On Blast

Daesya Parker & Imani Curtis interviewed two members of the Urban Nutrition Initiative to find out what food justice means to them. To learn more about the Youth Food Bill of Rights, you can go to www.youthfoodbillofrights.com.

Anissa Weinraub is one of about 1500 Philadelphia teachers who recently got laid off due to massive budget cuts to education. Kimberly Reed Hymen interviewed her to find out how being laid off has affected her and her students.

"The only effective answer to organized greed is organized labor."

Andrea Jobe & Baseerah Watson went out on the streets of Philadelphia to talk to working people about their jobs and their opinions on workers' rights. This radio piece highlights some of the responses they heard.

Right now in Pennsylvania, school vouchers are being proposed as a way to "fix" public education, by using public money to pay for the private or parochial school tuition of certain students who receive vouchers.

Philadelphia Student Union members have taken a strong position against school vouchers, and we were part of a "Say No to Vouchers" Tour with Action United & Education Law Center. Students, parents and community members boarded a bus and visited legislators' offices to expose the threats behind vouchers.

During the bus tour, Ericka Johnson interviewed a spokesperson of voucher-proponent Sen. Anthony Williams, the Chief of Staff for Sen. Farnese, as well as parents and students, and produced this report.

In this piece Maryland Shaw, and Shaquille Carbon from Baltimore Algebra Project spoke out on the start of the school to prison pipe line in Baltimore. They talk about the school budget cuts and how the state will use the money to build youth prisons. They were apart of the "FUND OUR SCHOOLS NOT PRISONS" march. (See photo)

-by. Ericka Johnson

Youth Power Summit: Building a Movement for Nonviolent SchoolsTuesday, November 9th. 9am-5pm. At the Community College of Philadelphia. An excused absence for all students who attend. Breakfast & lunch will be provided.

High School students register online now: http://youthpowersummit.eventbrite.com/

Students from these high schools are especially encouraged to attend: Audenried, Bartram, Ben Franklin, Carroll, Edison, Fels, FitzSimons, Frankford, Furness, Germantown, Gratz, Kensington Business, Kensington Culinary, King, Lamberton, Lincoln, Northeast, Olney East, Olney West, Overbrook, Roxborough, Sayre, South Philadelphia, Strawberry Mansion, University City, Vaux & West Philadelphia.

SugarHouse Casino opened September 23, 2010 at Frankford and Delaware Avenues despite years of strong public opposition. This has not deterred activists but made them more determined in their fight against casinos in Philadelphia.

In this segment, I spoke to Lai Har Cheung, Reverend Jesse Brown, and Francesca Lo Basso.

Produced by Cécile Ürményházi.

In Philadelphia, most public school students wear uniforms every day. But this is not the case across the country, as many rural and suburban districts have yet to require them. On Blast hit the streets of Philadelphia to ask people one question: Should all students have to wear school uniforms? We got some interesting answers from youth, parents and grandparents. While some folks feel that uniforms reduce conflicts, others feel that they stifle young people's self expression.

This vox pop was recorded by Amirah Williams, Greg Jordan-Detamore and Justyn Williams.

On this month's show:

Denver youth win a students' Bill of Rights and new discipline policies in their schools

Students from across the US unite to organize against the school to prison pipeline

Farmworkers expose modern day slavery conditions in Florida's fields

On the street interviews reveal Philadelphians views on public education

Plus lots of good music!

This show was hosted by Azeem Hill and Lawrence Jones-Mahoney.

Students from across the country are coming together to stand up against the school to prison pipeline and demand positive school discipline policies that address young peoples' needs.  Instead of zero tolerance policies, students are organizing for the adoption of restorative justice models that promote counseling, mediation and conflict resolution. Leading this fight is the Alliance for Educational Justice (AEJ), a national alliance of youth organizing groups that includes the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU).

Amirah Williams, a Philadelphia Student Union member, recently interviewed AEJ organizer Mustafa Sullivan about the effects of harsh discipline policies and AEJ's vision for change. This radio piece also features highlights from a national youth speak out that the Alliance for Educational Justice held outside of the U.S. Capitol building this summer.