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Indybay Feature
2/16 SF Peace March Outreach & Black History Month
We have a little more than 2 weeks to reach enough people to have 1 million march for peace in San Francisco on February 16, 2003. That means we need everyone to participate in one way or another to build for this important event.
We have a little more than 2 weeks to reach enough people to have 1 million march for peace in San Francisco on February 16, 2003. That means we need everyone to participate in one way or another to build for this important event.
You can download, copy and distribute the leaflet from:
http://www.actionsfbay.org/images/pdf-files/f16flyer.pdf
You can make a financial contribution by following the instructions at:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
Saturday, February 1, 2003, participate in outreach by picking up leaflets and posters from 2489 Mission, Room 24, San Francisco, tel: 415/821-6545. You can also pick up your leaflets and posters any other day of the week as this ANSWER office is open 7 days a week about 12 hours a day.
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH. We all must do what we can to encourage maximum participation by everyone in this peace march, and that includes the African-American community. Below is the outreach call from http://www.iacenter.org:
IT'S TIME TO MAXIMIZE BLACK PARTICIPATION IN THE PEACE MOVEMENT
A CALL TO ACTION
People of African ancestry have a unique role in the growing movement to stop President Bush's war on Iraq. If war comes, it will be Black soldiers who will bear the brunt of the fighting and dying. The Black community will bear more than its share of deprivation as a result of massive funds invested in war, money that is robbed from healthcare, education, nutrition, and jobs programs. War is the epitome of everything that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought against his entire short life. And stopping the war on Iraq is a matter of life and death for everyone, especially people of color. In the coming days and weeks, let us work to insure maximum participation from the Black community in the peace movement and in all the important protests, especially the International Day of protest for Peace, February 15th [in San Francisco, February 16-peacenik].
TAKE A STAND FOR PEACE
We thank all the organizations and influential people in the Black community who have taken a strong public position against the war. We encourage those who have not to add their voices to the opposition.
MAKE BLACK HISTORY MONTH--BLACK PROTEST FOR PEACE MONTH
February is Black History Month. We encourage everyone who is planning a Black History Month program in February, whether at school, or at church, or the mosque, or the community center, the union hall, or in the streets, to devote their program to protesting the war. Black history is nothing if not a history of struggle against what Dr. King called the three evils: racism, poverty and militarism. All the things that we recall and commemorate during Black History Month can be connected to the need to stop this war. Let us turn Black History Month into "Black Protest for Peace Month."
SUPPORT G.I.'S WHO REFUSE TO GO TO WAR
Many of us have family members in the military. Young African Americans often join the military to find the jobs and educational opportunities not available to them in civilian society. Our protest is not against the Black soldiers, it is against an unjust war. Indeed, we protest in the hope that we can save the lives of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Let us also open our arms with moral support and practical assistance to those soldiers, women and men, who decide they cannot in good conscience participate in this unjust war.
REMEMBER MALCOLM X--SUPPORT THE STUDENT PROTEST ON FEBRUARY 21ST
On Friday, February 21st, anti-war students across the country will commemorate the 38th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X (El Haj Malik Shabazz) by leaving classes to protest the war. We encourage students, faculty and the community at large to participate in this important day of protest and help to make it truly massive and powerful.
(Initial signers as of 1/28/03)
Rev. Herbert Daughtry, National Pastor, the House of Lord Church
Rev. Grayland Hagler, Pastor Plymouth Congregational Church, Washington D.C.
Brenda Stokely, President AFSCME Council 1707, New York
Mumia Abu-Jamal, Death Row Political Prisoner, Journalist
Mahdi Bray, Executive Director Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Council Member, Charles Barron, Brooklyn, NY
Dennis Serrette, Educational Director, Communication Workers of America
Consuela Lee, Musician, Director Snow Hill Institute of Cultural Arts and Heritage, Snow Hill, Alabama
Viola Plummer, December 12 Movement
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor Pan African News Wire
Elizabeth Davis, Washington D.C. Teacher Federation
Larry Holmes, ANSWER Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
Chuck Turner, City Council person, Boston, Massachusetts
If you, as a member of the Black community, would like to publicly sign the open letter to the Black community, please forward your name along with organizational affiliation and/or identification to mgm1952 [at] hotmail.com no later than February 1, 2003
You can download, copy and distribute the leaflet from:
http://www.actionsfbay.org/images/pdf-files/f16flyer.pdf
You can make a financial contribution by following the instructions at:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/donate.html
Saturday, February 1, 2003, participate in outreach by picking up leaflets and posters from 2489 Mission, Room 24, San Francisco, tel: 415/821-6545. You can also pick up your leaflets and posters any other day of the week as this ANSWER office is open 7 days a week about 12 hours a day.
