[Interactive Map] Voter Suppression Efforts Nationwide

If you have been following politics, than you know that Wisconsin is a major battleground this year. Well, Wisconsin isn’t the only state where voters are being challenged to get to the polls. Suppression tactics can be seen across the nation in places like Indiana, Kansas, and Georgia just to name a few. Recently the Fair Elections Legal Network and Campus Progress, have unveiled their interactive voter suppression map. This map shows us where voters rights are being challenged.

What does this mean for us, you ask?

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Ife

Free to Love Equal Rights

Just last week, North Carolina voters passed a bill strictly defining marriage as between a man and woman. The day after, President Obama stated that he personally agreed with same-sex marriage.

Last year, my friend, Tom Bridegroom, suddenly died. He was gay and had been living with his partner for several years in California. They had promised to marry as soon as it was legal. Tom’s family never agreed with his homosexuality, and after his sudden death, they decided to cut all contact with his partner, Shane. After an entire year, Shane decided to speak through a YouTube video, about his experience with not only Tom’s family, but with the laws as they currently are.

For some insight on the state of the marriage equality fight, I spoke with LGBT advocate with Milwaukee’s Pathfinders, Julie Brock, about her reaction to the ban in North Carolina, the President and the video, “It could happen to you.”

“I was sad North Carolinians passed the ban, but not surprised,” Brock said. “Oppression is institutionalized in America.”

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Ife

Chicago’s Green Festival

Last week, Chicago hosted the Green Festival at Navy Pier. This two-day event featured some of America’s most progressive green thinkers such as Van Jones, Amy Goodman, and Naomi Davis – to name a few. The event featured 350 local and national businesses and organizations vetted by the Green Festival for either their organic, sustainability, or social justice practices.

Everything from food and body products, to compost toilets and consumer-ready solar panels was featured at the festival. Ford Motors even featured a new Focus made of organic materials such as corn husk, sweet potatoes, and wheat straw. My personal favorites were all the organic wine and beer but they were nothing compared to the Community Action Area where I met artist and musician Dan Bellini with Occupy Chicago.

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Ife

Celebration of Life for Rev. Eugene Williams III

Rev. Eugene Williams III was a dedicated community organizer and  religious leader in some of Los Angeles’ poorest neighborhoods. Always working to uplift the community, Rev. Williams used his gifts to help struggling churches raise money and resources that would ultimately go to the communities they served. He passed away on March 16, 2012 of lung cancer. He will be remembered on Saturday May 5th, 2012 at the University of Southern California at 1:00 p.m. Rev. Eugene Williams was a leader and asset to the community. He will be missed.

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Ife

[WATCH] Teens Rally for the #MilwaukeeJobsAct

The Milwaukee Jobs Act is a really big deal. If jobs aren’t distributed with urgency, complete pandemonium is going to break out. Our stomachs are growling and Milwaukee residents can’t keep eating a bunch of lies. Either the politicians in office start working for the people that put them there or they’ll just get voted out.

The young people in Milwaukee need the jobs the most. Their annual disturbances in public are obvious cries of boredom. In the featured video, the young people also are the loudest in the room about needing jobs. Shouts out to Urban Underground for continuing to be one of the leaders in empowering and representing the young people in the city of Milwaukee.

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DJWillieShakes