Category Archives: North America

‘It’s Time To Take Action’: Students Lead Protest to Change Gun Laws

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

Excerpts from an article by Cindy Long for the National Education Association

There’s a new face on the age-old gun debate: our students, and they won’t be silenced. They are demanding that the adults in power keep them safe and they will not stand by and allow elected officials to fail them any longer.


Click on photo to enlarge

As of Feb. 14, just a month and a half into the new year, a total of 20 people have been killed and more than 30 have been injured in shootings at American elementary, middle, and high schools. Only weeks earlier at Marshall County High School in Kentucky two students were killed by a 15-year old shooter who left fourteen others wounded and all traumatized perhaps for the rest of their lives. . . .

Organizing for School and Student Safety

Nationwide, students and activists have joined their rallying cry and have organized two upcoming events — the National School Walkout on March 14 and the March for Our Lives on March 24. NEA will also participate in another event, a National Day of Action on April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine shooting.

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Question related to this article:

Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

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March 14th – the Women’s March has announced a National School Walkout in which school communities will walk out of their schools for 17 minutes to honor the lives lost in Parkland. NEA will join with AFT in encouraging educators throughout the country to wear orange on this day.

March 24th – Several students who survived the tragedy at Parkland have called for a student-led march and protest. They will travel to Washington, DC, and meet with politicians on the need to address gun violence and are encouraging others to join. This is a fully student-planned march. More information can be found at marchforourlives.com.

April 20 – NEA and its members are joining with the National Public Education Network, American Federation of Teachers, Moms Demand Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, and other national organizations, to take action against gun violence on April 20 together in a way that sends a strong message to policy makers that #enoughisenough.

“We demand a plan that will keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people,” says NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. “Only the United States has such a long, long, long list of mass public murders by a lone gunman. The reason is simple. Our laws allow dangerous people to easily purchase military-style, rapid-fire assault weapons. That’s the only difference. That’s what we need to fix. Thoughts and prayers will not prevent the next tragedy. People rising up will.”

NEA is asking educators nationwide to share their ideas and information on events in their school communities. Visit our National Day of Action site.

Editor’s note: The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are the largest trade unions of teachers in the United States with 3 million and 1.6 million members respectively. They have consistently opposed NRA demands to arm teachers, and the AFT has once again expressed its opposition in the last few days.

First National Bank dumps NRA, will no longer issue NRA Visa card

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Think Progress

For more than a decade, the First National Bank of Omaha has offered special branded Visa cards to National Rifle Association members to support the group. On Thursday, following two days of public pressure, the bank announced it “will not renew its contract” with the NRA.


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(Note: Since this image was first published by Think Progress, most of the corporations have ended their relationship.)

The bank confirmed, in a tweet, that “customer feedback caused” the decision:

On Tuesday, ThinkProgress reported  that First National Bank was one of at least 22 corporations that the NRA says offer incentives to NRA members. The bank and its parent company did not respond to repeated inquires about whether last week’s horrific mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, would cause it to reconsider its relationship with the group leading the charge to oppose gun violence prevention efforts.

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Question related to this article:

Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

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But less than 24 hours later, ThinkProgress spotted that the website advertising the “official credit card of the NRA” had mysteriously vanished, with an error message appearing in its place.

Neither the bank nor Visa responded to repeated ThinkProgress inquiries about the disappearance, but the bank did respond on Twitter, to many outraged customers, many of whom threatened to cancel their accounts  because of the relationship.

First National Bank is the first of the corporations to officially end its relationship with the NRA in the aftermath of Parkland.

There are still at least 21 corporations  with ongoing relationships with the NRA.

Editor’s note: Since this article was published, a number of these other corporations have stopped their relationship with the NRA, including Enterprise, Alamo and National, as well as Hertz and Avis car rentals. However, the NRA continues its own publicity, assailing the media and calling for the arming of teachers, a position supported by President Trump.

State Of The City: We’re The Resistance (New Haven, CT, USA)

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

A article by by Markeshia Ricks in the New Haven Independent

A week after President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address, Mayor Toni Harp delivered a “state of the city” address that put New Haven squarely in the camp of the anti-Trump “resistance.”

In front of a full aldermanic chamber at City Hall, Harp painted a picture of a city resistant to Trump’s vision for America, resistant to Connecticut’s cities-vs.-suburbs mentality, and resistant to any notion that New Haven isn’t a city on the rise. She borrowed a word — “resistance” — that has become a phrase for local movements across the country formed to oppose the current administration in Washington.