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH. We all must do what we can to encourage maximum participation by everyone in this peace march, and that includes the African-American community. Below is the outreach call from http://www.iacenter.org:
IT'S TIME TO MAXIMIZE BLACK PARTICIPATION IN THE PEACE MOVEMENT
A CALL TO ACTION
People of African ancestry have a unique role in the growing movement to stop President Bush's war on Iraq. If war comes, it will be Black soldiers who will bear the brunt of the fighting and dying. The Black community will bear more than its share of deprivation as a result of massive funds invested in war, money that is robbed from healthcare, education, nutrition, and jobs programs. War is the epitome of everything that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought against his entire short life. And stopping the war on Iraq is a matter of life and death for everyone, especially people of color. In the coming days and weeks, let us work to insure maximum participation from the Black community in the peace movement and in all the important protests, especially the International Day of protest for Peace, February 15th [in San Francisco, February 16-peacenik].
TAKE A STAND FOR PEACE
We thank all the organizations and influential people in the Black community who have taken a strong public position against the war. We encourage those who have not to add their voices to the opposition.
MAKE BLACK HISTORY MONTH--BLACK PROTEST FOR PEACE MONTH
February is Black History Month. We encourage everyone who is planning a Black History Month program in February, whether at school, or at church, or the mosque, or the community center, the union hall, or in the streets, to devote their program to protesting the war. Black history is nothing if not a history of struggle against what Dr. King called the three evils: racism, poverty and militarism. All the things that we recall and commemorate during Black History Month can be connected to the need to stop this war. Let us turn Black History Month into "Black Protest for Peace Month."
SUPPORT G.I.'S WHO REFUSE TO GO TO WAR
Many of us have family members in the military. Young African Americans often join the military to find the jobs and educational opportunities not available to them in civilian society. Our protest is not against the Black soldiers, it is against an unjust war. Indeed, we protest in the hope that we can save the lives of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Let us also open our arms with moral support and practical assistance to those soldiers, women and men, who decide they cannot in good conscience participate in this unjust war.
REMEMBER MALCOLM X--SUPPORT THE STUDENT PROTEST ON FEBRUARY 21ST
On Friday, February 21st, anti-war students across the country will commemorate the 38th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X (El Haj Malik Shabazz) by leaving classes to protest the war. We encourage students, faculty and the community at large to participate in this important day of protest and help to make it truly massive and powerful.
(Initial signers as of 1/28/03)
Rev. Herbert Daughtry, National Pastor, the House of Lord Church
Rev. Grayland Hagler, Pastor Plymouth Congregational Church, Washington D.C.
Brenda Stokely, President AFSCME Council 1707, New York
Mumia Abu-Jamal, Death Row Political Prisoner, Journalist
Mahdi Bray, Executive Director Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Council Member, Charles Barron, Brooklyn, NY
Dennis Serrette, Educational Director, Communication Workers of America
Consuela Lee, Musician, Director Snow Hill Institute of Cultural Arts and Heritage, Snow Hill, Alabama
Viola Plummer, December 12 Movement
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor Pan African News Wire
Elizabeth Davis, Washington D.C. Teacher Federation
Larry Holmes, ANSWER Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
Chuck Turner, City Council person, Boston, Massachusetts
If you, as a member of the Black community, would like to publicly sign the open letter to the Black community, please forward your name along with organizational affiliation and/or identification to mgm1952 [at] hotmail.com no later than February 1, 2003
For more information:
http://www.actionsfbay.org/images/pdf-file...
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Thanks for this info.
I sort of wonder at the effectiveness of making this call out.
I think a far more effective strategy is to go INTO the black communities and find out how to help them in their struggles. For one thing, Oakland is in the midst of a huge number of murders, and has protest marches that I never hear about except in the Tribune or on the 6 pm news. WHY? Why is no one from the white progressive community helping them and trying to spread the word about the murders going on there? Why do we only know about that from mainstream news sources, and not from our own groups trying to help them out, both the support the supposed fight AGAINST RACISM, and to help bring them into the peace community?
The anti-war teach-ins in the Oakland schools are a start.
What's next?
Why should we expect the most oppressed people in the communities to find their own way into the peace movement? They are no doubt maxed out on their own problems - finding a job, dealing with welfare, dealing with racist police, etc.
It'll be great if another MLK comes along, but so far, they haven't.
I do appreciate the info, though.
I sort of wonder at the effectiveness of making this call out.
I think a far more effective strategy is to go INTO the black communities and find out how to help them in their struggles. For one thing, Oakland is in the midst of a huge number of murders, and has protest marches that I never hear about except in the Tribune or on the 6 pm news. WHY? Why is no one from the white progressive community helping them and trying to spread the word about the murders going on there? Why do we only know about that from mainstream news sources, and not from our own groups trying to help them out, both the support the supposed fight AGAINST RACISM, and to help bring them into the peace community?
The anti-war teach-ins in the Oakland schools are a start.
What's next?
