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Photo by Gautam N  on Unsplash | Alt Text: A picture of a green hillside with several scattered buildings. Aware, awake, I am. Being here can be so hard. People in pain, people dying, people losing their hearts, their minds, all around. I want to be strong. I want to help. I am here, too.  Some days feel like walking death even though I have been freed from substances that harmed me. When will the hatred end? What must we do? Where does real help come from? The institutions are compacting the pain, creating more trauma. Can I say and do something without being disciplined? Where is the land where we can truly help? I have a vision--a dream of wholeness and true joy. Living with nature and sharing with others. I won't give up. I still have breath. I am aware. I am awake. I am here.

Special Screening of the new movie Crushing Wheelchairs  in honor of the Angelversary of Luís Góngora Pat and many other victims of anti-houseless violence. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact for film:  tiny gray-garcia or Muteado Silencio  Phone:  510-435-7500 Email: poormag@gmail.com Organization:  POOR Magazine / Homefulness Contact for family:  Adriana Camarena  Phone : 650-799-6621 Email : justice4luis@gmail.com Organization : justice4luis.org What Prayer Ceremony and Film Screening of Crushing Wheelchairs Movie in honor of Luís Góngora Pat’s Angelversary  When 6:00 PM, Tuesday, April 7, 2026  Where Artists’ Television Access (ATA) 992 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA   Note: Family of Luis Gongora Pat, Equipto, rapper and artist from the Frisco Five and Writer, co-Director tiny gray-garcia and Poverytskolaz from the movie will be present at the screening for comments and talk-back after the film (Link to trailer of the movie HERE ) Luis Demetrio Góngora Pat was an indigenous father, brother, uncle and Sun. Luis Góngora was also houseless.His story and struggle is embodied in one of the protagonists featured in the new movie Crushing Wheelchairs, about the violence of homelessness, sweeps and police terror On April 7, 2016, San Francisco police officers Michael Mellone and Nate Steger fired multiple rounds—both bean bag and live ammunition—killing Luis. Despite administrative sanctions issued by the SFPD against the officers involved, and a Grand Jury finding sufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal case, Mellone and Steger were never held accountable; once again demonstrating how the justice system protects itself rather than its victims. The case of Luís Góngora Pat was pursued by civil rights attorney Adante Pointer and supported by thousands of community members. His killing was one of the cases that sparked the hunger strike known as the Frisco Five, which ultimately led to the resignation of then–police chief Greg Suhr.  José Góngora Pat, brother of Luís, expressed deep gratitude to supporters: “Thank you to everyone who stood with us over these past 10 years in remembering my brother, Luis. I am especially grateful to my cousins Luis and Carlos Poot Pat, and to Laura Guzmán, who were with me during the days when I was broken in body and spirit. We do not say goodbye to my brother, because now and always he lives in our minds and hearts. We will never forget him.” He added, “We are grateful to his family, his wife and children in Teabo, Yucatán, who have always given us permission to remember him each year in their name. Many thanks as well to Adriana Camarena, who has always been with us through good times and bad.” In closing, José thanked Tiny Gray Garcia and the POOR Magazine/HOMEfulness movement: “Thank you for your support from the day Luis died to today, as you present this film in his name, which exposes how unhoused people are treated in San Francisco.” On Luís’s 10th Angelversary, his community will celebrate his life with a screening of Crushing Wheelchairs . Crushing Wheelchairs  is an original screenplay written by houseless poet and povertyskola tiny gray-garcia. Adapted from her award winning play of the same name, the film focuses on the violence of homelessness, city and state sponsored sweeps, and poLice terror. The movie includes an all houseless/formerly houseless cast whose motto is: “We aren’t acting, we are living.” It was shot primarily in houseless communities (encampments) and on the streets in Oakland and San Francisco. The movie focuses on six ancestors of homelessness, sweeps, eviction and poLice terror. In addition to the story of  Luís Góngora featured in the movie it also features his brother José Gongora. “Witnessing the murder of my friend was so traumatizing,it’s hard to even speak about,” said Stephanie Grant, who witnessed the murder of Luis while houseless and pregnant. “He was a peaceful man and did nothing to deserve that.” She plays herself in the movie Crushing Wheelchairs. Adriana Camarena, who has accompanied the family for over a decade, said, “Luis was murdered by brutal police, but his homelessness was an outcome of systemic injustices that continue to affect poor and indigenous migrant communities today. Today we celebrate Luis’s life as a man of maize, and the resilience of his family and community, who continue to seek healing despite the violence and hatred they have endured.” To mark the anniversary, José worked with artist Patrick Piazza and the Poster Syndicate to create an image that honors his brother’s roots as a Maya campesino and guardian of maize. The image will be distributed at ATA as part of the film screening and celebration of his life. We will begin the event with a prayer ceremony in honor of Luis outside the theatre which will include 1st Nations prayer, Aztec Dance and a short piece by movement artist Pearl Ubungen entitled “Dedicado a Luis” to John Coltranes’s “After the Rain”   Time allowing a very brief video by Jose Góngora Pat about “Mool Tunich: Mayan sacred crossroad markers and rest stops” will also be screened.  Link for Crushing Wheelchairs Trailer HERE ESPAÑOL   Asesinado por ser una persona sin hogar e indígena en San Francisco: 10º aniversario luctuoso (Angelversario) de Luís Góngora Pat Proyección especial de la nueva película Crushing Wheelchairs En honor al aniversario luctuoso de Luís Góngora Pat y de muchas otras víctimas de la violencia contra personas sin hogar. Qué Ceremonia de oración y proyección de película en honor al aniversario luctuoso de Luís Góngora Pat Cuándo 6:00 PM, martes 7 de abril de 2026 Dónde Artists’ Television Access (ATA) 992 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA Nota: La familia de Luis Góngora Pat, Equipto —rapero y artista de los Frisco Five —, y la escritora y codirectora Tiny Gray-García, junto con miembros de PovertySkolaz, estarán presentes en la proyección de la película para ofrecer comentarios y participar en una sesión de preguntas y respuestas tras la función. _________ Luis Demetrio Góngora Pat fue un padre, hermano, tío e hijo indígena. Luis Góngora también vivía sin hogar. Su historia y su lucha