Indypendent Reader

Audio: Immanuel Wallerstein - "Upsurge in Movements Around the Globe: 1968 Redux?"

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:32:48 +0000

Renowned scholar and author, Immanuel Wallerstein, spoke this past fall at Baltimore's 2640 cooperative events space, on the significance and relevancy of the current waves of global upheaval and resistance.

Wallerstein, recognized for his essential four-volume analysis on modern day capitalism, "The Modern World System", reflected upon the movements for democracy coming out of the Arab Spring to the blossoming Occupy movement here in the United States. He situates these movements within the broader unstable context of global capitalism and a historical trajectory that could move the globe toward the hardening of capitalism without democracy or a push towards anti-capitalism that embraces wider democratic participation.

Recorded on Nov. 3rd, 2011 @ 2640 Space. The event was sponsored by Red Emma's

Duration: 31min. 29 sec.

Immanuel Wallerstein: "Upsurge in Movements Around the Globe: 1968 Redux?" from Clayton on Vimeo.

Clayton Conn

Full Audio: "Is Blackness History?" Debate

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:29:28 +0000

In recognition of Black History Month, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS), hosted a public debate on the meaning of Black history and Black identity in a “post-racial” moment. The debate was held at the cooperative events venue - 2640, this past Saturday, February 10th.

The debate included the participation of Lester Spence, Professor of Political Science, and Nicholas Brady, a recent graduate, representing Johns Hopkins University. Representing Towson University was John Bullock, Professor of Political Science, and Fernando Kirkland, a recent graduate.

Full Audio

Clayton Conn

Bill & Melinda Want You: Gates Foundation tentacles reach worldwide and next door

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:23:38 +0000

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is in the news again. It’s the lead donor for a program that will spend millions of dollars producing and delivering drugs for the treatment of tropical diseases. It’s pumping another $750 million into the Global Fund. And it’s opening a new museum, dedicated to itself, in downtown Seattle.

Bill Gates is supposed to be living proof that not all billionaires are bad; that a huge pile of money in one place can sometimes be a good thing if it's being used for a good cause. You'll hear lefties go out of their way to praise Gates for his philanthropic work, almost as if they need to make the point that they're not biased against the rich per se. [1]

Gates has gained his status through the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). BMGF is one of the largest private foundations in the world and has rapidly become a heavyweight in the arenas such as public health, agriculture, and education. It claims 957 employees and pays out $2.6 billion in grants each year.

The Foundation has some big achievements under its belt. It takes some credit for the recent declaration of polio’s eradication in India. It helped GlaxoSmithKline to create a “moderately effective” malaria vaccine. A recent study concluded that Avahan, a BMGF project in India designed to limit the spread of HIV, had prevented over a hundred thousand infections during a five-year period. All together, the Foundation seems to have amassed an unassailable record of saving the world.

What’s The Catch?

An increasingly mainstream critique of the Foundation accuses it of “magic bullet” thinking: the idea that a single technological innovation can fix a social problem without addressing any contextual issues. A somewhat less mainstream critique includes the idea that the “contextual” problems themselves are actually fundamental problems—associated with the global capitalist economic system from which the BMGF springs and which it actively works to maintain.

In the world of public health, the BMGF makes its main contribution through the medical techniques developed by American and European pharmaceutical companies. It buys drugs from the companies, and it also pays the companies to develop new drugs—over which they retain intellectual property rights.

A meticulously well-researched report from the LA Times explains why the Foundation’s work might be counterproductive on the first level. Its focus on high-profile HIV prevention actually drains attention, funding, and doctors away from more essential work and smaller clinics. Meanwhile, flooding poor countries with cheap or free pharmaceuticals may work for a little while; but when these supplies dry up, there are no generics or sustainable health alternatives in the area. “When the free drugs are gone, patients die.”

All the while, the BMGF benefits from investing its money (tax free) in the same companies it pays for huge shipments of (overpriced) drugs. The product goes to Africa and Asia, but the money stays in North America and Europe.

