homeless

"We need to be covering the left as much as we cover, with anxiety, the right," notes Nation contributor and Princeton professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell. The lack of coverage of progressive movements, protests, and actions in the face of a loud, angry, and well-funded right wing can be disheartening, but we know they are out there, and in some cases fighting hard to keep a Tea Party backed Republican party from taking back seats in Congress during the midterms. Melissa joins us in studio to discuss the upcoming elections, the media message, and what progressives can do to fight back. "We have to build that independent left. It has to be so strong and so radical and so militant and so powerful that it becomes irresistible." Who better to say such a thing than Naomi Klein, Nation columnist, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo, and longtime rabblerouser? Naomi makes a special visit to the GRITtv studio to talk about the recent G20 meetings in her hometown of Toronto, about Obama's recent return to a kind of populism, the looming midterm elections in the U.S., her reporting on the BP disaster in the Gulf, and what we can do to channel the growing rage in this country and in the world into a true progressive movement. Naomi Klein noted as well, "We don't have the ability to make the economically disposed-of people visible." Indeed, all over the country people are struggling just to survive in the current economic climate. Invisible People is a project aimed at doing just what Klein asked--making those people visible again. In this clip, they bring us the story of Jean and her kids.

Fenced Out documents the fight for the Christopher St. pier, a long-established hangout and safe haven for New York City's youth of color and low-income, homeless, LGBTQ, questioning and two-spirited youth. In the summer of 2000, development for a state park began "fencing out" the kids, with support from residents of nearby waterfront properties. "You are lowering the property value," notes one police officer bluntly. The video examines the clash between the groups that claim ownership of the pier, who feel it is the only place where they belong. The documentary includes interviews with "pierets" about how important the pier is in their lives, and with LGBTQ activists about the history of the piers and their connection to the gay liberation movement of the 60's. It explores how the struggle to save the pier connects to a larger historical and social movement, and develops a plan of action to save them. Produced by Paper Tiger Television in collaboration with New Neutral Zone and FIERCE.

"In order to respond, alas, we have to understand, and that means going through the looking glass." So wrote Richard Kim of the tea party movement's latest bogeyman--the Cloward-Piven strategy, which demagogues like Glenn Beck proclaim is the strategy for destroying America and putting in place totalitarian socialism. It sounds ridiculous, Richard notes, and that's precisely why it has such power. He joins us in studio to explain where this grand conspiracy theory came from, and how it plays into larger threads within the rise of the organized, angry right under the Obama administration. Max Rameau is a longtime activist for land rights and housing, and with mortgages, foreclosures, gentrification, and construction playing such a huge role in New York's response to the economic crisis, who better to take us on a walk around the Lower East Side? On a recent visit to the city from his hometown of Miami, the founder of "Take Back the Land" joined Laura, and organizer JoAnn Lum of the "National Mobilization Against Sweatshops" and "Beyond Ground Zero," and talked about housing issues across the country. Since the earthquake in Haiti in January, we've been bringing you updates from the Cine Institute, a remarkable organization that has helped Haitians tell their own story of recovery and rebuilding. In this segment, we see the story of one young volunteer who spends her days helping her neighbors, providing care, and lifting spirits. Finally, what does trust mean when it comes to politics anyway? Laura has some thoughts.

This past weekend, "The Women in the World" conference played host to Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Valerie Jarrett, and activists from all over the world, as well as director Julie Taymor and actresses including the legendary Meryl Streep. So why wasn't this bigger news? Is the media STILL sexist? Jane Spencer, managing editor of the Daily Beast, joins us to discuss. As part of our new format here at GRITtv, we plan to bring you more field reports. To kick that off, our own Sam Alcoff went to Lakewood, New Jersey to visit a homeless encampment in the woods. Last year, the National Alliance to End Homelessness warned that one and a half million people would be added to the nation's already sizable homeless population by the end of 2010. These are just a few of their stories. Frances Moore Lapp is the author of the revolutionary book Diet for a Small Planet, the co-founder of three national organizations focused on democracy, hunger, poverty and environmental issues, and a frequent Twitterer, too. Her newest book, Getting a Grip 2, came out of a realization, she says, that we already know what the solutions to our problems are. So why don't we already have them under control? She joins Laura in studio to discuss.