Why should we expect the most oppressed people in the communities to find their own way into the peace movement? They are no doubt maxed out on their own problems - finding a job, dealing with welfare, dealing with racist police, etc.
It'll be great if another MLK comes along, but so far, they haven't.
I do appreciate the info, though.
BART trainloads of Oakland high school students were brought to the 1/18 peace march, thanks to the efforts of the same Oakland teachers who promoted the teach-in on Iraq.
As to white progressives going into the black community, we are not and should not be missionaries. The problems of any given community are best solved by that community. Peace in the workingclass communities of all colors can only be solved by putting an end to this bankrupt social order called capitalism. For that, we need a labor movement of all ethnic groups.
"White progressives" do not have a magic wand and we are obviously a tiny minority of the population. We all simply respond to calls of action in whatever way we can. My way is to post these announcements, hand out a few hundred leaflets, make a small financial contribution and march in the peace march. Considering the thousands of tasks that need to be done, that is not much.
As to being overwhelmed, we all are overwhelmed in coping with the stress of life in this increasingly poverty-stricken, police state society. We all do what we can. Young people have more energy and less family responsibilities so they usually do most of the work. Single people usually have more flexibility with their time than those who are not and can give a little more time and energy if they are still young enough to do so.
As to posting news of what is going on in the black community, anyone can post news to this website and we all look forward to reading what is going on in the black community on this website.
What is moving most people is self-interest. The economic crisis is now so widespread that it is clear to a wide spectrum that our poverty is due to the money being given to the military. That is why we see labor supporting this peace movement while during the Vietnam War, there was very little labor participation. Job-hunting is a concern of all ethnic groups. With the fascist "PATRIOT" Act and the Gestapo Homeland Security, we are all threatened by the police state. The increased police terror and the government's drug-pushing and related violence in the black and Latino communities are part of that police state, as is Democrat Gov Gray Davis desire to build a death camp at San Quentin. We are witnessing an attempt to establish outright fascism in this country.
As to a Messiah, we do not need or want a shining knight on a white horse to lead us all to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. It is our collective strength and action that always has and will now change things. Martin Luther King was only as strong as the Movement that made his prominence possible, and he is far more revered now than he was while alive. If you feel a need for some leader figure, Mumia Abu-Jamal is certainly an outstanding leader. I would go for a Mumia Abu-Jamal/Angela Davis presidential/vice-presidential ticket in 2004. However, that is not likely and will not solve our problems. We, collectively, can and will solve our problems. That is why we say:
Power to the People!
The people united will never be defeated!
El pueblo unido jamas seran vencido!
Die Leute vereinigten nie werden uberraschen!
All power to the workingclass!
Those who labor must rule!
As to white progressives going into the black community, we are not and should not be missionaries. The problems of any given community are best solved by that community. Peace in the workingclass communities of all colors can only be solved by putting an end to this bankrupt social order called capitalism. For that, we need a labor movement of all ethnic groups.
"White progressives" do not have a magic wand and we are obviously a tiny minority of the population. We all simply respond to calls of action in whatever way we can. My way is to post these announcements, hand out a few hundred leaflets, make a small financial contribution and march in the peace march. Considering the thousands of tasks that need to be done, that is not much.
As to being overwhelmed, we all are overwhelmed in coping with the stress of life in this increasingly poverty-stricken, police state society. We all do what we can. Young people have more energy and less family responsibilities so they usually do most of the work. Single people usually have more flexibility with their time than those who are not and can give a little more time and energy if they are still young enough to do so.
As to posting news of what is going on in the black community, anyone can post news to this website and we all look forward to reading what is going on in the black community on this website.
What is moving most people is self-interest. The economic crisis is now so widespread that it is clear to a wide spectrum that our poverty is due to the money being given to the military. That is why we see labor supporting this peace movement while during the Vietnam War, there was very little labor participation. Job-hunting is a concern of all ethnic groups. With the fascist "PATRIOT" Act and the Gestapo Homeland Security, we are all threatened by the police state. The increased police terror and the government's drug-pushing and related violence in the black and Latino communities are part of that police state, as is Democrat Gov Gray Davis desire to build a death camp at San Quentin. We are witnessing an attempt to establish outright fascism in this country.
As to a Messiah, we do not need or want a shining knight on a white horse to lead us all to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy. It is our collective strength and action that always has and will now change things. Martin Luther King was only as strong as the Movement that made his prominence possible, and he is far more revered now than he was while alive. If you feel a need for some leader figure, Mumia Abu-Jamal is certainly an outstanding leader. I would go for a Mumia Abu-Jamal/Angela Davis presidential/vice-presidential ticket in 2004. However, that is not likely and will not solve our problems. We, collectively, can and will solve our problems. That is why we say:
Power to the People!
The people united will never be defeated!
El pueblo unido jamas seran vencido!
Die Leute vereinigten nie werden uberraschen!
All power to the workingclass!
Those who labor must rule!