The Foundation has started a new project dealing with African farming, called the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). It’s become clear that AGRA will push genetically-modified crops onto African farmers, using a first wave of free seeds as a wedge to make farmers dependent on seeds which they’ll then have to buy. At this point, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that the BMGF bought $27.6 million worth of shares in Monsanto soon after launching the project. They’re planning to incorporate farmers into the Coca-Cola supply chain, for similar reasons. A whole consortium of African critics has warned that this plan will yield monocultures and dependency—yet the global forces behind the scenes won’t let it it stop.

How Bad Can They Be?

One doesn’t have to conclude, so far, that the Gates Foundation is simply “bad,” like a war or an oil spill. Yes, this money is made off the sweat of workers at Foxconn, a company famous for driving its employees to suicide. This is money made by ruthlessly opposing the right to create and share free software. This is monopoly money. But Gates might have grabbed all the loot then spent it on liquor and golf. So isn’t this Foundation at least a move in the right direction?

Although Microsoft and Gates are particularly notorious, we must remember that they are parts of a larger system. The BMGF is a public relations wonder, not just for Gates, but for the whole of capitalism, harnessing global frontiers for propaganda even as it installs systems of domination. Gates money pours into so many different institutions it’s difficult to keep track of where its influence might appear. And it becomes difficult to sort out the unbiased journalism when you consider the fact that Gates tentacles have achieved historically unprecedented penetration of the reputable media. “Policy and advocacy” aren’t just a part of what the Foundation does; they’re it’s single-biggest item.

We’re talking millions of dollars each to ABC, BBC, PRI, and NPR. We’re talking about donations to so many publications—such as Health Affairs, Global Health Magazine, and LinkTV—that you’d be hard-pressed to find reliable sources of information about public health that weren’t somehow on the Gates dime. The BMGF also sponsors researchers that publish articles in the New York Times, major science journals, and the Huffington Post. The Seattle Times [2], reporting on the Gates Foundation echo chamber, quoted Marc Cooper, a journalism professor at the University of Southern California:

Cooper, the journalism professor, finds it "laughable" when media claim Gates money doesn't influence their coverage. Every grant comes with at least one string attached, he said: the hope that the grant will be renewed. Recipients can be reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them.

Indeed, few of the news organizations that get Gates money have produced any critical coverage of foundation programs.

Wrote Timothy Ogden of Philanthropy Action: “it is increasingly difficult for anyone to speak truth to power at the Gates Foundation. We were surprised at the number of people who responded to our requests for submissions with some version of ‘I’d love to talk about that, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to comment publicly.’”

All of this soft influence in the media complements the reports which the Foundation directly commissions. These include the Davos-generated New Vision for Agriculture, a document which speaks of the need to incorporate the world’s poor into global food markets—controlled by companies like Monsanto and Coca-Cola. Or even like the Lancet article cited above for the success of the Foundation’s HIV work in India. It’s paid for by BMGF, but it shows up in a reputable journal, which is then covered by all the other outlets.

Behind the scenes, BMGF has a lot of strings to pull. It uses contacts in the US government and in international institutions. It cashes in on its reputation as one of the world’s sexiest charities. And, of course, it multiplies its own capital without taxes or scrutiny. It picks an area, such as public health, then turns it inside out, attacking it from every angle and using it to throw around money, alter whole economies, and generate positive press the whole time. The message isn’t just “Gates is Great”; it’s also “West is Best.”

From BMGF to BCPS

Well, Gates has also taken an interest in education. He wants to reform the school system, here in the US, by pushing evaluations and charter schools; and he intends to get his way. He’s interested in gathering all kinds of facts except of course those about poverty itself, a factor which BMGF studiously excludes from its analysis.

In November 2011, the Foundation made a $376,835 grant to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative lobbying group notorious for sponsorship by the Koch brothers. ALEC pushes for a privatized educational system, famously including fully online schools that prepare children better than ever to become members of the cognitariat. These include Connections Academy, a for-profit company, based in Baltimore, that offers the youth an alternative to learning in person with teachers and classmates. [3] ALEC’s goal is to chip away at the public educational system which serves all and makes no profit, and to reinforce a private system that stratifies our society and squeezes out dollars.

