Reader Comments: Supreme Court: Return to Separate and UnEqual; Child Labor; Remembering Pat Fry; Museums that Remember Slavery; Culture Wars Against Education Archive; Ending Climate and Nuclear Crises; lots of Announcements; Cartoons; more....
Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, Announcements, AND cartoons - July 13, 2023, xxxxxx
...it's their latest idea of yet another clever, covert n-word:
"The phrase stay woke has history in AAVE as far back as the 1930s. In some contexts, it referred to an awareness of social and political issues affecting African Americans. "--https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woke
“While the war on what [Florida Governor Ron] DeSantis has also called ‘the woke mind virus’ is new, the rhetoric and tactics employed by the Florida governor and many other conservatives date back at least to the start of the modern Civil Rights Movement. In the period after the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, segregationist politicians attempted to use state power to punish progressive corporations, civil rights groups, and media outlets; pundits condemned what they saw as the narrowing of acceptable discourse and the demonization of their racist worldview; and citizen groups organized boycotts to maintain segregation.”
Who the heck wants to reflect prevailing public values, and who decides what they are? " without regard for the evolving views and composition of the electorate." So, as the white Christian nationalists take over larger segments of the electorate, we should work to give them more power? Because then they will want to compromise more often?
I am not sure what planet these folks live on, but not mine. Yeah Merrick Garland didn't make it. Do people really think he is such a model of progressiveness? T
his is a terrible article and idea. It would just institutionalize right centrism. Folks need to get out of their think tanks and into the streets. It is only by the sheerest of luck we ever get good justices. Reform yes, but not this one.
This would do nothing to ensure the replacement of crappy justices with good ones. Bad presidents have appointed excellent justices and center right presidents have appointed mediocre justices. Too simplistic and too based on think tank talk. Sorry, back to the drawing board.
Discussion of Affirmative Action focuses on who wants it and who finds it discriminatory. I don't remember seeing any discussion of the benefits for the White majority of affirmative action in college admissions.
We go to college to get educated; not just to collect credentials. How can anyone consider themselves "educated" if they are not meeting and interacting with people of different backgrounds? If everyone went to the same Prep Schools or Middle Class High Schools, how can they start to understand anything about society and how other people think and what experiences they have.
When I went to college, I had no idea that the country wasn't made up of segregated ethnic minorities, who worried about not being able to pay the rent,, who lived in the neighborhood I grew up in. Wealthier students with parents who went to HS and even college, could never have understood living in a family where English wasn't spoken and having to read signs and letters to their parents who were illiterate.
Many thanks to Geoffrey Jacques for his moving tribute to Pat Fry. I can only second his thoughtful tribute to this wonderful lady. I worked with her for several years as co-reporters at the Daily World covering the labor movement. Her relationship with both the rank and file and leaders in the Detroit union movement made her invaluable to our coverage. She wrote with both knowledge and passion for the cause of working folks. Her commitment to racial justice came through in all her efforts. Her passing is a deeply felt loss to all who knew her.
Bill Dennison
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This was a shock. I had last spoken to Pat about a year ago via iPad image. She was in Michigan at the time, and didn’t appear to be ill. I’ll miss her, as will the Left movement. Since I only knew Pat from her time in New York, your well-written exhaustive article by about her life only deepened my admiration for her.
Seymour Joseph
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Friends of Pat Fry, who died in late June, may want to read these stories about her life and work. Thanks to xxxxxx for circulating Geoffrey Jacques' obituary.
poignant tribute. thank you so much for this beautiful write-up. i love pat fry. i didn't realize that she was so influenced by catholic upbringing. me too!
I am offended by the article and lack of truth in the article. While true Claude Cummings was elected. The accusations against Ed Mooney were not investigated to the extent they were truthful or that he actually committed the violations, only that they were actual accusations. I think you need to truthfully report the situation.
Marjorie A. Krueger, Director of Airline Passenger Service
Communications Workers of America
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Moderator's Note:
Outgoing CWA president Chris Shelton ordered an investigation, and issued a public report.
The multifaceted culture wars against education constitute attacks how history and social studies are taught and written. They are attempts to severely restrict or eliminate teaching about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ issues. They are an assault on academic freedom in higher education and on professional autonomy and responsibility in K-12 schools. They reveal political efforts to undermine public education in the United States on all levels.
Historians for Peace and Democracy has compiled this archive of materials on the past and present of the culture wars and responses to them. We hope this archive will help teachers and students on all levels educate themselves about the current crisis and find constructive ways to respond to it. The archive provides a variety of resources that will be useful as well for journalists, commentators, politicians, and the general public. Contents will be updated regularly.
