By Debora Gordon Lam ended a recent letter with “Write me when you find the time. I certainly have all the time in the world to wait.” This prompted me to ask him what it[Read more]
By Ronald Owens What’s more valuable, your life or a stolen vehicle? To most people, that’s probably a no-brainer. Your life, of course. Let’s rephrase the question. What’s more valuable to a police officer chasing[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Lam was, and perhaps still is, a young man with a lot of potential. He could have gone on to lead a life of commonplace trials and triumphs; having a family, a job[Read more]
By Debora Gordon Every time a student does poorly in school, or drops out, there is likely a great increase in the chances he will wind up in prison. I recall in my discussion with[Read more]
By Debora Gordon After my visit with Lt. Smith, I had some time to kill that Friday evening in Delano, California. While there may be more than meets the tourist eye, what the casual passer-through[Read more]
By Debora Gordon I drove down to visit Lam in the Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) the weekend of December 7ththrough December 10th. I checked in by phone and email with the Public Information Officer,[Read more]
It seems that if you’re not killed by a cop, you’re a just a garden variety homicide victim. People don’t get too upset. You might get an impromptu curbside memorial. The local TV news might[Read more]
Today, mainstream media depicts a Panther demise into pimping, drug-dealing and gangbanging, but that history is questioned and should not remain as the Party’s legacy. In 1968, the police were the soldiers of a racist[Read more]
By Debora Gordon I went to the beginning of the commemorative Occupy Oakland event on October 25th. I chose to go early and left before dark for two reasons. The more compelling was a lack[Read more]
By Howard Dyckoff Oaklanders are marching to demand an end to gun violence. There have been youth rallies, peace marches and on-going night walks in the most violence-plagued areas of East Oakland. Many of these[Read more]