Last June people gathered by the thousands to take action against the internment camps set up by ICE that were holding children in cages and separating families. While Trump signed an executive order claiming to stop the separation of children and families, nothing has put a stop to the violence or terror. The situation of our migrant community clearly shows the importance of all workers demanding to Abolish ICE.
Countless cases have been shared detailing abuse of migrants of all ages at the hands of ICE agents. The most recent case to hit the news is the murder of a 7-year-old Guatemalan child, Jakelin Caal Maquin. As of December 8, 2018 Jakelin, would never again see a world outside of Federal custody. This child spent the last of her limited days under incarceration, denied water, and neglected as she got deathly ill. Jakelin and her father were two of over 160 migrants who were apprehended by ICE on December 6. They were taken to an area at the Border Patrol’s Bound Operating Base in a remote part of New Mexico. These areas where hundreds were detained only had a couple port-a-potties; no running water or access to bathing— and lacked necessities to sustain life.
Jakelin started to become increasingly ill as the migrants were forced on a 90-minute bus to Lordsburg. Only once the child was near death, was she flown to a hospital in El Paso. Following her passing, border patrol agents exploited her father’s grief by forcing him to sign documents in English while his native language is Q’eqchi (a Mayan Dialect).
In the name of Amerikkka, ICE is going about “business as usual” as Jakelin’s murder is one of many who have died in ICE prisons, at the hand of border patrol agents, or when agents dump water in the desert meant for migrant travelers. This child’s death is one among many. The capitalist class can cross borders to carry out business and make profit. Artificial borders and discriminatory immigration laws are enforced only upon our working-class sisters and brothers who only want a better life.
Debuting January 2019 is the first issue of “Roots Rising: The Take Em Down NOLA Zine.” This will be the first and only official account of the grassroots movement that catalyzed the world with the removal of four white supremacist monuments right here in New Orleans. Hear the stories from the organizers themselves, learn how the power of the people really made change happen and support the movement that made history in our city. A limited amount of copies may be purchased at the People’s Assembly Office at 1418 North Claiborne Ave. Email info@takeemdownnola.org for more info.
This dirt is rancid with tears
It stinks
Flowers were never meant to bloom here.
These lives were forced to give too much here.
Give up the right to a beautiful home,
One that is perfect for casting roots,
One that would let them
Plant seeds
And watch those little children go,
Watch them grow,
Run!
In this DIRT,
This dirt is sticking
In a way that’s different,
But recognize that it is the same in many, many places.
This dirt leaves the cancer in you.
You’re tracking around medical bills you can’t afford,
And smelling the taste of the death
That is dwelling over you,
You,
And your neighbor’s heads.
Why
Didn’t they tell you this was BAD dirt?
Why didn’t they tell us?
That this foundation
Was built to harvest thorns,
And not daisies.
That the happy home
You were promised
Would cost you the life that you have every right to?
Why aren’t you listening?
Why aren’t they listening?
Cant you see it?
LOOK
Look
This dirt…
Maybe this death is in a language
You’ve never heard.
I guess this would never
Be the insidious dirt
You were given to make a house a home.
Your dirt would never be my dirt.
Ain’t that something?
huh
Is it weird to say that all dirt
Should be equal?
That everyone deserves to live,
In a place where the land they stay on WONT
Kill them?
That just as you are important,
I too,
We too,
THEY too are equally important?
Is that a foreign language
Too?
What does it mean
When your government kills you,
With deathly dirt?
Do they not care?
Who do they care about more?
Why, maybe they’re mistaken!
Once again,
They think,
That this dark and deadly dirt
Is supposed to be matched,
With our dark and beautiful skin?
My ancestors didn’t die,
In this VERY LAND,
By the hands of slave masters
For my people,
To die today,
By the hands of this poisoned dirt.
The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry just voted in favor of a $2 billion tax break for Driftwood LNG, LLC. In 2019, the company will begin building a liquefied natural gas export facility in southwest Louisiana. This is yet another company profiting from fossil fuels rather than sustainable energy. That’s a lot of money that could be going into the education budget for our children!
Tax breaks like these are often given to companies because they claim they will create jobs and hire local workers. But the companies getting these tax exemptions are giving Louisiana nothing back in return. The Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) has provided billions of dollars to companies in public subsidies, and these companies have actually cut their net employment. According to a study by Together Louisiana, “Over 20 years, ITEP has provided $23 billion in public subsidies to 1400 companies, which companies, over the subsidy period, have cut their net employment by 26,000 jobs.” The Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP), is state run and is the largest program of state subsidies given to corporations in the United States.