It's the shortest month.
"we are not and should not be missionaries"
so what do you suggest for bringing racial groups together for peace? If blacks in West Oakland are mostly watching mainstream media in poor areas, and have to listen to gunshots outside the window at night, then wonder if their family members will all walk through the door, my expectation is that they'd want to kill Saddam. People walk by and say that in my neigborhood, when they see our No War on Iraq sign. I live in East Oakland. But I'm not surprised. People are uninformed.
"What is moving most people is self-interest." I agree. I also think that a lot of white progressives are in a position to step above that. Helping out groups in low income areas isn't in our self-interest, or is it? We won't know until we try. As someone on here points out from time to time, why is it that the white progressives have so much energy for countries far away, but not for the homeless right here? I agree that people need to do what moves them, but we also need to ask these questions. Nothing is as simple as we'd like.
A lot of things stem from people being segregated by race and culture in subtle ways, and them not crossing the line to look into the next community. There's huge resistance to that. When I lived on Haight Street (at Fillmore), block to block it was night and day. Virtually NO black person set foot into Cafe International or spent money there. But they all spent money in the fish place one block away. I went in there a few times to try out the fried fish because some folks said it was good. People stared at me when I went in there, but it was fine. I didn't really like how much grease it was, and how expensive it was, so I didn't keep going there more than a few times. But it meant something, to even go in there. To try. In a way it's saying - I see you, I'm not blind to you. I won't ignore you. I'm not afraid to come into your community. I trust you.
so what do you suggest for bringing racial groups together for peace? If blacks in West Oakland are mostly watching mainstream media in poor areas, and have to listen to gunshots outside the window at night, then wonder if their family members will all walk through the door, my expectation is that they'd want to kill Saddam. People walk by and say that in my neigborhood, when they see our No War on Iraq sign. I live in East Oakland. But I'm not surprised. People are uninformed.
"What is moving most people is self-interest." I agree. I also think that a lot of white progressives are in a position to step above that. Helping out groups in low income areas isn't in our self-interest, or is it? We won't know until we try. As someone on here points out from time to time, why is it that the white progressives have so much energy for countries far away, but not for the homeless right here? I agree that people need to do what moves them, but we also need to ask these questions. Nothing is as simple as we'd like.
A lot of things stem from people being segregated by race and culture in subtle ways, and them not crossing the line to look into the next community. There's huge resistance to that. When I lived on Haight Street (at Fillmore), block to block it was night and day. Virtually NO black person set foot into Cafe International or spent money there. But they all spent money in the fish place one block away. I went in there a few times to try out the fried fish because some folks said it was good. People stared at me when I went in there, but it was fine. I didn't really like how much grease it was, and how expensive it was, so I didn't keep going there more than a few times. But it meant something, to even go in there. To try. In a way it's saying - I see you, I'm not blind to you. I won't ignore you. I'm not afraid to come into your community. I trust you.
NY CITY COUNCIL PROCLAMATION
The Council of the City of New York is pleased and proud to join family, friends and distinguished community members in declaring Black History Month “Black Protest for Peace Month” in the City of New York; and
WHEREAS: February, being Black History Month, is a time to celebrate and proudly extol the cultural heritage of all people of African descent; it is also a time to reflect on the African-American experience, a time when we honor and remember, with special gratitude, the many illustrious achievements and contributions that African-Americans have made to all aspects of our national life; and
WHEREAS: Today, our celebration is tempered by the knowledge that our nation is on the cusp of yet another war, a war which seems patently unjust: a war which holds not the promise for future peace but rather more ruin, devastation and mass destruction; a war that will be fought by tens of thousands of young men and women, many from the African-American community: and
WHEREAS: African-Americans have a rich and proud history of fighting for the ideals that have ensured the prosperity and progress of our country; they have also courageously protested against war and sought peaceful resolutions to global conflicts; and
WHEREAS: Chief among the many leaders who have preached tolerance and understanding in time of war was the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose “Why I Oppose War in Vietnam” speech, delivered at Riverside Church almost 36 years ago, still resonates today with the force of prophesy and moral indignation; and
WHEREAS: Black history is nothing if not a history of struggle against what Dr. King called the three evils: racism, poverty and militarism; these social and societal ills, which are firmly in our thoughts during Black History Month, can all be connected to the very real need to stop this war; and
