March 2004

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

PIECES

EVENTS

Peace Vigils, at Newport War College in Providence RI, Tuesdays 7-9 am; at Undersea Warfare Center in Middletown RI, Thursdays 3:30-5 pm; contact Rhode Island Mobilization for Peace & Justice, POB 23157, Providence RI 02903-4102

Critical Breakdown Open Mic Night, 6-9 pm (sign up @ 5:30 pm), 3/21, 4/18, 5/16, & 6/20; Center for Latino Arts, 85 West Newton St, Boston MA; Critical Breakdown brings people together through Hip Hop, spoken word, & other forms of socially conscious performance; featuring DJ SunOne; sponsored by American Friends Service Committee, 2161 Mass. Ave, Cambridge MA 02140; for information call 617/312-9190

Ethical Society of Boston events Sundays, 10:30 am; 33 Garden St., Cambridge MA at the Longy School of Music; 3/21 "Is the USA Patriot Act the Sedition Act of the 21st Century?" with William Wiecek; 3/28 "Responsibility without a Self" comparing Buddhism & Ethical Humanism, with David Eckel; www.bostonethical.org

Debate & Discussion of the Geneva Accord, 3/23; Friends Meetinghouse, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle St near Harvard Square); Naomi Chazan & Souad Dajani will speak for & against the accord, respectively; moderator TBA; sponsored by Arabic Hour Television; for information contact Elaine Hagopian at hagopian@simmons.edu

Racial Justice: Speak Truth to Power (lecture series on video), 3/26, 4/30; we will gather at 6 for pizza, salad, & drinks ($3-5 requested), & at 6:45 we will view a video from the Pendle Hill 2002-2003 speaker series, followed by discussion & worship-sharing; videotaped speakers include Frank Wu, Deborah Saunders, Ed Nakawatase, & Jim Lawson; child care provided on request; sponsored by Friends for Racial Justice, c/o Friends Meeting at Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA 02138; 617/876-6883

Lenten & Ash Wednesday Vigil at Bath Iron Works, 2/28 & next 5 Saturdays; meet outside the gate on Washington St, 11:30 am-12:30 pm; BIW produces guided missile destroyers for General Dynamics; we will also vigil on 4/17 when BIW "christens" & launches its newest cruise missile destroyer; call Maureen, 207/338-4776

Maine Lesbian-Gay Political Alliance Gala, honoring leaders of the past & young leaders for the future, 3/20; Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland ME; 207/761-3732; mlgpa@mlgpa.org

Facing the State of the Dream, 3/25, noon-1:30 pm; Community Change, 14 Beacon St #605, Boston MA 02108; $5 donation requested. For every dollar of white per capita income, African Americans had 55 cents in 1968 & only 57 cents in 2001. Toward the end of his life, Martin Luther King began to speak about the re-direction of funds necessary for economic parity in the midst of a war economy - territory we must travel again in 2004. In this workshop we will explore ways to fund the dream by working to dismantle the war budget, challenge corporate welfare, & start recommitting resources necessary for economic parity in education, housing, & health care; beverages provided, bring your own lunch; RSVP to Community Change at 617/523-0555

Documenting Asian American History & Culture in New England: Why & How, 3/25, 3:30-5; Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, 138 St. James Ave, Boston MA; a workshop for members, staff, & leaders of Asian American community organizations; held in conjunction with the conference of the Association for Asian Studies; contact Sam Lowe, 617/287-5650; sam.lowe@umb.edu

Politics & Music in Times of Dissent, 3/30, 7 pm; Friends Meetinghouse, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle St, near Harvard Square), Cambridge MA; $20-10 sliding scale; a discussion with historian Howard Zinn & performer Michelle Shocked; a benefit for the Boston Social Forum, 617/782-2313; www.bostonsocialforum.org

Music, Politics, Dance, & More, 4/4, 4 pm; The Middle East in Central Square, Cambridge MA; $20-10 sliding scale; with Noam Chomsky, Michelle Shocked, Rumba Cuatro, Jake the Snake, Acid Raggae, & Shadowbox; a benefit for the Boston Social Forum, 617/782-2313; www.bostonsocialforum.org

New Visions for Changing the World: Refocusing the Light in our Service, 4/17, 9 am-3 pm; Wellesley Friends Meeting, Wellesley MA; A gathering of New England American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) & the wider Quaker Community; keynote by Paul Lacey, Clerk of the National AFSC Board; New England AFSC staff will conduct workshops on current AFSC programs & planned initiatives in the areas of urban youth, economic justice, criminal justice, immigration issues, international issues, & youth involvement. Meet New England activists & learn about AFSC programs & how to get involved; AFSC, 2161 Mass. Ave, Cambridge MA 02140; 617/661-6130

RESOURCES

The Institute for Community Economics is a national non-profit organization that creates opportunities for permanently affordable housing & community development by building the capacity of community land trusts & other grassroots organizations. Founded in 1967, ICE is committed to the principle that local communities should have a significant role in planning their own economic development & should be the primary beneficiaries of that development. To learn more about the ICE's programs, including its revolving loan fund & opportunities for socially responsible investing, contact ICE, 57 School St, Springfield MA 01105-1331; 413/746-8660; www.iceclt.org