están encarnadas en uno de los protagonistas que aparecen en la nueva película “Crushing Wheelchairs”, sobre la violencia de la falta de vivienda, las redadas y el terror policial. El 7 de abril de 2016, los oficiales de la policía de San Francisco Michael Mellone y Nate Steger dispararon múltiples rondas—tanto balas de bolsa (bean bag) como munición real—causando la muerte de Luis. A pesar de las sanciones administrativas impuestas por el SFPD a los oficiales involucrados, y de que un Gran Jurado encontró evidencia suficiente para proceder con un caso penal, Mellone y Steger nunca fueron responsabilizados; demostrando una vez más cómo el sistema de justicia se protege a sí mismo en lugar de proteger a sus víctimas. El caso de Luís Góngora Pat fue llevado por el abogado de derechos civiles Adante Pointer y respaldado por miles de miembros de la comunidad. Su asesinato fue uno de los casos que detonó la huelga de hambre conocida como los Frisco Five, la cual logró la renuncia del entonces jefe de policía Greg Suhr. José Góngora Pat, hermano de Luís, expresó su profunda gratitud a su comunidad: “Gracias a todas las personas que nos acompañaron por 10 años recordando a mi hermano, Luis. Especialmente, doy gracias a mis primos Luis y Carlos Poot Pat y Laura Guzmán que estuvieron conmigo en los días cuando me encontraba roto de cuerpo y alma. No le decimos adiós a mi hermano porque ahora y por siempre está en nuestra mente y corazón. Nunca lo olvidaremos.”   Agregó, “Agradecemos a su familia, su esposa e hijos en Teabo Yucatán, que nos dieron siempre el permiso de recordarlo cada año en su nombre. Muchas gracias también a Adriana Camarena que estuvo siempre con nosotros en las buenas y en las malas.”  Para concluir José agradeció a Tiny Gray Garcia y la comunidad de Pobres Sabios: “Gracias por su apoyo desde el día en que murió Luis hasta hoy que presentan esta película en su nombre que pone en evidencia cómo se trata a la gente sin hogar en San Francisco.” En el 10º aniversario luctuoso (angelversario) de Luís, su comunidad celebrará su vida con la proyección de Crushing Wheelchairs . Crushing Wheelchairs  es un guión original escrito por la poeta sin hogar y povertyskola tiny gray-garcia. Adaptada de su obra premiada del mismo nombre, la película se centra en la violencia de la falta de vivienda, los desalojos (“sweeps”) impulsados por la ciudad y el estado, y el terror policial. La película cuenta con un elenco compuesto en su totalidad por personas sin hogar o anteriormente sin hogar, cuyo lema es: “No estamos actuando, estamos viviendo.” Fue filmada principalmente en comunidades sin hogar (campamentos) y en las calles de Oakland y San Francisco. La película se centra en seis ancestros de personas afectadas por la falta de vivienda, los desalojos forzosos, los desahucios y el terror policial. Además de la historia de Luís Góngora, que figura en la película, la película también figura la historia de su hermano, José Góngora. La película se enfoca en seis ancestros marcados por la falta de vivienda, los desalojos, las expulsiones y el terror policial. Uno de los protagonistas principales es Luís Góngora, y la película también incluye la participación de su hermano José. “Presenciar el asesinato de mi amigo fue tan traumatizante que es difícil incluso hablar de ello,” dijo Stephanie Grant, quien presenció el asesinato de Luis mientras estaba sin hogar y embarazada. “Era un hombre pacífico y no hizo nada para merecer eso.” Ella se interpreta a sí misma en la película Crushing Wheelchairs. Adriana Camarena, acompañante por una década de la familia, mencionó, “Luis fue asesinado por policías brutales, pero su situación de calle fue consecuencia de injusticias sistémicas que siguen afectando a comunidades pobres, indígenas y migrantes hoy en día. Hoy celebramos la vida de Luis como hombre de maíz, y la resiliencia de su familia y su comunidad, que continúan buscando sanar a pesar de la violencia y el odio que han enfrentado.” Para conmemorar la fecha, José trabajó con el artista Patrick Piazza y el Sindicato de Póster para crear una imagen que conmemora las raíces de su hermano cómo campesino maya y guardián del maíz. La imagen se distribuirá en ATA como parte de la muestra fílmica y celebración de vida del difunto. Iniciaremos el evento con una ceremonia de oración en honor a Luis, en el exterior del teatro, la cual incluirá una oración de las Primeras Naciones, danza azteca y una breve pieza de la artista del movimiento Pearl Ubungen titulada “Dedicado a Luis” , con la canción de “After the Rain” de John Coltrane. Si el tiempo lo permite, también se proyectará un breve vídeo de José Góngora Pat sobre “Mool Tunich: cruces de caminos sagrados mayas y lugares de descanso”. Please join us on April 7th  at 6pm at Artists Television Access for this special ceremony and screening for the family and community on Luis’ angelversary Trailer of the movie Here Follow:  📣 @poormagazine @justice4luis

By Maria Cordero Cuba es un lugar petrolero que por eso el poderoso líder estadounidense le está denegando maquinarias para progresar por él afirma quedarse con Cuba y sus riquezas que desde tiempos remotos ha sido una audición estar en guerra. Los trabajadores cubanos no saben qué hacer. Puesto que su líder Cubano Miguel Diaz Canel tiene que hacer una entrevista para Washington. Puesto que también les esta haciendo problemas con visas y migración y siguen los abusos tanto sexuales sobre niñas pequeñas. Cuba es uno de los países donde hay más prostitucion al grado de 9-10 abusos. Desde Fidel Castro y todavia sigue el racismo lo de imigracion falta de cultura y tomar a la gente como esclavos forzar sin derechos. Tener pobreza sin recursos solo el abuso. Sin poder hacer nada solo explotaciones. Físicas económicas y monetarias por tanta las cabezas mayores como liderazgos y presidentes  Translation Cuba is an oil-rich nation; for this very reason, the powerful U.S. leader is denying it the opportunities needed to progress—all in a bid to seize control of Cuba and its wealth. This ambition to wage war dates back to ancient times, leaving Cuban workers at a loss as to what to do. Consequently, their Cuban leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is compelled to seek an audience with Washington. Furthermore, the U.S. is creating obstacles regarding visas and migration, while abuses—particularly the sexual abuse of young girls—continue unabated. Cuba is one of the countries with the highest rates of prostitution, reaching a level where abuse is rampant among children as young as 9 or 10. Since the era of Fidel Castro, racism has persisted, alongside issues of migration, a lack of cultural sensitivity, and the treatment of people as slaves—forced into labor and stripped of their rights. The population endures poverty and a lack of resources, facing nothing but abuse. Powerless to act, they are subjected solely to exploitation—physical, economic, and financial—at the hands of those at the very top: the senior officials, the leadership, and the presidents.

