A Glimpse at the Legendary Dr. Mahmoud El-Kati — Mini-Doc
Dr. Mahmoud El-Kati, the deeply revered Black scholarly giant in Minnesota, is the central figure of UR's latest mini-documentary.
Tag: human rights
🦄 Borders & Migration
Reports of Uprising at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
UPDATE: Stephanie Hartman, the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s communications director, repeated her department’s pattern of blanket denials in a statement reported by The Guardian on August 28: “these reports are manufactured. There is no uprising happening at Alligator Alcatraz. Detainees are given clean, safe…
Palestine Protests Target Philly-Based ‘Genocide Profiteer’ Day & Zimmermann
Philadelphia, PA — “Before long the entire city will know what this company does!” These were some of the last words spoken Tuesday morning by a protester with a megaphone and a kaffiyeh scarf after a few dozen people had gathered for two hours outside…
🦄 Eco
Indigenous Human Rights Hearing in DC Scrutinizes Uranium Industry
Washington, D.C. — Members of multiple Indigenous tribes testified on February 28, 2024 during a thematic hearing on the impacts of uranium exploitation on the human rights of Indigenous peoples in the United States. The hearing was held by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights…
🦄 Community, Land & Housing
‘Ya’ll Just Voted to Kill People!’: Denver City Council Upholds Mayor’s ‘No Freezing Sweeps’ Veto
Denver, CO — On the afternoon of February 12, the Denver City Council again voted on the “No Freezing Sweeps” bill in their chambers, but this time the vote was to potentially override Mayor Mike Johnston’s veto of the Council’s passage of the bill. When…
🦄 Borders & Migration
Thousands of Asylum Seekers Stranded Along Border Wall Near Sasabe, Arizona
Aid workers say Border Patrol is intentionally neglecting its humanitarian duties to asylum seekers arriving in the harsh Arizona desert.
Cambodian Union Leader Chhim Sithar to Remain in Prison After Court Rejects Appeal
The ninth of November was a momentous occasion for millions of people in Cambodia as they celebrated their nation’s independence from France. Crowds gathered in celebration at the gates of the Royal Palace, many to catch a glimpse of King Sihamoni, and the new Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Cultural Conferences Return to Brazil Without Fear of Repression
Cultural conferences have returned to Brazil without fear of repression and many organizers across the country are celebrating. The victory of current President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva over Jair Messias Bolsonaro in the last presidential elections marked the end of a turbulent period in…
Mass Protest in The Hague Calls Out Israeli War Crimes
The Hague, Netherlands — A massive pro-Palestinian demonstration marched around the center of The Hague this Sunday, where organizers and protesters were calling for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, for the Dutch government to cut ties with Israel, and for the International…
![[Cover Photo] sourced via Creative Commons.](https://unicornriot.ninja/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Untitled-1.png)
Uganda’s Death Sentence on its LGBTI+ Communities
For the first time since 2005, a man may be sentenced to death in Uganda. Uganda has recently joined eleven other nations that retain the death penalty for same-sex relations. Despite some marked progress in Africa around its treatment of LGBTQ+ people over the past few decades, this is a staggering setback.
🦄 Prison
‘I Can’t Take This Shit No More’: Alabama Prisoner Takes a Stand
Content Warning: The following article contains graphic descriptions of violence and photographs showing blood.
Bessemer, Alabama — At around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, August 13, Derrol Shaw took an opportunity to get free. Sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for murders he…
🦄 Police, Prison, Racism & Far-Right
‘Don’t Forget Us’: Forest Defenders Confront Horrors of Life in DeKalb County Jail
Monica had been locked up in Dekalb County Jail for five days when guards entered her pod and called out her name. She was being released.
Like always, the other women in the pod started clapping and cheering, happy to see anyone freed. Monica got…
🦄 Global, Racism & Far-Right
Elder Woman Released After 27 Years of Slave-like Servitude in Brazil
One hundred thirty-four years after slavery officially ended in Brazil, a mixture of feelings ranging from revolt, insecurity, pain, hatred and disgust rose among the residents of Ribeirão-Pretanos when they learned of an 82-year-old woman being rescued after 27 years in servitude.
A Quiet Retreat: Hundreds of Shipping Containers Hauled to AZ State Prison as Protests Halt Border Wall
Southern Arizona – Starting Tuesday, along I-10 in Southern Arizona, observant commuters may have noticed a peculiar uptick in the interstate’s westbound traffic — dozens, maybe even hundreds, of empty shipping containers were hauled one-by-one down the highway.
From unincorporated land in Cochise County to…
🦄 Prison
Alabama Prison Strike on Hold After 3 Weeks
Alabama – Prisoners in Alabama announced on Oct. 14 that they had paused their historic three-week work stoppage. The strike, which started Sept. 26, involved thousands of prisoners throughout the state, causing the breakdown of normal operations at most major male prisons this month.
