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Join The UnCola tonight at 8 PM est on 103.3 Asheville FM as we roll out our first volume of Forgotten #Scandivanian #pop – deep cuts from Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian artists over the last 50 years.
This week, we’re sharing audio from the presentation “Direct action abortion services in Latin America” 2023 Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in so-called Asheville, NC.
Thanks to the volunteers who re-recorded the presenter and audience questions where permission to share their voices was not granted and a transcription. Keep an eye out in August for our youtube video to include the slides from the actual presentation this recording was made from. Audios from the 2024 ACABookfair will be online in the near future on the bookfairs website, https://acabookfair.noblogs.org/
Written by Malachi Mena
The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was passed in 1990. Local disability educator and activist Priya Ray of DIYabled notes that many non-disabled individuals aren’t aware of the ADA and its policies, and makes an effort to raise awareness this Disability Pride month!
On Open Air’s series, This Crip Life, Priya Ray was joined by Vicki Young, a disabled law student to discuss and deep dive into the ADA. Ray began by defining it. She stated “the ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government programs and services.”
Young went on to explain that there are 4 titles within the ADA. Title one is employment, title two is State and Local Governments, title three is Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities, and title four is Telecommunication. Young stated that according to title one, employers cannot discriminate against a qualified disabled individual. She emphasized the word qualified, making it understood that if one lacks the merit or qualifications needed for a position, they are not guaranteed or entitled to such a position. Ray chimed in to point out that the ADA is in place to give disabled people equal rights, not an advantage.
Young mentioned that the ADA gives small businesses and religious institutions a pass on upholding these policies whilst encouraging these groups to do their best at providing equal treatment to disabled individuals. The two went on to discuss accessible housing, religious facilities and more regarding the policies of the ADA.
For more on this ADA conversation, check out this week’s episode of Open Air.
Additionally, local community sponsors are helping Asheville celebrate Disability Pride this July. Checkout diyabled.com for more on the events taking place throughout Asheville.
Written by Jordan Lenoir
Braver Angels invites anyone and everyone to join them to help depolarize politics in America by bringing any political view to the table! This national cross-partisan, non-profit organization invites members red, blue and others to converse through shared and separated values and concerns to build more trust in politics.
On the Asheville FM Newshour, KP Whaley interviewed Tod Lester about his organization that is dedicated to bringing the citizens of America together from all political views.
Braver Angels recently conducted a survey regarding elections and how they can become more trustworthy for voters. Last year, Braver Angels held a convention that gathered 700 people where they collectively questioned, “what’s an issue that congress needs some help with or what are they not doing that we can do?” Lester revealed that following this questioning was “a series of 26 workshops, 194 evenly balanced red leaning and blue leaning participants, 747 points of unanimous agreements, they came up with 23 solutions on how to ensure that our elections are more trustworthy.” Lester shares that Braver Angels is holding an event on July 25th at Skyland United Methodist church in south Asheville at 6:30 to go through this report with all opposing political viewpoints and discuss the 23 solutions of trustworthy elections.
Braver Angels, which was established in 2016, is working hard to rebuild trust in American politics and they do this through workshops, skill building, surveys, parliamentary style debates, and inviting politicians to town halls. Lester shares that “we are focused on this toxic political polarization thinking there has to be a better way.”
Braver Angels’ main goal of their mission is to be able to bring all different political standing citizens together to come to reasonable compromises and agreements on what they collectively want to see change in politics. Lester speaks lightly on how politics tends to divide people/communities and how more recent divisions of sides have been difficult in America. Lester expresses that it is harder to build trust when people are discorded and reacting anonymously. He explains, “as long as people stay separate, they are going to think separately.”
For more about Braver Angels, visit https://braverangels.org/
This week, we’re sharing a presentation from the 2023 Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in so-called Asheville, NC. From the presentation:
The Mediterranean Sea is Europe’s deadliest border. For years, non-state actors like Sea-Watch and other NGO’s have played a part in humanitarian search-and-rescue operations. In spite of legal repression and the technical challenges of maintaining a “civil fleet”, anarchists, anti-fascists, and other activists try to stop needless death at sea.
Hear a report back from a wayward American yacht-punk who spent the summer doing rotations on two different SAR (Search And Rescue) ships. We’ll discuss the general political situation, the reality of everyday operations and how you could get involved.
To hear this full episode, you can find it at our website. For more audios from ACABookfair 2023, check out the site. To hear a 2023 interview we conducted with an activist with Maldusa on a similar topic, you can find it at our website.
We also have this 2016 interview by A-Radio Berlin that we aired in 2016 about conditions a No Border Camp in Greece. And here’s one we conducted with an immigrant from Africa and a supporter in Germany in 2016.