African-Americans have historically played a trailblazing role in the quest for justice, equality, and freedom in the United States and internationally. Let’s examine the roots of Black History Month and our struggle today.

Youth have begun to rebel against these conditions on a grand scale through the Occupy movement. Now there is a call for March 1 to see a national day of action of mass protests throughout the country against tuition hikes, education cuts, and a future of joblessness, alienation, and corporate domination. Mobilize in your school and community to make March 1 the biggest protest possible!

One of the insights of the Occupy movement has been a growing skepticism toward the Democratic Party among a wide layer of its activists. That skepticism, however, will be challenged by the drumbeat to support the “lesser evil” in November, and to keep Republicans from being elected.

In October, the District Attorney of Shawnee County, which encompasses Topeka, Kansas, announced that he would cease to prosecute domestic violence cases within the city of Topeka. He argued that with recent budget cuts he no longer had sufficient resources and that the city should take on the burden of these prosecutions. The city council responded by repealing their ordinance against domestic violence!

In a manner so typical of his presidency, Obama ushered in the new year by passing a bill that is in stark contrast to what Candidate Obama promised. Attached as a rider to a defense funding bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the new law gives the U.S. military vast authority for the indefinite detention of anyone it deems a terrorism suspect without charge or trial. This includes U.S. citizens on U.S. soil!

Growing support for system change has not yet been matched by a serious public dialogue about what an alternative might look like. A new Pew poll published 12/28/2011 indicated that people who are under 30 or black are more likely to favor socialism than capitalism, but this does not correspond to clear ideas of what socialism is or how a socialist economic and political system would work. We offer up this FAQ as a contribution to the discussion.

2011 will be remembered as the year that young people and workers internationally really began fighting back against the devastating effects of the current crisis of capitalism. After the events in Cairo, Tunis, Athens, Madison and New York, the world will never be the same. Years of revolution and counter-revolution will follow.

Poverty is ugly. Really. All around us we are bombarded with images of trim, beautiful people with smiling mouths filled with white straight teeth. The reality amongst the working class and poor are mouths with gaps from missing teeth and amputations resulting from rampant diabetes.

The small town of Longview on the southwestern coast of Washington, has become ground zero for both the labor and Occupy movements. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is engaged in a crucial battle with EGT, an international conglomerate of grain exporters. EGT is trying to operate the first grain terminal in 70 years without ILWU labor, attempting to break the power of the ILWU.

The Occupy movement has played a big role in building solidarity for the labor movement in recent months. From supporting the Sotheby workers in New York City, to the LA port drivers and longshore workers on the west coast, many in the Occupy movement are looking to link up with the unions to build a powerful movement of the working class.

Obama recently defended the decision of his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, to continue limiting the over-counter availability of Plan B, the morning after pill, to women under 17. The Federal Drug Administration approved the over-counter use of the drug for women of all ages last February and says this is the first time the Secretary of Health has overruled an approval of the FDA.

With tens of millions out of work, facing foreclosures or desperately trying to keep their head about water, and disgust at the two corporate parties is at record levels; how should progressive-thinking workers and the left approach this election?

In the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with tens of millions suffering mass unemployment, wage cuts, rising poverty, and homelessness, the Republican candidates have shown their complete indifference to the suffering of huge sections of society.

Longview, Washington has become ground zero for one of the most important, intense battles in both the labor and Occupy movements. It's crucial that unions, Occupy activists, workers, and young people everywhere mobilize to Longview to help defend living wage union jobs when the EGT multinational corporation attempts to load grain on a ship without ILWU labor.

It’s been five full years since the sub-prime housing market collapsed, triggering recession, skyrocketing unemployment, and a foreclosure crisis that continues to ravage working class neighborhoods. Yet still, while Wall Street got bailed out, no government relief is in sight for homeowners or our communities. But hope is on the way. Not from any politicians - both parties are completely bought off by Wall Street - but rather from ordinary people rising up to reclaim their homes and neighborhoods! The re-orientation of the Occupy movement to "Occupy Homes" offers the potential to build a serious national movement.