In Texas, 31 percent of Hispanic eligible voters are 18 to 29 years old. These young Latinos are on their way to becoming the majority demographic overall among Texas Latino voters, a position that is currently held by 30- to 44-year-old Latinos. “Couple these numbers with the fact that Latino voters comprise almost 40 percent of eligible Texas Democratic voters,” wrote Marisa Treviño for Spot On in 2008. “It's an implication that deserves attention.”

On Thursday, July 29, 2010, the Austin city council took a vote that was a pivot point for race relations in Austin, Texas. Statistics show what folks know by talking to each other - Black people are leaving Austin quickly and moving to other cities.  Many point out that it is because of the feeling that people of color don't belong and are not accepted by the majority. Housing in Austin continues to be almost 100% racially segregated.  Social life is segregated by skin color with a few notable exceptions.

Some say the most disturbing difference is the way that police treat people of color compared to the way they treat folks West of the racial dividing line of IH-35. 

"We want to know when our city leaders are going to settle with the people of Austin and fix our broken system of police accountability so this does not happen again."

- The Austin Police Accountability Coalition (APAC)

Austin city council members have a choice to make on Thursday, July 29.

At 11:45am APAC is hosting a Rally for Reform at City Hall. At noon, John Bush will address council about police accountability as part of citizens communications. Later in the afternoon or evening, the city council will vote on whether to accept the $750,000.00 Sanders family settlement for the death of their son at the hands of Officer Quintana. Citizens of Austin can sign up to address city council regarding the settlement and public comment is expected.

On the eve of the verdict to one of the most watched and controversial trials around a police shooting, we dedicate this video to those seeking Justice for the murder of Oscar Grant...

Inspired by what's been going down with the trial, we flipped the last speech from Martin Luther King's.. 'I've been to the Mountain Top' and mashed it up with BOB's 'Nothing on You' .. we juxtaposed it with footage from the early Oscar Grant rallies and Black Panthers rallies held in the past in Oakland, California.. The dancers are from Detroit.. we met them during Allied Media Conference i Enjoy

Just got word about Senator Robert Byrd dying and not too sure what to make of it. The first thoughts that came to mind are, he's been serving my entire life and damn near my parents entire lives. Dude has sat in the Senate for almost 60 years. That's a long time. I keep asking myself, why do we have so many Senators who get to sit up in office till they are that old? The late Strom Thurman, Jesse Helms and Ted Kennedy are a few long time fixtures that come to mind...If you serve in office for that long can you be effective? Did they do what was needed for their states? If you're a Democrat or left leaning was he and others strong advocates or obstacle?

Day 1 of USSF (US Social Forum) in Detroit. We caught up with a number of activists who poured out in the streets of Detroit for the historic march to Cobo Hall in downtown. Folks were there to let the world know social justice movements are uniting. An estimated 20 thousand took part.

Here in pt 1 we caught up with folks from Southwest Workers Union in Texas, Just Cause in Oakland and folks from Alto Arizona... All spoke to the pressing issues of the day. Check out the videos below..

We caught up w/ Florida Congressman and US Senatorial candidate Kendrick Meek during the America's Future Now conference in Washington DC.

He weighed in on a number of topics including the Gulf Oil spill and as heard in this clip Immigration Reform and SB1070. Meek who is a former cop talked about how the new law will create major distrust between Law Enforcement and Immigrants

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BG8lDtD9E8

The brand new Austin Police Accountability Coalition (APAC) is encouraging members of the public to attend city meetings to discuss the future Austin Police Monitor.  Next meetings are Wednesday, June 9, 2010 from 3-5pm and 6-8pm at the Carver Library on Rosewood Avenue.

The next APAC meeting is Tuesday, June 15, 2010 from 6-8pm at 5604 Manor Road.  The public is invited.

APAC plans to issue their first statement over the weekend.

Catch up on the latest activity with these videos:

We recently spoke w/ educator and Texas State Board of Education  candidate Rebecca-Bell Metereau about the issues surrounding Texas Text Books and the right wing changes being pushed in upcoming curriculm.

She gave us an insightful breakdown by explaining all that led up the TSBOE being hijacked by far right wing Christian conservatives who have set out to rewrite history and have Texas Text Books and curriculm reflect a world view that is white washed. Rebecca-Bell describes it as 'Happy History'.

We also talked about why people need to be concerned about Texas and what it does with it's Text Books. It will impact 90% of the country.

This is an incredible lecture that everyone needs to peep that breaks down the current state of affairs with our economy. This cat Professor Richard Wolff is a beast when it comes to this as he lets us know what is going down goes beyond money... The quality on these clips aren’t all that great... You can get better qualities at his website..http://www.capitalismhitsthefan.com/

Below is a more detailed description of what’s on these clips…They come in 9 parts.

With breathtaking clarity, renowned University of Massachusetts Economics Professor Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today’s economic crisis, showing how it was decades in the making and in fact reflects seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself.

Wolff traces the source of the economic crisis to the 1970s, when wages began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage meltdown.

By placing the crisis within this larger historical and systemic frame, Wolff argues convincingly that the proposed government “bailouts,” stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be enough to address the real causes of the crisis – in the end suggesting that far more fundamental change will be necessary to avoid future catastrophes.

Richly illustrated with motion graphics and charts, this is a superb introduction designed to help ordinary citizens understand, and react to, the unraveling economic crisis.

When liberal leaning Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced that he was retiring, many of us who voted for President Obama assumed that with a 59 seat majority in the Senate, he would pick a justice that would reflect some of the progressive leaning views of the millions who voted for him... Apparently we figured wrong. Bruce Dixon of the Black Agenda Report goes in on Obama's Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan and leaves us wondering if the Democrats are worth supporting. With Supreme Court picks like these who needs Republicans?

-Davey D-

Almost 20 years ago, sometime in 1991, I found myself on local CBS station KPIX in a heated debate about the rap group Public Enemy. They had come under-fire for doing a video to the song 'By The Time I get to Arizona'. The song was a protest against Arizona lawmakers who at that time steadfastly refused to go along with honoring the Martin Luther King holiday. This was 7 years after it was signed into law by President Ronald Regan who had also refused to honor him but was forced to sign the legislation into law because he was Congress had handed him a veto-proof bill.