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Poverty Scholar Brokin Cloud Malcom X Tortuguita This is the first moral human reasoning that slavery and sex are not in accordance with human society. The control of sex is an assault on humanity itself. It is to be regulated and controlled =assassinationed. The entire world is dealing with sex as a commodity and humans are dying, which = assassination. Too many Humans are involved. The system of hypocrisy in a capitalist autocratic system has proven to be unsafe and lead to negative consequences. The assassination of Malcolm X is still an unsolved real event that deserves closure. Malcolm X’s family has launched lawsuits against the United States; on the New York police department, on the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI). Malcolm X’s family needs to find the United State government entities guilty so the family can find closure. The exoneration of the first (person) accused has created a complete unresolve of the assassination. Furthermore, it seems that the US government is trying to play a game with time. It has been 58 years since the assassination. It's not like it was yesterday or a week ago. I’m talking about time and the United States in this year of 2023, the superior court judge Clarence Thomas has offended the people of the United States for his participation in the abortion issue, the January 6 riot, unreported trips, luxury outings, then selling property in the state of Florida 3 years ago and today is using it as a tax write off. The hypocrisy of the United States is self-evident; sex slavery = assassination. In the state of Georgia, like Malcom X, a young peacemaker, Tortuguita, was assassinated early this year and today, April 23rd, is his birthday. The state of New York had the awareness of justice for Tortuguita, who was murdered by the Atlanta swat team of that police department. In perspective of human kind in the year of 2023, Little rats follow The big rats. Assassination is every year of life in this capitalist autocratic world. On this Revolutionary Day, May 1, 2023, the hunt in Texas is for a single gunman. Who is not the question, but where and when. In this 25th century technology, why do I say this? Well, it's because Malcolm X was killed 58 years Ago, Kennedy, 49 years and 7 months ago, Lumumba, 62 years ago, and King, 42 years ago.

Tiburcio Garcia in front of the Beverly Hills Sign (circa. 2023) “What are you guys doing here?” She held her phone slightly away from her face, staring at us through her wrought iron fence, holding back Mochi, her giant white dog. She stared at us uncomprehendingly, seeing my mothers tattered jail suit and Uncle Leroy in his scooter with a drum tied to the back, turning him into a character from Mario Kart. It must have been a sight, and as she took in more and more, her eyes widened, and I chuckled. Her eyes slid over us and on Muteado, wearing his full danza traje, clad in leather and a massive copili bursting with feathers reminiscent of palm fronds. “We’re asking that you consider giving your second or third vacation home to help house people on the street” my mother Tiny Gray-Garcia responded simply, handing her our list of demands: We are demanding the extreme wealth hoarders and land occupiers in this town that led to the displacement and removal of so many poor and houseless people support the building of Homefulness in occupied Tongva with Tongva Nation and Houseless peoples guidance. We invite all residents of this occupied territory to come to the next session of PeopleSkool. We humbly ask that any resident of this wealth hoarding neighborhood who have more than one home redistribute their second or third home to people who have no homes. We are demanding that this colonized city give at least one of the hundreds of abandoned surplus buildings to houseless people. We demand that this city not only Defund the poLice but disband (and like us poor and houseless folks at Homefulness) NEVER Call the poLice. Six years ago, Poor Magazine came to Beverly Hills for a Stolen Land/Hoarded Resources Tour. A year before that, we started these tours, with the intention of bringing the richest people in this country into the conversation of radical redistribution. We realized that the only way to reach these people in any way they would listen is by bringing the message to their doorsteps. Since then, we have been to Marin County, Park Ave., Google Headquarters, Piedmont, Downtown Denver, Leschi Territory (Washington State), and many other places. I looked at this lady, so dumbfounded by the sight of poor people of color in her neighborhood, and wondered how we got this far. I saw her behind her cage that she built to protect herself from the real world, just the same as every house on the block. She silently accepted the flier, and we walked away to the sound of her dog barking furiously. A passerby would see us and wonder why a small group of poor black and brown folks in Beverly Hills were being followed by two police cars, a private security vehicle, and a drone, but that was just another day for us. That very process of scared rich white people calling reinforcements to surround us is how Luis Gongora Pat, Treyvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others were murdered, so while it is a bone-chilling thing to experience, it is no surprise. Every person who’s 30 foot doors we knocked on and manicured lawns we walked through turned us down, a mixture of disgust and fear coloring their features. What we demanded was well within the abilities of every single person we talked to. The main reason for the tours is to show these people who constantly try to ignore us and commit what my mother calls “the violent act of looking away” that we exist, and that we are not afraid to meet them at their level. We are the poor and homeless people that you try to silence by othering us, with our tattered jail suits and danza gear, with our loud drums and even louder voices. We will continue to go right to the heart of wealth hoarding in this country, and present them our demands.