Baltimore City has already received received $100,000 for “collaboration” between public schools and charter schools—in exchange for which it signed on to a document called “District-charter collaborative compact.” This compact contains few references to Baltimore itself and fewer mentions of the teachers who work in the schools. There is no plan for involving parents or communities in this massive change the educational system. Yet one of the “commitments” in the contract requires the closure of “low-performing” schools. [4] Charter schools would be allowed to take advantages of economical bulk purchases for the main system, but would not have to share burdens such as large class sizes. The compact increases burdens on the city itself while mandating that the city reduce its regulations for the charter schools. [5]

This rapid shifting of power toward charter schools mimics the competitive atmosphere of software markets under the hegemony of Microsoft. The Sun quotes Diane Ravich, a professor of education at NYU: “instead of communities pulling together and coalescing around their schools, they fall apart because they are competing with one another." [6] The author of the article notes that although there was a great deal of dissent from the system’s pro-charter policy, there was no one willing to voice it; the city school workers were afraid of being punished for their dissent. Yes, some of these charter schools can post high test scores, but it’s because they’re willing to let weaker students drop out and end up in the increasingly neglected city schools! Self-segregation takes care of the rest. The mentality is: instead of improving this school for everybody, let’s build a new unit for a small few while the rejects fall deeper into their hole.

The Foundation puts a smiling face on neoliberalism while its activities sacrifice our most basic public resources to the ravages of competition for profit. It consolidates the power of the powerful, further removing them from the front lines which continue to be exploited. The top rules the world while the middle competes for positions in their technocracy. The bottom of the totem pole is no longer a class, it’s a disaster area. And those inside are not people, but a volatile raw material.

When the Gates Foundation throws around millions of dollars, coercing smaller organizations into obedience with little more than the threat of taking these dollars away, it performs a brazen dramatization of the system as a whole. And, although it serves a purpose as propaganda for that system—who would have thought that the people could hate the rich but love the richest man?—it increasingly makes the whole operation more visible. We have a choice: we can continue to jump for the (genetically-modified) carrots they dangle above our heads, or we can turn away from scarcity and seek a world of our own.

NOTES:

[1] See: An unusual—almost eerie—level of positivity in a recent thread on Reddit.

[2] Receiving only $15,000 in Gates money.

[3] It should come as no surprise that ALEC specifically opposes assistance for the education of especially poor children.

[4] As determined by a “Policy Workgroup” composed of administrators and charter school operators.

[5] “In support of the joint commitments made in this compact, City Schools will: [...]

Remove obstacles and barriers in system wide policy and operational guidance
documents (directives to principals) that hinder the success of individual public
charter schools; or which impede the potential of a charter school to implement its
mission and vision.”

[6] All due credit to the inestimable Baltimore Brew for noting both of these articles and highlighting the Ravich quote!

Leo Zimmermann

Shit My Friends Say: Drugs, Inc.

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:12:40 +0000

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Shit My Friends Say was created by Mickey Dehn during a manic upswing of Spring 2011. The subject matter covers topics such as: teapots, football, politics, and queer culture. Mickey has had no formal artistic training. (If you missed the sarcasm of the last statement, you probably won't get the cartoons either). Enjoy :]

Mickey Dehn

SCHOOLS NOT JAILS UPDATE: BALTIMORE POLICE THROW RECREATION CENTER AND CITY SCHOOL PROPS IN DUMPSTERS, OBSTRUCT FIRST AMENDMENT

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:51:58 +0000

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On Fri Jan 20th, Occupy Baltimore participants finished their week-long Schools Not Jails Occupation at the slated $104 million 120 unit youth jail site in East Baltimore by converging at War Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall for Public Recreation Day. Demonstrators made the plaza a temporary outdoor recreation center to critique the planned privatization of over 18 city recreation centers in 2012. They then attempted to bring a large "Rec Center: A Great Place to Grow" prop to the plaza but were halted by police, who seized the prop and loaded it into a dump truck. The MD ACLU described the police's conduct as "spectacularly improper." Participants plan to file a lawsuit against the city for inhibiting the first amendment right to free speech and assembly.

Baltimore activists had been demonstrating peacefully for the SNJ occupation's weeklong duration, holding workshops on the prison industrial complex, prison abolition, and nonviolent Resistance. On Mon Jan 16th, city police and state troopers formed a barricade around the youth jail site as demonstrators constructed a school house inside the fenced lot to hold workshops in throughout the week. Six activists inside the lot were then arrested on charges of trespassing, shortly thereafter city workers tore down the school house and threw it in a dumpster.

