Published by Truthdig.com on May 29, 2015

It was not long ago that gang violence was considered the scourge of urban cities in the U.S. The mantra of the 1980s, that “America has a gang problem,” was an invocation used to justify excessive policing in poor communities of color and led to reams of research papers on how to solve the problem. Many nonprofit organizations that were focused …

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Published by Truthdig.com on May 21, 2015

It is not often that members of Congress get the opportunity to weigh in on international trade. But negotiations over fast-track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in recent months have given elected representatives the chance to voice their opinions on how the government should engage with other countries financially. For example, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., released a Read more

Published by Truthdig.com on May 14, 2015

A father from Ivory Coast wanted to reunite his son with the rest of his family living in Spain. But the Spanish government denied him a family reunification visa. Desperate, he paid a Moroccan woman to smuggle his 8-year-old onto Spanish soil. On May 7, 2015, she attempted to do so by placing the boy, tightly folded into a fetal position, …

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Published by Truthdig.com on May 08, 2015

I first heard the deep and haunting voice of Mumia Abu Jamal more than 10 years ago, as he offered cutting analysis of the political issues of the day through his brilliant commentary. The fact that an African-American man convicted of killing a police officer and waiting to be executed was continuing his journalistic work from behind bars, and doing it …

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Published by Truthdig.com on April 29, 2015

On Monday, the day 25-year-old Freddie Gray was laid to rest in Baltimore after fatal injuries sustained during an arrest, The Daily Beast reported that members of the Crips and Bloods had declared a truce and united to protest Gray’s death. Hours after the report was published, the Baltimore Police Department issued a press release citing a “credible threat” …

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Published by Truthdig.com on April 23, 2015

Hundreds of undocumented families who have fled from poverty, violence and organized crime in Central American countries including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are locked up in “residential centers” in Karnes County and Dilley, Texas; Berks County, Pa.; and, until recently, Artesia, N.M. The families are imprisoned while awaiting their immigration hearings.

The fact that we have …

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Published by Truthdig.com on April 16, 2015

Fifty-year-old Walter Scott had been having money problems. Years earlier he had worked in the construction industry, a job he acquired through the Father to Father Project, a group that provides support to low-income dads to help them keep up with child support payments, among other things. Later, he moved on to another job, but when he found himself out …

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Published by Truthdig.com on April 10, 2015

Each year for spring break, millions of Americans flock to theme parks across the nation, lured by promises of smiles and fun for children and adults alike. Ordinary people shell out hundreds of dollars for tickets alone, and more for hotel rooms, meals and extras.

Egged on by my own children, I too spent spring break this year in such a …

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Published by Truthdig.com on April 2, 2015

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) has justifiably provoked outrage nationwide for its apparent intent to legalize anti-gay discrimination by private businesses.

But another controversial law that this week resulted in a draconian 20-year prison sentence for a woman named Purvi Patel has received far less attention. That law is a fetal homicide mandate under which Patel was charged …

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Published by Truthdig.com on Mar 26, 2015

The green Driscoll’s label on the organic berries that I buy each week are a comforting symbol of a family-owned company that got its start in California. Sometimes the berries are marked “Product of USA,” but more often than not, they are labeled as originating in Mexico. That is because Reiter Affiliated Cos., which sells berries through its affiliate BerryMex under …

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