POOR Magazine
BLAST Demands that white Olympia, Thurston County, WA State DO BETTER
[the word BLAST with a brown fist in a yellow star]
PoLice Terrorized For Being Houseless- My Mama's Story
Sudden knocking in the middle of the night on the battered door of the taped together 1970 Ford Station Wagon. Lights shining through the window, so much harsher than usual against the darkness that blanketed the area where the car was parked. A scared daughter and her weary mother, tired after many of these nights, most of them ending with one of them in jail, after being nearly beaten.
Tamir Rice
Image: Tamir Rice
Eric Garner
Image: Eric Garner
Unpacked Skittles
On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin had just purchased a pack of skittles in his hometown of Sanford Florida. This normal act of buying a snack at the convenience store was the last luxury of his life. As Trayvon was walking through the gated community of Twin Lakes, he was spotted by George Zimmermen, which resulted in a physical and fatal confrontation. This event very deeply affected me as a younger child in the 5th grade and still does till this day.
Screams of Terror- Gun Violence and My Story
Image: Secoriea Turner
In my Neighborhood Gun Violence is Normal
I'm Ziair and in my neighborhood West Oakland, hearing gun fire is normal. My brother got shot in the same hood where I live, so I really know how it is to have a family member shot. In West Oakland little kids as young as 11 have and play with guns. Kids that I hoop with carry weapons.
Murder Incorporated
Growing up, as my Mama's Sun and a formerly houseless student of a revolutionary school called Deecolonize Academy, I have read many books about the true history of the United States, one that until recently, wasn't eagerly taught by our country's public education system. I have heard stories time and time again of the man who discovered the place I live in today, and the many ways he tortured innocent indigenous people from all over the world.
Children and Weapons - Gun Violence in Amerikkka
Royta Demarco Giles was a young 8-year-old black boy who was shot and killed at his local mall in Hoover, Alabama. He along with his sister, father, and mother were in the crossfire. His death is left with no answers, and I only beg to differ if we're asking the right question. Are we questioning ourselves enough and should we reevaluate our situation with our children and weapons?