"Our ancestors chose to be kidnapped from Africa”- Kanye West “Black families don’t need fathers because we had strong women.”- Herschel Walker “I’m not black, I’m OJ (Simpson)” “Growing up, I came up with this name: Cablinasian “- Tiger Woods The “koon quotes” mentioned above are examples of how internalized racism is another form of hate just as dangerous and effective as the biased opinions of white (non) supremacy—the belief that assimilation and perpetuation of the anti-black narrative by so-called negroes is the “amerikkkan way," to seek acceptance by white folks with slavemaster mindsets. These “handkerchief headed negroes” have basically taken blood oaths to ensure that their people stay in their place, and they utilize the horrors of enslavement in such a way that we should celebrate the travesty and throw away any keys (knowledge) that will unlock the shackles from our minds. What’s tempting to house “negroes” are the benefits of wealth and temporary access— to sit at “the round table” with their masters and gleefully assist in the plot to further exterminate us physically, mentally, spiritually and culturally until we have no trace whatsoever of our identities. Koonin’ and buffoonin’ is also a front to keep the fear of white (non)supremacy concealed, the fear of the repercussions and consequences such as being blacklisted, incarcerated or killed for resisting a structure that is designed to wipe us out as a nation, regardless if an individual is a koon or a warrior for the cause. One of the tools used in the making of a koon, aka sellouts, is to brainwash educated folks of Color into weaponizing any form of progress and using it against the very people who may have looked upon the koon in disguise to “represent us” in the war for liberation, reparations and self-sufficiency. We have hard-core koons like Candace Owens, who is more concerned with assuring white students that “slavery is over” and that “black people are just making excuses” for everything. This aspect of Koonin’ is the typical approach made by house negroes who are appointed to be the maga spokesperson for the trumpaklans, to relieve them of the task of voicing their racist views without being looked upon as racist themselves. The koon who is willing to denounce their culture and use their crumb of power to further oppress their own in ways that are more cruel than their slave master counterparts is the perfect puppet to place on the front lines of this hateful rhetoric, only to be thrown under the bus ten fold once there is no more use for them. The other outcome is the fact that once a buffoon is “kicked to the curb,” the aunt Jemima and uncle Ben always come crawling back to the people, faking their humbleness to gain sympathy from the community, when in reality they are only worthy of punishment for their betrayal by putting “the necklace” on them thus sending the message that there are penalties for contributing to the attempt to annihilate our very existence. The “Koonin and buffoonin” minstrel show always comes with a cancellation date. Afterwards, when they are face to face with the Ancestors whose blood was spilled on this earth to pave a way for their progress, they will forever hear the echoes of ancestor voices in their ears, reciting the old African proverb: “If you don’t acknowledge your ancestors, they will not acknowledge you,"—a reminder that there is no profit in “ bootlickin and buck dancing” for the slave masters representing MAGA, because eventually they will get rid of koons also. It is just a matter of time. Queennandi

As far as man can remember, to do battle has been a destructive staple in the defined and redefined books of history. Whether it was to uphold the hoarding of wealth, land and cultural power, mankind has always made sure that the shedding of blood was on the agenda no matter how many lives were lost. The Vietnam war, the Nigerian civil war and the French wars of religion alone claimed the lives of up to at least 15-20 million people, and those who survived were subjected to oppression. To this day, people live in impoverished conditions under the razor blade-like boot heels of wicked dictators who would prefer to boast with a toast, drinking the finest wines while feasting on Mama Nature’s “exotic” forbidden foods from billion dollar homes and boats…. While the rest of us are living in subhuman conditions, slitting each other’s throats over a grain of Jasmine rice, salty potted meats and parasite infested water.  And rest assured, if we have a president who is beastly, greedy enough to take away any crumbs of hellthcare, moldy housing, deserved benefits and the food given to us thanks to the generosity of food pantries, WAR has been declared upon the people!  Cambodia is one of the most beautiful, morally and culturally humble countries I have ever been blessed to experience. If I was hungry, there was always a kind soul that saw it as a sincere honor to sit and break bread with the family. Now our “Sistuh-neighbors” Thailand and Cambodia are at war, and according to a correspondent from the non-profit organization “The Queen’s Consortium of Humanity” in Cambodia, “Thailand is attacking the borders of Cambodia for not just land, but for precious and sacred artifacts. Kinda like how the white people did the original Black Egyptians!” The correspondent went on to say, “The plague of drug trafficking has upgraded to horrific levels. It is starting to look like a worldwide agenda to break our spirits with famine and supply us with the devil’s candy to self-medicate us into another “zombieland” that even sister (Queennandi Shabazz) experienced in her neighborhood back in the states.” War is only good if man continues to be hell bent on destroying man- and Mama Earth. So a word to the people- stand strong in faith, as the devilish people of the world continue to declare war against us, the wicked has forgotten that GOD and MAMA NATURE has declared WAR also. And the devil is not going to win.