WHEREAS: Through the exemplary and courageous leadership of individuals such as Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Rev. Al Sharpton, Larry Holmes, Ron Daniels and Monica Moorehead, we have been given the opportunity to make a difference and take a stand against the Bush administration’s hysterical rush to war; it is with this in mind that we declare Black History Month “Black Protest for Peace Month; now, therefore
BE IT KNOWN: That the Council of the City of New York declares February 2003 as
BLACK PROTEST FOR PEACE MONTH
In the City of New York
Signed this 7th day of February in the Year Two Thousand and Three
Charles Barron Bill Perkins
City Council Members
The Council of the City of New York is pleased and proud to join family, friends and distinguished community members in declaring Black History Month “Black Protest for Peace Month” in the City of New York; and
WHEREAS: February, being Black History Month, is a time to celebrate and proudly extol the cultural heritage of all people of African descent; it is also a time to reflect on the African-American experience, a time when we honor and remember, with special gratitude, the many illustrious achievements and contributions that African-Americans have made to all aspects of our national life; and
WHEREAS: Today, our celebration is tempered by the knowledge that our nation is on the cusp of yet another war, a war which seems patently unjust: a war which holds not the promise for future peace but rather more ruin, devastation and mass destruction; a war that will be fought by tens of thousands of young men and women, many from the African-American community: and
WHEREAS: African-Americans have a rich and proud history of fighting for the ideals that have ensured the prosperity and progress of our country; they have also courageously protested against war and sought peaceful resolutions to global conflicts; and
WHEREAS: Chief among the many leaders who have preached tolerance and understanding in time of war was the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose “Why I Oppose War in Vietnam” speech, delivered at Riverside Church almost 36 years ago, still resonates today with the force of prophesy and moral indignation; and
WHEREAS: Black history is nothing if not a history of struggle against what Dr. King called the three evils: racism, poverty and militarism; these social and societal ills, which are firmly in our thoughts during Black History Month, can all be connected to the very real need to stop this war; and
WHEREAS: Through the exemplary and courageous leadership of individuals such as Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Rev. Al Sharpton, Larry Holmes, Ron Daniels and Monica Moorehead, we have been given the opportunity to make a difference and take a stand against the Bush administration’s hysterical rush to war; it is with this in mind that we declare Black History Month “Black Protest for Peace Month; now, therefore
BE IT KNOWN: That the Council of the City of New York declares February 2003 as
BLACK PROTEST FOR PEACE MONTH
In the City of New York
Signed this 7th day of February in the Year Two Thousand and Three
Charles Barron Bill Perkins
City Council Members
Post widely—
IT'S TIME TO MAXIMIZE BLACK PARTICIPATION IN THE PEACE MOVEMENT
A CALL TO ACTION
People of African ancestry have a unique role in the growing movement to stop President Bush's war on Iraq. If war comes, it will be Black soldiers who will bear the brunt of the fighting and dying. The Black community will bear more than its share of deprivation as a result of massive funds invested in war, money that is robbed from healthcare, education, nutrition, and jobs programs. War is the epitome of everything that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought against his entire short life. And stopping the war on Iraq is a matter of life and death for everyone, especially people of color. In the coming days and weeks, let us work to insure maximum participation from the Black community in the peace movement and in all the important protests, especially the International Day of Protest for Peace, February 15th.
TAKE A STAND FOR PEACE
We thank all the organizations and influential people in the Black community who have taken a strong public position against the war. We encourage those who have not to add their voices to the opposition.
MAKE BLACK HISTORY MONTH --BLACK PROTEST FOR PEACE MONTH
February is Black History Month. We encourage everyone who is planning a Black History Month program in February, whether at school, or a religious institution, or the community center, the union hall, or in the streets, to devote their program protesting the war. Black history is nothing if not a history of struggle against what Dr. King called the three evils: racism, poverty, and militarism. All the things that we recall and commemorate during Black History Month can be connected to the need to stop this war. Let us turn Black History Month into "Black Protest for Peace Month."
SUPPORT G.I.'S WHO REFUSE TO GO TO WAR
Many of us have family members in the military. Young African Americans often join the military to find the jobs and educational opportunities not available to them in civilian society. Our protest is not against Black soldiers, it is against an unjust war. Indeed, we protest in the hope that we can save the lives of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Let us also open our arms with moral support and practical assistance to those soldiers, women and men, who decide they cannot in good conscience participate in this unjust war.
REMEMBER MALCOLM X
SUPPORT THE STUDENT PROTEST ON FEBRUARY 21st
On Friday, February 21st, anti-war students across the country will commemorate the 38th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X (Al Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) by leaving classes to protest the war. We encourage students, faculty, and the community at large to participate in this important day of protest and help to make it truly massive and powerful.
