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Clamor November/December 2004 • Issue 29 -' The ReyQJution of Everyday Life

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All subscriptions received after that will be shipped a card immediately and begin with the Jan/Feb issue. EDITORS/PUBLISHERS Jen Angel & Jason Kucsma from your editors CONSULTING EDITOR POLITICS EDITORS Joshua Breitbart Madeleine Baran & Amanda Luker Community is one of those words we use all ttie time without really thinking about it. Community orga- CULTURE EDITOR nizing. local it's Eric Zassenhaus REVIEW EDITOR Community media. "The community." We know good, but what else do we really know? Keith McCrea So we asked ourselves, our readers, and our contributors — our community — to examine the ideal, ECONOMICS EDITOR feel, and sense of community — what it is, what it should be, and what we want it to be. This issue is Arthur Stamoulis PROOFREADERS Elliot Adams, Hal Hixson also about reclaiming the word and idea of community for ourselves. All too often ideas of "community" MEDIA EDITOR Scott Puckett, are thrown around by corporations like Saturn and Wal-Mart who, despite their million-dollar ad cam- Catherine Komp Kristen Schmidt paign claims, haven't the slightest interest in building cooperative connections between people. PEOPLE EDITOR LAYOUT & DESIGN Keidra Chaney Jason Kucsma The answers here show how differently people understand it. From helping displaced people retain a

SEX &GENDER EDITOR PRISON MAIL CORRESP sense of connection and dignity like Nah We Yone(p. 32), to strengthening the labor union movement Brian Bergen-Aurand Sean Jones at Brown University (p. 12), to changing the way we grow, buy, and sell food (p. 8). we've only been able

to scratch the surface of where and how connections are built in our everyday lives. WEB DESIGN Derek Hogue Community building inherently involves supporting one another in our endeavors. So it seems timely

COVER that we chose this issue introduce a new regular feature of C/a/nor called "murmurs." Murmurs will Brandon Constant feature reviews of print, audio, and video/dvd projects that we think are worth checking out. This sec- www.brandonconstant. :om tion allow us to expand an element that so many readers have told us is one of the most valuable things

TOOLS Clamor \\as to offer. We hope you agree. Thanks to a generous donation, Clamor is designed using licensed Adobe software.

Finally, this issue is going to press before the presidential election. While it's not clear who will win ADVERTISING that contest, it is clear that many of our struggles will continue no matter who is elected. The fights for Rates and deadlines available upon request.

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political cultural alternatives. Periodicals postage paid at Toledo, OH Clamor \$ an advocate of progressive social ctiange through active creation of and r^ ECONOMICS 8 Doing What Comes Naturally by Gordon Edgar @ 11 Democracy at Work by Burt Beriowe

Number 29 I November/December 2004 13 A Right Not Yet Secure by Peter Ian Asen

15 A Call for Action from Corporate U. by Boone Shear

16 Food Not Bombs Serves Up Victory by Lara Stewart and Charles Suggs

POLITICS

18 Legacies of Resistance by Jim Straub

21 Santa Anita La Union by Caitiin Benedetto

24 Up a River by Charles Winfrey

25 Unlikely Bedfellows by Nathan Berg

prnoii:

28 Seeds of Power by Jennifer Vandenplas

31 A Room of Their Own by sarah contrary

32 A Community of Healing by Robert Hirschfield

34 The Icarus Project by Timothy Kelly

35 Finger on the Pulse by Kari Lydersen

CULTURE

38 In Search of The Living Buddha by Michelle Chen

41 Functional Inequity by Yolanda Best

43 John K. Samson: Authenticity in Distortion by George B Sanchez 28 p. 45 Platform Projects by Daniel Tucker

MEDIA

48 The Battle of the Frame by Jon R. Pike

51 Dancing with the Devil by Peter Wirth

53 The Indypendent SeWs Out? by Dave Arenas

54 What is Indymedia? by Danielle Chynoweth

55 Countdown to Putsch by Sara Tretter

SEX & GENDER

58 Unlikely Communities by Victoria Law

81 Reel Democracy by Jennie Rose

82 Critical mASS byTeriDanai

84 Think Pink! by Justin Carter

MURMURS

We're Talking About... 66 What g. oi

THE LAST PAGE | 74 Community in the Jails by Sarah Palmer g Please address letters to [email protected]

or write us at PO Box 20128 Toledo, OH 43610

Letters may be edited for length.

Not all letters received will be printed.

COSBY-FYINGHIPHOP? decision to bring more humans into existence in WE SUBSCRIBE TO WHAT! such a benign light," but the straw man justifica-

tions she proposes- hardly serve to fully explain the I know that activist have been trying to move beyond In response to the "Stop Bust)" issue very human desire to procreate. Such "holier than punk rock, but when I read some of the recent ar- On 1-8-2003 I sent you check no. #### for your

thou" moralizing is reminiscent of other fundamen- ticles you published about other music scenes and magazine. I am really so very sorry. That magazine is talisms, and just as worthless. subcultures (hip-hop in particular), I wonder what the most disgusting thing I've seen in a long time. Gustin wild generalization, the point is. Maybe it's not punk-rock but the people Ms. makes another This is a public office that deals with children - a in the last two articles by j-love are just the same which reveals the limitations of her polarized view- state government office. We'll burn the ones we have overly educated, spacey, hippy activist types that point; "Raising a child reproduces your culture." She - don't send any more. You are a group of hate pub- you meet all over the activist subculture. Come on! goes on to say that, no matter what ideas we try to lishers.

They're talking about taking drugs to have spiritual instill in children, they're still part of our big bad experiences and talking to trees. What's the point destructive culture, and she decries giving that cul- Florence E Dilallo ture recruit." Apparently, are of looking at other subcultures if you're just gonna a "new we powerless to Friends of Homer Health Center talk to the same generic types of people who try too change anything. Homer, AK hard to sound like they're all knowing and in touch Such fatalism is disturbing. Looking to the with everything? future, would we rather have Clamor readers repro-

ducing those ideas and principles we (to greater or Now I'll admit I'm not a huge hip-hop fan, but PROBLEM IS BIGGER THAN BUSH lesser degrees) share, or Fox watchers repro- I've been around it enough to know that it's like a lot News

ducing theirs? If we abandon the future to children of other subculture 's out there. It came from work- I can understand why you had cancellations due to ing class roots and reflected on the harsh realities raised specifically in support of that destructive he- your "Stop Bush " Issue (ed. see above). In the eyes of life from a class perspective. Hip-hop shares with gemonic culture, why not give up now, head down to of many Bush has become sort of an annoyance in the mall and get a job at McDonald's? it a lot of the good things about country, and hard- perspective — compared to the massive rotting and core/punk. Move's articles don't acknowledge this. Of course, Ms. Gustin is partially right; chil- now centuries old infrastructure of U. S. politics, not

Class conflict just gets blocked out with the middle dren do adopt those aspects of our culture(s!) which new and not progressive — that allowed him into class face of a bunch of young urban, educated we model for them. My son is a witty little vegetar- power. Andrew Jackson faced similar challenges ian who enjoys gardening, playing guitar, ice hockey, professionals. In other words, I have never seen a to his administration did he not? Perhaps many

picture of hip-hop as Bill Cosbied up as this. building models, cooking, dancing and reading out Americans are beginning to realize that the whole

loud. He thinks violent video games are silly, doesn't "Stop Bush " thing is just part of the cult-of-per-

Joe Levasseur like to waste food, thinks solar energy is pretty cool, sonality trend that characterizes, sadly, these U. S.

Philadelphia, PA loves Michael Franti of Spearhead, and knows that presidential elections — and yet leaves us with the

no matter what you do around some people, they'll same nagging social ills administration after bor-

still be jerks. ing administration. Perhaps some of your readers

I fine to reproduce CHILDFREE? FREE, CHILD! think these are attitudes — if not the one who cancelled his or her subscrip-

in our shared culture. If my son didn't exist, if we'd tion — are beginning to see that the problems are

thrust our pessimistic heads in the sand with the are I had strong reactions to Amy Gustin's "Childfree," deeper than stopping one man. Perhaps they

Clamor Communique #48. author and said "It's really tough to raise a child who aware of the hand of conspiracy that is being played

Ms. Gustin makes good points about limited can improve our culture and the world in general, so as two graduates from the Skull and Bones orga-

resources being taxed by overpopulation. Yes, we in let's just not try," there would be one less voice for nization vie for the top spot in U. S. politics — as

industrialized nations abuse and overuse nearly ev- such pursuits and attitudes in the future. Her bleak if they were pretending to have different moral

prognostications about misuse of resources would to ery resource available; no news there. I was amused agendas — just to create the illusion of contrast

by her story about fleeing her urban environment for become a self-fulfilling prophecy. placate American voters. What is really developing

rural northern California. I'm from there; my family Her points about the additional freedoms IS the fact that Constitutional Republic, a concept

left, in part, because the area became too crowded available to those without children, and the chal- as hoary and situated as the place of Plato in the

with invaders like Ms. Gustin. For me, this begs lenge offered to societally-programmed and sanc- philosophical tomes of Western political thought,

the question; how can she approve of her parents' tioned motherhood, are well taken Having children has yet to really allow Democracy to happen while

choice to have her (which, since she hasn't killed IS definitely not for everyone, but it's also not neces- screaming that that is in fact what it is — not de-

sarily evil, wasteful, or destructive to do so. It's herself in protest, I assume she must), and not of mocracy but Constitutional Republic. a deeper

the same choice made by anyone else? issue — what IS democracy, in a world where people

She writes from a position of privilege, which A proud parent of a kid who in all likelihood will be globally celebrate victories for democracy in places cooler than me. she would deny others. I agree that living child-free named "Republic of—" and two similar candidates

is a wonderful option for any human being, and en- Bruce Bullis with backgrounds so similar that people have gen-

courage anyone who doesn't want children to not San Jose, CA erally brushed over their fellowship in the Skull and

have them. Like the sappy bumper sticker says, a Bones out of fear? Respect?

world of wanted children would make a world of dif-

ference. Still, I urge Ms. Gustin to keep her moralis- Mikal Howard

tic judgments about our purported motivations for Philadelphia, PA

having children to herself; she may "not view the Correction: Contributor Erik Lundegaard's name was spelled incorrectly in tiK Sep/Oct 2004 issue. The revolution won't be televised, but you can read HOW PROGRESSIVE ARE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS? about It. Books for a better world, by Mike Palacek, PROGRESSIVEPUNCH WILL TELL YOU! Progressive- former federal prisoner, congressional candidate, Punch IS a non-partisan searchable database of newspaper reporter Please visit: iowapeace.com. Congressional voting records from a Progressive

perspective. Visit www.progressivepunch.org.

Radio! Radio! The Vinyl Hours with DJ Tina Bold from 7 to 9pm (PST) every Monday on KUCR 88.3fm SUPPORT RNC MASS DEFENSE: The Mass Defense

(Riverside, CA), or go to www.kucrorg to hear a live- Committee of the NLG-NYC Chapter (National Law- stream version. Send demos to: KUCR Radio c/o yers Guild), which has been providing legal observ-

Riverside, Riverside, CA ers and lawyers for activists since 1968, was proud Tina Bold, University of Ca. The Zine Yearbook takes the 92521 to offer its depth of experience and knowledge to underground press above-ground for activists organizing events surrounding the Repub- just a second — long enough to share CALL FOR PAPERS: The People's Papers Project is lican National Convention this summer in New York the brilliance of independently created looking for submissions of undergraduate or gradu- City. We are now organizing the defense of the more art and media from the zine world. ate thesis that have been written by people who jug- than 1800 people who were arrested and reviewing gle both activism and academia for consideration in complaints for possible civil litigation. For more our series, the People's Papers Project. The People's info, visit www.nlgnyc.org/rnc.html.

Papers Project is the brainchild of Jason Kucsma (Clamor Magazine) and Ailecia Ruscin (Alabama BUSH FAMILY FORTUNE: Investigative journalist NOMINATE GrrrI). Both Jason and Ailecia self-published their Greg Palast takes to the screen to uncover the con-

American studies master's theses so that they could nections the Bush family doesn't want you to make share their academic labor with their activist com- in this important documentary. Out now on DVD. YOURFAVORITE munities. We are looking for more to publish in this For more info, visit www.gregpalast.com continuing series, email [email protected]. SUPPORT PROMETHEUS RADIO PROJECT: Pro-

EXPLORE COMMON SENSE POLITICS! Newtopia Mag- metheus is a microradio resource center offering azine IS a modern sociological-culture review that legal, technical, and organizational support for the

Politics Policies reflected non-commercial community broadcasters. For more LlllCg2004 examines how our and are in our Arts, Government, and Humanities. Visit and information, visit www.prometheusradio.org. subscribe online at www.newtopiamagazine.net.

MIDWEST BOOKS TO PRISONERS PROJECT: We are a

THINK PINK! Chicago's only all music radio show for collective that sends much needed reading materi- \i the queer community, Think Pink focuses on music als to prisoners in many states of the midwest. We )^ made by the gay/lesbian/bi/transgendered commu- are in need of books, hnancial assistance (for books, r nity but will also include music with queer themes postage and office needs), promotion, volunteers and 1) Read lots of zines some bad, and music targeting the queer audience. Listen at any suggestions you may have. Contact us; Midwest some really good. 88.7 FM or online Wednesdays from 6:30-8:00pm Books to Prisoners - 1573 North Milwaukee Ave PMB

(CST) at www.wluw.org. #460 - Chicago, Illinois 60622 - [email protected] 2) Photocopy the pieces from the good

SUBMIT NOW TO ROOFTOP FILMS! Rooftop Films is UPSIDEDOWNCULTURE COLLECTIVE: We are a group zines that you'd like to nominate for a non-profit him festival and production collective of Detroit area people who want to use art and cul- Zine Yearbook Volume 9. Scribble that supports, creates, promotes, and shows dar- ture to help people connect with each other and contact information for the zine on ing short films worldwide and in a weekly summer transform the world. We believe it is far past time your photocopies and maybe even rooftop him festival. ROOFTOP FILMS is currently that we face up to problems like poverty, unhappi- jot a note to us to let us know how accepting films for the 9th annual Rooftop Films ness, powerlessness and violence - as both system- much you like the books (the former Summer Series, Summer Series 2005. For more info: atic illnesses and issues we can do something about is necessary, the latter — not so www.rooftophlms.com/submit.html. in our own neighborhoods. We believe we can solve

these problems by taking collective creative action. much. )

FIRE ON THE PRAIRIE: a monthly show featuring Visit us at wvw.upsidedownculture.org interviews with progressive writers and thinkers, 3) Send in your nominations to: brought to you by In These Times magazine. Listen to PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED AD HERE! Clamor I Zine Yearbook archived shows online at www.wluw.org. [email protected] PO Box 20128 Toledo, OH 43610

4) Repeat with every good zine you come across the rest of the year. rp Get your nominations in to us by February 1, 2005.

The Revolution of Everyday Life

featuring insights, witticisms, audio clips, and pretty pictures @y©iSo©[n]il from the hardworking editors at Clamor HQ. write: [email protected] www.clamormagazine.org/revolutionblog www.clamormagazine.org/yearbook above: one of Rainbow s workers (and owners!) stocks produce — most of wtiicti is organic Doing What Comes

San Francisco's Rainbow Grocery Cooperative

nears its 30th Anniversary providing natural,

organic foods in an environment owned and

operated by its workers.

os word Gordon Edgar photos Sarah Pyle Food and its distribution have been the spark for more riots, revolutions, and political movements than anything else

you can name. Still, in a rich country such as ours, food can ebb and flow as a political issue. The mid-1970s, however, was a time when food was in the forefront of many people's political work. Rainbow Grocery Cooperative started as part of an ambi- tious food system in 1975 that sought to incorporate collective stores, producers, and distributors into one big counter-cultural network that would destroy corporate agribusiness by providing healthier, less processed, cheaper food alternatives.

While almost all of the food collectives that made up that network have collapsed over the last 30 years. Rainbow has survived, becoming the largest natural foods store in the San Fran- cisco Bay Area. It has gone from an all-volunteer staff to a 200- person worker cooperative, still dealing with the ongoing issues of how to best support its community — and who their community actually is.

Economic Power served on the donations and grants commit- the number of people who benefit from Rain-

tees says, "I appreciate that Rainbow has been bow's distribution of good food. They have As a worker cooperative — rather than a able to remain as a democratic workplace, also had a significant effect on Rainbow's consumer cooperative — Rainbow's workers even as the store expands and the economic support for organizations that were not pre- make all the decisions. There are no commu- climate is not friendly to independent grocery viously as closely linked with organic foods nity "members." There are also no managers. stores." and worker coops. Big decisions are made by the worker mem- "As our work force gets more culturally bership as a whole or by the worker-elected Who Gets Served? diverse, those people tend to want to reach

Board of Directors. Day-to-day decisions are out to their particular communities. I feel like made by individual departments, which over- Outside of the economic benefits to their I have the opportimity and responsibility to see specific areas of the store like produce, worker-owners, the other huge benefit of give financial assistance to the communities vitamins, cashiering, and maintenance. coops is the goods or services that they physi- I identify with — women of color, urban Na-

The first way that many Rainbow work- cally provide to the community. tive American, Xicano. Rainbow empowers ers identify their coop as serving the commu- The biggest and most obvious example me to help my community in a way that can nity is by creating stable jobs. of Rainbow 's support for the larger commu- really be perceived," says Madrid.