Por/By Maria Soy Maria. Con miedos y temores sobre la migración, es una forma muy difícil. Hay muchos obstáculos para superar-- sobre todo en lenguaje, y en conseguir trabajo y falta experiencia con desarrollo.  A veces las personas nos denigran burlándose por no saber sistemas de desarrollo y muchas de las veces nos sentimos presionados por los avances de la tecnología. Y a veces letra faltas de ortografía avances en coordinar lo que nos dicen los maestros. Yo solo pido paciencia y comprensión para navegar este sistema entonces continuaré con lo mio. Soy una mujer extremadamente que si algo me propongo lo hago avance de lo que sea y yo como migrante les repito que las cosas son más problemas pero nada imposible de no superar aquí la situación es la preparación. Al venirme de México el sueño americano es salir adelante. Pero muchas veces el nerviosismo de la migra y los estatutos que hay nos impiden salir adelante. También hay problemas para obtener un papel legal, muchas veces mienten y roban esos ahorros que con una ilusión juntamos para un documento. Les podria contar mas cosas faltas de respeto abusos y violencia cosas e inimaginables que no me entenderían más allá del extremo. Esta es mi vivencia sobre mi gran dolor de encías y dientes que me han hecho estragos al grado de la desesperación. Ha causado dolor de oído y cabeza por estar muy hinchada. Mi dentadura está con infección y no puedo conciliar el sueño, esa desesperación de llorar por no tener recursos de atenderme ni economía para solventar esa situación. Tengo muchas ganas de correr, de gritar, es desesperante esa situación. Necesito atención médica pero no puedo cubrir esos gastos y soportarlo de día tarde y noche y ni acudiendo a cosas naturales se calma. Es como si taladraran mi cerebro ya fatigada de todo.  Empecé a tomar pastillas y eso solo me hacía dormir y no poder despertar por lo ingerido dosis de 500 miligramos. Pero solo era un momento por que lo mismo seguía y más en las noches hasta que tanto fue desesperante y me fui aflojando yo sola esa pieza y me la pude arrancar pero a veces son otras piezas pero hoy en dia seme inflaman y la encía también pero con lavados y enjuagues se me a ido calmando esa situación. A veces regresa porque no tengo recursos y sufro de carencias.  Hoy en día aquí en los Estados Unidos sigue ese tipo de problema para mucha gente y sigo buscando soluciones. Esto también ocurrió a una persona en el Centro Correccional Florence en Arizona que lo detuvo así y no les prestaron atención y no lo ayudaron lo dejaron a la deriva al grado de quitarse la vida. Corrupción y abusos por esas autoridades de migración y de estar en ese país o en Arizona hasta la fecha hoy en día sigue afectando a todos los migrantes como yo y otros casos más. I am Maria. Full of fear about immigration, it is a very difficult existence. There are lots of barriers to overcome-- especially language, and finding work and lack of experience in development. People make fun of us for not being familiar with developed systems, and many of the times we feel pressured into using advanced technology. And sometimes misspellings hurt our progress in figuring out what teachers are telling us. I only ask for patience and understanding from this system so that I can continue with my struggle.  I am a woman of extremes. If I set my mind to something, I will do whatever it takes and I, as a migrant, I repeat that we face so many challenges but nothing is impossible to overcome in this situation here. Since the preparation to come from Mexico, the American dream is about continuing forward. But many times the nervousness of immigration and the statutes that exist prevent people from going forward. Also, there are problems trying to get legal papers, people are lied to and robbed of their savings put together for the illusion they will get a document. I could tell you more things-- disrespectful abuses and violent and unimaginable things that you couldn’t understand, way out there in the extremes.  This is my experience about my great pain of gums and teeth that has caused damage to the point of despair. It has caused ear and head pain from being very swollen. My teeth are infected and I have not been able to stop the recurring nightmare of desperate crying for not having resources to care for myself or economic position to solve the situation. I have had a desire to run and shout how desperate the situation is. I need medical attention, but cannot cover those medical expenses so I endure it day and night and natural remedies would not calm the inflammation down. It is as if they drilled into my brain that was already fatigued from everything.  I started to take pills and that only helped me sleep but I was not able to wake up from ingesting 500 milligrams doses. But it was only for a moment the pain would stop because the same continued and more in the nights until I was so desperate I would loosen that piece and I could tear it off, but sometimes there are other spots that hurt. Today my teeth and gums are inflamed but with washes and rinses I have been able to calm the situation. Sometimes it returns because I do not have resources and suffer from shortcomings.  Here in the United States this type of problem continues for many people and I'm still looking for solutions. This has also occurred to a person in the Florence Correctional Center in Arizona who was detained there where they did not give him attention, no one helped him, and they left him to drift to the point of death. Corruption and abuses by those migration authorities in this country or in Arizona to date continues to affect all migrants like me and others.

