QEJ stands in solidarity with the Pelican Bay Hunger Strikers
Hungerstrike News
July 17, 2011 No. 1, Day Seventeen
Pelican Bay Hunger Strikers Reject Proposal:
The Strike Continues!
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition <http://t.ymlp118.net/eqataybwakajswaoahh/click.php>
Friday, July 15 – This afternoon leaders of the Pelican Bay hunger strike unanimously rejected a proposal from the CDCR to end the strike. In response to the prisoners’ five, straightforward demands, the CDCR distributed a vaguely worded document stating that it would “effect a comprehensive assessment of its existing policy and procedure” about the secure housing units (SHUs). The document gave no indication if any changes would be made at all.
While the CDCR has claimed that there is no medical crisis, mediators report that the principal hunger strikers have lost 25-35 pounds each and have underlying medical conditions of concern. Despite the promises from the federal Receiver overseeing the CDCR, no one has received salt tablets or vitamins.
The hunger strike is now in its third week and shows no signs of weakening. In fact, the settlement document distributed last night to all hunger strikers at Pelican Bay prison, resulted in some people who have gone off the strike to resume refusing food. Hundreds of prisoners at Pelican Bay remain on strike, with thousands more participating throughout the CA’s 33 prisons. Advocates and strike leaders dismiss the false claims that the strike is being orchestrate by prison gangs. (Click here <http://t.ymlp118.net/eyazaybwaiajswatahh/click.php> for a clip from a legal visit with hunger strikers, explaining why prisoners are doing this hunger strike)
International solidarity with the striking prisoners also continue to mount with demonstrations and messages emerging from the US, Canada, Turkey and Australia.
According to mediation team Laura Magnani, “From day one. the CDCR has demonstrated it’s inability to resolve this situation. We call on Gov. Brown to step in and negotiate in good faith to bring this situation to a just resolution.” Strike supporters plan to flood the Governor’s office with phone calls and emails, echoing the striker’s demands.
Given how basic the strikers’ demands are, it is immoral that the CDCR would insult these men with such poor faith proposal,” state mediator Dorsey Nunn.
The challenge for supporters outside of prison is to match the courage of the hunger strikers, and to effectively pressure the CDCR to immediately negotiate on the standards any negotiation should follow: with the prisoners in good faith, addressing all of the demands, and with the prisoner-approved outside mediation team.
It is still important to continue calling in and writing letters to Sec. Cate.
We also need to intensify pressure on all elected officials, from Governor Brown to local state representatives, to get involved in this struggle–urge them to make sure the CDCR negotiates with the prisoners, urge them to visit Pelican Bay and demand to see the prisoners. We can also be targeting press and media to do the same.
MOBILIZE to SACRAMENTO:
MON, July 18th from 1-4pm. Demonstration outside CDCR Headquarters. 1515 S. St.
*FOR SUPPORTERS EVERYWHERE:
Join a conference call to hear direct updates, and to strategize effective ways to support the strike and the prisoners in winning their demands!
NATIONAL HUNGER STRIKE SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE CALL:
Monday, July 18th: 6 pm EDT/ 5 pm CDT/ 4pm MDT/ 3 pm PDT
Toll-Free Call In Number: 1(800) 920-7487
Participant Code: 62435226
Click here for a complete list of Coalition press releases and advisories. <http://t.ymlp118.net/msalaybwafajswaoahh/click.php>
Recent Media Coverage
- Protestors In Support Of Pelican Bay Prisoners March Through SF <http://t.ymlp118.net/muaiaybwakajswaiahh/click.php> - Jana Katsuyama reports for KTVU television, July 15 2011
- Prison Reform Movement’s Blogtalkradio show <http://t.ymlp118.net/meacaybwagajswadahh/click.php> talks to Ed Mead, Julie Tackett, and D.J. Vodicka, on July 16, 2011
- Interview with Carol Strickman, staff attorney for Legal Services for Prisoners with Children “The CDCR is using every method they have to try and stop this hunger strike” <http://t.ymlp118.net/mmapaybwaxajswagahh/click.php> Revolution #239, July 17, 2011
- Interview with Clyde Young, revolutionary communist “We should stand firmly with the prisoners and their demands” <http://t.ymlp118.net/mjapaybwavajswaxahh/click.php> Clyde Young is a revolutionary communist and a former prisoner. This interview was originally done on The Michael Slate Show and has been posted at revcom.us <http://revcom.us> courtesy of The Michael Slate Show (KPFK, 90.7fm Los Angeles, 98.7fm Santa Barbara, www.kpfk.org <http://www.kpfk.org> worldwide).
