People's Tribune

On March 4, perhaps a million people across the country demonstrated in support of quality public education as a right. Those who protested no doubt speak for millions of others who are saying, implicitly or explicitly, that education is a human right that must be guaranteed by the government. The money is.... more

The state budget shortfalls show no signs of abating. On the chopping block are education, health care, help for the poor and disabled, mental institutions, libraries, city services, fire departments, and more. Already, the pain and suffering of millions of people is escalating.... more

In Memory of Bessie Lou Cornett, A Tireless Revolutionary and Fighter For The Working Class

First of all, let me say that Bessie was an exceptionally dedicated and gifted revolutionary. She grew up poor in the Kentucky coalfields and she learned many hard lessons about what it means to be working class in North America. And she was one of the few people I have known who consciously lived according to her working class..... more

Pastor Brian Bennett and his wife Cindy Bennett of the Overflow Church, in Benton Harbor are being sued by the Orchard Mall. Can you imagine someone suing a church? The Orchard Mall management feels that the Overflow Church is going to ruin businesses..... more

Forty people from across the country met in New York City on January 28-29, to organize a nationwide takeover of vacant properties during the month of May. The meeting was organized by Take Back the Land, an organization successful in acquiring vacant property.... more

As June 2010 fast approaches, the importance of the U. S. Social Forum, which will be held in Detroit, Mich. from June 22-28, is becoming clear. The editorial entitled “American Politics Begins To Polarize” (October 2009 issue of People’s Tribune) is certainly right.... more

for Brisenia Flores, murdered by anti-immigrant vigilantes in Arivaca, Arizona and ali Kanani, murdered by Blackwater mercenaries at the Nisour Square Massacre, Iraq.... more

Education is a Right
Students, Workers and Community Unite to Save Public Education

On March 4th, 2010, tens of thousands of students, professors, teachers, other education workers, and community members, took to the streets and the campuses to demand that the government fully fund quality and accessible public education, kindergarten.... more

Like eternal teenage sagas
we are addicted to drama
the state decided
to depend on problems.... more

Up to a million Americans participated in the March 4 Strike and Day of Action to defend public education. Demonstrations, in various forms, occurred in at least 32 states. Sympathy demonstrations occurred in Japan, Mexico, Brazil, France, Scotland, Algeria and Russia.... more

A firestorm of protest from teachers and the neighborhoods erupted after January 19, when Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced their plan to close, consolidate or “turn around” 14 schools. CPS uses the “turnaround” model “because of poor academic performance”.... more

A round of attacks on public education have surfaced and hit even the mainstream media headlines. First there was the dismissal of the entire teaching staff in Rhode Islands’ Central Falls High School.... more

Insurance Industry Gets a Strong Bail Out
While the People Get a Weak Reform

The health care ‘reform’ bill that passed the US House of Representatives on March 21 was not a healthcare reform bill, but an insurance reform bill. For those thousands of fighters for health care justice, this bill may very well serve to push.... more

If a gang of drug dealers was getting people high, then beating them up, stealing their money, and leaving them bleeding in the streets, we’d think they were a menace to society. If the cops were looking the other way, we’d have to find a way.... more

Of course, it’s not new that capitalists—industrial and financial—use the government and the police to gang up on the working class. When this country was industrializing, they did so in every key industry—railroads, coal, steel, auto.... more

From April 4th to June, the Poor People’s Economic human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) will be marching in solidarity with the world’s poor and struggling masses. Hip Hop Congress is an organization that supports and connects artists, organizers, educators.... more

Aye yo, cat’s is broke,
You act like that’s a joke
Like these cats will not grab the gat and smoke
for like, half a coke and that jacket, loc.... more

Cabrini Green Cabrini Green - Interview With Evicted Tenant Interview With Evicted Tenant

Editors note: The following are excerpts from an interview with Steven Ross, a long time resident of Cabrini Green who was evicted in 2008. Steve shares some of his memories of the community which go back fifty years. He is currently homeless..... more

In the Nation’s Capitol, there is an alternative voice and vision emerging around community organizing. Its roots germinate from Ella Baker’s approach to organizing. She understood that for far too long, those who were directly affected by the issues (poverty, homelessness.... more

Berrien County, Michigan needs to start a county homeless court program. We need a special superior court session held at local shelters for the homeless defendants to resolve outstanding misdemeanor criminal cases..... more

“If the state could grant us a $5 million Fiscal Stabilization Bond, it would solve our problems,” said Benton Harbor City Manager Ron Carter. “ We could do that,” said State Treasurer Robert J. Kleine.... more

“The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts, think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. that is why we must stop the take over of our city. We must show the governor and whirlpool.... more

A new booklet published by the People’s Tribune discusses the victories and next steps in the struggle against the corporations in Benton Harbor. A battle has been won, and this should be celebrated, but.... more