Monthly Archives: June 2011
Truth Crushed to Earth Shall Rise Again: a Mississippi town mirrors the soul of a nation
By Alan Bean A monument to “The memory of Carroll’s Confederate Soldiers who fought in defense of our constitutional rights from Bethel to Appomattox” stands in front of the Carroll County courthouse in Carrollton Mississippi. No surprise there; virtually every county courthouse … Continue reading
A place like Mississippi
Magnolia blossom at the Leflore County Courthouse By Alan Bean Ever since Friends of Justice was asked to look into the case of Curtis Flowers, we have been intrigued with Mississippi. The most intense confrontations between civil rights and states … Continue reading
Filed under "civil rights", Curtis Flowers, Uncategorized
Awash in Mississippi history
By Alan Bean The Friends of Justice Mississippi civil rights tour is almost at an end. We won’t have time for a full report until we are back in Texas, but I wanted to give you a quick highlight reel from the … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Jimmy Carter: Call Off the Global Drug War
This op-ed in the NY Times from President Jimmy Carter speaks for itself. Now, if we can just get Bill Clinton to admit that he extended Ronald Reagan’s militaristic solution to the drug probelm, we might be getting somewhere. AGB Call … Continue reading
Tina Dupuy: We Get the Media we Want
Tina Dupuy By Alan Bean Tina Dupuy is a Los Angeles-based comedian and freelance writer. She thinks we get the kind of media we want. “If we wanted a somber and serious Edward R. Murrow to deliver the important news of … Continue reading
When Will the U.S. Stop Taking the Easy Route on Immigration?
By Victoria Frayre* Newly released statistics by the U.S. Sentencing Commission reveal that almost half of all people sentenced for federal felony crimes are Latino. Why is this so? Although most Latino federal offenders are being imprisoned for immigration offenses (about … Continue reading
Filed under "civil rights", immigration, mass incarceration
David Simon offers to make a new season of ‘The Wire’ if the feds end their drug war
Attorney General Eric Holder recently appeared with several actors from the HBO series ‘The Wire’ to discuss the plight of children exposed to the drug culture. It seems the program, co-produced by David Simon and Ed Burns, is a real hit at … Continue reading
Filed under drug abuse, drug policy, mass incarceration, Uncategorized, war on drugs
Rick Perry’s Jesus politics
By Alan Bean A couple of years ago, Rick Perry made headlines by hinting that, if the Obama administration didn’t change its low-down ways, Texans might start thinking about secession. Now the Texas governor is raising eyebrows nationwide by calling … Continue reading
Spotlight on Medgar Evers
By Chelsea Zamora As Friends of Justice prepares for our Civil Rights Tour in the Mississippi Delta, we are spotlighting some of the civil rights activists that have helped change the future for African Americans and minorities across the United States. … Continue reading
Filed under "civil rights", Race, Race and the Law, racial politics, The South
Tough on crime; tougher on education
By Chelsea Zamora High school graduates have recently been walking across the stage, receiving their diplomas, and preparing to leave home for the first time. While this is true for some, a good number of students are staying at home … Continue reading
Filed under education, mass incarceration