The Baltimore police are criticized for their confiscating of a school house and youth rec center as being symbolic of the city's disregard for basic public services in lieu of a new youth jail.

Schools Not Jails activists had planned to march on Sat Jan 21st to the Mayor's Budget hearing and engage in a public dialogue with city officials on budget cuts, but the hearing was canceled due to inclement weather.

Here's footage, first of Friday's Rec Center action:

Speakers in order of appearance: Baltimore Algebra Project members Nicole Cheatom, Maryland Shaw, and Schools Not Jails organizers Mike McGuire and Kate Khatib.

Spencer Compton

Photo Essay: Schools Not Jails Occupation

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:30:44 +0000

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On Monday, January 16th, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, Schools Not Jails, in collaboration with Occupy Baltimore and the Baltimore Algebra Project, began a 5 day occupation at the site of a proposed youth detection center. Demonstrators took to the streets of East Baltimore in an effort to raise awareness on the struggle against the State of Maryland's plan to build the 104 million dollar facility, the budget for which could easily supplement and expand the City of Baltimore’s education funding, and prevent the city's recreation centers from being closed or privatized.

The group entered the site and built a schoolhouse to illustrate their desire to see a city and state that invests in education, rather than jails. Participants demonstrated peacefully throughout the occupation's week-long duration, holding teach-ins on the prison industrial complex, prison abolition, and nonviolent resistance.

The week culminated with a demonstration in front of City Hall, where the group turned the plaza into a temporary recreation center to stress the importance of a city which prioritizes prevention rather than incarceration, and bring light to the city's recent plans to close and privatize recreation centers.

Day 1: January 16th, Rally and March to the Proposed Youth Jail Site

Lester Spence, Asst. Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, speaks at the opening rally of the Schools Not Jails Occupation in front of Central Booking .

Maryland Shaw of the Baltimore Algebra Project, a partner in the Schools Not Jails Occupation, speaks about the importance of preventing the proposed youth detention center from being built.

Nicole Cheatom of the Baltimore Algebra Project. BAP has been actively leading the fight to stop the youth jail for years in Baltimore.

Hon. Marvin L. ‘Doc’ Cheatham, Sr., former president of BaltimoreCity NAACP

Around 200 people marched from the rally at Central Booking over to the proposed youth jail site.

Four people entered the property of the proposed youth jail, later joined by two more.

Members of the crowd handed supplies over the fence to set up the occupation.

Gregg Hill, of the Baltimore Algebra Project, helps assemble a symbolic schoolhouse on the site of the proposed youth detention center.

The six participants were told they would be arrested and charged with trespassing.

Mike McGuire, of Occupy Baltimore, builds a roof on the symbolic schoolhouse.

The group set up a tent to host their planned activities throughout the week.

Books were brought in for the school house, so that a Baltimore City Public School teacher could teach a class.

State Troopers arrested the six on the site, as protesters chanted "Don't Jail the 99%".

Riot police arrive to keep out the media...

...and take down the tent!

The city had the school house torn down and removed by waste management.

Day 2: January 17th, Teach-In by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle

Throughout the week dinner was served and teach-ins were held every night.

Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle held a teach-in on Youth and the Prison Industrial Complex.

Day 3: January 18th, Teach-in by IVAW and Civilian Soldier Alliance and music by Ryan Harvey, Comrade, and Emmanuel Jackson

Sergio Espana, from the Civilian-Soldier Alliance.

Gregg Hill, Baltimore Algebra Project.

Maryland Shaw, BAP, announces that the youth jail was not included in the Mayor's budget for 2012.

Emmanuel Jackson

Ryan Harvey, Riot Folk

Chris Goodman, Comrade Muzic

Day 4: January 19th, Teach-in on Prison Abolition by Polly Riddims and Occupy Baltimore General Assembly

Polly Riddims, long-time prison abolition activist, on alternatives to the current industry of incarceration in the United States.

Day 5: January 20, Recreation Occupation! Public Recreation Day at War Memorial Plaza!

