At CMJ, we believe the power to communicate should belong to everyone. In today’s world fair, affordable and open access to the Internet is a fundamental human right and an issue of economic and social justice. In tomorrow’s, when young people of color, rural communities and migrants make up more than half the nation’s population, this right will be more than half our fighting chance to thrive in a new economy.

As my coworker amalia deloney says, “this isn’t just a fight about bits and bytes, it’s about people and our ability to communicate and uplift our communities.”

Check out some blogs from yesterday’s historic online action to protect internet freedom. The fights against SOPA and PIPA are part of a larger agenda for communication and media rights to end poverty and racism. Join the movement, and as always click the like button above if you feel me!

Blog Roundup:

White House Blog: By the Numbers

SOPA could shut down this website

SOPA will Effect Black Folk Too

Stop SOPA/PIPA

SOPA: What’s it all about? A video explanation

SOPA and S.978 Are Gonna Kill the Internetz!

SOPA and PIPA: Why anti-Internet piracy bills matter to the black community

The Internet and Migrants Face the Same Enemies: Stop SOPA/PIPA

The Internet Goes Black to Stop SOPA and PIPA

What is SOPA? Here are 5 Things You Need to Know

Web Darkness is About American Indians

Help NPI Stop SOPA and PIPA

Media Alliance

NOI stands against SOPA

SOPA and PIPA sound good, but read the fine print!

Admittedly there is a lot of language that makes these Acts hard to understand.  Words like ‘intellectual property’, ‘infringer’ and ‘rogue sites’ hardly makes for good conversation.  This is part of the problem—the language makes it feel like you have to be a tech guru, Copyright Attorney or Geek extraordinaire before you see the relationship of these Acts to your life.  Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Why?  Because the truth is, SOPA and PIPA will affect everyone and will disproportionately impact communities of color.

There are a number of social justice and human rights issues at stake.  I won’t go into them all—but I encourage folks to check-out the writing of Colorlines and Color of Change on SOPA/PIPA as well as the ‘justice-based’ talking points that Center for Media Justice created.

What I’m going to focus on are three issues I think matter to Latinos (and other communities of color) that have more to do with our self-determination and less to do with bits and bytes.

As a community we deserve to be seen and heard.  In today’s digital world that increasingly means platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, websites, etc.  Sure we use these spaces for socializing, and gossip… AND we also use them to organize and advocate for the social and economic changes we need.  We depend on an open Internet to elevate our collective voice, preserve our culture and strengthen our collective identity—in all kinds of nuanced ways.  If Congress passes these online censorship models—our voices are limited.  In Gringolandia they call that “free speech” but let’s be clear, its much more than speech we are protecting.  Language is a central feature of human identity and what we say and how we say it matters. When we speak (in whatever format) we’re engaging in a process that’s both internal and external.  We’re sharing information about ourselves, and we’re also participating in a process that helps to define “who we are.”  When the full potential of our voice is threatened, we are forced into a space where others have the power to dictate “who we should be.”

Do we really need another avenue for ICE to be present in our communities?

As intellectual property becomes tied to national security it’s more important than ever that we understand the ways in which the digital landscape and its borders become yet another territory subject to policing and “securing.”  If SOPA/PIPA passes, when sites are shut down, ICE is one of the agencies that can come after you. Sure they say it’s about online piracy—but we all know how ICE and its supporters are already caught up in a ‘criminal’ narrative. Is it so hard to imagine that today’s search for pirates could morph into a wider search under the banner of ‘security’ and ‘illegality.’ It may be a stretch—but it’s not impossible to imagine this slippery slope, especially when you look at the anti-migrant supporters–Lamar Smith, enough said.