It seems that the government’s main role is to give our tax money to the corporations; this shows who they really represent. Some school boards and towns are starting to push back on this. But lobbying will not work. We need a mass movement of workers to put an end to this thievery.
I have read articles, books, essays, viewed documentaries and engaged in conversation with like-minded comrades after clocking out from a job that does not engage your spirit, yet fuels your fight after remembering the words and work past organizers have left. The groundwork set, contemporary nonconformist thinkers have the task of answering the question. Am I revolutionary? Can I call myself a revolutionary? How would one know? Who sets the bar? What tangible fruit must be borne unto us to be deemed as such? Revolutionary.
Fred Hampton says, “That the priority of this struggle is class. That Marx and Lenin and Che Guevara and Mao Tse-Tung, and anybody else who ever said or knew or practiced anything about revolution, always said that a revolution is a class struggle.” Fighting against classism requires trusting relationships with a foundation in integrity among the working class. Revolutions are given torque by focusing on labor and the impact stopping, or removing, said labor for any period of time can cause. Do you have worker allies?
I am aware of what capitalism truly means in this country and understand the implications of the American economic system and the impact it has globally on millions of people’s quality of life. Then I get frustrated enough to talk to someone else about it and realize they are frustrated too. Angela Davis states, “We must understand that we must completely revolutionize the entire fabric of society… Overturn the current economic structure… Destroy the political apparatus.” The paradigm shift can be put into play when visualizations of what a different working system can look and feel like become a working plan. Plans become actions, and the organized actions of many working-class individuals conceive revolution. A very small percentage of the population should not be dictating to the majority working class what the wages are and how much paid time off they get. Do you understand capitalism?
Style of language and display of action must change. Not telling you what to do. Not condescending others who are in different stages of their journey. But Audre Lorde speaks to us saying, “The true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations which we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which is planted deep within each of us, and which knows only the oppressors’ tactics, the oppressors’ relationships.” There is a focus to call the mind’s eye to be still. To recognize in oneself, first, the remnants of patriarchy, capitalism, and fascism that stick behind and attempt to fester. Psychological, emotional, spiritual development is happening constantly. Introspection, constructive analysis of behaviors can allow us to form trusting relationships with ourselves. To know that personal intentions are pure and grounded. Have you had a talk with self today?
After all the work must go on. The revolution will not be stopped. Cannot stop. Are you willing to fight? Fighting not your thing? Know there is a space for every revolutionary in the revolution. Make no mistake in consuming this point. Whatever you do, whichever passion drives you the hardest, makes your heart race; be driven by it. Decide once and for all if you will allow silence to suffocate you. Or choose life. The life you can create with alliances. I have decided there is no choice. I have decided there is NO alternative option. Once you’ve decided the task now is to go. Do. Take action. Educate yourself. Align with individuals. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays at 1418 North Claiborne, New Orleans LA you can find organizers at the table taking action in the city of New Orleans. Come join us, your voice is valid, and we welcome all revolutionaries. Are you ready to work?
9 Reasons Not to Be Sad That War Criminal & Racist, Bush Sr. is Dead
Bush began the 1991 war with Iraq with a blatant lie that Iraqi troops were aiming to invade Saudi Arabia and cut off the U.S. oil supply and deliberating encouraging Kuwait to steal Iraqi oil. With Bush even bombing air raid shelters, 89,000 tons of bombs killed 200,000 Iraqis. He bombed the infrastructure including sewage treatment plants which led to wide spread disease. He massacred tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers while they were retreating. By 1991, Iraq was ordering its soldiers to pull out of Kuwait through two roads. Those roads became known as the “Highway of Death” when the U.S. military bombed them “like shooting fish in a barrel,” according to one U.S. pilot.
He armed the death squads in Nicaragua that were killing anyone who opposed the Somoza dictatorship and U.S. invasion. He later pardoned all involved.
Bush was a war criminal. He violated the Geneva Convention, anti-torture convention, and War Crimes Act.
He initiated the so-called War on Drugs while allowing drugs to deliberately poison Black and other working class communities. Then threw a million people in jail where inmate slave labor is used to profit corporations.
During his presidential race against Michael Dukakis, he ran the infamous racist “Willie Horton ads”, painting young Black men as rapists and murderers. Bush Sr.’s campaign advisor would even apologize for the ad on his deathbed—Bush never did.
He sexually assaulted at least 8 women, including a 16-year-old woman by groping her when he was 79.
