Gap Between Race and Wealth Widens

Published on Mar 8, 2013
Despite platitudes about living in a race-blind society, a new study from Brandeis University shows that the wealth gap between Whites and Blacks tripled in the last 25 years. The study surveyed 1,700 households of working age between 1984 and 2009. There’s no better to see how wealth and race meet face-to-face than Washington, DC. RT producer Gavino Garay sits down with Maurice Jackson, Professor of African American Studies at Georgetown University, to understand why, after so many years of racial ‘equality,’ Blacks are nowhere near the same socioeconomic status as Whites.

Muslim students forced to pray outside

Published on Feb 22, 2013
No prayer room for Muslims. That’s a prospect that could take place at a university in London. These are Muslim students signing a petition against the university’s policies to restrict their access to prayer facilities on campus. Muslim students here feel discriminated against, and want a room to congregate for Friday prayers. Previously they had to find empty classrooms to pray together, but now they are making an open stand.

100-Year-Old African American Sorority Leaves Its Mark

Published on Feb 22, 2013
February is Black History Month in the United States. It draws attention and pays tribute to people, organizations and events that have shaped the history of African Americans and their contributions to American society. VOA’s Chris Simkins reports on a black women’s organization that has fought for civil rights and has made a difference in the lives of many for more than a century.

We Had No Idea He Was Homeless – Blackboard Wars

Published on Feb 16, 2013
When a student shows up to school out of dress code, the guidance counselor discovers that his disheveled demeanor is because he is currently homeless and does not have a place to wash his clothes.

Palestinians learn to survive in divided land

Published on Feb 16, 2013
Palestinians are building thousands of new apartments in part of Occupied East Jerusalem, without Israeli approval.

It’s thanks to a quirk in the layout of the Separation Wall which splits the city.

The wall cuts off an area called Kufr Aqab – putting it on the West Bank side.

That means Palestinians who live there can keep their East Jerusalem identity cards and still get access to services in Israel.

Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports from Kufr Aqab.

Palestinian Kids in East Jerusalem Face Poor School Conditions

Published on Feb 17, 2013
Palestinian schoolchildren struggle with insufficient educational facilities and textbook censorship in their East Jerusalem neighborhood, according to a new report. Some say Israel should let Palestine handle schooling in the area. Linda Gradstein reports for The Middle Line.

Ronnie Dunn – Cost Of Livin’ (2011)

LYRICS
Everythin’ to know about me
Is written on this page
A number you can reach me
My social and my age

Yes, I served in the army
It’s where I learned to shoot
Eighteen months in the desert
Pourin’ sand out of my boots

No, I’ve never been convicted of a crime
I could start this job at any time

I got a strong back, steel toes
I rarely call in sick, a good truck
What I don’t know I catch on real quick
I work weekends, if I have to, nights and holidays

Give you forty and then some
Whatever it takes
Three dollars and change at the pump
The cost of livin’s high and goin’ up

I put Robert down as a reference
He’s known me all my life
We attend the same church
He introduced me to my wife

I gave my last job everythin’
Before it headed south
Took the shoes off of my children’s feet
Food out of their mouths

Yesterday my folks offered to help
But they’re barely gettin’ by themselves

I got a strong back, steel toes
I rarely call in sick, a good truck
What I don’t know I catch on real quick
I work weekends, if I have to, nights and holidays

Give you forty and then some
Whatever it takes
Three dollars and change at the pump
The cost of livin’s high and goin’ up

I’m sure a hundred others have applied
But rumor has it you’re only takin’ five

I got a strong back, steel toes
I’m handy with a wrench
There’s nothin’ I can’t drive
There’s nothin’ I can’t fix

I work sunup to sundown
Ain’t too proud to sweep the floors
The bank has started callin’
And the wolves are at my door

Three dollars and change at the pump
The cost of livin’s high and goin’ up

True Believers in Justice: A Young Public Defender’s Struggle in the South

Published on Jan 24, 2013
The filmmaker Dawn Porter follows Travis Williams, a young public defender in the Deep South, who struggles against long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads to bring justice to all.

Chinese ‘Apartheid’? Hukou System Comes Under Fire

Published on Feb 1, 2013
Hukou, China’s controversial household registration system, was originally designed to monitor the population and limit mass migration from the countryside to major cities. LinkAsia contributor Mark Dreyer reports that Chinese have taken to social media to voice their complaints about the injustice of the houkou system.

Watch more at http://linkasia.org.

