So White, And Here’s Why That Matters” at MTV.com

#OscarsSoWhite via @ReignOfApril

”Ava DuVernay: ‘Selma’ Is the ‘Vision of a Black Storyteller Undiluted’” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"Congress Will Be in Session Longer Next Year. Will It Make a Difference?” by Kate Scanlon at The Daily Signal

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #894 "Dispelling the selective memory of Dr. Martin Luther King"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: #BlackBrunch.

To a privileged group of mostly white people, brunch is held up as almost sacred. The word provokes images of leisure and lazy Sundays, mimosas and bloody marys. And though plenty of socially conscious people eat brunch — some even use it to organize, because, well, brunch is certainly cheaper than dinner — it still has that “feel" to it. A doing what you want, when you want, because you can “feel.”

A group of creative organizers in Oakland decided they would take peaceful protesting to a group that on the whole doesn’t engage and has the privilege to ignore social injustice — specifically racial injustice. And so #BlackBrunch was launched with protests in the Bay Area and Manhattan.

Writer Muna Mire describes the goals of the protests and the organizing on the hashtag:

"The idea behind Black Brunch is to target those who can afford to avert their gaze, bringing the struggle for racial justice to the table, literally, so that it’s impossible to ignore. Brunch is the hallowed tradition of the affluent, the comfortable, and often those with enough white privilege to insulate them from the struggle to end the war of on Black life in America.”

Predictably, the first round of protests — especially in New York — were met with mixed reactions. While some stood when asked at the end of the demonstrations, many couldn’t resist being ridiculously racist and threatening. Posts to social media like the one made by former NYPD officer John Cardillo proved why the protests are so necessary. Holding his gun up in front of his nose with his finger on the trigger, he posted: “I’m really enjoying these Eggs Benedict so move along now” to the hashtag when a group briefly interrupted his meal.

Michelle Malkin called the coordinated wave of actions: “Attack of the ‘Black Brunch’ Brats." For the New York Post, she writes: "Opposing racism now means practicing it in the most obnoxious manner possible.”

Because the extrajudicial death of a person of color at the hands of police isn’t “obnoxious” or reason enough to put down your biscotti for four and a half minutes — a time honoring the four and a half hours Mike Brown’s body was left in the street in Ferguson.

#BlackBrunch protests are organized and carried out by people of color — as is, I’m sure, clear from the name and the description. My job as a privileged white guy is to amplify the organizing — especially with an action that can be taken in any city around the country by a small group of individuals — and also to pass along some advice to my white listeners who recognize their privilege, but want to support these actions without co-opting them.

And so, should you, white listener, find yourself at a #BlackBrunch unexpectedly, Derrick Clifton of Mic News has some tips on how to recognize your privilege and handle yourself and your potential discomfort appropriately:

1 — Remain calm and listen.

2 — Use the time to reflect on the issue.

3 — If you're able, stand in support when asked.

4 — Continue eating as usual after the demonstration ends.

5 — Share what happened with family and friends.

Please follow the #BlackBrunch hashtag and remember that one of the most powerful things you can do is to push back on the racism in your networks. Post the stories, videos and articles on your social networks and respond to the comments you hear in your daily life. Silence equals consent; it’s time we all did more shouting.

TAKE ACTION:

Get the info on #BlackBrunch: "#BlackBrunchNYC Disrupts Diners To Protest Police Brutality” via Lily Workneh at HuffPo

Follow @BlackBrunchNYC and #BlackBrunch on Twitter.

Additional Activism/Resources:

Go. See. “Selma.” Now showing Find your local listings #MarchOn

Sources/further reading:

"Former NYPD Officer Responds To #Blackbrunch With Gun-Toting Selfie” by Hannington Dia at News One

"A Guide for Anyone Who Finds Themselves in the Middle of a #BlackBrunch” by Derrick Clifton at Mic News

"Black Brunch Won’t Let Us Turn Away From Victims Of Police Violence” by Muna Mire at {Young}ist

"Attack of the ‘Black Brunch’ brats” by Michelle Malkin at The New York Post

"Hashtag Activism Isn't a Cop-Out” by Noah Berlatsky at The Atlantic — an interview with Deray Mckesson

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #889 "The system is built to fail (Injustice System)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: #ThisStopsToday.