By POOR Magazine Youth PovertSkola reporter Amir Cornish On Wednesday on May 3rd, the encampment on Wood Street was getting demolished by construction bulldozers running over the homes of the community that was built by houseless people to house themselves. I watched this big, yellow, dragon-like bulldozer with its huge mouth blade slowly lifting one of the Wood Street homes that was built out of love for that person. When all POOR Magazine family arrived at Wood Street, we saw that there were multiple cops just standing around and behind them there was a huge gate covering the front entrance of Wood Street, not letting anybody enter. "We proved that we can survive under duress, through all of these conditions and harassment. We are survivors and we are ready to move to the next level," said John Janosko, longtime resident organizer of Wood Street Commons. Wood Street is a wonderful place that John and some other members created for themselves and others to feel safe, also be to a loving community. The City of Oakland never supported them, and they should have. As houseless people, just like us houseless peoples at Homefulness, they know what they need and they created it. "We still communicate even when they scatter us around and put us in different locations, but the love ties that were built here can not be cut by cops, bulldozers. Those things will live on and we will rebuild what we started whenever we can and wherever we go, but that one thing they can’t arrest,’’ said Jazz, another longtime resident organizer. I am Amir Cornish Youth Poverty Skola. I'm from West Oakland. It's hard for a person to have a home. I remember being homeless, worried about the next meal to fill my belly. I remembered moving across different families' homes spending the night at theirs. Being homeless is not easy for youth and elders. My Mom has always found a way to keep me and brothers fed and a roof overhead. Being homeless is not a good feeling, to have to sleep outside for not paying the rent on time, or somebody taking your home without you knowing. Homelessness is a real thing and people have struggled on the street everyday trying to strive on living. Homefulness and POOR Magazine will be standing with Wood Street Commons forever and help them help themselves. Amir Cornish, Sun of Audrey Candy Corn, is a formerly houseless resident of Homefulness, graduate of the liberation school Deecolonize Academy and Youth in media reporter with POOR Magazine

Good morning. Ladies & gentlemen, friends, and members of the press, we have asked you here today to bear witness to the crimes on humanity that are taking place here on Wood St. We also humbly implore you to call upon City Council, Mayor Sheng Thao, and other elected officials, and urge them to stop the unlawful evictions at the Wood Street encampment. Over the past two weeks, our residents & volunteers have fallen victim to the egregious acts of state violence that have occurred under the watch of LaTonda Simmons, Harold Duffy, and Sgt. Patrick Gonzales. The most basic, core rights that we, as Americans - as humans - should be afforded, are being trampled and demolished, much like our homes and belongings have been. Even our pets are not safe. These acts of state violence result in state created danger; they are unlawful, unconstitutional, and we demand that they come to an immediate halt! Furthermore, we ask the city of Oakland to pursue legal action for the crimes that have been committed here. Our property, our freedom & our lives have been jeopardized and this must stop TODAY. *** We'd also like to take this time to thank the volunteers & supporters who've sacrificed so much of themselves fighting for a people who are all-too-often unheard. We are deeply indebted to you all, and your selfless service should be an example of how we all should treat one another. However, it is a sad state of affairs when volunteers are having to cover the nods of displaced residents because the government can't step up and do their job. At this time, I’d like to take a moment to address some misinformation and false claims which have been circulating the internet. These false accusations are the work of some very small-minded individuals who have nothing better to do than to spew venomous lies and libel about individuals whom they could only wish to be in the shadow. One particular individual who has blatantly spread untruths about some of our residents actually ran for city council at one time. To him we ask, “Is this how a one-time candidate for political office acts?” Just to set the record straight, Jaz Calibri was an art student, yes. She abandoned a successful art career and all of her friends and loved ones, she denounced most of her material possessions, and chose to live on the streets to advocate for those without a voice. Seneca Scott would do well to learn a thing or two from Ms. Calibri, as it