Property Rights, Human Rights, Cultural and Collective Rights

I know there is a lot to unpack here.  Let me just say for the sake of a short blog post that 512 years of occupation should encourage us to weigh in on ANY laws that impact the knowledge, creativity, unique world views and ways of being that reside in our communities.  We should be especially vigilant about any laws that could limit our ability to transmit this information—through any medium–between and among ourselves and to future generations through specific cultural channels and designated community knowledge holders. The idea that online piracy somehow rises to the level of national concern and that the very IPR rules that have codified, patented, copyrighted and appropriated our traditional knowledge should be trusted and/or strengthened, should be a source of concern for everyone.  This is especially true for the First Peoples’ within our community who have long advocated about the way in which information is treated as an asset in need of protection, at the expense of the peoples’ who are its caretakers.  This is of course much more complex, but the point is if we let others define this fight, and define the frontiers of the struggle—it won’t include the spectrum of issues that could in fact impact the overall health and wellbeing of our communities.

As a black person, too often I turn on the television or open a newspaper and see criminalizing images of my community reflected back to me.  Not only do these images threaten policies to expand opportunity, rights, and services to black communities, but they hurt me personally.  I hate it.

On the Internet, I found a way to be creative, to be all parts of myself at once.  I can share my poetry, or put a track I love behind it and turn it into a multimedia piece.  I can riff off articles I have read, exchange best practices, and innovate strategies for movement building and economic development.

According to two new bills in Congress, some of my efforts to imagine and create a better future for me -and the millions of black people in this country- constitute online piracy.  These bills aim to block my ability to learn about fights for media rights and access in Venezuela, and will add to the criminalization members of my community already face in traditional, more centralized media platforms.

The Internet isn’t freedom, but it’s promise is a path to freedom for black communities- and both the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), threaten that promise.  That’s why the Center for Media Justice faded to black yesterday- to protest censorship of black voices, brown voices, and the voice of innovation in this country.

What’s worse, these bills propose to engage ICE and other law enforcement agencies in tracking down these “criminals” who are sharing and innovating ideas.  They call us pirates, and call our sharing stealing.

We are black artists from countries all over the world.  We are black innovators and media makers.  We are black organizers and movement builders, and we know that any legislation that digitizes the criminalization of black communities is wrong, and should be resisted.

As the Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice, I am convinced that our mandate to protect media rights and access for all people is threatened by these bills.  As one of the 13% of black people in the United States, and one the 99% of people who aren’t wealthy- my voice is among millions saying don’t build another wall in this country to divide us.

Because when we build a digital wall of censorship, we not only fail, we fall.

Black Communities and the Internet Strike

SOPA and PIPA: Why anti-Internet piracy bills matter to the black community, Alexis Garrett Stodghill

The Internet Goes Black to Stop SOPA and PIPA, Charlene Carruthers

Pre-blackness, blackness and post-blackness from 195,000 b.c. to Today, Wilhelm Von Schadow

Today, more than ever, artists, and small business owners depend on an open Internet, which allows them to reach large audiences and make a living–using this digital platform to create, distribute, and promote their work.  But these new laws – in the name of ‘copyright and the protection of creativity’ – create new penalties against sites that are deemed to support ‘infringing activity.’ The language in the bills could impact a lot of lawful websites that artists use for publishing and distributing their work. In addition, organizers and Human Rights advocates who depend on the open Internet for organizing and advocacy could now face increased Internet censorship and threats to online speech.

A number of other websites like Wikipedia, Craigslist and Reddit (nearly 7,000 in all) will also be going dark to demonstrate their opposition to the bill. Those who visit the Black Voices for Internet Freedom and Latinos for Internet Freedom websites today will be directed to a web page that provides information that will help them contact their Senator to express their opposition to this dangerous legislation.

Like you, we believe that communications is a fundamental human right, and access to a fair and open Internet is a major human rights issue of our time. Now, more than ever, its  important for our communities to stand together to protect Internet Freedom from this new threat. Here are our talking points- Take a minute and call your elected official!  Let them know that Internet Censorship is not what our communities want or need.  Urge your members of Congress to reject this legislation in both its forms!

The study is on the heals of the Occupy Wall Street movement bursting on the scene, and as GOP hopefuls battle it out to see who will be nominated to run for president.

A few tidbits from the study:

While blacks are still more likely than whites see serious class conflicts, the share of whites who hold this view has increased by 22 percentage points, to 65%, since 2009. At the same time, the proportion of blacks (74%) and Hispanics (61%) sharing this judgment has grown by single digits (8 and 6 points, respectively).

