Portside

How the minimum wage hurts us all. Is $15 an Hour a Realistic Goal for Fast-Food Workers? -- Even the Wall Stree Journal says YES -- If all workers earned at least $15 an hour, there would be a ripple effect through hundreds of occupations.

Gentrification is no myth, and saying so is magical thinking. Through oral histories and a solid grasp of urban history and urban geography, journalist GW Gibson shows not just its quite palpable and direct contribution to the displacement of low-income people, but, using New York City as his template, traces the radical decline of affordable housing city-wide. Case closed!

With the spread and growth of protests against police violence, two questions have captured the public imagination: Will these events lead to a new civil rights moment? If so, where is the next Martin Luther King Jr.?

Survivors of torture by Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, along with their families, lawyers, advocacy groups and activists, worked to make an historic reparations ordinance a reality. In addition to $5.5 million fund for eligible victims, the reparations package includes free attendance at City Colleges, specialized trauma counseling, a formal apology, a permanent memorial, and history lessons about Burge torture in Chicago Public Schools.

Under Trumka, labor has sought to extend its power by alliances, cooperating with African-American groups, immigrant groups, environmental groups and others as well as car wash workers and day laborers seeking to organizers. He points to the wave of Fight for $15 protests scheduled for April 15 as an example of a new way workers are flexing their muscles.

A glimpse into life in Atwood Hall in Lexington, Kentucky's federal prison where peace activist Kathy Kelly is currently incarcerated for her participation in an anti-drone protest.

Wednesday's #FightFor15 actions are projected by organizers to evolve over the course of Tax Day into a 230-city protest and strike, not only by fast-food workers, but also by everything from adjunct professors to home care employees to child care workers to Walmartworkers.

Chief Justice John Roberts grew up in a town that banned black residents. Places like Long Branch, Ind., were often called Sundown Towns. Only whites were allowed on the streets after dark. James W. Loewen published the first study of these towns ten years ago, just as Roberts was named to the court. Laura Wexler published one of the few reviews of the book. Along with the review, below, are links to the book's website and to the book's introduction.

Low-wage workers cannot live on their current wages. The current movement for $15 an hour is motivated by that fact.

Spectres haunting, parts I and II; Bank workers throw down for consumers; Crime and punishment in NJ; Legalizing history