By: Frankie Hicks My childhood lives in Texas. If you close your eyes, you can probably picture it. Vast, uninterrupted blue sky providing the backdrop for spitting mad preachers and angry white men in camo baseball caps. Being homeschooled, I was isolated among people desperate to isolate themselves, frothing at the mouth to secede from the United States for all the wrong reasons. Lonely among loners, and repressing truths about myself that would have gotten me humiliated, hurt, or worse. At age nine, and 10, and 11, and 12, I knew nothing about the existence of transgender people, much less whatever I was. I just knew there was something dangerous about me.  Eventually, I found words that approximate how I feel, and I carved out a life for myself, but the feeling of danger never went away. Childhood for transgender Texans is getting harder, but, contrary to what they say, politicians are coming after transgender adults, as well – ultimately seeking to eradicate evidence of our existence from public life. The most troubling news lately comes from the state of Kansas, where about 130 transgender adults received personal letters from the state government on February 25th, stating their drivers licenses with the correct gender markers must be surrendered and replaced with documents reflecting one’s sex assigned at birth. The letter explicitly noted “the Legislature did not include a grace period for updating credentials,” a bizarre way of rolling out new rules effectuated by a rushed bill that went into law the day after the letters were sent. Trans people are now forced to somehow get to Kansas’s equivalent of the DMV without driving – as driving without a valid license is a misdemeanor in the state – and pay money to subject themselves to a license with a gender marker incongruent with their identity. The newly-passed law SB 244 effectively makes it illegal to be transgender in Kansas. Transgender Kansans can no longer drive, vote, get a library card, or participate in civic life with the gender marker they fought to acquire. Every time someone trans pulls out their license, they will be outed, inviting unnecessary danger into their daily lives. Tacked onto this law is an anti-trans bathroom ban that includes private businesses on the list of places transgender people must out themselves, forced to choose between entering the bathroom of the sex they were assigned at birth or risk a $1000 fine or misdemeanor. Of course, because of my own reality as a trans person, I know this dilemma all too well. As a minor, I had to use the teacher bathrooms at school once I came out as trans, and as an adult, most often I simply refuse to go to the bathroom in public.  Being transgender, I take an interest in hearing from other trans voices over the disinformation mass media often peddles. It was a trans-led online newspaper that first broke the story from Kansas; and it is from transgender people living in Kansas that I hear at least one person not born in-state but merely residing in it had their license revoked despite never changing their gender marker, only their name. Indeed, at least 4 trans people have had their licenses revoked by the state despite not changing their gender markers at all. People are scared this means the state of Kansas has a “registry” of transgender people living in Kansas and is in the process of combing through it. I grimly remember the very real registry Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton created in 2022 of people who changed both their name and gender marker.  This news troubles me greatly. To write this story, it has taken days of research interspersed with long periods of grief as more horrifying news comes out by the hour. Confronting this gruesome reality is hard. Staring at a blank wall is easy. Between bouts of depression, I did the math on approximately how many people this Kansas law affects. Most outlets reporting on this agree that it’s about 1,800 people forced to surrender their license – but many more will be impacted. The text of the law states that any citizen can sue anyone they think  is trans or using the “wrong” restroom, including any cisgender (i.e. not transgender) person who they deem nonconforming. All of this is meant to scare and intimidate people the government doesn’t want living there. What we are seeing from Kansas and other states is similar to the countrywide struggles undocumented immigrants and green card holders face when they appear at scheduled court hearings – only to be arrested and disappeared. Like trans people choosing which bathroom to use for their safety, immigrants are trapped because they played by the rules. But the rules do not apply to the Powers That Be. Forcing minorities to make impossible choices has been the capital “G” Government’s playbook since its inception.  From these stories, I have felt untold sadness and, yes, fear. But somewhere along the way, I also found a little hope. I learned that there are thousands of trans people in a deeply red state, many of whom are fighting back by joining a lawsuit penned by the ACLU against the Kansas state government. Through experience, I know that, perhaps because of the intense institutional oppression, small communities of like-minded people in red states tend to be tightly bound through shared experiences, and queer life is not as isolating as they want us to believe. I carry the memory of being deeply isolated as a queer youth in Texas, but now as an adult, I wonder how much of my loneliness was self-inflicted or simply out of my control. What society considers “natural” or “normal” is dictated by culture, by in-groups and out-groups, and, vitally, is subject to change. This is what minorities represent: change to the status quo. This is why  I am dangerous. If people can change their gender, that means gender is not an immutable fact, but much looser than the boxes society fits all of us into, thus transgender people specifically are a threat to the Natural Way Of Things. They are more scared of us than we should be of them.  Because of cruel laws like these, we assume life in red states is miserable for those of us who stick out like hitchhikers’ thumbs. Instead, talk to real people, hold their sadness and madness and joy and know that hands that destroy can also create. Bleak situations call for fire and fight, and can give clarity to the oppressed struggling for freedom. Assimilation is not the answer. Solidarity and fighting as one is the solution.