"I appreciate having a living wage, nity is providing natural food, supplements, Beyond being a conscientious grocery amazing health insurance for myself and my and health information to the Bay Area. In store. Rainbow budgets about 4 percent of partner, and the opportunity to be involved in addition to running the grocery. Rainbow its profit for donations and grants. These the direction and development of my busi- workers were involved with helping set the range from paying for food shipped directly ness," said Francine Madrid, a Rainbow original California state organic standards in to soup kitchens, to support of tenant-rights worker-owner recently elected to the store's the 'SOs and have been committed to helping organizations, to grants to help people start donation committee. small and local farmers and producers sur- other cooperatives (even ones that could be

"Some cooperatives see their basic mis- vive in an era that is hostile to their existence. seen as competition by a traditional capitalist sion as returning the profits extracted from All of this is needed to help bring fresh and businesses). labor to those who created them. This is very healthy food to an urban population. important, as traditionally secure working- Of course. Rainbow Grocery's customer Food Politics, Workplace Politics class jobs are being exported beyond the US's base and its worker-owner makeup are di- borders," says Joan S.M. Meyers, a Ph.D. rectly tied to the question of whom within the Rainbow has also displayed its solidar- candidate in sociology who studies democrat- "larger community" all these elTorts serve. As ity with others within the grocery busi- ic workplaces. "In theory, worker-ownership w ith many other food-based coops around the ness. People's Grocery is a mobile market of businesses can create stable, well-paying country. Rainbow's original base of custom- meant to serve parts of Oakland without jobs that allow people to return to their com- ers and workers tended to be counter-cultural grocery stores that sell fresh produce and munities with the economic means to enjoy — and not reflective of the demographics of healthy foods. Rainbow gave them a grant them — money to pay rent, buy food and the city or even surrounding the neighbor- of $10,000 to get started and has conducted entertainment, even buy houses — without hood as a whole. In recent years, effort has some trainings while struggling with finding professional degrees or inherited wealth." been made to change this, by developing an the best way to share its skills with others. The way that Rainbow operates also internal anti-oppression training and by hir- Brahm Ahmadi, community organizer makes for good jobs, not just stable ones. ing more people of color. These steps have and one of People's Grocery's founders, says, Sarah Jarmon, a worker-owner who has also brought in some new customers, expanding "At a certain point in my work as an organizer o

vO and Commercial Workers (UFCW) primarily focused on local economic develop- are killing people of color," says Madrid. "Id ed Food who organize political and cultural ment, self-reliance, and self-determination in like to see Rainbow gi\ ing more educational members, to these communities in regards to events locally. the community of West Oakland, I recognized outreach Jarmon, who helped coordinate this sup- the important and empowering role of worker food politics and how it etTects them." port, sees the importance of not forgetting the ownership and cooperative workplaces... I Rainbow has started a "Coop Commit- part of worker/owner. "The union approached Rainbow seeking assistance in tee" to field the calls of people interested in "worker"

hall is four blocks from us. I was able to walk developing a cooperative in my community. starting coops, to help organize the worker- and gi\e the organizer the check. I Rainbow was very responsive to the idea coop community, and to do some kinds of over there think the main point is that even though we and has been a committed partner ever since, technical assistance where they can. unionized, we understand the solidar- lending invaluable time, experience, and "Rainbow Grocery is an important leader aren't as worker ity bctw een workers in the same sector. The know ledge in all matters of our cooperative in the Bay Area' — as well U.S. — cooperative movement," says Tim Huet, co- grocer> industry is crucial to the functioning development. I believe that Rainbows part- of of the country. At Rainbow we appreciate our nership and support has significantly moved operative developer, attorney, and member Cooperatives. workers, and feel that all grocery workers us along the path towards launching our own the Association of Arizmendi "1 should receive that kind of treatment." cooperative." have had dozens of people approach me Beyond food politics, the Coop Com- The People's Grocery organizers are part wanting to start a worker cooperative after example of mittee also works with groups of people who of the growing "food security" movement ha\ ing encountered the inspiring want to start pretty much any kind of coop. It which, by bringing issues of class and race into Rainbow's strong community and financial helped the workers at The Lusty Lady, who discussions of healthy and organic food, tries success. The vitality of Rainbow's collective important resource recently bought their peep show business to address who can take advantage of food model has served as an cooperative from the owner who was going to close it. systems that are less damaging to individuals and inspiration for the larger And It helps existing coops w ith trainings on and the planet. Members of the Bay Area's ac- movement." Rain- skills like conflict mediation. tive food security community have many other Though not a union shop, some payroll As evidenced by an increasing bud- projects getting started as well, including a bow workers also took voluntary de- Cali- get and an increasing workload. Rainbow is storefront Soul Foods Coop grocery store. ductions to be sent to striking Southern during their region- showing a commitment to community em- This is an area where some Rainbow fornia grocery workers powerment through coop de\clopment that it workers admit they could be doing a better job wide strike to preserve their health benefits plan to the did not previously have. beyond just sponsoring others to do the work. last winter. Rainbow workers do locals strike "I don't think cooperatnes necessarily 'I'd like to see more outreach to com- same if the Northern California need to ha% e an explicit goal of community munities of color and let them know we're this fall. also gave a building. There's a very interesting "social here for them. Let them know there is an Rainbow's grants committee Unit- dividend' that comes out of worker-owned alternative to shitty food and bad health that grant to the "Young Workers" group of

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i>V., Economics for the People;ople businesses that decentralize decision-mak- Rainbow enjoy the privilege of being part of Economics ing and are structured around participatory- a democratic workplace and want to help cre- r has its roots in the Greek ternis says ate that for as many people as possible. 1 think democracy in of control: power," word oikonomos or management Meyers. "In order for the business to work, worker-coops taking over the world will help of a household. In the past, the members need to treat each other — and be create social and economic justice. I wanna household in Greek society consisted treated by each other — with a level of re- help make that happen." "sV spect for their autonomy and knowledge... ofalargekinshipgrouporcommunity [This social dividend] draws people back into Gordon Edgar has been the cheese buyer at of extended family members who all weird jobs... Rainbow Grocety Cooperative over ten social hours between their for shared collective responsibility and underwrites community-building activi- years. He attends roughly the same number and fruits of their labor. In fact, in most ties with the pleasure of engaging in mutual- of cheese conferences and worker-coop con- societies, harvests were traditionally ity and empowerment with people you like." ferences. His writing has appeared in places shared according "It's part of Rainbow's mission statement such as The Anderson Valley Advertiser. to strict customs that allowed to help other worker coops," says Kirsten Maximum RocknRoll, and Peko Peko. Gor- for the survival of the Marshall, a Rainbow worker/owner, member don can be reached at [email protected]. community as a whole; justice was of the Coop Committee, and elected member More information about Rainbow Grocery a family affair; and property was of the newly founded US Federation of Work- can befound at www.rainbowgrocery.coop. inalienable from the family. Only er Cooperatives and Democratic Workplaces. in recent times has "This is important because we realize we at the fundamental unit of economics switched from the community to the individual. Marianne Elizabeth Love

DEMOCRACY AT WORK Burt Berlowe

Even as the policies of the Bush administration threaten American is growing. Worker co-ops are the strongest they have ever been." democracy and economic stability, an eclectic, expanding array Hilary Abell. the executive director of a nonprofit co-op-de- of small businesses around the country are increasingly exercising velopment organization from the Oakland-Berkeley area, found the people power. There are currently hundreds of democratically run gathering, "Exciting and historic, a chance to celebrate the creating cooperatives in the United States, ranging from small shops to large of more power, an expanding of the movement." Abeli's organization, businesses. Women's Action to Gain Economic Security (WAGES), helps Latina Contrary to popular belief, worker co-ops are not limited to gro- immigrants create worker cooperatives that provide a living wage and cery stores and bakeries. They include steel mills and computer firms, decent benefits, while helping to nurture leadership skills within the

cab companies and restaurants, even a sex toy retailer, tanning salon, community.

and exotic dancing club. What they share is a commitment to econom- "We [worker co-ops] all provide democratic values and practices

ic democracy through worker control; a socialist concept adapted to and are more concerned about those principles than about making

our capitalistic times. money," Abell said. "This is part of broader movement towards a more This spring, nearly 100 representatives from worker-owned and - sustainable economy and a community building process." operated businesses across the country converged in Cedar-Riverside. "1 was very excited and impressed by the conference," said Jes-

Minneapolis, for their first national conference. Their goal was not sica Gordon Nembhard, an associate professor and economist in the only to meet and share advice, but to create a permanent coalition to Afro-American Studies program at the University of Maryland who help strengthen their existing businesses and spark the formation of grew-up in a cooperative housing project in Ponoma, New York. "The new worker co-ops. energy and amount of work that was done came close to achieving the During a conference business session, attendees approved the goals of setting up an organization."

formation of a coalition and named it the U.S. Federation of Worker "Generally, economic democracy in not taught at colleges. It

Cooperatives and Democratic Workplaces. They set up a preliminary tends to be marginalized," says Gordon Nembhard. She is hopefiil the structure and made plans to finish the job. The federation delegates new national federation will help change that trend. came up with several main objectives, including providing training At the moment, the Federation of Worker Cooperatives and

and networking for co-ops and collectives, collaborating with aca- Democratic Workplaces is continuing to develop its internal structure demic institutions, and working on legislation that will benefit mem- and processes and to plan for a second national event next year. For bers. more information, please visit www.usworker.coop/contact.php. tV

"Our basic goal is to spread the movement," said Tom Pierson, a worker-owner at the local Seward Cafe and one of the conference or- Burt Berlowe is afreelance writer, peace educator, and social change ganizers. "But we need to be strong first so that we can be an example activist working out of his home in Minneapolis. His most recent for others to emulate... Everyone working towards economic democ- book is The Compassionate Rebel: Energized by Anger, Motivated by rt racy in this country and world is part of this movement, but they are Love, which contains profiles of50 peace andjustice activists. He is a IN* not all coordinated. . . Nevertheless, the worker cooperative movement member ofthe Seward Co-op in Minneapolis. ^m

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^^^^^^^H ^^^» ^^^B^^^^^^^SI ^^^^^^^^^^^^^v ^IhL Brown University's Blow to the Graduate Student Union Movement A Right Not Yet Secure

Chris Frazer came from his home in Calgary, Ontario, to students, many of whom were active in CRASH, started to hold attend graduate school in History at Brown University in meetings out of which the Brown Graduate Employees Organization the fall of 1997. Thirty-seven years old with a wife and two (BGEO) was born. A few months later, they filed for an election with daughters, he was faced with the inability to support his family the regional labor board and began organizing their fellow students during his first year of school. First year students were not for a vote that would take place in December 2001. eligible for teaching assistantships, and as Canadians, neither The organizers found themselves unprepared for the harsh anti- Chris nor his wife was legally able to work outside of the union campaign waged by both a group of fellow students and by the university. To make matters worse. Frazer had to come up with university administration. S2000 to pay for one year of the family health insurance plan that Brown made available to students. The health plan was The Student Becomes the Teacher

"pitiful" in its coverage, he says, and without a dental plan. In Frazer's second year, he received a teaching Graduate employee unions have existed at state universities since assistantship, but the $12,000 stipend was far from enough the Teaching Assistants' Association (TAA) at the University of to make ends meet. Frazer and another grad student formed Wisconsin was granted recognition in 1969. Because labor issues at a group called the Committee for Reasonable and Affordable public schools are covered by state labor law, the battle for union Student Health (CRASH) to pressure the university to reduce recognition in state schools has had to be fought state by state. the cost of the health plan. Private schools, on the other hand, are covered by federal labor The group quickly grew. "The response to CRASH was law. Up until 2000, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) amazing," Frazer remembers. "It was quite clear that there was refused to recognize the right of graduate students at private schools widespread dissatisfaction, and that it hadn't been brought to to form a union, contending in a few separate decisions — beginning the surface before." By the end of the 1998-99 school year, the with a 1974 case involving Stanford University — that grad students' group had successfully pressured the university to defray a relationship to the university was primarily educational rather than few hundred dollars of the health plan cost for each student. economic. Frazer was pleased with the change, but knew that Over the next few decades, private universities began to take

graduate students at Brown could do better. on a more corporate orientation, even as they continued to officially They needed a union. "Given the be non-profit agencies. The salaries of top university administrators reluctance of the administration began to resemble those ofcorporate CEOs (in 2002, the University of to even make changes Pennsylvania's Judith Rodin received over S800,000 in salary alone), with the health plan," while the pay of faculty and other staff stagnated. One important he says, "and given strategy to hold down labor costs has been increased dependence on our understanding that the work of graduate students, not only as teaching assistants, but as we could lose even what we had the actual teachers. Between 1975 and 1995, the number of graduate just gained, we decided that the best thing we students who are also faculty members rose 35 percent, according to could do was organize and compel them to the American Association of University Professors.

bargain with us." It became increasingly difficult for even the NLRB to deny Frazer and other concerned graduate the role of graduate students as university employees. In 2000, the

word: Peter Ian Asen llustration Zack Giallongo U ERSITY Board overturned the Stanford precedent in a unanimous, bipartisan Simmons promised that the concerns of graduate students

decision during a union drive at New York University (NYU). This would be resolved by administrators sitting down w ith the Graduate emboldened graduate students at a number ofother private universities Student Council. And she defended her campaigning by saying that — including Brown, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania and the university setting demanded a democratic, open debate.

Tufts — to forge ahead with their own organizing drives. But a week after the ballots were cast on December 6, Simmons

The movement received another boost in January of 2002, when threw all discussion of democracy aside. Brown filed a legal

NYU agreed to its first-ever contract with its graduate employees. challenge denying that Brown graduate students even had the right The deal included stipend raises that for some reached nearly 40 to vote on unionizing, appealing the initial labor board decision that

percent, as well as increased health care benefits. had allowed the vote to occur and beginning a tedious legal battle that would drain much of the momentum BGEO had built. Organizing for Power After the election, BGEO organizers understood that the best

way forward was to keep the pressure on the university, and not let the

in February 2001, graduate students at Brown were flocking to the issue fade away — after all, even if they won at the labor board, and

early organizing meetings due to frustrations with stagnant stipends, won the election when the ballots were open, they would ha\e to fight rising area rents, health insurance costs, and heavy workloads. once again for a contract. But when they went out to organize, they Second-year History graduate student Jonathan Hagel attended his found their fellow graduate students bruised from the nasty election

first BGEO meeting. "The amount of power that graduate students campaign and tired of talking about the union. Jon Hagel remembers:

[individually] had to affect our living conditions was damn near "People would say. "1 am a supporter, but regardless, the decision is

zero," Hagel says. Forming a union, students realized, was the surest in appeal. It's not like we're going to strike for recognition, so what

way to change that power dynamic. is the point [of continuing to organize]?'" After discussions with a few different international unions, the Support for the union was also draining because the university BGEO decided to affiliate with the United Auto Workers. Though had decided to improve graduate student working conditions. Brown the academic workplace was outside their original jurisdiction, by increa.sed stipends and suddenly decided to cover health insurance 2001 the autoworkers' union represented 15,000 graduate student fully. By taking away some of the issues that BGEO organized

employees at 15 universities, including the groundbreaking group at around. Brown convinced some graduate students that there was no NYU. After affiliating with the Auto Workers, the BGEO began a longer a need for a union and that their voices had been heard. drive to sign up their fellow graduate students on union cards and "Very simply," Sheyda Jahanbani says, "they bought us out."

thus file for a union election. Jahanbani is glad that her stipend, once under SI 2.000. has now- A committed core of 20 graduate student organizers spent hours risen to $16,000, but she also knows that without a union, what the each week going department to department to convince their fellow university has given can also be taken away.

teaching and research assistants to support the union effort and sign In the face of all these challenges, BGEO members essentially a union card. Of course, these student organizers also had to grade lost their energy for organizing. Key organizers went away to do papers, lead sections, take classes, and prepare for graduate exams research or finish their dissertations; others graduated or dropped

— not to mention research and write their own dissertations. out of the organizing committee altogether. "A lot of us had to put But BGEO members faced more than a limited amount of time off our work for the better part of a year." Jahanbani says, "and we and resources. They also faced a strong opposition to their union dri\e had expected that when the [election] campaign was over, we could by a group of their fellow graduate students called At What Cost? return to our own lives." Rather than finding new blood to keep the The early stages of the BGEO organizing drive were conducted organizing committee running strong, the BGEO simply turned to in secret in order to build a base of support before provoking waiting for a labor board decision. As the waiting game continued administration opposition. At What Cost criticized BGEO, for two and a half long years, more and inore of the graduate student characterizing the union effort as a "sort of clandestine plot to take body turned o\er. and the group's base shrank. over the university," in the words of BGEO organizing committee member Sheyda Jahanbani. The Labor Board Strikes Back In what Jahanbani calls "the ugliest manifestation of their campaign," At What Cost began to question the alliance with the Auto This July. B()EO"sdri\eto form a union was dealt a potentially deadly Workers' union, implying that a union of blue-collar manufacturing blow, when the NLRB ruled that the students do not ha\e a right workers was beneath graduate students. to form a union. In a 3-2 decision, the board sided with the Brown In retrospect, Hagel believes that BGEO did not take At What administration's contention that the graduate students are primarily Cost seriously enough. "There was a decision made by the more students rather than employees, and that they thus have no legally idealistic of us," Hagel says, "who said 'Listen, people are smart. recognized right to form a union. The decision completcK re\ersed They know what's going on. Let's not even respond to these charges." the NYU decision of less than four years before and threatens to That was a mistake." curtail organizing efforts at a half-dozen other private universities Meanwhile, the efforts of At What Cost were being bolstered around the country. by an anti-union campaign by Brown's administration. The Given BGEOs loss of momentum and organization since the administration also played upon anti-union stereotypes, Chris election more than two years ago. the labor board decision denying Frazer says. "They portrayed us as goons and thugs. Right from the their right to organize could easily end the group"s union campaign. " beginning they portrayed the UAW as an outsider coming in But Chris Frazer, who has since graduated and is now a professor in The linchpin of Brown's anti-imion campaign was the new Canada, hopes that students at Brow n and elsewhere will not take the that o president, Ruth Simmons. Simmons held a dinner for graduate labor boards decision as the tinal word. "My fear. " he says, "is

students in which she tried to talk them out of supporting the union, people are going to want to wash their hands of it and not realize how

arguing that the students should give her time to make some positive important it is to fight this."

changes at Brown. "A lot of people were seduced by the slogan that Short of getting the board to overturn itself yet again, the

the administration put forward." Frazer says, "which was basically. onl\ option left to BGEO and other groups organizing at private

'Cine Ruth a C hance." They used that \er> effecti\ely to undermine universities is to force their universities to accept a "card check." This the union campaign."' would involve organizing more than half of the eligible workers to sign union cards, and then pressuring the university to recognize the union without NLRB intervention. This has occurred in some public school settings. In Massachusetts, the state labor board initially said that graduate students at UMass had no right to organize, but t the union effort there trudged on and forced university recognition anyway. A Call for Action from Corporate U. "We hope we can convince universities that the card check system is inherently a democratic one," says Donna Becotte. an Kalamazoo, Ml, like many other Midwestern cities, is experi- international representative for the UAW who has worked with the encing the impacts of globalization. Over the past 15 years, graduate assistants at Brown. "Unfortunately, universities have been the area has lost 3,000 manufacturing jobs and close to turning to the corporate model, where they fight the union at any cost. 1,000 high-end research scientists as the pharmaceutical So a recognition campaign is just as challenging as going through the giant Pfizer restructured its operations. Kalamazoo's poverty labor board, although it may have a better result." Stravers, director of Open At Brown, the current state of the organizing effort makes such rate is 25 percent, and as Rick a pressure campaign highly unlikely, at least in the near future. The Door Shelters states, "homeless shelters are literally over- NLRB demanded that regional boards decide the cases of Columbia, flowing."

Tufts, and Penn. which all also have locked up ballots, in accordance Western Michigan University is the city's largest employ- anti-union decision at Brown. However, graduate with the recent er. As it increasingly adopts a corporate model of operation student union groups at some of these schools have, in Jon Hagefs in which efficiency, speculative development and privatization words, "weathered the withering effects of time" better than BGEO. become the guiding ethical principles, WMU contributes to the At Penn, for instance, the Graduate Employees Together- poor social conditions of many of Kalamazoo's residents. UPenn (GET-UP) staged a two-day strike this February to protest In the spring of 2004, sixty unionized custodial jobs at WMU the university's fight against their union. In a sign of GET-UP's were outsourced to a private company, advertising positions continued strength, 83 percent of voting GET-UP members approved paying a pathetic $6.50-7.50/hr. The administration repeatedly the strike. At Tufts. Joe Ramsey, an organizing committee member for asserted that this was an unfortunate but necessary action in Association of Student Employees at Tufts (ASET), says that ASET's order to keep costs low in a time of "budgetary crisis." big mistake all along was to put so much stock in the NLRB, rather Tim Birch, President of American Federation of State, than simply organizing well enough to force a concession from Tufts. County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local 1668,

Ramsey says. "I think that's the lesson for us of this process is that which represents the custodians, sees the decision as ideo- can't depend on these third-party agencies to help you. Certainly, you logically, not fiscally, motivated. "The new contractor gave we've endured the drag of a two-year waiting period." a proposal that described dramatically less work than what During those two years, he says, ASET has tried to do more than AFSCME provided WMU," he says. "We were not given a wait. "We've done various things to keep our members conscious of chance to bid on the same contract." workplace issues, and also try to keep them aware of issues at other The custodial employees who lost their jobs at WMU campuses. But sure it's tough — it's tough because people graduate were met with a complete lack of support. Recent outcry or maybe they're still finishing their dissertation but they're working two adjunct jobs in Boston." over the elimination of two financially draining sports teams For Ramsey, a fifth-year graduate student who has organized at WMU was so impassioned that $100,000 was raised in with ASET for years and who has a dissertation to finish, the idea mere months, but the destruction of decent paying jobs and

of going back to square one must be exhausting. He maintains, the creation of more poverty wages in Kalamazoo barely reg- in spite however, that ASET has "kept a core of people still active" istered — especially among WMU faculty. Dr. Robert Ulin,

of these challenges. I think that now that this decision's come "And Anthropology Department Chair, explains, "even though down," he adds of the Brown case, "and even if the ballots [at Tufts] they have common interests, most faculty don't identify are thrown out, we're back on the ground again. We're back to where themselves as 'workers.'" However, many universities are we were in fall of 2001, when we had a massive card drive and had a phasing out faculty positions in favor of part time staff and few hundred cards signed in a few months." Internet courses. At Brown, not only have older organizers like Chris Frazer Over the past year, much of the comparative religion moved on, but younger folks like Sheyda Jahanbani and Jon Hagel are now fifth-year students. Thanks to a policy that has been instituted department at WMU was shut down. Religion is the type of since the union drive. Jahanbani and Hagel have to focus on finishing humanities program that does not attract much outside cor-

their dissertations before the end of their sixth years, when Brown porate funding. Conversely, last fall WMU found the money to

can cut off their access to teaching assistantships and funding. open a new engineering research park to the tune of nearly

The six-year funding limit is just one example of what BGEO $100 million. organizers have said all along — the university might raise stipends If collective community action isn't taken against the

and cut health care premiums, but without a union, it can also take corporate leanings of universities, it is not unlikely that things away. "For us. a union was basically about giving us some many will soon be invoking a less horrific version of Martin power over our working conditions," Jon Hagel says. "Though our Niemoller's famous anti-Nazi lament... First they came for living conditions have improved, the structural issues have not

the janitors, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a jani- changed." it

tor. Then they came for the humanities faculty, but I didn't

.-^ Peter Ian Asen was a member of the Brown Student Labor Alliance, speak up, because I wasn't a humanities professor. . organizing fellow undergraduate students to encourage Brown to -Boone Shear take a neutral — rather than negative — position towards the union drive. He now lives in Providence, Rhode Island, andean be reached at peterasen (w,gmail. com. w Food Not Bombs Lara Stewart and Charles Suggs Serves Up a Victory in Tampa

they forgot to set 6 4 T " 1 1 get up when everyone has had enough to eat," 1 9-year- their clocks, or they're not coming," said one at-

J.uld acti\ ist Jimmy Dunson told the poUce, refusing their tendee. order to pick up and leave. When several activists appeared in court following their arrests,

Dunson was the lone person distributing food to the homeless in 20 protesters stood outside serving food to passersby, playing music Hennan C. Massey Park that day. Other Food Not Bombs mcnibcrs and gathering petition signatures to change the Tampa ordinance. had been arrested for doing the same thing the weekend before as part Some people had traveled from as far away as Gainesville to show

of a crackdown by the Tampa Police Department. Like many other cit- their support.

ies throughout the United States, feeding the homeless without special As pro bono lawyers defending some of the activists planned

permits is illegal in Tampa. how to best challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance, and as "You can feed the damned pigeons but you can't feed the home- other strategies were discussed and support rallied, the city decided to

less," shouted Charles Hinkle, one of the homeless eating at the park, drop all of the charges without fanfare in May 2004. All fines and bail throwing bagel crumbs to the birds as the police took Dunson away. money were returned.

