Twin Cities U.S. Social Forum

MN Break the Bonds Day on the Hill 3.30.11

2011-03-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

It's here. Spread the word!

REGISTER for the MN BBC Day on the Hill by providing your name, address
and/or district, and any contact information you wish to
rsvp@breakthebonds.org or 612.354.2960.

See below for links to facebook & Twitter, and for information about how to
volunteer and/or donate!

Invite your friends on facebook! http://on.fb.me/g3Zevm
Follow MN BBC on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/eZlKEk
Volunteer! E-mail mn@breakthebonds.org to express interest.
There are many tasks to be done in the next few weeks, and on the actual day
of the event, so please tell us about any time, talents, or treasure you
have to give!

Donate! to help cover the costs of the event. Find the Paypal link on our
website by scrolling half-way down the home page:
http://mn.breakthebonds.org.

The Vortex: The Concentrated Racial Impact of Drug Imprisonment and the Characteristics ofPunitive Counties

2007-12-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

Justice Policy Institute has issued a report on racial disparities for drug offenses (Dec. 2007).

My Way News - FBI Reviewing Anti-Jena 6 Web Page

2007-09-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Building the Freedom School

2007-09-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

From Becca Reily, Augsburg Student and TCUSSF member:

BUILDING THE FREEDOM SCHOOL

To make a space for tolerant, uncriticizing political exploration, to open up to totally new ideas and concerns that would not be heard in anun-egalitarian setting, to connect people to resources and events that could help them act towards their political ideal, to energize and appreciate everyone who hopes that their ideals are just several possible steps away, and to help and inspire everyone without that hope,
Coalition for Student Activism (CSA) will host at least one large, open, egalitarian discussion on the Augsburg
campus.

This is partly modeled after the US social Forum, which had no agenda but a schedule with time slots. The 10,000+ people who came, brought their own activist agendas to fill the time slots of those 5 days, in which they found their own space in Atlanta and their own workshop resources. (http://ussf2007.org)

But CSA will reserve a space at Augsburg, fill it with tables and refreshments, and post a few rules for discussion at the tables, and bring moderation to the discussion after 45 minutes or so of unmoderated mingling. (More than mingling,
surely!) CSA also encourages radical self-expression here.

The loose focus of the first discussion is very relevant to both college and lifelong learners: What would the ideal school or college be like? How can individuals, schools, and society move towards that?

If this interests you at all, please come envision the new Freedom School with us!
If you are part of anything that's already moving toward your ideal school, feel
free to bring publicity materials to the Resource Table at the discussion! Bring
your whole group, if you have one, and all your friends! But, whether coming
alone or with others, please be ready to meet and sit with strangers, who may be
very different from you, but are all coming to our tables in peace.
Below you will find the rules that CSA and other organizers are working on, to
ensure peaceful talking circles. Anyone interested can help organize this. We
welcome your input on the rules before the big meeting we're hosting-- so you
can revise them with us-- but we hope that everyone who comes can abide by the
rules in their latest revision.
We look forward to hearing your views on freedom, peace, and the ideal School!

Rules so far:
Start discussion yourself
Be inclusive, open to other's points
Question points, don't attack people or push them into idealogical categories
Respectfully answer or decline others' questions
Make sure everyone at your table gets to speak

Local Artist/Activist Potluck

2007-09-09T15:46:00.001-07:00

LOCAL ARTIST/ACTIVIST POTLUCK
Saturday Sept. 22nd 5:30pm-9:30pm
Kuftinec/Arsham home 3426 Grand Ave. S. Minneaoplis (612-870-4736)
(Come anytime. Please bring food/beverage if you can.)

Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (www.ptoweb.org) will be having a board retreat in Minneapolis Sept. 21-23rd. The Board will be discussing, in part, the possibility of relocating the organization to the Twin Cities. PTO would like local input and to meet with area activists and artists focused on social justice. This is an open invitation to bring a dish and/or beverage to the home of Sonja Kuftinec and Andy Arsham to meet with board members and with each other. The evening will include some low-impact relation-building activities / documents such as a networking map, but mostly time to meet with the board and others focused on social justice arts and education, and share your thoughts and ideas informally. Those who will be honoring Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, are welcome to break fast with us after sunset.

Please bring flyers and information about organizations and upcoming events and spread the word to others you think might be interested.

Potluck for anti-racist white folks

2007-09-05T12:49:00.001-07:00

hello friends,

potluck dinner - mon. . sept 10 - 6 -8 pm - PROMPT
home of lisa albrecht and pat rouse
4721 14 ave. s., mpls.
home phone - 612 824 6261
meeting faciliated by Emily Lindell & Lisa Albrecht

in conjunction with the twin cities USSF group, a group of white
antiracist activists/organizers are meeting to discuss how best to work
for racial justice while being accountable to people of color and each
other.

this is an open potluck, however, our goal is to engage seriously and
constructively with each other about our work with our white brothers and
sisters and with communities of color. please join us if you are interested
in: **building our local capacity to resist racism/white supremacy and
**increasing our effectiveness as allies and organizers in movements to
transform the twin cities and the world.

Please bring a dish to share and RSVP to lisa - lalbrech@umn.edu.

Lisa Albrecht, Ph.D.
Morse-Minnesota Alumni Association Distinguished Professor of Teaching
School of Social Work
193 Peters Hall
St. Paul, MN. 55108
612 624 3669

Social Justice Minor - http://ssw.che.umn.edu/Programs/socialjustice.html

Book reveals Bush's bouts of crying, ghostly visions

2007-09-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

Book reveals Bush's bouts of crying, ghostly visions

Local Food Access Tues.

2007-09-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

Common Roots Cafe is teaming up with IATP to host a series of Local Food Access Discussions. Along with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy we will address some concerns within our diverse communities, including:

The lack of EBT/WIC at farmers markets (only one in the state of MN-Midtown Farmers Market on Lake St), how to increase awareness and participation from communities of color, and communities not traditionally at the table on food issues, what do we want/need more of in our community and of course- increase awareness of local food system in regards to health/wellness.

Community activists, community or organization leaders, those working with food and health issues, and people directly related to food accessibility issues are invited to join in the discussion. There is no long-term commitment to this group, but we hope that we can start a public dialogue that will influence positive changes in our community.

We are scheduled to hold our first meeting Tuesday, September 4th at 4pm at Common Roots Cafe.

You do not need to prepare anything, just show up! We'll be discussing your observations, concerns, and hopes for food access and local foods in relation to your community. A few appetizers will be available. Please forward this to people you know who may be interested, but RSVP so we can look for you!

Together we can strengthen our communities and implement a healthier food system.
We hope to see you on Tuesday!

Monique Askew, Common Roots Café

Carla Kaiser, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

If you have questions or ideas, you can reach Monique Askew at monique@commonrootscafe.com (612-871-2360), or Carla Kaiser at ckaiser@iatp.org (612-870-3432)

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Please support UM workers strike -- events Weds & Thurs!

2007-08-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Sisters and Brothers:

I am glad to have reconnected with some of you and to have met some of you for the first time. There are others of you, obviously, whom I look forward to meeting. I wanted to encourage you to get involved in solidarity work on behalf of the University of Minnesota workers who are on the verge of an historic strike. For the first time, all four AFSCME locals are standing strong together. They are demanding wage and benefit increases that would enable them to maintain their standard of living,in the face of University management offers of a 2.5% increase. These workers, more than three quarters of whom are women, have been falling behind the cost of living, on the one hand, and well behind the compensation provided for administrators and faculty, on the other, despite their unionized status, since the early 1990s. They could well be poster children for the impact of neoliberalism, yet they are standing up now as poster children of the resistance to neoliberalism.

This struggle is an important opportunity for all of us to say NO! to further cuts in higher education, NO! to the corporatization and privatization of higher education, NO! to the protection of privilege which has shaped institutions like the University of Minnesota (and my own Macalester College) for far too long. It is important for a broad-based movement to cohere around these workers who are prepared to strike. Please come to this rally, come to the solidarity committee meetings on Saturday mornings (which are very action-oriented), and hit the uworkers website for more info. Thanks.

Love and Solidarity,
Peter Rachleff

Countdown to Strike

SUPPORT U of M WORKERS BANNERING IN SOLIDARITY!

Wednesday August 29, 2007 4:30–6 pm

Washington Ave. & Union St.
University of Minnesota, East Bank Campus, Minneapolis

Four AFSCME Locals (3260, 3800, 3801, 3937) representing 3,500 campus workers in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Crookston and Duluth voted last Thursday to authorize a strike. Come to the Wednesday, August 29 bannering to show campus and community solidarity with the AFSCME workers and to call on the University administration to offer them a fair contract.

Initiated by the U of M Strike Support Committee www.uworkers.org (612) 234-8774

Join us on Saturdays at 10 am at Strike Support Headquarters in the University Baptist Church,1219 University Avenue SE

PLEASE ALSO ATTEND:
Solidarity Rally will be held at Noon on Thursday, August 30, 2007 on the front steps of Morrill Hall on the U of M East Bank Campus.

Court of Women website is up

2007-08-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to let you know that the Court of Women website is up and
the web address is http://courtofwomen.bravehost.com

We also have a Court of Women email address courtofwomen@gmail.com

The website will be maintained and we intend to add subsequent testimonies and other documents as they come in. We will be adding links to other websites such as the ACLU Women's Rights Project testimonies on the incarcerated girls in Texas prisons and more on Jessica Lenahan [Gonzales].

We will be linking to the "Feminism: Gender, Race and Class workshop without walls" that was organized by Theresa El Amin at the USSF and also the Women's Working Group website when they are both up.

If you have ideas of other links that you think the Court of Women should have please let me know. (Also, if you notice any mistakes please let me know as well. The texts have been proofread several times but mistakes seem to have resilience.)

There were no written testimonies furnished for the Gulf Coast Crisis session so we are impeded here but I have some to add that were sent to me recently from people who did not testify at the Court but which are still important to document on the website. I am expecting Loretta's Concluding Statement soon and will add that as soon as I receive it. You may notice that there are no written statements from Margaret on the Criminal [In]Justice System session so we will have a gap here. We are continuing to work on the site and if you have any questions or comments please let me know either at courtofwomen@gmail.com

We are also continuing work on the Court of Women documentary video and will let you know when this is ready, but that will be a while yet.

Pat

World March of Women USA

2007-08-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hello World March of Women USA,

We are starting to organize the World March of Women in the U.S. This email list comes from the World March of Women workshops at the USSF on "Change Women's Lives, Change the World", and the Women's Introduction to the USSF. If you do not want to be on this list please let me know and I will remove you.

Being connected to the World March of Women connects us to women in 163 countries and over 5000 other feminist organizations and individuals around the world. This is a connection we sorely need in the U.S. as we must be in solidarity with our sisters around the world if we are to change the world for the betterment of all of us, but especially women.

One of the first things we need to think about is what will our WMW-USA action for 2010 be. While this is a good way off still, we need to think about it so that we can begin planning. We are spread across the U.S. and so we have to consider how we will do this and what. Nkenge Toure has made two suggestions which are a Court of Women and efforts directed toward the ratification of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). She also suggested that we could combine these efforts, that is have the Court sessions directed toward the discriminations the treaty addresses. The action[s] need to take place between March and October 2010 so we have a good six month period for either multiple actions on the part of the entire WMW-USA (depending on our energy) and/or individual organizations affiliated with the March, which all of your organizations should be as well as individuals and you can do this at http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org/membres/devenez_membre/cmicarticle.2005-12-16.3499609806/en
or go to http://www.worldmarchofwomen.org/index_html/en?set_language=en and scroll down on the left to Become a Member.

We also need to create a WMW-USA Coordinating Body. We will be deciding on what this body will do and this will become evident as we proceed with creating our WMW presence in the U.S. Those of you who would like to be part of this in some way please email me and we can start the processes. A great deal of interest in the March was expressed during the workshop and there are many different levels of participation, so you and your organizations can engage as you see fit. Your ideas and activism are what will make the March in the U.S. a vital part of the World March of Women.

We have an email address which is WMW.USA@gmail.com (caps not necessary). This will soon be posted on the WMW website.

Pat Willis

Navy Divers Describe Dangers at Bridge - washingtonpost.com

2007-08-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Navy Divers Describe Dangers at Bridge - washingtonpost.com

Minneapolis Police Department:Blacks need not apply, by Ron Edwards

2007-08-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

Private contractors nearly outnumber soldiers in Iraq War

2007-08-21T05:02:00.000-07:00

Washington Post: Private military contractors a US 'crutch' in Iraq

Padilla conviction bad omen for justice in America

2007-08-20T13:07:00.001-07:00

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18208.htm.

Convicting Padilla: Bad News for All Americans

By Dave Lindorff

08/18/07 "ICH" -- - With habeas corpus a thing of the past, with arrest and detention without charge permitted, with torture and spying without court oversight all the rage, with prosecutors free to tape conversations between lawyers and their clients, and with the judicial branch now infested by rightwing judges who would have been at home in courtrooms of the Soviet Union or Hitler's Germany, for all they seem to care about common law tradition, the only real thing holding the line against absolute tyranny in the U.S. has been the jury.

Now, with Jose Padilla--a US citizen who was originally picked up and held incommunicado on a military base for three and a half years, publicly accused (though never charged) with planning to construct and detonate a so-called "dirty" nuclear device (this a guy without a high school education!), all based upon hearsay, evidence elicited by torture, and a few overheard wiretapped conversations where prosecutors claimed words like "zucchini" were code for explosive devices-convicted on a charge of "planning to murder," we see that juries in this era of a bogus "war on terror" are ready to believe anything.

That last line of defense-the common sense or ordinary citizens in a jury box-is gone too.

The jury in this case apparently accepted the government's contention that Padilla was a member of Al Qaeda, and had returned from a trip to Pakistan full of plans to wreak mayhem on his own country. They cared not a whit for the fact that the government had used methods against Padilla (three years of isolation and total sensory deprivation that had driven him insane) which would have made medieval torturers green with envy. They cared not a whit that there was no real evidence against Padilla.

This was, in the end, a case that most closely resembled the famous Saturday Night Live skit in which witches were dunked underwater to "prove" whether they were in fact witches, and where if they drowned, they were found to be innocent. In the end, Padilla's jury simply bought the government's wild and wild-eyed story. They decided he hadn't drowned, so he must be guilty.

Padilla can now expect to spend what's left of his life in prison. Since the government has already driven him insane, he will have the added burden of being mentally unbalanced from the outset of his incarceration. His survival prospects are not good.

The president promptly thanked the jury for their "good judgment."

We can no doubt expect many more Padillas now that the way has been paved for this kind of totalitarian approach to law enforcement.

Beginning today, we can expect the government to begin arresting people on an array of trumped-up charges, locking them away in black sites, on military bases, or maybe even overseas, subjecting them to all manner of torture, and then finally bringing them to trial on trumped-up charges. We can also expect juries, made fearful by breathless warnings that "evil ones" mean us and our nation harm, to buy the government's stories.

Who is at risk? That's hard to say, but it's clear that it won't just be hardened terrorist types. A presidential executive order signed by Bush on July 17 declares that anything that "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction (sic) and political reform (sic) in Iraq" could be deemed a crime making the perpetrator subject to arrest. Would writing essays critical of the president, the war in Iraq, or the "reconstruction" effort in Iraq meet that standard? Who knows? Would being interviewed for commentary as part of a news story on English-language Al Jezeera TV (which Bush and Cheney have declared to be supportive of the Iraqi insurgency, and which Bush reportedly at one point considered bombing!)?

And how about anti-war protesters? We already have Washington, DC, under pressure from Homeland Security, threatening the organization World Can't Wait with multiple $10,000 fines for posting flyers around the city announcing an anti-war march and rally on September 15. If they go ahead with the protest, will they be joining Padilla?

I have little doubt that this administration would love to lock up journalistic critics and protesters in military brigs, so the question is: how would juries respond to charges that American journalists and protesters against the war were treacherously undermining the Bush war effort?

I used to be confident that most juries would laugh such cases out of court. After the Padilla decision, I'm not so sure.

You want to think that your fellow citizens have at least some measure of common sense, but this case suggests otherwise--that they are easily frightened, gullible, and willing to believe the most fantastic claims of the government.

The future does not look good for freedom in America.

Dave Lindorff's newest book is "The Case for Impeachment", co-authored by Barbara Olshansky.

Mpls to Host 2008 National Conference for Media Reform

2007-08-20T10:01:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
AUGUST 17, 2007
9:51 AM

CONTACT: Free Press
Jen Howard, press@freepress.net, (202) 265-1490, x22

Minneapolis to Host 2008 National Conference for Media Reform
June 6-8 Event to Focus National Spotlight on Media Reform Movement

WASHINGTON - AUGUST 17 - Free Press, the national, nonpartisan media reform
group, today announced that the fourth National Conference for Media Reform
will be held on June 6-8, 2008, in Minneapolis. Thousands of activists,
artists, policymakers, journalists and concerned citizens from all 50 states
are expected to attend the conference -- the only national event devoted
exclusively to reforming the media.

"Through the tremendous activism of millions of everyday citizens, media is
rapidly becoming an unavoidable political issue," said Robert W. McChesney,
president and co-founder of Free Press. "The National Conference for Media
Reform is about harnessing this expanding movement and going on offense to
create a better media system."

