"[...] I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. [...] Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with." - Martin Luther King, Letter from a Birmingham Jail

I know that I've posted a lot today, but this is one of the best writings I've ever read. Strongly, strongly, strongly recommended.

BBC
US judge orders release of ex-intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, held for refusing to testify in Wikileaks probe
Article, Comments

Democratic Left - Spring 2020

we must remember that that feminism is not a cut-and-dry political program. It is a political struggle. We often forget or elide this fact, which results in confusion all around. Characterizing feminism as a political struggle highlights the obvious but essential point, that women often have radically divergent political worldviews.

If we think that capitalism is, with some tweaks here and there, the most just and appealing system, the best way to organize the planet, our feminism will reflect this worldview. This feminist struggle will orbit around goals to give women opportunities and rewards within capitalism equal to those accorded men. This feminism will strive to realize conditions that allow each woman to compete in the marketplace and to maximize their human capital.

jacobinmag.com/2020/03/feminism-socialism-anti-capitalism-working-class/

official Chelsea fundraiser
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-chelsea-pay-her-court-fines

there is strong, direct link between what the major political parties spend and the percentage of votes they win – far stronger than all the airy dismissals of the role of money in elections would ever lead you to think, and certainly stronger than anything you read in your political science class.

https://evonomics.com/evidence-that-shows-how-money-shapes-amerian-elections-lynn-parramore/

Mutual Aid is wholesome as fuck

Check out for the list here for the Mutual Aid Initiatives in your local area!

itsgoingdown.org/autonomous-groups-are-mobilizing-mutual-aid-initiatives-to-combat-the-coronavirus/

a thread on building mutual aid programs:
twitter.com/IGD_News/status/1238266465788276736

The coup shattered the work of the most progressive government in Haiti’s history. In the period of governance by Fanmi Lavalas, the party founded by President Aristide, more schools were built than the total constructed between 1804 and 1994. Twenty percent of the country’s budget was mandated for education. Women’s groups and popular organizations helped coordinate a literacy campaign that brought over 320,000 people, mostly women, into literacy classes in over 20,000 literacy centers. The minimum wage was doubled. A powerful initiative was undertaken to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. Health clinics were established in the poorest communities. The government also launched an aggressive campaign to collect unpaid taxes owed by the wealthy elite. Aristide disbanded the notorious Haitian military, and empowered women’s and victims’ groups to bring cases against the military for its use of rape as a political weapon.

www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/12/the-final-chapter-has-still-not-been-written-remembering-the-2004-coup-in-haiti/