In a new play, “Tree of Fire”, three incarcerated women threatened by a fire while trapped in their prison cell unburden their souls when faced with death. The fictional characters in Tree of Fire were created by a woman with real life experience with the prison industrial complex.

Hamilton High seniors in Los Angeles, Olivia Natt and Sophie Trauberman, discuss what led up to the historic school walkout on March 18th against LAUSD budget cuts, and what the next steps are, on KPFK’s Uprising with Sonali Kolhatkar.

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President Obama laid out his new vision for a national energy policy yesterday at Georgetown University, calling on the U.S. to cut oil imports by one-third over the next ten years, and reiterating his goal for producing 80% of the nation’s electricity from clean energy sources by the year 2035. Pushed by high gas prices at the pump, Obama explained that there were “no quick fixes” and that a long term energy policy would have to be adopted, namely his “Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future.” Obama also focused on energy alternatives to oil: natural gas and biofuels, with a footnote mention of wind and solar energy. He also promoted electric and hybrid vehicles. A significant part of his plan involves increasing domestic oil production. The President has backed off from his …

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Students at Alexander Hamilton Senior High school in Los Angeles walked out of their classes en masse earlier this month. The public school students weren’t playing hooky – they were protesting the lay off notices that their teachers received. About 7000 LAUSD employees have been sent pink slips in anticipation of major cuts to public education and the school kids were upset about crucial positions in teaching, counseling, and more being cut. The walkout was sparked by a Facebook post from one of the students in response to the news of a layoff notice for one of their teachers. With the support of teachers and parents, the students took charge, and, peacefully made their voices heard. There were news reports of students from Manual Arts High School in South LA, and …

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Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” In a new play, “Tree of Fire”, three incarcerated women threatened by a fire while trapped in their prison cell unburden their souls when faced with death. The fictional characters in Tree of Fire were created by a woman with real life experience with the prison industrial complex. The writer and director is Jesse Bliss, who is also the founder of The Roots and Wings Project. Bliss has organized IG-NITE an evening of music, poetry and performance on Saturday April 2nd to entertain, provoke, and raise funds for the production of Tree of Fire. IG-NITE will take place in the Old Venice Jail, now the home of the arts non-profit SPARC. Tree of Fire …

“The work of the political activist inevitably involves a certain tension between the requirement that position be taken on current issues as they arise and the desire that one’s contributions will somehow survive the ravages of time.” — Angela Davis

We’ll analyze President Obama’s speech on clean energy. Mark Jacobson, a Stanford scientist making the case for powering the planet through renewable energy, will join us. And, two student organizers from Hamilton High will share their story of how they organized an historic walkout against teacher layoffs. Plus, a local performance of the play Tree of Fire to benefit The Roots and Wings Project. And this week’s edition of the Black Agenda Report.

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Demonstrations in London over the weekend drew at least half a million people saying no to massive planned government cuts in services. People traveled from all over the country for the biggest march since the 2003 demonstrations against the Iraq war. Prime Minister David Cameron’s government has planned $130 billion in cuts to health care services, as well as welfare services, and would result in the loss of nearly 500,000 public sector jobs. The Labor Party, which is now the main opposition party, derided Cameron’s conservative panacea of a so-called “Big Society” in which volunteers and charities would fill the holes in cut services. Meanwhile Germans also turned out in hundreds of thousands across their country over the weekend, but over a slightly different matter: Germans, horrified by the nuclear disaster …

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The Supreme Court this past week began considering an historic case of sex discrimination against female employees of Walmart that could affect between 500,000 to 1 million women. Six women are bringing a lawsuit against Walmart for being held back from promotions and other job-related privileges because of what they describe as gender discrimination by managers. And, it is now up to the Supreme Court to decide if they are eligible to bring a class-action suit against Walmart based on the claims. If the nation’s highest court allows a class-action to go ahead, up to a million women who work for or have ever worked for the giant retailer, could be eligible for any resulting claims or settlements. The women claim that Walmart has violated the 1964 civil rights act and that …

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The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority just told Angelenos to “take a hike” by making it harder to find a bus. In a contentious 7-6 vote on March 24th the MTA Board approved historic cuts in bus service. Nine lines will be completely eliminated, and 11 others will be reduced. Mayor Antonio Villaregosa, City Councilmember Jose Huizar, and County Supervisor Gloria Molina were among the six who voted against the cuts. On the eve of the vote an editorial in La Opinion warned, “We are concerned that the MTA is returning to practices that in the past cost it 10 years of federal oversight, when the agency infringed upon the rights of minorities and low income riders by giving excessive priority to the rail system at the expense of buses.” …