- Interview with Lance Tapley, journalist; U.S.: “The World Torture Champions” <http://t.ymlp118.net/mbagaybwavajswavahh/click.php> Lance Tapley is an award winning investigative journalist at the Portland Phoenix in Maine where he has covered the Supermax prison in Maine. Lance is also one of the contributors to the anthology “The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration and Abuse”. This interview was originally done on The Michael Slate Show and has been posted at revcom.us <http://revcom.us> courtesy of The Michael Slate Show (KPFK, 90.7fm Los Angeles, 98.7fm Santa Barbara, www.kpfk.org <http://www.kpfk.org> worldwide).
- Interview with Manuel LaFontaine, member of All of Us or None and the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition: “The worst of the worst is not allowing people to be treated as human beings” <http://t.ymlp118.net/mhafaybwadajswagahh/click.php> Manuel LaFontaine is a member of All of Us or None and the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition. This interviewed was originally done on The Michael Slate Show and has been posted at revcom.us <http://revcom.us> courtesy of The Michael Slate Show, (KPFK, 90.7fm Los Angeles, 98.7fm Santa Barbara, www.kpfk.org <http://www.kpfk.org> worldwide)
- Emergency Press Conference in San Francisco: “We cannot stress enough how critical the situation is” <http://t.ymlp118.net/mwapaybwalajswapahh/click.php> Revolution #239, July 17, 2011
- Thousands of California Prisoners & Supporters Rally for Weeks <http://t.ymlp118.net/mqaraybwaxajswavahh/click.php> MIM(Prisons), July 2011
- When the Hunger Strike is in the US | Cubadebate (English) <http://t.ymlp118.net/myataybwaxajswaxahh/click.php> By Juana Carrasco Martín, Cubadebate Jul 16th, 2011 A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann
- Letters from Hugo Pinell and other hunger strikers – Rally to support the hunger strikers <http://t.ymlp118.net/jsanaybwaaajswacahh/click.php> San Francisco Bay View July 15, 2011
- Protests Grow in Solidarity with California Prisoners as Hunger Strikes Enter Third Week <http://t.ymlp118.net/juavaybwafajswaaahh/click.php> Democracy Now July 15, 2011
- Carl Small of the Montreal Hungerstrike Support Committee interviewed on Radio Free Worldinterviewed on Radio Free World <http://t.ymlp118.net/jeavaybwapajswarahh/click.php> , CKUW 95.9 FM Winnipeg, July 15 2011
- Pelican Bay/California hunger strike: 6,000 prisoners and growing <http://t.ymlp118.net/jmacaybwaoajswazahh/click.php> By Michelle Schudel, Liberation (Newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation) July 15, 2011
- Pelican Bay Hunger Strike: Supporters Plan to Rally, Possibly Disrupt the Evening Commute <http://t.ymlp118.net/jjaraybwaoajswazahh/click.php> By Erin Sherbert San Francisco News, July 15 2011
- Rush Hour Protest Today to Back Hunger Strikers at Pelican Bay <http://t.ymlp118.net/jbafaybwagajswagahh/click.php> Rachel Swan East Bay Express, July 15, 2011
- Calif. inmates fight lockdowns, punishment of groups by race <http://t.ymlp118.net/jhacaybwacajswaoahh/click.php> BY ARLENE RUBINSTEIN, The Militant – July 25, 2011
- July 15: Amidst Pressure, CDCR Enters Negotiation with Pelican Bay Hunger Strikers <http://t.ymlp118.net/jwalaybwanajswaaahh/click.php> press release from the Prisoners Hungerstrike Solidarity Coalition
- Corrections officials accede to pressure, begin negotiating with hunger strikers as their health deteriorates <http://t.ymlp118.net/jqaiaybwafajswatahh/click.php> by Isaac Ontiveros, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity, San Francisco Bay View July 15 2011.