While the US government signs an executive order to literally disappear houseless comeUnities from cities across the Nation and California towns implement more violent sweeps and sweeps orders against houseless residents  - A powerful new movie is created by houseless/formerly houseless artists, cultural workers, poets and survivors that tells the stories of the people being disappeared. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Contact Tiny or Muteado 510-435-7500 (Movie is in English and Spanish with English and Spanish Subtitles throughout) What: Premier Across So-called California: Tuesday, April 7, 2026 6pm Ceremony followed by Screening  ​​ Artist Television Access(ATA)​ 992 Valencia StreetSan Francisco, CA 94110 Tickets available here . MORE DATES COMING SOON! SEE THE TRAILER OF THE MOVIE HERE "This film needs to be seen because far too much time is taken up talking about the homeless problem instead of talking with the unhoused communities. Too much time is taken up in judgments and assumptions about who these people are and how they find themselves on the streets and not enough time spent listening to what their stories really are. Here is an opportunity to see truths of the unhoused in all of their colors displayed by the people who live those realities."  devorah major, former poet laureate ( read her review here ) “That’s my Wheelchair...” Reggie, a disabled, Black elder screams at a bulldozer coming for her comeUnity and her wheelchair. Crushing Wheelchairs, with an original screenplay written by houseless poet and povertyskola tiny gray-garcia, adapted from her award winning  play of the same name focuses on the violence of homelessness, city and state sponsored sweeps, and poLice terror. The movie includes an all houseless/formerly houseless cast whose motto is: “We aren’t acting, we are living.” It was shot primarily in houseless communities (encampments) and on the streets in Oakland and San Francisco.  The story of Crushing Wheelchairs is written in a prayer, a dream, and a scream felt and barely survived by me, tiny gray-garcia aka povertyskola, my houseless, disabled mama, and all of my fellow poverty/disability skolaz & ancestors portrayed/lived in this movie/story. This is the art of our lives, our almost survival, and our death at the hands of laws that say our bodies and lives are criminal and that we are trash. The lead characters in this powerful movie feature tiny and her mother, who struggled with homelessness throughout her childhood and later were arrested for sleeping on the streets of Oakland; Aunti Frances Moore, a formerly houseless Black Panther in Oakland; Stephanie Grant, who was pregnant and homeless when she witnessed the murder of Luis Gongora Pat by poLice in 2016, for being houseless and indigenous in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco Mission neighborhood. The ancestors of homelessness we also focus on include Steven Taylor, murdered by poLice in Walmart while houseless for having a mental health crisis; Papa Bear, a houseless veteran of three tours in Vietnam, who died on the streets of San Francisco after receiving 280 citations for being houseless on the street, iris Canada , a 100 year Black Elder evicted to homelessness from her longtime home in the Fillmore due to gentrification, Shannon Marie Bigley, Cornelius Taylor and James Edward Oakley, all run over by bulldozers in sweeps of their tents in California and Atlanta, Anjileen “Green Eyes” Swan, who died after being violently swept in Los Angeles and Luis Temaj, burned alive while asleep in his sleeping bag  and so many more.   We are living in a moment when the US President signed an executive order yesterday to disappear houseless peoples bodies and comeUnities off the streets by force, and in addition is cutting all of our housing and treatment resources all of which further enhanced already dangerous sweeps that were amped up last year’s Supreme Court ruling that stated living while houseless in the US is a crime (City of Grants Pass vs. Johnson, 2024) and that houseless people have no protection under the Constitution. And that this crime is punishable by arrest and incarceration. But how can you incarcerate someone for being poor, for being disabled, for not having enough money or credit to pay rent to attain shelter? How can we be punished for living outside without access to shelter, for being poor? In the state of California, the Governor has claimed that our bodies are equivalent to trash and is proposing yet another anti-houseless people bill. In the city and county of San Francisco, the mayor has deemed our presence a blight; and passed a ban of all houseless peoples living in their vans and in Los Angeles where, on average, six unhoused people die everyday, our outside comeUnities (encampments) are being destroyed, evicted, and disappeared. and in Huchiun (Oakland) Ken Houston is proposing a new level of hate and violence that will kill more of us houseless residents. Our Lives are now deemed unworthy of human rights, so I suppose in the eyes of the State we are not human, we are in fact trash. The panels in this last series of Trailer screenings will focus on these acts of violence and our active resistance to them. “Because we are not trash. This movie at this time is urgent medicine for humanity itself, who through this art can realize that we as houseless people are just like housed people. We are workers, and artists, and poets and innovators, and survivors. We have solutions and backstories and HERstories and visions – this movie lifts up those urgent stories, those urgent solutions – this movie is Medicine for Mama Earth and all of us, “ concluded tiny gray-garcia. The movie was co-directed by Adrian Diamond, formerly houseless povertyskolaz, tiny gray-garcia, and Muteado Silencio  and produced by Green Diamond Projects and POOR Magazine. It includes renown poets Tongo Eisen - Martin, Ayodele Wordslangar Nzinga, Luis Rodriguez, Devorah Major and Po Poets; Dee Allen, Frances Moore, Leroy Moore, Muteado Silencio and tiny gray-garcia, as well as indigenous leaders and prayer-bringers Corrina Gould, Tony Gonzales, OG Rev, Harry Williams, and Brother Mink as well as formerly houseless leaders from Wood Street Commons and Homefulness.