Reader Comments: Young Voters Message; McCarthy's MAGA Holds Country Hostage; Military Budget, Arms for Israel; Harry Belafonte, Social Justice Song list; May Day in New York; Webinars: Ukraine What Next?; Fighting for Democracy in the Workplace
A self-absorbed idiot leading a party of Political misfits: it’s no wonder they make the Keystone Cops ????? look like geniuses. He gets to see his stupidity each and every day. He is thrilled to have George Santos his motivational mentor!
It is very brave in these times to stand up to two sacred cows, the weapons industry and Israeli human rights abuses, at the same time. Thanks to you few who value peace and human life more than careerist opportunism.
"Conditioning" the use of US funds is useless unless ALL our funds are conditioned on the same principles, no matter what they are theoretically used for. If all we say is that our funds can't be used for weapons or for settlements, they'll use American money for items they would ordinarily pay for with their own money and use their money to pay for the "forbidden" activities. ALL AMERICAN Aid to Israel must stop until the occupation is ended (whether with one Democratic State, two Democratic States, two States allowing dual citizenship or some other ethical solution).
Sad the Right cares nothing for the Breathing. Breath is the standard of life in the Bible. Yes, suffering for many, including women who experience miscarriages.
Democrats have to remember how they got on the court, the Democrats losing the elections of 2000 and 2016. Democrats can't win without moderate pro-choice Catholic voters. Democrats have to say goodbye to NARAL.
"When the movement is strong, the music is strong." - Harry Belafonte.
He is quoted in this piece by the Resistance Chorus. Along with a performance of We Shall Overcome in his honor at Berklee School of Music, it is near the top of this Social Justice Song list compiled over the last four years:
Have you not noticed the contradiction between cheering on a U.S. proxy war against Russia (as xxxxxx does) while at the same time fretting about the seconds ticking away on the Doomsday Clock?
The "Putin is naughty, but..." chorus is fixated on a connection between support for Ukraine and nuclear war. IMO it's a fear mongering non sequitur to cover up Putin's culpability.
GARFIELD PARK — A new art exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory depicts a futuristic world where Black history and iconography blend.
Visitors can see “An Otherworldly Existence: Afrofuturism & the Environment” starting Thursday at the conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. It will be available through June 30. The exhibit shows a future where Black people are free of marginalization and environmental neglect.
The exhibit features work focused on Afrofuturism and the environmental racism experienced by Black people throughout the world, according to the conservatory’s website. It was created by collage artist Kee Merriweather, a South Side native.
Afrofuturism explores futuristic, sci-fi settings where people of African descent are at the forefront of technological advancements.
Conservatory exhibitions coordinator Onyx Engobor told Austin Weekly News Merriweather’s pieces were chosen since environmental injustice and racism have historically affected Garfield Park’s Black and Brown residents and the West Side overall.
“Environmentalism as a whole, as a system and as an institution has historically excluded Black and Brown people and Indigenous people,” Engobor said, according to Austin Weekly News. “It’s really important to the conservatory to make space for representation of Black and Brown people and marginalized people in the outdoors.”
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A new hour-long program featuring Palestinian activists, cultural workers, community organizers, educators, and health workers speaking on the ground from Palestine: timely interviews with audience participation.
This program is produced by the Cambridge-Bethlehem People-to-People Project (CBPPP) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. CBPPP is a community-based solidarity initiative to foster awareness of the realities facing Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in Greater Bethlehem and beyond through people-to-people contacts and special projects.
This #MayDay, we march for the excluded, those who toil in homes, on the streets, and behind bars. Join us this year to march for the respect and dignity of ALL workers!
Voices of People's History of the United States in the 21st Century
Featuring: Rosario Dawson, Ariana DeBose, Michael Ealy, Stephanie Hsu, Valerie June, L Morgan Lee, Martha Redbone and Aaron Whitby, Marisa Tomei, M. Ward, Kerry Washington and DJ Laylo
Tuesday, May 2 | 8PM
Join leading artists and activists including Marisa Tomei, Kerry Washington, and Stephanie Hsu at The Town Hall on May 2nd for the book launch of Voices of a People's History of the United States in the 21st Century. Featuring powerful readings and music, this event showcases over 100 texts from social movements that have shaped the 21st century, including contributions from Angela Y. Davis, Colin Kaepernick, and Naomi Klein. Inspired by the original Voices of a People's History, this new book is a testament to the ordinary people who have taken collective action to shape history and offers inspiration for those seeking to change the future.