Needless to say, a link to an article does not imply endorsement.
Click here for complete list of links to news articles since July 1. <http://t.ymlp118.net/jyataybwapajswakahh/click.php>
Upcoming Events
(next 72 hours)
EVERYWHERE
*Monday, July 18th: 6 pm EDT/ 5 pm CDT/ 4pm MDT/ 3 pm PDT:
NATIONAL HUNGER STRIKE SOLIDARITY CONFERENCE CALL: FOR SUPPORTERS EVERYWHERE. Join a conference call to hear direct updates, and to strategize effective ways to support the strike and the prisoners in winning their demands! Toll-Free Call In Number: 1(800) 920-7487. Participant Code: 62435226
In the US:
California
Los Angeles
Monday, July 18th, 9am – 5pm ALL DAY – Reagan State Building, 3rd and Spring Sts., Downtown Los Angeles
Sacramento
Mon, July 18th1:00-4:00pm: Demonstration @ CDCR Headquarters.1515 S St. Sacramento, CA
San Bernardino
Sun, July 17th 12:00-3:00 pm: Demonstration at San Bernardino County Central Detention Center (CDC). 630 East Rialto Avenue. San Bernardino
San Francisco
EVERY DAY at noon. California State Building, Van Ness and McAllister, San Francisco.
Nevada
Las Vegas
Mon, July 18th 8:00- 9:00 p.m: VIGIL IN SOLIDARITY WITH HUNGER STRIKE ACROSS CALIFORNIA. Address: *waiting on location*
New York
New York City
Mon, JULY 18th 11:30am – 1pm Demo in Solidarity with Hunger Strike in California. California State Franchise Office, 1212 6th Ave. between 47th & 48th, Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Arizona
Tuscon
Tues, July 19th @ 8pm: Informational Update on the Hunger Strike and Radical Folk Music Show featuring Ryan Harvey. At Dry River Radical Resource Center 740 N. Main Ave. Click here <http://t.ymlp118.net/bsakaybwaxajswadahh/click.php> for more info.
Rhode Island
Wed, July 20th: Fast/Rally (assuming the strikers haven’t had their demands met by then). organized by DARE (Direct Action for Rights and Equality). For more info, call: 401-351-6060 <http://t.ymlp118.net/buadaybwaaajswaxahh/click.php>
This list is of upcoming events we know of within the next 72 hours – for a complete list click here <http://t.ymlp118.net/beadaybwanajswapahh/click.php>
If you are organizing an event in your area, let us know <mailto:hstrikenews@yahoo.ca> !
Hungerstrike News can be reached at hstrikenews@yahoo.ca
Whose House? Our House!
Whose House? Our House!
By Caitlin Breedlove, SONG Co-Director
Just a few weeks ago, I attended the Queers For Economic Justice annual reception as the Co-Director of SONG, with the gift of having my parents in attendance. Little did I know, how badly we would need the analysis and work of QEJ (and other LGBTQ working class organizations) so soon in Madison, Wisconsin. My family thought we had become middle class: that we were somewhat protected. However, now my aunt faces losing her job as a single mom, and her daughter (as a young girl with a disability) faces massive cuts to her schools. Everyone I know in the community there is deeply personally affected by the devastating bill and budget that Governor Walker is forcing on Wisconsin. Needless to say, the uprising of the people of Wisconsin is personal for me. I spent most of last week up there, in the cold beside my family, friends, and the community that raised me fighting for a just democratic process, our public space back, and our economic survival. What poor people and other oppressed people have been trying to tell all of us, has become clear to thousands in Wisconsin: the greed of the ultra-rich is endless and we have to fight for our lives, resources, air, water, other beings on this planet, and our dignity. They will give us nothing, we have to take it, and while as “middle class people” we are not as deeply impacted as poor folks, our historic buffer is disappearing. Millionaires will only protect Millionaires.