The National Conference for Media Reform will focus the national spotlight
on issues like media consolidation, public media, quality journalism and the
future of the Internet.

The Minneapolis event will build on the success of last year's conference in
Memphis, which was attended by nearly 3,500 media reformers who participated
in more than 100 interactive panels and workshops. They drew inspiration
from rousing speeches by headliners Bill Moyers, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jane
Fonda, Geena Davis and Danny Glover. Previous conferences were held in St.
Louis and Madison, Wis.

"People from all walks of life understand that fixing the problems of the
media is the first step toward progress on any issue we care about," said
Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press. "After years of fighting to
prevent a bad system from getting worse, this conference can focus on
pushing reforms that will create the kind of open and democratic media this
country needs."

For more information, visit www.freepress.net/conference.

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the
media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and
independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to
communications. Learn more at www.freepress.net

Black Power, Black Feminism: Call for Proposals

2007-08-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Call for Proposals
Tenth Annual Women’s History Month Conference
Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Friday–Saturday March 7-8, 2008

Black Power, Black Feminism: Black Women’s Activism and Development of Womanist/Feminist Consciousness in the Era Black Power.

Keynote Speaker: Chana Kai Lee, author of For Freedom's Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer

Traditionally scholarship on the Black Power era has characterized this time of renewed cultural and political nationalism and activism as an almost exclusively male domain.

This has begun to change. Not only have scholars uncovered a long tradition of black women’s activism before and during the Black Power era, but they have begun reevaluating the entire era as a result. Part and parcel with this period of activism has been the development of a Black feminist consciousness. If scholars have seen the seeds of this consciousness far earlier, the sixties and seventies were notable for organizing that recognized inextricable and complicated ties between categories of race class and gender.

This conference seeks to sustain and enhance new scholarship that redefines the era, bringing the work and effort of women to the center.

We invite scholars, artists, writers, and activists to submit proposals for papers, readings, workshops, and performances. Proposals for full panels are especially welcomed.

Topics may include but are not limited to:
Women’s local and national grassroots organizing
Women in the Black Arts Movement
Women and Nationalism
Women’s participation in Black Power organizations
Revolutionary Black Feminism
Coalition building amongst women of color
Legacies of Black feminist organizing: third wave and hip hop feminism

Please send a brief abstract and c.v./resume to:
Tara James
Women’s History Graduate Program
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, NY 10708
Phone: 914-395-2405 Fax: 914-395-2663
Email: tjames@mail.slc.edu
(email submissions are preferred)

Deadline: December 1, 2007

Submissions needed for new RJ Briefing Book

2007-08-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As many of you are aware, the Reproductive Justice Briefing Book has been an invaluable resource for activists and other allies. Thanks to the support of the Third Wave Foundation and Ms. Foundation for Women, we are accepting new submissions for inclusion in the newest online version to launch in the fall. You can access the current version at: http://www.sistersong.net/documents/RJBriefingBook.pdf

If you would like to contribute to this amazing resource, please forward a brief (300-500 word) essay about the particular issue you are focusing on (making sure that you connect it to reproductive justice). Please include resources such as books, organizations, websites, etc. that activists can refer to if they would like more information on your issue area.

Please forward your submissions to aimeet@protectchoice.org by September 15th.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

In solidarity,
Aimee
Aimee R. Thorne-Thomsen, MPA
Executive Director
Pro-Choice Public Education Project
PO Box 3952
New York, NY 10163
aimeet@protectchoic e.org
212-397-8769

He wasn't my king | | Guardian Unlimited Arts

2007-08-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Shreveport weather stormtracker KSLA News 12 ArkLaTex Ark-La-Tex Doppler Texarkana Bossier MarshallHomeland Security Enlists Clergy to Quell Public Un

2007-08-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

Homeland Security Enlists Clergy to Quell Public Unrest if Martial Law Ever Declared

From the National Planning Committee of the USSF 2007

2007-08-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Dear USSF 2007 Participant:

Thank you for making the United States Social Forum a huge success! It was thousands of people from all different communities that made possible the historic, first-ever US Social Forum, in Atlanta, GA!!

At least 12,000 of us registered for the Forum, and up to 15,000 participated throughout the five days. Over 1,000 organizations mobilized their constituents. We filled over 2,000 four-hour volunteer shifts. We held more than 1,000 plenaries, workshops and cultural events over the five days. We were joined with representatives from every single state as well as delegations from Guam, Puerto Rico and 64 other countries. We received some media coverage for all of our work. To see who covered the USSF, visit: http://ussf2007.org/news.

We marched, debated, strategized, volunteered, and now its time for each of us to take the Social Forum home! Please help us continue the Social Forum process:

Fill out an evaluation form online at:
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/add/content_evaluation
Organize or attend a social forum report-back in your community!
Help us collect pictures and video clips – they can be uploaded online at: http://media.ussf2007.org/
Submit a resolution or declaration for the People’s Movement Assembly by September 20, 2007 – See below!

With your help we showed the U.S. and the World that – “Another World is Possible. Another U.S. is Necessary!”

Many of us will be continuing the USSF spirit by participating in the World Social Forum's Day of Action on January 26, 2008. For more information on this, please visit: http://www.wsf2008.net/. Until then, the National Planning Committee plans for following up from the USSF include an evaluation meeting in September, where we will also be looking into ways in which folks who attended the USSF can remain
connected with each other after returning home. So much to look forward to!

Thanks to your efforts the first-ever US Social Forum was significant in its own right. By continuing to work together we can continue to make the connections and build power for our communities!

In solidarity,

National Planning Committee of the USSF 2007

USSF LOST AND FOUND PROCESS

As you can imagine, many things were lost during the entire 5 days of the USSF. Luckily, many of these items were turned in to some of the people who were working and volunteering for the USSF. For instructions on how to reclaim any item that you may have lost, please read and follow these instructions immediately:

1.Inquiries for lost items should be sent to ussf2007@gmail.com or by phone at 404-586-0460 ext. 11.
2.Postage of $4.50 in the form of check or money order, for item(s) to be returned should be made payable to: Project South/USSF and sent to the main office: US Social Forum, 92 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303. Please include correspondence that includes address/phone number where item(s) should be sent.
3.All items not retrieved by August 30, 2007 will be donated to The Task Force for the Homeless.

A list of Lost and Found items will be available on the USSF website ASAP! Please continue to check for it, www.ussf2007.org. THANKS!

The Peoples Movements Assembly Continues

During the last day of the first-ever US Social Forum, the Peoples Movements Assembly (PMA) was held. Because the US Social Forum as an “open space” does not take positions or formally endorse actions, the PMA is a process designed to gather the visions and initiations of different regions and sectors and to collectively examine new frameworks of social change in the United States at this critical stage. This initial convergence and integration of movements, networks, alliances and organizations begins to articulate what we want for our movements in the next 10 to 20 years.

Regional and sectoral assemblies met on Saturday, June 30 and reported back on July 1, 2007. Assemblies identified a person or persons to report back a summary (if agreement was reached). Some 45 organizational and movement resolutions and declarations were presented to the PMA plenary of approximately 4,500 participating USSF delegates. Particular attention by the assemblies was focused on the action days being called for by the World Social Forum process and the groups that work on it, as part of the proposed “week of action” to coincide with the World Economic Forum. The world wide day of action will be held on January 26, 2008.

Call for Resolutions/Declarations
All organizations registered and participating in the US Social Forum are invited to submit written resolutions, declarations and days of action for the Action Plan 2010 in a form established for this purpose on the website and included here.

Process
A working group of the National Planning Committee has been established to collect, organize, categorize and summarize the resolutions that come out of the PMA and that were turned in during the USSF in Atlanta. This working group will compile the final report of the resolutions and declarations of the PMA. The report will come out in the late fall of 2007.

Deadline time limit: September 20, 2007
Send resolutions and declarations to:
PMA@ussf2007.org c/o (Ruben Solis)

Note on the USSF
The USSF does not endorse, either officially or unofficially, any one position or statement, however, it does provide the space for and encourage the many different voices at the USSF to come together and develop something in common whether it be a position, statement, action, goal, alternative, campaign, and so on that will lead them to another world.

En Espanol:

Querid@ Participante en el FSEU:

¡Gracias por hacer que el Foro Social Estadounidénse sea un gran éxito!
¡¡Fueron miles de personas de todo tipo de comunidades diferentes que
hicieron posible el primer e histórico Foro Social EEUU en Atlanta,
Georgia!!

Por lo menos 12,000 de nosotros nos inscribimos en el Foro y hasta
15,000 participaron durante los cinco días. Mas de 1,000 organizaciones
movilizaron sus constituyentes. Llenamos mas de 2,000 turnos de
voluntarios de 4 horas. Celebramos mas de 1,000 plenarios, talleres y
actividades culturales a lo largo de los cinco días. Nos reunimos con
representantes de todo y cada estado al igual que delegaciones de Guam,
Puerto Rico, y 64 otros países. Recibimos cobertura por medio de la
prensa de todo nuestro trabajo. Vea quien reporto del FSEU, visitando
al: http://ussf2007.org/news.

¡Marchamos, debatimos, formamos estrategias, servimos de voluntari@s, y
ahora es la hora de que cada un@ de nosotr@s traigamos el Foro Social a
nuestros hogares! Por favor ayudenos a continuar el proceso del Foro
Social:

Rellene una evaluación en línea en:
https://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/add/content_evaluation
¡Organize o participe en un reporte del foro social en su comunidad!
Ayúdenos a recopilar fotos y extractos de video – puede
subirlas/cargarlas en linea en: http://media.ussf2007.org/
Mande un resolucion o declaracion para el Asamblea de Movimientos
Populares por el 20 de septiembre, 2007 – Vea abajo!

Con su ayuda mostramos a los EEUU y al Mundo que – “Otro Mundo es
Posible. ¡Otro EEUU es Necesario!”

Much@s de nosotr@s continuaremos con el espírituo del FSEU al participar
en el Día de Acción del Foro Social Mundial, el 26 de enero, 2008. Para
conseguir mas información sobre esto, por favor visite:
http://www.wsf2008.net/. Hasta entonces, el Comité Nacional de
Planificación tiene planes de seguimiento al FSEU que incluyen una
reunión de evaluación en Septiembre, donde tambien estaremos
investigando formas de mantener conectádas a las personas que
participaron en el FSEU despues de regresar a nuestros hogares. ¡Tantas
actividades emocionantes!

Gracias a sus esfuerzos, el primer Foro Social Estadounidénse fue
significativo en sí. ¡Al continuar trabajando juntos podemos contribuír
a crear las conexiones y crear poder para nuestras comunidades!

Con solidaridad,

Comité Nacional de Planficación del FSEU 2007

PROCESO DEL FSEU SOBRE OBJETOS PERDIDOS

Como se podría imaginar, muchas cosas se perdieron durante los 5 días
del FSEU. Por suerte, muchos de estos objetos fueron entregados a
algunas de las personas quienes estaban trabajando y sirviendo como
voluntarios del FSEU. Para conseguir instrucciones sobre como reclamar
cualquier pertenencia que haya perdido, por favor lea y siga las
siguientes instrucciones inmediatamente:

4.Preguntas sobre pertenencias perdidas se deben mandar a
ussf2007@gmail.com o por teléfono al 404-586-0460 ext. 11.
5.Se debe pagar $4.50 por cheque o giro postal escrito a nombre de
Project South/USSF y mandado a la oficina central: US Social Forum, 92
Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303, para pagar el envío de pertenencias
que se devuelvan. Por favor incluya correspondencia que incluya la
dirección/teléfono de donde se deberían mandar las pertenencias.
6.Cualquier pertenencia no recuperada para el 30 de agosto, 2007 será
donada a la organización de desamparados The Task Force for the Homeless.
¡Una lista de Objetos Perdidos estará disponsible en el sitio de
internet del FSEU lo mas pronto posible! Por favor continue fijandose
para ver cuando aparece, en , www.ussf2007.org. ¡Gracias!

Continua la Asamblea de Movimientos Populares

Durante el ultimo día del primer Foro Social EEUU, se celebró la
Asamblea de los Movimientos Populares (AMP). A causa de que el Foro
Social EEUU es un “espacio abierto,” no toma posiciones politicas ni
endosa accciones, la AMP está diseñada para juntar las visiones e
iniciativas de diversas regiones y sectores y para examinar
colectivamente nuevas estructuras del cambio social en los Estados
Unidos durante esta etapa tan clave. Esta inicial convergencia e
integración de movimientos, redes, alianzas y organizaciones comienza a
articular lo que queremos para nuestros movimientos en los próximos 10 a
20 años.

Se reunieron asambleas regionales y de sector el sábado 30 de junio y
dieron reporte sobre aquello el 1 de julio, 2007. Las asambleas
identificaron una persona o personas para reportar un resumen (si es que
se llego a un acuerdo). Se presentaron unas 45 resoluciones y
declaraciones por organizaciones y movimientos al plenario del AMP de
aproximadamente 4,500 delegados participantes en el FSEU. La asamblea
enfocó atención particular en los días de acción convocados por el
proceso del Foro Social Mundial y los grupos que trabajan como parte de
tal, como parte de la propuesta “semana de acción” que coincidirá con el
Foro Social Económico. El día mundial de acción se celebrará el 26 de
enero, 2008.

Convocatoria para la Presentación de Resoluciones/Declaraciones
Se invita a todas las organizaciones registradas y participantes en el
Foro Social EEUU a que sometan resoluciones escritas, declaraciones y
días de acción para el Plan de Acción 2010 en una manera establecida
para este propósito en el sitio de red e incluido aquí.

Proceso
Un grupo de trabajo del Comité Nacional de Planificación ha sido
establecido para recolectar, organizar y categorizar las resoluciones
que surgan de la AMP y que fueron entregadas durante el FSEU en Atlanta.
Este grupo de trabajo recopliará el reporte final sobre las
resoluciones y declaraciones de la AMP. El reporte se lanzará a fines
del otoño de 2007.

Fecha límite: 20 de septiembre, 2007
Mande resoluciones y declaraciones a
PMA@ussf2007.org (al cuidado de Ruben Solis)

Nota sobre el FSEU
El FSEU no endorsa, oficialmente o extraoficialmente, ninguna posición o
declaración, sin embargo si promovemos y proveemos el espacio para que
las muchas y diversas voces en el FSEU se unan y desarollen algo en
común, sea un posición, una declaración, una acción, una meta, una
alternativa, una campaña, etc que pueda impulsárlos hacia otro mundo.

--
Josué Guillén, Technology Manager
josue@thepraxisproject.org
The Praxis Project
1750 Columbia Road, NW
Second Floor
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 292-4252
Fax: (718) 770-7699
www.thepraxisproject.org

Praxis prak’ sis 1. exercise or practice of an art, science or skill. 2.
The practical application of theory; action informed by theory. 3. The
synergy between theory and action; the highest form of practice.
The Praxis Project 1. An innovative not for profit institution dedicated
to capacity building, technical assistance, research, and training for
community-based policy change.

Twin Cities U.S. Social Forum Mobilization Meeting

2007-08-16T12:29:00.001-07:00

WHERE: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis

WHEN: Sunday, August 26, 2-6 pm

BRING: Yourself, people from your organization and community, any materials you would like to share that help explain your work and/or will facilitate coalition-building, and a dish or drink to share.

DETAILS: A group of folks who went to the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta this summer, as well as those who could not make it but who are doing the work at home, have been meeting to discuss possibilities for cross-movement building in the Twin Cities. To this end, the Twin Cities U.S. Social Forum group is committed to exploring the question, "Is another Twin Cities possible, and if so, what might it look like?"

At our last meeting, the small group assembled decided that one of the problems with organizing in the Twin Cities is that the people who are most affected by harmful neoliberal, racist, sexist, homophobic, classist policies are never at the center of the discussion. Indeed, they are often completely left out of it.

To this end, we determined that our first course of action should be to invite as many people and organizations that we know to have a community discussion about what work is being done, how people can support it, where the power really is in the Twin Cities, and how we can go about advocating to distribute it more equally. We are therefore most interested in bringing people of color, immigrants, working people, women, and GLBT folks to the table at this gathering.

Please spread this message to all individuals, communities and organizations who might be interested in participating. This is an opportunity to share, critique and strategize. Bring any and all materials you would like to distribute, but please be ready to share the stage with many others.

DEDICATION Page for Edward Wilmot Blyden, Father of Pan-African Thought

2007-08-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Please support Pipaashaa!

2007-08-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

Pipaashaa: extreme thirst

A new evening-length work by the award-winning Ananya Dance Theatre

The award-winning Ananya Dance Theatre and its Artistic Director Ananya Chatterjea (City Pages' Best Choreographer 2007) have teamed with the Women's Environmental Institute and other partners to explore the impact of environmental damage and loss on women and children from around the globe in "Pipaashaa."

We hope that you and other colleagues in the environmental justice field will join us during the run of this new work at the Southern Theater September 6-9, 2007.

"Pipaashaa" was created in response to the steady drying up of the world's resources, specifically through environmental damage, which heightens the vulnerable position in which much of the world's women and children are forced to live. It tells the stories of women and children who are forced to live in the most difficult of circumstances—somehow pulling together an existence by scavenging through dirt piles collecting recyclable materials, for instance, in dense urban areas. More generally, "Pipaashaa" explores ideas of loss and struggle, the desire to live, and the relationship of these ideas to femininity.

