Minnie Bruce Pratt: The Significance of the Defeat of Roy Moore
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Monthly Archives: December 2017
NO U.S. WAR ON IRAN! U.S. AND ALL IMPERIALISTS OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST! MONEY FOR PEOPLE’S NEEDS NOT WALL STREET WARS!
Iran denounces U.S. support for protests as ‘duplicitous’, ‘worthless’
“The great Iranian nation regards the opportunist and duplicitous support of the American officials for certain gatherings over the recent days in some Iranian cities as nothing but [part of] the deceit and hypocrisy of the U.S. administration,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.
He condemned the “cheap, worthless and invalid” remarks by U.S. officials and said, “The Iranian people attach no value to the opportunistic remarks by American officials and [President Donald] Trump himself.”
Qassemi emphasized that the Iranian people are the main pillar of the country’s security and progress.
In a tweet on Friday, Trump made meddlesome remarks about the recent gatherings in protest against economic conditions in Iran and said the Iranian government should “respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching!”
The U.S. reaction was made after groups of Iranian protesters held rallies in several cities this week to voice their anger over rising prices and unemployment.
Qassemi further said the noble Iranian nation is closely monitoring Trump’s active role in human rights violations in Palestine, Yemen and Bahrain.
The nation also remembers Trump’s “spiteful” bids to bar Iranians from entry to the United States and “the arrest of many Iranians residing in that country under baseless pretexts,” he added.
“The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran has envisaged democratic structures to legally protect people’s civil demands, and it is completely possible to follow up on these demands within the framework of law,” the Foreign Ministry official explained.
The spokesperson pointed to nearly 70 years of interference of different U.S. administrations in the Islamic Republic’s internal affairs and said, “American officials are not in a position to sympathize with the great and wise Iranian nation.”
(Source: Press TV)
Madison, Feb. 4, 2018: Do It Like Durham! Discussion with Takiyah Thompson
Hosted by Workers World Party Wisconsin
Location TBA, 2 P.M.
In honor of Black Liberation Month, Workers World Party Wisconsin is hosting freedom fighter Takiyah Thompson for a community discussion about fighting all forms of capitalist white supremacy from Confederate statues to union busting and other Jim Crow austerity. Takiyah was the first of eight activists arrested in 2017 by Durham, N.C. police after organizing with the community to remove a racist confederate statue. Join us to hear from Takiyah along with local Madison/Wisconsin activists about how they are continuing to fight white supremacy, both symbolically and practically. Come share your community’s struggles and discuss how we can work toward people’s liberation together. / Event is free and open to the public
Milwaukee, January 27, 2018: Reunión Anual / Annual Meeting
Hosted by Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES)and Voces de la Frontera
1236 S Layton, Ascension Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, 9 A.M. – 3 P.M.
ENGLISH BELOW
Nuestra reunión anual será sábado, el 27 de enero de 2018, de las 9am a 3pm en la Iglesia Luterana de la Ascensión (1236 S Layton Blvd en Milwaukee).
Decidiremos nuestras metas para el próximo año y elegiremos el liderazgo para Voces de la Frontera y Voces de la Frontera Action. Almuerzo y cuidado de niños otorgados.
Platicaremos de nuestra lucha por el Dream Act, las campañas para detener AB190 y 287g y las elecciones de 2018.
El tiempo de hacer nominaciones para la Mesas Directivas de Voces de la Frontera y Voces de la Frontera Acción es ampliado hasta el 2 de enero. Debe haber sido miembro por más de un año y estar actualizado en su cuota anual para nominar o ser nominado. Para nominarse a si mismo u otro miembro a las mesas directivas, manda un correo electrónico a Nancy Flores a nancy@vdlf.org, o llame al 608-358-0565.
¿Necesita renovar su membresía? Haga clic aquí para renovar: https://voces.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=5
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Our Annual Meeting will be on January 27th, 2018, from 9am to 3pm at Ascension Lutheran Church (1236 S Layton Blvd in Milwaukee).
We’ll decide on our goals for the coming year and elect leadership for Voces de la Frontera and Voces de la Frontera Action. Lunch and childcare provided.
We’ll discuss our fight for the Dream Act, the campaigns to stop AB190 and 287g, and the 2018 elections.
The nominations period for the 2018 Voces de la Frontera and Voces de la Frontera Action Boards of Directors has been extended to January 2nd. You must have been a member for more than a year and be current in your dues to nominate or be nominated. To nominate yourself or another member to the Voces or the Voces Action Boards, please email Nancy Flores at nancy@vdlf.org, or call 608-358-0565.
Need to renew your membership? Click here to renew: https://voces.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=5
Milwaukee January 13-14, 2018: Workplace Organizing Training
Hosted by Milwaukee IWW
2200 E Kenwood Avenue, UW Milwaukee Student Union
The Milwaukee IWW will hold an Organizer Training 101 on Saturday and Sunday, January 13-14, 2018, from 9:00-5:00 both days. The training is a two day, intensive introduction to IWW-style workplace organizing and can give you the tools you need to start an organizing campaign at your job or help your friends and comrades with organizing at their jobs. This training teaches the basic organizing skills that we want all IWW members to have so that they can push the work of the organization forward.
Location is at UW-Milwaukee, student union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd, room 191. Space for childcare is nearby, room 181.