When in Madison, I had the incredible privilege of interviewing several LGBTQ leaders, people of color and white folks. I share some of their insights here. As Shameka Powell said: “This is so much bigger than collective bargaining, this is about human rights, and public good. That is what is at stake.” As LGBTQ people, we are part of this fight, we are workers, and are deeply affected. We are present in Wisconsin, and our community is still fighting a battle in a much bigger war: all of us against 5% of the planet that seeks total control of the planet’s resources. Poor LGBTQ people have always led the way in the LGBTQ movement in knowing and voicing these realities. Now we see even mainstream LGBTQ organizations and media, answering the call to the fight for worker’s rights. The importance of organizations that have been amplifying the reality that poverty and homophobia are connected and part of much bigger systems is key right now because our organizations have the base, the trust, and the wisdom to frame and lead these struggles forward.
Throughout the struggle in Wisconsin, we hear the chant: “Whose House? Our House”, as a call to the people to reclaim the public space of the Wisconsin Capitol. Few people know as much as poor LGBTQ people about being shut out of public space, both physically and culturally. In 2011, we have a chance to amplify our voices as poor LGBTQ people and allies—and share what we already know: homophobia, transphobia, racism, classism, and all forms of oppression lead to a zero sum game of violence, chaos and poverty for the majority and immense wealth for a very few.
Trans, Lesbian, Gay, Bi People: This House, this Capitol, is Our House. They have no right to tell us it is not our struggle, not our place, not our fight. We are workers as much as anyone else, and LGBTQ people in Madison are some of many leading a historic moment in our name. I encourage poor and working class LGBTQ people to join the many already involved to make our voices heard in the struggle in Wisconsin, Ohio, and all over this country. Solidarity!
A Military Job Is Not Economic Justice: QEJ Statement on DADT
In just a few moments President Obama is scheduled to sign the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, which in theory, will allow for gay and lesbian members of the military to serve without being in the closet.
Queers for Economic Justice staff and constituents have all met people in the LGBT movement who have said to us that the DADT repeal is an economic justice victory, since many poor and working-class LGBT people join the military to have access to better jobs, and because the military is the nation’s largest employer, QEJ should be joining the in the victory dance.
But QEJ believes military service is not economic justice, and it is immoral that the military is the nation’s de facto jobs program for poor and working-class people. And since QEJ organizes LGBTQ homeless people in New York City, we wanted to remind the LGBT community and progressive anti-war allies that militarism and war profiteering do not serve the interests of LGBT people. Here’s how:
- The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that about one-third of all homeless people in the US are veterans, but about 1.5 million more veterans are at risk of homelessness “due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.” They also report that 56% of homeless veterans are Black or Latino.
- Some studies also show that one in four veterans becomes disabled as a result of physical violence or emotional trauma of war. There are currently 30,000 disabled veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Rape and sexual violence are very common occurrences for women in the military, and the ACLU is currently suing the Pentagon to get the real numbers on reported incidences.
- Half of the US budget in 2009 was made up of military spending, including current expenditures, veterans benefits and the portion of the national debt caused by military costs, according to the War Resisters’ League. That is more than the US spent on Health & Human Services, Social Security Administration, Housing and Urban Development and the Department Education combined. Wouldn’t more social safety net spending help the millions of queers who can barely make ends meet?
In short, military service is not economic justice.
Furthermore, QEJ understands that there are LGBTQ people in other parts of the world, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan, who have been killed, traumatized, or made disabled directly as a result of the recent US-led wars, or who have become vulnerable targets by fundamentalist backlashes to US imperialism. We stand in solidarity with other LGBTQ people around the globe, and do not condone violence against them or their home countries so that “our gays” have the “right” to serve openly in the military.
QEJ supports real economic justice. You should support QEJ this season.
It’s hard to ask for a donation on such a tough issue, but showing your support for real economic justice is one way to reject the framing of militarism as economic opportunity. Make a donation to QEJ today.
From all of us,
Queers for Economic Justice
Aug 19: Act Queer! Teleconference on HIV/AIDS
Despite the lack of leadership from the Left and LGBT Movement on the AIDS epidemic, queer and trans people, poor people and people of color continue to be disproportionately impacted by the epidemic. Recently there have been some major developments in HIV/AIDS policy and research, and we anted to share with you these exciting updates:
JOIN THE CALL TO FIND OUT!