For more information, please visit www.ananyadancetheatre.org .

Pipaashaa: extreme thirst
September 6-9, 2007, all at 8 pm except 7 pm on Sunday, September 9
The Southern Theater , 1420 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis
Post-show discussions on Friday & Saturday, September 7th & 8th
All shows feature an interactive lobby display based upon themes in "Pipaashaa"

Tickets: $16 + $2 Southern Theater building fee
Call 612.340.1725 or visit the Southern Theater box office

2007 MNC Conference

2007-08-14T12:23:00.001-07:00

Join us in october for the MNC’s annual conference!

Please join us for this wonderful opportunity to connect with other social justice advocates and service providers and learn about detention and deportation of immigrants, unaccompanied minors, workers' rights, welcoming immigrant initiatives from the Center for New North Carolinians and Welcoming Tennessee, environmental racism and organizing faith communities for social justice. The work is far from over but it starts NOW. And it starts with YOU

This year's Featured Speakers include:

David Bacon, an associate editor for Pacific News Service, covering labor, immigration and international politics. He is an internationally-exhibited documentary photographer.

Luisanna Santibanez, Luisanna Santibanez is an immigrant rights advocate, student at the University of Texas, and community organizer with Grassroots Leadership, a 25 year-old Southern-based organization that works to stop the expansion of the private prison industry.

Living Voices, Through the magic of video and an interactive performer, Living Voices presents unique and stirring presentations that capture the minds and hearts of today's audiences.

Christopher Nugent has advocated for the rights of immigrant children for nearly a decade and is one of the nation's leading experts on the topic.

Interfaith Worker Justice is a network of people of faith that calls upon our religious values to educate, organize and mobilize the religious community in the United States on issues and campaigns that will improve wages, benefits and conditions for workers, and give voice to workers, especially low-wage workers.

Welcoming Tennessee -The Welcoming Tennessee Initiative is the voice of concerned Tennesseans from all walks of life who are proud that Tennessee is a welcoming state and are eager to uphold that noble tradition.

Center for New North Carolinians -The CNNC operates to help refugees and immigrants in the area adjust to U.S. culture. The CNNC builds bridges between the immigrant populations and existing communities by providing research, outreach, and training.

Eboni Cochran-Eboni has been with REACT (Rubbertown Emergency ACTion) since 2003. When asked about herself, she says, “I love my neighborhood and want to do my part in helping to raise the quality of life for everyone living in it.”

WHAT: THE MNC'S 3RD ANNUAL KEEPING PERSPECTIVE AND CHALLENGING PERCEPTIONS CONFERENCE
WHEN: OCTOBER 25TH AND 26TH
WHERE: THE LEXINGTON CENTRAL PUBLIC LIBRARY

Isela Arras
Immigration Project Coordinator
Kentucky Domestic Violence Association
PO Box 356
Frankfort, KY 40602
T: 502.209.5382
F: 502.226.5382
Internet: www.kdva.org
Email: iarras@kdva.org

“When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” ~ Audre Lorde

RFQ to assist the USSF evaluation

2007-08-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Request for Quotations (RFQ) to Assist the US Social Forum Evaluation

Timeframe: Now until October 31, 2007

Expectations: There are two phases to the evaluation

Phase One: Preparation for, facilitation of and follow-up to the Sept 23-26 meeting of the national Planning committee

Phase Two: Implementation of the evaluation plan overseeing of deliverables

We are looking for one proposal that includes (with breakout) phase one and phase two. We are looking for a strong lead consultant to oversee both phases of this project working with one or more other consultants to provide needed services or expertise. It is our expectation that the lead consultant will include and name additional consultants they would work with to complete the evaluation

Deadline: Your response to the RFQ is due by end of day Friday August 17, 2007. Your RFQ will be considered an all-inclusive quote covering all direct and in-direct cost. Please include cost such as supplies, travel, etc.

Submit to: George Friday via email at ippn@igc.org

Essential Skills: Strong facilitation and excellent writing skills
Flexible and open to chaos
Able to work within a team structure
Strong interviewing skills

Tasks: Work with team to create agenda for Sept. Mtg.
Work with team to design instruments related to outcomes
Assist in writing deliverables

Outcome: Antidotal—stories from the social forum during and after
Deliverable: DVD

Outcome: Analytical—research based, demographics and political analysis
Deliverable: Summation Report

Outcome: Process and Procedures
Deliverable: Publication

Background and Purpose
The National Planning Committee (NPC) of the US Social Forum (USSF, the Forum) is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of its planning and implementation process and is seeking consulting services to assist with the evaluation and facilitate the 3 day NPC evaluation meeting beginning September 24th 2007. We are seeking a team of 1) a lead facilitator and 2) a co-facilitator for face to face meeting(s).

Successful applicants will have skills in providing assessment, evaluation, and facilitation in addition to a keen understanding of the political values of the USSF and group dynamics.

Plan of Action
the USSF evaluation consultant(s) will perform or cause to be performed the following duties:
1) Communicate with the Evaluation Team to create a structure to support the NPC and related sub-groups (as needed) through the evaluation process – this includes setting goals, objectives, and deliverables for each respondent segment. Stakeholders include (but are not limited to) a) the Local Organizing Committee, b) NPC working groups, c) plenary working groups, d) staff, and e) regional committees. This includes interviews with focus group to be identified by the NPC.
2) Compile and summarize data collected from sources named in 1) a-d at the September evaluation meeting and help team to determine how it will be used in the overall evaluation process.

3) Assist the NPC evaluation work team to design the evaluation process and meeting agendas.

4) Facilitate the 3-day meeting to yield recommendations and/or action plans for building needed capacity and sustaining effective support for future Social Forums.

5) Develop an analysis and report that can help move us towards 2010.
Criteria for facilitators:
· Be objective
· Familiarity with social justice movement building work.
· Political alignment with the National Planning Committee and familiarity with social forum process
· Have strong facilitation skills.
· Ability to provide tools and methodology to conduct committee, working group, staff and team evaluations
· Ability to navigate and lead through large group dynamics
· Ability to recognize and walk a group or individual through issues of gender, age, class, race, sexuality, ability, and political alignment.
· Ability to deal and respect strong personalities and strong opinions
· Ability to identify, name and sift through what is political and what is personal.
· Knowing when to intervene and when not to.
· Conflict resolution skills
· Strive for a balance of qualitative and quantitative measurables
· Rigorous follow through
· Sense of humor
· Flexibility and ability to redirect quickly
· Good at summing up and pushing for lessons
Deadline: Your response to the RFQ is due by end of day Friday August 17, 2007. Your RFQ will be considered an all-inclusive quote covering all direct and in-direct cost. Please include cost such as supplies, travel, etc.

Submit to: George Friday via email at ippn@igc.org

We will reply to all who submit a RFQ’s by August 30, 2007

Africa's Ancient Kingdoms and Empires :: View topic - The Cheikh Anta Diop Video

2007-08-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Africa's Ancient Kingdoms and Empires :: The Cheikh Anta Diop Video

Study: Murder victims disproportionately black - Race & Ethnicity - MSNBC.com

2007-08-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Study: Murder victims disproportionately black - Race & Ethnicity - MSNBC.com

The F-word

2007-08-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

By FIRE – Feminist International Radio Endeavour
Radio Internacional Feminista

July 7, 2007

Women at US Social Forum Name Feminism as Key to
Making Connections and Building Alliances

By Margaret Thompson
Producer, FIRE (www.radiofeminista.net)

The “F” word made it to the US Social Forum by way of the Latina, African American, Native American, and lesbian women, and women with disabilities who recognize the urgency of connecting all issues and forms of discrimination and naming feminism as a critical approach to making these connections.

“Feminism is about power and it is about the power to control your own life, your own body and resist what [has been called] hetero-patriarchy,” declared Loretta Ross, of longtime feminist and human rights activist and scholar of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective. “If you agree with that, then you’re a feminist. Feminism is about the power to question what gender, race and class means to you, and to decide when and if you want to fit into the boxes others have prepared for you.”

Ruby Beth Buitekant, a young African American university student from Atlanta, echoed Ross’ perspective, noting that “feminism is changing by becoming more inclusive and real for all different kinds of women who are affected and identify in different ways. That is why I use that identity (feminism) to talk about racism, about classism and all kinds of issues that are so interconnected. What empowers me to speak about all these issues is being a woman. Feminism is hopefully taking a new turn by becoming more transnational also... “

Throughout the USSF, women were a strong presence in most of the 960+ workshops and plenaries, which were organized around six main themes, including war and militarism, immigrants’ rights, Gulf Coast reconstruction, energy exploitation, women’s and GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered) rights, indigenous sovereignty, and workers’ rights.

Other issues addressed by the 9,000 participants at the USSF included free trade and globalization, the criminal “injustice” system, and poverty including the human right to housing and food. The event took place June 27-July 1, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia.

“For me it’s been interesting to be here to see so many women put themselves out there in workshops and conversations…on a broad array of issues including many that don’t get a lot of attention,” said Cindy Clark of Just Associates (JASS) of the Women’s Transformation Watch (Observatorio de la Transgresion Feminista).

The Watch, organized by Just Associates (JASS) and FIRE (Feminist International Radio Endeavour) at the Forum, is an initiative created in 2006 by Meso-American feminists and US human rights activists, and was designed in this event to observe women’s participation and influence at the USSF, as it has in other events in Central America during the past year. Based on a popular education approach, the Watch organizers hope to contribute to building and strengthening of feminist and women’s social and political movements in the Americas and around the world.

As part of the Women’s Transformative Watch, Clark reflected about the strong presence of young women at the Social Forum. “I have attended lots of sessions organized by young women, young people, and to me it’s more than saying ‘aren’t these young women so capable to organize these sessions’, but the fact that they are where they should be by coming and participating actively at this event.”

FIRE – Feminist International Radio Endeavour – worked with the Watch to look at how women are “crossing the line” and what it means to them. Buitekant told FIRE, “To me, crossing the line as feminists means playing the specific roles that women have in society but then using this politically to [achieve] positions of power. I learned feminism from my mother and in school, but also building community with women in college.”

María Suárez of FIRE recalled, “One woman I interviewed said crossing the line in this moment for women and feminists is about looking for ways to integrate agendas and stop this dichotomous fragmentation of women’s rights on one side, and “stop the war” and so on with the other. So that means making connections among different constituencies or groups to build social movements. A migrant woman said that crossing the line for her was about crossing the borders, linking the borders, so she had a very concrete interpretation,” noted Suárez.

Andrea Smith of INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence spoke of these connections when she described how “hetereo [sexual] patriarchy is fundamental to empire because patriarchy is what naturalizes social hierarchy, the idea that men naturally rule over women, that elites naturally rule over everyone else. In the history of Indian genocide, the first task that colonists took on was to integrate patriarchy into native communities who wouldn’t accept colonial domination until native men started treating native women the way that white men treat women.” Smith noted that sexual violence against native women served as a “primary tool” for colonialism and white supremacy “by rendering women inherently rapable, our land inherently invadable and our resources inherently extractable.”

In an interview with FIRE, Miriam Nobre, an Afro-Brazilian feminist and Secretary-General of the World March of Women said she believes that “crossing the line in communications is everything that is outside the control and agenda of corporate power in media because they control most media to impose an agenda that is corporate. That is why I like to see expression through art, alternative media and exchange.”

Cindy Domingo, a US immigrant, told FIRE that “crossing the line by women here means learning from women in other parts of the world.” Nobre said that “in order to confront the power of the transnational corporations that use women’s bodies as terrain for experimentation, and also do the same with land and seeds, we need to develop further the relationship among us in Latin America and feminists in the USA that do not necessarily come from [middle class] liberal agendas, but are part of immigrant movements, indigenous, farmers, and workers, [among others]...”

Valerie Miller, also of JASS noted, “To me what is important in these observations of the WATCH are the processes and experiences that women are talking about that help build strong connections.”

Suárez noted that she had heard women comment about the theme of the USSF “One world is possible,” which is based on the World Social Forum theme of 2004. “To say that one world is possible, we have to make sure that doesn’t mean substituting one world with one other single perspective, but a world where many perspectives can have a place.”
###

For more information, contact María Suárez Toro of FIRE at maria@radiofeminista.net or Cindy Clark of Just Associates, Inc. at cac@justassociates.org.

This article is posted in the FIRE webpage at:
http://www.radiofeminista.net/julio07/notas/ussf_4_ingles.htm
To see FIRE’s coverage of the USSF 2007, go to www.radiofeminista.org/ (Spanish) or www.radiofeminista.org/indexeng.htm (English).

You may use the information from FIRE (www.radiofeminista.net ) citing FIRE as the source.

FIRE is an international women's internet radio produced in Spanish & English by Latin American & Caribbean women in Costa Rica, focusing on women's perspectives worldwide on all issues.

Listen NOW (or later in the archives): Rose Brewer on economics and race

2007-08-08T09:10:00.000-07:00

LISTEN WEDNESDAY, August 8 @ 11:00 AM:

KFAI, FM 90.3 in Minneapolis, 106.7 in St. Paul, streaming live at
(Call in with questions and comments: 612-341-0980).

This show will be available for listening at .

TTT’s Andy Driscoll and guest co-host KFAI News Director Lauretta Dawolo talk with

• Author and Prof. Rose Brewer
• Vic Rosenthal of the Equal Access Working Project and Jewish Community Action
• St. Paul Council President Kathy Lantry

...about the history, the missing and present economic trends, issues, and opportunities in and for communities of color. Dr. Brewer is co-author of The Color of Wealth, addressing the historic disparities of economic security between whites and communities of color here and across the country. Vic Rosenthal is embroiled in reform of public agencies letting contracts to various small business enterprises and pressing for equal and representative access to underrepresented minority contractors. Council President Lantry will discuss the City’s audit of its contracting practices then and now.

Note from Lisa to White Folks: Mtg. to discuss your role in TC USSF

2007-08-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

hey white folks,
just a reminder that we set up a meeting/pot luck to discuss our role
working with the twin cities USSF group. we are meeting: sunday, 5-7
pm, at liz's home: 1367 edmunds ave #2, st paul.
liz, can you send us directions? thanks all, lisa
>
>

--
Lisa Albrecht, Ph.D.
Morse-Minnesota Alumni Association Distinguished Professor of Teaching
Director of Undergraduate Studies
School of Social Work
193 Peters Hall
St. Paul, MN. 55108
612 624 3669

Social Justice Minor - http://ssw.che.umn.edu/Programs/socialjustice.html

Be wary of surveillance during RNC '08

2007-08-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today's New York Times has a story that should give local folks planning on demonstrating during the Twin Cities' RNC convention in 2008 pause. According to the article, the NYPD was doing extensive surveillance on people who were planning on attending to do the same thing prior to the RNC convention in NYC in 2004:

...beyond potential troublemakers, those placed under surveillance included
street theater companies, church groups, antiwar activists, environmentalists,
and people opposed to the death penalty, globalization and other government
policies.

The demonstrators describe

...wrongful detentions of up to two days and other violations by the police to
keep protesters off the streets...

At the center of the issue is a federal judge's rejection today of City efforts to prevent the release of about 2,000 pages of intelligence documents that detail the NYPD's surveillance of the demonstrators. The ACLU is trying to get these documents released, in some degree of detail, because it holds that the details in the documents will disprove a NYPD claim, which is that the demonstrators planned to engage in violence during the convention.

Man, with the legalization of wiretapping this week (the gutting of the FISA law), and now this, there is a good chance that if you are mobilizing to demonstrate (probably anything more than an SUV that drives by your house), you'll be getting a few more "bugs" on you soon.

Watch your back!

Bridges Not Bombs

2007-08-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

A request from Rashard Zanders to post this on the TC USSF blog. The upshot is that there is another demonstration scheduled for TOMORROW, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 5-6 pm on the Lake St./Marshall Bridge.

Shannon
---------

Dear Rashard,
There were about 35 on the Lake Street/Marshall Bridge on Sat. and two other protests sprang up elsewhere. We have 40 signs for the August 8, Wednesday 5-6 p.m. vigil. Please come to the east or Marshall Ave. side so that we can greet you. Gathering in a circle afterwards east of bridge. Hope to see you on Wednesday!
Mary

That was quick notice. Would you consider re-demonstrating in about a week for those of us who take two days to open emails....

How was the turnout?

Rashard,

On 8/3/07, wamm@mtn.org < wamm@mtn.org> wrote:

Emergency Demonstration: "Bridges Not Bombs!"

Saturday, August 4, 11:00 a.m. Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge, spanning the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Like the I-35 bridge, the empire is falling and failing. Instead of destroying the infrastructure of Iraq, waging a secret war against Somalia, supplying weaponry to isolate and destroy Gaza in Palestine, and threatening Iran with bombs, we want the infrastructure of the U.S. maintained and reparations made to those here and abroad for damage done. Sponsored by: WAMM. FFI: Call WAMM, 612-827-5364 or Connie Fuller, 651-245-2741 .
--

Future of the Forum: More Open Space, or Concrete Political Action?