In the more than 100 days residents of Ferguson waited to find out if justice would be sought for Mike Brown through the prosecution of his killer, across the country, 14 more teenagers were killed by cops:

• Tamir Rice — Ohio
• Cameron Tillman — Louisiana
• VonDerrit Myers Jr. — St. Louis
• Laquan McDonald — Chicago
• Carey Smith-Viramontes — California
• Jeffrey Holden — Missouri
• Qusean Whitten — Ohio
• Miguel Benton — Georgia
• Dillon McGee — Tennessee
• Levi Weaver — Georgia
• Karen Cifuentes — Oklahoma
• Sergio Ramos — Texas
• Roshad McIntosh — Chicago
• Diana Showman — California

Nina Strochlic details each of their deaths at The Daily Beast under the “Hands Up” tag. They were boys and girls from California to Missouri to Chicago to Georgia. The epidemic of a black person being killed extrajudicially every 28 hours clearly affects communities beyond St. Louis and requires all of us everywhere to care more and do better.

On the heels of the decision from Ferguson came word from NYC: Eric Garner’s killer would not be indicted — despite a “homicide” designation from the medical examiner and a video capturing Garner's entire interaction with police.

Any activism call short of “End Racism & Its Structural Power to Kill” will feel unsatisfactory and somewhat hollow. We must do more in our personal lives to call out racism where we see it and temper our fear of reprisal in our networks with an understanding that people of color fear more than reprisal — they fear injury and even death. The hashtag #AliveWhileBlack created by writer Jamilah Lemieux is a must read for white folks to see what ordinary interactions with the police are like for people of color.

So…what do we do? The “Ferguson Response” Tumblr has a listing of ongoing #ThisStopsNow events to protest police injustice. Find or add your city to their list. Amplify the protests on your feeds — all the more important if you fear a backlash from friends and family who don’t see through their privilege to what’s happening.

Next, we can take the artillery out of the hands of our police forces. The ACLU declares that our communities are not war zones — at least, they shouldn’t be. Their petition at ACLU.org/action calls on the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice to redirect the $400 million per year funneled to police departments for military-grade weaponry.

Both Mike Brown’s parents and President Obama are calling for that funding to go instead to outfit all police with body cameras. In their statement following Officer Darren Wilson’s non-indictment, Mike Brown’s family said the following:

"We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions. While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen. Join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.”

You can sign the Brown family’s Change.org petition specifically for the St. Louis force if you support cameras and let the White House know you expect them to follow through on the promises from the president’s recent speeches. As you’ve heard in today’s clips, many law enforcement personnel have had positive experiences with cameras, so this is a campaign that shouldn’t receive much push-back from police unions.

Last and perhaps most importantly, as has happened uncountable times since the Civil Rights era, the only place the families can now turn is to federal authorities. Attorney General Eric Holder has publicly stated intentions to investigate and possibly bring federal Civil Rights charges in both Ferguson and New York. We must demand that the Department of Justice follow through. Sign the petitions in the segment notes, visit Justice.gov to contact the DOJ directly through phone, email, and snail mail.

You can also vote in the Time.com’s annual poll to make the Ferguson protesters “Person of the Year.” It’s a good way to call out media coverage after Time inevitably doesn’t listen to the poll and picks someone else while showing your support for the movement as it grows.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN ACLU petition: "Our communities are not war zones”

SIGN Change.org petition: Require Ferguson and St. Louis County and City police officers to wear body cameras

Demand the Department of Justice Secure Justice For Mike Brown through federal Civil Rights action

Demand the Department of Justice investigate and indict Officer Pantaleo on federal criminal charges for violating Eric Garner’s Civil Rights

Additional Activism/Resources:

#ThisStopsToday events are ongoing. Find/organize one in your city.

Contact the Dept of Justice

Follow Jamilah Lemieux’s #AliveWhileBlack thread.

