YPP book club! This Thursday, Matthew Countryman will be at the Penn Bookstore with his book, "Up South: Civil Rights and Black Power in Philadelphia".

During the 1940s and 1950s, liberal civil rights groups in the city successfully campaigned for Philadelphia's new City Charter to be the first in the nation to include a ban on racial discrimination in municipal employment, services, and contracts. Within a decade, however, black activists in the city were leading consumer boycotts and street protests against the city's liberal establishment for failing to overcome entrenched structures of racial inequality in labor markets, residential neighborhoods, and public schools. ....

Challenging the view that it was the inflammatory rhetoric of Black Power and the rising demands of black activists that derailed the civil rights movement, Up South documents the efforts of Black Power activists in Philadelphia to construct a vital and effective social movement that combined black nationalism's analysis of racism's constitutive role in American society with a program of grassroots community organizing and empowerment. On issues ranging from public education and urban renewal to police brutality and welfare, Philadelphia's Black Power movement remade the city's political landscape. And, in contrast to the top-down middle-class leadership of traditional civil rights groups, Black Power in Philadelphia fundamentally altered the composition of black leadership in the city to include a new cohort of neighborhood-based working-class and female black community activists.

I picked up this book, and am about to start reading it. If anyone else does, tell me and we can totally do an ad hoc book club. I know bits and pieces of the story: the intense murals at the Church of the Advocate, the Black Panther men up against the wall, people lining Girard Avenue under the College gates. I want to know more, and if anyone reading has personal stories of their involvement in or memory of these struggles I would love if you shared them.

So, go to the talk: Thursday February 7 at 5:30 at the Penn Bookstore, 36th and Walnut Streets. And then walk down to the Penn Book Center at 34th and Sansom and buy or order the book, because the Penn Bookstore is owned by Barnes and Noble and you shouldn't support them. Oh and there is totally a paperback that just came out, so even though it printed by an academic press, it's not even too expensive!

This is part three taken from my own blog written on November 21st. Despite being a few months old, everything still rings true. You can read the original here: http://markskull.blogspot.com/2007/11/civil-rights-and-possible-crime_19.html

I was going to post this yesterday, but I've been sick for a bit and it came to a head yesterday.

We've discussed the basic civil rights questions, and asked how long this Crime Emergency could last.

We've discussed the new Police Commissioner, his background in the issue, and and his impact on Crime.

Today, we're going to tackle a few things.

• Guns
• The impact Ramsey had in Washington D.C. (Part 2)
• What all of this boils down to.

So to start things off, we can kill two birds with one stone and discuss Ramsey, D.C., and Guns at once. Why? Because in case you didn't know, handguns have been banned in Washington D.C. for 31 years. OK, let's think about this: Despite BANNING HANDGUNS in Washington D.C., they still had ONE OF THE HIGHEST MURDER RATES IN AMERICA. So all that talk about "banning guns solve everything" is true, right? Ramsey's impact to lower the murder rate 50% during his time there must deal with simple enforcement of existing laws.

This is part two taken from my own blog written on November 19th. Despite being a few months old, everything still rings true. You can read the original here: http://markskull.blogspot.com/2007/11/civil-rights-and-possible-crime_19.html

THE CHARLES RAMSEY EFFECT

Hello, and welcome to Part 2 of my discussion of the Crime Emergency and the Crime Emergency. Yesterday, I discussed the basic civil rights issues that I feel could be threatened by declaring a Code 10, and asked the question of how long this would last and if it was needed.

Today, we'll start the discussion on the new Police Commissioner, Charles H. Ramsey. But before we do, I want to mention a few things first that I forgot to mention yesterday.

A large amount of my problem with this is, of course, Civil Rights. In all of my writing yesterday, I neglected to mention something that has been bugging me about all of this. Back in May, when Nutter's "Stop-and-Frisk" program was being called to task for violating civil rights, supporters brought up a Court Case where it was declared constitutional.

It was Nutter himself who coined this phase: "It's a Civil Right not to be Shot."

This bumper-sticker phrase was done so well, it is next to impossible to argue against it. To do so seems to allow for the same type of argument used by Conservative Republicans when you disagree with them; "What, do you mean you WANT people to be shot? You don't think it's wrong to kill and murder people?! No wonder you didn't win the election, you cold hearted bastard!"

The fact of the matter is, you don't. You have a right to live, a right to the pursuit of happiness. You have a right to be free and happy, and to live in a safe environment.

You don't have a right to not have bad things happen to you.

This is part one taken from my own blog written on November 17th. Despite being a few months old, everything still rings true. You can read the original here: http://markskull.blogspot.com/2007/11/civil-rights-and-possible-crime.html

I want to state one fact here: Despite how much I disagree with him on the Crime Emergency issue, I highly respect the man and was ready to hire him myself once elected. I agree with a large portion of what he wants, but on this issue and mainly this issue alone more than anything else, I feel he is wrong. This article, along with Part 2, are serious looks and criticisms I have about this and I have, and will, state as many facts as possible to back me up on not only my view, but the counterpoint as well.

When it comes to any and all comments, I ask you keep them civil. Thank you.

-Larry

The keystone of why I ran for mayor after the May Primary can be summed up into these words:

To make sure Nutter NEVER declares a Crime Emergency.

In essence, a Crime Emergency is this:

• prohibit or limit gatherings of people on sidewalks, streets, or any outdoor place in the designated neighborhoods;
• halt or limit the movement of vehicles through or within the designated neighborhoods;
• establish a curfew limiting the hours people could be outside their houses; and
• prohibit the sale, carrying or possession on the public street or public sidewalks, or in any public park or square, of weapons of any kind.

