Hosted by Frann Michel, this episode features segments on African films, on public schools in the the making of Black masculinity, and more.
In the aftermath of the midair crash over D.C on January 29, and Trump's racist response, Frann Michel looks back at the 1981 strike by PATCO, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization. This commentary considers the problems faced then and now by Air Traffic Controllers, the damaging legacy of Ronald Reagan's union-busting, lessons from the strike, and the importance of workers' exercise of collective power going forward.
Moussa Sène Absa at the Cascade Festival of African Films
This is the 35th year of the Cascade Festival of African Films hosted by Portland Community College with screenings and discussions scheduled Thursday through Saturday throughout the month of February. Jan Haaken talks with the internationally acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Moussa Sène Absa who will be joining the festival for a special Retrospective of his work. They talk about the vision guiding his most recent film--Xalé-- in what Absa describes as a trilogy of films centered on defiant and richly drawn female protagonists. Absa will be present for the screening of Xalé at the Hollywood Theatre at 6:30 pm on Friday February 14th and for screenings of Tableau Ferraille and Madame Brouette on Saturday February 15th at the PCC Cascade Moriarty auditorium. All screenings are free and open to the public. Find out more about the African Film Festival at https://www.africanfilmfestival.org/
Public education for Black boys is often characterized as a school-to-prison pipeline. Why is it that these kids are so poorly served by our schools? Book Mole, Patricia Kullberg, reviews the ethnography, Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity, by Portlander Ann Ferguson, Professor Emeritus of Afro-American Studies, Smith College. In her classic and ground-breaking text Ferguson reveals the mechanisms by which schools sort Black boys into a social hierarchy that exacerbates, rather than diminishes, the ill effects of a racist society. Rather than passive victims, however, the so-called bad boys devise strategies for negotiating and maneuvering within structures of power that enable them to preserve a sense of self-worth, as something other than man-boys headed for prison.
Uncovering Surveillance in Oregon
The ACLU of Oregon, in partnership with Don’t Shoot PDX, an arts and education organization that promotes social justice and civic participation, have submitted three public records requests to the City of Portland, the Oregon Department of Justice (ODOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These requests seek to identify how state and local law enforcement agencies collaborate with federal law enforcement to monitor and surveil Oregonians engaged in racial justice and other forms of lawful advocacy and protest. Frann Michel talks with Lisa Kwon of the ACLU-OR and Teressa Raiford of Dont Shoot PDX. The ACLU-OR has resources to help you find out if you've been subjected to unlawful police surveillance and to know your rights.
More information:
Support the Portland State University AAUP with solidarity and strike funds
Support Providence Health & Services workers
Tuesday, Feb. 11th, at 6pm, the Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Avenue, hosts “Walking Through Portland with a Panther: The Life of Mr. Kent Ford. All Power!” a screening and discussion about the life of the co-founder of Portland’s chapter of the Black Panther Party.
On Friday Friday, Feb. 14, the Deportation Defense Coalition will be building community solidarity, to protect immigrant neighbors, from 12 to 2 pm at PCC Cascade, 705 N Killingsworth St. Here are some resources for people returning to Mexico, Honduras, el Salvador and Guatemala
If someone you know is being detained by ICE, you can call the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition hotline any day at 1-888-622-1510.
Friday, February 14, 4pm-6pm, XRPDX Love & Resistance Dance Party, Salmon Street Springs on SW Naito Parkway, Portland (in case of rain, will be under the Hawthorne Bridge).
Thursday, February 20th, there will be a huge Rumble On The River Community Forum about four current issues--PGE’s Proposed Intrusion Into Forest Park; Pt Westward Plans for a Massive Refinery & Rail Yard in the Columbia River Estuary; Zenith Energy’s Expansion Schemes; and the Surge of AI & Data Centers threatening Oregon’s 45 Year Old Anti-Nuclear Law. Doors open at 5:30 pm at St Luke Lutheran Church, 4595 SW California St in Portland.
You can watch Jan Haaken's film Atomic Bamboozle for free all this month through a collaboration with the Oregon Conservancy Foundation, which has information about the many current pro-nuclear bills.
Unmasked in-person events risk spreading dangerous illnesses, even from people who don't feel any symptoms themselves, but respirator masks really bug the right wing. So irritate the fascists and protect your comrades by wearing an N95. Contact Mask Bloc PDX for more information and resources.