Please RSVP to this call.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
2pm-3:30pm EST/11am-12:30pm PST
Conference Call # (712) 432-0600
Password: 751219#
Moderator: Kenyon Farrow, Queers for Economic Justice (New York, NY)
Presenters include:
Act Queer! Teleconference: Jobs Bill, TANF, Real ID, American Power Act
As we geared up for the US Social Forum Queer People’s Movement Assembly we co-hosted, we wanted to take a look at 4 major policy issues happening this year (The REAL ID Act, TANF Reauthorization, American Power Act and the Local Jobs for America Act) that impact queer lives, and ways we may be able to organize around them.
To hear each presenter press play on the audio. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Francis X. Tobin, Jobs with Justice (Local Jobs for America Act)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Materials:
Local Jobs for America Act Fact Sheet
Donna Pavetti, Center for Budget & Policy Priorities (TANF)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Materials:
Slides on TANF
Report: “Strengthening Unmarried Parents’ Relationships: The Early Impacts of Building Strong Families.” The Building Strong Families Project. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, May 2010. Synopsis: This report provides impacts of BSF on couples about 15 months after they applied for the program. Early impacts show that, when results are averaged across the eight individual programs included in the evaluation, BSF did not achieve its primary objective of improving the stability and quality of the couples’ relationships.
Ari Rosmarin, New York Civil Liberties Union. (REAL ID Act)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Nia Robinson, Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative (American Power Act)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Materials: American Power Act Policy Documents
The purpose of the Act Queer! teleconference series is to connect grassroots LGBTQ, racial,and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice issues.
Act Queer! Teleconference: Research in Queer Organizing
Research is something many grassroots movements shun, given its history of pathologizing low-income, queer and trans people, people of color, the disabled, etc.
And yet, there is a wealth of research happening by grassroots organizations, and researchers interested in the strength & resilience of communities.
What are the research strategies being utilized by different queer and progressive groups? What has been successful and what has failed in the past? When complete, where and how is this research distributed? How can the movements engage research towards creating a vision of social justice?
The April 29th call focused on the grassroots research of several organizations:
To hear each presenter press play on the audio. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Michelle Billies, Dwayne Bibb and Kagendo Murungi, Welfare Warriors Research Collaborative (New York, NY)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Their report should be released this summer, stay tuned!
Shira Hassan, Young Women’s Empowerment Project (Chicago, IL)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Download their report entitled Girls Do What They Have to Do to Survive: Methods Used by Girls in the Sex Trade and Street Economy to Fight Back and Heal here!
Juan Battle, Social Justice Sexuality Initiative (New York, NY)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Take his survey here!
Download QEJ’s most recent report entitled Tidal Wave: LGBT Poverty & Hardship in a Time of Economic Crisis.
If you have questions, comments, or know of other resources or events related to this topic, please feel free to post in the comments section!
The purpose of Act Queer! is to connect grassroots LGBTQ racial and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice research, organizing and advocacy.
Building a Queer Left
QEJ is working on a new research report through the Building a Queer Left project (BQL). The BQL project seeks to build a progressive and radical coalition of organizations who approach their work in queer communities through a racial and economic justice framework. This coalition is determined to identify what issues are present within the “other” gay agenda.
The creation of an organizational directory is one of the tasks of the BQL coalition. This directory will feature organizations/groups/projects that are organizing around issues affecting our queer communities. This directory will be available to the public and can be used as a tool for grant proposals, referrals and coalition-building. We hope to complete this report by the end of the summer. Stay tuned!
Act Queer! Teleconference: Movement Building in Queer Organizing
Many of the mainstream LGBTQ organizations focus on single issue, electoral and policy based organizing/advocacy. Whereas the work done by many of the radical, grassroots LGBTQ groups focuses on grassroots strategies, with a heavy focus on movement building. Often we’re told this work doesn’t have impact, or doesn’t have measurable goals. What is movement building and why is it a cornerstone of the grassroots movement? What are the strategies being utilized by different queer groups to build the movement? What has been successful and what has failed in the past?
The March 18th call served as an introduction to and description of movement building within LGBTQ organizing.
To hear each presenter, press play on the audio player. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Moderator: Suzanne Pharr, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (New York, NY)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Presenters include:
Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz, Intersections/Intersecciones Consulting (San Francisco, CA)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Recent blog post written by Lisa that discusses movement building.