Video of Mayor’s speech

A year ago, Harp said, no one could have predicted that “we would be dealing with such a dramatically altered political, social, and economic landscape.”

“In that context, tonight, I would describe the state of New Haven as resistant to these frightening trends in this nation toward what would be a new normal -–  a Republic, a state, and a civic life so different as to be unrecognizable to most of us,” she said. “New Haven is resistant to these would-be, new standards not for the sake of being contrary, and not because it’s stylish or politically correct to be, but because these new standards are contrary to the best interests of this city, its residents, and its future.”

Harp said that New Haven continues to offer a hand to its residents even though there is “a trend in some government circles to neglect or abandon the aged, the vulnerable, and those who simply can’t keep up.

“Social services for veterans, the elderly, the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, the disabled, the addicted, and the mentally ill seem to fall increasingly on the shoulders of local providers, as federal and state support dwindles,” she said. “Going forward, New Haven must resist the temptation to follow suit: in my opinion, a community is measured by the care it provides for those who cannot provide – or speak up – for themselves. Tonight, I’m pleased to say that in this regard, New Haven continues to measure up.”

Harp said all of the progress that New Haven has made “reflects an undeniable collaboration.”

“In New Haven, elected officials, city workers, residents, volunteers, students, immigrants, and a host of other city partners make this a vibrant, attractive city, committed to its better days ahead. New Haven is resistant – and will continue to resist – a laundry list of frightful trends in America,” she said. “Perhaps most frightening among them is a deliberate attempt by some in this nation to deny benefits of the American dream—safety, security, education, healthcare, opportunity — to any number of Americans for completely arbitrary and unjustifiable reasons.

Harp said New Haven has “resisted” by rallying to the side of displaced Puerto Ricans with ongoing aid and relocation assistance; by partnering with Bridgeport in a long shot but, alas, failed bid for Amazon’s second North American headquarters; and by creating a favorable climate for development that is starting to pay dividends downtown and beyond. She also noted that since she took office New Haven’s unemployment rate has dropped from 10.3 percent to 5.1 percent.

“This city continues to resist any notion that big ideas are too much to handle in challenging times,” she said. “The new Boathouse at Canal Dock, a major redesign for the rest of Long Wharf, and continuing progress on Downtown Crossing reaffirm this. Phase 2 of Downtown Crossing will get started this year, continuing the process of stitching back together parts of town that were unduly separated generations ago.”

“As I complete my assessment of New Haven this year, and as I assess the state of other cities nearby and frankly, across the nation, there isn’t a city I envy, there isn’t a city I’d rather serve as mayor, and there isn’t a community of people I’d rather be with as we tackle a daunting agenda under these current, challenging circumstances,” she concluded.

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Questions related to this article:

The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

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Alders Praise Vision, Seek Details

Several alders were getting their first taste of the mayor’s “state of the city” address as a member of the Board of Alders, and they found a lot to like.

Yale Alder Hacibey Catabasoglu said he was happy to hear about the city’s infrastructure and the improvements that have been made, such as the wifi on the Green and efforts to help small businesses. He applauded the city’s efforts to bring in companies like Goldman Sachs to teach small immigrant business owners like his father.

He added that he would have liked for Harp to talk a little bit about youth activism in the city and how their political activism helps New Haven resist.

“The youth are the ones that are going to be the decision makers and I think it would have been nice for her to touch upon that,” he said. “But overall, I thought it was a wonderful speech.”

First-term Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Kim Edwards said she found the mayor’s message about the state of the city to be positive and upbeat.
“We sound like a city that’s thriving,” she said. “There are many things we need to work on and we have to make sure all of our population is included in the decisions that we make daily.”

Edwards said while she knows there is much work ahead on the budget, she said she was impressed that the city has managed to cut its unemployment rate nearly in half.

“We need to keep on that trend and we need to make sure that they are living wage jobs,” she said. “We live in a high tax state. So we need to not just use the words living wage. They actually need to be living wage jobs.”

