A Year of Struggle In Review 2014-2015

A Year of Struggle

The following are some of the events that participated in either as protester or as a reporter or both.


August 9, 2015, One year after the Police Murder of Michael Brown.
A nice turn out, but the speakers gave a confused message. Two of the speakers went on to confront Hilliary Clinton and then they went on national TV.

August 2, 2015, Remembering five women, including Sandra Bland, who died in police custody.
This was a national event also held in other cities. Unfortunately it was not well publicized, but the collective
feeling was encouraging.

Save Our Streets Rally July 2015. This was a significant event in that many young people participated. They are the face of the future Worcester. This event touched a nerve as the organizer came under attack by the establishment..

                   

July 21, 2015, City Council Decides to Audit Mosaic.  Councillors Gaffney and Rosen in retaliation for Mosaic rent its space to Black Lives Matter protesters sought an audit of Mosaic finances. It was opposed by a large number of community people.

                                               

July 15, 2015, Student Immigration Movement at State House. The students some of whom are undocumented, but residents since before grammar school sought to have in state tuition at public colleges like other student residents.

                 

July 13, 2015 Department of Justice Hearing. This was the so called "what is to be done " hearing. It turned into bosses love fest as the US District Attorney, the Massachusetts Attorney General, City Manager all said they did a great job. To date nothing concrete has taken place, not even the release of the suspect notes from the Hearings.

Department of Justice Hearings  June 22, 2015

Department of Justice Hearings June 1, 2015

EPOCA Demonstration at Worcester Court House June 8, 2015 Against Mandatory Sentencing

SIMS rally at Worcester City Hall for in-state tuition June 9,2015

Department of Justice Hearing June 8, 2015

United Food and Commercial Workers rally for union contract at UMass Hospital June 6, 2015

Massachusetts Green Rainbow Party Convention  May 31, 2015. The Green Rainbow passed a resolution in support of the new civil rights movement Black Lives Matter.

Black Lives Matter organized by Progressive Labor Party and Massachusetts Human Right Committee Junes 2, 2015, They blocked the City Hall garage for 4.5 minutes. The Socialist Alternative also took part.

Political trial of the Worcester 4, June 1, 2015. It is ironic that the lawyers and defendants should be less militant before the trial, when their defense is based on civil disobedience being a " legitimate purpose". Nonetheless the City of Worcester is maliciously prosecuting the Worcester 4.

Immigration Day at the State House May 22, 2015. This event was organized by MIRA and it sought equity based legislation for immigrants.

Worcester Labor Council May Day May 1, 2015. This was a good event even when some right wingers opposed the Black Lives Matter people and the socialists.  It is ironic that May Day became a worker's holiday around the world due to the communists.

Progressive Labor Party May Day 2015

Progressive Labor Party Solidarity with Baltimore  rally April 29, 2015

Stone Soup CD Release 2015

Massachusetts Human Rights Committee and Progressive Labor Party Forum on Police Accountability April 18, 2015

Community United Collective Rally City Hall April 14, 2015

Teamster United Rally in Worcester March 15, 2015

Worcester Labor Council Confronts City over Court house development March 31, 2015. The Labor raised the idea of set aside jobs for Worcester residents. It did not address the idea of racial disparites. The City reached an understanding that is not enforceable with the developer.

Black Lives Matter Rally Sponsored by Progressive Labor Party and Massachusetts Humand rights committee March 21, 2015

PLP's  Black Lives Matter Legal Defense Fundraiser  February 12, 2015. Great poetry and song.

NAACP Meeting on Civil Service February 5, 2015

Communities United Collective Protests at Kelly Square and MLK Jr. Celebration January 17, 2015

Massachusetts Human Rights Committee and PLP Human Rights Day December 12, 2014

Progressive Labor Party called for Rally at Lincoln Sq. Students blocked the intersection. November 2014

Communities United Collective organizes Speak Out at City Council November 2014

NAACP Housing Forum November 2014

Ferguson Forum Clark University November 2014. The students also stood in solidarity with the Mexicans student who were disappeared.

Communities United Collective Anti Racism Rally September 2014

Opioids Safety Rally August  2014. 

Protest Against Killing of Michael Brown, August 2014

Stop Gaza War  July 2014

Anti racist noose rally at City Hall June 2014, NAACP

Walmart Rally June 12, 2014, Jobs With Justice 

Stop Racist Deportation Rally June 2014, Jobs with Justice and SIM.

Stop Racist Eviction June 2014, Worcester Anti Foreclosure Team

Rally Against Racist Budget Cuts May 2014

Nurses Rally Boston May 2014

Close Guantanamo Rally 2014 Catholic Workers and other 2014

Worcester May Day 2014 with Socialist Alternative and PLP

PLP May Day NYC 2014

Cops in Worcester Schools

The Affect of Police in the Schools

The Worcester Public School announced there will be two additional police officers assigned to the Worcester Public high schools and some middle schools. The police officers are sometime known as school resources officers (SRO). In response to criticism that the schools are being militarized Superintendent of Schools Melinda Boone said that the SRO are not armed sentries and will not be the primary disciplinarians. 

 This raises questions about what are the responsibilities and limitations of the cops in the schools.

