Forty years ago today, on April 4, 1968, a sniper assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King had come to Memphis, Tennessee, to aid striking sanitation workers. The preeminent civil rights leader of his time, he was only 39 years old.

Four decades have passed since that fateful day....

For those of us who are a part of the movement for "green-collar jobs," Sunday's Democratic presidential debate was a real watershed moment.

Clinton, Edwards and Obama were in the debate of their lives. And all three of them passionately championed the importance of creating good jobs in the clean...

Everyone is afraid to make ANY predictions now (including me), and that is probably a good thing. But there do seem to be some lessons from the past week's roller coaster ride.

1. Nobody likes inevitability; the "inevitable" nominee was punished in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

2. Everybody likes...

This week, the federal government passed an energy bill that left many environmental activists somewhat disappointed. In the face of mounting evidence of a looming climate catastrophe, they were hoping for much bolder action from the nation's lawmakers.

So was I. But tucked into the new law, there were at...

There has been a lot of discussion about the Energy Package that is set to pass the U.S. House this week.

But the media so far has missed one of the most interesting and innovative proposals that will be voted on: the Green Jobs Act of 2007.

This ground-breaking legislation...

Last Tuesday, in a shameful display of political cowardice, an important police accountability bill was stalled in committee.

The bill, SB 1019 (Romero, D-Los Angeles) would have overturned a State Supreme Court decision in Copley Press that resulted in the closure of public hearings on citizen complaints of police...

HOORAY! This week Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32) officially became the most important environmental heroine you NEVER heard of! :)

Congresswoman Solis, a Latina Congresswoman from Los Angeles, introduced the "Green Jobs Act of 2007" (H.R. 2847). The "Green Jobs Act" represents a smart, far-sighted effort to fight pollution and...

Congressional Voices Say: Fight Poverty & Global Warming With "Green-Collar Jobs"

Hooray! Hooray! FINALLY !!! ☺

Yesterday, some House Democrats finally "connected the dots" on ways to solve two of the nation's biggest problems: failing American job security and global climate security.

By addressing both issues simultaneously, these Congressional...

Once again this year, the spring season brought a flood of green-themed magazines to super-market checkout stands and airport news racks all across the country.

And once again, the faces of non-white and non-affluent Americans were almost entirely missing.

Our new environmental movement is rapidly gaining visibility and momentum....

It is hard to believe this. But this spring, 15 years (FIFTEEN!!!) have passed since that Simi Valley acquittal of four white LAPD officers who beat African-American motorist Rodney King.

In the wake of the verdicts, Los Angeles exploded in blood and flames.

Also that week, there were disturbances and...

James Rucker, my co-conspirator on ColorOfChange.org, wrote some poignant words about today's historic Super Bowl. I wanted to share them with you ...

***
James writes: "When I was growing up, football was dominated by Black players, but we weren't allowed to be quarterback. And we certainly couldn't be...

In 2005, the World Economic Forum decided to eradicate poverty. And the declaration was a sight to behold.

The main stage was the site of numerous discussions, before the TV cameras of the world. We heard passionate speeches by global leaders. All professed outrage at what was...

Everything at Wal-Mart is cheaper - except its spin. The retail giant released two national television ads on the same day that two non-profits released a report concluding that the company's policies hurt both its own workers and the communities they live in.

Wal-Mart has been gearing up for...

" The question must never be: 'What is Ron Dellums going to do for Oakland?' The question must always be: "What can we - the people of Oakland - achieve for ourselves and the nation, with a man like Ron Dellums by our side?' "

...

It...

After last summer's self-congratulatory hoopla, the depressing truth finally comes out.
Looks like it's time to turn up the heat, again...
vj

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http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0630-03.htm

Published on Friday, June 30, 2006 by the Independent / UK

Geldof Says Richest Countries' Pledge to End Poverty in Africa Still Not Honoured

The reign of Jerry Brown - global celebrity and Mayor Of Oakland - is coming to an end. After nearly eight years, voters will to go to the polls next week to pick his replacement.

Brown did some good here, but only a fraction of the good he could have...

So "green" is the "new black." This catchy slogan begs the question: as environmental media coverage grows, where are the actual Black PEOPLE?

Magazines as diverse as Vanity Fair, Elle and Wired recently devoted entire issues to climate change, and to the growing enthusiasm for cutting-edge environmental solutions. The New...

World-famous environmental heroine Julia Butterfly Hill has climbed another tree to stop a new injustice.

Julia gained global fame for living for two years in a redwood to prevent it from being chopped down. But this time, her perch is far from the quiet redwood forests of northern California. Today,...

At this week's "Dia Sin Inmigrantes/Day Without Immigrants" march in San Francisco, I saw a beautiful, exciting and hopeful vision of the future of this country.

I also caught a glimpse of a familiar past, fading away. And I shed a few tears for both.

From the moment I climbed...

I'll bet you've never heard THIS part of the SF Quake story before.

Fortunately, my good friend and mentor Bob Wing penned this eloquent testimony. It describes, in part, his own family's experience of the racially-motivated displacement that followed the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco.

"Natural" catastrophes often...