Downtown Alder Abigail Roth said listening to Mayor Harp Monday night reminded her of how proud she is of the Elm City. “I liked her theme of a city that’s resistant, especially with the state of our country today,” said Roth, who attended one of the original “resistance” events, a D.C women’s march coinciding with Trump’s first inauguration weekend. “It feels good to be in a city where people’s values align with mine and the mayor’s values on so many fronts.”

But like Edwards, Roth noted that the upcoming tango with the budget is on the horizon. And Harp didn’t have a lot to say about that in her address aside from mentioning the reduction of overtime in the fire department.

“If you look at the [monthly] budget reports it’s something we have to be concerned about,” Roth said. She noted, for instance,  a recent story in the Independent about a police psych-exam contract problem that is delaying the seating of an academy class and leading to increased overtime costs. She called the issue “a huge concern.” “That’s not to take away from what she said in the speech,” Roth added. “There were a lot of positive things but the city’s budget is a very serious thing that we’re going to have to focus a lot on.”

There will be time for focusing on that soon enough for Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, but Monday night the mayor’s speech had him focused on the positive.

“There are a lot of good things that are happening for New Haven,” he said. We’re always hearing the negative and she was talking about all of the positive things. I wish more people would focus on the positive. The bad’s always going to be there. I have this saying, ‘Every flower garden has weeds in it; look at the flowers.’ We know the weeds are there; enjoy the flowers. That’s how I look at it.”

Fair Haven Ernie Santiago saw some flowers when he heard Harp say that a sweep that helped the city assess the needs of Newhallville last year will make its way to his community.

“That was very good news,” he said. “Finally, Fair Haven is going to get its due. Now, we gotta see if it comes to fruition and how much is done because we do need a lot in Fair Haven. We’ve got the worst streets, the worst sidewalks. I feel good about hearing what I heard. She gave a good speech. It’s always good to hear they’re going to work on your ward.”
Freshman Newhallville/Prospect Hill Alder Steve Winter said he appreciated the message of resistance and believed it was needed. He also noted that he’s interested in hearing more about how the digitization of city services and other technology could help the city maintain a high level of service in a tough fiscal environment.

“With values and institutions under assault, it’s important to have our leaders and our colleagues remind us of why we have to do what we do and why you have to keep going,” he said.

Women’s March protests across America against President Trump

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Deutsche Welle

Thousands of protesters took to the streets across the United States on Saturday for the second annual Women’s March against US President Donald Trump, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of his inauguration.

The rallies aim to translate female activism into gains in a broad swathe of state and federal elections later in the year.

The biggest demonstrations were taking place in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — but there were also marches in about 250 other cities and towns across the country. Support was also coming from abroad, with rallies in Britain, Italy and Japan among other countries.


Photo from Reuters. For other photos, see CNN coverage

“We will make our message heard at the polls this fall,” Emily Patton, a rally organizer, told thousands of demonstrators at the Reflecting Pool on Washington’s National Mall. “That is why we are urging people to register to vote today.”

Thousands of people gathered in Chicago’s Grant Park. Fawzia Mirza drew cheers from the crowd as she kicked off the event with a reference to the government shutdown, which began hours earlier.

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Questions for this article

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

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“When the government shuts down, women still march,” she said, adding that the event was about channeling women’s energy and “putting that power in the polls.”

Also high on the list of complaints with the US president are multiple allegations of predatory sexual behavior at a time when there is a growing backlash against such behavior, as illustrated by the growing social media phenomena known as #MeToo and #TimesUp.

Hollywood actors Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard, Scarlett Johansson, Constance Wu, Adam Scott and Rob Reiner addressed a crowd of hundreds of thousands in Los Angeles.

Longoria told marchers that their presence mattered, “especially when those in power seem to have turned their backs on reason and justice.”

Jane Fonda joined the march in Park City, Utah, where the annual Sundance Film Festival is taking place.

Hillary Clinton tweeted that the marches around the US and the world were “a testament to the power and resilience of women everywhere.”

Trump tweeted later in the day that it was a “perfect day” for women to march to celebrate the “economic success and wealth creation” that’s happened during his first year in office.

Several dozen activists demonstrating in Rome in protest were joined by the Italian actress and director Asia Argento, who alleged in October she had been sexually assaulted by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s.

Argento addressed the criticism she received once she spoke up about her abuse, saying she was there to “assess the necessity of women to speak out and change things.”

