Portside

Fifteen states will have laws in place this Election Day that have never before been tested in a presidential election.

In testimony at his manslaughter trial for summarily executing a disarmed Palestinian attacker, Elor Azaria, an Israeli Defense Force sergeant, is openly describing the violence, de-humanization, hatred, and settler domination that define the Israeli occupation. But make no mistake; he’s not breaking his silence, he is unrepentant. This is the trial of a soldier who committed a crime, and of an entire system mobilized to brand him as an “unrepresentative” lone gunman.

Those who previously claimed to be allies of the Black lives matter movement have shown us that they are comfortable with our resistance so long as it fits within particular confines. It is convenient to endorse black lives matter when it benefits you. And as long as we stay silent about Israeli apartheid, they will "stand" with Black liberation in the US. Now that our movement has taken a stand against all forms of white supremacy...Black lives no longer matter.

As the U.S. election season proceeds, there is contro-versy, confusion, consternation, and sometimes re-crimination. Below, in a question and answer format, we present our views on these matters, hoping to contribute to the discussion.

The typical millionaire receives about $145,000 in public tax benefits, while working families get a grand total of $174 on average. In 2043, minorities will be the majority and the will have doubled. The lingering effects of generations of discriminatory and wealth-stripping practices have left black and Latino households far behind white families, and may impact their economic trajectories in the decades to come.

Love and Solidarity, a new film directed by Mike Honey and co-produced with film maker Errol Webber. Non-violence is NOT passive, but is militant and effective theory and practice. Portside Moderator Will Jones interviews Honey about the film and highly respected, long time RELIGIOUS LEADER, organizer, and educator James Lawson.

Immigrant rights leaders in the U.S. show how to concretely build solidarity between the immigrant rights and Black Lives Matter movements.

In an era of too-big-to fail generals, an age in which top commanders from winless wars retire to take prominent posts at influential institutions and cash in with cushy jobs on corporate boards, AFRICOM chiefs have faced neither hard questions nor repercussions for the deteriorating situation. (Similar records -- heavy on setbacks, short on victories -- have been produced by Washington’s war chiefs in Afghanistan and Iraq for the past 15 years...)

An antidote to anti-immigrant sentiment, Seattle poet Jed Myers generously welcomes newcomers to this nation of immigrants, offering empathy and greeting from our ancestors: "what we’ve secured/only a few breaths before..."

If, as Cornel West says, 'justice is what love looks like in public,' then Freedom Square is an embodiment of practicing justice....With grace, imagination and courage, Freedom Square offers a glimpse into a new future and is boldly showing the world how to make Black lives matter.