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Hello Greens! Our 2019 Annual Meeting was great!
There were over 250 attendees with us for long weekend at Salem State
University in Massachusetts. This is the largest Annual Meeting we’ve
had in at least a decade and we’re very happy about that! If
you were there, thank you for coming. If you weren’t there, we hope
you were able to watch some of our livestreams and hope you’ll come to
our 2020 Presidential Convention next summer.
This August issue of GreenLine is dedicated to reporting back on what happened at the Annual Meeting and to share lots of photos and links to videos that you can watch. I hope you enjoy the articles, photos and videos!  Peace, Starlene Rankin GreenLine Editor P.S.:
The Green National Committee just decided that the 2020 Green Party
Presidential Nominating Convention will take place in Detroit,
Michigan, from July 9-12. The Detroit Green Party, Wayne County
Green Party and the Green Party of Michigan will host the Convention
at Wayne State University. Stay tuned for more
information!
 Thursday Opening Event“It’s all on the same chain”: Immigrant Detention, Prisoner Solidarity, and the Crisis of Mass incarceration – Speaker: Dr. Toussaint Losier, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Dr. Losier illustrated the way in which the U.S. prison system, which now holds over 2 million men and women behind bars, anticipated the recent rise in immigrant detention, not only in scale, but also on the reliance of cages and bars to fix broader social and economic problems. He presented the ten demands from the Jailhouse Lawyers Speak (JLS), a network of imprisoned legal advocates and organizers that touched on issues ranging from sentencing reform and legal rights to opportunities for rehabilitation and an end to the exploitation of those imprisoned as slave labor. Dr. Losier highlighted the particularly egregious plight of seniors who have been incarcerated for decades and are now in need of medical and other supportive services preferably received back into the community. Lastly, Dr. Losier facilitated a lively question and comment session that examined the way prisoner organizers, like those in JLS, and we as Green Party candidates and organizers can fight to end mass incarceration, close detention facilities, and change our society for the better.
Thursday and Friday
Workshops
The Coordinated Campaign Committee presented an overview of their work covering everything from the roles and responsibilities of committee members to current and future projects. At the ANM, the CCC also unveiled a new website as well as a new brochure, both designed to be resources for state and local parties as well as candidates. Here is a sample of a few of the workshops: (click on the title to watch the video on Facebook) Building a Mass Working Class Third Party at the Green Party 2019 National Meeting in Salem, MA War is the Central Issue with Ajamu Baraka, Carol Coakley, Linda Thompson & Bahman Azad Media, Messaging and Marketing for Greens at the Green Party 2019 National Meeting in Salem, MA! Organizing Tools for Political Party Building Organizing for an EcoSocialist Green New Deal
Saturday Plenary Day
Saturday morning kicked off with a showing of the film Colonization Is Extinction: A Documentary. The filmmakers Gualterio and Jessica Alomar held a Q& A after the film and talked about the process they went through in making it. The film examines the current state of Puerto Rico, its current economic crisis, how colonialism has crippled the island. It shined light on the current state of Puerto Rico, its governmental state, as well as key people involved in the struggle to improve Puerto Rico for its people. The main points of discussion in the film surrounding the current economic crisis, how colonialism has crippled the island, as well as the current status of Oscar Lopez Rivera. The film portrays this through an interactive and engaging history of major events, such as the beginning of colonial rule, the Ponce Massacre, the bombings of Vieques, the sterilization of Puerto Rican women, and more. Here is a link to information about the movie: http://www.theocho.net/colonization-is-extinction--documentary.html A Panel Discussion on “Colonialism as the Seed of Oppression” with (left to right) Anita Rios, Violet Rose Zitola, Darlene Elias, Robin Harris, Jessica Alomar and Gualterio Alomar followed the film. Here is a link to the video of “A panel discussion on Colonialism as the seed of oppression: https://www.facebook.com/GreenPartyUS/videos/2649064798439264/
Plenary Keynote Address by Ajamu Baraka Ajamu Baraka, is the Director of Black Alliance for Peace and 2016 GPUS vice-presidential nominee. Click here to watch the video of the Keynote Address by Ajamu Baraka.