‘Tide Is Turning’: Cheers Erupt for NYC’s Suit Against Fossil Fuel Giants and for Divestment

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Andrea Germanos for Common Dreams

Climate advocates hailed what they say is a “watershed” moment on Wednesday following two announcements by New York City: that the city would seek to divest its pension funds from fossil fuels within five years, and that it filed suit against five fossil fuel giants for their role in driving the climate crisis.


New York City on Wedensday announced its plans to divest billions of its pension funds from fossil fuel companies and that it filed a suit against five giants in the industry for billions in damages. (Photo: Rae Breaux/FossilFree.org)

“This is a first-in-the-nation step to protect our future and our planet—for this generation and the next,” said Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.

Stringer announced last month that he would soon bring a proposal to the trustees of the pension funds that included divestment. Following through on that promise, a statement from the city released Wednesday says that he and Mayor Bill de Blasio “will submit a joint resolution to pension fund trustees” to begin the steps needed to purge the funds from the dirty industry, which will first entail an analysis on the financial impacts to be carried out by the City Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management.

350.org co-founder Bill McKibben said in a tweet responding to the news that it was “One of the biggest days in 30 years of the climate fight.”

The city’s five pension funds hold $189 billion in assets, and roughly $5 billion of that amount are held in the securities of over 190 fossil fuel companies, the city says.

The new lawsuit names BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell and seeks billions of dollars in damages for harm already inflicted on the city as a result of the climate crisis as well for preparing for effects yet to come, including “imminent threats to its property, its infrastructure, and the health and safety of its residents.”

New York’s lawsuit follows similar suits filed by seven cities and counties in California.

The city’s statement references the industry’s deliberate misinformation campaign to cover up the effects of fossil fuels.

“We’re bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects and intentionally misled the public to protect their profits,” de Blasio said in a statement. “As climate change continues to worsen, it’s up to the fossil fuel companies whose greed put us in this position to shoulder the cost of making New York safer and more resilient.”

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Question for this article:

Divestment: is it an effective tool to promote sustainable development?

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Daniel Zarrilli, the city’s senior director of Climate Policy and Programs and Chief Resilience Officer, echoed that statement, saying, “Today, after a decades-long pattern of deception and denial by fossil fuel companies, New York City is holding them to account. By seeking damages for the investments necessary to protect New Yorkers from the impacts of climate change, and divesting our pension funds from fossil fuel reserves, we are taking the largest action by any city to confront the growing climate crisis and demonstrate the leadership necessary to win this fight against fossil fuels and the damages they’ve caused.”

Among the state lawmakers praising the city’s action was Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger who said, “Divestment sends the clear message that it is no longer acceptable to support companies whose fundamental business model puts our entire society at risk.”

Climate campaigners heaped praise on the city as well.

McKibben said in a statement, “New York City today becomes a capital of the fight against climate change on this planet.”

“With its communities exceptionally vulnerable to a rising sea, the city is showing the spirit for which it’s famous: it’s not pretending that working with the fossil fuel companies will somehow save the day, but instead standing up to them, in the financial markets and in court,” he added.

The announcements also drew praise from Carroll Muffett, president of Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), who said they marked “a watershed in corporate accountability for climate change and a wake-up call to investors that the risks facing fossil fuel companies are real, material, and rapidly growing.”

The city’s move also follows New York State’s announcement last month that it was putting forth a “a de-carbonization roadmap” that included divesting from fossil fuels.

With NYC becoming the first major U.S. city to call for divestment—a call over 800 institutions have heeded—and a growing number of municipalities filing suit against the industry, climate activists say it’s clear “the global tide is turning.”

According to Betámia Coronel, U.S. reinvestment coordinator at 350.org, “Divesting our city’s pensions from the dirtiest companies is an enormous hard-won first step; holding companies like Exxon accountable for their role in climate deception is next. Today’s announcement is a rallying signal to cities all over the world that the dawn of a fossil free world has arrived.”

“The signal is clear,” McKibben adds in an op-ed. “The oil industry is not the future, it’s the past. And indeed it will be held responsible for what it’s done in the past: namely, push climate denial when it knew the truth.”

“They should light up the Empire State Building in green tonight — for the money the city is going to save, and for the planet it will help protect in the process,” he concludes.

