The Atrophied Conscience of Apartheid America
By Mark NaisonLittle by little, we have created an apartheid nation, a place where a profound spatial and moral divisions separate the lives of the privileged and the unfortunate. The boundaries are not strictly racial - though those on the lower side of the divide are overwhelmingly people of color - nor are they marked by gates and walls and fences. Rather, they are enforced by a complex set of codes followed by law enforcement authorities who have acquired immense power to assure public safety since the imposition of the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, powers that have effectively prevented the poor from doing anything to prevent their marginalization, and which have given wealthy elites virtually immunity from threats to their well being coming either from political action, mass protest or street crime.
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Dolores Huerta to Be Inducted into California Hall of Fame
By Duane CampbellOn March 20, 2013, Dolores Huerta will be inducted into the California Hall of Fame for her lifelong contributions to labor and community leadership. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.
Huerta has contributed to movements for union rights and social justice since the founding - along with Cesar Chaves, Philip Vera Cruz and others - of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union and continues through her current work in supporting union democracy, civic engagement and empowerment of women and youth in disadvantaged communities. The creation of the UFW changed the nature of labor organizing in the Southwest and contributed significantly to the growth of Latino politics in the U.S.
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