TRGGR Celebrates Juneteenth – 6.14.2013

Peace! This episode kicks off with a round table discussion with Dr. Amilcar Shabazz, Corey Rinehart, Trevor Baptiste, and Camilla Carpio, surrounding the upcoming celebration Juneteenth happening this Wednesday, June 19th 1-7pm in Amherst town commons. Juneteenth observes the June 19th, 1865, proclamation of the abolition of slavery in Texas. The inter-generational event in Amherst celebrates freedom for people of all backgrounds, with a focus on its meaning for today’s youth. As youth leader of the Multicultural Student Achievement Network in Amherst powerfully puts it, the event functions to mobilize a powerful, rooted community that supersedes ‘diversity’ with an understanding of power that demands self-determination for people of color on the ground, not just on paper.

Our second hour, veteran TRGGR associate Rosa Clemente joined us to analyze the the first
comprehensive study of marijuana possession and arrest rates by race for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, conducted by the ACLU. In 2010, there was one marijuana arrest every 37 seconds, and states spent over $3.6 billion enforcing marijuana possession laws that year alone. Yet what do these shocking statistics mean when contextualized in the larger War on Drugs and the Prison Industrial Complex? Rosa explains how more and more people and institutions are debunking the myths. Long-established policing procedures that transform drugs, race and crime rhetoric into arrests are increasingly questioned in public spheres. Check out Rosa’s interview with ACLU director Ezekiel Elliot with links to the report here: $3.6 Million Dollar Nickel Bag
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TRGGR Radio featuring Lois Ahrens, S.N.O.L., & Dr. Jared Ball – 6/7/2013

On this packed two-hour edition of TRGGR Radio, Chris sits down for an expository interview with Lois Ahrens, the director of the Real Cost of Prisons in Massachusetts. We discuss the current human rights abuses facing inmates in Massachusetts prisons, including the invasive strip searching of female assigned prisoners. In the second hour we speak with organizer Malcolm Chu and Springfield community youth Penny Noel and Kalimah Dunwell who share the importance and ongoing projects of the housing justice organization Springfield No One Leaves / Nadie Se Mude (S.N.O.L.). We hear personal testimonies of Penny and Kalimah who are fighting against the increasing home foreclosures in Springfield, witnessing the resilience of inter-generational activism in the face of discriminatory displacement. Keep on the lookout for several upcoming actions, including a community takeover of a foreclosed home, a community-organized garden in a vacant lot, and a fundraiser CD release party.

Finally, we are joined by TRGGR-South fam, Dr. Jared Ball of Vox Union who provided a highlight of his earlier conversation with author Jeff Chang about Hip Hop and radical politics. Enjoy the sounds of resistance!

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TRGGR feat. JASIRI X – 5.24.2013

On this episode we speak with Pittsburgh-based critically acclaimed activist and eMCee, Jasiri X on the role of community-based alternative media, the inspirations and directions in his music, and the development of his critical media justice organization, 1Hood. On the second half of the show we welcome TRGGR family, Rosa Clemente, for a multi-pronged discussion including recent news of Chicago school closings, homophobia in Lauryn Hill’s new song “Neurotic Society”, and the recent commencement addresses by President and Mrs. Obama and why they seem to only speak in condescending terms when addressing African American audiences. Enjoy!

Part 1: Featuring Jasiri X

Part 2: round table discussion of current events

S.A.M.I. Panel Feat. Jasiri X, Solomon Comissiong, and Chris Tinson, moderated by Jocelyn Cole / Howard U. / 4.20.13

Background on MAS banning in Tucson…#important

Why MAS is federally protected – Post-Unitary and deseg history from Abie Morales on Vimeo.

TRGGR Radio with James Arana and Darlene Elias – July 6, 2012

photo credit: http://bmawufbp.blogspot.com

Although since 2000 some national indicators are pointing in the right direction, statistics for black males throughout the country are far from positive. For example, the Children’s Defense Fund and the Educational Testing Service’s report released last summer, entitled: A Strong Start: Positioning Young Black Boys for Educational Success” contains some alarming numbers. For example, the poverty rate for Black children is 36 percent, compared to 12 percent for White children. In February 2011, the unemployment rate for Black males age 20 and over was nearly twice that of White males (17.5 percent versus 9.1 percent). And the homicide victimization rate for Blacks (20. 6 per 100,000) is more than six times higher than the rate for Whites (3.3). They also cite Disadvantaged Neighborhoods, high rates of foster care, school achievement, parent employment, parent education, poverty, and school segregation as critical areas painting a bleak outlook for males. Joining us to talk about this crisis is James Arana, Associate Director of Men’s Resource International, prevention specialist, and community organizer. James is a native of Belize and former resident of the Bronx. He has been a Social Worker and Community Organizer for over 25 years, working primarily with young adults and at-risk children. We speak with him about the health crisis facing Black boys and young men.

Darlene Elias joined us in the second half of the show to update us on Holyoke’s Lyman Terrace struggle to prevent the displacement of 400 residents from one of America’s oldest housing projects. Check us out and let us know what you think! Email: trggrfreedom@gmail.com or leave us a comment on this page.

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Roundtable Discussion on the murder of TRAYVON MARTIN 3.30.12

Peace, check out this power-packed two hour episode of TRGGR Radio as we discuss the murder of Trayvon Martin. Rosa Clemente, REC and Chris join forces in conversation with Julie Chang Shulman, Roberto Lovato, Ajamu Baraka, Jasiri X, Jared Ball, and Emahunn Campbell of Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI) for a coast-to-coast cipha session about how we organize for racial justice in the wake of Trayvon’s death, and the ongoing effort to free Charles Wilhite.

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