seems the only voice he hears is his own. Additionally, Jared Defigh was not arrested for false imprisonment. He was arrested, on Apr. 12, 2023, for civil disobedience. Jared chose to put his freedom & his life on the line and lie down in front of a bulldozer. This was a selfless act, and a courageous one, & again, Seneca Scott could learn something here … On a brief sidenote, just a reminder to anyone who thinks that this childish display was amusing in any way - spreading false claims about an individual which paints them in such a negative light, is called libel. It is a crime and is punishable in civil court. Something to consider if you don't want an actual criminal record, Mr. Scott. Because of this, we have no other choice but to hold the parties in question legally responsible. If our peaceful protests, our blood, sweat and tears have not gotten their attention, perhaps lady justice will. Thank you all for your continued support, and as always - "vivá le resistance!" Thank You.

The Murder of Banko Brown By Akil Carrillo/POOR Magazine Youth PovertySola reporter As I researched the story on Banko Brown, many narratives came up. Many perspectives and many opinions. Details of this incident are hard to solidify but from what I understand, Banko Brown was leaving Walgreens when the Walgreen security suspected them of stealing and ended up shooting and killing the 24 year old. Some people say that Banko stole a sandwich, others claim that it was bought. Regardless of the details, I know that, Hunger is a painful thing, it will leave you in a desperate state where one would do anything for a bite of food. Regardless if food was stolen or not, it's not a justification to end someone's life. “He was the type of person to give you his shirt off his back, That's how we knew him” exclaimed Julia Arroyo the Young Women's Freedom Center (YWFC) CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Speaking in front of the Walgreens were the murder happened. She adds: “When I met with Banko he told me he was struggling with housing. He did everything he could, he showed up in lines at 7am only to be turned away” Bringing to light the struggle Banko was dealing with. The struggle of being a poor black trans youth looking for housing in San Francisco. Like Julia said, Banko was actively looking for housing, showing up every morning at dusk to wait in the long lines shelters have, just to be rejected for a bed. The daily struggle of looking for food, heat and safety. Even on top of all this, Banko was an aspiring community organizer. A member of YWFC who was loved and enjoyed by many people, and that love was clear when I went to the gathering at Walgreens. The block was full of people crying, yelling and standing up all for Banko. This story was close to home for a couple reasons. I grew up in San Francisco and in almost every school I went to there was a Walgreens in a two block radius. I would go all the time and many times with friends. I'm mixed race. My mom has European ancestry and my dad is Guatemalan with mayan ancestry. Im white , passing thanks to being born with light skin, and even with that privilege I have been followed by security in the 22 n mission walgreens. The security didn't even try to hide it, he followed me in every aisle I went. In situations like this I can't help but feel invaded, I begin to wonder what makes him think a 13 year old is a threat. “The majority of Security guards, sadly, are Poor people hired to PoLice, harass and kill other poor people” explains Tiny in a reflection of the incident. “There is no space for poor people in San Francisco, There's no space, access or housing being made by politricksters for trans youth of color, for black and brown communities and poor people… so now they are killing us.” she adds. This whole situation could have been avoidable, if only Banko was provided with the resources he needed, if only the security was not armed. Sadly this is nothing new these murders happen all the time, and will keep happening as long as the city refuses to put any funding into grassroots, poor people led solutions and movements and as long as we still hate on eachother and fear each other, as long as we buy into the scarcity model in which they tell us their is no space for housing when in reality there are hundreds of abandoned buildings, homes and lots in just San Francisco. Justice for Banko Brown