Food Not Bombs (FNB) is a name used internationally by people Fran Davin, Special Assistant to Tampa Mayor Pam lorio, says

connected through shared principles. The group has no formal char- that the charges were dropped because the ordinance, which was last

ter; like-minded activists anywhere can fonn their own FNB just by amended in 1978, needs to be rewritten. The city has agreed to update

showing up. The one thing all FNB groups share in common is their the law with Food Not Bombs' input. distribution of free, nutritious food. "I was impressed with the city for sitting down and trying to

According to the Hillsborough County Homeless Coalition, there make it right, instead of defending ordinances that don't serve their

are as many as 6,500 homeless in and around Tampa. The latest FNB purpose," said Mike Maddox, an attorney who represented some of incarnation in the city came together in November 2003 during a high- the activists. "It's noble of them." energy meeting following protests against the FTAA (Free Trade Area Still, Davin would not say whether Food Not Bombs would be

of the Americas) in Miami. One of the explicit goals of the group was able to continue using Massey Park when the new ordinance is en-

to combat a Tampa ordinance that prohibited serving food in public acted. "I will tell you this," she said. "[The park] is undersized and

parks w ithout a pennit. under-equipped . . . these parks have to be accessible and acceptable to

In all, six activists were arrested over a two-month period this all of the public." year for serving food in downtown Tampa. Lily Lewis, a FNB activist This spring. Mayor lorio stated that feeding the homeless in pub-

and president of the Student Environmental Association at Tampa's lic parks could have a chilling effect, presenting other people from University of South Florida, was arrested even after complying with using them. FNB activists point out that before their actions. Massey

police requests to leave. She reports being told, "This is what hap- Park was a cold and desolate place used only by the homeless. They pens when you follow your morals," by one of the arresting police argue that their work has brought new people, increased use, and a sergeants. sense of community to the park, -ii After extensive reporting on the issue by the local Independent Media Center and community radio station WMNF, the corporate me- Lara is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in several national

dia began to take interest. TV crews showed up at the park during one ptiplications. Charles is a journalism student at the University of South

FNB picnic, along w ith solidarity protesters from homeless advocacy Florida in Tampa. They are both founding members of the Tampa Bay and church groups, but the police were nowhere to be found. "Either chapter of IndyMedia and write and organize for the collective. Reach iheni at charlesidjampaindymedia nij^ and lara(atampaindymedia.org

o CNJ

atwve Mark Parrish (right) and Anthony Schmidt hold a Food Not Bombs banner across from Massey Park vO above right Jimmy Dunson is laid lace down on the pavement for serving food to the homeless Photos by tara Stewart : :

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3819 BEECHER ST NW, WASH., D.C. 20007- 1802 happens somewhere in America al- It most every day. On Chicago's South Side, dozens of elderly folks gather outside the power company's gates be-

fore dawn to block utility trucks from going to shut off poor people's electric-

ity and are arrested. In Los Angeles, African-American, Latino, and Korean

bus riders, all wearing yellow t-shirts and chanting, march one week against poor public transportation, and the next

against the war in Iraq. Despite the supposed lack of class conflict in the United States, hardly a day passes without angry crowds of

ordinary people confronting the elites

whose decisions affect their lives. In organizing terminology, these groups are frequently called community-based organizations, or CBO's. From national networks like ACORN and the Indus-

trial Areas Foundation to locally based groups like Direct Action for Rights and Equality in Providence or the Bus Rid-

ers' Union in Los Angeles, these groups

share a particular set of organizing

methods first developed in the 1930s.

words Jim Straub ACORN activists march in Los Angeles in kVells Fargo and

phoL. ACORN ttieir predatory lending practices

A History of Community Based o Organizations in the United States Although community organizing in the United Alinsky 's model called for a profession- ternative to the tide of insurrection in Ameri-

States has many roots, historians frequently al organizer to act as an outside agitator to ca's ghettos and campuses. In the 1970s, the trace its modem genesis to a disgruntled social unite existing local groups and build a mem- federal govemment actually began paying worker named Saul Alinsky. Bom and raised bership base around issues the community the salaries of some community organizers in the slums of Chicago's south side. Alinsky felt were important. He emphasized militant through the VISTA (Volunteers in Service to led a colorful life during the early part of the confrontation against the power stmcture. but America) program. This tension, between ef- century — brawling in Jewish-Polish gang advocated flexibility in tactics and ideologi- fective mass organizing and politically neu- fights, infiltrating Al Capone's crime family to cal relativism. "The question is not, 'Does tral clientelism, has existed in mainstream write a sociology paper on it. and working as the end justify the means?' The question is, community organizing ever since. a state criminologist — before finding his tme "Does this particular end justify this particu- calling as a radical organizer in the 1930s. lar means?"" he wrote in his organizing text- The Development of ACORN Alinsky found himself drawn to "the book Reveillefor Radicals. causes that meant something in those days With such a flexible, pragmatic outlook, The best known descendent of this ambigu-

— fighting fascism at home and abroad and Alinsky-style groups found themselves free ous organizing legacy emerged from the wel- doing something to improve the life of the to use tactics ranging from protest mobs to fare rights stmggles of the 1970s. At the time, masses of people who were without jobs, company boycotts to one memorable "fart-in" the balance of power on welfare issues in food, or hope," he reflected in an interview at an opera in Rochester, New York. Alinsky Congress rested with the Arkansas represen- in the 1960s. The experience of revolution- extended this flexibility to politics, saying the tative Wilbur Mills, head of the House Ways ary upheaval during the Great Depression organizer should not have an outside agenda, and Means Committee. The National Welfare inspired Alinsky to take things a step fiir- but should simply seek to facilitate what the Rights Organization sent the young welfare ther. He moved back to his old south side people of a community already want. rights organizer Wade Rathke to Arkansas to neighborhood, the Packinghouse District This emphasis on developing the capac- try to put together a popular challenge to this immortalized by Upton Sinclair in his novel ity and voice of local leaders and communi- politician on his home turf "1 had never been

The Jungle, and started what he called "an ties, however, took some strange turns. By to Arkansas, but it appealed in many ways," organization of organizations." Conceived supposedly not bringing outside values or Rathke said. "[The] majority of [the] popu- as a community-wide coalition to fight for politics to the organizations, some groups lation was low and moderate income, capital the needs of an impoverished, working-class founded on the Alinsky method, such as his and largest city were the same and were cen- neighborhood, the Back of the Yards Council initial Back of the Yards Council, began using trally located, multi-racial organization was managed to unite a poor, ethnically divided their organizations for unforeseen ends, such a necessity, and so forth." The group Rathke slum and score a number of surprising victo- as keeping African Americans from moving built, which quickly became a major political ries against meatpacking companies and the into their neighborhood. And by downplay- power in Arkansas, went on to extend itself local government. ing issues of oppression and privilege likely nationwide to become the largest and most The larger significance of the Back of to exist within organizations, many of these well-known community organizing group in the Yards Council was that it was replicable; groups developed intemal racial and gen- the country — the Association of Community its strategy of uniting constituencies in a der hierarchies. Alinsky "s own politics slid Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. neighborhood around indigenous leadership towards conservatism, going from fighting ACORN moved away from Alinsky 's and goals could be picked up and taken to al- capitalism in Chicago in the 1930s to calling approach of uniting existing organizations, most any community in the country. Alinsky the Black Panthers "thugs" in the 1960s. and towards a model based on individual found himself being called around the United After Alinsky died in 1972, the groups dues-paying memberships and intensive States to help start other community-based that carried on with ideas he pioneered in- door-to-door recmitment. By perfecting this organizations. His brash style and the militant habited a complex and mixed legacy. On one model. ACORN was able to grow fiirther tactics of the groups he helped form won him hand, activists from the black, student, and and faster than any comparable group, hav- suspicion and anger from local elites. The women's movements used the Alinsky frame- ing today spread to more than a hundred cit- Kansas City police jailed him. while the Oak- uork to craft organizations of people fighting ies with more than 200,000 dues-paying low land City Council voted to ban him from the in their collective self-interest. On the other, and moderate-income members. With such city altogether. Malcolm X, meanwhile, said, some liberal elites like Charles Silberman of a large base, ACORN has proved capable of "that man knows more about organizing than Fortune magazine promoted Alinskian com- winning a number of national campaigns on any other person in the country." munity organizing as a possible reformist al- poor peoples' issues, squatting abandoned ISI o buildings to demand affordable housing pro- with the Newark Community Union Project

grams, and starting living wage campaigns in [in the 6()s], we had a major campaign around cities around the country. a stop sign ourselves." But he adds, "when Maude Hurd, ACORN"s national presi- we did the stop sign work, we did try to bring dent, describes their current national priori- people into a broader movement, including

ties as predatory lending, better schools, and very active anti-Vietnam War work."

living v\ages. Down at the grassroots level, In search of this radical but realistic individual neighborhood chapters organize model, the Strategy Center Mann works with and protest tor anything from a new traffic founded the Los Angeles-based Bus Riders light to better street sweeping — an approach Union. The BRU now has more than 3.000 to social change referred to either proudly or dues-paying members and 50,000 supporters

dismissively, depending on your perspective, who fight for better mass transit and public

as "stop-sign organizing." services in Los Angeles. It is also an explicith acorn's growth model involves con- radical, multilingual, majority people of color tinuous membership recruitment. "Less effec- organization, and has won dozens of victories tive groups can afford to depend on charitable over the past decade. Unlike most commu- foundations to fund their work. We can't," nity organizations, activists merge traditional ACORN lead organizer Jeff Ordower said. campaign work (like protests against fare in- "We win battles against the bankers and busi- creases) with activities like popular education ACORN activists rally at the U.S. Capitol in March of 2004 to sit on the boards of grant-mak- the Palestinian nessmen who about struuele and marchinc protest the Bush administration's education funding policies

"We win battles against the bankers and businessmen who sit on the boards of grant-making institutions. They're not going to fund an effective challenge to their power, so we have to get most of our funds right from our members."

ing institutions. They're not going to fund an in anti-war and LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexu- side organizer sold door-to-door), and the effective challenge to their power, so we have al/Transgender) pride marches. Farm Labor Organizing Committee and Black to get most of our funds right from our mem- This bigger-picture outlook has attracted Workers For Justice (both groups organizing

bers." organizers like Kikanza Ramsey, who writes, workers in North Carolina). Delgado identi-

"For my own sanity I needed to be part of fied these groups' similarities — and differ-

Young Activists Create New Models something that would use my outrage at my ences from traditional Alinskian organizing people's oppression to make significant strides — as being "a wider issue base, an analytical

But this model of recruitment-driven fiindrais- toward justice." She adds, "The explicit anti- perspective grounded in race relations, and

ing calls for a constantly growing pool of staff capitalist, antiracist, multiracial, pro-immi- organizers indigenous to the community." organizers who must work 50 or more hours grant, feminist politics of the Labor Commu- Without a doubt, community organizing

a week, knocking doors for hours every day nity Strategy Center in Los Angeles attracted in the United States today has branched off

just to fund their own salary. The low wages me as a way to 'go back to my community.'" in many directions. For all this revision and

— around S20,000 a year to start — have led Former BRU organizer Da\e McClure debate, however, the picture at the grassroots

many to leave the organization, especially af- states on the group's web site, "We were not of people coming together to fight for justice ter ACORN leaders fought organizers' efforts 'merely' trying to win a better bus system for otlen looks surprisingly similar no matter the

to unionize and get better working conditions the half million bus riders in L.A. (as if that context. From meatpacking families in Depres-

in Philadelphia, Seattle, and Dallas. weren't big enough). I was also helping re- sion-era Chicago to contemporary bus riders

Criticism of ACORN extends beyond build a left multiracial social movement led by in Southern California, the work of building

the workload it demands of its paid organizers w orking class people to transform mass transit, peoples' power always involves long meetings

to the ideology behind Alinsky's organizing the economy, environmental policy, social ser- in humble rooms, loud protests by ordinary' model. For instance, a hallmark of mainstream vices — major structures of society." people, and thousands of hours spent knocking

community organizing is Alinsky's belief that This broader-based model has become doors or riding buses, spreading the word one

organizers should be apolitical, simply fa- an emerging trend in community organizing, person at a time. From this perspective, groups cilitating what the community already wants, especially in communities of color. Delgado, as diverse as ACORN, the Bus Riders Union,

rather than bringing an outside ideology with the historian of community organizing, wrote and Black Workers for Justice do all belong

them. Eric Mann, director of the Los Ange- in. Beyond the Polities of PUiee. a landmark to the same tradition. A familv tree that might

les-based Fius Riders Union, said such tactics mid-1990s survey of more than 6,000 CBOs. fill Its ancestor Saul Alinskv w ith surprise, and

are dishonest and manipulative, and believes that many emerging local acti\ ists of color, perhaps pride, and one that should certainlv fill

it is the reason such groups often fail to take not having access to organizing theories or elites everywhere with fear, it on bigger issues of corporate capitalism and past practices, have developed their own

imperialism. "We cannot build a movement strategies. He writes. "These organizers had Jim Siraiih briefty worked at an organizer for o ba.sed on isolated projects... without a trans- no roadmap or model. Nobody told them that ACORX in Philadelphia in 2000. hut quit to do o formative view of the world." he said. community organizations were supposed to AIDS aelivism. aeeordions. ananhy and allit- u However, unlike some other radicals be strictly local and devoid of ideology." eration. He s presently moving fhmi the south who demean "stop-sign organizing" as not Delgado studied examples that broke to the miihxest for work av a union organizer o> sufficiently revolutionary, Mann is search- the old mainstream Alinskian model, such as Email him atjinv

ing for a model between big-picture ideology Native Action in Montana (where a person's haek, order his zine. or tell him where he might

and nuts-and-bolts \ ictories. "When I worked group membership was part of tribal historv. find good eoffec or had pop-pimk in Ohio. O "MMMm

x^ •

Janta Anita I a Union

BuitangKevolrtionary Community in euatema"

Santa Anita La Union's unique decision to run their organic coffee estate collectively was not difficult. Dur- ing Guatemala's 36-year civil war, the community's members learned how to work together — whether from within the ranks of the guerilla group, the Revo- lutionary Organization of the People in Arms, or in refugee camps across the Mexican border where many fled persecution. Since 1998, the 160 members of Santa Anita from 33 ex-guerilla families in Guatemala have been making the tran- sition from armed insurgents to a peace- One of Santa Anita la Union's main streets witti banana trees and volcanoes in the background time community. In the 1940s, after a period of military dictatorship, Guatemalans elected President Jacob Arbenz. He and his successor President Jose Arevalo instituted a land reform policy giving landless peasants Caitlin Benedetto words and photos shares of land from United Fruit, a U.S. banana company that owned 60 percent of the country's arable land. The United States enlisted the

CIA to overthrow the government and made it look like an internal uprising and the conflict eventually led to civil war. Three guerilla groups formed and many guerillas were kidnapped and disappeared.

The new regime also executed a "scorched earth" policy, killing all the people in indigenous villages and burning everything to the ground.

In total, the war drove 100,000 people into exile in Mexico and at least 100,000 people into internal displacement, and left somewhere o between 100,000 and 200,000 killed and 40,000 missing. o N d

• i.iimunity member diagrammmg the different wartime revolutionary groups and their connections

Santa Anita's members were left landless after the 1 996 peace accords.

Returning from a life of combat in the mountains, many ex-guerillas and their families discovered that military personnel and civil auto- defense groups had taken over their former lands or relocated other

farmers to the area. A group of residents decided to purchase land from the government with the help of the Program for the Support of Incorporation of Ex-Guerillas, a program sponsored by the European Union which

was set up to promote projects that ex-combatants could rely on for economic support. They bought a finca (large estate) for 2,062,500 quetzales (over S257,000) in 1998, with a 12 percent yearly interest Children at school in Santa Anita la Union rate and 10 years to pay off the debt.

The community decided to grow coffee because \.\\q finca already Santa Anita La Union's structure and values represent what the Gua- iiad some of the needed infrastructure in place for coffee production. temalan Revolutionary Unity movement fought to create for 36 years. Their land is in the country's best coffee-growing region, Guatemala's All community members are invited to participate in the Asamhiea, "boca costa," near the Pacific Coast. Santa Anita's highest decision-making body. Meetings can last days

at a time. The finca s board of directors must alw ays be 50 percent

\\ omen. There is free health care and education for all. and the> ensure that their products are organic and environmentally friendly. Members of Santa Anita, speaking Spanish and four indigenous languages (Mam. Jacalteco, Quiche, and Sipakapense). hope to create a rc\olutionar\ communitv center incorporating the surrounding

\ illages, thereby focusing not only on their own children's needs, but also on the needs of the greater rural Guatemalan population. Unlike

olher fincas in the area, this community has successfully built two

schools, a medical clinic, and a iibrarv. Despite their poverty, Santa

Anita s residents are discussing etTective ways to make these resourc-

es available to the surrounding communities.