The answer seems to be that they are there in order to give the impression to voters that sometime is being done about public safety. There have been studies about the effects of police officers in the schools. Every single study has reached the same conclusions.

1.       Neither public safety nor safety in the schools has generally improved stationing police in the schools.

2.       The people perceived that they are safer with the police in the schools.

3.       The likelihood for students to be arrested or enter the criminal justice system for what comes down to a judgment call by a cop is increased.

4.       The police had a good effect in terms of risky conduct is when there is significant influence of gangs among the students.

There does not seem to be gang activities in Worcester Schools. The issue of gangs is a City wide issue with solutions extending beyond anything the school system can directly address and appropriate City resources should be directed to it. This issue is another that there is very little City government transparency.

School Committee woman  Tracey Novick should be applauded for raising the issues of the effectiveness of the police in the schools and the nearly half million dollars that it will cost the City for a program that studies have shown will not have a significantly good impact. There is likelihood that the program will have a detrimental effect on some students.

The politicians are doing this for the affect of public safety on the voters. The right wingers such as Ms. Briancharia, Lukes, and Gaffney whom some have accused of being in the racist Tea Party, are using the schools as a wedge issue based on race. The other politicians are afraid to look soft on crime. It reminds me of George Wallace when he said “No one is going to out segregation me again.”

There does not seem to be much transparency on the issues. This is to be expected on anything that deals with the Worcester Police. How are the police being used; what is the cost; how effective is the program; what is the criteria for ending the program are all questions unanswered and probably never asked.

There are other questions such as how the officers assigned to the schools are chosen and what additional training will they be require to take. The picture of the cop in Tennessee handcuffing a special needs child’s hands behind his back is disturbing and should be avoided here.

I have not seen anything last year or in previous years that warrant treating our children as criminals. It might be time for more courageous leadership in a City in transition. 

Who Is Accountable for Worcester Jobs

No Affirmative Action for Worcester Jobs

Amidst Worcester’s anxiety optimism sometimes shines between the City downtown buildings. The building facades are not much different than before, but the character is new. There are now students downtown and more condos near the rail road station. Unfortunately the bus station has been moved from City Hall and the Commons creating something of a social desert on City Hall Plaza and the Commons that comes to life when events are held.

I am reminded of Jane Jacobs' first book “The Economy of Cities” in which she describes the successful and friendly public space known as Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. The reason it was successful was that it had a mixed use. Students, workers, families, and other people were in the park at all hours.  People were drawn to the park not only as a via elsewhere, but also as a pleasant place to have lunch or socialize. At one point the City Common and Plaza were the same way.

                            

With the new construction downtown, perhaps a sense of neighborhood will develop in the downtown. More condos and apartments are being constructed around Union Station making this part of downtown almost like a bedroom community, where people working in Metro West will live. Certainly it will not be the typical bedroom community. There will have to be built a pedestrian walk over Foster St. so people can get safely and easily from their homes to Union Station.

Where there is a neighbor hood, there are neighbor facilities such as food markets, retail stores, barber shops, etc. Presently these entities have been driven out of downtown, except possibly around the courthouse. The businesses near City Hall have suffered when the buses were moved. I think that the Dunkin Donuts in the Hub is doing a booming business.

When the old Court House was sold for development a group called the Worcester Community Labor Coalition advocated for a percentage of jobs at the old Court House go to Worcester residents. Their advocacy was noble, but it did not directly address the issue of high unemployment in the Black and Hispanic and other underemployed communities. We have learned that being color blind is no longer a viable method of racial justice.

There was a memorandum of understanding between the developers of the old Court House and the City about jobs.  It still not clear who is following up this Memo. I talked with the City Manager’s assistant in the Economic Development Department about the Memo and he added my name to the email newsletter that comes out quarterly. He said that there would be news about the development there. The newsletter was a disappointment, having almost no information. So who is keeping track of Worcester Development and jobs?

                               

Recently the City sent out a notice that there are nine opening on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. This is a new committee replacing the Affirmative Action Committee. Not having an Affirmative Action Committee as a City Advisory board is a bad sign of things to come for Affirmative Action.

The new Diversity and Inclusion Committee has the responsibilities of:

       1.  outreach to all residents, especially the underrepresented

        2.  attend local events

      3. assist with inclusion program

      4. make recommendations for inclusion program

      5. assist with inclusion trainings

      6. make an annual strategic plan for implement goals

       7. make recommendations for new programs

     8. others as directed

Nothing specifically about jobs is in the responsibilities.

The City is hiring a Chief Diversity Officer, who in all likelihood will be placed in charge of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. I wish all who work on this committee and the new Chief Officer good fortune.  However like the Department of Justice Hearings on Race, I can see the internal contradictions of failure.

The Chief Diversity officer position has tough hiring requirement, probably meant to winnow the candidates to those more liked by the City Manager and less likely to rock the boat.  There is nothing in the responsibilities of the position that specifically calls for the creation of memorandum of understandings or monitoring of compliance of job creations or set asides.

There is a glimmer of hope, there is also a slog that comes from the lack of tranparancy on the issue of the efforts being made to reduce the disparate unemployment of Black and Hispanic and other undeserved communities.