On the final day of the occupation, demonstrators converged in front of city hall and turned the plaza into a temporary outdoor recreation center to critique the planned privatization of over 18 city recreation centers.

Participants planned to bring in a facade of a recreation center, reading the mayor's slogan "A Great Place to Grow".

Greeted by a strong police presence, the participants were told they would not be allowed to take the sign in front of city hall.

Police confiscated the sign, an action which the Maryland ACLU states was "spectacularly improper."

The Rec Center prop was taken away by the city in a trash truck.

Day 6: January 21, Mayor's Budget Meeting

Schools Not Jails activists planned to attend the Mayor's Budget hearing and engage in a public dialogue with city officials on budget cuts, but the hearing was canceled due to inclement weather. The hearing has been rescheduled for February 4th at 10am at Cylburn Arboretum.

For more information, visit http://schoolsnotjails.wordpress.com

Casey McKeel

Occupy Schools Not Jails: Mid-Week Check-In

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:59:14 +0000

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Wednesday, Jan.18th, 2012, marked the third day of the five-day "pop-up" occupation: Schools Not Jails. This demonstration strives to bring awareness and to protest the city's proposed youth jail. While the organizers' original gameplan had been to occupy the site of the proposed youth jail 'round the clock, from Monday-Saturday, by Wednesday the strategy had dramatically shifted.

Monday's kick-off demonstration had been met with extreme police force, including: arrests, an incredibly imposing presence of riot police, and the destruction of both the occupation's encampment and the activist-constructed symbolic "school house". On Tuesday morning, four activists had arrived at the site of the proposed youth jail. They planned to serve breakfast to arriving demonstrators and to set-up some small structures, like tarps, in order to have shields against the winter rain. Awaiting police officers had quickly approached the activists. They told the activists that they couldn't be at the site during the day. Strongly outnumbered by the officers, the demonstrators left the site. Yet, they left only after clarifying with the police, that the occupation did have events scheduled in the evenings, and that the demonstrators would be returning to the site every night. The police gave their assurances that this would be allowed. The activists regrouped. Utilizing the movement's resources and energies, they decided to occupy the site during the evenings, while planning mass weekend events.

At 6pm that Tuesday night, occupiers reconvened for dinner; followed by the 6:30 discussion: Reflections on the Radical Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and connections to nonviolent struggles being waged today, with Dr. Robert Birt.

Ending the evening with a talk by local radical think-tank, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, on the : Youth and the Prison Industrial Complex. While there was enormous police presence at the evening's presentations, the Schools Not Jails occupation held the ground for hours at duration. All steps towards a sample of their goals: reclaiming space and critical education.

Photo by: Casey McKeel

The Third Night

Wednesday, January 18th, marked mid-occupation. Following their newly constructed plans, activists began arriving to the site around 6 pm. Free pizza had been donated by Two Boots and someone had made a feast of beans and rice. Dinner was being served on car rooftops. Despite the incredibly bitter cold, organizers trickled in for the night's events (again greatly outnumbered by the police presence - who took a hands-off approach to the protesting crowd).

Civilian-Soldier Alliance, "...an organization of civilians working with veterans and active-duty service-members to build a GI resistance movement towards a just foreign policy," - led a short teach-in on the cross-realities between the military industrial complex and the prison industrial complex.

Photo by: Casey McKeel

Listen to audio of their workshop here: Listen

Also, listen/watch an Indyreader exclusive interview with the present members of Civ-Sol.

Listen:

Listen

Watch:

The evening ended with a concert by local political artists: Emmanuel Jackson, Ryan Harvey, and Comrade. You can listen to that concert exclusively here.

Listen

Photos by: Casey McKeel

At the end of the evening, one activist announced a just-planned action, taking place this Friday at War Memorial Plaza.

Action details:

Friday, January 20 | 4PM: Recreation Occupation! Public Recreation Day at War Memorial Plaza

On Friday, January 20, to celebrate a successful week of action, we will converge at War Memorial Plaza (in front of City Hall) at 4PM for Baltimore’s first Public Recreation Day! Bring footballs, art supplies, hula hoops, jump ropes, books and other creative activities; let’s turn War Memorial Plaza – which is public property – into a recreation center for the afternoon, and welcome the citizens of Baltimore for an hour (or two) of good, high-energy, fun as we demonstrate what the alternatives to a youth detention center could look like.

