Ota Benga Alliance For Peace, Healing and Dignity

Peltier's stance goes way beyond what we learned from Mandela. I am referring to Mandela because he has become an icon and, as such, people have no problems identifying with him even though when he was on Robben Island, the same folks who are today proud to identify with him would not even dare mention his name because they might be seen as sympathizers of communist terrorists. A double whammy.  read more »

Below is a letter from Kenneth Foster, Jr. (Haramia Ki Nassar) from Texas death row to author and sportswriter Dave Zirin ("Edge of Sports"). Thanks to an international campaign to block Foster's execution, on August 20 the governor of Texas granted him clemency just six hours before he was scheduled to die. Whenever a voice that was supposed to have been silenced speaks up, one should do everything possible do to let it be heard loud and clear.  read more »

Reposted from Pambazuka News, September 5, 2007.

Democracy has many different meanings. To Philani Zungu, a shackdweller in Durban, democracy means “accepting the unacceptable”.  read more »

Originally posted on IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

KITGUM, 30 August 2007 (IRIN In-Depth) - The lyrics of the latest Acholi pop songs are a lament: they mourn the loss of "values" in northern Uganda after a two-decade civil war that has displaced two million people.  read more »

Originally posted on IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

HARARE, 30 August 2007 (IRIN) - The disabled are becoming increasingly marginalised, with the state and civil society neglecting their basic needs, says The forgotten tribe, people with disabilities in Zimbabwe, a new report.  read more »

Originally posted on IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

KITGUM, 30 August 2007 (IRIN) - This is part of a special IRIN series: Uganda Diaries.

July

Home is a very important idea for us Acholi. It isn’t just somewhere you grow up, it isn’t just the place where you’re living - it’s the place where all your ancestors are buried.  read more »

Originally posted on Counterpunch on August 25-26, 2007.

This week the world officially commemorated one of the pivotal events of modern history with deafening silence. On August 23, 1791, a group of slaves in Haiti led by a man named Boukman ignited a revolt that changed the world.  read more »

A broad coalition of Haitian elected officials, community organizations and human rights groups, including Fondayson Trant Septanm (September 30th Foundation) have announced plans for a series of activities in Haiti calling for the safe return of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine. At a press conference in Port-au-Prince on Monday, August 27th, the coalition, Gwoup Inisyativ Pou Sove Lavi Pierre-Antoine (Group Initiative to Save the Life of Pierre-Antoine), announced that it would stage vigils and peaceful marches this Wednesday and Friday.  read more »

Original alert emailed on August 15, 2007

Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine is a tireless fighter for the Haitian people: a grassroots leader, member of the Lavalas Party, and the head of Fondayson Tran Septanm, a Haitian human rights organization that advocates for victims of the 1991 and 2004 coup d'etats against the democratically-elected governments of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.  read more »

Originally posted at Left Turn Magazine, August 14, 2007.

Almost a year ago, in the small northern Louisiana town of Jena, a group of white students hung three nooses from a tree in front of Jena High School. This set into motion a season of racial tension and incidents that culminated in six Black youths facing a lifetime in jail for a schoolyard fight.  read more »