IMAGE: Zhan Haite poses for a picture at home in Shanghai, December 21, 2012. Police broke up a small protest in Beijing on Saturday calling for reform of China’s divisive household registration system, an action prompted by a Shanghai schoolgirl’s widely publicized plea for equal access to the education system:

DC School Delivers a Good Education for African-Americans Girls

Published on Feb 2, 2013
A school in Washington DC is making a difference for young African-American girls. Many of their families live below the poverty line of $35,000 for a family of four, in communities where more than half of all students drop out before they reach high school. VOA’s Chris Simkins has more on how this special school is turning around the lives of girls.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Same Love ft. Mary Lambert (2012)

In support of marriage equality. Follows a gay male couple.

SAME LOVE – MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS (PARADISE FEARS COVER)

Lyrics from Rap Genius:

[Verse 1: Macklemore]
When I was in the 3rd grade
I thought that I was gay
Cause I could draw, my uncle was
And I kept my room straight
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She’s like, “Ben you’ve loved girls since before pre-K”
Trippin’, yeah, I guess she had a point, didn’t she
A bunch of stereotypes all in my head
I remember doing the math like
“Yeah, I’m good a little league”
A pre-conceived idea of what it all meant
For those that like the same sex had the characteristics
The right-wing conservatives think its a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made, rewiring of a pre-disposition
Playing God
Ahh nah, here we go
America the brave
Still fears what we don’t know
And God loves all his children it’s somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written
3,500 years ago
I don’t know

[Hook: Mary Lambert]
And I can’t change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can’t change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm [x4]

[Verse 2: Macklemore]
If I was gay
I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately
“Man that’s gay”
Gets dropped on the daily
We’ve become so numb to what we’re sayin’
Our culture founded from oppression
Yeah, we don’t have acceptance for ‘em
Call each other faggots
Behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate
Yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color
Complexion of your pigment
The same fight that lead people to walk-outs and sit-ins
Human rights for everybody
There is no difference
Live on! And be yourself!
When I was in church
They taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service
Those words aren’t anointed
And that Holy Water
That you soak in
Is then poisoned
When everyone else
Is more comfortable
Remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans
That have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same
But that’s not important
No freedom ’til we’re equal
Damn right I support it
[Trombone]
I don’t know

[Hook: Mary Lambert]

[Verse 3: Macklemore]
We press play
Don’t press pause
Progress, march on!
With a veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
‘Till the day
That my uncles can be united by law
Kids are walkin’ around the hallway
Plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful
Some would rather die
Than be who they are
And a certificate on paper
Isn’t gonna solve it all
But it’s a damn good place to start
No law’s gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever god you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it’s all the same love
About time that we raised up

[Hook: Mary Lambert]

[Outro: Mary Lambert]
Love is patient, love is kind
Love is patient (not cryin’ on Sundays)
Love is kind (not crying on Sundays) [x5]

Pakistani Family Fights Tradition of ‘Swara’ – women’s rights, honor killings

Published on Dec 6, 2012 by VOAvideo
In recent years Pakistan has passed laws protecting women against having acid thrown on their faces or being killed to satisfy the honor of a family. Despite being legally banned, abuses against women continue. However, there are stories of individuals who stand up when the law fails them. Sharon Behn reports from Peshawar on one family whose father died trying to prevent their daughter from being given away to settle a dispute.

Ethneezy raps about social issues – conscious hip-hop

Ethneezy – Hands of Time (2012)

Published on Dec 4, 2012 by orchardmusic
Music video by Ethneezy performing Hands of Time. (C) 2012 FOTO

Published on Aug 14, 2012 by KevinNgongo
Directed by Kevin Ngongo
Produced by Morfius

Stop & Frisk: Ever been frisked by the cops? – criminology, policing, race

Published on Aug 13, 2012 by TotallyBiasedFX
Stop & Frisk: Ever been frisked by the cops? Follow Kamau’s advice and make that unfortunate experience fun! Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell

Spain protest for disabled: We’re being “abandoned” – ableism

Published on Dec 2, 2012 by Euronews
http://www.euronews.com/ It has been the turn of thousands of disabled Spaniards to rally through the Madrid streets in defiance of the latest round of austerity measures.

More than 300 buses brought in protesters and their families from all over the country.

Campaigners warn that the rights and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable in Spanish society are under threat.

Paralympic athlete Roger Puigbo said “They now want to take away welfare support that took a long time to fight for. So we are here to defend it.”

More than 4 million people in Spain have some sort of disability.

They’ve been first to feel the effects of 60 billion euros in cuts since the centre-right government took office last year.

“We four million need more support to ensure we’re not the last ones. We are willing to endure the cuts but not to the point they are reaching,” said one protester.

As well as a lack of cash to pay for home help, many public facilities for the disabled are under threat of closure.

One campaigner said the cuts were condemning many people to a life of social exclusion.