‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Raise Your Voice: Healing Little Earth
By PETER MOLENAAR Press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior: As established by order 3404 under Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the Board on Geographic Names has voted on replacement names for some 650 geographic features previously designated by the word sq---. Yet, those familiar with Little Earth are acquainted with the prominent signage there: END PIPELINES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, TRAFFICKING, HOMELESSNESS, RAPE, ALCOHOLISM, RACISM, GENOCIDE. Certainly, the struggle for reparations must press forward. With this in mind, Elizabeth Royal, attorney for our Urban Farm project, believes we have a very strong case against our city’s intent to concentrate more pollution in the neighborhood… dirty air which imparts asthma, and yes, diminishes the learning capacity of our children. Moreover, our readers know about the Pope’s recent visit to Canada with intent to heal the historic trauma meted out by the [...]
Seize the Beans!
Raise Your Voice Seize the Beans! By Peter Molenaar On August 1, 2022, a two-day strike commenced at the corner of Cedar Avenue and 47th Street. Starbucks workers had coalesced in their newly formed union, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU, SEIU) to demand negotiations. Here is a taste of their colorful pickets: Seize the Beans of Production! LIVING WAGE NATION NOW! and Union Coffee Tastes Better!. “This strike is a warning”, said strike captain Ethan Tinklenberg, “it sends a signal to management that we are capable of doing this.” We are told that management has systematically cut workers hours, changed opening and closing times, and has in recent memory, fired workers for resisting. Tinklenberg added: ”We are sick of management doing illegal things.” Indeed, Starbucks founder and on-again/off-again CEO Howard Shultz has a history of anti-union behavior. Naturally, this fact found its reflection [...]
The End Stage
RAISE YOUR VOICE By PETER MOLENAAR In last month’s column the question was posed: after socialization of the production of energy, what sector of the economy should be socialized next? Patience, please. Hold your revolutionary horses. For now, you will be served another dose of foreshadowing. It was at the Franklin Avenue Open Streets event that I became acquainted with Cecelia. Cecelia is an Ojibwe elder whose story of fortitude will be revealed in the September issue of this paper. The end stage? Bags of money won’t save the souls of “patriotic” militias who bow before billionaires. The belief that we are experiencing the “end stage of capitalism” is spreading like wildfire among the nation's youth. We are told that public ownership of the main means of production is the inevitable consequence. However, at the age of almost 72 years, I might not live to see it. Indeed, one must have “revolutionary patience!” Yet we continue to hear youthful [...]