By Poverty Scholar Momii Palapaz Marvin Pete Walker, also known as Shaka, was tried in 1979 under violation of constitutional rights. He was shackled and presented to the court in this manner. In addition, the DA at the time dismissed two Black jurors. He was tried and convicted of murder, and sent to San Quentin’s death row, where he lived until January 2023. In 2012, attorneys for Shaka brought up the use of shackles as a violation of his rights. Kamala Harris, then State of California Attorney General, admitted the restraining of Shaka was “a mistake” but that it didn’t interfere with the jury’s verdict of convicting him of murder. In 2020, attorneys presented the lack of justification and illegality for dismissing the two Black jurors. Jeff Rosen, the present DA, overturned his conviction and the sentence Death Row. Nevertheless, Shaka still remained on death row. The flattened wheels of justice are deliberately slow and consistently in a state of stagnation. After 43 years on death row, he is now at the Santa Clara County jail awaiting freedom. Friends of Shaka gather together after hearing on freedom. FREE SHAKA So, where is the incarceration maze of torture leading? How do you retry a conviction that happened over 43 years ago? How do the violations of Shaka’s constitutional rights fit into the conviction? If the previous DA wanted to prove him guilty why did he need to defy the law? The DA Jeff Rosen has offered parole eligibility if Shaka pleads guilty. Shaka has refused. He has chosen to fight the conviction and his new attorney Renee Hessling has been given 4 weeks to look at his case. Pleading guilty and accepting the deal would not guarantee Shaka’s freedom. Parole boards do not readily give immediate releases. Second, pleading guilty to a charge of murder that he didn’t do will not bring freedom from the judicial system. “The dynamics are shifting, but the chain is unbroken,” said Brokin Cloud, fellow poverty scholar, formerly houseless, and now residing at HOMEFULNESS #1. “The unjust and corrupted system is part of AmeriKlan. The system truly failed the colored man. It’s time for the judge to come to terms with retrial or exoneration. He is deserving of the money for 43 years on death row.” “As you can see the AmeriKlan is twisted and turned through all this country’s system. It is unjust and corrupt. It’s good we went on this day, April 20. He served his time under the death penalty which doesn’t give him the right to having any kind of probation or a parole board hearing and they changed his sentence without a trial. He is completely isolated from any opportunities to find a trail or get on track to get out. That is why the chain is unbroken. It’s a perfect opportunity for the judge to step forward. Finally they have no place for him in a system that contains him.” Despite serving time on death row, without prison programs, he has created his own self help programs. Now at Santa Clara County jail, Shaka, along with all the inmates, are not entitled to benefit from rehabilitation programs. Nevertheless, Shaka has gained much respect from inmates and he is a leader amongst his brothers, some who have awaited trial for years.

By Poverty Scholar Momii Palapaz “April is the Fair Housing Act (55th) Anniversary,” Tanisha Gardner of Homes For All Newark, NJ explained. “In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act. This is an addition to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. We took this month to bring more awareness (to the neighborhood) and let residents know they do have power.” Tanisha is a longtime housing rights warrior working in her community with Homes For All Newark, New Jersey. According to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Vector News, out of 323, 284 low income residences, only 98,753 units are affordable. Newark is home to residents whose rent is half of their income. Essex County, which Newark is a part of, has the largest number of homeless in the State. 85.9% of those homeless live in the city of Newark. “There are so many cases (tenant evictions), they had to take it to other counties in the State," said Tanisha. At last count in 2022, there were over 582,000 homeless in the U.S.A. From California to Seattle to New Jersey, Indigenous, poor Black, Brown, Asian and white are preparing for another assault with evictions, escalating rents and no affordable housing. “How do we protect all of us?” Tanisha questioned in an interview with Poor News Network. “There are policies that set abuse in motion, like redlining.” The FHA (Federal Housing Administration) in 1935 dedicated the National Housing Act to insure only white people. Black families were refused government support in ownership. In Newark suburbs, and housing developments all around the USA, selling to African Americans would bring penalties from banks and the FHA. “I always think of (my) ancestors. What did they do to be so powerful? Like Black Wall Street, (we have) to start educating ourselves, buying land.” Tanisha and Homes For All Newark are working with the Rutgers University Law School forming a project to help residents know their rights. “We’re talking about people in the street. Thousands are a paycheck away from being homeless. Get into homefulness. Lift up Camp Resolution in Sacramento,” shared tiny of Poor News Network. Up and down the Ohlone coast to the Saquamish and Duwamish northwest territories of Chief Si’ahl (Seattle), residents of encampments are organizing and creating their own solutions for homelessness. The communities are fed up with anti-poor, racist, hate filled treatment from city governments and corporate developers. 