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of all adults with family incomes of less than $20,000 a year report serious conflicts between the rich and poor—a view shared by 67% of those earning $75,000 a year or more.

Other sources of tension:

About six-in-ten (62%) say there are strong conflicts between immigrants and the native born, including 24% who characterize these disagreements as “very strong.”

Fewer than four-in-ten (38%) say there are serious conflicts between blacks and whites, including 10% who see these conflicts as being “very strong.” About a third say there are similar disagreements between the young and old (34%, a 9-point increase since 2009).

So what does it mean for policy change and policy proposals to bridge the divide?

The study points to a Gallup survey that says the public doesn’t necessarily correlate the tension with a need to fix the problem.

Citing Gallup, the study says: “fewer than half (46%) say “reduc[ing] the income and wealth gap between the rich and the poor” is “extremely” or “very” important. In contrast, more than eight-in-ten (82%) say policies that encourage economic growth should be high priorities.”

That means many of us concerned with the gap need to change the story to be about how reducing income and wealth gaps can and will encourage economic growth.

You can see a summary or the full study at Pew’s website.

Host/Sponsoring Organization: Kirwan Institute, Ohio State University.

Date: March 15th-17th, 2012 Location: Columbus, OH

**EARLY BIRD DEADLINE: Feb. 15**

What would a generation or two of racial progress look like?  What seeds of change are in place right now?  How do we get from here to there?

Why Transforming Race?

Race is not the only edge along which we divide in the United States and around the world, but it remains perhaps the sharpest. The Kirwan Institute, and this conference, are dedicated to the proposition that we can transform the meanings and operations of race through informed dialogue, practices, and policies that create and expand opportunity for all. We invite you to contribute your ideas and your insights.

Why Visions of Change?

In ways big and small, a great many people are working to advance the cause of racial equity and social justice in the United States and around the world. What would the United States look like in a generation or two if the successes of that work matched our aspirations? If the seeds of transformation are in place right now, what are they and how can we recognize and nurture them? How do we move from here to there? Who has what role to play in that movement? These are questions we very rarely ask, much less try to answer. This must change. If we cannot articulate a positive vision of a racial future distinct from and preferable to our racial present, how can we expect skeptics to embrace the struggle – and, yes, perhaps the sacrifice – required to get there?

Who Should Attend?

Scholars, social justice leaders, advocates, business people, policy makers, students, researchers, teachers, non-profit and community leaders, and just plain folks – anyone interested in offering and gaining insight into the contours of race and ethnicity in the United States today. In addition to the attractions of the conference itself, participants will be able to tap into the entertainment and dining attractions of downtown Columbus, Ohio, just a short drive from The Ohio State University campus.

Host/Sponsoring Organization: New America NYC

Date: January 17th, 2012, 6:30pm – 8:15pm est Location: New America NYC, 199 Lafayette Street Suite 3B, New York, NY 10012

Sign up here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 10, 2012

OAKLAND–  On Monday, hundreds gathered in Washington D.C. and online to hear a panel of grassroots leaders across the country discuss the challenges and successes of building community radio in communities of color.  The passage of the Local Community Radio Act, 2012 is the largest expansion community radio in U.S. History.  Yet, due to unfair restrictions of community radio and commercial media consolidation – voices of color have even less access to the airwaves today than in the past. Betty Yu, National Organizer for the Center for Media Justice and Joe Torres, CMJ Board Member, both gave opening comments.

“Historically and even today, radio is still a vital vehicle for our social justice movements, particularly in low-income, immigrant and communities of color,” said Betty Yu.  “It’s still an extremely accessible medium for communities in the U.S. and abroad, it’s one of the most culturally and politically relevant outlets for many of us.”