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:  tiny gray-garcia or Muteado Silencio Phone:  510-435-7500 Email: poormag@gmail.com Organization:  POOR Magazine / Homefulness Honoring the Unseen women Homeless/Disabled/Indigenous/Refugee, Incarcerated and Comfort Women Honored for Women’s HERstory Month What Prayer Walk/March  and Testimony  When 11am Wedesday, March 11th  Where Launch at the Corner of Market & Montgomery in San Francisco (Yelamu)  (Listen to a PoemCast by Povertyskola For all the UnSeen Women...) The HERstories of poor women are rarely if ever spoken about, remembered or recognized. In this humble prayer walk/procession/march led by houseless and formerly houseless women and youth, disabled women, indigenous women and joined by our solidarity of housed ComeUnity, we will lift up and recognize the HERstories of sisters, aunties, daughters, mothers and grandmothers who have died from the violence of homelessness, false borders, imperial wars and state terror. We will be launching the walk at Market and Montgomery in San Francisco above the BART station where many houseless, disabled women have tried to sleep and rest and have been violently “swept” because the so-called public sidewalks and public transportation are not actually for ALL of the public. “I was arrested for sitting at the BART station, just because I looked homeless,I ended up in the hospital that night because my temperature dropped so low i almost died from hypothermia,” said RoofLess Radio reporter Maria X   Women experiencing homelessness are the most impacted by the state terrror of Sweeps as they are vulnerable to violence when they are on the street in exposed, unlighted areas and/or lose their street communities and networks of protection.  Since the 2024 Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson , houseless people have lost constitutional protections, leading cities across California to dramatically increase sweeps—each one more dangerous and deadly than the last. Like San Francisco and Oakland, most cities across the US, housing is unaffordable, scarce or inaccessible to poor and houseless women and children. “When my disabled mama and I were being police-harassed, swept, and arrested for trying to sleep in doorways, bus shelters, and the back seats of cars in San Francisco and Oakland, we tried to get into housing and never had enough money for the rent and the costs of move-in fees,” said tiny gray-garcia , co-founder of POOR Magazine and visionary co-founder of Homefulness . Our next stop on the procession is the previous  site of the ICE/DHS court in SF, where thousands of women, children and families have been terrorized by the racist, classist profiling and detentions of indigenous refugee women from the other sides of the false borders.  We will culminate our prayer walk/procession at the Comfort Woman Memorial which honors the rarely spoken about ancestors and survivors of Imperial wars that exploited, enslaved and raped thousands of poor women and girls from Korea to the Phillipines   This powerful prayer procession/march is co-sponored by Houseless/formerly houseless people-led movements and a broad range of community organizations in solidarity POOR Magazine/Homefulness: Coalition on Homelessness, Wood Street Commons, Western Regional Advocacy Program, Self Help Hunger Program, Room2Grow, CALMA, Globa Womens Strike, Parent Voices, Nikkei Decolonization Tour, Together We Stand, and ASEJ  Please join us on March 11th at 11am at Market and Montgomery in San Francisco  Follow:  📣 @poormagazine for livestream of event

By Momii Palapaz A recent instagram video from Bojongo, Bonaberi, Douala, Cameroon revealed an intense confrontation between a middle aged man and about 10 women. Armed with long sticks, the women in the village surrounded him and took turns whacking his body. What happened was, this man was beating his wife regularly. For fear and shame or whatever, she did not seek help. That changed when neighborhood women heard her crying. That’s when they found out the man was giving her bruises.  That’s when the community sisters banded together and beat his ass. I’ve been there and still experience episodes of gender violence. I have never gotten any physical support from others while in the depths of abuse.  I’ve run and got motel rooms, spent days away and thwarted encounters that put me in harm's way.   In the US it is a rare sight to see women backed by their neighbors and communities standing up to abusive partners. If at all.  The perpetrators of gender violence are met with fear and distance. The abusers are cowards. Their fears are transferred into anger and directed at those closest and the most vulnerable. In Mexico City, I stayed at one of two apartment buildings called the Organización Popular Francisco Villa de Izquierda Independiente (OPFVII).  They also have a compound of homes, schools, library, apartment building and radio station. The land was liberated by single mothers and women who turned a dump site into a gated women and children community with OPFVII.   One day, a woman reported that her husband was hurting her. All the women from the building came out of their units and confronted him. He was pushed out of the apartment and onto the streets.  He was not allowed to return. This is the same policy at the compound and all programs of the OPFVII.  Liberating a community of women and children has to have solidarity in action within the community. Protection, self defense and education arm the OPFVII to fight for not only the women and children but outside the walls of liberated communities.  Women and children are the worst off in the USA. There are no remedies for immediate or long range supports.  When a woman and her child are met with gender abuse, the system looks the other way, or gives status to the “man” of the house.  Centuries old traditions of patriarchy put the woman and children as property.  When a woman decides to leave, she will have to take the chances that a partner will not come after her.  To hold off the attacks, women have to pay the law to keep herself safe. This is not good enough. On March 8, and 11, International Women’s Day in Ohlone/Huicin/Yelamu land will honor those women, Indigenous, disabled, refugee and comfort women communities who all experienced, still endure and have turned the corners to aid their sisters and children.  Whether it's the violent control by partners at home, work on the streets, March 8th marks an everyday struggle for women's liberation.   Women hold up the sky.