Washington activists launch ‘Climate Countdown’ to push lawmakers for urgent action

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Brandon Jordan from Waging Nonviolence

As Washington state senators prepared for the first legislative session of 2018 at the capitol building in Olympia yesterday, their traditional welcome ceremony was disrupted by at least a hundred activists from across the state, who had made their way into the balconies. From there, to the dismay of their elected officials, they delivered a loud message for all in attendance: “We have a climate crisis. You need to act now!”


Climate Countdown activists rallied outside the Washington state capitol building in Olympia on Monday. (Twitter / 350 Seattle / Alexandra Blakely)

The demonstration was part of an effort organizers are calling Climate Countdown, a campaign pressuring Democrats to pass and implement legislation that reduces carbon emissions. With a Democratic majority in both legislative chambers, organizers from a handful of organizations, from local 350.org chapters to indigenous groups, believe this is the perfect — and perhaps the only — opportunity to act.

Since 2013, passing any form of climate-related legislation in Washington was difficult at best. Republicans held a majority in the state Senate and used this advantage to block proposals, such as a cap-and-trade system, from Democrats. Gov. Jay Inslee, considered  the “greenest governor in America” by the League of Conservation Voters, often felt frustrated by Republican opposition to his climate plans.

Yet, on Nov. 8, Democrats succeeded in regaining control of the state Senate with a slim 49-48 majority. Alec Connon, an activist with 350 Seattle, said this victory led to activists discussing a potential plan to ensure lawmakers took responsibility without using Republicans as an excuse.

“It’s about time that the rhetoric we’ve seen from climate leaders in Washington state [translate into] actual meaningful policy,” Connon said.

As part of the campaign, residents are putting forward two demands to lawmakers. First, they want officials to follow a climate test, which are guidelines that determine a project’s approval if it harms the climate. This would reject all fossil fuel proposals.

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Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

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Second, activists want lawmakers to pass a bill that ensures the state switches to 100 percent renewable energy by 2028. All sectors under the government’s jurisdiction would move toward using alternative fuels.

The window to do this is short, as Washington lawmakers will only meet for 60 days this session. As 350 Seattle communications coordinator Emily Johnston explained, every minute is precious. She referred to scientists who warned  world leaders last June that we have only three years to reduce greenhouse gases to a point where the Paris climate agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius is still attainable.

“We know what happens beyond that,” she said. “[Climate] acceleration and the disasters we are starting to see become unstoppable.”
Johnston referred the federal government’s refusal to deal with climate change as a major reason for not only Washington, but also other states to focus on the environment.

“If the entire West Coast were to develop laws that were very aggressive on climate then that would have a [massive] impact because the economies of Washington and California are huge,” she said.
Connon used Montgomery County, the largest county in Maryland, as an example of what Washington state could do. Last month, officials there passed a resolution declaring a “climate emergency” and aimed to reduce the county’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2027, and ultimately 100 percent eight years after that.

“The example set by Montgomery County is a commendable example and one we hope Washington state will follow,” Connon said.
Washington does have commitments by law to reduce its greenhouse gases  to 1990 levels by 2020. But Olympic Climate Action member Melanie Greer said Washington will fail to meet that deadline barring a significant policy change.

“I want to see real legislation that matches what scientists say has to be done, as well as demonstrable action — so that the state moves in the right direction,” Greer said.

After the activists in the balconies finished their chant, they were ordered to leave by security guards. Having made their voices heard, they are now planning the next steps of the campaign to ensure officials make climate action a top priority this legislative session.

“The clock is ticking,” Connon said. “We, as a society and as a whole, have to respond to the climate crisis.”

Baltimore, USA: Conference on US foreign military bases

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Elliot Swain for Code Pink

On January 12-14, 2018, a conference in Baltimore on US foreign military bases brought together anti-war voices from all over the world. Speakers identified the many threats posed by United States military presence—from national sovereignty to the environment and public health.


US military outposts in foreign nations are vestiges of a shameful history of US imperialism dating back to the Spanish-American War and subsequent US colonization of the Philippines and Cuba. Many more bases were built during World War II and the Korean War, and still exist today. The closure of these bases could signal the twilight of a long history of bloody, costly foreign wars while affirming the principle of self-determination for all peoples. Voices from Japanese, Korean, African, Australian and Puerto Rican resistance movements came together at the conference to draw these connections and plan a peaceful future.

