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Last updated on current actions WAC is involved in
Next Meeting is June 9th @ First Congo @ 6pm.
"SEXISM, THE YOUTH MOVEMENT, AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION" is a joint meeting
of
Women's Action Coalition (WAC) and News and Letters Committees.
Sexism in the youth movements is an issue that WAC has been discussing
for
some time and has long had a perspective to have a public meeting
focusing
on it. We're glad there's so much interest in the topic, and encourage
those who see the problem as something to work on to join us at the
meeting.
Let's engage in discussion and the action that can flow from it.
When WAC learned that Jen was going to be coming to Memphis, we asked
her to
lead this discussion. Jen is a young woman who has been involved in the
youth movement--it was her choice to concentrate on the youth movement.
This is about critique of the movement from within by its own
participants.
Radical critique of this society in all its aspects is required to clear
the
path to a new, free, truly human society. Anyone who has participated
in
events like the Southern Grrls Convention in Louisville two years ago,
where
the entire group talked about their experiences of sexism in the
movement,
understands the urgency of discussing this problem.
So, again, please come to the meeting and engage in discussion there.
Date: Sunday, June 9, 2002
Time: 6:00 PM
Place: Office of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, 1000 S. Cooper,
First Congregational Church,
Memphis, TN
(park in the back off Blythe)
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4/28/02
At our last meeting on April 28, 2002, Kelly and Cassie joined Adele,Terry, Steve, and April. We spent a little time at the beginning of the meeting introducing each other and telling Kelly and Cassie about WAC and they told us some things about themselves and their interest in a group like WAC. Steve reported that he and Julie Rogers will be going to the Taco Bell (TB) stockholders meeting in Louisville, leaving May 15th and driving back to Memphis in the wee hours of May 17th. There they will support the resolution on improving the conditions of the workers who pick the tomatoes for TB. They want to get in touch with local Louisville activists, so if you know any, let Steve know at stammelleo@hotmail.com Terry said she would try to get the announcement on the Southern Girrrls Convention Discussion list. If you want to go, contact Steve. There's plenty of room. April reported that she could not get copies of our Zine at the University of Memphis because they let other groups use our photocopy money! We are also too late to get money for speakers for the fall semester. We also have to register the group again which means we need 10 signatures from registered students with decent grades. Kelly and Steve said they could help April with this. If you can help too, let April know at vesper@coolgrrrls.comWe decided that we did want to do some protesting of the Mike Tyson fight. We decided we wanted to be across the street from the Pyramid about two hours before the event starts with signs and radical cheers. Steve volunteered to get the permit that we need for this. The fight will be June 8. Since this meeting, we've heard from Jim Maynard, who also wants to do something around this question. I've already sent you all his email and my response. Robin also sent me an email which we need to consider seriously at our next meeting. Robin wrote: "would we be protesting mike tyson or the city of memphis? i think it would be more practical/purposeful to protest the city for having him here rather than mike tyson himself, because i can't help but feel like protesting mike tyson himself would make us look really reactionary. what do you think?" April will call Robin and Michelle to set up a Radical Cheerleading practice session and that can also be an opportunity to discuss this more. We talked about future meetings. We need to hear from Robin and Michelle so that we can plan our support for the Drag Kings who are coming through Memphis. Cassie said if we had the night on a Friday, MAGY could participate and help but they need to know in advance. Steve suggested advertising in gay bars and Kelly volunteered to help with leafleting. Since April was to call Robin and Michelle about the Radical Cheerleading,she said she would also find out from them about the Drag Kings. Terry suggested that to follow up on the demonstration against the Tyson fight, our last meeting in June should be on the subject of violence againstwomen. All agreed and Terry volunteered to contact Elizabeth, founder of SOAR. We think that Jen from Chicago may be in town in March and could speak on sexism in the movement at that time. We also had a discussion of the Gay Pride Parade and how and if we wanted to participate. We decided we needed more information about what the Parade will look like this year. Lastly we discussed the WAC Zine, Korespondances. We decided that April would take the money that we made at the Cooper Young Spring Fling Garage sale and make more copies of the current Zine. AND THANK YOU APRIL AND STEVE FOR DOING ALMOST ALL THE WORK FOR THAT!! For the next Zine we decided that it should be a WHAT IS MY ART ZINE. This could mean poetry,photographs, drawings, cartoons, fiction, non-fiction, bookbinding, what
is your art? We're defining art very broadly. What ideas do you have and whatdo you want to contribute to the next WAC Zine? Our next meeting that EVERYONE will want to come to will be NEXT SUNDAY,
MAY 12, 6:00 PM AT 1000, S. COOPER, FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, in the office of the Peace and Justice Center. If you don't know how to get in and you want to come to the meeting, email me and I'll give you more specific directions.
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Upcoming Events Since the Taco Bell support work is something WAC has taken on, here's the latest info from Steve.