2007-08-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/noticias_textos.php?cd_news=405

The Contribution of the U.S. Social Forum: a reply to Whitaker and Bello’s debate on the Open Space
Thomas Ponniah

Introduction
The achievements of the U.S. Social Forum experience contributes a great deal to debates concerning the future of the overall World Social Forum (WSF) process. In a recent set of interventions Walden Bello and Chico Whitaker, both representatives on the International Council of the WSF, disagreed on the future of the Forum. Bello, the Executive Director of Focus on the Global South, argued that the Forum was now at a crossroads (1). While acknowledging that the WSF had given a great deal to the struggle for global justice, Bello suggested that the Forum’s Open Space methodology, which on principle, refuses to take a collective stand on issues such as the war on Iraq and the WTO, was now inhibiting substantial political agency. He argued that there was merit to the charge that the Forum was becoming “an institution unanchored in actual global political struggles, and this is turning it into an annual festival with limited social impact”. The article concluded with the query: “is it time for the WSF to fold up its tent and give way to new modes of global organization of resistance and transformation?” (2)

Chico Whitaker, one of the founders of the WSF, and also a member of the International Council of the World Social Forum, replied to Bello, arguing that crossroads do not have to close roads (3). Whitaker noted that while the Forum’s Charter of Principles precluded the International Council from making statements representing the overall World Social Forum, the Open Space methodology left possible the opportunity for movements to independently build global coalitions that articulated common manifestos. Therefore for Whitaker the WSF’s crossroads were in fact two paths that could co-exist, not as impediments to each other, but as mutual sources of inspiration. The Open Space could continue to allow movements to articulate themselves and to propose new political projects without needing to speak on behalf of all participants at the World Social Forum.

In order to thoughtfully assess the two different positions mentioned we need to reflect on what are the Social Forum process’ actual achievements. No Forum in recent memory has better expressed the potential of the process than the recent U.S. Social Forum. The USSF demonstrated the accuracy of both Bello and Whitaker’s arguments, affirming the importance of continuing the Social Forum process but on much more innovative, decisive, political ground.

The U.S. forum, held from June 27 to July 2, in Atlanta, Georgia, the birthplace of Martin Luther King J.R., attracted over 10 000 participants, in over 900 workshops. The slogan of the Forum was “Another World is Possible. Another U.S. is Necessary.” Mirroring yet amplifying the global process, this national forum made three great contributions to the U.S. struggle.

Difference
The U.S. Social Forum created an open space that allowed different people’s movements to come together from around the United States. For the first time diverse activists from around the country were able to collectively interact in a non-hierachical, horizontal manner that emphasized mutual understanding. The Open Space infrastructure facilitated the possibility for a variety of movements to meet. If the space had been dominated by one ideology, for example socialism, or if it had been dominated by one strategy, for example, statism, then it would not have attracted so many movements. The Open Space, as Whitaker has always contended, allowed for a multitude of ideologies and strategies to be represented at the Social Forum. This space not only facilitated dissimilar groups from across the U.S. to connect but it also enabled movements in Atlanta to connect on novel new terms.

The Open Space permitted activists to move away from focusing on the differences between social movements and instead focusing on commonalities. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s there were numerous divisions between different sides of the North American Left: such as socialists, anarchists, ecologists, feminists, anti-racists, queer activists, and indigenous activists to name a few. Movements did not want to work with each other or were endlessly frustrated with each other. The Social Forum created an arena where all of these organizations felt that they could express their agenda without having it drowned out by someone else's program. Speakers at plenaries came from communities that were directly affected by the problem at hand. Grassroots movements spoke for themselves. Thus the Forum was a common, self-representative public venue thereby allowing for trust to be built between movements.

The expression of difference was so pronounced that the USSF appeared to be more diverse than any of the World Social Forums held in the last three years. Not since the 2004 World Social Forum in India, has a Forum embodied so much diversity, not only as members of the audience, but importantly as speakers and facilitators on panels, seminars and workshops. One could argue that the Forums in India and the United States simply reflected the demographic heterogeneity of two of the most multicultural societies on the planet. Few nations in the Global South have as many religions, cultures, and languages as India. Similarily no country in the Global North has in numerical terms as much cultural multeity as the United States However this interpretation of the U.S. Social Forum and the WSF in India is partial. What was remarkable about both events was not simply that they embodied their countries’ cultural range but that they also demonstrated their economic diversity. Both Forums were genuinely grassroots events with participants from every economic class - especially the poor. While other editions of the World Social Forum have been moving, inspirational events, they have not substantially represented the impoverished, marginalized, and exploited members of their countries. The first great contribution of the U.S. Social Forum process then was its capacity to enable the social, cultural and economic variety of U.S. movements to come together.

The Identity of Difference
The second contribution of the USSF dealt with identity. Following
the Open Space concept, the U.S. Social Forum has helped articulate common self-identifications among progressives. What began in Seattle in 1999 as the U.S. wing of the anti-globalization movement has now become a set of alternative national globalization movements. North American activists who took part in the USSF process, were able to even more clearly recognize that diverse forms of dissent such as rallies against racism, demonstrations against debt, and protests against privatization, are not separate events but instances of one overarching dynamic: the demand for global justice. The Social Forum process consolidated numerous common identities of difference: black/brown, student/labor, and environmental/social justice alliances. These coalitions are being built on the desire for another world that is free of the discrimination evidenced by Katrina, of the militarism exhibited by perpetual war, of the neoliberalism that prevents health care access to over forty million U.S. citizens, and of the biodevastation embodied by global warming. In sum, the Forum facilitated the creation of common, unified identities that encompass the plethora of movements that aspire to a world where all life is respected.

Autonomy
Third, the World Social Forum, and now the U.S. Social Forum, has promoted a revolution in how progressives imagine their opponent and thus themselves. From its inception the organizers of the World Social Forum dynamic and thus the USSF process understood that people’s movements have needed a space of articulation that was autonomous of corporations and political parties. This has been a significant departure from the past.

Historically most progressives have imagined their primary adversary to be the market. The left has always understood the danger that free markets, corporations, and capitalism, posed to society. Progressives have always known that commodification inevitably led to alienation. The market, in Marcuse’s memorable phrase, makes the human one-dimensional. To restrain commodification, past leftwing movements have called for the state to regulate the economy. In the first world, social democrats, such as the New Deal
politicians in the United States in the 1930s, tried to regulate the
industry for the benefit of the public. In the second world, Soviet
Communism tried to regulate production, and in the third world, the
national liberation state, for example Cuba, tried to regulate its
economic activity (4). So the dominant strand of the left has always thought that the state could regulate the market and thus liberate the population from exploitation.

The faith in leftist statism was tested numerous times throughout the twentieth century. It finally broke in the early 1990s with the rollback of the welfare state in the first world, the dissolution of the Soviet state in the second world, and the loss of legitimacy of the national liberation state in the third world. Progressives ever since have been contending with the loss of belief in the state as the primary instrument of social liberation.

Learning from history, the proponents of the Social Forum process have understood that whether the state increased its power over the market or whether the market increases its power over the state, in both cases disaffection has inevitably deepened. Both the modes of production and admininistration, both capital and the contemporary state, have become proponents of heteronomy, of estrangement, of immiseration, rather than public self-governance.

Against this two-headed adversary, the peoples’ movements at the USSF demonstrated the power of self-organized human solidarity. These movements over and over throughout the Forum called for a participatory society to develop independently of the market and the state. At this Forum, U.S. social movements increased their capacity for sovereign, collective self-reflection.
The activists at the USSF collectively liberated themselves from the mental hegemony of the state and market by proposing a new imagination: liberation can only be discovered, explored and expressed by grounding social change in radical new forms of democracy. Movements can pressure states, sometimes even work with states, yet retain autonomous from the state. The collective consolidation of the importance of autonomy was the third great achievement of the U.S. Social Forum.

The Future of the Forum process
The achievements of the USSF lend credence to Chico Whitaker’s consistent principled defense of the Forum. The challenge that remains, and that Walden Bello has recognized clearly, is that while the Forum process at the global and local level is facilitating collective self-reflection – it has not yet produced effective, collective self-organization. There have been numerous discussions of global social movement projects, such as the Bamako Appeal and proposals for global political parties (6), but there has been no actual implementation. The war on Iraq continues, climate change has not been halted, worldwide inequality persists and corporations continue to rule the world. While the Open Space of the Forum has allowed for the creation of new networks it has not yet facilitated visonary projects. There have been great reactive events, such as demonstrations against the WTO negotiations– but there have been few alternatives that have actually been implemented by the global justice movements. That is the great overarching trial that the Forum faces. While the Forum has facilitated the capacity for local, national and global social movement reflection, it has not yet given birth to comparable forms of achievement. The essence of Walden Bello’s argument is correct: the facilitators of the World Social Forum process must devise more innovative processes that will actually enable decisive political change.

*Thomas Ponniah is a member of the Network Institute for Global Democratization - one of the founding organizations of the International Council of the World Social Forum; a member of Sociologists Without Borders, and of the WSF Boston Organizing Committee. He is also the co-editor of the book Another World is Possible: popular alternatives to globalization at the World Social Forum, and the author of a forthcoming book on global justice.

(1) Bello, Walden. “The Forum at the Crossroads”. http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4196.
(2) ibid
(3) Whitaker, Chico. "Crossroads do not always close roads (Reflection in continuity to
Walden Bello)"
(http://www.wsflibrary.org/index.php/Crossroads_do_not_always_close_roads).
(4) For a substantial explanation of this point see Immanuel Wallerstein’s The Decline of American Power.
(5) See http://www.openspaceforum.net/twiki/tiki-index.php?page=BamakoAppeal

(6) See http://www.nigd.org/globalparties

Scholarships for Highlander Center's Institutes

2007-08-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Twin Cities Folks on the POPEDNEWS distribution list,

The Popular Education Fund will provide a number of scholarships for
people to attend the Highlander Center's Institutes that will be held
on Friday, August 31 as part of Highlanders 75th Anniversary
Celebration. For information about the institutes see
http://www.highlandercenter.org/anniversary/institutes.asp.

To apply for the scholarships send a message with a short description
of yourself, your interests, and why you want to attend the celebration.

Also, if anyone is interested in car pooling to the celebration or
has extra space for riders, please get in touch with me. I will
connect people.

I currently have space for a couple people to ride. I am planning to
leave on Wednesday, Aug 29 and spend the night in or near Chicago
with friends. I will continue to the Knoxville area on Thursday. I
expect to begin the return journey on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning.

Peace, solidarity, and love,
Larry

The Popular Education News

Larry Olds
3322 15th Ave So
Minneapolis MN 55407 USA
612 722-3442
www.popednews.org

training & community discussion on white privilege

2007-08-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION AND TRAINING ON

WHITE PRIVILEGE & RACISM

Please join Avenues for Homeless Youth and Dr. Heather Hackman in examining

white privilege, white supremacy, and whiteness –

and the implications they have on effective anti-racist work.

During this opportunity for discussion, awareness raising and breaking down barriers,

we will also be screening Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible,

a documentary which features the experiences of white women and men who have worked to gain

insight into what it means to challenge notions of racism and white supremacy in the United States.

WHEN: Wednesday, August 8, 2007

1 pm – 4 pm

WHERE: Pi Bar

2532 South 25^th Avenue

Minneapolis, MN 55406

Questions: Call Amy Snyder at (612) 522-1690, ext. 104 or

Raquel (Rocki) Simões at (612) 522-1690, ext. 110

ALL ARE WELCOME.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT. NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

Avenues for Homeless Youth ▪ 1708 Oak Park Avenue, Minneapolis, 55411 ▪ www.avenuesforyouth.org

Please weigh in on next mtg. date & time

2007-08-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Intermedia is willing to give free space for the next meeting and they have availability on Sunday, August 25 or Sunday, September 9. We need to let them know which date and time would work for us, but they are holding both for now.

Everyone weigh in on a date and time?

Eleanor

Missed the Integrating Gender & Sexual Justice Across Movements plenary?

2007-07-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Now you can see it, at cost, at http://www.snakegirl.net

The UnConvention

2007-07-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

The UnConvention:
Prominent Minnesota Cultural Organizations Convene to Focus on Non-Partisan Creative Civic Engagement Around 2008 Republican National Convention

Minneapolis, MN—The UnConvention is a unique project that seeks to evolve the definition of civic engagement to include experimentation in art, education, and journalism, and to create a better-informed and more politically active citizenry. Over the next year and a half, organizations affiliated with the UnConvention will host lectures,workshops, classes and exhibitions based on the theme of participatory democracy.

The mission of the UnConvention is twofold:
1. To create and promote artistic and educational activities (exhibitions, lectures, performances, etc.) that will take place in the Twin Cities during the lead-up and staging of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul/ Minnesota;
2. To be a resource for artists and the alternative media that will converge on the Twin Cities during the Republican National Convention.

The UnConvention is about participation and democracy, the public sphere, media, and creativity—not a critique of the Republican Party and its policies. A non-partisan collective of leaders from prominent cultural organizations and citizens have come together to create a forum in which to promote the free, democratic, and creative exchange of ideas on important issues. It exists as a counterpoint to the highly scripted and predetermined nature of the contemporary presidential nomination process and convention.

Current participating organizations include:
The Dept. of Media Studies, Carleton College (www.carleton.edu);
the Institute for New Media Studies, University of Minnesota (www.inms.umn.edu);
Intermedia Arts, including the Northern Lights program of Intermedia Arts (www.intermediaarts.org);
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (www.mcad.edu);
Popular Front (www.popularfront.com);
Sandbox Studios (www.sandboxstudios.net); and
Walker Art Center (www.walkerart.org).

“As we have seen throughout American history, political party conventions are places where creative action and participatory democracy are enacted. These caucuses generate large responses from across the political spectrum.” say John Schott, Daniel Gumnit, and Nora Paul, three the founders of the UnConvention.

The UnConvention website, www.theunconvention.com will serve as a central organizing space for these two goals. The site currently features information on the project, related activities, and a Blog and will include forums, a calendar of related activities, resources for journalists and visiting artists, and an archive of press and activities. To get more information or get involved email:
steeringcommittee@TheUnconvention.org.

Intermedia Arts is a catalyst that builds understanding among people through art.
www.intermediaarts.org

PHOTO / INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:
Minnesota Cultural Organizations
UnConvention spokespeople

CONTACT:
Daniel Gumnit
Executive Director
Intermedia Arts
612.874.2810
daniel@intermediaarts.org
# # #

2007-07-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Reflections on the 2007 U.S. Social Forum

By Laura Carlsen
Americas Program Commentary
July 23, 2007

Attending the U.S. Social Forum held in Atlanta, Georgia June 27-July 1 was an adventure. The first social forum for the United States, it was also one of the first in a series of regional events
aimed at decentralizing the mega-World Social Forum that started in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Short on preparation and organization but long on enthusiasm, the event stirred the interest of activists all over the world. Many wondered what kind of grassroots energy could be mustered to seriously confront the many threats posed by Bush administration policies—including unilateral force, preventive strikes, climate change denial, homophobia, and rollback of women’s rights.

It was a strange sort of homecoming for me. After many years of living and working in Mexico, I was curious to see how movements for social change in the United States had evolved over the years. I had heard the sweeping generalizations: the egotism and materialism of the
eighties “me generation,” the identity politics and cultural expressions of the nineties, the horror and frustration of the war in the new Bush-dominated millennium.

During the years of living abroad, I had followed citizen efforts for social change but been far from the frontlines of organizing.

The 20-year hiatus proved an interesting lens with which to view the movements represented at the forum. Many of our movements in the past were based on solving problems in faraway places. The abuses wrought by our government overseas made them morally our issues. The
Central American solidarity movement during the dirty wars and the anti-apartheid movement helped us better understand the world and make connections albeit in a somewhat removed way.

Not so today. In many ways, globalization has domesticated the abuses long felt overseas. Although the war in Iraq continues to be the defining feature of the current administration, U.S. communities are now also under attack. Through climate change, the planet itself has shrunk to a single, ominously threatened ecosystem.

The slogan—”Another World is Possible. Another U.S. is Necessary”—captures this reality. The issues discussed at the first U.S. Social Forum did not revolve around utopian visions of a better society. Rather, they expressed the urgency of people fighting for survival—to survive as who
they are in the face of intolerance, to preserve communities threatened by hate, to maintain basic freedoms, and assure basic needs.

The forum proved a crash course in the state of U.S. organizing. I saw apparent advances and reverses. There was little explicitly feminist organizing. The critiques of power, patriarchy, and sexism that once seemed central to understanding social change have not been forgotten, but they have yet to gain a central place in our organizing and analysis. The response to major government offensives against reproductive rights, repeal of affirmative action programs, and attacks on Lesbian-Gay- Bisexual-Transgender-Transsexual people have been slow
and piecemeal. As women have devoted their energies to other causes, the profoundly transforming perspective of gender justice has sometimes taken on a secondary or
supplementary role in organizing work (and as a foreign policy analyst, I count myself as guilty).

Strong and vocal women were prominent at the forum. They brought with them an integrating vision—of heart and mind, of daily life and public policy, of family and community—to their struggles and imprint them with a feminism that may not say its name but makes its presence
felt.

Strength in Diversity

Far and above the greatest change and the greatest strength of U.S. movements today is their diversity. The forum demonstrated diversity in ages, sexuality, colors, nationalities, and politics.

The many cultural expressions also showed a welcome diversity in our way of “doing politics.” Gone are the days when political events were synonymous with men making speeches. In the esplanade of Atlanta’s Civic Center, the drums of Mexican danzantes competed with the drums of traditional Korean music—and both decry free trade. Hip-hop connected the desperation of life in Indian reservations and city ghettos with the joy of youth and a deep new current of resistance.

