Police Industry Making Profits: Non-Lethal Weapons
The recent trial of the police officer who killed the teenaged Oscar Grant in Oakland and the death of 7 year old Aiyana Jones during a Detroit police home invasion bring to attention the growing threat that citizens face at the hands of the police military industrial complex. Over the past few decades, as the [...]
Child Soldiers in Somalia Fighting US War on Terror
This weekend, the New York Times published an article detailing the Somali military’s use of children as soldiers in their war to stem the tide of terrorism in their country. The impoverished nation receives aid support from Western nations, including the United States, to assist with the delivery of humanitarian support to their people. The [...]
A Call for Federal Investigation in Death of Detroit Imam
This past Saturday in Detroit, a special rally was held at the Muslim Center in support of the community’s continuing efforts to uncover the truth about the killing of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah. Organizers provided the attendees with an update in the status of the investigation in the killing, as well as a call to [...]
Child Labor Abuses on US Farms
Photo by Grantsviews Last week, Human Rights Watch released a report detailing the abuse of child labor in the United States agricultural industry, condemning the widespread abuse on commercial farms. The report states that hundreds of thousands of children may be victims in this system, including working excessive daily hours, receiving sub-minimum wage pay, and [...]
Music is Resistance: Hip Hop for Palestine
This past Saturday, the University of Chicago hosted a special event to benefit hip hop in Palestine, featuring special guest Shadia Mansour, as well as the Existence is Resistance organization, a non-profit group helping to fund aid missions to Gaza and the West Bank. The show, “Bus Stop Hip Hop”, was performed as a movement [...]
Palestinian Anti-Wall Activists Are Often Arrested Unlawfully
Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning the detention of peaceful Palestinians protesters confronting the separation barrier built by Israel in the West Bank. Over the past few months, several dozen protesters are believed to have been arrested. These separation walls, which are illegally built on Palestinian territories within the West Bank, represent [...]
Global Economic Crisis Reduces Human Rights Enforcement
The enforcement of human rights requires a great effort worldwide, and one result of the recent global economic crisis has been a reduction in justice for victims of rights abuses. Food shortages, enforcement against violence, and less information being passed via news media are all issues directly related to stressed economic conditions. A recent release [...]
Doctors Without Borders: A Profile
In the wake of last month’s tragic earthquake in Haiti, the international medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders became a shining example of humanity’s ability to provide for those in need. Since its establishment in 1971, Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has provided aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival [...]
World AIDS Day: A Call For Sexual Education
Photo by darkensiva On December 1st the world recognized World AIDS Day, an opportunity to discuss solutions to the global AIDS epidemic, generate compassion for those afflicted and reflect upon the fundamental changes it has created in our understanding of human sexuality. More than ever, the urgency of the epidemic sheds light upon the need for [...]
Hip Hop as a Voice of Activism
In the continuation of the Getting Real: The Future of Hip Hop Studies Scholarship lecture series, Professor Dawn-Elisse Fischer from San Francisco State University presented the talk “Hip Hop, Human Rights and the Promise of a ‘New’ Transnational Social Movement”, where she related people’s identity with hip hop culture to their pursuit of different causes [...]
