activism

Voices of Concerned Educators: Call Me Ms. Mala, Radical Mujer Tutor of Color [Maegan Ortiz]

by Maegan 03.26.2010

I struggle with calling myself an educator. Despite the fact that I work daily with the children of Muslim Indian immigrants, ranging from age 4 to 13, on grammar, the quadratic equation, and reconstruction of the United States after the Civil war, being called Ms. Maegan feels uncomfortable. Despite the fact that I have helped [...]

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Tearing The House Down pt. 2: Hands Up For Haiti

by Jose 01.12.2010

For many of us in the United States, independence means a ton. Even for the most marginalized of groups, we scream and kick for it because of the hypocritical nature of this hollow pursuit of happiness. For most of us in this country, we enjoy freedoms that we often take for granted. From the computers [...]

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Does Social Media Mean Social Justice?

by Jose 08.27.2009

In the 1950′s, as civil rights groups of interest (i.e. dissident and radical groups) began to truly penetrate the mainstream thought of America, the FBI developed a program with a series of protocols for disruption and misinformation called COINTELPRO (an acronym for COunter INtelligence PROgram). By most reports, not only did they intend on gathering [...]

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We Fight, We Love (or Pedagogy of the Oppressed, in a Context)

by Jose 08.25.2009

Denise Oliver-Velez, who commented in my last blog about the Young Lords anniversary and reunion gathering, said something poignant that educators like myself should take heed to in their quest to educate underprivileged and underserved children in this country (of any color). The average age of a Young Lord in the Young Lord Party’s prime [...]

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I Shall Fear No Man (Y’all Don’t Hear Me Though)

by Jose 01.19.2009

My favorite speech from the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King has been called “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” and it ends something like this: And then I got into Memphis. And some began to say the threats, or talk about the threats that were out. What would happen to me from some of our [...]

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The World Is Not Enough (World AIDS Day 2008)

by Jose 12.01.2008

AIDS is not a disease in isolation. My first consciousness of AIDS didn’t come from Magic Johnson’s infamous press conference, per se. Around my way, the acquired immunodeficiency virus was a deadly version of the kooties. Kids would run around tagging each other with “the big, bad AIDS,” and some even alleged that the most [...]

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Pre-Blog Action Day: What Can I Do?

by Jose 10.13.2008

In a revelatory moment in the film The Express, an older Will Davis Jr. and Ernie Davis attend a local NAACP meeting, discussing plans to rally in the South. Just then, Ernie Davis discusses his fears about his political involvement, citing how Will has no understanding of the complex relationship between him and his school, [...]

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I Am A Community Organizer: The Genesis

by Jose 09.08.2008

This morning, on my doorknob, I got a flyer from some group detailing the negative aspects of Daniel Squadron, a young man who’s running for New York State Senate, representing Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. The whole Lower East Side has been abuzz with community activism and political stationing, not so much about the presidential candidate [...]

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It’s A Must That I Bust Any Mic You Hand To Me

by Jose 07.29.2008

I’d like to tell my children, whoever they may be, that I was an activist someday. And by children, I mean the ones I borrow for 10 months a year, but I mean the ones I hope to have in the future, too. I don’t mean that I’ll be rebel-rousing in my school per se. [...]

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The More You Know, The Less You Feel

by Jose 04.24.2008

I once heard of a young man who thought so critically, and was so intelligent, he had to wear headphones just to tranquilize him. As if the thoughts he had in his head wouldn’t even let him socialize normally with others. I can only imagine how loud he had to put his headphones just to [...]

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