Newark, NJ - No matter how much the greedy, racist bosses of the U.S. try to keep us demoralized and cynical, the faint heartbeat of class struggle persists, reminding those of us who are activists that we are indeed on the “right side of history.” 

One of the lessons people might have incorrectly drawn from the 2020 uprising around racial justice in the United States was that it was spurred by a sharp, rapid increase in police violence directed toward Black people. Protesters around the globe were attributing the murder of George Floyd, while technically at the knee of Officer Derek Chauvin, to the entire Minneapolis Police Department and, more widely, to a system of policing that allows the police to enact violence on the communities they’ve sworn to protect and serve. The video of the killing, courageously recorded by a 17-year-old woman, showed millions of Americans what really goes on when an initial police statement announces a “medical incident.”

NEWARK, NJ–The world has been watching the latest war between Israel and the Occupied Territory of Palestine-Gaza for the past seven weeks. According to the latest reports, to date, over 14,500 have been killed in Occupied Gaza and some 1,200 in Israel.

Today, representatives from Israel and Palestine reached a four-day truce set to begin tomorrow at 7 am. The agreement, brokered by Qatar,  outlines several key objectives, including the release of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a halt on military engagement. 

Thanks to laws like Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the government is empowered to conduct mass surveillance with minimal safeguards to protect our privacy and rights. Because of this power, digital mass surveillance is trampling our very democracy.

May 15 of this year marked the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, or The Catastrophe. That’s 75 years since Palestinians were first forcibly expelled from their land, and they continue to be expelled to this day. This year, the United Nations (UN) commemorated the day with performances, testimonies, and videos at their New York City headquarters, featuring a keynote address by the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, as well as a statement by the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo. 

Of all my views that have shifted as I've learned and grown, none may be as unrecognizable as my views on policing. I grew up in New Jersey, in a white neighborhood, in a white town, and had an uncle and next-door neighbor who were police officers. I saw the police as providing safety, protecting everyone from evil--the good guys. I wondered aloud why anyone would run from the police and thought cops should be able to use their cars against people who ran. Any cracks in that good guy facade didn't go very deep