Letter from the Editor
Hi there,
I'm Anthony Williams, Editor-in-Chief of the Afrikan Black Coalition blog and Prison Divestment Communications Director. As your editor, my job is to bring you the highest quality work from our staff writers, staff members, ABC constituents, and guest contributors to represent our mission of Black liberation. As a statewide Black youth organization based in California, we amplify and represent Black voices all throughout the diaspora. You can find last month's Letter From the Editor here. If you'd like, you can browse the archives of our blog to return to a particular piece. If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, feel free to contact us, or you can find me on twitter @anthoknees.
February 2016
This month in writing, Staff Writer Delency Parham opened it up with a powerful look into life after sports for student athletes, later reflecting on his experience of Black unity at his first Afrikan Black Coalition Conference (#ABC2k16). ABC now proudly boasts 15 member campuses, including California State University and University of California campuses. Our next annual conference will be held at California State University, Long Beach. And after a weekend of #ABC2k16 speakers, inclding Dr. Melina Abdullah, Umi Selah, and Bree Newsome, Delency passed the baton onto Staff Writer Alyx Goodwin (and myself) to explore how the historic betrayal of banks still affects us today.
Alyx then let us know why we should support Black students at Chicago State University. Chicago State University students and community weren't the only ones to flex their power, though. The youth showed out when ABC helped organize a Black student walkout at Lowell High School in San Francisco in response to a racially hostile climate, and they got a lot of press. California State University Los Angeles also made history as the first CSU campus to divest from private prisons. To add to it, the City of Portland officially recommends divestment from Wells Fargo, and soon the City of Berkeley will be discussing the same issue.
Kemetic Clothing
February 29th, 2016 was the first day of ABC's first business venture: Kemetic Clothing. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and remember to support Black owned businesses.
What's Next?
You may or may not have forgotten, so let me remind you that the Afrikan Black Coalition put Wells Fargo on notice to cut all business ties with private prisons by February 20th, 2016. They did not meet the deadline, so you'll find more reporting on our prison divestment campaign throughout the month. ABC staff attended the recent Committee on Investments Meeting and will be in attendance at University of California Regents Meeting on March 23rd, 2016. Until then, stay tuned for more updates on Lowell High, UC Davis' #BlackUnderAttack Campaign, SF State's fight against cuts to Ethnic Studies, and more actions from various campuses like UC Riverside.
Peace,
Anthony J. Williams
Editor-in-Chief