(Signers as of 2/9/03) *for identification purposes only
Rev. Herbert Daughtry, National Minister, The House of The Lord Churches; president, MLK, JR. Peace Now Movement
Cynthia McKinney, Former Congresswoman, Georgia
Rev. Grayland Hagler, Pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, Wash. DC
Brenda Stokely, President, AFSCME Council 1707 New York *
Mumia Abu-Jamal, Death Row Political Prisoner, Journalist
Mahdi Bray, Executive Director, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Council Member Charles Barron, Brooklyn, NY
Dennis Serrette, Educational Director, Communication Workers of America
Consuela Lee, Artistic Director, Snow Hill Institute of Cultural Arts and Heritage, Snow Hill, Alabama *
Rev. Curtis Gatewood, Current President, Durham, North Carolina Branch, NAACP *
Viola Plummer, December 12 Movement
Bill Fletcher, Jr., Executive Director, TransAfrica Forum
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan African News Wire
Elizabeth Davis, Washington DC Teacher Federation *
Larry Holmes, ANSWER, Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
Chuck Turner, City Councilperson, Boston, Massachusetts
Imani Henry, playwright and performer
Attorney Michael W. Warren, Brooklyn, NY
Candice Boyce, Dir. Emeritis African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change *
Dr. Kwame Osayaba Abayomi, Baltimore City Council, 6th District
Enoch H. Page, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Council Member Bill Perkins, Harlem, NY
Linda Burnham, Executive Director, Women of Color Resource Center
Tim Eubanks, NYC Cities for Peace
Dr. Nadia Marsh, Doctors and Nurses Against War, NYC *
Genise R. White, actor, activist, writer, Baltimore, Maryland
Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Founder, urbanPEACE
M.Thandabantu Iverson, Division of Labor Studies, Indiana University Northwest *
Prof. John C. Brittain, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern Univ.
Frances M. Beal, National Secretary Black Radical Congress
Iman Drammeh, Special Projects, The Drammeh Institute, Inc.
Monica Moorehead, Millions for Mumia
Adrienne Brown, Director, Conscious Movements Collective
Ewuare Osayande, Activist, Author, 9/11: Riots in the Sky
Marshall "Eddie" Conway, Former Black Panther and political prisoner for 33 years in Jessup, MD
Tanya Barfield, NYC
Ron Daniels, Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
Barbara Smith, Black lesbian feminist author and activist
James L. Watson
Nancy Grier, We the Youth Inc, Paterson, NJ
Norman (Otis) Richmond, Black Music Association/Toronto Chapter
Carol Taylor, President/Founder: The Institute For "Interracial" Harmony, Inc.
Qwo-Li Driskill, Founder, Knitbone Productions, Co-Founder, RESYST Seattle
Lester Muata Greene, NY Chapter President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Brother Mawusi (Robert Hazard), Joseph Littles~Nguzo Saba Charter School (Co-Founder)
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, poet, arts journalist
Johnnie Stevens, People’s Video Network
Michelle D. Wright, Publisher of Natural Alternatives Magazine
April D. Jackson, Certification Coordinator, American Association of Suicidology
Johnnie Pratt, Trans Activist/Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator, LGBT Community Center, SF, CA
Njeri Shakur, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, host of Pacifica’s "Fight Back!” Houston
Nanon Williams, Innocent Texas death Row Activist, Writer and Poet
Pam Parker, Cultural Worker, American Federation of Musicians Local 1000 *
Dr.IB Crow, DDV, Afrikan Renaissance Mission, Santa Cruz, CA
Cornelius Moore, California Newsreel
Ajamu Dillahunt, President Local 1078, American Postal Workers Union
Marvin X, Minister of Poetry, Director of Recovery Theatre, Inc.
Ernest McMillan, Founder and CEO, Fifth Ward Enrichment Program, Inc., Houston, TX
Deloyd Parker, Director, SHAPE Community Center, Houston, TX
Lenwood Johnson, President, Allen Parkway Village Resident Council in Exile, Houston, TX
Akiba H. Byrd Sr. President and Founder, Erin Byrd, Dir. of Public Relations of
One Village~One World, Consulting Raleigh, NC
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Andre Powell, AFSCME Local 112 Executive Board Member
Eric Easton, Community Organizer, Baltimore, MD
Kwakou Leak, Revolutionary Theory and Action Collective
Chris "Dasan" Massenburg, Pres. Dirt Road Entertainment, Member of Raleigh Chapter NAACP
Margo Okazawa-Rey, Dir., Women's Leadership Institute, Visiting Prof., Women's Studies, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Essen Out, National Conference for Community and Justice-Program Specialist
Dannette Sharpley, (NC), UERMWA Organizer
Pat Chin, Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition for Peace*, Brooklyn
Derek Bradley, U.N.I.A., Community Action Committee
Faye V. Harrison, Chair of the Commission on Women, International
Union of Anthropological & Ethnological Sciences*
Ronald I. Johnson, Writer
Efia Nwangaza, Founder/Director Afrikan-Am Institute of Policy Studies & Planning, Greenville, SC
George White, Jr., Asst. Prof., History and African American Studies, Univ. of Tennessee
Storme Webber
Melissa Watts, Phila., PA
Tamisha M. Thomas, TMT Youth Community Foundation
Amber Price, secretary, Black Student Union, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Lesesha Simmons, Oak Park, IL
Winnie Ashby, Million Man March Atlanta Local Organizing Committee *
Nancy Hooks, student, Cape Cod Community College
Stand For Peace Anti-Racism Committee, Albany, New York
Don Rojas, General Manager, WBAI-Pacifica Radio, NYC *
Alfredia Jones, Member of Blacks In Government, Region XI
Jocelyn Morris, VP, Southwest Missouri Chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG) Committee
Renita Nowlin - Blacks in Government
Barbara Jean Hope, Philadelphia
George Sawyer, Ft. Washington, Maryland
Sandra Lesesne, concerned parent and grandparent
Monica Roundtree, Chicago Chapter of ANSWER
If you, as a member of the Black community, would like to publicly sign this open letter to the Black community, please forward your name along with organizational affiliation and/or identification to mgm1952 [at] hotmail.com and mlkjr.peacenow [at] verizon.net.