171,548 are homeless in California (LA Times, March 2023). Since 2012, RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) has torn down poor people’s housing under a plan of housing that includes families with higher incomes. According to the Housing and Urban Development Department, RAD was formed “to preserve and improve public housing properties." City of Oakland violently displaced hundreds of residents at the Wood Street encampment, 2023. According to the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, VA (March 2017), what the RAD website doesn’t say is that in “most RAD projects, public housing authorities transfer both management and a large portion of ownership of formerly public housing to private companies, but continue to subsidize the property with direct and indirect federal assistance” For example, Langston Park 2014-management at newly built apartments, now called The Summit at Hopewell, refused families with children and disabled to return to the property. Those that did return were constantly harassed. During the remodeling period, residents were forced to relocate to other virtually uninhabitable apartment units, some with mold and overall poorly maintained. Homes For All, Newark is confronting a slew of laws that hammer away with private and federal stipulations. A combined sewage system that’s 150 years old will increase pressure and instability with proposed new high-rise housing. Besides fighting to stay and live in their homes, Newark residents are experiencing environmental damages and trauma from deadly chemicals in their neighborhood. “The Vietnam War still affects us today. (From) my backyard, across the street is a (Passaic) river of Dioxin and Agent Orange that they are dredging to clean it. There is an incinerator for garbage from other parts of the State and PBSC, a power plant. Can you imagine how that smells?” A superfund for chemical cleanup was established 40 years ago and in 2022 plans were made to clean it up. Turtle island, ancestral land, indigenous territories, First Nations, Lenape, Duwamish, Saquamish, Ohlone, Black, Brown, Asian and poor whites crossing false borders to build, redirect, join in solidarity in land Back, Return Black land movements for poor people led solutions to homelessness

by AudreyCandyCorn aka SistahSaveASoul Things are shifting…and not just for me but for everyone… Life has been very unpredictable, more so than usual… I myself have been maintaining, I haven’t gotten myself caught up in the madness of it all. I’ve somehow managed to stay focused on health, wealth and inner peace. A few months ago, I had a scare out of nowhere. One lump, then two, and a third appeared almost all at once in my right breast. Back on September 17th, 2020, to be exact, and by December 24th, 2020, it was clear. I had to get a check up. Life’s twist. I remember making a statement. I said out with my mouth to someone that I was grateful to be the healthiest out of my circle of sister girls. I wasn’t bragging, I was trying to count my blessings and not focus on my son being dead. Life and its unpredictability. On to the next. And so as of now, the focus is decluttering the house so that the boys and I are able to move into our Homefulness home. This is a great shift. The boys and I are more than ready for an extreme life makeover. I really am feeling the urge to detach from what’s familiar. Everyone has went insane over the coronavirus. We don’t know if we are coming or going…

by AudreyCandyCorn aka SistahSaveASoul Is it better to be obedient than sacrifice? What do you want to be recognized for, obedience or sacrifice? Which is the lesson? Are they equal? Can the two be separated, or are they meant to be a pair? I often wonder -- is it in the eyes of the beholder, which they deem worthy of a higher ranking? And one can’t forget the other participating party. This supply and demand exchange is tricky. Both parties must be in agreement as to what is or is not acceptable, pure-hearted, non-foul, and/or tainted. The sacrifice to the obedience and the obedience to the sacrifice completes the exchange, like a tie to a used suit. Bringing it all together quite nicely as a whole, thus meritable. First things first, one must be put over the other in order to start the cause & effect. Physical manifestation of shifting of energy and motion, which equals tangible gain and loss. I really see the connection, and my goal is to share what I know and learn. I’ve even taken into consideration the contradiction of the two… I figure one is never too young or old in regards to learning sacrifice and obedience… Simply getting the lesson is key.