Inspired by the original Voices of a People’s History of the United States, edited by Anthony Arnove and people’s historian Howard Zinn (1922–2010), this new book features speeches, essays, poems, and calls to action from Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, Indigenous struggles, immigrant rights activists, the environmental movement, disability justice organizers, and frontline workers during the global pandemic who spoke out against the life-threatening conditions of their labor. Together, their words remind us that history is made not only by the rich and powerful, but by ordinary people taking collective action.
Voices of a People’s History of the United States in the 21st Century offers inspiration for those seeking to understand our recent history in order to change it.
As a National Historic Landmark, The Town Hall has played a significant role in New York City's cultural life and social evolution since 1921, when it was built by a suffragist organization as a gathering place for all New Yorkers.
The sessions will run Wednesdays from 7:30-9:30pm Eastern (4:30-6:30pm Pacific) on May 3rd, 10th, and 17th. We ask that you attend all three workshops in the series.
Once you register, you will receive a link to join via Zoom. We will send emails weekly with links to sessions on the day of the event. Be sure to check all of your email folders, including your spam folder, for the session links and to download and update Zoom beforehand.
Cost: $15 for the whole series. Includes access to all workshops until space is filled. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
Also available: registration plus 50 percent off a one-year subscription to Labor Notes magazine—$30!
Subscription offer valid only for U.S. addresses. Click here to purchase an international subscription.
Accessibility: Zoom's automatic captions will be turned on during the session. Please feel free to contact us with other accessibility needs or questions.
If you have any questions or problems signing up, email: [email protected].
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Beating Apathy
Are you beating your head against the wall trying to get other workers involved? This workshop is for you. Hear success stories from those who’ve turned their workplaces around and turned apathy into action. Learn practical organizing tools for engaging your co-workers, taking action, and getting results.
Assembling Your Dream Team
Your workplace may feel like an unorganized mess, but the truth is you’re not starting from zero. There’s organization there already—though it might have nothing to do with the union. Learn how to map out the existing networks in your workplace, identify the leaders in those networks, and then knit them together into an organizing committee.
Turning an Issue into a Campaign
Everybody has complaints and frustrations, but an organizer has the power to turn problems into opportunities. Learn how to sort through the issues you hear from co-workers, bring people together, and make a plan to solve them.
To register, choose your registration type from the dropdown box below, then click "Add to Cart." Next, click the shopping cart icon at the top of your screen and follow checkout instructions. To register multiple people, change the "quantity" in your shopping cart and send a list of names and email addresses to [email protected]
The Veterans For Peace Ukraine Working Group (in formation) seeks to promote a just, moral, and legal resolution to Russia’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine by:
Amplifying progressive Ukrainian-centric perspectives on the war.
Providing material aid to the victims of the war.
Promoting a progressive post-war reconstruction without austerity measures.
Advocating for a secure and peaceful post-war coexistence between all parties involved.
Acknowledging that “Russia out of Ukraine” is the most direct route to peace.
Note that this working group, in formation, originally organized as “Veterans For Peace For Ukraine,” and then later as the “Veterans For Peace For Ukraine caucus.” We have updated our name and graphics at the request of the VFP National Board.
Russia Out of Ukraine
In order to bring about a genuine and lasting peace as soon as possible, we call on the Russian Federation to unconditionally leave the internationally recognized borders of the sovereign nation of Ukraine, a founding member of the United Nations since 1945.
We join the 144 Member States of the United Nations that reiterated the demand that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine and called for a cessation of hostilities” during the UN’s 11th emergency special session, 23 Feb 2023. Veterans For Peace holds a permanent Non-Governmental Organization seat at the United Nations.
Following the exit of Russian forces from Ukraine, we hope for a process of restorative justice and restitution for the untold suffering of tens of millions of Ukrainians as a step towards a lasting peace.
A progressive reconstruction plan will be needed to rebuild Ukraine, one free of neoliberal austerity requirements imposed on the people of Ukraine.
A dramatic wave of union organizing has occurred since the pandemic, with Amazon and Starbucks as only the most high-profile examples. In a relatively pro-labor environment, workers are energized to fight for their rights — witness the recent threatened rail strike and the nurses strikes of 2022-2023 — but the nation’s unionization rate remains historically low and employers continue to resist. How long will the window for progress stay open? In this timely discussion, hear from a new generation of labor leaders working on the front lines about the opportunities and obstacles facing workers at this crucial moment.
Featuring: Keith Bullard, organizer for the Union of Southern Service Workers; Mark Meinster, director of organization for the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE); Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants - CWA, AFL-CIO; and Anthony Rosario, organizer from Teamsters Local 804, who is working on the Amazon and UPS campaigns. Moderated by Sarah Hughes, organizer, trainer, and writer at Labor Notes, and former coordinator of the Union Semester program at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