IT'S TIME TO MAXIMIZE BLACK PARTICIPATION IN THE PEACE MOVEMENT
A CALL TO ACTION
People of African ancestry have a unique role in the growing movement to stop President Bush's war on Iraq. If war comes, it will be Black soldiers who will bear the brunt of the fighting and dying. The Black community will bear more than its share of deprivation as a result of massive funds invested in war, money that is robbed from healthcare, education, nutrition, and jobs programs. War is the epitome of everything that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought against his entire short life. And stopping the war on Iraq is a matter of life and death for everyone, especially people of color. In the coming days and weeks, let us work to insure maximum participation from the Black community in the peace movement and in all the important protests, especially the International Day of Protest for Peace, February 15th.
TAKE A STAND FOR PEACE
We thank all the organizations and influential people in the Black community who have taken a strong public position against the war. We encourage those who have not to add their voices to the opposition.
MAKE BLACK HISTORY MONTH --BLACK PROTEST FOR PEACE MONTH
February is Black History Month. We encourage everyone who is planning a Black History Month program in February, whether at school, or a religious institution, or the community center, the union hall, or in the streets, to devote their program protesting the war. Black history is nothing if not a history of struggle against what Dr. King called the three evils: racism, poverty, and militarism. All the things that we recall and commemorate during Black History Month can be connected to the need to stop this war. Let us turn Black History Month into "Black Protest for Peace Month."
SUPPORT G.I.'S WHO REFUSE TO GO TO WAR
Many of us have family members in the military. Young African Americans often join the military to find the jobs and educational opportunities not available to them in civilian society. Our protest is not against Black soldiers, it is against an unjust war. Indeed, we protest in the hope that we can save the lives of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers and civilians. Let us also open our arms with moral support and practical assistance to those soldiers, women and men, who decide they cannot in good conscience participate in this unjust war.
REMEMBER MALCOLM X
SUPPORT THE STUDENT PROTEST ON FEBRUARY 21st
On Friday, February 21st, anti-war students across the country will commemorate the 38th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X (Al Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) by leaving classes to protest the war. We encourage students, faculty, and the community at large to participate in this important day of protest and help to make it truly massive and powerful.
(Signers as of 2/9/03) *for identification purposes only
Rev. Herbert Daughtry, National Minister, The House of The Lord Churches; president, MLK, JR. Peace Now Movement
Cynthia McKinney, Former Congresswoman, Georgia
Rev. Grayland Hagler, Pastor, Plymouth Congregational Church, Wash. DC
Brenda Stokely, President, AFSCME Council 1707 New York *
Mumia Abu-Jamal, Death Row Political Prisoner, Journalist
Mahdi Bray, Executive Director, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation
Council Member Charles Barron, Brooklyn, NY
Dennis Serrette, Educational Director, Communication Workers of America
Consuela Lee, Artistic Director, Snow Hill Institute of Cultural Arts and Heritage, Snow Hill, Alabama *
Rev. Curtis Gatewood, Current President, Durham, North Carolina Branch, NAACP *
Viola Plummer, December 12 Movement
Bill Fletcher, Jr., Executive Director, TransAfrica Forum
Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan African News Wire
Elizabeth Davis, Washington DC Teacher Federation *
Larry Holmes, ANSWER, Act Now to Stop War & End Racism
Chuck Turner, City Councilperson, Boston, Massachusetts
Imani Henry, playwright and performer
Attorney Michael W. Warren, Brooklyn, NY
Candice Boyce, Dir. Emeritis African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change *
Dr. Kwame Osayaba Abayomi, Baltimore City Council, 6th District
Enoch H. Page, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Council Member Bill Perkins, Harlem, NY
Linda Burnham, Executive Director, Women of Color Resource Center
Tim Eubanks, NYC Cities for Peace
Dr. Nadia Marsh, Doctors and Nurses Against War, NYC *
Genise R. White, actor, activist, writer, Baltimore, Maryland
Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Founder, urbanPEACE
M.Thandabantu Iverson, Division of Labor Studies, Indiana University Northwest *
Prof. John C. Brittain, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern Univ.
Frances M. Beal, National Secretary Black Radical Congress
Iman Drammeh, Special Projects, The Drammeh Institute, Inc.
