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The Jayuya Uprising by Subversive Historian Gabriel San Roman

Fifty-eight years ago on this day in people’s history, the Jayuya Uprising took hold on the island of Puerto Rico. On the morning of October 30th, 1950, Blanca Canales of the Nationalist Party led an armed rebellion to liberate Puerto Rico from U.S. colonialism and declare its independence. Pedro Albizu Campos and other Nationalists hastened their uprising after uncovering plans by the United States to deal a fatal blow to the independence movement by utilizing repressive laws to arrest many of the top leaders of the cause. To avoid the coming crackdown – which would have made King George III proud no doubt – the Nationalists launched their attack in the town of Jayuya strategically located in the central mountains. Canales’ forces routed the police and …

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” — Martin Luther King Jr

We’ll meet Sarah Gogin, a 20 year-old student at Loyola Marymount – she’ll talk to us about her 2 dads, and why she wants Proposition 8 defeated. Plus Journalism professor Robert Jensen joins us in studio to discuss the elections, grassroots resistance, and his new documentary film.

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A new study last week concluded that more than 2 million American children whose parents have employer provided health insurance, are not insured themselves. The result contradicts the myth that the key to getting healthcare for all children is to get their parents insured. Nationwide, a total of 8.1 million children under the age of 18 have no health insurance. One of the many aspects of the economic fallout in recent times has been a dramatic increase in child poverty and homelessness. Today we’ll hear from Marian Wright Edelman, civil rights leaders, and one of the leading children’s advocates in the nation. As the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, Ms. Edelman directed the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund office in Jackson, Mississippi. …

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As the stock market continues to plummet nationally and banks are teetering globally, investors are selling off their stocks faster than ever. The recession has frozen the credit market, putting many ordinary Americans in a bind – before they can qualify for a loan to build or fix a home, start or upgrade a small business, they need to raise their credit score. And, to raise their scores, they have to cut their debts. In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the growing figure of the how much the government owes. The government’s current debt is at about 10.2 trillion dollars. The concept of debt is the topic of the new …

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The Lynching of Katsu Goto by Subversive Historian Gabriel San Roman

One-hundred and nineteen years ago on this day in people’s history, Japanese storekeeper Katsu Goto was lynched in Hawaii. On the morning of October 29th, 1889, the body of Goto was found hanging by a rope from a telephone pole. As one of the “first ship” immigrants from Japan to the island of Hawaii, Goto worked on a sugar plantation before saving enough money to open a general store. Being fluent in both English and Japanese, he never forgot his fellow plantation workers and served as an interpreter and adviser to their labor concerns. His store, which competed with white businesses, also served as an informal meeting place for his community. Evidently, Goto’s activities drew the ire of the white men with plantation connections …

“Debt, n. An ingenious substitute for the chain and whip of the slavedriver.” — Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary, 1911

A Feminist Double-Header – Children’s Rights Advocate Marian Wright Edelman about her new book: The Sea is So Wide and My Boat is So Small: Charting a Course for the Next Generation. And, pre-eminent author Margaret Atwood on her new book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth

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With one week to go until the historic 2008 presidential election, a majority of national polls show Democratic candidate Barack Obama with the advantage over his rival John McCain. The prospects of Obama becoming the first African-American president in our nation’s history underscore how much race and democracy matter in this election. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor goes as far as to suggest that the Obama campaign means that the influence of racism in the United States is waning. Dr. Cornel West, who has authored best selling books on the subjects of race and democracy, has been busy delivering lectures on those and other important topics ahead of the release of his new book, “Hope on a Tightrope.” After speaking to …

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With the Presidential election claiming the vast majority of election-related attention, here in the state of California, Proposition 8 is garnering a firestorm of controversy. Support for the proposition, which would amend the state constitution to restrict marriage to heterosexuals, has changed dramatically. While there are similar marriage amendments on the ballot in Arizona and Florida, the California battle is seen as the most important – as goes California, so goes the nation. Religious conservatives have staked everything on this vote – prominent evangelist, Charles W. Colson, said, “This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon.” Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council told the New York Times, “It’s more important than the presidential election.” In recent days, …