Revolutionary News Roundup

A collection of news items that have made us angry, made us sad, astounded us, and/or ignited our revolutionary fire lately [trigger warnings for sexual assault, murder and violence against women, reproductive and police injustice].

1. Purvi Patel, who says she miscarried, gets 20 years in prison for feticide [Filed under: reproductive injustice, misogyny, patriarchy, intersectionality]
2. Mary Jane Veloso Spared in 11th Hour in Indonesia [Filed under: poverty, imperialism, Third World women]
3. Mumia Abu-Jamal medical emergency [Filed under: political imprisonment, silencing, state violence]
4. 72 killed in Philippines slipper factory fire [Filed under: poverty, Third World Women, inhumane working conditions, unabated capitalism]
5. Biker gangs have major shootout, murdering 9 – National Guard not called in, no one is killed by the police or called a thug by the media [Filed under: white privilege, violence in America, gangsters, thugs]
6. Baltimore State’s Attorney charges 6 police officers in murder of Freddie Gray; lawyers file motions to dismiss all charges [Filed under: systemic racism, police unaccountability]
7. 20 year old gay feminist activist murdered after resistance to on-campus sexism and misogyny led to suspension of rugby team [Filed under: rape culture, misogyny, youth culture, MRAs, LGBT issues, violence in America, violence against women]
8. Transgender woman London Chanel murdered in Philadelphia and Remembering Us When We’re Gone, Ignoring Us While We’re Here: Trans Women Deserve More (late but highly relevant post) [Filed under: trans women of colour, violence against women, transmisogyny, LGBT issues]
9. Nicki Minaj and Beyonce release new video for ‘Feelin Myself’  [Filed under: carefree Black girls, flawless, problematic faves]
10. Global inequality is so bad it’s almost impossible to visualise it [Filed under: poverty, wealth, 1%, globalization, unabated capitalism]
11. ‘sHell no!’ Seattle kayaktivist fleet protests Arctic drilling [Filed under: activism, protest, ecofeminism, wealth, 1%, globalization, unabated capitalism, resistance]

The Realities of Wealth Inequality in the U.S.A.

This video by Politizane on the inequalities of wealth distribution in the United States uses clear and intelligible infographics and accessible narration to reveal that 1% of the population holds 40% of the nation’s wealth. It illustrates what the so-called “Land of Dreams” really looks like for the majority of its inhabitants, and how far the facts truly are from what the majority of Americans think the distribution is like. We suspect a similar pattern would be reflected if this were to be done for the wealth of the entire globe. 

Sources are available in the “More info” section of the video. Please post, tweet, and reblog – this information needs to be shared.

via Adam Mordecai at Upworthy.com

US Government Shutdown Hurts Communities of Color

While we at Sisters of Resistance have been contemplating the US government shutdown as indicative of the imminent collapse of an empire, the incisive Imara Jones over at the excellent news site Colorlines.com has written this important and practical piece about how the shutdown will disproportionately affect communities of color, poor communities, and women and children who rely on the government for employment and services.

He writes:

What’s particularly distressing about the shuttering of the government is that it comes at a time when unemployment remains in the double digits for blacks and Latinos. As the Center for American Progress points out, federal, state and local governments since 2008 have eliminated 750,000 public sector jobs. Given unionization and strong anti-discriminatory hiring practices, people of color are more likely to have jobs in the public sector. This is particularly true for African-Americans, and it’s why joblessness remains so stubborn in communities of color.

The truth is that people of color represent a larger proportion of the federal workforce than the workforce overall. According to the Washington Post, 35 percent of federal workers are non-White versus 30 percent of all workers.  This means that a shutdown will only add to the economic woes and employment worries in communities of color.

Read the whole thing here.

We leave you with a brief but critical message to those in government who created this mess:

El Dia – Pilipina Poems

El Dia of the Sisters of Resistance today published a collection of her poetry, entitled PilipinaPoems. Written during or after extended stays in her family home in Manila, Philippines, the poems are socio-economic and political commentaries on the neo-colonial situation of the Philippines and Filipino/as worldwide.  The collection is both record and reflection of her evolution as a Filipina-Amerikan writer and cultural activist, and a map of her path to decolonization. She presents it in solidarity with the Global South and diasporic peoples across the globe fighting for social, economic, and spiritual liberation.

Click to download

The End of Poverty? (2008 film)

For our final post of 2011, we would like to thank all of the readers who have made Sisters of Resistance a success in our first year by sharing with you this important film that we believe captures or touches upon many of the issues of injustice currently facing the world at large.