Monica Moorehead, Millions for Mumia
Adrienne Brown, Director, Conscious Movements Collective
Ewuare Osayande, Activist, Author, 9/11: Riots in the Sky
Marshall "Eddie" Conway, Former Black Panther and political prisoner for 33 years in Jessup, MD
Tanya Barfield, NYC
Ron Daniels, Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
Barbara Smith, Black lesbian feminist author and activist
James L. Watson
Nancy Grier, We the Youth Inc, Paterson, NJ
Norman (Otis) Richmond, Black Music Association/Toronto Chapter
Carol Taylor, President/Founder: The Institute For "Interracial" Harmony, Inc.
Qwo-Li Driskill, Founder, Knitbone Productions, Co-Founder, RESYST Seattle
Lester Muata Greene, NY Chapter President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Brother Mawusi (Robert Hazard), Joseph Littles~Nguzo Saba Charter School (Co-Founder)
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, poet, arts journalist
Johnnie Stevens, People’s Video Network
Michelle D. Wright, Publisher of Natural Alternatives Magazine
April D. Jackson, Certification Coordinator, American Association of Suicidology
Johnnie Pratt, Trans Activist/Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator, LGBT Community Center, SF, CA
Njeri Shakur, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, host of Pacifica’s "Fight Back!” Houston
Nanon Williams, Innocent Texas death Row Activist, Writer and Poet
Pam Parker, Cultural Worker, American Federation of Musicians Local 1000 *
Dr.IB Crow, DDV, Afrikan Renaissance Mission, Santa Cruz, CA
Cornelius Moore, California Newsreel
Ajamu Dillahunt, President Local 1078, American Postal Workers Union
Marvin X, Minister of Poetry, Director of Recovery Theatre, Inc.
Ernest McMillan, Founder and CEO, Fifth Ward Enrichment Program, Inc., Houston, TX
Deloyd Parker, Director, SHAPE Community Center, Houston, TX
Lenwood Johnson, President, Allen Parkway Village Resident Council in Exile, Houston, TX
Akiba H. Byrd Sr. President and Founder, Erin Byrd, Dir. of Public Relations of
One Village~One World, Consulting Raleigh, NC
Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Andre Powell, AFSCME Local 112 Executive Board Member
Eric Easton, Community Organizer, Baltimore, MD
Kwakou Leak, Revolutionary Theory and Action Collective
Chris "Dasan" Massenburg, Pres. Dirt Road Entertainment, Member of Raleigh Chapter NAACP
Margo Okazawa-Rey, Dir., Women's Leadership Institute, Visiting Prof., Women's Studies, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Essen Out, National Conference for Community and Justice-Program Specialist
Dannette Sharpley, (NC), UERMWA Organizer
Pat Chin, Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition for Peace*, Brooklyn
Derek Bradley, U.N.I.A., Community Action Committee
Faye V. Harrison, Chair of the Commission on Women, International
Union of Anthropological & Ethnological Sciences*
Ronald I. Johnson, Writer
Efia Nwangaza, Founder/Director Afrikan-Am Institute of Policy Studies & Planning, Greenville, SC
George White, Jr., Asst. Prof., History and African American Studies, Univ. of Tennessee
Storme Webber
Melissa Watts, Phila., PA
Tamisha M. Thomas, TMT Youth Community Foundation
Amber Price, secretary, Black Student Union, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
Lesesha Simmons, Oak Park, IL
Winnie Ashby, Million Man March Atlanta Local Organizing Committee *
Nancy Hooks, student, Cape Cod Community College
Stand For Peace Anti-Racism Committee, Albany, New York
Don Rojas, General Manager, WBAI-Pacifica Radio, NYC *
Alfredia Jones, Member of Blacks In Government, Region XI
Jocelyn Morris, VP, Southwest Missouri Chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG) Committee
Renita Nowlin - Blacks in Government
Barbara Jean Hope, Philadelphia
George Sawyer, Ft. Washington, Maryland
Sandra Lesesne, concerned parent and grandparent
Monica Roundtree, Chicago Chapter of ANSWER
If you, as a member of the Black community, would like to publicly sign this open letter to the Black community, please forward your name along with organizational affiliation and/or identification to mgm1952 [at] hotmail.com and mlkjr.peacenow [at] verizon.net.
"Lerner's crime: he had dared to criticize ANSWER, an outfit run by members of the Workers World Party, for using antiwar demonstrations to put forward what he considers to be anti-Israel propaganda. That ANSWER objected to Lerner is not surprising. The WWPers in control of ANSWER are socialists who call for the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism, who support Slobodan Milosevic and Kim Jong Il, who oppose UN inspections in Iraq (claiming they are part of the planning for an invasion aimed at gaining control of Iraq's oil fields), and who urge smashing Zionism."
http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=385
http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=385
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