Terry
Hello Everyone:
I got an update from the CIW on their plans for the Taco Bell
Shareholder's meeting; they said that it would be awesome if we could send a delegation from Memphis showing our support!! Their plan of action for Thursday the 16th is as follows:
On Thursday, May 16th, the day will essentially look like this:
7:00 AM Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 AM Set-up outside Tricon
9:00 - 12:00 PM Action outside of Tricon shareholder meeting
12:00 - 1:30 PM Drive to downtown Louisville, eat lunch, prepare for march
1:30 - 4:00 PM March, protests at Taco Bell(s)
5:00 - 6:00 PM Dinner
6:30 PM Jobs with Justice community meeting
Since you have a long drive, you could depart after the march and
protest at Taco Bell, or join us for dinner and then head out. Either way, the most important part of the day is in the morning, from 8:00 - 12:00.
Keep in touch and let us know how many people you think might be able to join us from Memphis.
I talked to Julie Rogers and she said she will be able to go; and, a couple of other folks have indicated that they will probably be able to make it.I think our plan should be to leave on Wednesday sometime around 1-2 PM, thus, arriving in Louisville at 7-8PM. The churches in Louisville have offered to provide shelter for us on Wednesday night. Thursday I think we could spend all day protesting; and, then leave after the community dinner at about
6PM,and arrive back in Memphis around 2or3am, but if more than one car is going then different cars could leave/return at different times. So if you are interested in going please get in contact with Julie Rogers at the mid-south P+J or myself. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone you think
> might be interested in participating.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steve
News and Letters Committees and the Women's Action Coalition (WAC)
invite you to a celebration of International Women's Day:
Women fighting terror and war in South Asia and the Middle East
"Women in South Asia, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and other parts of
the world struggle against war, nuclear weapons, religious and ethnic hatred,and to protect the environment against the ravages of global capital.Women
are raising questions about nationalism and about what it means to be human
in an increasingly violent world. Looking at women's struggles in the Middle
East, Afghanistan, and South Asia shows us that we can't separate the
personal from the political. Women fight for human relations at home,where
they often face violence and even death, at the same time that they challenge the warmongering and jingoism at the national and global level.
The freedom and anti-war movements everywhere need to learn from these
women, so that we can work out a more comprehensive vision of social
transformation with which to counter the vision of permanent war and terror
being offered to us by both Bush and Bin Laden. Our very survival on this
planet depends on it." --Maya Jhansi, from News & Letters
A talk by Terry Moon, long time feminist activist and writer for News &
Letters, will be followed by a full and open discussion and then a WAC
business meeting. Bring food and flowers to share.
Date: Sunday, March 10
Time: 6:30
Place: In the Peace & Justice Center office
1000 S. Cooper.
Labor donated 2002
Email Michelle or Andrea for radical cheerleader practice info! We are performing at this years Memphis Vagina Monologues as well as doing several guerilla type street theatre actions against Taco Bell and Fake abortion clinics.
Michelle....karaoke_slut@hotmail.com
Andrea....albuggey@yahoo.com
1. Iraq Peace Team -- US reliance on the language of threat and force
heightens our determination to understand and become voices for ordinary
Iraqi people. In the next few weeks, we will re-establish a core crew to
maintain a long-term presence in Iraq. This group of three four people
will prepare for larger teams to visit Iraq, later this spring, intent
on developing language exchanges in Baghdad and maintaining a peaceful
presence there. Participants, perhaps as many as 100, will plan to
remain in Iraq indefinitely, linking with ordinary Iraqi families to
learn Arabic and teach English. Applicants should contact the Chicago
Voices in the Wilderness office at kkelly@igc.org or call 773-784-8065
for more information about logistics, cost, and schedules. In a
departure from our past delegation strategy, we will plan for larger
groups that will require more orientation and training. We anticipate
holding a training in two US cities in late April for a group that will
leave for Iraq in early May, followed by a second training in late May
for a group that would depart for Iraq in early June.
2) Compassion Iraq Peace Walk from the Jordan - Iraq border to Baghdad
-- while this plan is presently still tentative, we want to announce the
idea and encourage your support and participation as soon as the
definitive "call" is issued: Jim Jennings of Compassion Iraq will be
the primary organizer for this promising plan. Jim Jennings envisions a
350 mile walk that could be accomplished in three weeks. We've suggested
that walkers solicit 10 cents or more per mile from their friends and
that the collected monies defray the cost of the walk and then go
straight into a humanitarian relief project in Iraq. The proposed
itinerary for the walk is: leave US for Beirut May 17 (or directly to
Amman May 22); leave Amman for Baghdad May 24 (pm); arrive in Baghdad
June 14; leave Baghdad June 20; arrive in US June 21 or 22. The initial
proposal for the Compassion Iraq Peace Walk to Baghdad is appended to
the end of this message. For application materials contact either
Compassion Iraq (see below) or Voices in the Wilderness. Note: Dr. Jim
Jennings, Ph.D. has a doctorate in Middle East Studies. He organized
and led the Baghdad Airlift in January 2001 and has a long history of
humanitarian and human rights work.
