community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
Rustbelt Radio for August 6, 2007
by Pittsburgh IMC: Rustbelt Radio collective
Monday, Aug. 06, 2007 at 10:05 PM
radio@indypgh.org (email address validated) 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3 FM
audio link: 
MP3 at 27.2 mebibytes
Welcome to this week's edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of the news from the grassroots, news overlooked by the corporate media.
On today's show...
Rustbelt Radio airs live every Monday from 6-7 PM on WRCT 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh, PA, and again on Tuesday mornings 9-10 AM. We're also on Pacifica affiliate WVJW Benwood, 94.1 FM in the Wheeling, West Virginia area, on Thursdays from 6-7 PM. And we're on WPTS, 10-11AM on Wednesday mornings at 92.1 FM from the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
We're also available on the internet, both on WRCT's live webstream at W-R-C-T dot ORG and for download, stream or podcast at radio dot I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot org.
We turn now to local stories.
Last Monday 13-year old Rachel Booth of Elizabeth Township was arrested and charged for fatally shooting her father. Rachel reports that she had been the victim of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father, Matthew Booth, for years. These allegations have been confirmed by neighbors. In light of such a tragic case, many have wondered whether the county’s office for child welfare-- the office of Children, Youth and Families-- has been doing its job properly. According to Richard Wexler of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, there is really no telling:
Wexler maintains that, the Booth case notwithstanding, Allegheny County actually has a relatively progressive Child Welfare system. Nevertheless, reform is needed:
Child Welfare laws are not the only problem. Because of procedural regulation, despite Rachel’s age and status as a victim of traumatic abuse, she was charged on Monday as an adult and held without bail at Allegheny County Jail for nearly a week before being moved to Shuman Juvenile Detention Center on Friday.
From Jazz to August Wilson, Black Pittsburgh’s history and heritage has been recognized and celebrated nation-wide. Pittsburgh’s connection to the legacy of the Underground Railroad, though, is not as well known. Now, thanks to the work of a local scholar, the city’s abolitionist past is getting more attention.
Sala Udin explains Pittsburgh’s role in helping escaped slaves reach a black settlement in Canada:
The association between Pittsburgh’s Black community and the descendents of escaped slaves in Canada persists even today. Udin talks about an upcoming commemoration of the relationship focused on the ‘Liberty Bell’:
For more information on the Underground Railroad bus tour contact Corporate Travel Planners at 412-494-5858.
For more on local news, you can visit pittsburgh dot I-N-D-Y-M-E-D-I-A dot org.
You are listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news overlooked by the corporate media. We turn now to news from other independent media sources around the world.
While most people are familiar with ‘political hip hop,’ few would immediately associate the genre with environmentalism. The organizers of the recent Hip Hop Sustains concert are seeking to change that. On June 30th an emerging coalition of activists and artists called ‘Hip Hop Sustains’ organized the first ever solar-powered Hip Hop concert.
Spokesperson Vanessa Nisperos explains some of the issues that inspired the concert, which coincided with another first, the premiere United States Social Forum in Atlanta:
Hip Hop Sustains connected these environmental issues to the serious crisis of unemployment and incarceration in urban centers, particularly among working class communities of color.
Ironically, the Hip Hop Sustains concert occurred only about a week before the much more highly publicized ‘Live Earth’ concerts, which took place in about a dozen different locations across the globe. Nisperos outlines some of the distinctions:
Award-winning spoken word poet and cultural activist, Kahlil Almustafa, sums up the concert calling it, [quote] a powerful moment that marks the evolution of a Hip-Hop generation that chooses to grow up regardless of whether or not America chooses the same.
Rustbelt Radio now brings you the latest edition of 'Palestine Today'
That was 'Palestine Today,' a project of the International Middle East Media Center. For more news from Palestien please see imemc.org.
You're listening to Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
From August 3rd- 5th, a national movement for civil rights and social justice called the Gathering for Justice, came to Pittsburgh. This new movement was recently created by actor and social justice advocate Harry Belafonte. In 2005, he saw a news report featuring a 5 year old girl in Florida who was handcuffed and removed from school for being "unruly". The three officers who were called in by school administrators took 5 year old Ja’eisha to the local police station where she was later released to her mother.
Witnessing the police officers terrorize this young child inspired Belafonte to build a movement to address the injustices facing youth of color today.
Over the weekend, Pittsburgh joined six other states who have locally organized their own Gatherings in the last year and a half to find solutions to (quote) “stop child incarceration and challenge the immoral process which perpetuates an unjust justice system” (end quote). The weekend long event included a hip hop kick off concert on Friday, a conference on Saturday and a religious service on Sunday.
On Saturday, over 300 people met at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to discuss juvenile criminalization and incarceration. The all day conference included panels, a presentation on restorative justice and Fred Hampton Jr., the current chairman of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee, as the keynote speaker.
Keeping the theme of youth incarceration in mind, the participants attended break-out panels on political economic and educational justice, and also the role of the church and the media.
The discussion on educational justice was one of the most well-attended panels, bringing a wide range of people including school principals, teachers, parents, educational service providers, anti-racist activists, and other community residents. The low levels of reading and math proficiency and low graduation rates were highlighted as indicators of serious educational disparities. One panelist stated that: 58% of black boys do NOT graduate from high school. The 42% that do are likely to face low wage jobs, no jobs, street-hustling, violent deaths or incarceration. For many black students, a diploma does not guarantee a path to a good job or college education.