By Momii Palapaz, PNN reporter Her long, slender fingers picked up the seed. This was the first thing I noticed; her soft, unblemished hands, nimble fingers and lacquered nails. She maneuvered them to place a speck of seed in a tiny square space of a box.  Efficient and quick, this young woman was a working owner at the 25 acre Oranoponico Vivero Hamar Punto de Venta. One hundred and sixty-six farmers work here and are paid to grow 250 species of plant life, fruits and 10-12 varieties of vegetables. This is in Alamar, Cuba. One of over 260 organic farms. “The US university trained me by way of chemicals”, said Norma Romero Castillo, an engineer and farm leader/teacher. “So I went back to school and relearned” the industry of agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture created farm labs throughout the country by making it a mandatory project and finding empty spaces.   The farm produces fertilizer from animal feces, tobacco plants (for decorative plants only), worms from Vietnam and fungi mushrooms. The irrigation system uses wells to create bio diverse sustenance. 95% of the plant life grown is used for medicine, spiritual ceremonies and food.   Initially, the 25 acres of land was set to construct a baseball field and hospital but with the economic collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the priority switched to organic farm investment; 90% and 10% to tourism. From centuries of oppression by a variety of European colonizers to 1959, It was an agrarian movement that then became a Cuban revolution.  A whole country of farmers, the indigenous Taino descendants, united with cities of students, academia, and the working class of Cuba, executing a war of liberation. Another Name for Genocide That visit to the organic farm was April/May 2016, ten years ago.  Cuba and US Relations were temporarily softened with the Obama administration in the White House. He lifted some rules and was publicly tolerant of US tourism feeding the Cuban economy. There were still restrictions but nothing like what we are witnessing today.   I took advantage of this window of time and traveled in a Pastors For Peace tour group.  Since my teens, I have been fascinated with the Cuban socialist system and people.  My curiosity opened the door to witness and learn from the communities on the western side of the island. The Cuban people are friendly, laid back, innovative, creative, hard working and welcoming. But they also will tell you straight forward about the US damage to their country.   The U.S. has been relentlessly sabotaging every part of Cuban life and government since 1959.  Despite over 60 years of US government meddling in economic, political and humanitarian life, Cuba has withstood additional crises from climate disasters and international contentions. The US embargo is another form of genocide.   With the blockade, import exports of all medical supplies including medications, medical equipment, farming equipment, oil, electricity, computers, and more are banned or in the  process of intensification.  The US government is even banning Cuban doctors from traveling to other countries in need of support. What we have taken for granted here on turtle island is held tightly and rationed in Cuba.   The Cuban people have dealt with many challenges to their independence and staying a sovereign nation.  Individuals and organizations have donated financially, on the ground support and collections of said items since the revolution.  Don’t believe what you hear and read in the mainstream press about Cuba. Make connect with solidarity organizations, answer your curiosity by learning more.  Cuba is a peace loving country.  Our support from across waters is vital to keep their country from the cruel claws of US imperialism. All power and Solidarity with the Cuban people.

By Evander McElroy Early on January 3 rd , 2026, U.S. special ops forces entered Caracas and detained Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Within hours, they were on a U.S. aircraft bound for American custody. Federal prosecutors charged Maduro with leading a narcotics trafficking conspiracy that allegedly used the machinery of the Venezuelan state to move cocaine into North America.¹ Washington called the mission a law-enforcement action made necessary by a corrupt government unwilling to police itself. To some this was justification enough, but when foreign troops enter a sovereign capital and remove its president, the act cannot be reduced to an arrest. It’s a kidnapping. Watching this event play out in real time brought me back to an event that I learned about in school, the 1973 Chilean coup   d’état   that ousted and led to the death of the first democratically elected Marxist leader in the western hemisphere, Salvador Allende. 2 While the United States did not send troops into Santiago, declassified documents later confirmed sustained efforts to weaken Allende’s government through economic pressure and covert political operations before General Augusto Pinochet was brought to power.² Washington saw Chile as they saw lots of left wing countries in the early 1970s- through the lens of the Cold War. Allende’s socialist reforms and his decision to nationalize the country’s copper industry convinced U.S. officials that Chile might slip into the Soviet orbit. This sort of back-door shadow manipulation was framed as containment! Stopping communism before it spread to other nations of the western hemisphere. Unfortunately what followed was not a strategic shift, but years of fear. Under Pinochet’s seventeen-year rule, people were detained in the night, tortured in secret prisons, and “disappeared” without explanation.³ Families searched for answers that often never came. Whatever anxieties existed in Washington about geopolitics, the consequences in Chile were measured in broken families. Venezuela in 2026 was defended under a different banner. This time, the language was not about communism but about crime. U.S. leaders pointed to indictments accusing Maduro of protecting drug trafficking networks, manipulating elections, and silencing political opponents.¹ Meanwhile, ordinary Venezuelans were living through rolling blackouts, empty grocery shelves, and an economy so broken that millions packed up and left their homes in search of stability. These are not minor accusations or distant policy debates as they reflect real suffering and real anger. But recognizing that reality does not automatically settle the question on whether a foreign military has the right to directly intervene in another nation's sovereign affairs! To echo something I brought up before, the United States has repeatedly revised the language it uses to justify its repeated interventions. In one era it was stopping communism. In another, promoting democracy. Later, fighting terrorism. Now, combating drug trafficking. Each justification reflects the dominant fear of its moment. Each presents action as reluctant but necessary. The continuity lies not in ideology, but in the willingness to violate another nation’s sovereignty when Washington concludes the stakes are high enough. The 2026 operation made that continuity clear. Unlike Chile, where U.S. influence operated largely in the shadows, American forces entered Venezuelan territory directly and removed a sitting head of state and first lady under armed guard.¹ The symbolism matters: it signals that the United States feels that it has the right to enforce its judgments beyond its borders. International law is supposed to be a guardrail. The United Nations Charter bars countries from using force against the political independence of another state.⁴ Supporters of the 2026 operation argue that sovereignty should not protect leaders accused of turning their governments into criminal enterprises. Critics counter that when the strongest countries reserve the right to determine who deserves sovereignty, the promise of equal protection under international law begins to fade. There’s something that has to be made very clear though! Pinochet’s crimes were undeniable.³ Maduro’s government faced grave accusations. The issue is not whether these leaders were flawed or abusive. The issue is precedent. When the United States acts as investigator, judge, and enforcer across borders, it reshapes the norms it claims to defend. From Santiago in 1973 to Caracas in 2026, the vocabulary has changed, but the pattern remains. If security concerns can justify military intervention, sovereignty becomes conditional. And conditional sovereignty, history suggests, is a standard applied unevenly. That is the legacy these moments force us to confront. FOOTNOTES U.S. Department of Defense, “ Statement on Operation Absolute Resolve ,” January 3, 2026; U.S. Department of Justice, indictment filings against Nicolás Maduro, 2020–2026. U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXI: Chile, 1969–1973 ; Central Intelligence Agency, “CIA Activities in Chile,” declassified memorandum, 1975. National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation (Chile), Rettig Report , 1991. United Nations, Charter of the United Nations , art. 2(4), 1945.