Workshops on storytelling drew hundreds of young people who know that it’s not enough to analyze oppression, that what’s happening today is found in a million real-life stories, that tears are an essential part of the dynamic, and that a fundamental task for organizers is to learn to
tell these stories artfully.

Stories abounded in the forum. A path of abandoned shoes with names pinned to the tongues led to a kiosk hung with the biographies of young and old Iraqis killed in the war. A young woman cried as the hope of living without the fear of deportation receded once again into the murky depths of Washington politics.

A plethora of issues compete for our attention but there is no question of the validity and need for work on all of them. Forum participants reflected a great respect for the efforts of everyone. As someone who works on Latin American issues, I was told by one participant almost
apologetically: “It’s so important what you do. When we get this damn war out of the way ...”
“This damn war” was a dark presence in every corner of the Forum—not as a sign of our failure but a call to renewed action.

The U.S. Social Forum revealed the heroic acts of community defense and organizing that regularly occur throughout the country. Although still lacking the coherence to construct another world, the determination and values found in these movements offered much hope.

Laura Carlsen is the director of the Americas Program at www.americaspolicy.org in Mexico City, where she has been a writer and political analyst for more than two decades.

Katie Kohlstedt

Usually on long flights, I am the person snoring in the seat next to you. But on the trip from Mexico City to Atlanta for the U.S. Social Forum, my head was spinning not nodding off. Anticipation of going to my first social forum kept me wide awake as I reflected on what I would be seeing and hearing.

Psyched by inspiring tales from Brazilian friends about the world social forums, I was also concerned about the critiques I had heard about the loose structure and direction of the forums and their lack of concrete accomplishments.

Although I wasn’t able to attend all the sessions I had highlighted in my inch-thick program, I was impressed and inspired by encountering so many other like-minded individuals and organizations. I left Atlanta with more questions than I came with—the most pressing one
being: Although we certainly have more in common than we have differences, how will all these people work together?

Unity of Purpose or a Pageant of Issues?

On the forum’s last day, I was standing outside the hotel elevator, and out flooded a troop of young girls who were competing in a beauty pageant and were made up like future Miss Americas. After recovering from the haze of hairspray and shock of children aspiring to become a warped stereotype of modern women, I realized that I myself had been attending a type of pageant. I was about to head home after having attended an array of workshops, visited scores of tables and tents, collected a bundle of flyers and pins, and signed innumerable petitions.
Now, I’m sure how I’ll never have time to keep all the commitments and promises I made.

All the participants in the forum—with the exception of the “independents” who came to learn or to decide which issue is most pressing for them to take on—paraded “our issues.” We led workshops and participated with others in our “tracks”—the trade, labor, immigration, or
other track—or worked the corridors of the conference and set out displays on tables and handed out our flyers, articles, brochures, business cards, in hope of winning more people over.

We found a sympathetic but overburdened audience. And what do we really want them to do? To subscribe? To sign? To march? To vote?

Making alliances was one way sought to strengthen movements and reduce the frantic fragmentation we often feel. The plenary panels encouraged the various tracks to view themselves in a common framework, and thanks to organizers’ combining of workshop proposals participants found themselves on panels with people they had never sat next to before. One workshop brought together African-American groups and immigrants’ rights
organizations to discuss their common interest in fair immigration policies in their communities.

Was this proof that we could consolidate our pageant into a collective movement? At least they were steps in the right direction.

Targeting Transnationals --"Diet, Cherry and Vanilla, Coca Cola is a Killer”

This chant rang in the ears of hundreds of kids and their parents as they waited in line to be among the first to visit Atlanta’s new “World of Coke” museum. During the June 30 march, I joined protesters at the gates of Coca Cola’s world headquarters holding signs reading “Coke Kills” and “Unthinkable, Undrinkable.”

“We came here to offer this art to Coke’s new ‘fantasy museum’ because the reality of Coca Cola is women in India protesting the destruction of lives and livelihoods that Coke has produced in their communities,” announced Amit Srivastava, Director of Global Resistance.

Coca Cola didn’t acknowledge our protests, but in India popular anger at Coca Cola’s depletion and contamination of local water supplies has led to the closure of a plant in Kerala and movements to close the other 52 bottling plants throughout the country. Participating in a
direct action was refreshing after hours in sessions of talk, albeit very inspiring talk.

Bush, Cheney, and assorted conservative forces were regarded by all as roadblocks to our own social justice goals, and impeachment was mentioned more than once. However, a bigger elephant in our midst was present— Corporate America. Session after session, countless issues related corporate pressure and violations of everything from human and workers’ rights to the environment, the prison system, war-profiteering, and oil paid for by the blood of Americans in Iraq.

Corporations were named as profiteers of the skyrocketing budgets for prison construction, the dysfunctional health care system, mining damage and destruction, the insufficient minimum wage—the list goes on. The funding for militarization in Colombia and for border security
goes to Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Responsibility for manipulation of global food supplies and agricultural systems lies with Cargill, Monsanto, Nestle, and Tyson (the
targets of Via Campesina’s newest effort).

Sustaining our Resistance

As groups distributed glossy materials, free books and DVDs, buttons, t-shirts, and stickers, I wondered about the sustainability of this large-scale event. Efforts were clearly made—water was distributed in large barrels and bottled water discouraged—but food came in styrofoam
packaging and disposable everything. A challenge for any gathering of nearly 12,000 people, keeping the impact to a minimum was a weak point of a forum largely held in overly air-conditioned hotel conference rooms. Although the “presence” given to the meetings by formal settings can have advantages, we could have managed with more modest facilities, as I understand they have done at the World Social Forum.

“Stop Runaway Consumerism,” “No More Drug War,” and all the other buttons and stickers I plastered myself with were incomplete descriptions of the problems we face. There were socialists, the environmentalists, the anti-free-traders, along with a slew of new listservs I subscribed to, but not one would help me decide how to prioritize my own efforts to help make another world possible.

Inspired, but also overwhelmed by options, many young attendees like myself seemed a little less certain of exactly what to do than when we landed in Atlanta. But we left knowing better the urgency of our various struggles, the multitude of incredible individuals dedicating
themselves to making the United States a place that represents us, and I hope, the need to work together.

Time will tell, but USSF 2007 certainly helped me see more clearly the identity of the elephant—corporations that are trampling us all.

Katie Kohlstedt is Program Associate at the Americas Program in Mexico City. Comments about this or any Americas Program article can be directed to americas@ciponline.org.

All photos by Katie Kohlstedt.

Published by the Americas Program, Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved.
The Americas Program

“A New World of Citizen Action, Analysis, and Policy Options”

Recommended citation:
Laura Carlsen and Katie Kohlstedt, "Reflections on the 2007 U.S. Social Forum," Americas Program Commentary (Washington, DC: Center for International Policy, July 23,
2007).

Web location:
http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4411

Production Information:
Writers: Laura Carlsen and Katie Kohlstedt
Editor: Laura Carlsen
Layout: Chellee Chase-Saiz

Updates on Actions from Last Saturday's meeting

2007-07-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hey all,
Just wanted to let you know that I went to the CIP BOR meeting today (Children of Incarcerated Partents/Bill of Rights). It will be a couple of months (maybe around September) when we will be able to bring youth to the table about this. I already made a phone call to Josh Lang, organizer for HAH (Homeless against Homelessness). Now I'm off to e-mail Amalia! Thanks, Farheen.

Rose Brewer on Race & Wealth

2007-07-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

As a reminder, "Converation on Race and Wealth with Professor Rose Brewer"will be held Wednesday, July 25 at 6:30 at the Hallie Q. Brown - MLK Center,270 Kent Street, St. Paul.

This event is free and open to the public. However, RSVP is required to attend. Please contact Unny Nambudiripad atu nny@metrostability.org or 612-332-4471 to RSVP.

Come and listen to Professor Brewer address the intersection of race andwealth and how public policies create and maintain the racial wealth divide.

Minutes from 7.21.07 mtg.

2007-07-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Twin Cities Post-USSF Meeting Minutes
Saturday, July 21, 2007 (3:30-6:30 pm, Plymouth Congregational Church)

Present: Susan Raffo, Lena Jones, Josie Winship, Emmett Ramstad, Shannon Gibney, Farheen Hakeem, Lisa Albrecht, Charlotte Albrecht, Jenifer Fennell, Rose Brewer, Sara Olson, Rebecca Trotzky Sirr, Ryan Li Dahlstrom, Harry Greenberg, Patrick Leet, Eleanor Savage, Mary Anne Quiroz, Sergio Quiroz, Liz Arnold, Fernando, Laura Wilson, Becca Reilly

AGENDA
· We started with a short discussion of the agenda and how it was created (by Lena, Susan and Jennifer). There was a focus on building relationships, which came from the last meeting at powderhorn park, but also from the sense that we cannot build a movement in the Twin Cities without first building relationships with each other.

· There was concern that creating a Twin Cities movement map (which was on the agenda) would be premature at this meeting (at this point there were only a handful of people in the room). There was some general agreement with this statement and also some explanation that the map was meant to be something that we built upon at each gathering. The map is also meant to help us identify who is in the room and who is not in the room but should be.

· Susan, Lena, and Jennifer offered up the agenda to the room – that it was not something we needed to follow, but only some suggestions for where to start.

· At this point we decided to go around the room and introduce ourselves.

INTRODUCTIONS
· Everyone introduced themselves and briefly talked about what brought them to the meeting today. More and more people entered the meeting as time went on, so introductions were interspersed throughout the meeting.

DISCUSSION
· The main discussion of the meeting centered on a question that Shannon put out to the group. Upon noting that there have been numerous “movement building moments” to occur previously in the Twin Cities, that have had great potential and energy but go nowhere, Shannon asked, why do these movement building moments dissolve?

· Farheen noted that from experience in Chicago, many people want to be martyrs. Any challenge to their way of doings things or difference in opinion is seen as a sort of “suffering” that encounter in the movement; people get very defensive and it becomes about their egos.

Histories of race, power, and struggle in the twin cities
· Lisa spoke of the difficulty working across racial and class lines in the Twin Cities. There is little trust from communities of color towards white folks because of the dominance of white people in organizing and the tendency of whites to “screw it up”. In the south, there is a history of leaders of color; Lisa says that when white folks screw up there, they are held accountable and then people move on proceed with organizing. Here the mess that white folks make halts the work that was being done.

· Farheen spoke to the experience of often being one of few people of color in the room at meetings and being constantly discredited after speaking up; Farheen knows to expect this kind of exploitation.

· Shannon said that the most negative experiences in organizing here have come from white women. The history here is that white men get the cushy jobs and white women get the non-profit jobs and there is a certain amount of power that comes with that. Shannon called for white people to learn how to be allies to people of color, rather than saying “we’ll support you as long as you do what we say”.

· Rose called for us to learn the histories of struggle here and referenced the Minnesota timeline that was handed out. The small numbers of people of color matter in this history, not just because it has made it harder for communities of color to organize, but also because individual people of color, particularly African-Americans, have acted as “brokers” for the rest of the community. Rose is very excited by the energy of the south: they have a significant political history and we’re talking about building one, so we have to know where we enter.

Personal struggles as community struggles
· Rebecca thinks that a personal vs. community conflict is one reason why energy dissipates at the end of a campaign or a period of intense struggle, such as being in a relationship or being a young mom that one’s political community won’t support. Rebecca would like to see those individual or personal struggles be seen as community struggles.

Accountability
· Susan has been thinking a lot about accountability, and wants it to move beyond just being called out for saying something inappropriate, but also into every aspect of organizing and support. Susan sees this as three generations of work. The statement that there is no history of organizing here resonates with Susan. Susan talked about growing up in Cleveland during civil rights struggles when organizing happened in every day life by people just walking to their neighbors’ doors. Susan would like to see that kind of organizing happen here but is not sure what it would look like.

· Lisa clarified that there is a history of struggle here in communities of color, particularly in Native American communities. Rose agreed but said that there has not been a history of struggle across communities of color and that’s what we’re speaking about. In the Twin Cities, historically and currently, people work in silos. Rose wants us also to be clear that this separation of communities has been intentional à people are intentionally kept apart to prevent organizing.

Organizing models: long term vs. short term
· Farheen also thinks its important for each of us to be clear about why we are here. Is it for personal benefit? To make us feel better about ourselves? We need to be clear on what we want to accomplish and who will benefit from it.

· Ryan Li suggested that prevalent organizing models do not demand that people think about long-term vision or commitment that includes building relationships and intentional coalitions. Rather, folks come to meetings and its like they are reading off their resumes.

· Shannon thought this is indicative of a product versus process conflict. Dominant models of organizing focus on short term gain, but we should be more focused on long-term, behind-the-scenes strategy.

Cross-generation work, gatekeeping, and leadership
· Lisa also brought up a generational piece in this conversation. Lisa’s generation is still not honoring the work of young people and some youth are not paying attention to earlier experiences: there is not enough cross-generation work. On that note, Shannon felt like some people (not just older folks) are not stepping down from the work to let others take leadership. Shannon sees this as more of a spiritual question, rather than one of age or generation and Rose said it is also a power thing.

· Farheen said that this is a problem of gatekeeping. Farheen has even noticed being crafted by others as a gatekeeper for Muslim women, but notes that we need legacy building so that when we are gone there are 15 others coming after each of us, knowing our individual legacies but also their own capacities for leadership.

· There was some clarification needed at this point on how we were talking about older organizers: Lisa asserted that she will be organizing until death but wants to do that along side of younger people; Shannon agreed but clarified that we will all die someday and that spiritual and physical fact should be integrated into our strategies.

· Shannon felt that younger generations have a bit of privilege of not having to embrace identity politics growing up. Shannon knows great organizers of color who are not organizing around identity but rather a shared political vision. Farheen noted that there are many younger activists whose organizing is doing solidarity work on multiple issues rather than on a single struggle.

· Sara thinks that the flip side of tokenization in one sense is that there is hesitation to invite new people in. Especially for young people, its like you have to have a resume to be welcomed into the meeting.

· Susan kept hearing at the USSF about the erosion of non-profits, but that is not necessarily the case in the Twin Cities. Susan is sympathetic in the sense that people want to hold on to their jobs, but there is a fierce protection of institutions here.

· Emmett noted the frequent use of the word “community” in our conversation and asked for people to clarify more specifically what they mean when the word is used.

Republican National Convention (RNC), Midwest Social Forum
· Rebecca thinks we often operate on the notion of a scarcity of resources and that this leads to people hording power. Rebecca is thinking of the Republican National Convention that will be here in a year and thinks it is a unique opportunity for us to reframe is the work we do because the spotlight will be on the Twin Cities.

· Lisa noted that at the Midwest meeting at the USSF, there was talk of doing something in the Midwest region by 2009 (because the next USSF is set for 2010). There is an opportunity for the Twin Cities to take leadership in organizing that if we want that, knowing that the last Midwest Social Forum was not organized at a grassroots level.

· Shannon feels that both 2008 (when the RNC happens) and 2009 are very close, considering the lessons from the Northwest social forum report. We do not have the infrastructure here and if we try make something happen by then, it will likely replicate the white liberal dominance of the last Midwest social forum. Rose said that there have been efforts to change this, but that you need different/more people in the room in order to do that. Shannon thinks there are enough conferences and activities planned as it is and is not interested in putting energy into another conference or large gathering because it will not address the problems we’re talking about.

· Laura gets frustrated when we start talking about planning events. Laura wants to see targeted action and strategy at those who have power. Susan experiences the opposite, where there are actions for action’s sake with no follow-up. Susan does not yet know what we’re doing but wants to support the process and will stay with it as long as we keep pushing toward something that is different than what has happened in the past.

· Shannon said that we still need to have people at the table who aren’t here. We are talking about people who are not here to talk for themselves.

· Farheen attended the first RNC meeting and saw that it was the “usual suspects” and largely white, so Farheen decided not to give energy to that. Instead, Farheen started having “POC versus RNC” meetings to organize people of color and figure out ways of resisting that did not bring people in such close contact with the police state that will be present. Farheen would like to see a “decentralization forum” at the same time to capitalize on the thousands of people who will be here at that time. Rebecca has been interested in that idea too and thinks that other people are and that this would also be a good time for cross-generational dialogue.

· Shannon, however, felt that this is still a reaction to something and not creating a vision of our own. If another world is possible, then what does it look like? Shannon noted again that the RNC is too soon and would like to see something more intentional happen.

· Susan suggested that we not think of any of these events as the “it” but as opportunities that we can use to have conversations on building a multi-issue movement with connections to working towards something bigger.

· Patrick spoke of a model to use the RNC and DNC in Denver as a way to invite people and organizations around the country to come and do their own workshops on particular issues. From those workshops at both sites, a model of issues to organize around could be drafted.

· Lisa’s is not interested in organizing around the RNC or the DNC but in how we build a collective vision. At this table we don’t even know what our visions are. Lisa is not sure where to go next without a collective vision and also noted that relationships are built by doing this work together. Shannon is thinking about the people in her life that she trusts who have more privilege. They have consistently come out in support of Shannon and that is how this trust was built. We keep trying to plan more events but we’re still not listening to the people who are most effected by these problems.

· Laura thinks that we should keep in mind the fact that people are organizing every day and this still be going on during all these other events.