During the educational justice session, participants discussed many of the current crises facing students and families in the Pittsburgh region. Some of these issues include the relocation plan for Duquesne High School Students and a newly contracted school for juvenile offenders, which is set to open on the North Side. Panelists referred to this school as a quote “soft prison” and stated that they are fearful of the lack of accountability this privately run institution will have to the community.
Lorena Amos, a reading specialist and concerned community resident is working with a group entitled GRASS, which stands for Grassroots Association to Save and Strengthen African Students. The group is trying to start a leadership development school for African American Students. Lorena is actively working against the myth that black children will always be at the bottom.
Sarah B Campbell, an elder and concerned citizen has lived in Homewood since 1947. She talked about her experiences with raising a family and promoting education in her community.
Richard Carrington of Voices Against Violence has worked directly with students in the Pittsburgh Public Schools for 12 years. During the Panel on Educational Justice he addressed the single-parent family crisis that faces many of his students. He also made a call to the audience to get to work in the schools.
After the breakout panel session concluded, the attendees reconvened for a short review of the problems and solutions that were discussed. Those talking about the role of the church decided to organize a unified fast within the next month, and resolved to reach out of their own homes and churches to diversify their connections and strengthen the movement. During the Political Justice panel, the discussion centered around access to voting, political leadership, guns, and resource development. Several meetings were planned for the upcoming weeks to build upon the ideas brought forth in the discussion.
Luqman Abdus Salam, from the Sankore Institute and the Light of the Age Mosque on the North Side, spoke about the media panel:
That was just Luqman Abdus Salam, from the Sankore Institute reporting on the role of the media in Pittsburgh’s Black communities.
After a report from each panel discussion, the conference moved onto the subject of restorative justice. Bomani Howze, the Vice-President of the Mental Health Association and Vice-Chair of the One Hill CBA Coalition was ready to share his experiences on working with incarcerated youth and juveniles. But before he got into the discussion, he wanted to revisit African traditions and create a unified feeling in the room.
We’ll have more from The Gathering after this short break.
That was Wise Intelligent with the song Set U Free. He performed in Pittsburgh this weekend as part of The Gathering.
A final element of the conference was a dialogue exploring alternatives to the current criminalization and incarceration of youth of color. Bomani Howze described one such alternative which is known as restorative justice. This approach centers around finding appropriate solutions for the victim, the offender, and the community. It is a move away from the “lock em up” mentality which is currently in practice.
In order to provide a comprehensive community driven response to misdemeanor and non-violent felonies for both juvenile and adult offenders, a community council is needed. This council would be responsible for determining the outcomes of the sentencing and for meeting the needs of all the parties harmed by the crime.
At the Gathering, Bomani Howze proposed using community justice traditions mixed with new theories to create a more holistic approach to criminal justice.
Rustbelt Radio spoke with attendees of The Gathering to see what brought them to the event. Sean McDonald, a 21 year old University of Pittsburgh economics major, addressed the community challenges as well as what he plans to do to change them:
Judith K. Ginyard, the former executive director of the Lincoln Larimer Community Development Corporation, also shared her thoughts:
Richard Gillcrese, from the Official Internet Black News Network gave his media-centered solutions:
A dozen or so children attended the event, including the 3 children of Pamela Lawton. Lawton and her children were harassed by a Pittsburgh police officer while driving through Shadyside in September of 2006. According to Lawton the police officer, Eric Tatusko, came to the passenger side of the car where her 7 year old daughter Joshalyn was seated and held a gun to her head.
We asked Joshalyn who is now 8, to tell us why she came to The Gathering:
Pamela Lawton's trial for her charges is taking place tomorrow, August 7th, at 9 a.m. on the 5th floor of the county courthouse downtown.
At the end of the event, the crowd was uplifted and inspired to return to their communities and to continue to work for positive changes. Minister Jasiri X, one of the local organizers of The Gathering, reflected on his thoughts of the day's event.
Eleven regions will be gathering in November in Oakland California to strategize on a national level. For more information on the issues and solutions for bringing about justice and ending child incarceration that were addressed this weekend, please visit http://www.thegatheringforjustice.org.
And now we present the Indymedia Calendar of Events:
[ Outro Music ]
Thanks for tuning in to Rustbelt Radio here on WRCT Pittsburgh, WVJW Benwood and WPTS Pittsburgh.
Our hosts this week are Ellen Pierson and Carlin Christy with contributions from Ellen Pierson, Carlin Christy, and Lizzie Anderson. This week's show was produced by Phill Cresswell. Special thanks to all of our hosts, producers, and contributors.
You can get involved with Rustbelt Radio! To contact us, or to send us your comments, email RADIO at I-N-D-Y-P-G-H dot ORG. All of our shows are available for download or podcast on our website at RADIO dot INDY-P-G-H dot ORG and this show can be heard again Tuesday morning on WRCT at 9 AM after Democracy Now!
Tune in next week at this time for another edition of Rustbelt Radio, the Pittsburgh Independent Media Center's weekly review of news from the grassroots.
Rustbelt Radio for August 6, 2007 (ogg vorbis)
by Pittsburgh IMC: Rustbelt Radio collective
Monday, Aug. 06, 2007 at 10:05 PM
radio@indypgh.org 412-923-3000 WRCT 88.3 FM
audio: ogg vorbis at 23.6 mebibytesaudio: ogg vorbis at 23.6 mebibytes
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