• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

The Activist Beat with Rose Aguilar, host of Your Call on KALW in San Francisco is a weekly roundup of progressive activism that the mainstream media ignores, undercovers, or misrepresents.

Some of the most undercovered stories last year were actions taken by ordinary people standing up for a more just and equitable society.

People are taking to the streets on a regular basis across this country, but unlike the corporate-sponsored tea party, those who believe in health care, affordable housing, economic justice, and a better life for all rarely, if ever, get the attention they deserve.

Last month, I saw an incredible photo of an older woman being led away by two cops in front of a Chase Bank in downtown Los Angeles. I waited a few days thinking I’d hear more about her in the media, but it never happened. So I called her.

Her name is Julia Botello. She’s an 85-year-old immigrant from Mexico. She and 22 others were arrested for blocking the doors of the Chase bank. Over 200 people, including many homeowners facing foreclosure, took part in the action.

Julia told me she found her voice 10 years ago, at the ripe age of 75. It happened after she fell and hurt her knee on a routine walk home. She lives in South Central LA. Her neighborhood was often dark because the street lamps rarely worked.

So she went to City council meetings and raised her voice. Her neighborhood hasn’t been dark since. And since then, Julia hasn’t stopped. If there’s an action focusing on an issue she cares about, she’ll do whatever it takes to be there. She says, “I still have time and I want to keep going.”

Now imagine if an 85-year-old tea partier was photographed being led away be two cops at an action attended by 200 people. It would be all over the cable shows and Julia Botello would probably be inundated with interview requests. But because she was standing up for people who are losing their homes, she’s only been contacted by two other reporters.

In addition to the Chase gathering, several other grassroots actions failed to receive the attention they deserve.

On December 9, thousands of inmates in George state prisons began a six-day strike to demand decent living conditions, a living wage, and an end to cruel and unusual punishment. It was the largest prison strike in U.S. history, but the New York Times was one of the few corporate outlets to cover it.

On December 11, a group opposing NAFTA gathered in Waterville, Maine to call attention to President Obama’s decision to bring the Korea U.S. Free Trade Agreement to Congress. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the deal will cost 159,000 jobs within the first seven years after it takes effect. Congress is expected to vote on the deal next month.

On December 15, workers, union activists, and community supporters took part in more than 40 actions at Rite Aid stores in 11 states to raise awareness about low wages and health insurance cost increases.

On December 16, 131 veterans and their supporters were arrested for chaining themselves to the White House fence to demand an end to the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. The action was completely blacked out by the corporate media.

And on December 20, six people were arrested in front of Bank of American in Clayton, St. Louis for calling attention to foreclosures. Some 80 people attended the action.

These actions, no matter how small, should not be discounted. Let’s hope these voices become too loud to ignore in 2011.

I’m Rose Aguilar for Uprising.