The battle of Waukegan
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — To thousands of protesters here July 16, the city administration turned itself into an alien body maintained by helicopters, snipers, swat teams and dogs. Undeterred by the show of military force, more than 6,000 immigrant rights supporters filled Martin Luther Jr. Ave., spilling onto the steps of City Hall.
Teachers lend a hand in New Orleans
Eighty teachers and other school worker members of the American Federation of Teachers are spending two weeks in New Orleans this summer, helping fix up damaged homes and schools, and tutor students in the hard hit Ninth Ward.
House moves to cut college costs
Student loan debt has more than doubled over the past 10 years. The average college graduate will leave school this year owing $19,200, according to the nonprofit Project on Student Debt. However, the House of Representatives approved the College Cost Reduction Act on July 11, which would lower interest rates on student loans and increase aid to low-income students who want to go to college
Demons of racism roam free: The case of the Jena 6
In a small still mostly segregated section of rural Louisiana, an all-white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial about a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by Black students.
This decision will not stand
PHILADELPHIA — Some 9,000 National Education Association delegates wrapped up their four-day national assembly here determined to continue their active opposition to the Bush education agenda. Among the meeting’s highlights, none was more stirring than the adoption of a resolution condemning the Supreme Court’s June 28 decision overturning school desegregation plans.
Apologizing for slavery and segregation
You may not know it living in the United States, but this year most of what historians call the Atlantic World is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the British abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
EDITORIAL: Saying no to Bushs yes-man
Ever since President Bush began to build his administration’s track record of undermining the U.S. Constitution and restricting Americans’ civil liberties, he has had a loyal yes-man and enabler, Alberto “Can’t Recall” Gonzales.
How do you pay for your education?
CHICAGO — Graduating with a college degree is more than ever a necessity today. Students and their families are doing whatever it takes to pay for higher education, including taking on excessive amounts of debt.
When the market god isnt worshipped
The Republicans, the neocons, the fundamentalist right wing, all make a god of “the market.” The market is the be-all and end-all, the ultimate trump card. The market is the solution they propose for everything — oops, wait a moment, not quite everything.
Faith-based emergency preparedness
With Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and the Walter Reed hospital scandal — maybe you thought that the incompetence of the White House had bottomed out.
