American Friends Service Committee

Some picks from AFSC staff this week:

Dark Money Under Fire as Election 2016 Heats Up via Common Dreams
While Democratic candidates are lining up to denounce the huge influence that dark money is having on politics in the U.S., a new report says that 2016 presidential candidates are relying on such secret contributions “like never before.”

Ella Taught Me: Shattering the Myth of the Leaderless Movement via Colorlines
Who gets to tell the story? This is a question implicit in the work I do as a historian. But the question I have been wrestling with lately is more immediate: Who gets to shape the narrative, define the history-makers, and capture the words and images of the current black-led, anti-state violence movement evolving in the United States right now?

U.S. Deports Tens Of Thousands Each Year For Minor Drug Crimes, Human Rights Watch Says via Huffington Post
Tens of thousands of people are deported each year for minor drug offenses, even if they served their time long ago, because of draconian U.S. drug laws, according to a report released Tuesday by the international advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Some picks from AFSC staff this week:

Prison Labor’s New Frontier: Artisinal Foods via Fortune Magazine
It ain’t just license plates anymore. Inmates are making a surprising array of products for small businesses. You can even find some in your local Whole Foods.

Newark Immigration 2015: Municipal IDs For Undocumented Immigrants Granted In New Jersey City via International Business Times
Immigration advocates are applauding Newark, New Jersey, for being the latest major U.S. city to launch a municipal identification program that will be open to all residents. Mayor Ras Baraka signed City Council-approved legislation Monday that made Newark the largest and only city in the state to offer ID cards to all residents, regardless of their immigration status.

Poll Finds Republicans And Democrats Actually Agree That Campaign Finance Is A Disaster via ThinkProgress
While money flowing into U.S. elections has become increasingly unregulated and the 2016 election is slated to surpass spending records, a recent poll found that a majority of Americans of both parties support measures to restrict the influence of wealthy donors in politics.

Some picks from AFSC staff this week:

25 Numbers That Show Police Killings Are A Bigger Problem Than We Ever Knew  via HuffPost
Two comprehensive reports published since Saturday provide new information about police killings in the United States, filling a void left by the lack of a national standard for reporting the use of deadly force.

Helping to Build a Black Coalition-Led Movement: Madison’s White Racial Justice Organizing via Truthout
For over six months, the Young, Gifted and Black Coalition (YGB) has been at the forefront of a movement on the move in Madison, Wisconsin, and Z! Haukeness, a white racial justice leader who has worked in both majority Black and majority white efforts over the past decade, has been at the heart of it.

Activists Crash O’Malley’s Presidential Announcement: ‘He Must Atone’ For Zero Tolerance Policing via ThinkProgress
Former Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley (D) chose the Charm City skyline to provide the backdrop for his speech Saturday morning announcing his campaign for the presidency. While the former Maryland governor spoke about the American Dream, telling the audience “there is no such thing as a spare American,” protesters and activists shared the spotlight as they spoke out about O’Malley’s failed police policies from the other side of the stage.

Some picks from AFSC staff this week:

“Million Moms March” Rallies In Washington For Children Killed By Police via Huffington Post
A “Million Moms March” was held in Washington, D.C., rallying together a large crowd of mothers whose children have been killed by police. The mothers marched through the city on a mission to denounce police brutality and declare that the lives of their lost loved ones mattered – and that they still do. 

The Real “Looting”: From Slavery to Policing and Beyond via TruthOut
The system that people in Baltimore rose up against stretches back across the centuries. Pundits and the mainstream media also focus incessantly on “looting,” pointing to a relatively small amount of property damage in Baltimore in order to delegitimize the uprising. Here, we must remember that the real “looting” is the looting of Black wealth through generations of slavery, racial discrimination and exploitative economic policies.

Our Demand Is Simple: Stop Killing Us via NYT
We often think of online activism as a shallow bid for fleeting attention, but the movement that Mckesson is helping to lead has been able to sustain the country’s focus and reach millions of people.

Week of April 20, 2015

A few selections from AFSC staff members: 

• Private Prison Lobbyists Pay Millions To Keep Immigrants Locked Up via International Business Times
  “In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security adopted a bed quota that required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain about 34,000 individuals on any given day. The quota certainly did not benefit immigrants – but it did prove to be extraordinarily lucrative for the private prison companies that picked up the new business.”
  
  
• Millions Spent Lobbying By Private Prison Corporations To Keep A Quota Of Arrested Immigrants via ThinkProgress
  “Private prison corporations spent $11 million over six years to lobby Congress to keep immigrants in detention centers, a new report released Wednesday found.”
  
  
• Citizens Stand For Economic Equality With #BlackWorkMatters And The #FightFor15 via HuffPost Black Voices
  “ #BlackLivesMatters is a hashtag that has taken the Internet by storm and symbolizes a movement around the validation and protection of black lives around the globe. However, while the campaign includes the fight against many issues plaguing the African American community, one particular civil rights focus took the main stage on Wednesday: #BlackWorkMatters.“
  

Week of April 13, 2015

A few selections from AFSC staff members:

• Mothers Vow to Renew Hunger Strike at Private Immigrant-Family Prison in Texas via Truthout
  Asylum-seeking mothers incarcerated at a privately operated detention camp in Karnes, Texas, alleged they were threatened with deportation and separation from their children after initiating a four-day hunger strike last week. The mothers have since vowed to renew the strike April 14.
   
• John Legend Launches a Campaign to End Mass Incarceration via Colorlines
  The Grammy-winning singer announced the multiyear initiative, FREE AMERICA, on Monday. He will visit and perform at a correctional facility on Thursday in Austin, Texas, where he also will be part of a press conference with state legislators to discuss Texas’ criminal justice system. 
  
  
• Remember #BringBackOurGirls? This Is What Has Happened In The 12 Months Since  via HuffPost
  Tuesday marks one year since the girls were kidnapped. Here’s what has happened since.