He let the AIDS epidemic grow to kill over 100,000 people. While mostly working class LGBT+ people were on their hospital deathbeds, Bush told them “well, change your behavior.”
As CIA director, Bush Sr. prioritized arms deals with fascist death squads in oil-rich areas, like the mujahedeen in Afghanistan (which would later become the Taliban). This was after he was on the payroll of Dresser Industries—a corporation that made a fortune off of weapons production and oil extraction.
He invaded Panama in 1989, killing 3,000 people and destroying the homes of tens of thousands more, all to keep U.S. military bases in Panama after they were scheduled to be closed by the government.
So who profited from Bush Sr.’s career? Oil corporations, private prisons, and military arms dealers (Bush’s own family!) reaped billions of dollars all throughout the criminal’s presidency. Bush Sr. was only an “American hero” to the wealthy elite that he served. He was an enemy of working class and oppressed people all over the world. It is sad that some progressives like Bernie Sanders praised him in death for his “humble and devoted service” to the country. Truth is our greatest weapon in securing a better future.
Once again, big capitalists are trying to grab public money to make private profits. The Convention Center already receives $63 million in stolen tax dollars from hotel taxes that should go to the city general fund. Their recent scheme should land them all in jail. They want to take $340 million in public funds to build a private Omni Hotel, and pay no taxes on sales or real estate. But they will keep the profits!
As if it’s not bad enough, these unelected vulture capitalists presented a “consultant’s” report that deliberately attempts to mislead us. The Bureau of Governmental Research (a business group itself) revealed that there is a $100 million gap between their analysis and the Convention Center. BGR estimates they will use $330 million in public funds.
BGR goes on with a list of other misrepresentations and false assumptions. The Convention Center also claims this will add jobs. But BGR estimates this project will take 130,000 guests from existing hotels. What will happen to those workers?
Clearly we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in what will be one gigantic financial scandal and rip-off. Who is getting paid off in all this? The big capitalists. Who will lose? The workers and residents of New Orleans.
A few elected officials have raised what amounts to a squeak in protest. But if one looks at their campaign contributions, the link between them and the Convention Center is obvious. Campaign contributions are bribes in reality. At a recent Board meeting, the Peoples’ Assembly, New Orleans Workers Group and the Hospitality Workers Committee organized to fight this theft.
On September 21st, over 100 people showed up in a playground in Kenner for a vigil called by Congreso de Jornaleros (Congress of Day Laborers) against wage theft and police discrimination. This protest was a response to a local employer, Santos Silva, refusing to pay his employees $700’s worth of wages. When the workers brought up that they could sue, Kenner police responded by taking the employer’s side and attempting to intimidate the workers. Multiple pastors, community leaders, and activists spoke up in support. Among them were representatives from the teachers’ union Jefferson Federation of Teachers and the construction workers’ union Laborers’ International Union of North America. They called for the unity of all workers, regardless of skin color, gender, or nationality, in the fight against the bosses that exploit us all. Many immigrant workers spoke up about their struggles with Louisiana police departments. Local police forces routinely arrest immigrants and beat detainees, even injured ones (one worker spoke about how he was beaten even though he was on crutches because of his broken pelvis). Kenner police also routinely turns immigrants into Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport them. But, as one worker, María, put it: “I am not afraid, I am angry because of everything that’s been done to us.”
Since late August, six trans women of color have been murdered in the United States, including a woman murdered by a serial killer working for the US Border Patrol. In 2018 so far, over 20 trans people have been murdered in the United States. In New Orleans in 2017, two Black trans women were murdered over Mardi Gras weekend; the status of their cases is unclear. The media has consistently misidentified them, misgendering and demonizing them. Police response to these murders has been inadequate at best and insulting at worst. Trans people, especially Black trans women, face disproportionate violence in the United States. Instead of receiving protection from police, they are often profiled as sex workers and criminalized for simply being themselves. In New Orleans, NOPD continues to harass trans women of color, and local resources are sparse.
Workers Voice spoke with Bayleigh Martin, a Black trans woman who works as an organizer for Breakout, a local organization that serves LGBTQ youth of color, about what trans youth of color face in New Orleans and the conditions that they live in.
Workers Voice: Hi, Bayleigh. Can we start with your telling me a little bit about what trans youth face in New Orleans on a daily basis?
Bayleigh Martin: People are just on them, making them feel like they’re less than, like they’re not worth anything. There’s not many schools that actually take the time to do a mental health check of the child. Some trans kids are not comfortable being who they are; some kids can’t not live how they want to. Some parents kick them out. How can they go to school if they have no place to call home?
