When landlords discriminate
Wayne Desmond: “Something that is not often talked about are tenancy disputes and discriminatory practices carried out by landlords here in Nova Scotia. This continues to be one of Nova Scotia’s best kept secrets.”
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Lives in prison: “Since Covid arrived it has only gotten worse”
J-T: “I would like you to witness a day in the life of an inmate during COVID-19. In the beginning nobody took it seriously. It wasn’t a big deal until numbers began to rise quickly. We panicked. We were going to break out, we’d plan it all out, work as a team, and I’m talking about the majority of us. We weren’t going to just sit here and die”
Bears Once, a poem by David Huebert
Once there were bears in California
the woods fat with their smell.
Once bears roamed among redwoods–
aged trees that wouldn’t be felled.
Bears Once, by Halifax writer David Huebert, is a poem about the grizzly bear, once prominent in large swaths of North America, now extinct in California and elsewhere. The poem could as well have been about Nova Scotia’s mainland moose.
What if we trusted poor people to make their own decisions?
Laura Slade: “When you live in poverty, one of the most valuable gifts you can receive is the gift of self-determination. We know what we need. We know where it is best for us to shop, what we’re comfortable wearing and what we need to eat. Each human deserves the dignity of making their own choices.”
Raising forests, a poem by shalan joudry
let’s tend to the forests like prophets
encourage them to wilder in old growth
and watch them mature into being
raising forests is a poem by Mi’kmaw poet and story teller shalan joudry of L’sitkuk (Bear River First Nation). It’s from her latest collection, Waking Ground.
Fighting back against racism: We’ll see you in court!
Wayne Desmond takes a closer look at two occasions where Walmart security staff and Halifax police officers harassed Black shoppers, and suggests a pathway to justice. Sue the bastards!
Halifax Housing Symposium: “Legislation can change things overnight, if the will is there”
More than 250 people took part in an online Halifax Housing Symposium Monday. The event was hosted by the Housing and Homelessness Partnership. Stephen Wentzell attended and heard from advocates and people directly affected by rising rents, evictions, the pandemic and skyrocketing homelessness.
Wayne Desmond: My long search for safe spaces for Black learners
Wayne Desmond: “The idea of Black spaces and the need for inclusive education have always been important to me. Why is it that it wasn’t until I went to university that I began to feel fully validated as a Black learner?”
People with disabilities assert their rights in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
The Disability Rights Coalition, along with Beth MacLean and Joseph Delaney and others, is appealing a bad decision by the NS Human Rights Commission on institutionalization of people with disabilities. In this editorial the coalition explains the reasons for the appeal, and how you can follow the court case on line.
Self love, a poem by Martha Mutale
When hurt people show up in your safe spaces
Remember who you are
Take a moment and hold yourself
From Self Love, a poem by Martha Mutale