According…
Protesters Converge on State Capitol in Solidarity with Alabama Prison Strike
Montgomery, AL – On the 19th day of the statewide prisoner work strike on Friday, about 100 people gathered in front of the Alabama State Capitol Building in support of the thousands of prisoners currently striking.
On Oct. 7, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC)…
🦄 Prison
BOP Blames Bird for Eric King’s Property Destruction During Federal Trial
Denver, CO – During the federal trial against political prisoner Eric King, there have been multiple disruptive incidents affecting the defendant at the Englewood prison where he is being held. King, his legal team, and supporters are concerned that these seem like consistent retaliatory actions…
🦄 Investigative, Police
Denver Police Cash In on Houseless Encampment Clean-Ups
Denver, CO – For nearly eight years Denver police officers, public works employees, park rangers, and occasionally inmates have been carrying out and enforcing the Unauthorized Camping Ordinance (camping ban) signed into law by Mayor Michael Hancock during his first term in 2012. When investigating…
🦄 Social Control
Immigrant Rights Advocates Rally in Response to Rotten Food Given to Detainees
Aurora, CO – Two days into the New Year, Jeanette Vizguerra received a distraught phone call from Dennis Hernández who is a detainee inside the GEO Group’s ICE detention facility in Aurora. Hernández told Vizguerra that he among other detainees had received rotten food two…
🦄 Social Control
Advocates Demand Denver Protect Rights of People Without Homes
Denver, CO – In the afternoon of October 21, 2019, local advocacy group Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL), along with other social justice and human rights groups, held a rally outside City Hall to continue to demand that the city government take action in support…
🦄 Social Control
Far-Right Stirs Violence Against Anti-Trump Protests
Minneapolis, MN – An upcoming Trump rally announced for Thursday, October 10 at the downtown Target Center in Minneapolis has local left-leaning groups organizing counter-protests while national right-wing groups conflate their plans with false claims of terrorism. Plans to hold the GOP political rally in…
The Price to Oversee ICE: 200+ Protesters March in Aurora Suburb Home to GEO Group ICE Warden
Aurora, CO – On September 19, 2019, as the sun set over the suburban home of Johnny Choate, CEO and warden of the GEO Group’s local ICE detention facility, more than two hundred community members gathered with signs, banners, and musical instruments to condemn the…
Passions Run High at ‘Close the Concentration Camps’ Protest
Aurora, CO – On Friday, July 12, 2019, more than 1,500 people participated in a protest outside the sole Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in the state, owned and operated by the private prison corporation GEO Group.
The protesters were expressing their opposition…
Hundreds in CO Plan Rally to ‘Close the Concentration Camps’
Aurora, CO – As part of an international call to action by multiple coalitions of social justice and human rights groups, a vigil and march is planned for Friday, June 12, outside the GEO Group’s ICE Detention facility in Aurora.
Watch our live coverage below:…
🦄 Community
CO Community Gathers Outside GEO ICE Facility on Longest Day of Year
Aurora, CO – Friday marks the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. Often the solstice is an especially dangerous day for those who are walking through the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border in search of relief in the United States. Community…
🦄 Social Control
Denver’s ‘Right to Survive’ Ballot Initiative Voted Down
Denver, CO – The contentious ballot initiative 300, or Right to Survive, was voted down in Tuesday’s municipal elections with 81% of votes being against the ballot question. The initiative would have effectively repealed the Unauthorized Camping Ordinance (camping ban) passed in 2012, which criminalizes…
🦄 Social Control
“Unhealthy By Design:” CU Denver’s New Report About Camping Ban
Denver, CO – In less than a month, Denver residents will get to vote on an unprecedented ballot initiative in the United States, which would effectively make it illegal to criminalize people who are without housing. To substantiate I-300, also known as the Right to…
🦄 Investigative
Denver Paid Clean-Up Company $400,000 to Help in Houseless Sweeps
Denver, CO – For at least two years, the city of Denver has been contracting Custom Environmental Services, Inc. (CES) to assist in clearing out camps of people without housing. Unicorn Riot filed Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests and received about 50 invoices sent…
🦄 Community, Social Control
Fourth Push for Homeless Bill of Rights in Colorado Legislature
UPDATE: After seven hours of testimony including over 100 people testifying in favor of the Homeless Bill of Rights and about five testifying against, the bill was voted down for the fourth year in a row with a vote of 10-3.
Denver, CO – For…
🦄 Community
Denver’s First Tiny Home Village ‘Beloved Community Village’ Turns Six Months Old
Denver, CO – On July 21, 2017, after four years of fundraising, community building, and meetings with politicians and city workers to change city codes, sixteen formerly unhoused Denver residents moved into Denver’s first tiny home village called Beloved Community Village.
However, the village was…