Houseless, Indigenous, Disabled, Black and Brown Youth, Families & Elder Cultural Workers/Poets Perform, Teach and "UnTour" Stolen Land /Hoarded Resources in LA Dates and Locations of Events: Saturday May 6th at 6pm Po Poets Project at LibroMobile 1150 S. Bristol St. #A3 Santa Ana, CA 92704 Sunday, May 7th 11am Stolen Land/Hoarded Resources UnTour thru Occupied Tongva- (Entrance to Beverly Hills) Sun, May 7th 3pm When Mama and Me Lived outside Film showing at Children international film festival -UCLA's James Bridges Theatre Sun, May 7th 6pm at Re/arte centro literario-2123 Cesar E. Chavez Ave, Boyle Heights The Stolen Land/Hoarded Resources Tours were launched on MamaEarth Day in 2016 by indigenous, Houseless, Disabled Black, Brown and Poor Youth, adults and Elders who "Toured" through gated, poLiced, Guarded and protected neighborhoods of extreme wealth from Park Avenue to SillyCon Valley. The tours, visioned by tiny (lisa) gray-garcia aka povertyskola were inspired in part by the Bhoodan Movement of India launched by Vinoba Bhave, who walked through India asking wealthy "land-owners" to gift their land back to landless peoples. Now 7 years later they come back to occupied Tongva Territory aka LA with the medicine of a homeless peoples solution to homelessness and curriculum for a houseless, indigenous and disabled peoples pedagogy. Join us Indigenous, Black, Brown, Houseless & Disabled Peoples as we lay down prayers, share the medicine of Radical redistribution, ComeUnity reparations, Poverty Scholarship, Krip HopOlogy and Homefulness - a homeless peoples self-determined movement which is currently being built in Deep East Oakland, California, and reclaim Culture, Mama Earth, Ancestors, neighborhoods, Knowledge and collective resource collaboration to solve one of the most serious problems in our society at this moment in the 21st century.Homelessness. "There are literally hundreds of new laws created in Los Angeles to criminalize houseless people for being alive in public, but like i always say, no matter how many times, you study me, incarcerate me or sweep me, it doesn't give me a home" said (lisa) tiny Gray-Garcia, aka povertyskola formerly houseless Co-Founder of POOR Magazine, visionary and co-founder of Homefulness and author of Growing Up Homeless in America most of which was based on her homelessness in LA with her mama. "Capitalism continues to violently evict and sweep elders and communities and never listens to us poor people who have our own solutions like the Homefulness Project," -Aunti Francés Moore, Black Panther and Founder of Self-Help Hunger Program, povertySkola, author with POOR Magazine and Co-Founder of Homefulness "The Stolen Land/Hoarded Resources Untours are not protests, they are a prayer for change to share the urgent medicine of redistribution , community reparations and Homefulness because we are all in a crisis of scarcity, land stealing and wealth-hoarding and need to understand there is a different way to live and walk interdependently," tiny concluded. In addition to the UnTour thru one of many wealth-hoarding enclaves in occupied Tongva territory aka Beverly Hills, the Poverty Skolaz will be presenting their books, curriculum, poetry and vision of poverty scholarship and Krip Hop Pedagogy in readings at Libromobile and Re/arte books in LA, Po Poets and cultural workers tiny gray-garcia, Aunti Frances Moore, Muteado Silencio, Leroy Moore and the whole Homefulness community will also be showing a short movie by Peter Menchini, based on tiny's childrens book about sweeps and homelessness her mother and her experiened in Los Angeles when she was a child and the vision of Homefulness at the Childrens' International Film Festival on Sunday, May 7th at 3pm- Co-sponsored by POORmagazine/PrensaPobre, Krip Hop Nation,Self-Help Hunger Program , Krip Hop Nation, All ComeUnities welcome to walk with us/co-sponsor/pray and/or speak.

