Negotiating Punk Rock: Searching for Liberatory Values in a Conflicted Culture

 

By Alexander N. Riccio

The intersections of privilege and oppression have never been starker for me than the years I attempted to infiltrate Atlanta’s underground rock n’ roll scene. On the surface it appeared that the community united under shared connections through drugs, music, sex, and rebellion; but under the sheen of commonality was a matrix of divisions, prejudices, subordination, and self-destruction.

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Teaching for Democracy Not Plutocracy

By Mark Naison

Right now, education policy is being shaped by the presumed needs of employers rather than the aptitudes needs and culture of actual students. The result is classrooms that are stifling and humiliating, where young people’s natural curiosity is being squelched and where teachers are micromanaged to make sure their empathy doesn’t lead them to depart from the script. Continue reading “Teaching for Democracy Not Plutocracy”

Violence Can Undermine Nonviolent Movements

 

By Mark Naison

The assassination of police officers is not only morally reprehensible, it has a history of undermining the legitimacy of non-violent mass protest movements against social injustice. Continue reading “Violence Can Undermine Nonviolent Movements”

Dear Obama: Your Black Existence is Not at All Like Ours

 

By William J. Jackson

Dear Barack Hussein Obama.

Folks locking their doors when you walk by is nothing.
Getting mistaking for a parking valet is nothing.

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