With opening remarks by Manisha A. Patel, President, United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia (UNA-GP)
Hosted by Ed Aguilar, Chair of the No Wars, No Warming Campaign Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA)
Sunday, July 16
4:00 - 5:30 PM
Featuring:
Dr. Timmon Milne Wallis
Okezue Bell
Sofia DaCruz
Dr. Joseph Gerson
On the anniversary of the "Trinity Atomic Test" of the weapons that were used to destroy both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, CFPA and UNA-GP present a webinar that looks toward peace and a healthy planet.
We will hear from author-activist Dr. Timmon Milne Wallis, Executive Director of NuclearBan.US who wrote Warheads to Windmills, a call to transition from the old economy to a new Green Peace Economy, and CFPA's summer intern, Sofia DaCruz will interview remarkable youth peace champion Okezue Bell, a Nigerian-American student and STEM inventor, and a 2023 Global AI Ambassador. Dr. Joseph Gerson is President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security (CPDCS), Co-chair of the Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy, and Co-Convener of the International Peace and Planet Network.
The Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) is a grassroots citizens' organization bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds, professions and political persuasions around three goals: global abolition of nuclear weapons, a peace economy and a halt to weapons trafficking at home and abroad.
Join the Third Act Union National Call on July 18 at 7:00 Eastern Time.
We will cover:
What’s next? And how to get involved
March to End Fossil Fuels in New York on September 17. Learn more here.
Third Act coordinated bank actions.
Watch Third Actors take on Wells Fargo
How to join our social media organizing campaign
Chapter reports
Come meet other members of the Third Act Union Working Group, learn about our plans to stop the dirty banks from investing in future fossil fuel development.
A Tribute to Archie Brown and the Other Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Wednesday, July 26 at 5 PM PT
Why was the ILWU able to survive as one of the most progressive unions in the United States during the McCarthy era, the Cold War, and the post-Cold War period, while other labor organizations were crushed? It was the ILWU’s commitment to international solidarity and its leadership in the fight against racism and for social justice. Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade played a key role in the union’s struggles. Join us for a panel discussion on these important historical and contemporary topics.
San Francisco LaborFest 2023
Live at Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore
3036 24th St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
Peter N. Carroll, ALBA Chair Emeritus, author of The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Robin Walker, Education Director, Librarian, and Archivist for the ILWU
Brian McWilliams, Former ILWU President
Stephanie Brown, political activist and daughter of Archie Brown
Moderated by Richard Bermack, Bay Area Abraham Lincoln Brigade group, author of The Front Lines of Social Change: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
Hosted live at Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore . Join us in person or on Zoom
The Long Table Dinner at the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, Lake Placid
Saturday, August 5 · 4:30 - 8:30pm EDT
A provocative, open-ended conversation with writers, historians, and thought leaders: Jamelle Bouie, Nell Painter, and David Blight.
Join us for an unforgettable evening at the Long Table Dinner, celebrating the dream of John and Mary Brown. This in-person event will take place on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 4:30 at the John Brown Farm, 115 John Brown Road, Lake Placid, NY.
Experience a night of history-making conversation featuring Jamelle Bouie, Nell Painter and David Blight, followed by delicious food and great company at The Long Table, where guests come together to share stories and create new memories. The menu will feature seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients, prepared by Chef Lewis Hughes, a descendant of Harper's Ferry Raider, Lewis Sheridan Leary.
Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to support John Brown Lives! Reserve your spot at the Long Table today!
John Brown Lives! delivers cutting-edge educational and cultural programming the engages individuals, connects communities, and provides surprising ports of entry to address pressing issues today.
Peoples Climate March, September 2014, 400,000 turned out on the streets of New York. There were 2646 solidarity events in 162 countries. It was the largest climate march in history. (Survival Media Agency)
We are living in a climate emergency.
There has never been more urgency to end the era of fossil fuels. We have a small window of time to turn things around for a livable future – and we need an unprecedented movement that pushes our world leaders to act now. President Biden has broken his promise to protect us from the fossil-fueled climate crisis, but together we can rise up and demand true climate leadership.
We are the heroes we’ve been waiting for.
We’re taking action building up to the March to End Fossil Fuels in New York on September 17th.
In New York this September, the United Nations Secretary-General is hosting a first-of-its-kind Climate Ambition Summit to demand that nations stop the fossil fuel expansion that is driving the climate emergency.
Thousands of us will march to demand President Biden take bold action to End Fossil Fuels.
Fossil fuels are the primary cause of the climate crisis.
Scientists have been clear that we need to phase out fossil fuels to avoid even more catastrophic levels of climate disasters – like drought, fires, hurricanes, and floods. In order to have a chance at a livable future, we cannot afford any new oil and gas projects.
Fossil fuel pollution poisons our communities at every point of production - from extraction to transportation, to processing, use, and export.
We’re going to mobilize like never before With.communities across the globe to make sure he follows through.
Building up to the Climate Ambition Summit in September, we’re turning up the heat on Biden to take bolder action to stop fossil fuels