The sign leading mio me commuiiiiy .vnn iin' i.ii.iifin.ii.tii KPvniurionary uiiiiy lor URNG, an ex guerrilla

political party) symbol of corn on it

After .selling the coffee locally for two years, the community switched

to selling their product on the international fair trade market. Organic

coffee sells on the fair trade market at S141 per quiiilcil (100 pounds),

while the local market only provides 300 qiwlzuk's (S37) per ciiiin-

lal. However, meeting all the regulations for organic certification was costly and discouraging. This past year's crop only paid for 10 months o of the community's living expenses. liven in this dilTicult situation, Santa .Anita is faring much bet-

ter than most agricultural villages in (iuatemala. "The war may ha\e

failed to bring justice to the people of Guatemala, but at least here in

Santa Anita it has succeeded," Rigoberto Agustin Ramirez said in his

usual i)plimistic and spirited tone. Ramirez is on the current directive Chave/ ii^ni ul the coffee bushes behind their homt; committee and fought in combat during the war. N(Vi Jacobo Lopez left his wife and five children behind in Santa Anita to find work in the United States. He and his wife Angelina Chavez are worried about having enough money to pay for their children's educa-

tion. The children are growing

faster than the finca is. Each community member receives S3. 50 for a day's work. The community collectively cov-

ers water, electricity, and basic

medical costs. Lopez, who is 50 years old, managed to get to

the United States, but is hav- A community member unclogging pipes from one of the natural water sources on the finca ing trouble finding work. He

calls home every few days to One of the auxiliary projects of the community is the development

let Chavez know how he is do- of agroecotourism on the finca. The people of Santa Anita want to

ing. Since there is no one in the take advantage of their identities as ex-combatants farming an organic

family working on the finca, product to help keep \\\s finca financially afloat. Coffee and banana

the family pays 200 quetzales production remains the main focus, "because that is what puts food in (S25) a month for the services our mouths today," Ramirez said.

generally covered collectively. In the long run, however, they have to expand to pay off" debts.

Even though Chavez remains There is a rising level of urgency to pay off the debt because the gov-

active in all community affairs, ernment has started to throw other communities offfincas they cannot

she says some of her compan- pay for. The kind of expansion that Santa Anita is working on would ions treat her with disdain for create job opportunities for the young people of the finca who are

letting her husband leave. studying a wide range of professions, not just agriculture. It would

also make it easier for them to sell their coffee. The aggression of the military during the

war left innumerable

mass graves in its wake. These graves are of both innocent villagers, victims of the scorched earth policy, and guerrilla combatants. The ef-

forts to find these graves and identify the dead shape the consciousness of

Guatemala and its national identity. On

.luly 14, Santa Anita received the mortal remains of seven combatants who died 20 years ago. Their clandestine grave was only recently The internment of the killed combatants found in the Depart- ment of San Marcos, where most of the ex-guerrillas of Santa Anita were in combat. Only one of the deceased was related to current Santa Erik, a young boy at school

Anita residents, but the community took in all the remains because families did not claim them. Another important reason to make thefinca more open to foreign visi-

Many people were invited to the vigil that night and the mass tors, Ramirez said, is "to show the world that we are not trying to get burial the next day. The community bought food and giiaro (a strong out of working by asking for help. We ask for help internationally sugar cane liquor) for all the guests, and everyone had a place to sleep. because our requests and needs fall on deaf ears with our government. Many community members spent the night drinking, crying, and shar- We ask for help so we can realize our community vision." ing war stories while keeping vigil over the coffins. You can reach Caitlin Benedetto care of [email protected] o N W Activists take to the water to save it. Up a River Charles Winfrey On a hot Saturday afternoon in July, pe- Virginians have struggled for years with its year-old restriction against dumping spoil destrians along the Nashville waterfront devastating effects, watching as streams rise within 100 feet of streams. Hundreds of were treated to an unusual sight. Instead of to new levels with every spring flood, causing citizens spoke out against the rule change a riverboat hauling another load of Musie millions of dollars in damage. According to one at five public hearings in Washington and City tourists to Opryland. canoes and kayaks, report released by the group Coal River Moun- Appalachia. but their protests were ignored.

a runabout or two, and even a sailboat pep- tain Watch, flooding destroyed over 1 .600 West A pre-Bush Department of Interior study pered the dingy water. In the shadows of Ti- Virginia homes in 2001 alone. Many residents revealed that, even with the 100-foot buf-

tan Stadium, onlookers gathered to cheer the blamed the severity of the floods on the eflect fer zone, mountaintop mining has filled in

fleet of sinall craft — all bearing a message of mountaintop mining on watersheds. News over 700 miles — equivalent to the length to Tennessee's governor — as they drifted reports in the Charleston Gazette and other pa- of California — streams from 1985 to 2001.

past the downtown docks on the Cumberland pers placed the damage at over S200 million in In 2003. a draft environmental impact study

River and mo\ed to the opposite shore. a half dozen coal counties. by the Department of Interior revealed that

Both the welcoming committee and o\ er 1 .200 miles of streams have now been the boaters were made up of members of destroyed.

Save Our Cumberland Mountains (SOCM, Other testimony at the public hearings pronounced "sock 'em") and the Tennessee focused on the human costs of mountain- Scenic Rivers Association. Across the river top mining. One woman testified that her protesters unfurled a 50-foot banner that SI 44,000 home has been devalued to a tenth

read. "Gov. Bredesen, Don't Let Mining Turn of its original cost due to blasting and dust

Rocky Topless." Mountaintop strip mining from a nearby mine. She and her neighbors in for coal has come to Tennessee and SOCM. a Sylvester, West Virginia successfully sued the group that has been battling the worst abuses company for damages but she said the com-

of King Coal for over 30 years, is drawing a munity will never recover.

line in the sand. Tennessee's Department of Environ-

Earlier this year, SOCM members ment and Conservation was the only state stopped relying on regulators with the federal agency to go on record as opposing the Office of Surface Mining (OSM) who they change in federal regulations to eliminate

believe are bent on encouraging, not control- / ' !n the news media while canoes continue to the buffer zone. ling, mountaintop mining. Instead, they de- arrive oenina ner in downtown Nashville Photo by Pun Gere H. E. Heam. president of the Tennessee

cided to call on Tennessee's governor to order Coal Association defends mountaintop min-

strict enforcement of the state's water qual- In Tennessee, the coal industry and fed- ing as an efficient, environmentally sound

ity law, a once-powerful weapon in efforts to eral regulators call it "cross-ridge mining," way to get coal. "If you want your lights

protect streams from the effects of large-scale referring to a difference in where the removed to come on, you better have coal mining,"

mining projects. land is dumped. In West Virginia the practice Heam said. "The real issue is not mountain-

That's where the canoes come in. Since has been to chop ofT the peaks of mountains top removal, it's valley fill. That's something

strip mine run-off in mountain streams often to reach the coal and relocate the overlying that is not permitted in the state of Tennes-

flows into the Cumberland River and even- rocks and soil to hollows and \alleys below. see."

tually down to the state's capital, Nashville. Instead, in Tennessee, where duinping land Valley fill ma> not be pennitted. but

SOCM members decided to put their message directly into valleys is not allowed, the extra SOCM contends that once federal inspectors

in a bottle. land called "overburden" is mo\ed around begin ignoring the 100-foot buffer protecting

Seven teams of paddlers carried a jug and replaced on the flat bench that remains streams, any mining that completely removes

of silt-laden mine water 391 miles from after the coal is removed. a mountaintop will hav e disastrous effects on Campbell County in the mountains of east- SOCM activists, who suspect the change water quality.

em Tennessee west to Nashville. In Ken- in terminology for this controversial mining The first pemiit for a major mountain-

tucky, severe storms raked the river for three technique is politically motivated, contends top operation in Tennessee was approv cd last

days and gale-force winds collapsed boaters' the overburden won't stay put. At a recent year. At a public hearing held in the commu-

tents. After 16 days on the river, a hundred public hearing one speaker referred to the nity bv the federal Office of Surface Mining

other boaters joined the last team for the ttnal practice as "delayed hollow till," insisting all but one of the 30-plus speakers opposed

two miles into downtown Nashville. Bobby that the loose soil, once blasted from the the mine. Ignoring the protests, OSM granted Clark, a SOCM member who li\es without mountaintop, will e\entually wash or slide the 2.000-acre pemiit to remove the top of electricity or running water in his mounlani down into streams. Zeb Mountain. OSM and state water qual-

home, traveled the entire 400 miles. Upon ar- In 1999. opponents of mountaintop min- ity inspectors have since written up the mine

rival. Clark presented the symbolic gallon of ing won a major victory when a I'.S. Dis- for a number of water qualitv v iolations and

polluted water to Karen Stachowski, Deputy trict Court ruled that the practice of filling in temporarily closed it when the haul road col- o (M Commissioner of the Tennessee Department streams with spoil from mountaintop mines lapsed into the vallev below. of Hnvironment and Conser\ation. violated the Clean Water Act. The decision State officials insist that the current level

Mountaintop mining may be new to Ten- was overturned on a technicality and an ap- of enforcement is adequate to protect water

nessee, where coal is generally of lower qual- peal is currently pending. resources, yet on the very day that the SOCM

ity with limited demand, but it is old news in The Bush administration responded by fleet arrived in Na.shvillc. the Water Quality many areas of the Appalachian region. West proposing a rule change to eliminate a 21- Board lowered a fine against the Zeb Moun-

N [Ulfiiillntelly [gf^fc

Nathan Berg mixed punk rock tain operation from SI 5,000 to $5,250. SOCM members claim such treatment amounts to a slap on the and politics and got wrist and only encourages future violations. the key to the city Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the region's major utility, announced plans last year to I was born and raised in the small Wiscon- refused to print almost anything serious consider cross-ridge mining of nearly 60,000 acres sin city of Chippewa Falls. While it was a that I said. coal the state's of TVA-owned underlying Royal charming place, surrounded by beautiful During my term, a few big issues Blue Wildlife Management Area. Most of that coal lakes and woods, it was not an exciting came before the council. The state National is in the watershed of the Big South Fork place to grow up. We had no movie the- planned to convert a local treatment

River & Recreation Area. The Big South Fork carves ater, no all-ages hangout, no kid-based center for the developmentally disabled series majestic along its course from a of canyons activities to speak of that weren't related (which it had planned on closing) into

Tennessee into Kentucky, attracting over 750,000 to after-school events. a geriatric prison. Only two years ear- visitors annually. Despite this cultural emptiness — or lier, Chippewa Falls' residents had voted

river is home to a number of sensitive spe- "The perhaps because of it — I took a strong against a Supermax prison in a city-wide cies, including endangered mussels that are the first interest in the politics outside of my se- referendum. Despite this, local officials in to be affected by a change water quality," Don cluded little town. The more I learned, the were under pressure to convert the cen-

Director the I Barger, Southeastern of National Parks more I came to challenge assumptions ter into a prison to avoid the sting of lost

Conservation Association, said. Concerned about was taught, not by my parents (though I jobs. After a lengthy battle, including one

the effect widespread mountaintop mining will have challenged those too), but by my highly meeting where I had to give an anti-prison water quality, Barger is anxiously awaiting the conservative, diversity-dephved sur- on speech in front of hundreds of citizens, 4- completion of a TVA environmental impact study in roundings. By my late teens, I was a veg- the call for a referendum was defeated the fall. The agency proposes to remove coal from etarian, anti-corporate, environmentally 3 and the prison approved 5-2.

13 separate mountain peaks in the Big South Fork minded, punk music-listening political Victories were few and far between. watershed. activist. At the end of my two-year term, a bike

SOCM is aware that the 400-mile river relay is From afar, I had long admired ac- trail system and a skate park were about only the first step in what may prove to be a long tivists around the United States who ran the only things I could safely list as ac- battle. Tennessee's Governor Phil Brcdcscn told for political office as a means of protest. complishments. reporters that he knows nothing about the issue of Some used the forum to bring issues to When people ask me what it was like

light mountaintop mining but is willing to discuss it. that would have otherwise gone un- to be on the Chippewa Falls City Council,

"He may not realize it," Ann League, who lives mentioned. Others turned their campaigns I typically tell them, "I learned a lot," but near Zeb Mountain, said, "but the water that gets pol- into large-scale pranks they used to make that's only partially true. The biggest les- luted by mountaintop removal here will end up in the a mockery of the election process itself. sons were things that I already knew all Governor's back yard." Both tactics seemed to be equally effec- too well: politics is yucky business, you

Holding up the jug of mine water. League add- tive and entertaining. So when I noticed a can't trust the media, and ignorance is blurb in our local newspaper about how excessively prominent in our society. ed, "Nashville is about 400 river miles from here

no one had yet gotten on the ballot for my While I would say the experience but it is where the problem of mountaintop removal

ward in our upcoming city council elec- was mostly negative, it was interesting. I eventually ends up. it is also where we want to see

tions, I took notice. still believe that local government has the the solution come from."

However, it took the further convinc- potential to be the most democratfc form Although neither had much experience in a

ing of my friends and family before I de- of government we have in this country. canoe. League and neighbor Charles Blankenship

cided to run because, being unopposed, But if you're planning on running for local wanted to do their part. They joined several veteran

I was pretty much assured a victory. Two office yourself, make sure you have allies Whitewater paddlers for the 35 miles of the Big South

months later I was sworn in as alderman. who can help you make Fork from near their homes to Lake Cumberland in

I soon realized that being a 22- serious positive Kentucky. year-old punk rock city council member changes for your It wasn't easy. Swollen by recent rains, the river in a conservative town was not nearly as community. Be- was lively for this time of year. The group spent a cool as it might sound. The overwhelming ing a black sheep backbreaking hour carrying canoes and gear around majority of the city council's work was ex- in this arena dangerous rapids, then encountered an unexpectedly tremely mundane and non-controversial. doesn't get much rough section downstream. League's heavily loaded

I found myself sitting through two-hour accomplished, canoe took too much water and she ended up swim- long meetings about whether three park- makes you easy ming. ing spaces should change from four-hour to ignore, and "But we saved the water," League beamed as to two-hour or whether to purchase a new adds a whole lot she held up the jug of polluted mine water, the pre- chair for the city clerk's office. of frustration to cious cargo secured with rope to her canoe. '6' When controversy did arise, as it your life. tV

did on occasion, I was continually out- Charles "Boomer" Winfi-ey is a longtime mountain ac- numbered by my fellow council members tivist andformer organizer with Save Our Cumberland and cast the lone vote on many issues. Mountains. For the past 23 years he has worked as an Our local newspaper, the only link be- East Tennessee journalist and newspaper editor tween the public and the city council, also o N Ul ORGANIZE!

The Association of Community Organizations

for Reform Now is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderat- income families. ACORN's pnorities include

better housing for first time homebuyers and Th(> Anlj-Wai- MoviiinKiH llliislrattid tenants, living wages for low-wage workers,

more economic investment in our communities, and better public schools. ACORN Organizers

build organizations in low-income communities

to achieve practical and tangible goals.

If you have a real commitment to democratic grassroots movements and the community

members who lead them, you can get paid to

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GO Jennifer Vandenplas Growing Power

Settled amid rows of urban housing and apartment buildings on Comerford is the sole proprietor of Backyard Bounty, located in Plymouth, Wis- a busy thoroughfare of Milwaukee's north side is the Grow- consin, about an hour outside of the city of ing Power Community Food Center. What at first glance appears Milwaukee. Growing Power works with to be a modest roadside produce market and aging greenhouse — farmers like Comerford through its contributions toward the organization ofThe Rainbow the last its kind, standing in an area that once the thriving of was Farmers Cooperative, a group of nearly 100 agricultural center of the city known as Greenhouse Alley — is local fanners dedicated to keeping small family farms from being eradicated by increasing a pioneer meeting place and educational facility, committed not production costs, growing inaccessibility to only to growing food but also to growing communities. credit resources, and the increasing competi- Nine years ago. Will Allen, a local farmer and co-director of Grow ing Power, Inc., tapped tion from mega-farms and mono-agriculture. into a movement that was emerging from beneath the shadows of waxy apple towers and pallid This collective CSA approach connects rural wilted greens of mega-markets across the nation. However, the vision of providing a commu- farmers and city residents w ithout the intense nity-based education center was never a part of his original plan. "I bought this place for my and direct need to market individually and of- own selfish reasons, to sell my farm produce," he explains. His main desire was to expose his fers the community a wide range of products family to the pride and integrity he associated with farming, as he had experienced it first-hand from several specialty growers. as a child growing up in niral Maryland. Earlier this year, a group of city residents But in the face of agribusiness bent toward monopolization of food production and dis- volunteered to help Comerford erect a green- tribution, the need to shift the paradigm back to sustainable local agriculture was clear. In house so that she would be able to extend her

1995, Growing Power opened its doors to the people of Milwaukee and neighboring rural growing season into the cold winter months. communities, to educate them in ways to work together to bring locally grown foods back to The benefit of the work of a few individuals their tables. on a single afternoon will resound with each

Growing Power offers public onsite training in sustainable agriculture systeins, including year's supplemental yield of vegetables that aquaponics, nutrient cycling systems, livestock care, and a biological worm growing system. escape the season-ending frost. "We will have a college professor standing next to a fanner standing next to a 10-year-old Community Supported Agriculture youth learning to do the same thing, because you're all at the same level when it comes to helps to strengthen local economies by keep- hands-on [work]. This diversity that we create is very important to me and this work that we ing food dollars within a community; pro- do." ducers and consumers are directly linked, allowing people to have a personal connection

Making the Connection with their food and the land on which it was produced. Community members commit to Three years ago. University of Milwaukee instructor Amy Callahan strolled down the aisle of a particular farm in the late winter and early a neighborhood grocery store, her baby Joe on her hip, picking up ingredients to complete the spring by purchasing an advance share of the family's menu for the week. Checking the expiration date on a carton of cage-free eggs, her produce the farmer intends to grow. A com- eyed lingered a moment over the block-font letters identifying the eggs" city of origin: New mitment to working a set number of hours on

Jersey. "How long did it take for them to get here, and who handled them along the way?" she the farm is often accepted in lieu of cash pay- wondered. ment. In return, shareholders are rewarded Nearly 40 years ago, amid similar concerns over the increase in imported foods, the con- with weekly deliveries of organic, responsi- sistent loss of farmland to development, and the migration of farmers to the cities, a group of bly grown foods freshly picked that morning. homemakers in Kobe, Japan, approached a local farmer with a request to provide fresh, organi- The first delivery of fresh strawberries, rhu- cally grown produce to the families in their village. In exchange for the farmer's commitment barb, peas, and herbs arrive in early June and to the community, they were provided with advance "subscription" funds, to assist with the continue through the first frosts in autumn. purchase of the materials required in order to plant the season's first crops. Callahan and her family now enjoy

The movement of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) made its way to the United weekly deliveries of fresh produce and eggs

States in 1985 and has been steadily developing in a variety of approaches across the country. from a family farm just outside of the city. "I A CSA farm may exclusively or collectively offer garden produce, eggs and dairy, meats and like the idea of having one person, or a fam- poultry, honey or flowers. The land may be managed by cooperative of workers, a single family, or a cooperative — an extended family, if o ily or, as in the case of Laura Jean Comerford, an individual. you will — handling the produce. They put o N above, youth workers lend to the Gallery 37 site in Chicago. Gallery 37 is an oper) block in the middle of downtown, on which Growing Power has installed a garden. Youth groups were highly

involved In installing, harvesting, and selling the harvest at the market.

it in the ground, they take it out, it goes in the houses have been shut down and formerly lit- ganizations w ith afier-school programs. The

box, and it comes to me. That's very appeal- tered streets cleared. tbods provided will come from small family ing." In addition to the transfomiation and re- farms.

mediation of vacant lots. Growing Power has Although introducing technical ways Breaking Urban Ground developed innovative techniques for garden- and means to improve current agricultural ing without digging into the ground. Demon- practices are integral parts of the movement

Back in the city, urban fanning is finding its strations of window urban gardening, a sys- toward urban farming and communitv sup-

place in the scheme of sustainable agriculture tem of building long raised channels of rich ported agriculture, it is the impression of hope

and community building. soil on top of asphalt, have started to appear and energy that prev ails. "W hen people come

In an effort to revitalize a rapidly declin- in empty parking lots and mid-city concrete here, probably one ofthe most powerful things

ing and neglected neighborhood known as blocks in Milwaukee. Chicago. Neu 'S'ork. about this place is not me talking to people, it

Walnut Way, Sharon and Larry Adams took and Boston. is when people come in here and start kwk- the energy and inspiration from a Growing ing around, start looking at the systems, and Power forum on urban fanning to transform Tomorrow's Farmers they get excited, then they want to do some- brown vacant lots into verdant patches brim- thing." says Allen. "So when they leave here,

ming with fresh flowers, kale, cabbage, and Last year o\er 2,000 \isitors from around my goal is. not how much is learned, they can

collard greens. The resulting Walnut Way the city, across the country, and three conti- get a lot of that stutTin schools, but the mam

Conser\ation Corp. is the first group of its nents came to the Cirovving Power Commu- thing is for them to leave here excited about

kind to get perpetual possession of the three nity Food Center for hands-on training and starting their project, because that is the hard-

lots and two houses from the city of Milwau- guided educational tours. Among them were est thing to do." In short, "The idea is to get kee. a group of teachers from .lapan. members of tliem to put the shove! in the ground." if Bobbie Evans, a member of the Wal- Heifer International, and representatnes from

nut Way community for 20 years, regularly the National Resource and Conserv alion Ser- Jennifer I'anJenplas is a gnnindeJ traveler

participates in the maintenance of these gar- vice-USDA Civil Rights Division, all shanng nriiinji fnmt \fKE. ii'l USA. o Jens "It's given me a peace of mind, it helps a common interest in promoting sustainable rsj me put something back into the community, local agriculture. shous the kids I'm doing something posiii\e Growing Power recenlly hired a nutri- for the neighborhood." Since the gardens tionist with the intention of launching a train-

have mo\ed into the community, pride in the ing and evaluation program for afier-school restoration and maintenance of the ncigh- meals, with the hope of becoming a national borhooil has cauuht on. as manv of the ilruu model for schools and communitv -based or- O Port Townsend, Washington is not what you'd call a punk town. We're famous for our Victorian architecture and big pretty parks and dinky tourist shops. But like most small towns, there's a wealth of secrets that the tourists don't see. One of

those secrets is the Boiler Room. The Boiler Room describes itself as "a youth-oriented and community-owned coffeehouse providing a venue for growth, learning and the empowerment of individuals in

their community" — and it's more than just grant writing rhetoric.