Collective vision, next steps
· Rose said that one big lesson from the US social forum is that the core of organizing must be made up of those who are most affected and we haven’t yet done this work here in the Twin Cities. Organizations that are led by people of color showed up en masse at the social forum because hard work was done to make that happen, so we won’t get the results without the work.
· Farheen thinks that those of us in the room who have connections to the people who need to be here but aren’t should reach out to them. Farheen is specifically thinking about those who are homeless. Rose echoed this statement and thinks we should connected with those who are organizing.

· Lena thinks that we are developing a vision, that it has just been articulated: that those who are the most affected by these issues should be at the core of leadership and organizing. Lena wants to think practically, that after the meeting she’ll be having conversations with people to get them here and needs to think about what people will get from getting involved. Part of what people get is more support for the work that they’re already doing.

· Ryan Li thinks the conversations we have should be about building power and leadership in the Twin Cities from the ground up, about shifting the power. On that note, Susan mentioned an organizing experience from living in England, where the leadership circle of the group was made up 75% people who were directly effected and 25% people who had more privilege. As an unexpected but natural result, those who were not in the leadership circle who were doing support work started thinking and educating each other about their privilege. With that said, some of us at the table will need to step back and not be in the core. Rose also commented that all of us, no matter our privilege or position, need and are lacking political education.

· Laura felt that the conversations we have with people who are organizing are not necessarily about bringing people into this space, but about learning more about what is already being done and what is needed. Sara stressed that we should think about the styles of our meeting and communication to appeal to youth. Shannon added that there is not one way to organize, that different people have different things to contribute. Eleanor wants this to be a space to make visible the organizing that is being done and to figure out ways to support that organizing. Eleanor mentioned the organization Alternate Roots that seemed have a beginning process that was similar to our. Shannon will put information about Alternate Roots on the blog.

· Rose would like to see an assessment of how these relationships we’re talking about are brought to fruition. Rose suggested that we identify those organizations we want to lift up that people in the room have connections to. On that note, and with 30 minutes left, the meeting shifted to this task.

LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVUDUAL CONTACTS
The people below agreed to contact the individuals or organizations next to their names and start a conversation by August 15. Those conversations would not be to tell folks that we are starting/doing something in particular, but rather that we want to know what they are engaged in and what their needs as organizers/ations are. The message is that we want to build a base in the Twin Cities toward movement building that looks something like what we saw at the Social Forum. Shannon agreed to post the reportbacks on the blog and send out bi-weekly email reminders of this information.

Lisa: Indigenous People’s Task Force, Jermain Tony of Organizing Apprenticeship Project (OAP), BIHA in Action (Alice Lynch), Ricardo

Lena: Restorative Justice, Gloria who started group for those with incarcerated family members, Kayla Yang, Common Roots

Liz: Women Against Military Madness (WAMM)

Ryan Li: Women’s Prison Book Project, Shades of Yellow, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, OAP

Sergio & Mary Anne: ISAIAH, Immigrant Freedom Network, Resource Center of the Americas, Aztec dance troupe

Shannon: EJAM, Somali Action Alliance, MICAH, Ananya Dance Theater

Rose: Alondra & Silvia of IFN, Cheryl Morgan Spencer

Farheen: Homeless Against Homelessness, Children of Incarcerated Parents, Welfare Rights Committee, Amalia of Main Street Project

Laura: Move Leadership Organization

Patrick: MIRAC

Susan: Two Spirit Media Project, Breaking Free, Ricardo

Eleanor: HOTB, Intermedia Arts, Ananya Dance Theater

Ernesto: Centro Campesino

Liz agreed to do a phone tree.

Eleanor will look into getting Intermedia Arts for our next meeting, after August 22.

Laura suggested we commit to having some individual conversations with a couple of other people in the room to get to know each other and our visions for movement building.

FEEDBACK ON THE MEETING
· A number of people were quiet during the meeting, so those who talk a lot should be aware of that and make space for others to talk.

· We still want to hear more about people’s individual experiences at the US Social Forum.

· Thanks to those who got the space, got the word out to people about the meeting, etc.

· Next time we should have some time to break into small groups.Next time we should make sure and set ground rules at the beginning (this was in the agenda, but since it was such a small group when the meeting started, we didn’t stick to the original plan).

Resources list

2007-07-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Shannon: I don't have any control over layout of the blog. Would you mind creating a space for posting resources? I have a bunch of great articles from the Movement Strategy Center that I would love to make available. I've been looking for and reading lots of nuts and bolts how do we do this kind of stuff for this and for my other gig with Queers for Economic Justice.

It might also be nice to have a links sections so that we can attach to the organizations that we each belong to and whatever else makes sense. Maybe a Twin Cities links, Minnesota links, Other links?

See you in half an hour,

Susan

Various Analyses and Critiques of the first USSF

2007-07-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

VARIOUS ANALYSES AND CRITIQUES OF THE FIRST US SOCIAL FORUM

JUNE 27-JULY 1, 2007

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/5564/

http://www.monthlyreview.org/mrzine/sherman040707p.html

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200707060849.html

http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/150989/1/

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1075/1/

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=1&ItemID=13271

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/07/09/national-alliance-of-domestic-workers-formed-at-social-forum/

http://savannahnow.com/node/317099/print

http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20070716&s=berger

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sally-kohn/reflections-on-the-us-s_b_56779.html

Another U.S. Is Starting to Happen

2007-07-20T11:00:00.001-07:00

http://rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?x=60722

Another U.S. is starting to happen

The slogan of the USSF was 'Another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary.' It was interpreted both as another U.S. and another 'us,' meaning the left has to reinvent itself.

by Judy Rebick July 9, 2007

After spending five weeks in Bolivia this summer, I was convinced that the new paths out of this destructive, hateful morass we call neo-liberalism would come from those most marginalized by its greed and violence. Little did I imagine that one of the strongest signs of this direction would come from the belly of the beast itself.

Ten thousand people, overwhelmingly poor and working class, the majority people of colour, at least half women, and a massive number of youth gathered in Atlanta, Ga. at the end of June for the U.S. Social Forum (USSF) signaling what could be the birth of the most powerful social movement the U.S. has ever seen.

“Never in my wildest imagination, did I think I would ever see something like this in the United States,” Carlos Torres, a Chilean refugee now living in Canada, told me halfway through the forum. The sentiment was repeated again and again by Latin American visitors who were there as emissaries from the World Social Forum (WSF). It was radical, it was militant, it was feminist, it was anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist, it was queer, it was loud and lively and it was brimming with love, kindness and a deep sense of solidarity.

The slogan of the USSF was “Another world is possible, another U.S. is necessary.” It was interpreted both as another U.S. and another “us,” meaning the left has to reinvent itself.

And it was a major step forward for the World Social Forum movement. The idea of a U.S. social forum came from a couple of people who went to the 2001 WSF in Brazil and then brought a few more with them in 2002. They formed a group called Grassroots Global Justice and began the process of organizing a U.S. social forum, firmly in the WSF spirit.

One of them, Fred Azcarate, then with Jobs with Justice, now with the AFL-CIO, explained to the opening plenary that “it took this long because we wanted to do it right by building the necessary relationships among the grassroots organizations and ensuring the right outcomes.”

And the right outcomes were to create the conditions to unite the disparate grassroots people’s movements around the U.S. across race, age, sector and region.

They got the idea from the WSF but they took it beyond where anyone else has managed to go, except perhaps in Mumbai. In Nairobi, poor people demanded a significant place in the WSF planning process and in Atlanta, they had one. The national planning committee represented what they call national and regional “base-building” groups, whose base is mostly poor and working class people. It seemed to this observer that the forum shifted the balance of power on the American left to the poor and oppressed from the middle class. Time will tell what impact this will have.

Every plenary focused on building alliances among the myriad of grassroots movement across the United States. Most emphasis was on a “black-brown” alliance to combat the racism that divides African Americans from their Latino and immigrant brothers and sisters. But there was also a lot of focus on student/labour alliances and environmental issues were completely linked to social justice issues. Support for gays, lesbians and transgendered people who have been major targets of the Bush administration seemed universal.

The forum ended in a People’s Movements Assembly, where various regional and issue caucuses presented their resolutions. Several new national networks were formed and the bonds of solidarity were deeply forged among those who are usually divided. People left with the commitment to organize social forums in their regions, cities and neighbourhoods. Over the course of the week, the social forum became a synonym for creating a movement of movements everywhere.

“People are asking me when Atlanta has ever seen something like this,” Jerome Scott of Project South and veteran Atlanta activist speaking of the opening march. “I’ve been reflecting on that and my answer is Atlanta has never seen anything like this. The Civil Rights movement was mostly African American and last year’s May 1st (immigration rights) demo was mostly Latinos but this march was the most multi-national action I have ever seen. It was beautiful.”

Almost every one of the 900 workshops over four days was filled to the brim with activists who were sharing strategies in everything from food security to community/labour alliances to a new taking back our cities movement against gentrification. The plenary speakers were majority women, people of colour, and young people. There was not a single left-wing star among them. In a culture obsessed with celebrity, the organizing committee decided they didn’t need any, even the good ones.

None of the big NGOs in the United States were on the planning committee. The idea that foundation-funded, majority white, centrist and Washington dominated NGOs and think tanks have hijacked the left was present throughout the forum. These groups were welcome to participate, but not in a leadership capacity.

Another extraordinary feature of the forum was the role of indigenous people who led the opening march and participated on several panels as well as had their own plenary.
Much of the vision came from them. After talking about the melting of the glaciers, Faith Gemmill from the REDOIL (Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Land) in Alaska said, “Our people have a prophesy that there will come a time in the history of humanity when people are in danger of destroying ourselves. When that time comes, a voice will arise from the North to warn us. That time is now. I was sent here to give you part of our burden to speak up now against the greed.”

And Tom Goldtooth who represents the Indigenous Environmental Network on the national planning committee said, “We must talk from the heart and shake hands with one another. A prayer has taken place that this spirit is going to grow. No matter who we are we must demand not reform of a broken system but transformation. We need to organize from the grassroots.”
And many did speak from the heart.

The plenary on Katrina was stunning to me. While I certainly followed the immediate aftermath, I had no idea of the continuing efforts to whitewash New Orleans. Dr. Beverley Wright speaking from the floor said, “Our parents and our grandparents fought to buy a house to pass on to their family and they are trying to take that away from us when they talk about turning the place we lived in East New Orleans into a green space. They’re not talking about turning the place rich white folks live into green space.”

Another community leader said, “Katrina is both a reality and a symbol. If you work in justice, if you work in health care, if your work in housing, you are in Katrina.”

One of the most powerful speeches was from Javier Gallardo from the New Orleans Workers Center. A guest worker from Peru, he explained that when African Americans were displaced, hundreds of workers like him had been brought in from Latin America for Gulf Coast reconstruction and their employers names are on their passports.

Their ability to stay in the U.S. is dependent on the employer. Gallardo said that there is now a practice that when the employer is finished with the workers, he sells them to another employer for $2,000 each. “What is that?,” he asked.

“We call it modern day slavery. They want to divide us but the old slaves and the new slaves can join together and together we can defeat them,” he continued to thunderous applause. The old slaves/new slaves metaphor wove its way through the rest of the forum in the powerful idea of a black-brown alliance, that veteran activists said would transform left-wing politics in the United States and especially in the South where the vast majority of the working class is now black and brown.

Another impressive feature of the forum was the handling of conflict. When the Palestinian contingent objected that they were the only group not permitted to speak for themselves in the anti-war plenary, the organizers read their letter of protest to the next plenary. When the report of the indigenous caucus was stopped at the end of their allotted time by the moderator of the People's Movement Assembly by removing their microphone, they took grave offense and felt silenced.

Within 10 minutes, most of the indigenous people in the room were on the stage with the consent of the organizers. What could have been an explosive divisive moment with a lot of anger and hurt was handled with incredible skill by both permitting the protest and making sure it was interpreted in a way that created unity rather than division. I had the feeling that a new culture of solidarity was being born, one we tried for in the feminist movement but never quite accomplished.

Of course there were weaknesses in the forum. While strongly rooted in the traditions of the civil rights movement by the symbolic location in Atlanta and the presence of veteran civil rights activists, there was less discussion of working class or even feminist history.

Yet the impact of those movements were strongly felt in the powerful female leadership present everywhere and the strong emphasis on workers' issues and organizing. None of the big environmental groups was present. While the issue of the war and U.S. imperialism had pride of place, the mainstream anti-war movement had little presence. The forum organizers bent the stick quite far towards poor, working class, indigenous, queer and people of colour groups and perhaps this was necessary to create the kind of movement really capable of making change in the United States.

In her famous speech at the 2002 World Social Forum in Brazil, Arundhati Roy famously said, “Remember this: We be many and they be few. They need us more than we need them. Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
It wasn’t a quiet day in Atlanta but I could hear her shouting there, “What do we want? Justice. How will we get it? People Power.”

Judy Rebick holds the Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy at Ryerson University in Toronto. She is a founder and former publisher of rabble.ca. Her most recent book is Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution.

Check-out Women's Working Group's Reproductive Justice Briefing Book

2007-07-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.sistersong.net/documents/RJBriefingBook.pdf

A new, expanded version will be coming out soon.

U.S. Social Forum Forges Common Ground

2007-07-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38397

POLITICS:U.S. Social Forum Forges Common Ground

By Matthew Cardinale

ATLANTA, Jul 2 (IPS) - In all, the crowds were huge, the workshops passionate and inspiring, and participants made ideological, relational and personal gains, both large and small.

The U.S. Social Forum wrapped up Sunday in the southern city of Atlanta with a People's Assembly, where civil society and native leaders read declarations on the meeting's main issues: Gulf Coast reconstruction in the post-Katrina era; militarism and the prison industrial complex; indigenous, sexual and immigrant rights; and labour struggles in the global economy.

Atlanta videographer Judy "Artemis" Condor said it was the youthfulness of the crowd that inspired her. "Usually, it's just us old folks at these marches and it takes all our energy just to get from point A to point B," she said.

The youth, on the other hand, were making music, singing, shouting, carrying huge puppets, and some even walking on stilts.

USSF Director Alice Lovelace said many participants were looking to possibly hold their own regional Social Forums in the months and years ahead.

"In January 2008, there will be International Days of Action," Lovelace said. "Next year will also feature a Social Forum of the Americas, and the USSF will send delegates. World Social Forums should resume in 2009," she said.

The Assembly did not go off without a hitch, as members of the Native American delegation rose in protest when a USSF organiser grabbed the microphone out of one of their speaker's hands because he went "over time." After backstage negotiations, the speaker was able to finish his comments and the Native Americans also held a "healing drum circle" to restore the speaker's dignity.

Still, according to two USSF organisers, some seasoned delegates to the World Social Forum walked away very impressed with the whole event.

"We hit 10,000 [participants]," Lovelace said. "The sessions were brilliant. People made a lot of connections. We had proclamations and declarations. It was an extraordinary gathering."

"Members of the [World Social Forum] International Council were here. They said this presented a great challenge to them because it was the best Social Forum they ever saw. They said it raised the bar across the board in terms of diversity. The sessions were focused on the future, on vision, on strategies. They were going to have to step up their game to match what we did," Lovelace told IPS.

It was still vague by what process the USSF participants will be able to endorse the various resolutions.

"There was a decision to extend the process," of submitting resolutions to the Assembly, said USSF organiser Ruben Solis. It "would continue to be organised once people got back home so they would include more people that did not have the opportunity to be here in Atlanta physically at the USSF. All of July and August will be dedicated to that."

The youth, on the other hand, were making music, singing, shouting, carrying huge puppets, and some even walking on stilts. USSF Director Alice Lovelace said many participants were looking to possibly hold their own regional Social Forums in the months and years ahead.

"The final adoption [of resolutions] will probably happen in September," Solis said. The adoption process would involve both the Internet and the next Planning Committee Meeting. "Get them out to all the delegates, give us a process of consultation, adoption, and voting them in, and a process. Because it was a social experiment that has never been done -- even at the World Social Forum -- this was really groundbreaking. This made history in that sense as well," Solis said.

And despite the bitter dispute that erupted when one of their speakers was cut off, the Native American contingent also saw gains from their participation in the USSF.

"This was really an awesome opportunity for the indigenous people of the U.S. to develop family with indigenous people from the South, delegations from Guatemala, from Chile and Argentina who were here... It really provided us an opportunity to develop a family," said Tom Goldtooth, a leader with the Cherokee Nation. "We're willing to share some of our knowledge," he added.

"The Water Ceremony [at the USSF] was our opportunity to help inform all people about the unification of water. It was announced on the USSF website to bring water from their homeland, whether contaminated or not. This was a ceremony for all people to pray for the water of life. People brought water from all four directions. We had an indigenous woman named Josephine Mandamin, the Water Walker or the Water Keeper, she's walked around each of the Great Lakes," Goldtooth said.

Kimberly Richards from the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond in New Orleans, Louisiana departed feeling ecstatic on the People's Caravan. Richards joined hundreds of others on a caravan of several buses that came from the Western U.S., went through New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama, to join the USSF. Now she was returning home.

"I think there was a lot of progress made. People from the Gulf Coast were able to see oppressive and repressive systems in housing and health care. Atlanta's Katrina was the Olympics. The Olympics displaced people and increased homelessness just as Katrina. For Detroit it was the closing of the auto mills. For North Carolina it was the textile factories," Richards said.