VOTE for Ferguson protestors to be Time’s Person of the Year: Tweet the Poll as “Yes”

Bookmark the Justice 4 Mike Brown Tumblr which is aggregating video/pics/posts from around the world in solidarity

Sources/further reading:

"The 14 Teens Killed by Cops Since Michael Brown” by Nina Strochlic at The Daily Beast

"1 Black Man Is Killed Every 28 Hours by Police or Vigilantes: America Is Perpetually at War with Its Own People” by Adam Hudson at Alternet

"Justice Department to open civil rights investigation in Eric Garner case” via RT American

"Body cameras for cops could be the biggest change to come out of the Ferguson protests” via The Washington Post

"Please Stop Telling Me That All Lives Matter” by Julia Craven at HuffPo

"Federal Ferguson Investigation Will Remain Independent, Holder Insists” via NPR: It's All Politics

"Michael Brown’s family denounces prosecutor, condemns violence” by Elahe Izadi at The Washington Post

"Michael Brown’s family releases statement on grand jury decision” via Fox8 Cleveland

"Mike Brown's Law is a start, but police body-cams are no panacea for violence” via The Guardian

"Should police officers wear body cameras?” via The Melissa Harris-Perry Show

"Police Say Body Cameras Give "Real Perspective" of What Cops Encounter” by Nannette Miranda at NBC, Bay Area

"Where Do We Go After Ferguson?” by Michael Eric Dyson via The New York Times

"A Herstory of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement by Alicia Garza” by Alicia Garza at The Feminist Wire

"No Indictment for Darren Wilson, No Justice for Black Lives” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"On Being a Black Male, Six Feet Four Inches Tall, in America in 2014” by W. Kamau Bell at Vanity Fair

”Only Words” by Roxane Gay at The Toast

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #882 "Breakdowns in the systems (Injustice System)"

Hear previous segments on this topic:

"Campaigns for #MikeBrown and #Ferguson via @LeBreed7910”; episode 855

"#JusticeForEricGarner via @ColorOfChange; episode 85

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

The "Spaceship Dreaming" blog has become the go-to resource for aggregating information, actions, campaigns, etc. dedicated to supporting Mike Brown’s family and the Ferguson community.

Among the efforts listed are: the Michael Brown Memorial Fund, the Bail and Legal Fund for Those Arrested During Ferguson Anti-Police Demonstrations, the Dream Defenders’ teespring store, Operation Help Or Hush, and Feed the Students of Ferguson — an effort to help those children who rely on meals provided in school while the school year is indefinitely delayed.

You can also donate directly to the St. Stephen’s Food Pantry, donate items through the St. Louis Urban League and sign the petitions demanding federal protections from police violence and misconduct as well as the removal of St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch from the Mike Brown investigation.

TAKE ACTION:

Support the Campaigns for #MikeBrown and #Ferguson via B. Reed (@LeBreed7910)

Sources/further reading:

"America’s new racial low point: More crying black mothers, and tear gas on our dreams” by Brittney Cooper at Salon

"The Murder of Black Youth Is a Reproductive Justice Issue” by Dani McClain at The Nation

"What Matters in Ferguson” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"A Former Marine Explains All the Weapons of War Being Used by Police in Ferguson” by Lyle Jeremy Rubin via Truthout

"St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch’s perception problem” by Alex Seitz-Wald at MSNBC.com

"Crowdfunders Raise $225,000 for Cop Who Shot Michael Brown”

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #855 Just the most recent spotlight on militarized racism (#Ferguson)

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

When the writing for this segment started, the murder of Eric Garner by the NYPD was the obvious topic. Since then, breaking news that Renisha McBride’s killer had been convicted was botched by the Associated Press headline writers and a young teen named Mike Brown was gunned down by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

Simply keeping up with the number of young, murdered black Americans and their treatment by the injustice system and the media is an impossible task. The hashtags #JusticeForEricGarner, #RememberRenisha and — the latest — #IfTheyGunnedMeDown became a chorus of community expressing sorrow and rage over the past several days.

In New York, Eric Garner’s death has officially been ruled a homicide — a painful death at the hands of an officer who wielded a deadly chokehold for the crime of selling untaxed cigarettes.