The concert ended. The freezing crowd went home for the night. But they came out again the next night to discuss Prison Abolition. They've planned actions for Friday. And there's a march to the Mayor's Participatory Budget Hearing on Saturday, at 10 am.

Mid-week and the night's concert and teach--in has ended. Yet, the movement has just begun.

Spencer Compton

Corey Reidy

Indyreader Interviews Lester Spence at Occupy Schools Not Jails

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:17 +0000

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On Monday, Jan.19th, 2012, a.k.a - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, The Indypendent Reader caught up with Lester Spence, at the kick-off action for the Schools Not Jails five-day "pop-up" occupation.

This strung-together series of actions, dubbed Schools Not Jails, takes place at the potential location for the proposed youth jail; in an effort to reclaim the site and bring awareness to the numerous issues that its construction raises. These dilemmas include: where our public money is spent, the schools-to-prisons pipeline, and the institutionalized racism/classism that lies active in our city.

Lester Spence is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He has written the book, "... Stare in the Darkness: The Limits of Hip-hop and Black Politics... one of the first books to empirically examine the political effect of hip-hop on black communities." ¹

A visible figure since the start of this past autumn's #occupy movements, Spence has written about and publically addressed many of the concerns that Occupy Baltimore has raised.

Spence spoke at the kick-off rally for Monday's demonstration. He then promptly joined in the march; and then in the action. When Indyreader engaged with him, six protestors had already been arrested for breaking into the proposed site for the youth jail and their subsequent building of a small symbolic school-like structure. Afternoon was also drifting into evening. Police forces were arming up with riot gear along the streets. And Spence and his three young children, after spending the entire day in the activist "trenches", were beginning to contemplate going home for the night.

Before they did though, Lester Spence spoke with us on a range of issues from:

the schools-to-prisons pipeline
the #occupy movement's strength in creating "innovative public demonstrations to raise awareness"
the importance of both: civil disobedience and direct action
charismatic authorities
the great debate surrounding the racial lines within the movement
the importance of the #occupy movement moving to material issues, in order to increase the scope, range, and depth of the movement
an appearance by a special guest

This in our discussion with Professor/Activist/Orator/Author Lester Spence.

Listen

Corey Reidy

Baltimore "Schools Not Jails!" Demonstrators Occupy Future Site of $100M Youth Detention Center, 6 Arrests — VIDEO COVERAGE

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:51:38 +0000

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At 3pm on Monday Jan 16th, 100 Schools Not Jails! demonstrators held a rally outside of the Central Booking detention facility in East Baltimore City, and marched two blocks southeast to a fenced off lot that is the proposed site of a new $100 million youth jail.

Six demonstrators entered the lot to construct a schoolhouse to hold classes in during the intended week-long occupation. The rest set up a military-grade tent outside of the fenced lot to serve as a temporary facility for daily food, workshops, medical treatment and sleeping shelter until Sat Jan 21st. At approximately 6pm the demonstrators inside the fenced lot were arrested for trespassing state property. Riot police then dismantled the tent and told demonstrators outside the lot to leave or risk arrest.

From SNJ: "Organizers of today’s Schools Not Jails Occupation kickoff rally and action say that they have no plans to cancel the program of events planned to take place at the proposed site of the juvenile detention center in East Baltimore this week, despite arrests and an aggressive police presence earlier today."

The official website of Schools Not Jails! is: http://schoolsnotjails.wordpress.com/

Featured in the video below are Baltimore City public schoolteacher Iris Kirsch and Johns Hopkins University political science professor Lester Spence, speaking of the need for better public education funding in lieu of another youth jail.

Spencer Compton

Video report from #schoolsnotjails action

indypendentreader@gmail.com (Baltimore Indypendent Reader) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:51:20 +0000

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On January 16th, Occupy Baltimore and the Baltimore Algebra Project, along with a enthusiastic crowd of supporters and allies, marched on the site of the proposed youth detention center in East Baltimore, and erected a wooden schoolhouse on the site to call attention to spending priorities that favor incarceration instead of education. Indyreader was on the scene to report:

Ryan Harvey