Fittingly, the conference marked the 16th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Demonstrators gathered outside the White House on January 11 to demand the release of the 41 prisoners still detained without charges in the prison that former President Obama had promised to close. But as co-chair of the National Network on Cuba Cheryl LaBash said, “Guantanamo is more than a prison.” In fact, the Guantanamo military base is the oldest outpost of the United States military on foreign soil, with permanent control ceded in 1901 under the neocolonial Platt Amendment.

The campaign to shutter the illegal and abominable Guantanamo prison coincides with the more protracted fight to return the bay to the people of Cuba. The history of Guantanamo shows how the barbarism of the modern war machine follows the dehumanizing logic of a century of US imperialism. 

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Question for this article:

The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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The conference also devoted a plenary to the abysmal impact of both domestic and foreign military bases on the environment and public health. According to professor of environmental health Patricia Hynes, the majority of global superfund sites—sites the EPA identifies as posing risks to health or environment—are foreign military bases. Pat Elder from the group World Without War demonstrated how the Navy’s Allegheny Ballistic Center in West Virginia regularly leaks trichloroethylene, a known carcinogen, into the groundwater of the Potomac. The Naval War Center in Dahlgren, Virginia has been burning hazardous waste materials for 70 years.

The military’s impunity and recklessness towards public health is cast into sharp relief by the case of Fort Detrick in Maryland. The Army dumped radioactive sludge into the groundwater, which Frederick residents claim is directly linked to a spate of cancer-related deaths in the area. They sued, and the case was dismissed, with the judge citing “sovereign immunity.”

Though those bases are on US soil, “sovereign immunity” is all the more chilling of a verdict for the peoples of foreign nations.. Hynes described Okinawa Island as “the junk heap of the Pacific.” The island has been the dumping ground for extremely toxic defoliants like Agent Orange for several decades. Pollution from the island’s American military bases has caused hundreds of US service members and local Okinawans to become seriously ill.

The people of Okinawa have been tireless in their fight against these deadly bases. While local resistance leader Hiroji Yamashiro awaits trial on trumped-up charges, protesters turn out every single day to oppose the expansion of Marine base Camp Schwab. Indigenous movements like these are the lifeblood of the international opposition to US empire. But fundamentally, it is incumbent upon Americans to rein in the devastating impact of their government’s foreign military presence. 

The conference concluded with a call for an international summit on foreign military bases to be hosted by one of the countries presently fighting against the US military presence on their soil. It also called for the formation of an ongoing international alliance against foreign military bases. For more information and updates, go to www.noforeignbases.org

[Editor’s note: Additional information is available in an earlier CPNN article.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign Reborn

…. HUMAN RIGHTS ….

An article by Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan in Democracy Now

Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 89 years old this Jan. 15. Assassinated at the age of 39 on April 4, 1968, his much-too-short life forever changed America. Among the landmarks of his activism are the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, ending segregation in public transportation; leading the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech; the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act; and marching with sanitation workers in Memphis, where he declared in his last speech, delivered on the eve of his death, “I’ve been to the mountaintop.” Often overlooked are the increasingly radical policy positions King took in his last years, from speaking out against the Vietnam War to forging a multiracial Poor People’s Campaign that sought, as King said, “a radical redistribution of economic and political power.” Now, 50 years later, a coalition has formed anew to organize poor people in the United States into what King called “a new and unsettling force” to fight poverty and forge meaningful change.


Illustration from Nation of Change

This renewal, called “The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival,” has an audacious agenda: “to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality.” At the forefront is the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. Born just two days after the famous March on Washington, Barber grew up in the civil-rights movement. For over 10 years he served as president of the North Carolina NAACP, stepping down to lead this new campaign.

Back in 1968, King described the need for the Poor People’s Campaign, saying: “Millions of young people grow up in the sunlight of opportunity. But there is another America. And this other America has a daily ugliness about it that transforms ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair.”

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Question for this article:

What’s the message to us today from Martin Luther King, Jr.?

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Speaking this week on the “Democracy Now!” news hour, Rev. Barber reflected on how little has truly changed since King’s time: “Fifty years later, we have nearly 100 million poor and working poor people in this country, 14 million poor children. … Fifty years later, we have less voting rights protection than we had on August 6, 1965,” he said. “[Republicans] have filibustered fixing the Voting Rights Act now for over four years, over 1,700 days.”

“Every state where there’s high voter suppression,” Barber continued, “also has high poverty, denial of health care, denial of living wages, denial of labor union rights, attacks on immigrants, attacks on women.”