- Zemsky and Mann – Building Organizations in a Movement Moment (pdf)
Patty Berne, Sins Invalid (San Francisco, CA)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Coya Artichoker, Two-Spirit First Nation Collective (Minneapolis, MN)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Paulina Hernandez, Southerners on New Ground (Atlanta, GA)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you have questions, comments, or know of other resources or events related to this topic, please feel free to post in the comments section!
Our friends at EMERJ let us know that they have their movement building strategy posted online. Check it out by clicking here!
The purpose of Act Queer! is to connect grassroots LGBTQ racial and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice research, organizing and advocacy.
Act Queer! Teleconference: Economics: Race, Class, Gender and the Economy
The purpose of Act Queer! is to connect grassroots LGBTQ racial and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice research, organizing and advocacy.
In 2010 all of the Act Queer! telconference series will focus on the economy. As news stories, individuals and organizations have been discussing the drastic effects of the current economic downturn, there has been limited information about how the economy affects low-income people, queer/trans people, immigrants, people with disabilities, people of color, and those of us who fit two or more of those categories. We envision this year-long teleconference series to help all of us understand the economy and capitalism, and to use that knowledge to continue challenging and changing the systems that create poverty and economic injustice in our communities, and to envision economic systems that promote justice, and the health and well being of all people.
Our January 28, 2010 call was the first in this series. It introduced some of the most recent work being done on how the economic crisis is affecting people of color and the LGBT community. This series is a product of a partnership with the Center for Popular Economics. With their expertise these calls will provide some of the latest and most compelling economic speakers and research.
To hear each presenter, press play on the audio player. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Alyssa Schneebaum, UMass-Amherst
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Brian Miller, United for a Fair Economy
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you have questions, comments, or know of other resources or events related to this topic, please feel free to post in the comments section!
Act Queer! Teleconference: A Year in Queer Politics
From the passage of Prop 8 in California to the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act, the national LGBT political agenda has gained significant momentum. Will the explosion in LGBT policy on the national radar represent a movement towards queer liberation? What’s are there more progressive policy wins possible on the horizon for progressive queers?
Our December 17, 2009 teleconference served as a 2009 queer policy wrap-up.
To hear each presenter, press play on the audio player. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Andrea Ritchie, Attorney, (New York) discusses hate crimes and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project Statement on Matthew Shepherd/James Byrd, Jr. Act.
Nicky Grist, Alternatives to Marriage Project, (Brooklyn, NY) discusses relationship recognition policies.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
- Alternatives to Marriage Project – Blog (Same-Sex Marriage Section)
- Fact Sheet – New York Hospital Rights for Partners
Karina Claudio, Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered, (Brooklyn, NY) discusses trans unemployment and the Employment Nondiscrimination Act.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Robert Espinoza, Funders for LGBTQ Issues, (New York) discusses racial equality in LGBT philanthropy.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you have questions, comments, or know of other resources or events related to this topic, please feel free to post in the comments section!
The purpose of Act Queer! is to connect grassroots LGBTQ racial and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice research, organizing and advocacy.
Act Queer! Teleconference: Cultural Organizing in Queer Movements
The purpose of Act Queer! is to connect grassroots LGBTQ racial and economic justice organizations with national queer and/or allied coalitions and organizations to share information and strategies on racial and economic justice research, organizing and advocacy.
Our November 19, 2009 teleconference focused on organizations that are using cultural organizing to push queer social justice issues.
To hear each presenter, press play on the audio player. Read materials from each presenter just below the audio player.
Graciela Sanchez and Amanda Haas, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center (San Antonio, TX) discuss the necessity of providing bilingual organizing in queer movements; grounding our communities in the knowledge of the intersection between our heritage and our queerness
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Selly Thiam, None on Record (U.S., Canada and South Africa) discusses the documentation of the struggles and joys of QLGBT Africans through audio stories and their use for political change
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Aurin Squire, Freedom Train Productions (New York City) discusses their theatre performances as a vehicle for imagination and creativity; using stories/performances to create empathy not just tolerance; using art as activism
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Freedom Train’s manifesto
Kebo Drew, Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (California) discusses using their films to bring visibility to the many facets of queer women of color; women of color and immigration; QWOCMAP Annual Film Festivals
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
If you have questions, comments, or know of other resources or events related to this topic, please feel free to post in the comments section!