Speakers included Kai Aiyetoro, Prometheus Radio Project;  John Freeman, KOCZ in Opelousas, LA; Albert Knighten, Dunbar Community Radio, Dunbar, FL;  Jabari Moketsi, Gullah Sentinel, Beaufort, SC; Danielle Mkali, Main Street Project, Minneapolis, MN; and Steven Renderos, Main Street Project, Minneapolis, MN

The lively panel discussion was a huge success; speakers responded to tons of viewer-tweeted questions on community radio which ranged from how people can raise funding for radio stations to how to run a radio station once you have one.

“We want people to become comfortable with the technology and skills enough to become creative and innovative with media making,” Danielle Mkali explained. “We envision spaces where folks are running a radio station, being trained in film making and audio production, checking out equipment, learning mixed media, printmaking, film discussions and beyond whatever the neighborhood hub for media may grow into.”

To watch a video of the panel, please go to the New America Foundation website (www.newamerica.net).  For further information on the Local Community Radio Act and the access challenges facing people and communities of color please visit the Media Action Grassroots Network website (www.mag-net.org).

###

Founded in 2002, the Center for Media Justice is a dynamic progressive communications strategy and media policy tank for grassroots organizations serving communities of color and America’s poor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 9, 2012

Oakland, CA- The following can be attributed to amalia deloney, Media Policy Field Director at the Center for Media Justice regarding the FCC’s announced changes to the Lifeline Program

Today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced plans to make some major changes to the Lifeline low-income telecommunications connectivity program. Changes include: establishing a pilot program to determine how Lifeline can best be expanded to include broadband access; increasing digital literacy training at libraries and schools; and expanding broadband access and adoption rates. Genachowski also talked about reforms geared towards ending duplicative service, fraud, and abuse. The planned reforms are estimated to save the fund up to $2 billion.

We have long known that affordable and reliable broadband adoption is an essential component of social and economic inclusion. Nearly all aspects of our daily lives are affected–from banking to health care, education and employment–by our ability to access and use the Internet.  Yet tremendous disparities still exist, particularly in our historically marginalized communities, and today’s announcement shows that the FCC continues to share this concern.

The Chairman’s plan to modernize Lifeline to include broadband is an important first step toward achieving this goal, but we fear it does not address the immediate needs of thousands of people across the country who cannot search for employment, fully participate in their education, apply for social services and meet their healthcare needs.  Though the pilot program and private partnerships are important components of modernization, they will not be enough to ensure that all communities are able to experience the full benefits of this 21st century communications infrastructure.

Though we understand the FCC’s concern with waste and fraud, limiting the size of the program and cutting off access for those most in need will only increase pre-existing disparities and overlook the program efficiencies that could be increased by monitoring the companies who profit from our communities.

###

Founded in 2002, the Center for Media Justice is a dynamic progressive communications strategy and media policy tank for grassroots organizations serving communities of color and America’s poor.

“I didn’t write them, I disavow them,” Paul has said numerous times.

That is until Saturday night’s GOP debate, when Paul flipped the question. Someone must’ve sat him down and given him some talking points.

While he still didn’t answer the question, he did change the subject. To something many of us who care about racial justice want to talk about.

“I’m the only one up here and the only one in the Democratic Party that understands true racism in this country. It’s in the judicial system. And it has to do with enforcing the drug laws. The percentage of people who use drugs are about the same with blacks and whites, and yet the blacks are arrested way disproportionately. They’re prosecuted, imprisoned, way disproportionately. They get the death penalty way disproportionately.

How many times have you seen a white rich person get the electric chair or get execution? But poor minorities have an injustice. And they have an injustice in war as well.  Because minorities suffer more. Even with the draft, they suffered definitely more. Without a draft, they’re suffering disproportionately. If we truly want to be concerned about racism, you ought to look at a few of those issues and look at the drug laws which are being so unfairly enforced.”

I definitely don’t support Paul’s candidacy nor, generally, his views. And, thankfully, he doesn’t have a chance to win. But everyone is right on at least one issue. And now Paul on to something about the new Jim Crow. Let’s hope journalists don’t stop at the gotcha and follow up on what he’s saying about the nation’s prison industry. And let’s start a conversation about it.

As always, if you want to start a national conversation on the New Jim Crow, click the like button above and comment below.