Let's stop for a second and look at this. To quote Nutter himself:

Title 10 of the Philadelphia Code authorizes the Mayor to take specified measures if the Mayor determines that “the City or any part thereof is suffering or is in imminent danger of suffering civil disturbance , disorder, riot or other occurrence which will seriously and substantially endanger the health, safety and property of the citizens.” Parts of Philadelphia are clearly suffering a wave of violence that endangers the safety of residents.

In other words, it's exactly what it sounds like: A last resort in case it is incredibly dangerous to even leave your house. For example, say we're under a real threat of terrorism and we've been attacked, that would be grounds to declare a Crime Emergency. Or a massive gang war erupted, where you have two rival gangs killing each other and anyone in their way. That's a good reason to declare it as well.

CLARKE IS AT IT AGAIN!

No longer content with simply tracking your purchases and banning "offensive" images, he now wants to personally oversee where restaurants go. I'll simplify the bill for you; If you have a take-out restaurant, then your going to be zoned just like if you were a strip club! In order to get a variance from the city, you would need to talk to your City Council rep. And, oh look, Clarke is in control of half of Center City! Namely, the WESTERN HALF! Considering that means everything west of City Hall, the business district and the places where the most revitalization has happened, it's obvious that this bill is here to make life hell for anyone running a business.

Credit where's Credit Due, City Council President Anna Verna is also sponsoring the bill.

Let's not forget what Darrell Clarke also wants to do:

Clarke wants to ban being able to display nooses, burning crosses, and swastikas in public. Being a fan of the First Amendment, as well as belonging to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a First Amendment group, I oppose it with every American bone in my body. It doesn't mean I entirely agree with these symbols, but at the same time, let's consider that the Swastika alone has a VERY long history of non-violence before the freakin' Nazi's bastardized it.

It's all detailed here in Bill No. 070914.

He also wants to pass two other bills. Both would create electronic tracking of beer, alcohol, spray paint containers, indelible markers and etching acid!

Bill No.: 070875 - The bill that would track cigarettes and beer:
http://www.hallwatch.org/councilnotices/bills/1192803462538

Bill No.: 070876 - The bill that would track spray paint:
http://www.hallwatch.org/councilnotices/bills/1192803462937

For the past month or so the queer community has had the unpleasant opportunity of putting its money where its mouth is, figuratively speaking.

Here’s a dirty little secret; when it comes to transgender issues, the heterosexual community isn’t the only group that could use some educating. Many gay men and women are surprisingly intolerant or plain ignorant when it comes to transgendered people and the issues they face. I, ashamedly, count myself in the latter. While I’ve made it a point to learn the differences of various labels, and will actively seek out television or cinema with trans-themes, I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said I really understand the issue.

My ignorance caught up with me when I asked a transgendered woman what steps I could take in order to increase participation by the trans-community in an organization I help run. Her answer was simple, “Why don’t you invite your transgendered friends?” Quite frankly, I was a bit embarrassed I didn’t have any.

What does this realization have to do with the upcoming ENDA vote? I’ll tell you.

Sometimes this city makes me sick.

In the last two years, the citizens of Philadelphia has seen what can only be called "Too Much Government!" I have always been aware of the fact that we as citizens must constantly ask ourselves some rather basic questions about our government, namely this: What is the roll of government in a democracy? To some, the roll of government is meant to be nothing more than a "thing", something that sits as an obelisk and sometimes intervenes. To others, it is a constant babysitter.

But to me, and to those who want freedom and liberty, the roll of our government is to simply be there when we need them! The roll of these employees of ours, the roll of those we hire and have decided to put in charge, the people we are in charge of... their job is to be our safety net. They are here to enforce OUR laws and OUR ideas. They are not here to tell us what to do and when to do it! We all live in a constant fear of a Big Brother Government, where those in the government can look up anything and everything we do, that they track our every move.

Yet, we allow them to do just that!

No, there are not cameras in your houses. No, there are no bar codes on your neck. And, no, your not forced to stand in front of a TV screen for 5 minutes and told to hate the enemy or face ridicule from everyone and possibly be called a terrorist. But we ARE allowing our government to control us, and we are simply letting it happen!

In the last two years in Philadelphia, the rights of citizens have been stripped away! Layer by layer, pound by pound, we are falling prey to our fears of criminals, of murders, and allowing those fears to govern our ways of thinking and our politics! Yes, Big Brother is here, and the signs have been there for you to look out for!

The smoking ban. A lot of people supported this as a way to clean up the air in Philadelphia, to make our city a shining example of what a pro-health law can do! But the reality is that it was just the beginning of a slippery slope, one that many who opposed the ban warned us of but many chose to ignore. Lets consider this fact: A large number of restaurants and businesses have taken it upon themselves to ban smoking. Before the ban, it was nearly impossible to smoke in most restaurants in Philadelphia. If you did, you were put in an uncomfortable and awkward smoking section. That alone should make you want to quit but, at the very least, you had the freedom and your right to smoke.

But City Council with Nutter at the helm said that wasn't enough. They decided, not us, that there needed to be a large ban on this. That this ban must apply to bar and outdoor restaurants. They, not us, decided what was better and healthier for us. We, as grown adults, were declared too foolish to do so. They decided that businesses were inept at deciding their own policies. Thus began the slow decay.

Taking a short detour off the education beat to note this disturbing news item. The media has recently been reporting that 10th District Councilman Brian O'Neill is planning to introduce an ordinance calling for Philly police to run immigration checks on all felony suspects -- an echo of a recent order issued by the New Jersey attorney general.

Despite other issues with the Philly police, I would say the immigrant community generally notes that the cops, with a few exceptions, pretty much separate local policing from fed work around immigration. A lot of it has to do with the sensible fact that there's plenty of other things for the Philly police to do than try to figure out, in a complicated and botched immigration system, if someone is legal or not.