Workers Voice: You mentioned children being kicked out by their parents. What are their options for finding shelter when that happens?
Bayleigh Martin: Trying to find shelter is very hard. Covenant House is always full. Trying to navigate in the world without that support from your family is very disheartening and very hard. Even as a heterosexual person, it’s hard. When you’re confronting yourself and your own sexuality, when people aren’t accepting it, it becomes … a mental health issue. It’s very hard to try to cope, because… You’re saying, ‘You’re my mom and you’re treating me like this. Am I not worthy? Am I not good enough to live?’ It can make you wanna kill yourself.
Workers Voice: What do trans youth face in local schools?
Bayleigh Martin: There’s not really support. It’s either or. Most of them do have something, but it’s like, ‘Do I wanna go through all of this just to go to the bathroom?’ I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t. I’m damned if I go into the boys, because I might get raped or beat up. If I go in the girls, they think I’m looking at them, but I’m not. They’re not on my radar.
Workers Voice: You’ve talked before about challenges trans people face when it comes to their IDs. Can you tell us more about that?
Bayleigh Martin: Your ID is important because [for instance] if I’m trying to be called, say, Melody and everybody calls me Melvin, so like the name my mother gave me, that’s not my name. Or I say, ‘Please call me this, or use she and her pronouns,’ but you’re still trying to correct me on who I am based on my ID, it’s hurtful. I’m telling you who I am. I don’t care what my ID says. It creates an issue. And for me, working in fast food, it was very hard because your real name is put out there [on your name tag].
Workers Voice: What do trans youth of color face when it comes to the local police?
Bayleigh Martin: Well, they can arrest you for carrying condoms in your purse, because they think you’re doing [sex work]. They can stop you and you could be subject to a search. There’s so much. They harass you. You could be put in the wrong jail. It’s dangerous just being out there as yourself.
Workers Voice: There were two murders of black trans women here last year.
Bayleigh Martin: The girls who are living their life, just living their best life, it’s dangerous for them. A friend of mine said, ‘How can we expect respect when the police don’t respect us?’ It’s a lot.
Workers Voice: What sort of obstacles do trans youth face when it comes to medically transitioning in New Orleans?
Bayleigh Martin: Some [trans youth] end up going to different people, asking what’s the best way to transition or come out. They want to hurry up. They’re not able to go to professionals. You’re not gonna have the right [treatment]. I know one girl had some stuff that was killing her from the inside out. There are risks if it’s not a professional. But everybody’s transition is their own. You are not going to be the same size, the same color, as another woman, because as you see, everybody’s different. While you find a role model, they’re not gonna help you on your own. You’re not becoming your own way.
Workers Voice: What changes would you like to see in New Orleans to make it safer or better for trans youth?
Bayleigh Martin: More queer spaces for queers to be safe in. More help as far as jobs and housing. More help with mental health issues. I want the police to step up and not downtrod on us. I want them to not keep us under the board, under the counter, tucked away, then wanna come when it looks good for the press.
1. Using his position as a colonel in the Tennessee militia, by force Jackson seized land from poor farmers to benefit slave holding plantation owners. He personally acquired over 640 acres and set up the Hermitage Plantation, owning over 300 slaves.
2. With his partner Overton they acquired land reserved for Cherokee and Chickasaw, in violation of law, to found Memphis, Tennessee.
3. Jackson whipped slaves and sent troops out to capture runaway slaves.
4. To acquire more land for slave owners he embarked on stealing land from Native American tribes across the Southeast.
5. As President he enacted the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Although the Supreme Court ruled against this policy, Jackson defied the court and ordered removal.
6. Jackson represented the slave state who voted to enact the removal policy. The southern state governments destroyed tribal governments, banned assemblies, the right to sue or testify in court, or dig gold on their own land.
7. 17,000 Cherokees were forced from their farms.
8. This came to be known as the Trail of Tears. 8,000 Cherokee and Chickasaw, 4,000 Choctaws died from brutality, hunger, exposure and disease and in prison camps.
9. While in the military Jackson invaded Florida in 1818. He carried out wars against the Seminole, Creek and Muscogee Indians. This was to acquire Florida for slave owners and to prevent runaway slaves from joining the Seminoles. Jackson burned the homes and crops of the Seminole and others.
10. Jackson was opposed to treaties calling them “an absurdity” and said “the government should simply impose its will on them.” TAKE DOWN ANDREW JACKSON PUT UP HARRIET TUBMAN & LEONARD PELTIER Take Em Down Nola, info@takemdownnola.org,