Barber says the answer is fusion politics: “We have black, we have white, we have brown, young, old, gay, straight, Jewish, Muslim, Christians, people of faith, people not of faith, who are coming together,” creating what he calls the “Third Reconstruction.” Part of this fusion includes reaching out to traditionally conservative Christians, like Minister Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. From a devout, white evangelical family, as a teen he served as a congressional page under South Carolina Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, one of the fiercest segregationists of the modern era.

Wilson-Hartgrove heard William Barber preach, and has been a follower and a colleague ever since. The renewed Poor People’s Campaign is responding to poor, white evangelicals, Wilson-Hartgrove says: “These people who say, ‘Vote for me because I’m a good Christian leader’ are not serving your interests. You don’t have health care, you don’t have a living wage, because the same people who say they’re standing up for God and righteousness are, when they’re voting, voting against the interests of poor people, whether you’re black, white, brown or whatever.”

Barber sees transformation of the Deep South on the near horizon, but doesn’t claim it will be easy. Recent court victories against both racial and political gerrymandering in North Carolina will further empower African-Americans and other traditionally marginalized groups. But the real work will be done not in the courts, but in the streets.

Barber and Wilson-Hartgrove, along with the Rev. Liz Theoharis, co-director of the New York City-based Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice and co-chair of the modern-day Poor People’s Campaign, traveled to 15 states around the country in recent months, recruiting, organizing and training over 1,000 people. Barber said: “Our first action will be on the Monday after Mother’s Day. We’re going after 25,000 people engaging in civil disobedience over six weeks to launch a movement.” Their target: the U.S. Capitol and statehouses across the country.

Martin Luther King Jr. was robbed of life by a sniper’s bullet 50 years ago. But on this anniversary of his birth, this national holiday that people fought decades for, his vital work to empower the poor, lives on.

Global Solutions Lab: Eliminating Urban Poverty

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An announcement from Medard Gabel, Director, Global Solutions Lab

The 15th Annual Global Solutions Lab is June 17–25, 2017, at the United Nations in New York and Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA. Participants from around the world will be briefed by, interact with, and question UN experts (from UN Habitat, UN Development Program, UN Environmental Program, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, FAO and other UN agencies) and then, working collaboratively in small teams, develop designs, programs and strategies that deal with one of the critical problems facing our world’s urban environments. The participants present their work to a group of UN, corporate and foundation leaders at the end of the program. After this, their work is published in a book.

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Question for this article:

Can UN agencies help eradicate poverty in the world?

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This year’s theme is Eliminating Urban Poverty by 2030. The focus will be on the problems facing the cities of the world— where over 55% of the world’s population currently live (and where 70% are expected to live by 2050). How do we turn sinks into sources? How can we transform urban sinks for food, energy, and water into sources for these valuable resources? How do we do this while simultaneously meeting the needs for housing, education, health care, employment and recreation?

The Global Solutions Lab is a structured learning experience that fosters creativity, disruptive innovations, global perspectives and local solutions. It is intense, fast-paced, and for many, transformative.

If you know any students or others who might be interested in this type of event, have them get in touch with us. They can do this at the Lab’s website, or by emailing us at mg@depaceminterris.org. Further information is also in the link to this PDF flyer.

Conference on U.S. Foreign Military Bases , Jan 12-14 in Baltimore, USA

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An announcement from United for Peace

Peace, justice and environmental organizations in the United States are collectively organizing a 3-day national conference on U.S. Foreign Military Bases on January 12-14, 2018, at the University of Baltimore, Maryland.


Source: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
(Note: Recently there have been revelations of many more American military bases in Africa.)
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Question for this article:

The peace movement in the United States, What are its strengths and weaknesses?

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Endorsers include: Alliance for Global Justice • Black Alliance for Peace • CODEPINK • Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space • International Action Center • Liberty Tree Foundation • MLK Justice Coalition • Nuclear Age Peace Foundation • Popular Resistance • United National Antiwar Coalition • U.S. Peace Council • Veterans For Peace • Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom • World Beyond War • and United for Peace and Justice.

You can join and support this Conference by:

Registering and attending the Conference.
Having your organization endorse the Conference.
Placing an ad or a solidarity message from your group in the Conference Journal.

Click Here for Conference Details, Registration and Endorsement