"People are [now] able to understand the intensity of the human rights violations. People's don't [typically] understand the U.S. has signed on to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. The evacuation was: get in your car and leave. People who didn't have cars were discriminated against. That's a human rights violation. We have to understand what our human rights are in order to protect and defend them," she told IPS.

Richards said the biggest benefit for the New Orleans delegation was the raising of consciousness. "To organise, people have to have all those things. To have the action, you have to have the awareness. We don't need unconscious people to take an action. Those parts are critical to effective action, to effective organising. We do need to do something, but we need to do it with consciousness," she said.

Meanwhile, public housing advocates from across the country at the USSF were able to make connections and have planted the seeds of starting a national organisation to protect public housing, said Carl Hartrampf of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless.

After the People's Assembly, a delegation of about 50 public housing residents and advocates marched and delivered an "eviction notice" to the Atlanta Housing Authority, which they taped on the office's front door.

Midwest Region of USSF, June 30, 2007 -- Peoples' Assembly

2007-07-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Midwest Region of USSF, June 30, 2007 – Peoples’ Assembly

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the Atlanta folks who made this forum happen, the USSF national planning committee, all the organizations that have worked long, long hours, and all the volunteers who have labored on behalf of building this movement.

1. We resolve to stand in solidarity with the people of the Gulf South. We support your movement for self determination and the right of return, and we resolve to educate the peoples of our region so we do not forget your struggle.

2. We resolve to continue our collective efforts to fight US imperialism, war, white supremacy and militarism. We also resolve to continue to fight against the prison industrial complex, in our region and all over the US.

3. We resolve to continue our collective efforts as both Native and non-Native peoples to address racist injustices confronting indigenous communities, particularly working to preserve our air, water and precious lands of this planet, and we resolve to continue to fight for Native sovereignty.

4. We resolve to fight for the rights of all immigrant communities in our region, and address the increased state repression immigrants face on a daily basis.

5. We resolve to always integrate gender and sexual justice across all aspects of our work, and be clear in our vision of the presence of and leadership from gay, lesbian, bisexual, two spirited and transgender peoples.

6. We resolve to continue to fight against neoliberalism and corporate globalization and to support workers’ rights and the labor movement throughout our region.

7. We resolve to address anti Arab racism and anti Muslim oppression throughout the Midwest, especially since so many Arab peoples live in Midwestern communities.

8. Lastly, we resolve to fight for public schools that are integrated, even though Brown v. Board of Education has been reversed. We are also resolved to support youth and educators who are challenging No Child Left Behind.

We declare that we will actively participate across our region in all the united days of action that the WSF and the USSF have proposed for January, 2008.

We declare that we will return to our Midwestern communities and organize events across all our communities to share the knowledge we have gained at this USSF.

Lastly, we declare that we will organize a Midwest regional gathering by 2009 in conjunction with planning for the 2010 USSF. We pledge that any gathering that we organize will be built around the principle of bringing all the incredibly diverse communities of our region to the table to plan and participate in the gathering.

Minutes from Last Mtg.

2007-07-20T10:06:00.001-07:00

Minutes from the July 10th meeting – The Twin Cities return from the US Social Forum

I started taking minutes after we had already started so forgive me for not listing everyone’s name who attended.

Most important piece – we are planning on gathering on Saturday, July 21st, from 3:30 until 7:00, location to be announced. More information on this later in the minutes.

The conversation began with introductions and check ins on the Forum and our work in the Twin Cities. From there, we moved into a discussion about what the work is we need to do in the Twin Cities to build on the Forum.

In the Twin Cities, people stay in their silos. There is a movement happening, you could feel it and see it at the Forum, it is happening in big ways in the southeast and the southwest and it is led by people of color and organizations of color. It isn’t happening in the Twin Cities. We don’t connect here. We stay in our silos, we stay in our separations and we don’t talk to each other.

There was a lot of talk at the last two Midwest Social Forums about doing movement building in the Twin Cities. We had a few meetings afterwards but they just kind of trailed off.

What we doing movement building towards? Are we only getting together to talk or are we also thinking about action? Each of the plenaries dealt with really political issues that included action and not just meetings. How do we bring that here?

Project South talks about movement building in three different stages: Consciousness, Vision and then Strategy. Building movements and relationships takes time. We don’t know if we have the same visions, we still don’t know each other. We aren’t yet at the point of strategies.

I am not interested in creating a new organization, a new 501-c-3. Instead, I want to find a way to connect what is happening in the Twin Cities already. I know of lots of amazing organizers from the Twin Cities who do their work nationally. Who are known outside the Cities. But they don’t do it here. I want to take the time to really know this community, to have a sense of what is happening here, to see how we are connected and different and to see our movements and work interconnecting. I would assume that some groups and organizations would decide to do actions in the middle – that’s fine. In the meantime, others will keep building like this growing stream, building the connections and the trust and the relationships.

We need to be doing ground level organizing, building our analysis, making more connections. What moved me at the US Social Forum was the amount of analysis and cross-sector work. We don’t do cross-sector work here. This is where we have to build – our analysis and cross-sector work. To do that, we have to know each other. At the Forum, I was struck by how many areas had organizations who saw their role as movement building – this is what they were doing, they maintained the relationships and created opportunities. We don’t have anything like that here.

I want to encourage organizations to get hooked in with the Grassroots Global Justice folks – you can find them on the US Social Forum website. There isn’t anyone from the Twin Cities, any organizations, connected here.

We can spend time training each other, sharing our skills.

We need to find a way to meet regularly, someplace and time that we can count on.

We’re good at logistics here but then we get tired, we rarely seem to get past second meetings.

Well, it seems like there are two things happening right now – report backs to the community on what happened at the Forum which would include dialogue about what we have learned and then also a focus on movement building and what happens next. We have to look for organizations that were at the Forum but are not present at this table.

Charlotte is going to organize a list of report backs – folks can send her their information and she’ll put together a centralized list.

The irony here is that we’re having separate report backs – more of that silo stuff – all of these little communities are doing report backs without connecting at all.

January 26th is set aside as a week of action – this is when the World Social Forum would be taking place but we’re not having one centralized forum in 2008 – instead the idea is to have a world social forum that is literally taking place all over the world.

We’re interested in building towards a Twin Cities Social Forum or a Minnesota Social Forum of some sort for the January 26th period.

We’re going to have a meeting on July 21st from 3:30 until 7:00 to begin building relationships, defining the container that will hold this work as we move into January and beyond, etc.
Susan, Lena, Jen, Andrew and Lisa will work on the agenda (and I assume co-facilitate it although this will be more of a group facilitation). Agenda items suggested include 1) outlining the background of the forums, 2) personal sharing of what we took away from the Forum/what we experienced, 3) time to begin building relationships, 4) get a sense of what was at the Forum so we can also see who wasn’t, 5) build a TC movement map, 6) look at the container/infrastructure for moving forward.

Pictures of Change? U.S. Social Forum

2007-07-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=153396

Pictures of Change? U.S. Social Forum

July 16, 2007

Shannon Gibney

Shannon Gibney attended the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, at the end of June, and came away with this report on art in the service of social advocacy.

The U.S. Social Forum (USSF) was a nationwide conference held in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of June. Its organizers wrote, “The US Social Forum is more than a conference, more than a networking bonanza, more than a reaction to war and repression.” It was an outgrowth of the recognition at the World Social Forum that the solutions to many of the intractable problems in the world lay of necessity in the hands of U.S. citizens. –ed.

The notion that art can change people’s minds, and in doing so can change societies, is quite an attractive one – which might explain its staying power. But at a recent panel at the U.S. Social Forum, a lively debate about the efficacy of this strategy was ignited.

The panel was titled “A Hammer to Shape Reality: Art and Social Movement,” and was organized by the San Francisco Print Collective (SFPC), as well as by Liberation Ink, a T-shirt and garment printing company, and Just Seeds. These are all visual arts and social justice organizations which have taken different but related courses in using visual imagery to change peoples’ thinking about their world.

“What we were doing was very much shaped by a year of campaign work. There were people in the streets, public meetings, and the images themselves,” said Fernando Marti, of the SFPC, explaining the group’s 2000-2001 campaign to highlight the problems faced by residents in San Francisco’s Mission District.

“We were working with the homeless coalition, working with South of Market around a different kind of displacement,” Marti continued. “The Mission District was becoming increasingly gentrified. The Collective made posters, but also did other art projects. We worked with neighbors to define how they wanted to see their neighborhood. They created a ‘People’s Plan’ to define what the community wanted to see in their neighborhood in terms of housing, transportation, education, etc. So the basic strategy was to integrate the images into other organizing elements. We never intended for the images to do that work on their own.”

This multifaceted, multi-pronged coalition helped the SFPC’s images convey the power and voice of an otherwise unheard community. This in turn forced local politicians and developers to respond, and take action.

Josh MacPhee, the mind behind Just Seeds, which bills itself as a “visual resistance artists’ cooperative,” offered another view of the art and social justice conundrum. “I think there are two kinds of conflicting truisms: One is that you can’t confuse representations of direct democracy with direct democracy. You can’t draw the new world into being. But the flipside of that is that culture is so big and messy that you don’t know how things are going to impact communities, or what they’ll mean to various people. So it’s about finding some balance for yourself while you’re trying to negotiate it. And part of that is about sharing your work with people before you put a lot of time and energy into it. I know a lot of people who have rolled out 1,000 posters that were completely misunderstood because someone didn’t just get on a bus and ask people, ‘What does this mean to you?’ So doing your research and development is well worth it.”

MacPhee has been doing just that in Chicago, for a while now. He initiated the “Celebrate People’s History Poster Series,” which includes “Mothers of East Los Angeles,” “The Silent Majority,” “El Agua is Nuestra Carajo,” and “Fred Hamption 1948-1969.”

“We have produced 44 posters so far, and they are close to being able to produce around 10 a year. Different artists do each one, and it’s a way to build a network,” said MacPhee. “The posters were inspired by a bunch of my friends who were teaching in the public school system and had absolutely no materials to use to engage their students.”

Toward the conclusion of the discussion, an audience member posed a related question, about how to keep mainstream/capitalist forces from appropriating images – a process that is becoming more and more pervasive with every Malcolm X image printed.

Le Tim Ly, of Liberation Ink, “a worker owned apparel printing and design collective created to fund social justice organizing” in the Bay area (www.liberationink.com), said, “At Liberation Ink, we try to place all our images in time and space. We go deeper than just an image by including text. So if we had a t-shirt of Che, we would include something significant that he said.”
Related Links

U. S. Social Forum For more information on the U.S. Social Forum, visit here.

Street Art Workers Street Art Workers are at this webaddress.

Twin Cities delegation to the U.S. Social Forum To get involved with the Twin Cities delegation, contact Ryan Li Dahlstrom here.

Articles Forum Comment on this article here.

Thank you

2007-07-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Shannon for setting this up - I'm looking forward to seeing lots of conversation and information on this blog.

Agenda for Mtg. 7.20.07

2007-07-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

Building A Twin Cities Left – A response to the US Social Forum
June 21, 2007 3:30 – 6:30

Please bring snacks to share and bring your own beverage.

1. Why are we here? Collective exercise but also presented by one of the facilitators including how we imagined this agenda and what, in putting it together, we talked about and imagined as next possible steps after this day.

2. Groundrules - As a group, we lay out ground rules for the day, what are our expectations of our own behavior, what is the culture of our day?

3. Project South timeline exercise – When did you first begin to recognize injustice?

4. Building a Twin Cities movement map – First, begin with ourselves using one color of marker. Draw a map showing who is in the room by showing what we are involved in. (EG: Draw squares representing issue/movement fronts with your name in them, draw lines between those you are involved in, others add their name to the squares they share or add new squares, until we have a map showing what we are all involved in. After this is complete, take another color marker and draw squares showing the issues/movement fronts not in the room until we have a two-color map that includes us and those not in the room.)

5. US Social Forum report backs – build on what the map by reporting back on what we experienced, were excited by, were inspired by, were confused by in terms of the US Social Forum. Whenever possible, direct it to our work here. If at all possible, add the information (when appropriate) to the TC movement map we’ve just drawn.

6. Where do we go from here? What is the container that will carry us during the next steps? How are we going to keep moving forward during this phase of our Twin Cities movement-building work (how will we set dates, find places for those dates to meet, send reminder emails, reach out to new folks when appropriate, bring new folks in, keep minutes, keep track of the flow from meeting to meeting, remember where we are going, be a point person if someone wants info on what we’re doing, how do we transmit that info, etc.)

7. Next steps.

Twin Cities USSF Mtg. TOMORROW, Sat. 7/21 -- NEW LOCATION!

2007-07-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Thisis a reminder and clarification about our meeting, this Saturday, 3:30 - 6:30pm to connect and strategize in the aftermath of the US Social Forum. THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, which is at 1900 Nicollet Ave, near the intersection of Nicollet and Franklin in Minneapolis and is accessible by the #2 and #18 buses.

Please bring some snacks to share and a beverage and email back to let us know if you'll be coming (if you've already replied to previous emails saying you can come or not, there's no need to do so again).

Charlotte Albrecht

Reflections on the U.S. Social Forum: Three Cautions for the Future of the Left

2007-07-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Published on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 by CommonDreams.org

Reflections on the US Social Forum: Three Cautions for the Future of the Left

by Sally Kohn

A few weeks ago, I attended the first-ever United States Social Forum, June 27 to July 1, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. It was an awe-inspiring event, bringing together over 15,000 grassroots activists from every issue area and every corner of the United States. And while the conferences

I'm used to anyway are populated by slick white men in suits who work for glossy advocacy organizations in Washington, the Social Forum was dominated by members of community-based organizations who more often wore colorful matching t-shirts detailing their group's origins and their proud participation in Atlanta. And as far as I could tell, most of the participants were people of color, again a far cry from the elite and exclusive gatherings that often claim to represent "the left".

Without question, we need a profound, broad-based movement for cultural, political and economic transformation of the United States - and we need it soon. And being at the US Social Forum prickled my skin with the inexplicable but tangible sense that a social justice movement in the United States is really possible. Like static electricity hanging pregnant in the air, there is an exciting potential for movement to spark.

But in addition to displaying the many parts of our social justice infrastructure up to the task — grassroots organizing groups and popular education work and strong, community leaders humming all around us like charged particles — the US Social Forum also revealed some of the worst of our field. Sectarian bad habits kept us fighting among ourselves and scrutinizing our own navels rather than using the historic gathering space of the forum to actually challenge ourselves and each other, articulate a bold vision for the future and develop a shared strategy for action. If we're ever to build a truly powerful, multi-issue movement for economic, political and social justice, we must overcome the following barriers that loomed large at the US Social Forum - which I attribute to dangerous patterns across the left more so than the particular organizers of the Forum, many of whom raised the same concerns.

1. We must be allies, not enemies!

At the US Social Forum, one group of immigrant-led organizations nastily attacked another because of disagreements over pursuing immigration reform strategy. A Jewish woman who tried to make a statement sympathetic with Palestinians was publicly attacked as anti-Arab and anti-Islam. One peace activist was attacked with a pie was thrown in her face by others calling her a sell-out.

As someone once said, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?" Is that really where to best concentrate our energy, on attacking those who are slightly to the left or right of us on any given issue but generally otherwise in agreement? Don't we have more important things to do?

At one point, I left the Social Forum to visit the museum dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King, who was heartily evoked throughout the forum, preached non-violence and compassion for our opponents. He also was attacked by many on the far-left as a sell-out in his day, for working with the federal government to pass imperfect yet necessary civil rights legislation. Are the immigrant rights groups who pushed for reform legislation any different? Would King have had a pie thrown in his face at the US Social Forum today?

History has taught us that successful social movements have involved a spectrum of ideologies. Malcolm X and the Black Panthers made King and others' demands seem "reasonable" and thus politically acceptable to center-right elites. Social movements that rely on totalitarian dogmatism fail. See, e.g., communism everywhere. Before the US Social Forum, I thought the American left had learned this lesson and believed in compassion and respect for differences. Now I'm not so sure. The US Social Forum was a hot bed of ugly and disrespectful sectarian attacks lobbed by the self-righteous far-left against the merely left-of-center-left. Is it possible that we could appreciate the need for diversity and difference of opinion within the left and cultivate a new habit of respectful yet robust debate - rather than pie throwing?

2. Identity does not equal politics

Political correctness and identity politics have been much maligned on the left and right. At their best, these notions challenge us to remedy past habits of exclusion and elitism, include the full spectrum of human diversity in our movement building and society in general, and give voice to multiple perspectives and not just those that generally dominate. But identity politics fails us when we treat racial, ethnic and sexual diversity as a proxy for political and ideological diversity. They're not necessarily interchangeable.

On each plenary at the US Social Forum, for instance, there were as many as eight speakers who were extremely diverse in terms of identity but barely so in terms of politics. Speakers who looked different from one another nonetheless repeated the same rhetoric over and over again. Much of it was identity-based shout-outs, how we have to connect this issue or that with the GLBT community or we can't ignore the plight of women in one situation or another. That's all important — the whole point to identity politics is to include in the political conversation and process those who have been horribly excluded for so long. But we can't stop at the politics of recognition. If we don't go any deeper — to not just talk about why we have to connect our issues but have the challenging conversations about how we make these connections in practice, to not just care about who is on stage but also what they have to say — otherwise, aren't we the self-imposed victims of the tokenism we say we reject?