Walk into the Boiler Room, and the first thing you'll probably notice

is the kids. Lurking around on the sidewalk, with the sullen smirks and multicolored hair of marginalized small-town teens everywhere, clutching their paper cups of coffee and smoking cigarettes someone

else had to buy for them. Maybe they'll inspire in you a little surge of nostalgia for your own painful and ugly adolescence, all your out-

landish fashions and thrashy music, all the nights you spent sulking

in grocery-store parking lots with your friends waiting for something

to happen, waiting to get old enough to leave.

Walk in on a Sunday afternoon and you may be offered a bowl of soup by the kids who run the weekly soup kitchen. Tuesday night

is zine night, Thursday night is open mic, Sunday night is movie

night — the whole thing is organized by the kids. "I wanted to start a zine library and they were totally open to the idea," says Chloe, Boiler Room zine librarian, volunteer barista and self-described "windowseat frequenter." "The house carpenter [who serves double duty as the music coordinator's dad] buih a shelf right away and

other people brought in zines for the library. The Boiler Room is a great incubator for ideas because they're very supportive." The Boiler Room has been around for a decade. Solo musician and Moldy Peaches frontwoman Kimya Dawson, a Port Townsend expatriate, has watched the Boiler Room grow from a hole-in-the-

wall basement coffee shop to its present location in a storefront up-

town. "I've been hanging out here for thirteen years and it's different A Room of Their Own kids, some of the same kids; but it's pretty much the same thing," little harder to main- It's the people that make Port Townsend's she says. "Some years kids have to work a tain a space for themselves. Sometimes it's established already and best-kept secret so unique. they're just so used to having something like the Boiler Room that

they don't realize what a special thing that is. It's just a cycle. They

take it for granted, it deteriorates and then they build it up again."

These days the Boiler Room is surrounded by upscale breakfast

joints and fancy bakeries. It's maybe the last cool thing in my tiny town, the one bastion of earthy funkiness in a place quickly becoming overrun by rich retirees and high-rolling tourists. For the past decade the Boiler Room has been run by kids, for kids; and though half

the time it's at war with a township hell-bent on remaking itself as a monument to an invented past, somehow the Boiler Room has survived, remaining a haven for tiny green-haired youth in their tattered

black jackets, a life raft in a sea of pseudo- Victorian architecture. To most of the people who hang out there, who grew up throw-

ing shows on the tiny stage or writing tortured poetry late at night on

the sidewalk, the Boiler Room is a hell of a lot more than a coffee

shop. It's a safe place, a little patch of love. Sometimes the coffee's

not so great and the service is a little surly. The art on the walls isn't always awe-inspiring and the bands are often out of tunc; but that's HBBEI the best part: You are being invited in to a space that isn't yours, a space removed from the demands and vagaries of adults, and if you

don't like it you are more than welcome to leave. The decisions are

not yours to make. If you want to have an art show, the kids will put

your art on the walls. If you want to start a band, they'll let you play a

show. If you want to sit at a table all day drinking coffee and talking

to yourself, no one will look at you twice. The kids will let you come on in and hang out for as long as you want, as long as you leave them

alone and let them run their coffee shop. "sV

sarah contrary edits the zine glossolalia, available online at O www. clamormagazine, org. Email her at enormajean@hotmail. com sarah contrary photos Jesse Vohs W S\ ©lffiffi)ll[I% Dil [JDlMliM

Hawk and YInka with students at the Forum for African Women Educatio'

Working with the Trauma Victims of Sierra Leone

< Robert Hirschfield

dozen or so men sat around a large table to Harlem. Dr. Yinka Akinsulure Smith and Safe havens are a part of Haw k"s family Ain Harlem, all from Sierra Leone, the her husband. Dr. Hawthorne "Hawk" Smith, history. His grandparents in Marvland ran a war-torn nation in West Africa. Some had both psychologists at the Bellevue/New York home for homeless African- American chil- been in New York for a few weeks, others a University Program For Survivors of Tor- dren during the Depression. His father, a suc- few years. The recent arrivals, poor and ille- ture, have been working with survivors of cessful artist, grew up in that extended family, gal, carried with them the scene of the crime: Sierra Leone's civil war since 1995. "There variations of which Hawk would later find in a land in which thousands of people were were only a few Sierra Leoneans at the be- Sierra Leone, where people took in those who killed, tortured, robbed, raped, and displaced ginning," said Hawk, an African-American had lost e\ crything in the war. in the eleven-year civil war that had ravaged originally from Philadelphia. "But as the By contrast. Yinka "s famiK her fa-

their country since 1991 . People slowly stood civil war intensified, we were seeing more ther was a psychologist, her mother a librar- up and introduced themselves. One man gave and more Sierra Leoneans coming for treat- ian was one of the many bnitali/cd by the a report on conditions back home. Another ment. They came with nothing. Something war. Some were killed, some had their homes announced plans for a local summer camp needed to be done beyond the clinical work burned down when the rebels stormed the

for Sierra Leonean children. A shy newcomer we were doing." The couple founded \cili capital Frcctow n. ^'inka recalled the misguid- hesitated to speak at first, and was welcomed He Yone (The name means "This is Ours" in ed optimism surrounding the founding of the

in Krio {ihc native language of Sierra Lconc), Krio)in 1997. RUF (Revolutionary United Front.) "It was which encouraged him to relax and say a few "The big thing we do at \ah He Yone." supposed to be a movement 'for the people, " words. Yinka said, "is to give back to Sierra Leone- by the people. For the members of ,\a lie Ydhc, a sup- ans a sense of community. People share the Beginning with the intention to over- port group for Sierra Leonean emigres, these same language, the same food, the same his- throw the comipt .Ml Peoples Congress gov-

meetings are a homecoming of sorts, a safe tory. They feel a sense of the identiu thc> ernment of Joseph Momo and led by one-time

ha\ en. a piece of Sierra Lconc transplanted have lost." photographer Fodav Sankoh. the movement quickly degenerated into an army of thugs ment relationship with someone that perpetrat- "In our work, you are constantly hearing that swept across rural Sierra Leone and ened crimes against the Sierra Leonean people." about and seeing the effects of the worst things gulfed Freetown in 1999 before being pushed Survivors of the brutal war in Liberia, human beings can do to one another," Hawk back by the troops of ECOMOG (the West the brutal regime in Cameroon, and the ca- said. "You don't want to become involved so African peace-keeping contingent, also cited lamity of displacement in southwest Africa deeply that you become overwhelmed and for human rights abuses). A British-led U.N. have also been appearing at Nah We Yone's swamped. But at the same time it's important peacekeeping force finally brought an end to doors. They come for the legal, medical, and to remain open and stay sensitive to the sto- the war. mental health assistance the group offers. Cli- ries and the details." Yinka and Hawk tried to explain the ents are referred to public hospitals like Har- Despite everything. Hawk and Yinka unexplainable. Sierra Leone was noted for lem Hospital that cannot turn people away for remain optimistic about Sierra Leone. A web its history of tribal and religious harmony. It inability to pay. They are directed to Human of healing is slowly forming over its legion of was one of the more stable countries in West Rights First for pro-bono legal services, and w ounds. Counseling centers have been set up Africa. (Rebels from the Liberian civil war to Yinka for therapy when time permits. for raped women. Ceremonies of repentance crossed over into Sierra Leone to fight with For other emigres who might be con- involving former rebels are taking place. The the RUF.) templating forming similar grassroots groups contrite perpetrators buy food for a communi-

"In the case of the RUF, we can see out of blood, ashes, and flight. Yinka advises ty meal, serve everyone, and before everyone how the nature of war has changed," Hawk them to "Identify the needs, identify like- confess their wrongdoings and ask for forgive- reflected. "The conventional wisdom used to minded people, and set a goal. You can do a ness. The ceremonies are called Pull Sara. be that by defeating the opposing army, you lot with limited resources. WTien we started "It is very important that people real- control the population. Now, it seems, if you Nah We Yone, we had a fundraiser. We invited ize that Sierra Leone is not just a country of control and dominate the civilian population, friends to our house, and passed around the victims but a country of survivors." Hawk the army will fail, the government will fall. hat. We made SI 50. We used that money to said. "One thing the rebel insurgency did not We are not talking about haphazard violence, buy stamps, stationary, to write to people who do was pit one ethnic group against another, but inflicting terror so that communities will couldn't come. It took five years for people to one religion against another ... As a result, the no longer support the government." see what we could do and fund us." tradition of people being able to relate across

The RUF gained notoriety for hacking On one occasion, Nah We Yone was able those lines remained intact. When there are otT people's limbs. There are not many am- to work a small miracle. A mother, arriving in group meetings here, you will find a Moslem putees in New York — in Sierra Leone, there America as a stowaway, was distraught at be- sitting next to a Christian, a Mende sitting are amputee camps. In New York, those who ing separated from her children, thought to be next to a Krio. There is a tolerance, an ability go around armless can attract unwelcome at- refugees somewhere in Guinea. Nah We Yone to look beyond tribes and social classes that tention. People pry, want to know what hap- paid for ads to run on the radio in Conakry. helps Sierra Leoneans reconnect." ir pened and why. They said simply: "Your mother is well and "We help refugees formulate how they living in New York. She wants you to contact Robert Hirschfield.is a journalist specializ- want to respond." Yinka said. "Do they want her if you hear this." They may have been the ing in human rights issues. His work has ap- to ignore the person, the questions? Do they only ads ever directed at a handful of indigent peared in Tricycle, Z Magazine, City Limits, want to get into it?" children. The children heard, made contact, d other publications. One young man managed to turn his pre- and were flown from their refugee camp to dicament into a university of the street. While New York. waiting for a bus, he would educate the cu- rious about Sierra Leone, the war, the RUF, all of it. "He was able to turn the issue away from himself, which I think is pretty amazing." Child soldiers posed a special problem. They had been abducted by the RUF after seeing their relatives raped and murdered. The RUF armed them, turned them into themselves. Some became the worst monsters in the monster factory.

"I feel you have to separate out the child soldiers completely because one of the things about the war in Sierra Leone was that a large number of people were coerced," Yinka said. "There were Small Boys Units, Small Girls Units."

But when former child soldiers come to her seeking treatment, she refers them elsewhere. "Ethically, I could not enter into a treat-

Yinka and Hawk outside the mam ottices ot lomahS — the medical school of the Uniuersity of Sierra Leone

"The big thing we do at Nah We Yone is to give back to Sierra Leoneans a sense of community. People share the same language, the same food, the same history. o They feel a sense of the identity they have lost." a moment with / The Icarus Project L Timothy Kelly

Ashley McNamara and Sascha Scatter there to be more dialogue and a higher things; just a lot of dilTerent matrices that founded The Icanis Project, an online level of awareness of these things. I think you are trying to navigate that make it forum for people outside the main- a lot of the problems people go through in difficult to live with contradictions. Like dealing with mental illness is that people being [someone in the community stream struggling with bipolar disor- of an- in their communities don't know how to archists] that doesn't really want to have der They have recently published Nav- react to them because they aren't edu- possessions, that doesn't want to work, or igating the Space Between Brilliance cated about what the symptoms are, what fit those molds, but needs to ha\e health and Madness, a Reader and Roadmap people deal with, what's the difference insurance so they can take medication. I of Bipolar Worlds. Timothy Kelly met between being sad and being depressed, think those communities can potentially with them in Portland, one the stops of when medication makes sense and when make it pretty difficult to cross over if you

on their national book tour. it doesn't. don't fit within the lines that ha\e been drawn.

Tell us a little about how The Icarus Sascha: 1 think if we could be a little

Project got started, grandiose for a second, one of the larger Sascha: On the flip side, one of the things

goals we have is to reframe the way peo- that we really ha\e going for us is that

Sascha: The Icarus Project started out as ple think about mental illness, and rather we are part of more alternative or radical

a way of bringing together folks who are than seeing things like bipolar as a disease communities. I mean, it's so much easier diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder but were or disorder, seeing them as a dangerous for us to get together and organize than the

distrustful of mainstream medicine and gift that needs to be taken care of That's average everyday American whose com- corporate culture and didn't feel like they the whole myth of Icarus, the myth of the munity and cultural activity include going

had a space to be able to find each other. boy who is given wings but doesn't know to w ork, coming home, and w atching tele-

Ashley and I met after I wrote an article in how to fly so he flies too close to the sun \ ision. While we do ha\e a lot to work on. Francisco about the San Bay Guardian my and drowns in the ocean. One of the things I think in some ways it's a lot easier

experience as someone who really hates we are really trying to get out there is that

the pharmaceutical industry, and has been people like us have a lot to offer and it has So where would you like u> go next with involved in radical politics for years, but nothing to do with being pitied. Ashley the Icarus Project?

takes psych drugs every day. We decided and I don't think of ourselves at all as beat that point that we were going to start ing disabled. We are actually really amaz- Sascha: Coming out of an activist back-

this web site. That happened in the fall of ing people who are just very sensitive. ground, and looking at other models and

it 2002, and has just taken off. how they w ork, I don't think either of us are What kind of special challenges do you interested in creating a typical non-profit, Ashley: Since then we"ve been trying to think there arefor people struggling with hierarchical structure. We reall> want the

expand the dialogue that's been going mental illnesses in the anti-aulhoritar- Icarus Project to grow. Right now it's re- on on our site beyond the bounds of the ian/activist communities ? ally just the two of us and then the people

computer screen, and we ended up editing who use our site. Models that I think we

together a book of all the voices talking Sascha: Well just to kind of ft"ame it, there are both really attracted to are groups like about everything from the spiritual di- seems to be a disproportionate amount of Food Not Bombs, The Independent Media mensions of mania to the side effects of people within radical communities that Center. Critical Mass, Art and Re\olution.

Lithium. We compiled this book to fill the struggle with so-called mental illnesses DitTerent groups that ha\e started in one

void that we perceived as far as literature because folks like us ha\e a really hard place and had a really good idea on how that is available for people dealing with time integrating into nonnal society and to do things and then were replicated in mental illness. We wanted to create some- have these opportunities to find higher other towns, so that there wasn't any kind

thing that had a multitude of voices and degrees of freedom than we would in of hierarchical structure w ithin the orga- perspectives and be critical of the main- communities where working ninc-to-fi\c nization but was kind of a network. In our

stream conceptions of mental illness while jobs is sort of the norm. That's one of the ca.se, we would be a network of radical also trying to navigate the existing mental wonderful things about radical communi- support groups. What that actually means "^ health system. We also undertook a tour ties and it's one of the things that ends up is still in the early visionary stages.

across the country because we wanted to posing a lot of challenges because there

talk to people face-to-facc. to open up dia- are a lot of beha\iors that would ordinar- For moiv injo www.theicarusproject.net.

logues that were maybe not happening in ily be warning signs but within our circles You can order the reader in the Clamor

their communities, about what it means to they are kind of normal. infoSHOP al www.clamormagazine.org. be called cra/y in a crazy world and how we can take care of each other .Ashley: I thnik that within any commu- Timothy Kelly is a caw worker in a non-

nity that has established rigid politics profit social ser\ice agency, and is attend- will What arc you hopinii come out of whether it be the community of Chris- ing school seeking a career in naturopath-

this effort'; tian fundamentalists or the community of ic medicine He is heavily into mad adw-

anarchists where there is a prescribed cacy and synthesizers He can he ivached a larger level, just Ashley: On we want set of how you are supposed to think about < ii madliheratorifiriseup. net. wurd^ Kari Lydersen photo Spencer Cunningham

With extensive experience as an educator, administrator, artist, and the eloquence of the people receiving services. We didn't trans- and activist, Loma Gonsalves knows where the fight for human late, we didn't add our ideas or emotions, we simply conveyed their rights and dignity really needs to start — in the communities that are language. And there were people who didn't want to talk to us, who suffering because various aspects of their basic materia! and social basically said fuck you, and that's OK." well-being are threatened. Dawn Miller, a 39-year-old Lourdes student who participated in Gonsalves believes that campaigns and movements should be a He(Art)beats program in a pottery class, described how the group guided by those most affected [by unjust policies and unfair treat- brainstormed about how to make a piece of terra cotta represent the ment]; for example, people who have been cast aside because of rac- outflow and interchange of ideas in society. They came up with an urn ism, classism, sexism, and other forms of oppression, or marginalized inscribed with graffiti-style images representing qualities like com- people in developing countries who bear the brunt of economic glo- passion and courage. balization policies. "We'll cut the bottom of the urn out and make it into a fountain,"

This is the central principle of Community He(Art)bcats, a grass- she said. "It's supposed to represent an outpouring of love and com-

roots community art and social justice program run through an orga- munication." nization Gonsalves founded called Human Values for Transformative Litten noted that unlike visual artists, social workers aren't used to

Action (HVTA). Community He(Art)beats is a wide-ranging project in dealing with visual images, so translating their experience into art was a which groups around her home base of Toledo, Ohio, are producing art challenge. Gonsalves believes in the power of art and images to engage, that reflects and expresses the struggles and aspirations of mistreated inspire, and involve people in a way words alone often cannot. groups. There is a mural painted by young artists working with youth "Some unexpected visual images turned up in the news recently

from the juvenile detention center in Toledo, reflecting their difficult and have opened the world's eyes to the brutal atrocities committed journeys through life and their hopes for the future. And there is a col- by a few U.S. troops and other 'freedom fighters,'" Gonsalves said. "I

lection of items that residents of a Toledo homeless shelter gave to stu- think that visual images can at once capture minds and hearts, bring- dents from nearby Lourdes College displayed along with the words of ing human rights issues to life and revealing the disturbing realities the shelter residents. The artwork will be displayed at the Toledo School around us."

for the Arts on International Human Rights Day December 10. 2004. Taken together, one group of images in the Dec. 10 exhibit is Gonsalves hopes the program will inspire other communities meant to depict the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human around the country and the world to do the same thing. She has started Rights and the mission of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Sci- discussions with human rights workers in South Africa and Geneva entific, and Cultural Organization).

and community leaders in other U.S. cities about the project. Another set of visual images will present the concerns and needs Every He( Art)beats production operates with the central idea that of marginalized groups in the local communities. A special wing will the work must be guided by the people whose stories are being told; contain visual images created by members of religious organizations

for example, juvenile detainees, migrant and seasonal farm workers, whose work "will bring to life the link between spiritual obligations

people with disabilities, depressed individuals, or homeless people. and social action," Gonsalves said.