This training is free. Advance registration is required, please register here:
http://bit.ly/2zPW7Hp
We are excited to present the training to all interested workers. There will be a light breakfast and lunch offered both days. Dinner will not be provided. Childcare is available if we are contacted in advance, please register for childcare needs here: http://bit.ly/2hBJatQ
Racial Matters: After Mississippi and Alabama Debacles Trump Sinks Deeper Into Political Abyss
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire, http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/
“Two recent major decisions by United States President Donald Trump and his advisors have rendered the 45th head-of-state much weaker in the opinion of the majority of the American people. The visit to Jackson, Mississippi for the inauguration of a museum honoring African American leaders and the president’s endorsement of Judge Roy Moore in his senate bid, have both been disastrous.
Moore, an ultra-conservative was facing allegations of sexual misconduct with minors while he was in his 30s. So confident that he would prevail in the hotly-contested race against Democrat Doug Jones, upon losing Moore refused to concede defeat.
Trump’s visit to the opening of a Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Mississippi on December 9 was met with broad rejection by the African American people of the state and the throughout the country. Many viewed the effort as a cynical and hypocritical attempt to shed the stain of racism which has permeated his electoral campaign and administrative policies. Several African American elected officials refused to attend the event including Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, the former Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in mid-1960s…
At any rate, Trump is being revealed as a failed president. Even the conservative USA Today newspaper in an editorial published on December 14 said that he is unfit for office.
Moreover, as it relates to the overall status of the African American people, bloc voting, direct action and mass mobilizations as tactics have been used effectively since the middle 20th century to achieve short term goals both on a symbolic and substantive level. However, the strategic objectives aimed at total freedom require a far deeper institution building methodology. The necessity for fundamental transformation of the economy and political superstructure can only be achieved through independent revolutionary organization designed to create a new social order based on the acquisition of a genuinely egalitarian society.”
Detroit, January 15, 2018: MLK Day Rally & March
https://mlkdetroit.org/
Rally and March for “Jobs, Peace & Justice”
Monday, January 15, 2018
12 Noon
Central United Methodist Church
23 E. Adams and Woodward, Detroit
Special Guest Speaker: Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Special Assistant to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Schedule:
Noon – Rally at Central United Methodist Church
1:30 pm – Freedom March through downtown Detroit
3:00 pm – Community meal, poetry and music, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, I-75 & Woodward Avenue, Detroit
St. John’s Episcopal Church is located north of the parking lot that is next to the Central United Methodist Church.
NYC, December 21, 2017: Fighting the Power to Smash Women’s Oppression!
Hosted by Workers World Party
Check page for Livestream information
We will discuss the significance of the defeat of Alabama Republican and pedophile Roy Moore as well as the fall of Weinstein and company.
Hear:
1. Minnie Bruce Pratt, Workers World Newspaper Managing Editor and Alabama native
2. Teresa Gutierrez, Workers World Party National Committee member
Solidarity Center
147 West 24th Street
2nd Floor
NYC
Dinner at 6:30 pm for a small donation.
Panel starts at 7 p.m.
Ashland School District Reinstates Teacher suspended for Personal Facebook Post
http://aclu-wi.org/media/ashland-school-district-reinstates-teacher-suspended-personal-facebook-post
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin applauds the Ashland School District for its decision to reinstate an elementary school teacher who was placed on administrative leave for views she expressed in a personal Facebook post about the shooting death of her cousin, a Native American student, by a local sheriff’s deputy.
In a letter sent November 30, 2017, the ACLU of Wisconsin said Sandra Gokee’s Facebook post was a form of constitutionally-protected speech, and requested that she be allowed to return to her job teaching the Ojibwe language to Ashland elementary school students without any conditions on her use of private social media accounts.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has long held that the government cannot fire people for exercising their First Amendment right to free speech – and that is exactly what Sandra Gokee was doing when she posted to Facebook about her cousin’s shooting by police,” said ACLU of Wisconsin attorney Asma Kadri. “Sandra Gokee has a right to express her personal beliefs about matters of public concern without fear of retaliation or punishment from the government.”
“After the shooting death of her cousin, Sandra Gokee turned to her personal Facebook page to express her grief and invite a conversation about police violence against Native Americans – and she had every right to do so,” said ACLU of Wisconsin Executive Director Chris Ott. “No one wants to live in a world where the government can police our personal communications and retaliate against us for views it doesn’t like. Thankfully, the Ashland School District is returning Sandra Gokee to the classroom, reflecting an important recognition of the First Amendment rights of its employees.”
Sandra Gokee stated: “I was heartbroken by my cousin’s death and hoped that by sharing my grief and anger, I could invite a dialogue about the epidemic of police violence against communities of color and the greater topic of injustices that Indigenous communities have faced and still face today. Instead, I was removed from the classroom, and may have lost a job I love. I stood up against injustice because I want people – including the children – in our communities to know that they can speak out against injustice and share their feelings, even if those feelings are raw and make some people uncomfortable. Without discomfort there is no societal change or growth.”
The ACLU’s letter noted that the issue of police relations within communities of color is a pressing problem around the country, especially police shootings. While the issue has deep, historical roots for all communities of color, Gokee’s posts and subsequent comments reflect the unique history of Native American interaction with European American authority. For example, on November 13, 2017, CNN reported on CDC data showing that Native American people are three times more likely to be killed by police intervention than whites and at a rate 12% higher than African Americans.
“The issue of police shootings is one of the most pressing and emotional issues throughout Indian country. Indian people should be encouraged to express their views, not punished for it. In fact, all of us, Indian and non-Indian, should be discussing this problem,” said Stephen Pevar, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU National Racial Justice Program.
A copy of the letter the ACLU sent to district administrators is available below.
To read more about Sandra’s story, visit: http://aclu-wi.org/issue/sandys-story
PDF Download:
Chicago, January 21, 2018: Shut Down War & Bigotry! 1 P.M. Trump Tower
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Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 