3) Affinity Groups for Local Organizing -- Recognizing that the US has
developed, sold, stored, and used more weapons of mass destruction than
any other country on earth, affinity groups here in the US can undertake
action, now, to focus on places in their own locale where weapons or the
triggers to use weapons are functioning. Affinity groups can promote
awareness through teach-ins, vigils, and various means of nonviolent
non-cooperation (e.g., war tax refusal, counter recruitment, boycotts,
and nonviolent direct action). Many of you have already formed such
affinity groups. Please let us know if youd like to be included in the
network well promote as we try to make visible nonviolent resistance to
US war-making. Contact us if you would like assistance in forming an
affinity group.
We write with deepest gratitude for the chance to join with you as we
regroup and rededicate ourselves to stop the long and cruel warmaking
against Iraq.
Sincerely,
Voices in the Wilderness - Chicago office
Compassion Iraq
Coalition
An Association of Humanitarian Groups Seeking to Stop the War, Stop the
Bombing,
and End the Sanctions on Iraq
The Compassion Iraq Coalition produced the video Silent Weapon: The
Embago Against Iraq and has organized numerous humanitarian missions to
Iraq, including the Baghdad Airlift, the first American civilian
delegation to fly to Iraq in defiance of US/UN sanctions.
CALL FOR ACTION
Peace Walk to BAGHDAD
--from the Jordan border
Our group of pilgrims will cross the Syrian Desert by foot,
walking from the Jordan border to Baghdad,
a distance of some 350 miles,
as witnesses for peace
in solidarity with the people of Iraq.
Dates: May 22 to June 21 (30 days)
Estimated Cost: Air--$695/Land $695; Total $1,390
Statement of Purpose
As the US moves closer to launching an all-out war on Iraq, we
intend to dramatize the plight of Iraqs 23 million people, advocate a
peaceful resolution of the conflict, and help bring an end to the
US-sponsored siege of Iraq, the longest and most punitive embargo in
modern history.
We Demand
No new war in Iraq
An end to ten years of mindlessly bombing Iraq
A complete and unconditional end to the sanctions on Iraq
Rationale
US policy toward Iraq since the Gulf War remains ineffective, inhumane,
and morally bankrupt. A new war will further destabilize the region and
kill large numbers of people with no guaranteed outcome. Evidence of
growing outrage over the sanctions policy can be seen in increasing
student demonstrations, many recent newspaper editorials, protest
resignations of key UN officials, and statements by numerous
congressional representatives and religious leaders. Human Rights
Watch, in an Explanatory Memorandum attached to their letter to the
Security Council of Jan. 4, 2000, presented a devastating indictment of
the US/UN sanctions policy. Yet the US has continued to bomb Iraq
regularly following Operation Desert Fox during Christmas of 1998,
with over 44,000 aerial incursions and 13,000 actual bombing raids,
often killing and wounding civilians. Despite this cruel record, the
death toll on civilians from the historically unprecedented and brutally
harsh sanctions regime has been documented as more than a thousand times
worse.
Participating Organizations (others to be added)
Compassion Iraq
Voices in the Wilderness
Fund Raising/Humanitarian Aid Project: Participants may solicit
sponsorship from friends and acquaintances of 10 cents to $1 per mile (x
350 miles), yielding $35.00-$350.00 from each donor, to be applied to
their trip expenses. Participants are further encouraged to solicit
matching funds to be used exclusively to support cancer and leukemia
treatments for child victims of Depleted Uranium and other war-related
diseases at Basras Birthing and Childrens Hospital. Special forms
will be provided.
Itinerary: leave US for Beirut May 17 (or directly to Amman May 22);
leave Amman for Baghdad May 24 (pm); arrive in Baghdad June 14; leave
Baghdad June 20; arrive in US June 21 or 22.
Information for pilgrims: 1) Applicants must be in good health and
capable of completing several miles of strenuous walking each day for
three weeks; 2) Applicants will be screened for aptitude and selected by
committee; 3) Participants must sign liability waiver; 4) Accommodations
will be tents (hotels in Baghdad); 5) Logistics and security teams will
accompany the group; 6) Organizers will secure Iraq visas and conduct
training sessions in Beirut May 19-23 (or Amman May 23); 7) There will
be opportunities for people-to-people interaction, sightseeing, and
meeting the press.
For application materials contact Compassion Iraq or Voices in the
Wilderness at 773-784-8065.
Compassion Iraq Coalition, 4685 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd. A-7, Atlanta, GA
30338
Tel.: 770-454-9109 FAX: 770-936-0996 e-mail: conscience@usa.com
Voices in the Wilderness
1-773-784-8065
http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw
1460 West Carmen Ave
Chicago IL 60640 |
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To attend meetings or be a part of any WAC action,see our "Contact Us" page. |
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