“When you are a creuseur (miner), you are obliged to do what you can to make ends meet. To be scared, you must first have means,” recalled Odijon Kajumba Kilanga, an “artisanal” miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo who has been mining cobalt for 15 years, going from job site to job site. In the United States, technology that relies on this cobalt surrounds us, dictates our every move with marionette strings while we do the bidding of the corporations that create it. One of the biggest ways that companies like Apple, Samsung, and Tesla profit off of us is through the use of rechargeable batteries, prevalent in everything from EV (Electric Vehicle) sedans to smart watches. These rechargeable batteries are known formally as Lithium Ion Batteries, and one of their most important components is cobalt, a rare ore that is found primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Soldiers would hunt us, if they caught you, they would beat you. If you sold your minerals, when you had money, there were street kids, thugs, who could stop you on the road and snatch your money. To pass safely, you had to pay five hundred francs (50 cents USD)” recounted 15 year old Ziki, a cobalt miner since the age of three, when asked about how the Congolese government makes artisanal mining illegal. You will find in nearly every single cobalt mine people working and digging this mineral out by hand, breathing in its toxic dust and often not using gloves while picking it up. The cobalt industry in the DRC has all but wiped out all other economies in the country, forcing people to work in these extremely dangerous conditions to support their families. Corrupt government officials working with tech companies all over the world severely undercut these miners, making it so they have no choice but to work 12 hours a day to afford rent that steadily rises. Tesla, one of the biggest profiteers of this system has unveiled a plan to expand their production of an alternative battery that does not use Cobalt. One thing I wonder is, will this change make an impact that will make cobalt mining unnecessary in the DRC, and if so, what will be the alternative? These “alternative batteries” called LiFePo (LFP) are lithium ion batteries that use lithium iron phosphate instead of cobalt. One of the things that makes this more appealing to companies is because it doesn’t use cobalt, the cost to manufacture these batteries is far lower than their ion alternatives, and they have a longer cycle life than the other battery types, meaning they last far longer after many different uses. LFP batteries are also far safer than others, due to their thermal and chemical stability. This comes at the cost of having a lower energy density, meaning the only way the battery can be used effectively and produce enough energy is if it's a bigger battery. This prevents the LFP battery from being used in smartphones, tablets, laptops, or any devices that need thin batteries. Eventually, hopefully, with jumps in technology production, someone will be able to invent small batteries that use the LFP system and don't need to have children being exposed to extremely toxic chemicals and dangerous work conditions. With Tesla switching over, that time may not be so far in the future.

By tiny aka povertyskola- We had dreams, we had love We had comeUnity called Wood Street Com-mons The couch got stuck on the stroller as it dribbled out of the teeth of the giant crusher. The sound of wood and plastic crunching became a terrifying melody . “This is only week one and they have already destroyed so much,” John Janosko, one of the warrior leaders of Wood Street Commons, a beautiful MamaFestation of homeless peoples self-determination in occupied Huchuin (West Oakland) had to scream above the endless drone of garbage trucks, poLice vehicles and the mouth of the omnipresent bulldozer lurching backwards and forewards in a violent dance. I watched, shouted, stomped and paced back and forth on that weary stretch of Wood street - a former industrial zone, train station and freeway overpass that seemed to stretch for miles until it didnt, butted up against an encroaching pale gray-green, off-white, pseudo redwood and glass slathered condominium devil-opments (or CONdumbMinions as I called them) with signs announcing New Units Starting at 800,000. This PovertySkola had barely survived 22 poverty based evictions and 3 sweeps when mama and me lived outside, not to mentions incarceration in county jail for tickets for living without a roof and suffice it to say, there are no words to describe the bulldozing of everything you own, nothing Wood Street Commons and Cob on Wood, two poor people -led autonomous land projects, have been building, loving , supporting and creating an inter-dependent safe space for fellow houseless people in Oakland for several years. Each project, next to each other on that empty pre-gentriFUked stretch of West Oakland, created free stores, a community kitchen, healing space, barbeque pit, tons of murals, a garden, and so much more. Each of them were strategically destroyed by the settler colonial state and city government. “Your sweeps take away