russelleliotdale@gmail.com

I am a 48-year old educator running for the board with the Justice & Unity Campaign (www.justiceunity.org). Recently I was beaten by the police. To cover themselves, they issued me a “Disorderly Conduct” summons. In court were a hundred other people who, I imagined, suffered similar criminal mistreatment. Shockingly to me, I was the only white person in that room, besides court officials and police. I thought, “Every white person should see this to understand what the non-white communities go through.”

Most of the people seemed just like my Bronx neighbors.

The City knows working-class people cannot afford days off from work. If you plead “Not Guilty,” you must take another day off to return to court, so most plead “Guilty” and pay the fine. It is a shakedown scam. It also builds police records.

Sitting in court, I realized anew why WBAI is so important: it is “the voice of the voiceless” and the only forum where workers like those I sat with can speak freely.

I decided to run for the LSB to keep WBAI engaged in this crucial mission. I am a philosophy professor, music teacher, engineer, and activist. I ran an Internet company for which I helped raise over $3 million. I bring to the service of WBAI a practical business experience grounded in social consciousness.

Sadly, WBAI and Pacifica are threatened by something like a hostile corporate takeover. Pacifica’s Interim Executive Director has put people in power who threaten to restrict access for the struggling communities WBAI has always represented. A gag rule has been enforced – selectively – and a number of staff have been unjustly fired and banned.

Using the excuse of financial problems at WBAI, the “new management” is moving away from programming about local struggles for justice and economic fairness. They are turning away from working-class African-American, Latino, Caribbean, indigenous, incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, and other disenfranchised communities. They are planning programming that will appeal to listeners with more money. In a word, they are turning their backs on Pacifica’s real mission.

The current LSB majority, and some candidates, support the “new management.” Some call themselves “progressives,” even “radicals.” But true progress lies in the ability of struggling communities to organize. WBAI was helping such communities before the recent coup. We must fight to put WBAI and the Pacifica Network back on track.

Everyone on the diverse Justice and Unity slate is committed to this vision, and I am very proud to run for the LSB with them:

1. Lynne Stewart

2. Nia Bediako

3. Russell Dale

4. Sister Betty Dopson

5. Wellington Echegaray

6. Nana Camille Yarbrough

7. Myriam Decime

8. John Brinkley

9. Berta Silva

10. Sharonne Salaam

11. Carlos Canales

12. Terrence Podolsky