Sunday Morning PlenaryDefying Empire, Defending Democracy, & Powering Up with Ranked Choice Voting
The final segment of this presentation featured a screening of the short documentary "The Battle for Ranked Choice Voting", produced by Scotty Vercoe and directed by Julie Mallozzi. This film captured the historic victory for Ranked Choice Voting in Maine. The film screening was then followed by a panel discussion on Ranked Choice Voting including Jill Stein, Kyle Bailey (director of the campaign for Ranked Choice Voting in Maine), Adam Friedman (executive director of Voter Choice Massachusetts), James Lane, and the film's producer - Scotty Vercoe. The panel discussion provided status on the efforts to get Ranked Choice Voting established around the nation and gave Greens in attendance a direct way to get involved in direct action in their own state to pursue electoral reform for Ranked Choice Voting. Watch video on Facebook here.
New Steering Committee Members were elected at the Annual Meeting!
The co-chairs serve as the spokespersons of the party and execute the day-to-day administration and operations. The co-chairs, secretary and treasurer form the party's Steering Committee, and are elected by the 239 members of the Green Party's National Committee, which consists of delegates from state Green Parties and Green caucuses. Read more here. Click here for the Steering Committee page.
Fundraiser and Party
We had a great fundraiser at the Gerry FVA event facility. Woody Caceres, a Maryland Green, was the first act to entertain us. He got the crowd on its feet with his spoken word/performance art. You can see part of his act here. Ben Grosscup from Massachusetts played his original songs. Our featured entertainer was comedian Lee Camp, host of Redacted tonight. He had us laughing for over half an hour. We really missed David Cobb as our fundraising “pitchman”. But Hillary Kane, GPUS Treasurer, helped us raise more than $9,000. All in all, everyone had a great time and we raised money.
Press ConferencesPress Conference Videos on Webpage: https://www.gp.org/press_conferences_held_at_the_anm
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 4PM - PRESS CONFERENCE WITH MEETING
ORGANIZERS - GLORIA MATTERA HOSTED FRIDAY, JULY 27, 9AM – PRESS CONFERENCE WITH GREEN PARTY
CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICE - ERIN FOX
HOSTED 1) Janis Richards, Mayor, Houston (Texas) 2) Carol Pryzbylak, Cheektowaga Town Council (suburb of Buffalo, New York) https://www.facebook.com/CarolSandyPrzybylakforCTC/ @CarolSandyPryzbylakforCTC 3) Craig Cayetano, Hawthorne Town Council, Ward 3 (New Jersey) https://www.facebook.com/pg/cayetano4council/community @cayetano4council 4) Hal Ridley, jr., US House of Representatives, District 38 (Texas)
FRIDAY JULY 26, 10:30 AM - PRESS CONFERENCE WITH GREEN
PARTY MEMBERS ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE - DAVID DOONAN
HOSTED 1) Charlene DiCalogero, Library Trustee, Berlin (Massachusetts) https://charleneisgreen.nationbuilder.com 2) Tar Larner, Housing Board, Concord (Massachusetts), at the GP meeting in Salem https://concordma.gov/1096/Housing-Authority 3) Michael Stewart, Greenville County Soil & Water Conservation District Commissioner (South Carolina) https://www.greenvillecounty.org/SoilAndWater/Directory.aspx
2019 Annual Meeting Photo Gallery
See a lot more photos from the 2019 Annual Meeting on our Flickr page! Click here.
Green Party of the United States
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Green Party of the United States · PO Box 75075, Washington, DC 20013, United States . This email was sent to [email protected]. To stop receiving emails, click here. |
Dr. Toussaint Losier, 
The 2019 GPUS Annual National Meeting
was concluded with a presentation and panel discussion titled: Defying
Empire, Defending Democracy, and Powering up with Ranked Choice
Voting. This presentation began with former GPUS Presidential Nominee,
Jill Stein, discussing the role of the Green Party in fighting for
electoral reforms/integrity and standing up for the right to
democratically participate as a party for the people. This
introduction was then followed by Activist/Journalist, James Lane, who
discussed the history of Ranked Choice Voting reform in the US and the
importance of moving to an electoral system with Ranked Choice Voting,
to allow people to vote in their best interests without the fear of
"spoiling" elections. 
The National Committee of the Green
Party of the United States has announced the election of four
co-chairs and secretary. 
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