peoples homes, peoples belongings, peoples lives, every scrap of them trying to take care of their families and their survival,” Jaz, one of the other long-time resident leaders, artists, visionaries of Wood Street who has worked for years to help their fellow residents live and thrive with love stood in the middle of a pile of chairs, tables, blankets and a lamp while the DPW workers paced unmoved around them and the Jaws of the crusher continued to crush. Day One with testimony “Why are you sweeping us? We have nowhere to go? Lamonte Ford, longtime resident of Wood Street, peacefully stood at the barricade the poLice already put up on Day one of this violent eviction while Rupa Marya from Doctors without Borders made the argument that these evictions are a public health crisis. By Day 2 the kkkops were roaming around the land with bolt cutters while the people tried to resist. One of the residents ending up injured and arrested for just trying to keep his home and James Burch of Anti-PoLice terror Project’s hand getting injured by the bolt cutters. On day 3 of the Wood Street Destruction after a grueling day of more belonging theft, bulldozing and poLice terrorizing, at 6:00pm when people had already retreated for the night and theoretically that day’s destruction was over, a rogue bulldozer came careeening down the street and into a fence - barely missing rumming into residents. “They acted with complete disregard to anyone’s safety and almost killed people in the process,” said two long-time residents standing by the fence. The Herstory of State Sponsored Lies about Houseless people It began with the lies about houseless peoples and the “fires” at Cob on Wood, who although they built a beautiful circle of natural, cob homes and bathrooms, were relegated to being talked about as through they were criminal for the sole act of being houseless. “They blamed all of us for the mysterious fires that happened at Cob on Wood and yet everytime there was a fire, CalTrans was oddly and magically nearby, ready with red tags, citations and false accusations,” said Lydia, longtime houseless resident and single mama co-founder of Cob on Wood. “They used the fires as the excuse to evict us,” concluded Lydia. The fires, the evictions, the harassment, the evictions and the endless and constant sweeps have rolled on at Wood Street incessantly. Last year after a series of lies by the city, radical interventions by council person Carroll fife and endless speakputs , actions and organizing moves by the residents and their large community of supporters (which includes all of us Houseless/formerly Houseless folks at POOR magazine) -they were violently pushed onto the last much smaller stretch of Mama Earth at 1707 Wood Street And true to Liberation form they built up their community space -they increased the capacity of their community kitchen and they held a series of beautiful parties, speak-puts , poetry readings (including a series of poormagazine street writing workshops- which produced all of this badass work) And then this day came. Following multiple Temporary restraining orders to block the sick inevitability of the looming jaws of settler lies of private property the final eviction notice was served and executed last week. These aren’t tiny homes - these are tiny Tombs… 6x10 boxes cuz lives like ours are’t listened to … Day after day the crushing CONtinues It has been truly deadly and exhausting. Day after day of crushing, removing, poLicing and harassing, All this so-called progressive city offered has offered is what i called in a recent poemSong i wrote for Wood Street; Tiny tombs, I mean Tiny homes. “We have no place to store our belongings, these aren’t homes,” said one resident as she was marched over to “see her new home” by the on-site case mangler present at the evictions, The anti-social worker was hired by the city to “supervise” the eviction of the Wood street residents out of their ComeUnity. The myth of tiny homes is just that, a myth, low-key jails, like SRO’s with untenable rules like no visitor policies and no cooking and no standing standing your box and beyond. These politricksters have so much to learn from self-governed movements like NIcklesville and Camp Resolution. “We are resisting - we wll not give up, “ said Xochitl Bernadette Moreno at a danza prayer circle we brought last week. Xochitl is an atrist, media producer and one of the many powerful solidarity supporters, prayer bringers, advocates and co-founders of Essential Food and Medicine who has been supporting and standing alongside Wood Street Commons and Cob on Wood from the beginning In addition to EFAM, Love and Justice in the Streets, Anti PoLice terror Project, POOR Magazine/Homefulness and so many more movements, there are warriors like Xochitl and Delphine and Veronica Ramirez from PLACE who will be here and will not stop fighting for liberated self-governed land instead of more hygienic metaphors about our houseless bodies and never-ending removal The heavily poLiced city Evictions CONtinue - the community still needs support- Follow @WoodStreetCommons on IG - go down to 1707 Wood Street to help move, document or redistribute.