And if at a gathering of 15,000 left-wing social justice activists who in their daily work and struggle are trying to bring voice and power to those most often left behind, our main internal priority is still the main fight to be fought internally, see point #1 above. Sure, some of the straight folks at the forum could use more analysis around issues of homophobia and gender identity. And sure, the non-Native folks there probably need to learn much more about Native history and struggles. But frankly just trotting out a diverse set of faces and giving rhetorical lip service to these issues isn't much progress in that direction. Rather than saying simply, "We have to respect and include Native communities," followed by a show of solidarity in the form of applause, what if we were really engaged and challenged to think about why Native communities and issues are often last on our laundry list of progressive causes, or what it means for American activists who so often despise the nation-state to nonetheless champion Native sovereignty? What if our solidarity came in the form of rigorous thinking, rather than ceremonial clapping?

The point of identity politics isn't to rank the issues or perspectives of one community as more important than another but, rather, to use the often intense experiences of inequality and discrimination faced by some communities as a lens for better understanding the injustice faced by all of us. In other words, diversity and inclusion are vital but we can't just stop there.

3. We need positive alternatives, not just critique

Along the same lines, we have to do more than just complain about the problems in society. Analysis and critique are very important. We need to understand structural racism, how it's perpetuated in society's political and cultural crevices and the polluting impact it has in our communities. We need to understand economic inequality, how the economy is designed to produce injustice, how that injustice is manifest. But cathartic though it might be, it's not enough to just complain and critique. If we believe another world is possible and are about building power in communities to achieve that alternative future, then we have to set about the task of actually describing what that future should be.

That's hard. We know what we're against, but we're not entirely sure what we're for. And to the point above, it's much easier to prove you belong in the progressive club by throwing down some fierce analysis of war and militarism and the connection to the prison industrial complex. But what's your alternative solution? Is war necessary and sometimes just? If we can't prevent all crimes, do we think prison is sometimes okay or what's our alternative? At the level of critique and analysis, we're damn good at exchanging rhetorical hi-fives. But what if you and I disagree at the level of vision? Or worse, what if I don't even have a vision at all? It's a much more vulnerable position to be in.

At a meeting I was at recently, a grassroots activist said, "We wouldn't know what to do with power if we got it. We haven't had that meeting yet!" Power, of course, isn't a end but a means to and end. What will the world look like when we, the people, have the power to change it? Critique and analysis are important but not enough. Part of building power is planning for power. And we must build our future vision along the way. From the worker-owned cooperative businesses to models of participatory democracy, examples are springing up across the country of an alternative vision in action. Our power comes not only from critiquing what is but envisioning what will be and inspiring millions with the vivid reality that another world is possible. At social justice gatherings going forward, we should do more than dwell on the many problems in society and talk about how we need alternatives. We should discuss what those alternatives actually are.

Comments or critiques of this article are welcome and invited. Please send them to skohn@communitychange.org . Pies? I prefer banana cream.
Sally Kohn is the director of the Movement Vision Lab at the Center for Community Change, supporting grassroots leaders across the United States to explore and debate visionary ideas for the future.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Discuss this story Discuss this story Printer Friendly Version Printer Friendly Version E-Mail This Article
12 Comments so far

1.
Rodso64 July 18th, 2007 12:19 pm

Huzzah, my lady! Your three points are well taken. I worry, though, about the Left's ability to take heed. Twenty years ago, I worked as a volunteer at the California State Democratic Party convention, and I saw much of the same thing: Many great ideas and many good intentions hamstrung by petty bickering. Mostly over who deserved the title of "Most Abused Victims of All Time".

"Political Correctness" is a much-abused term that, at its heart, really means simply "fashionable politeness". I have not EVER been a fan of fashion, but I remain a staunch defender of politeness in human affairs. It's this simple, folks: How good or bad the world turns out actually really does come down to a question of how much respect (yes, I'll use the 'flabby' word) niceness are YOU, as an individual, going to show THAT PERSON in front of you now, regardless of how different OR alike you both are.
2.
eshu July 18th, 2007 12:22 pm

What you identify as the "far left" attacking merely the "left of center" is in reality a mismash of perspectives.

Your critique of the attacks on the pro-Palestinian statement dont' make sense if we do not know what was said. A lot of people on the "left" who imagine themselves pro-Palestinian quite naively continue to endorse a "peace" process which is overseen by the west and Israel. To critique such a position is not to be "pure" in one's politics, it is simply to recognize concrete conditions on the ground and call for clarity. The Palestinians have a full and unconditional right to autonomy, whether Israel or the United States recognize it or not, and hence, any resistance they mount, despite the contradictions of such a resistance, must be given supportive criticism, not merely critical support. The difference between the two positions is complex and immense, as at the end of the day, no one in the west has anything to say about Palestine short of full support for liberation that anyone in the Middle East should have to listen to anyway. As for the rights of the Jewish population to a homeland, that too should be respected, but it must come with full recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people to return. That comes first. There has never been any rhyme or reason behind the concept that Palestine should pay for what the European did to European Jewery sixty years ago, and those who do not understand that little piece don't understand much about the debacle in the Middle East right now. So, unless you'd care to outline what the actual dispute was in the situation you alluded to, your lack of detail hazes the issue, and incidentally, due to its lack of clarity, comes off as an attack and adds to the sectarian behavior you are so allegedly concerned about.

As for the pie incident, Medea and her supporters need to get a sense of humor. To suggest she has never been guilty of grandstanding, or that her schtick in front of the camera isn't exhausting at moments, is ridiculous. She got a pie in the face because she's well deserving of same. She is a pompous ass much of the time, and ridicule is an appropriate response to that. In fact, it's the American way, if you want to get culture specific. Be glad you're not in a tendency that just meets Benjamin's self-righteousness with a baseball bat. You know they're out there.

Speaking of the American way, the splitting and arguing you're looking at is a natural part of a political culture steeped in spectacular reference and political leadership that spends much of its time posing for the cameras. That's not going to be outgrown in a short time simply by calling for unity. There are serious political disputes that must get worked out, concrete questions that must get addressed, platforms to be constructed. That won't come without splits. If you actually believe that you're going to build a majoritarian movement that's going to overturn this mess simply by calling for unity, you are quite mistaken, and need to look at real U.S. history. It will be a minority faction, united around a real concrete program, that will carry this thing forward. It will attain majority support only through long, hard, experience and error, and constantly correcting itself through concrete tactics, as opposed to Medea- type media events.

And if you spent any time studying or analyzing the history of communism, which you denigrate as a totalitarian movement, but which, up to this point in history, has been the only successful mass movement in opposition to imperialism and the corporate state, you'd understand that. Communism must be understood as an outgrowth of the capitalist war on the world, otherwise, you'll never understand it. If you oppose stalinism, you have a responsibility to get clear on the actual consequences of capitalist mayhem. New Orleans is the truest indicator of who these bastards are. Get busy studying.

You've got a lot of damn homework to do just like the rest of us, so you need not get all righteous in your calls for unity. Unity brokers are every bit as capable of being sectarian and vicious as any "ultra left" group. As a veteran of the labor movement, and having been on the receiving end of "mainstream" union thuggery and it's unity broking friends, I can assure you that political purity is a disease not unknown to the center. No one was more of a centrist then Joseph Stalin. So cool your jets. There's a long, hard road ahead. You're not anywhere near as open or prepared as you present yourself being.

—M. Hureaux, Seattle
3.
eshu July 18th, 2007 12:28 pm

As for the first commenter here, the "democrats" aren't even in it, and haven't been for a long time. The democrats are full of beans, they were twenty years ago when I was still working with them, and they exist to confuse and mislead. Screw that noise.

Respect for your perspective compels me to be honest with you, however painful we both may find it. Anything else is just passive aggressive bullshit.

Finally, both the columnist, and her respondee, need to understand Medea Benjamin doesn't even reach up to MLK's shoelaces. No one's talking political purity here. We're talking integrity. And she hasn't found it yet, despite her posing.
4.
Bobus July 18th, 2007 12:41 pm

To start is to stop thinking in terms of right and left as this is exactly what the ruling powers want everybody to think. There is great but unpublished work of Paul Ray that put the political map in much better perspective and this is not based on just theoretical speculation.
http://www.culturalcreatives.org/Library/docs/NewPoliticalCompassV73.pdf

We also need to understand what unites all the movements. Clearly, it is rebellion against the ruling Moderns culture and its principles which are embodied by all the ruling powers. Yet, that rebellion always starts in one particular area of life. This is represented by particular social movements as against the war, saving the earth, civil rights, etc. Individually, rebellion seems to be spreading to other parts of our individual lives, gradually but accelerating. That is why those who oppose third world exploitation can also be involved, for instance, in organics or alternative medicine. And vice versa.

Sally is right that the problem, the ultimate problem is that we know what we fight against but we don't know what we want to replace it with. Apparently, "it is all about economy, stupid". And it is, because we all want to live and most of us want to live well. Here is the really bad news. Is there a realistic economic model that can address goals of all these various individual "against" movements? If we want to save the earth, how can we support lives of 6.5 billions people? Something must die.

Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans fight who will be the next version of the rulling Moderns powers…
5.
conscience July 18th, 2007 12:44 pm

Articles like this of lesser quality have from time to time given me concern about whose minding the store at Common Dreams. Democrats can surely take criticism . . .

But the old Republican rag of a story that attacking hate speech is merely attacking politically correct expression simply paves the way for the fascist Supreme Court to now tell us that "Integration is Discrimination."
6.
alamac July 18th, 2007 12:54 pm

Yeah. It's the "herding cats" problem–lefties are damned independent thinkers who each have fervently-held beliefs and the will to back them up.

So we are cursed by our big advantage–we are thinkers who live by the mantra "Don't follow leaders & watch your parking meters". Sheep follow blindly and as a pack. Cats, on the other hand, do what they think is right, the rest of the world be damned.

I have thought long and hard about this and don't see a solution. Ironically, it may take a Neil Young-style "Leader" to create the buzz and will to overcome our parochialism and work together (for once) to accomplish real change.

Note to Neil, though: It isn't Obama, and not because he's "too young", but because he's too korporatist. And it isn't a "woman" because the only one in the race is the hyper-korporatist Klintstone.

So back to the drawing board. Signed– >^..^<
7.
Vern July 18th, 2007 1:13 pm

"The US Social Forum was a hot bed of ugly and disrespectful sectarian attacks lobbed by the self-righteous far-left against the merely left-of-center-left. Is it possible that we could appreciate the need for diversity and difference of opinion within the left and cultivate a new habit of respectful yet robust debate - rather than pie throwing?"

Garbage. Go to any of the "progressive" forums on the net and you will see the "far-left" constantly hounded, sneered at, condemned, red-baited, censored and thrown off by "the merely left-of-center-left" (note how the author frames the far-left as self-righteous and the centrists as "merely")Cindy Sheehan is a case in point. There is more venom directed at her by mindless centrists than targeting the Bush administration. It is amazing how people are so easily hoodwinked and absorb the talking points targeting the Left. Of course, that is what both parties fear the most–a populist uprising championing social and economic justice and end to imperial looting that drain or treasury for the enrichment of the few. FDR actually preserved capitalism by adopting some socialism, thereby providing checks and balances, but there is increasing unfairness and a rolling back of protections and accountability–and little room in the Democratic party anymore for true advocates to weld any influence. It is all bought and sold. So, I take some offense that the author says we should play nice with the centrists–they don't play nice with us–I have seen "Commondreams" referred to as the Left's equiviliant of Fox News", when they are closer in philosophy to Fox news.

The Left needs and should have the right to stridently say no to a "Left" who aligns itself more often than not with the Right. We are not allies when they are the ones who drag down Nader, joke about Kucinich, dismiss Michael Moore, attack Cindy Sheehan and demand that we line up behind Hillary Clinton.
8.
John Freeman July 18th, 2007 1:16 pm

Socialism, as in the Northern European countries or as emerging in South America sounds like the best solution to me. Communism and Capitalism are both proven failures, countries who opted for Socialism seem to have a lot more happy people living there. I do not really care if the rich are not rich enough, it's the status of the poor that define a country. Ours? Well, just look around and see what you think.
9.
gleibman July 18th, 2007 2:04 pm

Regarding point 3, for a positive alternative to capitalism/corporatism, check out parecon (participatory economics), a vision largely shaped by Michael Albert and Robin Hahnel. It contains ideas from socialism, but diverges from classical Marxism in several ways, for example, it replaces the Marxist two class model of proletarians and capitalists with one including a "coordinator" class–people who, without owning businesses (as capitalists do), are still a priveleged elite in that they have power over other workers as managers, lawyers, doctors, etc. Parecon is discussed and debated at http://www.zmag.org/parecon/indexnew.htm.
10.
dponcy July 18th, 2007 2:22 pm

Vern, I don't know where you come from politically, but I think you have a misunderstanding of what people are talking about when they refer to the "far-left".

The far left I know are the one's who "drag down Nader, joke about Kucinich, dismiss Michael Moore, attack Cindy Sheehan and demand that we line up behind" …The Revolution. That is, their particular sectarian vision of The Revolution. Some of these folks are Trotskyists, some anarchists, some environmentalists, some other ists, but they are all absolutist and unbending about their issue, or their "analysis". To them, Kucinich, et al, are all sell-outs.

As an organizer on the ("sellout" democratic socialist) left for over two decades, I can assure you that this divisiveness is rampant. Every group I have been involved with for more than a year or so has made itself irrelevent through this sectarian bickering.

This sectarianism, of course, is not limited to the "far left". It exists everywhere on the broader left, including the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, the Greens, etc.

Time for unity or death. We get to choose.
11.
dponcy July 18th, 2007 2:42 pm

12.
Vern July 18th, 2007 2:50 pm

It occured to me that I might be using the wrong scale within the context of the event, but it still holds true across the board. Sometimes I see this niche stuff at ANSWER rallies and it can be alienating, and groups like the Greens have become gated communities unto themselves–totally irrelevant. Some on the Left become so doctrinaire they don't even deal with in the moment situations. So, what good are they? The Left has to push to get their voices and ideas out there–what good is it to withdraw into isolated ivory towers? Don't know the answer but will continue to push.

U.S. Social Forum Announces Next Steps

2007-07-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

U.S. Social Forum Announces Next Steps
Plans to Maintain Momentum After Successful Gathering of Thousands

MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT: Karlos Schmeider
Sunday, July 1, 2007 (505) 363-4962 karlos@youthmediacouncil.org

*Go to http://www.media.ussf2007.org/ for audio, video and stills.

ATLANTA – The first ever US Social Forum closed today in an emotional ceremony that focused on “the work ahead.” The widely diverse gathering drew nearly 12,000 advocates representing over 1000 organizations from every state in the U.S., including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico under the banner, “Another World is Possible. Another U.S. is necessary.” 68 countries were represented at the US Social Forum, including 400 international delegates.

“This won’t end in Atlanta,” says National Planning Committee member Rubén Solís. “We have the People Movement Assembly and other mechanisms to continue to build on all the great work we started.”

The Peoples Movement Assembly was one of many vehicles for broader participation in the USSF. The Assembly enabled participants to introduce resolutions and ideas for action post the Forum as part of the USSF’s commitment to modeling democratic space.

Another important vehicle for participation in the USSF structure is the many workgroups that emerged over the two years of organizing preceding the Forum. Work groups on issues like immigration rights, workers rights, health and more met, developed programming and strategies for joint work together after the Forum.

“We have the momentum, the goodwill and the ingenuity to make this much more than a gathering,” says Loretta Ross of the Atlanta based Sister Song and a leader of the Women’s Working Group. “We came together as women across a wide range of experiences and issues and really built something together. We will definitely keep this work moving forward.”

Many alliances were also built across issues like with the People’s Freedom Caravan, an effort that brought together indigenous peoples, Latin@s/Chican@a, African Americans and others throughout the south and southwest.

“The People’s Freedom Caravan process really helped to strengthen relationships and helped foster common ground between organizations with different issue agendas,” says Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network. “As indigenous people, it is important that our issues stay visible. This process helped us build with others so that more people understand our story. The caravan and the forum provided an excellent opportunity for our grassroots communities involved on the frontlines of struggle to educate forum participants on their stories ”

As the Forum closed, participants expressed gratitude for the smooth and virtually hitch free logistics for the event. Says Alice Lovelace, USSF National Lead Organizer, “We worked hard to put the systems in place that would support a peaceful and productive gathering. I am proud of our staff and our work teams that pulled together – and with so little resources – to make this event happen.”

Although the National Planning Committee has not yet made plans for another Forum in the near future, they did announce that it will support the World Social Forum’s Call to Action on January 26, 2008. The global day of action will feature broad mobilizations in every country on nearly every issue.

“The US Social Forum process did not happen in isolation,” says Michael Leon Guerrero of Grassroots Global Justice and National Planning Committee member. “We are committed to being full participants in the World Social Forum process. Participating in the Call to Action is an important way to build global solidarity and become that ‘other U.S.’ that will help make another world possible.”

“For more information on the USSF, see http://www.ussf2007.org/. For more information on the World Social Forum Call to Action, see http://www.wsf2008.net/

# # # # #