"The motto can no longer be 'to protect and serve' if that only applies to certain people,” writes Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation. "We can't cede the idea of crime prevention to an armed police force, and then allow them the discretion to determine which crimes are worth preventing. The reality of policing in America is that it upholds a system of racism and oppression of the poor. There is no justice, for Eric Garner or anyone else, until that changes.”

The white supremacy power structure in this country is deadly; that doesn’t change until more than a minority of us stand up and demand justice.

UPDATE:

Since the production of this episode, a nationwide moment of silence and accompanying vigils in 50 cities has been planned for THURSDAY Aug 14 at 7pmEST. #NMOS14 is being coordinated by Feminista Jones who's Twitter you can follow for information.

TAKE ACTION:

Sign the ColorOfChange.org letter to Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton: #JusticeforEricGarner

Additional Activism/Resources:

Sign: White House petition demanding a statement (at the very least) on the killing of young, black men

Read and join in these Twitter conversations:

”Black Women Matter: #RememberRenisha”

"#IfTheyGunnedMeDown Shows How Black People Are Portrayed in Mainstream Media” by Yesha Callahan at The Root

Sources/further reading:

"News coverage of the Michael Brown shooting: headlines matter” via The People’s View

"When Parenting Feels Like a Fool’s Errand: On the Death of Michael Brown.” by Stacia L. Brown

"Surprise! NYPD Commissioner Bratton Doesn’t Think Race Had Anything to Do With Eric Garner’s Death” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

"Eric Garner’s Death and the Exasperation With Police Violence” by Mychal Denzel Smith at The Nation

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #851 "To selectively protect and serve (Injustice System)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

TEXT “AID” to Save the Children at 20222 to donate $10

Learn exactly where your support is going at: U.S. Border Crisis: 'Save the Children’ Meeting Immediate Needs of Children

Sources/further reading:

Read and watch stories from those crossing the boarder at: Save the Children’s “U.S. Border Crisis” page.

"Border children need immediate cooperation" via Save the Children at USA Today

"To Address Honduran Refugee Crisis at the Border, US Should Stop Financing Repression in Honduras” by Laura Raymond at Truthout

"This Is What an Overcrowded Holding Center for Migrant Children Looks Like” by Steven Hsieh at The Nation

Hear the segment in context:

BOTL Episode #847 "Refugees at the border (Immigration)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

BOTL segment excerpt:

The ineffectiveness of the “war on drugs” is not a new concept to listeners of this show. We regularly discuss the for-profit prisons, racist structure of the court system and hurtles impeding a return to full citizenship in clips as well as in our voicemail and commentary segments.

What’s often left out is a major (and politically inconvenient) cause of our prison population spike: mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Congress passed mandatory minimum sentencing laws in the 80’s as part of an attempt to appear “tough on crime.” Since then, the federal prison system has seen a nearly ten-fold increase in incarcerations. Consequently, one out of every four Department of Justice dollars is spent on locking up mostly nonviolent drug offenders in federal prisons.

Take Action:

Add your voice in support of common sense reform: Tell the Commission: Cut These Drug Sentences!” from Families Against Mandatory Minimums

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTL Activism: Families Against Mandatory Minimums, episode #798 "Learning to play nice with human nature (War on Drugs)”

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

BOTL segment excerpt:

2,200 people are held in a tiny cell for 23 hours hours each day, with no access to commissary or phone calls in the state of Illinois. This, predictably, results not in rehabilitation, but in the emotional, mental and physical deterioration of the inmates subjected to this human rights violating practice.

The Illinois Coalition Against Torture, an association of individuals and community-based organizations, formed in 2010 to end torture on all levels — local, state and international. Drawing on the Chicago City Council’s 2012 passage of the ICAT sponsored resolution to make Chicago “torture free,” they have just launched The Campaign to End Solitary Confinement in Illinois.

Take Action:

End Solitary Confinement In Illinois petition from CREDO and hard copy petition from Illinois CAT.

Printable info flier to circulate.

More info:

Listen to the source segment for this activism at BOTLActivism: Campaign to End Solitary Confinement in Illinois Prisons, episode #819 "Incentives have consequences (Injustice system)”

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich