Urban Politics | Lester Spence

Former Crack Dealer Out Early

by admin | Jun 3, 2008 | Black Power, Crime and Punishment, Urban Politics | 3 comments

In Congress, then-House Speaker Tip O’Neill, a Democrat whose Boston constituents couldn’t stop talking about Bias’s death, saw a political opportunity. Throughout the 1980s, the federal government had waded deeper into the war on drugs, part of a...

What did you expect would happen?

by admin | May 31, 2008 | Crime and Punishment, Neoliberalism, Public Policy, Urban Politics | 4 comments

Located 31 miles from Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, Pontiac’s unemployment rate is high at 17.6%. Wealth levels within the city are low, as per capita income is 45% of the county, 65% of the state, and 63% of the national averages. GM concentration is...

Philadelphia Mayor Nutter performs Rapper's Delight

by admin | May 30, 2008 | Hip-hop, Pop Culture, The Mass Media, Urban Politics | 1 comment

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=3zxCOKG3orQ[/youtube] And I’m pretty sure that the DJ is ?uestlove. The MC at the end talks about how Nutter is what Philadelphia needs. He provides a “breath of fresh air.” Once Nutter got going, I was feeling...

Foreclosures and Municipal Bankruptcy goes hand in hand

by admin | May 26, 2008 | Cash Rules Everything Around Me, Neoliberalism, Public Policy, Urban Politics | 3 comments

Nearly 3 percent of homes that were once occupied by their owners in the country were vacant in March. That is up from less than 2 percent three years ago and is the highest since the Census bureau began publishing the number in 1956. More here. Combine that with...

The National Black Police Association weighs in on the Sean Bell case

by admin | Apr 27, 2008 | Black Power, Crime and Punishment, Racial Politics, Urban Politics | 2 comments

THE NATIONAL BLACK POLICE ASSOCIATION: THE SEAN BELL VERDICT EMBOLDENS LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN JUDGES © April 26, 2008. All rights reserved to NBPA By Christopher C. Cooper Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL cooper@sxu.edu The acquittals of the three New York City...