The Women's Center of Cambridge, MA offers a variety of support groups, classes, & activities; current programs include "Grand Moms," for women raising a second generation of children, "Healing & Art" for trauma survivors, a 4-week coming-out discussion group for women of all ages, parenting support groups, "Women Maximizing Abilities Now" for women with disabilities, a cooking & nutrition workshop for battered & formerly battered women, & much more; child care & children's programming offered; wheelchair accessible; 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge MA 02139; 617/354-8807

The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq, Christopher Scheer, Robert Scheer, & Lakshmi Chaudhry; $9.95; 174 pp; a comprehensive source on Bush's campaign of disinformation before, during, & after the commencement of the second Gulf War; published by Akashic Books & Seven Stories Press; available at www.akashicbooks.com

A Brief History of Outrage, THINK AGAIN, 48 pp; a collection of Adbusters- style graphic interventions, available to inform and inspire activists confronting sexism, heterosexism, war, and capitalism. Available at www.agitart.org.

GATHERINGS

The World Still Says No to War: A Global Day of Action, 3/20; On the anniversary of the US-led war against Iraq, people on every continent will take to the streets to say YES to peace & NO to preemptive war & occupation; march & rally at noon in New York City; for more information contact United for Peace & Justice, POB 607, Times Square Station, New York NY 10108; 212/868-5545; www.unitedforpeace.org

Understanding the Role of Space in US Global Domination, 4/23-25; Portland ME; Representatives from peace groups worldwide will share their work to stop Star Wars; with Craig Eisendrath, Bruce Gagnon, Stacey Fritz, Regina Hagen, & many more; we will also participate in a protest at Bath Iron Works, where the Aegis Destroyer is built; Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, POB 652, Brunswick ME 04011; 207/729-0517; www.space4peace.org

March for Women's Lives, 4/25; Washington DC; sponsored by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the march will bring a powerful message to Washington: Americans are pro-faith, pro-family, & pro-choice. Marching together, we will demonstrate that there is massive religious support for equality & justice for women. For more information on the march & on travel from your area, visit www.rcrc.org.

The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-profit Industrial Complex, 4/30-5/1; UC Santa Barbara; Social justice organizations within the US largely operate on the 501(c)3 non-profit model; this conference will address the impact of this trend on social justice movements, including anti-violence organizing; presented by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, c/o Andrea Smith, Program in American Culture, 3700 Haven Hall, U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 48109; www.incite-national.org

Democratic National Convention Protests, 7/26-29; for information on developing plans for action, visit the web site of United for Peace & Justice at www.ufpj.org

The World Says No to Empire, War, & Greed, 8/29; New York NY; March & rally at the Republican National Convention

OPPORTUNITIES

Beacon Hill Friends House seeks Kitchen Manager; BHFH is a community of 20 residents guided by Friends' principles & practices; compensation includes room & board in addition to salary; inquire by 4/15 to Directors, BHFH, 6 Chestnut St, Boston MA 02108; 617/227-9118; www.bhfh.org

White People Challenging Racism: Moving from Talk to Action, Mondays 7-9 pm, 3/22-4/26; Brookline High School; $43 + $5 registration fee; In this workshop, we will make explicit the systems that give white people privilege at the expense of people of color, & develop ways to stand against these systems; with facilitators Stacie Garnett & Steve Saranga; sponsored by Community Change, 14 Beacon St., Boston MA 02108; 617/523-0555

Aligning your Money with your Values, 4/16-18; Deerfield MA; in this retreat, we offer spiritual & practical guidelines for transforming your relationship to money; the program is founded in the belief that integrating your values with your finances leads to a future based on reality, integrity, & joy; with facilitators Penny Yunuba, Carolyn Hilles, & Jeffrey Kerekes; Woolman Hill New England Quaker Center, 107 Keets Rd, Deerfield MA 01342; 413/774-3431; info@woolmanhill.org

Movement Activist Apprenticeship Program, 6/15-8/8; a training program for young organizers of color, bringing motivated activists together for 7 weeks of organizing through in-the-field training & skills development with a labor or community organization; applications due by 4/15; Center for Third World Organizing, 1218 East 21st St, Oakland CA 94806; 510/533-7583; www.ctwo.org

Moore Research Fellowship provides a stipend to promote research using the resources of the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College & the Swarthmore Peace Collection; application due 4/15; for information on how to apply, contact Christopher Densmore, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave, Swarthmore PA 19081-1399; 610/328-8497

CAMPAIGNS

Reduce Mercury Pollution; The EPA is trying to back away from strict safeguards against mercury pollution from power plants, despite the advice of its own experts & advisory panels. In December, the EPA announced a mercury plan that will expose our children to far more mercury, for far longer, than what the agency has said is achievable & cost-effective. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimate that 4.9 million women of childbearing age in the US-that's 8 percent-have mercury levels in their blood that are unsafe. The biggest source of mercury pollution in the US is emissions from power plants. The EPA is now accepting public comments at www.moveon.org/mercury

Give a Backbone Award to a progressive elected official in your state, county, or municipality; If an elected official in your area has stood up against the USA Patriot Act, the Iraq war, or tax cuts for the wealthy, write to us & we will send you a Backbone Award (Emmy-like statue) for you to ceremonially present to her or him; In this way we can let our elected officials know that progressives are paying attention & are appreciative of their efforts; contact Bill Moyer, bill@backbonecampaign.org; www.backbonecampaign.org

Previous Article    Next Article