On May 23, 2011, I had the privilege of interviewing the Reverend Edward Pinkney and his wife Dorothy in Chicago. Rev. Pinkney has gained national recognition for his leadership in galvanizing [...] Continue Reading
Arts & Culture
Bravo Success for BMB Leadership Academy in Southwest Fresno
Organizational effectiveness is often the key component to an organization’s success. The Black Men and Boys (BMB) Leadership Academy demonstrated “effectiveness.” The experience was indeed awesome as [...] Continue Reading
Fresno’s Pride Event Is “Legally Proud”
Fresno’s Rainbow Pride parade and festival is marking its 21st anniversary with the theme of “Legally Proud.” The theme takes into account the last year of victories in court—the overturning of [...] Continue Reading
Progressive News Briefs
Education Without Borders A march and rally was held in downtown Fresno last month to draw attention to the Fresno Unified School District’s high dropout rate, support ethnic studies programs and [...] Continue Reading
From the Editor
I was pleasantly surprised when I read David Roy’s “Progressive Religion...Is Not an Oxymoron” article this month. Roy’s article takes a look at why there is such a chasm between the stated goals of [...] Continue Reading
Bar Talk Reveals Educational Success
So. Not that I’ve lied to you before, but this one is really true. Sort of. Well, in its essentials, it’s true. The other day, in the middle of May, during that unusually cool and wet weather, I was [...] Continue Reading
World Courts of Women: Become Part of the Solution
The California Central Valley Journey for Justice has provided its endorsement to the World Courts of Women and invites other Central Valley groups and individuals to do the same. The World Courts of [...] Continue Reading
Defending Civil Liberties in Fresno
The American Civil Liberties Union affiliate staff in San Francisco used to joke that they should open an office in Fresno. That never happened, but it sure seems like it did. The affiliate and the [...] Continue Reading
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop
I grew up a big fan of science fiction movies. One of my all-time favorites is a classic from 1951, The Day the Earth Stood Still. If you’ve seen the movie, then you probably remember one of the more [...] Continue Reading
Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going?
How the Fresno LGBT Community Center Is Bringing the Central Valley LGBT+ Community Together It is sometimes vital to stop, pause for a moment and take the temperature of a situation or movement. [...] Continue Reading
Grassroots: Profiles of Local Activist Leaders
In this, the month for celebrating Gay Pride, our subject is Chuck Krugman, who has created a successful life for himself here in the Valley despite three conditions that, to many, would be difficult [...] Continue Reading
The Lords of the Rings Lording It Over All
Before I turn to this month’s column, I want to express my amazement at what resulted from publishing my open letter to Rupert Murdoch in the Community Alliance last month. As you may recall, I argued [...] Continue Reading