"We take a lot of inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's concept "We start with the global context and move to the dimension that of swaraj and swadeshi, meaning self-determination and self-suffi- prompts us to think about a common humanity and then move to a ciency," said Gonsalves, a native of India and a former professor and dimension that makes us think about community needs," Gonsalves,

associate provost at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who has who formerly served as the director of global outreach at UNESCO's

now turned her attention to full-time community work. Institute of Comparative Human Rights at the University of Connecti- Lourdes College social work chairperson Joyce Litten, whose cut, explained. "Then we have a part where we collect community

students carried out the discussions with homeless shelter residents, responses to collectively develop a plan of action, all emanating from noted that they went to great lengths to be aware of the impact their the grassroots." i^ presence would have on the shelter and to be respectful of the residents and their input. She said the interaction was especially powerful For more information or to support the Community He(Art)beats pro- since many Lourdes students are "non-traditional" college students gram, visit the HVTA website at www.hvta.org or email [email protected]. who have themselves been recipients of social services in the past. o "We talked a great deal about the word empowerment and what Kari Lydersen is a Chicago-basedjournalist writingfor The Washing- o. that means, about allowing people to speak for themselves," she said. ton Post, In These Times and other publications and a youth journal- "We wanted to impress on the students the dignity of the individual ism instructor She can be reached at karilyder(aj,yahoo.com o above. The Community He(Art)beats youth and the "Journles Towards Hope" mural, above right. Lorna Gonsalves connects local efforts with the global W agenda by discussing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ul LiP: Informed Revolt Flabb«rgasting "Thaft" Issu* On Shelves Now

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available at your local bookstore or "'">'. New Society Publishers direct at www.newsociety.com 1-800-567-6772 Shovels ground into the four-foot high mound of mud in the road. Several cars were piled either on top or in front of the lump, freshly formed by a sudden landslide following a rainstorm.

This was only a minor obstacle in our t\\ o-day journey through Sich- uan Province to Da Zc Temple ("Temple of the Great Rule"), a small

monastery in a remote region bordering Tibet. Our group consisted of over 20 people, mostly educated young or middle-aged professionals

from Shanghai and Sichuan, all devout followers of a Living Buddha, or Huo Fo, whom they called "master." They represented a growing contingent of people in Chinese society who have both the resources and the will to pursue something

beyond material existence. Overwhelmed or disappointed w ith the in-

flux of material wealth, people \sho came of age in the Refomi Era are moving away from the drive toward wealth and toward another type

of success, in which the profit margin is serenity and the chief asset is

contained not in a bank but in a spiritual vision. From a Western pop cultural perspective, something about Bud-

dhism imbues it with a sort of grace that lets it rise abo\e Westcm doctrines whose public images are tainted by fanaticism. My Western peers, particularly the "crunchy granola" variety abundant on college campuses, seem fascinated by Buddhism's ancient mysticism and seemingly precocious progrcssixism. Perhaps what attracts people

from the developed world to Buddhism is that Buddhism doesn't seek them out. At least on the surface, florid monasteries, archaic scriptures,

and esoteric mantras arc things to be discov ered. Maybe. I thought, as we flew along the mountain road past pine forests and spraw ling crop-

lands, it was the passion of searching that fueled belief o As we climbed higher, the air began to thin and our lungs swelled o steadily with the anticipation of our reaching the destination. When

our three cars stopped for a rest, one of the group leaders, a real estate developer from Sichuan, got out of his car to check up on the oth-

ers. He looked over at me and smiled. "This kid from America really knows how to chi ku," he said, referring to the idiom of "eating bitter," words and photo Michelle Chen the Chinese virtue of being able to sufTer for a goal.

above Monastery youth hitching a ride on a tractor — one ol the only terms ol transport available 00 n above nghl the Living Buddha in search of THE LIVING BUDDHA

Exploring the Tibetan Faith with a Crop of New Believers in China

One of the reasons I came, admittedly, was to see if I could really prayer flags. We followed the lamas up a steep, creaking wooden stair- take the bitterness. To an extent, my motivations were not so different case into an attic housing four compact rooms, the largest of which from those of my companions. One of the key principles of Tibetan was painted with Tibetan patterns and contained a long narrow table

Buddhism is "refuge." The stark, isolated life of religious contem- which was soon piled for us with wrinkled fruit, plates of candy, and plation provides sanctuary from base human impulses. Seekers of simple dishes that were catered specifically for us (the lamas figured

Buddhist salvation must find refuge in moral teachings and shut out we would not be able to stomach their diet of yak meat and dair>' and "worldly deities." greasy porridge). The mood of celebration was dampened by the col- Our common destination provided another type of refuge — that lapse of several of our members on the long couch that ran along the

of the religious community. I was asked by the other travelers whether wall. A young man trained in Chinese medicine had brought a small

I was a "follower." Trying to sound as un-tourist-like as possible. 1 oxygen tank and went around plugging people with a breathing tube.

told them no, I'm just here to "tiyan" — for the experience. But I After our humble feast, we sat in the small living room adjacent

suppose I was a "follower," in the sense that my main purpose in this to the dining room, sipping cloudy hot water (which they had to truck journey was to follow, and like them. I was unsure exactly what it was over from a neighboring region) from paper cups. I sat beside a fellow

1 was following. Shanghai pilgrim, a Taiwanese expatriate businessman named Steven. Though we were mostly strangers to each other, the warmth of He showed me a young, bespectacled lama with a moustache and a siblings imbued people's conversations. and interactions as we talk- lavish gold and maroon robe. This was Huo Fo, the Living Buddha.

ed and ate together on the road. The aloofness that I had frequently The object of our journey.

encountered among other urban dwellers during my time living in "This is our American fhend," said Steven. I stood and shook Shanghai had dissolved. The urban cynicism and instinctive defen- his hand, somewhat underwhelmed by the sight of the Buddha rein-

siveness were temporarily forgotten. It was assumed that (with one carnate. I thought he looked remarkably graceftil. his smooth coun- exception), everyone was on a quest for spiritual gain. tenance distinguishing him from his gaunt, wind-burnt non-Buddha

Four kilometers in the air. the pain that was beginning to seep colleagues.

through our temples felt like our worldly deities tr>'ing to claw us back With the Huo Fo in our midst, the pilgrims seemed finally to feel

into the ordinary world. The China we were coming from was a China safe in the harsh surroundings. I retired to a heap of blankets in a small of cranes and steamrollers. Big Macs and karaoke bars, white collars, square room, beside the rhythmic bowing of a girl about my age, lost

dirty hands, and clenched fists. The "bitter" we were consuming was in intense prayer.

something of an indulgence — to taste it was to realize a fantasy of self-sacrifice. In the morning, we walked about 100 meters to the monastery, a cubic red brick building. The inside was almost completely dark except for

At the last turn, the empty plains that had flanked the bumpy road beams of silver daylight threading through the tiny square windows. burst into a bustling oasis. We saw a field of grazing yaks, dotted with Rows of monks sat on raggedy carpets before small, low wooden

white square tents or zangpeng. Though the sky was now gray and the benches, which held bowls of food and served as prayer altars. In

road slick with rain, the mood was buoyant as we were led by smil- muted primary colors and gold, paintings, statues, prayer flags, and o ing locals through a red arc supported by ropes and decorated with incense crowded into every available space, almost messy, slightly o gaudy. The place felt like an attic that had for centuries been accu- ance, they spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to help build a local

mulating worn, beautiful things that would not fit anywhere else. In school and a new temple.

two elevated thrones draped in green and red brocade cloth presided While the pilgrims found the isolation of the monastery refresh-

two Living Buddhas — the younger Huo Fo, my group's leader, and ing, it was clear that this community was poor in almost every way

another Huo Fo of about fifty. imaginable. There was no industrv. no infrastructure, and a primitive

The scent of damp wood hung in the sedate atmosphere of the school system. Yet they prospered in the one aspect in which city life

room. The oddly musical guttural chanting of mantras in trance-like, was destitute: faith. What little these people had was funneled into a

blurred unison alternated with stretches of pregnant silence. What we communion with divinity. The Westernized pilgrims cherished their

were witnessing, I realized, was the ritual that formed the center of Li\ing Buddha and ornate temples as embodiments of an internal life

the monastic life. The sole mission of the monks was to cultivate their they had forgotten and then, through journeys like this, reclaimed.

mind through nicdilation and the study of scriptures. The room we had Most of the group decided to leave after two days, ready to return

above. Iibet.jn gi!\'> waiting outside the temple for the ceremony to begin, above right-. Twu Mu

a picture during the break between prayer ceremonies.

entered as observers — clumsily heaped against a back wall — was to conventional, worldly lifestyles. As we packed into our cars, the la- their place of refuge, a sanctuary that had opened, momentarily, for mas and ruddy local children crowded around us and \\a\ed goodbye.

us. Though we had not been there long enough for either side to feel much

I hesitated as I wondered whether taking pictures would disturb sentimentality, each visitor had left behind an ephemeral impression

them. When 1 saw that others were using digital cameras to record the of the civilization beyond this mountain range and had stolen ofTwith

event, including a lama in his thirties, I guiltily decided that no one a tiny piece of this place upon departing.

would object if 1 joined in. Some younger monks smiled and gathered I myself had not been spiritually reborn as a pilgnm should. Per-

behind people's cameras, intrigued by the glowing vicwfinders. It be- haps the outside world had cut too deeply into me. But I had glimpsed came clear that suddenly we were the spectacle. a part of the world and a part of my fellow travelers that captured both The highlight of the mid-morning ceremonies was the procession the purest desires and the deepest confusions of human nature. Maybe led by the Shifu, or master of my group. He quietly led other monks all of us, belie\ers and non-belie\ers alike, were working through the through the aisles distributing shimmering colored prayer scarves to same riddle, caught up in the wish that we could return to a pure wa\

each lama, as well as to the visitors, who bowed graciously as they of life, a more holistic society, despite being tainted by the pollutants

received the gift. After the young, handsome Huo Fo had made his of our atomized modernity. Could our reality be transmuted through a

rounds shaking hands with beaming devotees, dozens of followers simple journey? Maybe that's what faith is. it lined up before the thrones to present the two Huo Fos with red enve-

lopes stuffed with cash. I sensed a contrast between the stoic rituals The reporting for this article was done during a year-long Fulbrighi that had occupied most of the morning and this sudden focus on the research fellowship in China. Now hack in her native New York. Mi-

Huo Fos" celebrity. This last ritual was for us, the outsiders — a mea- chelle Chen has been involved with various independent media proj-

sured bit of publicity before the monastery once again retreated into ects. She can be reached at [email protected]. seclusion. the lama with the was tilniing us for a o Perhaps camcorder o promotional video. Help ensure clamor's future

( omparcd to their humble daily existence, the expense of hosting us W as an amplifier of independent voices.

must have been exorbitant. The monastery. I learned from Steven, de- pended on the contributions of followers, who included many well-off SUBSCRIBE NOW ^ like our group. In return divine guid- professionals, for the Huo Fo's online at www.clamormagazine.org ^ O $18 for 6 issues Functional Inequity

Despite progress made on many fronts in

America, millions in the deaf community

are still struggling to be heard.

Jamie Berke is forced to go to a doctor who doesn't speaic her primary language. Joshua Flanders thinks it's wrong that millions of Americans can't walk into any theater to see

a movie. Jesse Thomas is angry that he cannot watch "The Simpsons." For millions of deaf and hard of hearing people,

even the most basic and necessary information is often inaccessible, and becoming even less so, as the government cuts funding for programs and services.

Issues of the deaf community often fall under the um- brella of the Disabilities Act, which calls for "functional equivalency." In his statement to the 47th Annual Confer-

ence of National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Michael J. Copps, the FCC Commisioner, addressed the government's accomplishments and failures in providing for the needs of millions of citizens. "The term [functional equivalency] may sound inelegant, but for the deaf and hard of hearing

it translates into equal opportunity, equal rights, and fuller

participation in our society." This fuller participation should

be evident in all aspects of life. However, many leaders in

the deaf community would argue that much still needs to be done.

Film and TV Captioning

For example, take the fight for movie captioning. Caption-

ing of films, like television shows, is not mandatory by law. Thus, many movies and television programs are inaccessible. Recently, the Bush administration exacerbated the problem by cutting funding for a number of captioned programs and services — the government would no longer compensate media outlets that provided captions tor these programs. Barry Strassler, editor oi Deaf Digest, the largest circulation deaf

interest magazine in the world, sees it as negligence on the part of the media. "Problems will continue as long as those in

the media industry continue to pinch pennies," he said. "Rak-

ing in billions of dollars but pleading poverty when it comes to paying to caption a one-hour TV program." G On the subject of film captioning, Joshua Flanders, the Q L//M- executive director of Chicago Institute for the Moving Image —i-i (CIMI), agrees it's an issue of money. "When President Bush

continued next page worcJc Yolanda Best

illustration Brandon Bauer

o I

proposed to cut the captioning for 200 tele- Video Relay Services ties - creating new technologies for the ben-

vision shows that were previously captioned, efit of every American." It will take a serious without reason or warning, that could be a Video Relay Services (VRS) are one such effort from deaf and hearing communities,

Ibnn of censorship," he said. "But the lack service. VRS are public on-demand ser- and a genuine commitment from Copps' ovv n

of captioning in theaters is a new subject, and vices provided by private telecommunica- commission, the FCC, to breach the disparity recent lawsuits have forced theaters to install tions companies that allow a deaf person to and reach a greater level of functional equiva- rear-window captioning." communicate with a hearing person over the lency. As Berke points out, the issues of the Rear-window captioning shows captions phone. The service provides a signing inter- deaf community are really everyone's issues.

on a smaller screen designed for individual preter who is accessible via phone or Internet "Todav "s hearing person could be tomorrow's

use. According to Flanders, this alternative, camera to act as. a link between the parties. hard of hearing or deaf person. Not meeting

though not ideal for deaf audiences who must The government compensates companies that the needs of deaf people is what makes deaf focus on two screens during a viewing, has provide VRS services. people disabled - not the hearing loss itself" been settled on as the most equitable solution. In 2003, with less than 24-hour notice, Together the deaf and hearing communities

"1 have asked rear-window captioners as well the FCC cut its compensation rate. A board of can ensure that the spirit of the American

as theater owners, and they tell me that hear- members who were not identified made this Disabilities Act is followed and that one day

ing people do not like to see captions on the decision. This board determined the cuts by a every American is given an equal functional

screen," Flanders said. "Theaters also com- set of specifications that were not made avail- base on which to live their life, "tt plain that they will not make enough money able to the companies. VRS providers were

showing captioned films, or that they cannot left with no idea which cost services would be To learn more about NAD visit: wAvw.nad.org show them during peak hours such as holi- compensated by the government and which or phone 301-587-1788/ TTY 301-587-1789. days when deaf children are the most free to would not. In essence, they would have to To learn more about CIMI visit: vv"ww.deaf- see films." submit their expenses and accept a lower cineina.org or phone'TTY (847) 332-CIMI.

CIMI, however, is taking action to im- rate of compensation with no explanation as To learn more about AT&T's VRS service prove accessibility for deaf audiences. In to how that figure was reached. This was not visit: www.attvrs.com

2002, it held a captioned viewing of the Pixar an acceptable situation to most companies

movie Monsters, Inc. "When I saw 300 deaf which, in turn, drastically reduced services YolanJa Best is a freelance writer, sociol-

children with their faces in awe at the wonder for deaf clients. The FCC cut VRS provider ogy- student at USE and volunteer in the deaf

of a new movie, especially when most have compensation again in 2004 using the same community. She writes fiction, sci-fi, and so-

never been in a movie theater, there was no unknown specifications. cial commentary: To learn more about her

question why I was doing it and why I would "All of us need to remind the FCC that or fi)r contact info please visit w'w%\. Writing.

continue to do it." functional equivalency is supposed to be our Com/authors/ybest

guiding star," said Commissioner Copps in Health Issues his statement. According to Copps, the com-

mission is working to provide a set of clari-

Not all problems of the deaf community re- fied rules. Recently. Senator Mark Dayton ceive such attention. Jamie Berke. the Deaf- of Minnesota proposed an amendment that ness/Hard of Hearing guide on About.com, would provide a 50 percent tax credit to both points out that accessibility to proper health movie studios and theaters that make caption- care and health information continues to be ing available. In other good news, the Con-

an issue. "Deaf people ha\e sued for inter- necticut house raised a bill that would require

preters for medical appointments." she says. all health insurers to provide coverage for "My own most recent insurer did not provide interpreter services for covered hearing-im-

interpreters and I had to make do with writing paired individuals when receiving care under notes with my doctors." Being unable to fully a policy. communicate with doctors can become espe- However, deaf civic organizations say

cially hazardous when serious or life-threat- it is the vocal citizens in both hearing and ening health issues are involved. Currently deaf communities that make the government 5-Ai3lafj:^jy i^J ;ial33UH- Original, handwrit- there is no law requiring that health insurers act. Citizens like the 600. representing all 50 ten zine from 1 999. that would go on to comprise provide qualified interpreters during doctor states, who attended the 2004 "Silence No 40% of ^he Crimethinc book. Contains the almost famous 'lost Evasion material" - 10 pages cut for the visits for their deaf clients. More!" rally in Washington D.C. The rally book. Including 6 pages of scams Back in prir|t for thf first time in years. Revised layout w/new history According to Strassler, slanted coverage addressed the issue of the absence of caption- of insert. Full size. 108 pgs. $2ppd

in various including bus and train of many deaf issues by the media can cause ing venues 5'/u3l'J/J -S^ii'-i. '^-i - All new handwritten zine version of tne Evasion book-only material, with the hearing world to not fully understand the depots and captioning of instructions during added graphics, commentary, intro/outro material, and cut-andjjaste personality a typed book can needs of the community. "As long as news- emergencies such as natural disasters. For in- never offer The Crimethinc book as it was meant to - papers highlight the isolated 'deaf success' stance, during Flurricane Charley, which hit be seen. Stories you may or may not have read cominp to life, maybe for the first time 1 20+ pgs. stories but ignore the 'deaf failure cases' then the southeastern United States, ABC News ^NEVr $2ppd

we are presenting a false image." says Stras- provided no captioning, Strassler said. Ac- 5'A!3l'j/) tili^y The Summer Supplement. Part one subtitled Outtakes and Rarities Part II; First sler. "Like the story of a deaf child being able cording to Copps, "deaf should not mean draft excerpts from the upcoming Evasion - Book II. Pre-rewrite. pre-not-sucking. Full size, handwritten. o to speak well or lip read well giving a false "silent" on important issues involving the o 26 pgs. $ I ppd impression that every single deaf child can do community's needs. iioogknmMhiiK com the same." The images of the 'deaf success" "Your participation can make the ditTer-

storv in the media coverage tend to obscure cncc in deciding vs hcilicr wc can get these lat- S»«m (AVMLAKi M tLACK OK VVMTI.SZE SHLXU real to est said, address- the issues the community continues problems behind us," Copps -Mrakv O) t»^ Aknm- booMK WPKI face, especially since recently, many of these ing the members of NAD, "and then get on

gains are being withdrawn. with the challenges of using these opportuni- rm>A«M ««\i Od I It UnsTsIa)*) Vkfx Sn^ te

(VJ George B. Sanchez u. Jon Shiedewitz www.kickittilitbreaks.com

"There's an authenticity to distortion, you know. Weaketthans, from where he's from; as the singer for the It's hard 10 separate John K. Samson Maybe that's why outsider in the world of punk & pop. ha, guy ^rPropaghandi. a Canad.an and comes from somewhere out ,de - it has plaee, it has hts.ory, his must is so endearing to stream ou of eemer that most popular musie tends * ^o^tng studto, far from the vapid show at San Franetsco s Bottom oppormniw to meet ttp with John after a One rl^^gh. 1 had the relationship to music, place, and politics. of the Hill club and talk about his

Clarnor: In an interview with a Canadian mu- Is that something you strive for through your quo of that period. The mainstream art we sic magazine, you said that you thought the music and your songwriting? see around us is definitely selling something, role of the artist is to point out how compli- selling the status quo, selling things as they cated the world is. Yeah, I think so. I think I've tried to take the are, not things as they should be. You know,

specific details of the life 1 see around me and so that's why art is important. It's important

JKS: Sounds about right. the way I fit into it and the way I think other to get up there and express yourself if you've

people fit into it, in my community — and try got something to say.

Is there a fine line between sloganeering and to express that through music. That's how 1 being heartfelt? think of what I do, in a political sense. / have a .statement that I think leads into a question. I differentiate between punk and " I think my point was that the world is very One debate, one statement I've never really "punk rock because I think there s a separa- " complicated and ju.st full of voices. I thini< understood is "art for arts sake. tion between punk as an ideology and punk the role of the artist is to express or illumi- rock as a musical sound. Punk rock, politically nate those voices and add them to the mi.x. If Me neither. I don't think art can exist in a and musically, is often categorizedJor its ur- you listen and try to understand another per- vacuum. It has to be received by someone in gency. You left a band, Propagandhi, that had son, you immediately invest that person with order to exist. It has to do something in the a much more urgent sound, I would say, than dignity and that's a very political thing. You world. Art for arts sake is never — I don't the music you 're making with the Weakerthans. can't oppress someone whose dignity you re- think it can be true. If someone says that their So, I guess my question is; has the change in spect, so I think it's a liberal and radicalizing art is not political, that's a political statement medium affected your message at all? idea, to try and understand another person. in itself.

That's what great music does and what great I always think about that John Berger That's a good question, I haven't really o art strives for. quote: the art of any period serves the status thought of it that way. But, I think there's still Ik an immediacy to what we do. I mean, frankly, of history that we can't see out of. Anything inescapable and great. Part of the great thing

it's the only music I know how to write, first that's created is de\ourcd and spat out by the about music is that it has these elements that olT. The kind of songs we write, they're cer- market within twenty minutes of its creation. are just there and they're always going to be

tainly not rhetorically political, they're not It doesn't have time to kind of grow and to there for you. you just walk into them.

stridently political in any sense of the idea of exist, which is another reason why I'm in-

propaganda. terested in places that are isolated, like small With a title like "Ernest Shackleton. "you ex-

towns, small cities. But you're right. It's a pect something pretentious, but it "s sort ofthis

Is there a placefor propaganda within popu- strange time to be alive. It seems really odd bouncy, .sort ofa — if s afun song. lar music? to me.

Yeah. People have been accusing me lately of

Absolutely. I'm just not the person to do it. Is it ever really not a strange time though? being a bit pretentious. I always say. well. I'd

I can't be that person. It's important, politi- rather err on the side of pretension than pre-

cally, for people to figure out what they love No, it's not. Yeah, you're right, but we have tending to be stupid. I think that's a real prob-

to do. 1 think once you figure out what you our specific strangeness and pop music is a lem in the life of the American intellectual.

love to do, then you can figure out how to har- reflection of that. I think the There's a real desire from ness that into some kind of action that makes great kind of flashes people —

a mark in the world. So, this, for better or for of truth emerge from

worse, is what I've figured out how to do. people expressing what To plead ignorance. may be mundane things,

Why is geography so important to you as a you know, details, the Yeah, to just pretend that song writer? kind of nuts and bolts they don't read books.

of life. All these college kids in

1 guess I've always been attracted to what rock bands pretending

people think of as regional writers. I think of Doesn 'l it drive you nuts that the> ha\ent been

novelists like Paul Auster, who writes about that those "isolated" to college and I'm like,

New York and he creates this New York that places are also striving well — I never went to

doesn't really exist but seems quite alive to to he like the homog- college, I hasen't been to

me. It's his New York, you know, but it gives enized city centers? a uni\ersity, I'm interest-

you a new way of looking at the world. ed in this stuff. I'm not a

I think I'm also interested in margins. In the city I'm from, the very intellectual person,

I'm from a geographically marginal place. focus is entirely that life but I'd like to be. That's

It's a good metaphor for me. I'm interested in is elsewhere, that life w hat 1 aspire to be.

people that are marginalized and places that is going on somewhere

are marginalized have the same character as else. Toronto is the cul- The Weakerthans. would

marginalized people. tural center of Canada. I you say they are an ex-

always think of people in periment in the greater That being said, would you ever think about Winnipeg staring towards Toronto as people potential ofpop music?

leaving the place that you 're from? in Toronto stare towards New York; no one is

ever really looking at themselves, you know, I wouldn't go that far. I mean, in my fanta-

Oh yeah, absolutely. 1 think about it all the or looking at each other. It's a weird feature in sy world, sure, but that's not for me to say.

time. I think about it every other day. a sped-up culture, in a culture that has become There's a real impulsive thing behind creation

more and less mediated at the sainc time. too that you can't, that 1 can't, don't know

So what keeps you in Winnipeg? how to intellectualize and wouldn't want to.

As a songwriter. I think with this record, you It's just that impulse to make noise.

I don't know. It's the place I understand best. I experimented more with narrative. "Plea

" love it and I hate it. It just seems that I should From a Cat Named Virtue. "Dinner with Maybe that son of leads back to. again, " stay. And 1 want to stay. 1 think there will be Foucault. What prompted that? academic debates about authenticity within

a time when I'll go away but I'm always go- music, which. I mean, ultimately, you just go

ing to come back there. It's always the place The narrative? around in circles again.

I'm going to return to. It's home and even if

I don't physically return there, I'm always Yeah — was it a conscious e.xperimeni? That's true. It's like when people go up to a

going to be writing about that place. It's just no\elist and get mad at them for their stories

the place I've figured out, I want to try and Yeah, it was a conscious kind of experiment. not being true. It's like. well, that's not what

express what I feel about it and I haven't been I think the last record was fictional too, but we're trying to do. There's an authenticity to

able to do that yet. I've still got some work these ones are kind of, more blatantly fic- distortion, you know. I think — I keep com-

to do on it. You know. I'm ne\er going to be tional. I really wanted to kind of try that. You ing back to the word reconstruction. .\ recon-

£ satisfied and that's what keeps me going. know, pop music is a very emotional genre. struction of realit\ is not necessarily any less

"5 real than reality. It's always — it's useful in a "^ Do you think in general though, within popu- Emotionally driven as opposed to technically, way. to kind of rein\ent the world. "^ g lur music, there's a loss oj a sense of place'.' like classical? '^ And how does that lit into a homogenous. Cicoigc Sanchez's work Ihis appealed in the

* niiirkcl culture' It's all emotional. Another John Bcrger quote London Ciuardian. Punk Planet Mother Jones. > o is that music began as a howl, became a and El Andar. among other publications. ^ I ihink it's really hard to locate yourself any- prayer, and then a lament and it still contains Originally from .Arcadia. C.4. he now lives ix'/wrter g where in the world because history seems to elements of all three That's a quote I always in .Salinas and works as a full-time

•5 be moving so quickly. We're in this trough come back to and I think it's reallv tme. It's Write him at gbemanisanchezdaojaol.com crp r^ r:^

Projects Helping Projects Helping Projects

wofd Daniel Tucker Rini Templeton

Michael Wolf admits that what he does inner-neighborhood sustainable living. More Templeton 's graphics to a broader audience is essentially the same thing that every- recently, everything from zine libraries and for use in political campaigns. one else does. Informally sharing resources discussion groups to skill-sharing events The book is out of print, and Rini passed among family and friends is something that have been popular, proving helpful as artists away in 1986, but the web site created by her most people do just to survive, cut costs, or and activists continuously try to find ways to foundation continues to distribute her work save space. A year ago, Michael, an artist build their communities. for free. The web site's format is not uncom- living in Chicago, started the NCAAV (the A "platform" is an initiative that helps mon these days; sites featuring downloadable Network of Casual Art Audio Visual depart- to foster/create/enable other initiatives. Like materials for use in political campaigns have ment) which lends out a small pool of good events in punk and activist communities proliferated in recent months. For instance, quality A/V equipment like video projectors spawned by the DIY (do it yourselO ethic, see the download section of the Rncnotwel- and cameras to "out-of-pocket initiatives run platform projects attempt to create situations come.org site or the pictures of street art col- by artists and activists, people whom I admire that build alternatives to profit-centered, im- lected at Stopbushproject.com. This mode of and whose work I want to support." personal, and unethical methods of exchange. information collection and dispersal is remi- Asked about the motivation for starting Instead, they foster alternative economies niscent of an earlier, more centralized New the NCAAV equipment lending library Wolf where sharing, cooperation, collaboration, York-based initiative of the 1980s called Po- says, "I wanted to meet new people." Mike bartering, and/or gift-exchange are the sys- litical Art Documentation/Distribution. PAD/ had been an artist working in fairly conven- tems at work. The platform created by these D wanted to encourage and share tjie many tional ways for a while, making "pictures projects is not the literal physical space or political street graphics of the early 1980s, as hung on walls." "I really felt like that way of stage for exchange seen in the banks and in- well as serve as an archive and a resource. working was coming to a dead end on some stitutions that flourish under capitalism. They Artists and activists have always found level, and I thought about finding some way are more conceptual and virtual spaces where ways to spread graphics, images, content, to expand my associations. I thought that a creative exchange occurs, spawns more ex- and slogans to create a visible presence in way to meet those people and participate was change, and continuously expands. Platforms the world and more engaging fonns of resis- to play a supporting role in the culture that in- are projects that help projects help projects. tance. The methods, though not the strategies, terested me." Essentially what Mike gets out pioneered by artists like Rini Templeton and of providing a free service to artists and activ- Graphics Platforms and Reproducible Art collectives like PAD/D have shifted with the ists in need of audio/visual equipment is the growth of the Internet. The ideas are very opportunity to help strengthen a community Rini Templeton dedicated her whole life to much the same even though the tools have of like-minded individuals, the possibility creating easily reproducible artwork primar- been updated. of chance encounters with interesting artists, ily around Central American struggles; she and the occasional free ticket to a community called it "xerox" art. Her 30-year history of Web Tools theatre event. radical graphic art production created some of

The work of NCAAV, and many other the most easily recognizable and familiar im- Platform projects make a lot of sense in the similar projects, is part of a long history of ages for social justice and have continuously virtual world. This is partly the case because small and subversive groups of artist/activists been reproduced copyright-free on placards, of the so-called democratic characteristics of creating their own ways of sharing informa- shirts, flyers, and the occasional tattoo. The the web. Anyone can have a personal website, tion, skills, and ideas through informal and book The Art ofRini Templeton, in hath Span- blog, or email address and broadcast their non-commercial networks. In the '60s and ish and English: Where There is Life and message to the world.

'70s there were tool libraries and neighbor- Struggle was created as a reproducible port- The relatively short history of the web is o hood technology groups that advocated for folio and was intended to further disseminate filled with examples of individuals and collec- o

01 1

lives using the Internet as a way of advancing them." OpenMute responded "by making a to building radical culture and resistance,

issues of social justice, cultural expression, selection of trusted tools available from one, these platforms only help us expand in the

and freedom of infomiation. Perhaps the most easy-to-find, web location." Basically, what right direction, 'tr

obvious example is lndyniedia.org. Begun as OpenMute provides is an easy-to-use, pre-de-

a means to allow activists to post news and signed (but still flexible) web site which can Resources updates during the Seattle WTO protests in be obtained mostly for free by art and activist For more info on the NCAAV: 1999, lndymedia.org is now the world's larg- groups (though some packages cost a small www.stopgostop.com/nca/ncaav.html est all-volunteer organization, spanning every fee). These feature the latest open source For more info on Active: continent with sites and subcollectives doing community building tools, allowing the site www.active.org.au

much of the maintenance to keep it rimning. owner to tailor his or her site to meet their For more into on OpenMute: The open publishing format that makes Indy- specific needs. The content can be changed www.openmute.org

media possible is called Active. Active can or added using any computer anywhere that For more about Rini Templeton: be distinguished froin most open source/pub- has Internet access. The kinds of commu- www.riniart.org/

lishing applications in that its creators are ex- nity building tools that are available include:

plicit about its intended use towards the goals News publishing, Wiki (a "collaborative" Daniel Tucker is an artist and activist liv-

of political action and social justice. Active software that allows multiple users to both ing in Chicago, generally interested in art software enables anyone to publish their news post and edit each others texts), photo galler- that happens in streets, his group projects stories or announcements on lndymedia.org ies, group calendars, links, and forums. range from working in several different col- anytime through their local Indymedia or that Projects that help produce other proj- laborative groups and collectives, to a vari- of another city. With similar goals in mind, ects can proliferate and document rich and ety oforganizing initiatives like microcinema

Mute magazine, a London-based publication complex lineages of radical culture without screenings and discussion series. Tucker is dedicated primarily to the intersections of clear beginnings or endings. The projects currently sen'ing as a Corresponding Editor culture, activism, and new technologies, has mentioned in this article all exist differently of the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest. He recently launched a web project called Open- and produce different ends. However, each is in the process of initialing an independent Mute. According to their web site, this web attempts to provide us with the means to research project about group process and platform was created in response to the grow- achieve similar goals: enabling small pockets organizational structure of activist oiganiza- ing number of "powerful, free online tools of political and cultural resistance to coinmu- tions. Email him at DanielQij,counterproducti becom[ing] available," and the fact that "in- nicate and to better facilitate our current proj- veindustries. com dividuals without relevant technical skills are ects, and to expand those efforts into larger

often unable to independently engage with communities. When there is a commitment

A Poet's Challenge to the Unelected President

In Memoriam was originally inspired by a person full ot hope, curiosity, and goodness, Tatiana Prosvimina, a student who died

at the age of seventeen. The later poems of the collection were

written in response to the reckless and immoral celebration of the militarism of the Bush Administration. After the 9-1

attacks the worid needed \ ision. humanity, and sophistication;

WE'D LIKE TO SHOW instead it got blind, simple-mind ed w annongenng. The Bush YOU AN EXAMPLE OF Administration's selfish commitment to war and wealth has been barbaric, obscene, and monstrous. OUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL The Administration's declaration of global war on IMPECCABLE BINDING. AND EMPHASIS ON terror is an antedilu\ ian approach to finding ways to address AN OVERALL POSITIVE PRINTING EXPERIENCE the world's problems of sectarian conflict, organized crime. o\erpopulalion. po\erty. hunger, despair, increasingK \iruleni BUT YOU'RE ALREADY fJnJ\^tmoxLatn diseases. en\ ironmenlal depredation, reckless depletion of global resources, and degradation of traditional cultures b> the ONE. iMnn, 5. i

Westcan health to an American way of life that has become obscenely

r • I • I J wasteful and destructive of habitat, human and natural, of

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^^?*i The Right UUing on College Campuses oncl the

BoHle of the a iberal Arts faculties at most on campus." The article goes on to L say, "The bill was dropped by its and philosophically one-sided, sponsor earlier this month after he while partisan propagandizing received assurances from officials often intrtides into classroom dis- Frame of several colleges that students course. It is appropriate for faculty would be protected against dis- to want open-minded students in crimination for their views." The their classes, not disciples." This article carries the fi^ame that con- Jon R.Pike Matthew Andrews dire quote about academia is on servative students are being per- the webs ite of a group called Stu- secuted for their views and need dents for Academic Freedom, a protection. Washington D.C.-based group supported by rig conservative activist This frame has traveled through Colorado, Georgia, Missouri,

David Horowitz. What the quote doesn't say is that the group only ap- Michigan, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, California, Utah, Washing-

proaches this issue from one side and that the group's mission is to win ton, and Ohio, where state legislators supported an Academic Bill of the war of words on this issue using a tactic called "framing." Rights. Student governments at Brown, University of Montana, and In a 1993 scholarly article one of framing's chief theorists, Rob- Utah State passed resolutions supporting measures similar to the Aca- ert Entman, defined framing as, "to select some aspects of a perceived demic Bill of Rights. Chapters of Students for Academic Freedom ex-

reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such ist on 135 college campuses. The frame is traveling through the media

a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpreta- as well, as a search of the Proudest database shows that over the last tion, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item year, at least 69 newspapers and newsweeklies covered this issue. described." Like a picture frame, framing shows some parts of the But, as a picture frame only shows part of the view, a news frame

world outside the window, but not all. Framing is successful when it tells only part of the story. Students for Academic Freedom encourage becomes part of the media discourse. members to keep records on the party affiliation of faculty. This has In December of 2003, the Colorado State Legislature heard from already produced faulty data. According to data compiled by Horow-

students and faculty about alleged persecution of conservatives on itz's Center for the Study of Popular Culture, registered Democrats at campus. Brian Glotzbach. a student who worked at the bookstore at 32 schools far outnumber registered Republicans. However, an even Metro State University in Denver, said that while conservative au- greater number are listed as unaffiliated. A footnote says the unaf-

thors like Sean Hannity were not making it on to required reading filiated category includes faculty for whom they could not find voting

lists, authors like Michael Moore were. About 30 students and fac- records. The categories are blurred. There is also no way of know- ulty members were there to testify in favor of a nationally promoted ing how many of the registered faculty are conservative Democrats

measure called the Academic Bill of Rights. Coverage of this hearing or liberal Republicans. There is no justification for the conclusion that by the Rocky Moiintain News demonstrates that the ft-ame has been "most students probably graduate without ever having a class taught successfully embedded in this paper's coverage. The article says that by a professor with a conservative viewpoint." Also, of keeping track o the Academic Bill of Rights is "a proposal to ensure political diversity party affiliation just doesn't sound like a non-partisan activity. «tk A survey by the Center that purports to resolution supporting the Academic Bill of together and one person could play the role of show that Ivy League faeulty have an o\er- Rights, in the most recent session of Con- a hostile interviewer.

whehningly left-wing bias has an unaccept- gress with 36 sponsors. It was referred from Another step should be to take a page ably high sampling error of plus or minus 8 the House Committee on Education and the from conservatives and organizing national-

percent. A 5 percent margin of error is the Workforce to a subcommittee but had no fur- ly. Thankfully, students and faculty on the left

usual acceptable limit for survey research. ther action taken on it. Beyond the attention are beginning to recognize the seriousness of

This high sampling error comes from the to the Academic Bill of Rights at the state and the right winning this war of frames. For in-

fact that the survey got responses from only federal levels, there are other concerns. The stance. University of Southern California stu- 151 faculty members from all the ivy League frame has already been established and when dent Joshua Holland, editor of that school's

Schools. Statistician Howard Feinberg raised the issue resurfaces, reporters who are famil- left-of-center, Trojan Horse, is calling for

questions about the sample size in an article iar with it will likely return to those frames. liberals and progressives on today's college for the liberal Internet magazine, Altemet. He .And reporters unfamiliar with the issue may campuses to develop a long-term vision on wanted to know if the pollster hired to con- draw information from articles using those this issue. The stakes are high and the right duct the survey only intended to survey that frames. wants to win this war. Holland warns that the

number of professors, or if that was all that The issue will come up again. An Au- next generation of conservatives will be even

... framing isn't o rotionol argument, it*s a story. IF the frame of campuses dominated by left-ujing

professors is accepted then it doesn't matter if the data used to support that position is faulty.

they could get. He didn't get a response. gust 14, 2004 Gannet wire story says lan- more dogmatic and uncompromising than the

But framing isn't a rational argument, guage from the Academic Bill of Rights ones in pow er today. The ground the right has

it's a story. If the frame of campuses dominat- is in a student financial aid bill. The article gained in the battle of the frames doesn't hav e

ed by left-wing professors is accepted then it quotes Republican Floward McKeon of Cali- to be lost to the left forever, 'ii

doesn't matter if the data used to support that fornia, chaimian of the House subcommittee

position is faulty. An April 13. 2004 editorial in charge of this bill, who says this language For more information:

in the Washington Times repeated the survey's is designed to send a message to liberal aca- www. Studentsforacademicfreedom.org results with no mention of the sample size or demic officials: "You're using the school in

margin of error While the Washington Times many cases to brainwash and not to educate." Jon R Pike is a Ph.D. siuJeni in communica-

is a conservative news source, framing is suc- This quote assumes that all blame can be put tion at North Dakota Slate Lniversity in Far-

cessful the more it gets repeated. on faculty associated with the left. go. He researches and writes about media is- A May 23, 2004 article from the Chris- But, frames can just as easily be used sues and how activists are using the Internet.

tian Science Monitor, speaks of the frame on one side of the political spectrum as the He is writing a hook chapter on Moveon.org

when reporting about the congressional and other. In her book, "Prime-Time Activ ism," for the hook Cv bermedia Go To War which is state initiatives to support the Academic Bill sociologist Charlotte Ryan provides detailed scheduled to he released in .August of 2005.

of Rights, "Horowitz, who wrote the bill, said case studies of groups that hav e used frames He can he reached at pmfpike(a yahoo.com.

it was intended to protect conservative aca- well. People opposed to US foreign policy demics from discrimination on overwhelm- in Central America had to work against a

ingly liberal campuses." This is the frame in powerful frame to justify military aid to the

its entirety, reported as objective news. Los government of El Salvador and the Nicara- Angeles Times syndicated columnist, David guan contras. This was the frame of Soviet Kelly, wrote in a November 29, 2003 col- expansion in Central America. A frame used umn: "Some students have complained of be- to counter this was the "Human Cost of War," SAVE THE DATE! ing forced to attend abortion-rights rallies, of which stated that US policy caused death and being required to write essays critical of the injurv to civilians and was not helping the June 17-19, 2005 Bush administration and of having a strident most vulnerable. anti-religion agenda pushed on them. Some Ryan says that those involved in issues

who protested have said they received poor that largely proceed from a liberal, or left grades or were asked to leave the class." wing perspective, are often fighting a losing

Kelly provides no evidence for these charges. war in the media as they often operate on a

But, again, a frame isn't an argument, it is a story-by-story basis. This is especially inef-

story. A March, 1 6, 2004 USA Today article ficient, as these groups do not have the re-

adds to the story as it discusses the movement sources to regularly manage news. She says

"to create an 'academic bill of rights' for col- that there are a few simple steps any group o lege campuses, which sponsors say would can use in the war of the frame. The first step o promote intellectual diversity among faculty is to identify the frame. The second step is and protect students whose political views to monitor news coverage and see how the

dilTer from those of their professors." This frame is being used. Third. Rvan savs that

(.luole carries the frame. people have to recogni/e that frames are sto-

(iei)rgia Republican House Member, ries, not logical arguments. Lastly, she sug-

.lack Kingsinn. miroiluccd a conyressional gests rehearsing frames ,\ group could get o in Dancing with the Devil Hv.

For activists, using mainstream media to get a message out

can be an effective strategy — not just a necessary evil.

word^ Peter Wirth photo Brandon Constant

Martin Luther King Jr. had a favorite saying. "One tiny httle min- First, lack of coverage of activist issues and events is often ex-

ute, just sixty seconds in it. I can't refuse. I dare not abuse it. It's plained by "corporate control of the media" or "the media doesn't care up to me to use it." Today we call it the sound bite. about our events." But lack of media coverage can result from poor

King and Andrew Young, the resident Southern Christian Lead- press work or a flawed media strategy. One prevailing attitude is that ership Conference expert dealing with the media, understood the im- the media owes activists coverage regardless of what we do. This at- portance of the role of the media in the civil rights movement. King titude can produce an environment where developing public relations and Young emphasized the need for a new kind of daily message, one skills is a low priority, allocating little resources to media relations that was visual, that would dramatize the purpose of the campaign and training and failing to integrate a media plan as part of an overall bring public opinion to their side. strategy. Second, press work is much different than most activist ac-

tivities. Press work by nature is a solitary activity. It is you and the Activists and the Media Today media — a reporter, editor, or producer. You draft a press release and

make a "pitch" to an individual. It is essentially sales, with a different

It is highly unlikely that a handful of activists, no matter how dedicat- emotional feel than demonstrations, civil disobedience, and commu- ed, will achieve broad social change if the majority of the public does nity projects. These are empowering and inspiring experiences that not support their efforts or sympathize with their goals. To be success- create bonds and solve problems. But for most activists, press work ful in progressive campaigns involving public policy issues today, we doesn't have that empowering result. need to mobilize public opinion to support our efforts. You and many other individuals are also competing for limited

In years both as an activist public relations "news holes." Newsrooms receive if 35 of working and — dozens not hundreds of press consultant. I have been involved with a number of activist issues releases everyday from nonprofit organization, politicians, advocacy the war in Iraq, civil rights of Arab Americans, US policy in Latin groups, cultural groups, and businesses. Your chances for success in America and the Caribbean, recycling issues, refugee concerns, rac- selling your piece of news, event, speaker, or op-ed article are de- ism, organized labor, and occupational safety issues. Through my ex- pendent on a number of factors. Your knowledge of what an editor or periences, two dominant messages stand out regarding activists and reporter is looking for, and your working relationship with reporters, the mass media. are key. Reporters are always facing deadlines, and appreciate prompt o Besides the obvious benefit of getting your message before a larger audience, press work also forces

an organization to integrate into the community and engage people with issues and ideas.

return calls and emails, discussing human-interest aspects of the issue, the Syracuse newspapers. To sell the idea, we emphasized the stream and suggesting supplemental sources for the story. of visitors from Syracuse to Cuba over the years and the Cuban refijge

Press work can be extremely frustrating. You can do everything population in Syracuse. The reporter wrote a series of 1 3 articles. In

right and still get your story bumped by a breaking news event or the end, the story garnered radio and TV news and talk show cover- change in an assignment desk editor. If you are turned down, be per- age, newspaper articles, and a meeting with a news editorial board to

sistent, patient, and skillful enough to see other news angles in the discuss why the US embargo on Cuba should be lifted.

story to pitch at a later time. The Future for Activists Press Work and the Community

Generating news coverage is a skill that needs to be developed, but

There is a tendency with any organization to be insular. Activist orga- it is not as difficult as many activists would believe. It does require

nizations are no different. Newsletters, speaking presentations, videos, basic writing and communication skills. An outgoing personality, a

and web sites are all appropriate means of communication. But they dose of humility and persistence also helps - qualities many activists arc often self-selecting, reaching only a limited audience. already have.

Besides the obvious benefit of getting your message before a The more proficient activists become at writing press releases, larger audience, press work also forces an organization to integrate understanding timing and news pegs, being persistent and following- into the community and engage people with issues and ideas. up, deseloping relationships with reporters, and creating acti\ities

Preaching to the choir will not change the people in the pews. with the media in mind, the more news coverage they will generate.

If your position is a minority one, you need to be able to reach out to The activist community is barely scratching the surface of what

those people who have a different view. Using language and symbols is possible w ith media relations, and the result getting their message that many people relate to will help send your message to the largest out to the largest audience possible.

audience possible. For example, the colors red, white, and blue and the The lessons of Martin Luther King and the Ci\ il Rights Mo\ e- American flag are important symbols to many Americans, even those ment and their strategic use of the media are clear. The ability to gen- supporting peace, justice, and social change. Consider using these erate significant press coverage can change public opinion, and conse-

symbols in your anti-war banners and flyers. quently public policy. In the process of drafting a press release, making a pitch to news Representative John Lewis. D-Georgia. was a young college

producer, or writing an op-ed piece, reflect on what language will res- student in 1965 when he led more than 600 marchers along US onate with the largest audience possible. When reporters begin a story, Route 80 in Selma. Alabama, in a peacefiil protest for voting rights.

one of the first questions they ask is "Why should the public care?" Many of the marchers, including Lewis, were beaten by state and lo- When you're preparing to talk to local TV, radio, and newspaper edi- cal police when they reached the Edmund Pettus Bridge six blocks

tors, ask (and answer) the same question. If you're planning an anti- away. But the media coverage of "Bloody Sunday" and other Civ-

war demonstration, find out which residents have family members il Rights demonstrations helped to change public opinion across

stationed in Iraq, or if there are any veterans who will speak against the country. Five months later. President Lvndon Johnson signed

the war. If you're holding a forum on civil liberties, find a community the voting rights act. "Without the media," said Lewis. "The civil

member who many have been a target of repression. Look for ways to rights movement would ha\e been like a bird without wings." "tr demonstrate that your issue affects the community at large. For more information: The Media Relations Budget Media Relations Conference: Pricey but worth e\er\ penny. Taped sessions are available for purchase at wa\w. infocomgroup.com

Most activist organizations run on shoestring budgets. However, me- Bacon's: National Media Directories and Electronic Databa.se Ser- dia relations can be cheap and significant coverage can be generated vices — www.bacons.com on a limited budget. Press releases can be sent across the countrv' and U.S. Newswire: Electronic distribution scrNice for news releases; rea-

around the world for little or no money by e-mail and fax from your sonably priced — vvwvv.usnewswire.com.

computer, or even from the local library. Your local issue might appeal Talkers Magazine: The bible of talk radio and the new talk media to national or even international media outlets, and potentially reach — www.talkers.com

thousands of people in the process. Bulldog's Reporter National PR Pitch Book: wvvw.infocomgroup.

For example, when a local activist and engineer partnered w ith com

Pastors for Peace on a trip to Cuba to deliver medical supplies and work to end the embargo, we devised an effective, but cheap media Pcwr Wirth is CEO of GfV Associates, a progressive public relations outreach campaign. A volunteer committee was formed and within a consulting firm. For aiUitional info go to WMWcome. to 'public. inter-

two-month period, the group generated about 40 news inter\ iews for est. media. He can be reached at pwirthifi accucom.net. o the price of a few postage stamps. The following events were used as "news pegs" to pitch the story

to local media outlets: an upcoming fundraiser for the trip; the arrival and departure of the caravan from Syracuse; passing the Mexican bor-

der; the am\ al in Cuba, and the return to Syracu.se.

We also got creative and pitched sending a reporter to ( uba to N in The Indypendent ells Out?

NYC Indymedia editors wrestle with the age-old publishing question — does accepting paid advertising change the media you make?

Courtney E. Martin

The Indypendent. the newspaper of the tural centers, clubs, coffee houses, and events advertising in principle, but has to fund and New York City Independent Media — anywhere, essentially, where potential grow a grassroots newspaper with virtually Center, negotiated a $20,000 advertisement readers hang out — because as Jed Brandt, no financial support? contract with clothing-maker American advertising editor, explained, "Contrary to That's the $20,000 question. Apparel. Not only do these dollars double the what people seem to think, not everyone in Brandt rephrased the dilemma that his

grassroots paper's total budget (last year it New York City has a computer." The newspa- colleagues and he face at the Indypendent.

was about SI 8,000), but they could add up to per is grassroots through and through, boast- "Are we trying to create a space that tran- an impending shift in philosophy among the ing no board of directors, no editor-in-chief, scends the problems of the world or are we global Indymedia network. and very few paid staff members. creating a medium for exchange of informa-

According to its web site, Indymedia.org Given its roots, it is logical that IMC is tion broadly? Basically, is it our content or

is a "network of collectively run media out- philosophically tied up with the anti-consum- our form that is most important?"

lets for the creation of radical, accurate, and crism/anti-corporation movement. Many of Brandt's own answer is content. After passionate tellings of the truth." This lofty IMC's writers, editors, and designers are not being part of the exhausting struggle to raise mission was bom during the World Trade only media activists, but are involved in the funds through grassroots organizing (mostly

Organization protests in Seattle in 1999. Its growing movement against the almost total consisting of house parties), Brandt contends

work as a hub for independent journalists and infiltration of advertising into our daily lives. that it is just too much time and energy taken

producer of up-to-the-minute online coverage Brandt says, "I remember first coming to New away from the real purpose — publishing

propelled IMC into worldwide notoriety as a York City as a little, little kid and it was like the paper. The ad from American Apparel

leader in independent alternative media. IMC a playground to me. There were murals ev- — a clothing company that prides itself on

urged everyone - laymen and experts alike erywhere, parks had jugglers and musicians its commitment to the living wage and envi-

— to "become the media." . . . there was this idea that there was a civic ronmental protection — will bring in more

Independent Media Centers (IMC) all space." He pauses, takes a drag of his ciga- money with its summer-long back page ad

over the world have realized this dream in rette, and then goes on. "Now the entire city than the Indypendent was able to raise all of

various ways, but most focus on the Internet. is draped in advertising; murals turned into last year.

There arc no official numbers, but IMC esti- giant vinyl ad wraps." Further, the option of applying for fund- mates that Indymedia as a whole has between The Indypendent has had no significant ing from liberal foundations and think-tanks

500,000 and two million page views a day. or consistent source of funding in its three has proved fruitless and controversial as

Unlike most other IMC's, the New York City years of existence. No big foundation. No well. Even if the Indypendent were able to center has poured substantial effort into pro- trust fund kids. Not even a liberal think tank find such support — which seems unlikely to

ducing a print newspaper. The Indypendent is has offered to help out. So what does a group staff members — there are concerns be- about o distributed all over the five boroughs at cul- of activists and writers do if it is against ing beholden to the foundation's philosophy. U Such an arrangement could, m the long run. intluence their content everything." he explained. "I hope our process and structure are strong in opposition to their mission: keeping the media untangled from the enough to handle the infusion of cash."

sticky web of moneyed politics. The IMC is technically a non-partisan As Anderson knows, with big success comes big responsibility.

enterprise and wants to stay that way. In theory, accepting an ad from The philosophical questions, it seems, will just keep getting more com- a capitalist company may raise questions about the ethics of advertis- plicated — especially given the grassroots nature of the organization.

ing, but the integrity of the content can be maintained through editorial According to the web site, Indymedia is currently developing a global

policy. decision-making process that will enable all IMCs to make decisions

Other newspapers in the IMC" network, though few and far be- that affect the whole network. It states. "The current proposal is for tween, have chosen to avoid testing that theory, instead relying on Indymedia to form a global spokescouncil' that will confirm deci- grassroots fundraising that the Indypendent has now abandoned. sions on global Indymedia issues that local IMCs have made through

Sascha Meinrath. co-founder of the Urbana-Champaign IMC and con- their own decision-making processes." The Indypendent's decision to

tributor to their ad-free monthly nev\ spaper. Public I. pines for "altru- accept large-scale advertising, then, could influence the dialogue and istic venture capitalists supporting programs like the Piihlic J and the decision-making process of the future council. The Indypendent's bold

Indypendent." He doesn't believe that Public I should include ads but, move to prioritize content and make life a little easier through adver-

on the other hand, recognizes that "advertising provides one pragmatic tising may become an important philosophical statement in the future

solution that can often mean the difference between these organiza- of alternative media, even spilling from print to the Web page. tions and projects staying afloat or ceasing to exist." Further. Meinrath Meinrath reflected. "The continuing success of the global

explained. "I trust that the Indypendent staffers will not allow their Indymedia network is predicated upon mutual trust, respect, and rela-

content, or their radicalism, to be affected by this decision." tive autonomy of individual IMCs. We are voluntarily aflfiliated be- Though there has been some debate over the ad contract within cause we share common goals of supporting participatory media and

the Indymedia community, the staff is hesitant to label it "controver- amplifying the voices and perspectives that the dominant media would sy." There have been few voices of resistance, Brandt reported, but rather ignore. Some IMCs will probably decide to use advertising to added, "For every person who doesn't want advertising: feel free to raise revenue; as long as the overarching goals and mission of the

cut us a check and we will give you a space that says 'no ad here.'" In network is respected, I believe that the individuals on the streets and

fact, out of the dozen people 1 spoke to in the IMC community, none in their communities know best how to achie\ e these goals." "A" had a decidedly anti-ad stance.

Chris Anderson, who originally wrote the ad policy and has Courtney E. Martin is a writer, teacher and filmmaker living in been involved in the Indypendent for over two years, has no moral Brooklyn. She can be reached at cem 1231 @hotmail. com. qualms about the ad or American Apparel, but does worry about the

Indypendent s ability to handle the potential growth. "Money changes

What is Indymedia?

Looking at the past and future of Independent Media Centers

on the five-year anniversary of the birth of a movement.

Most stories in the U.S. are told to web sites, there are IMC print low-power FM station. And we have are lacking. Language barriers

by five major corporations that publications and a radio network. raised enough from our community exist. The IMC network is working

determine, in part, who lives To participate in this global to buy a building and create a larger out its process Our strength is

and who dies, who is important, conversation about local struggles, media and arts center downtown. in bringing the full force of the

and who is not. Dinner table you need no passport, no visa, no Sure, we're producing a lot, network to bear on the reporting of a

conversationalists, voters, and permission to enter. Perhaps that but are we having an impact? single event, such as global justice

elected leaders hum along with is why Indymedia has spread so We've grown fast, but is this or anti-war demonstrations.

CNN and Fox News. Yet, adhering to widely, so rapidly. When given sustainable' As for impact on a The core principles of the

tradition, we still stage protests on the opportunity, information and local scale, it is clear IMC video Indymedia network help sustain

the White House lawn, as though solidarity can move as fast as footage was used in court to clear it: independence from state and

that IS where meaning is made. capital. gay rights activists charged with national forces; open access to

In this world, capital is free to In Urbana, Illinois, the IMC had felonies. Detailed reports about information and transparency of

roam, but the movement of laborers its humble beginnings meeting in an Urbana resident abducted by process: and decision-making by

is highly restricted. Global trade living rooms four years ago. We the FBI and facing trial with secret those who contnbute labor. But

meetings hop around the globe, collectivized our equipment and evidence informed the movement principles don't make a movement,

while those who protest these started to produce media. Now we to free him and helped lead to the people do. The Indymedia

meetings are corralled far away in are regularly producing content dropping of secret evidence. Local movement will exist as long as

"protest zones." Wars expand and tor radio, print, web, and cable mainstream journalists, editors, people participate in it If we get

information contracts. access. We have a periormance and government officials read our what we want, we wont need the

It IS upon this stage that the space, a library, an art gallery, newswire. qualiher "independent" anymore.

Independent Media Center (IMC) and a community wireless cloud Globally, the network is still at We will have "media," heaps of

movement enters. Since 1999 this blanketing much of downtown with the beginning of the difficult project diverse "media" pointing spotlights

network has sprouted 130 heads free internet access. Next spring to generate a global awareness and on many stories, many lives

across 50 countries. In addition we will flip the switch on a new global conversation. IMCs in Africa -Danielle Chynoweth

in Countdown to Putsch Sara Tretter

knowledge that punks don't lenging than what they were hearing at shows songwriting. The first release. Handbook It's common for seem to age gracefully. Either you become and creating with others. Second, while the Planetaiy Progress, is fairly straightforward that creepy old dude hanging out at shows politics of the band's members have shifted hardcore with some improvisation. The sec- with kids at least 15 years younger than you. further left, their lifestyles have grown more ond release. Ideas for the Living and Hilling or you hang up your mohawk, sell your re- mainstream: they took fulltime jobs, married, to Acl, combines their hardcore sound with cords, and put on a suit. Are there any viable Chris even has a baby daughter. They were a significant amount of improvised music/ alternatives for punks who are getting older growing more and more out-of-touch with noise. And the third release. Interventions in but are still holding on to their political ide- lifestyles that define your typical punk band. Hegemony, is two CDs of fiilly improvised als? Countdown to Putsch (CTP). a veteran CTPs process of growth and change is music, with lyrics vocalized over it. CTP

New York-based hardcore band, is in the pro- evident in their music and their packaging. In really can't even be classified as a hardcore cess of creating their own such alternative. terms of musical evolution, Chris, Ben and band anymore, but as a fi-ee jazz/improvisa-

Asked recently if they had chosen to Rich all have vi\ id memories of how they tional noise project. For CTP, improv is con- leave the hardcore punk scene or felt that first got into punk, all saying it was exciting stantly new. exciting, and challenging. For had been forced out due to their age. CTP re- to hear music that challenged the senses and CTP, it's the perfect, cacophonous canvas on sponded that for them, it was a combination of lyrics that challenged the status quo. "What which to lay down political and thought-pro- the two. They say the scene isn't welcoming drew me into hardcore and punk," says Rich, voking lyrics. It meets the standard of being to "older" punks, and lifestyle choices to find "was that I couldn't stand the sound of it at difficuh to listen to, forcing accountability on a job. rent an apartment, maybe get married first! I saw in its sound and approach that the listener to actually work to enjoy the mu- and have kids are often criticized. Regardless hardcore punk was a challenge to mainstream sic and thoughtfully consider the lyrics. Rich of whether this pressure is internal or exter- music and values." CTP says it's disappoint- says the move from making rock-structured, nal, sooner or later, most punks will feel it. ing today to hear new "punk" music that is pre-arranged music towards wholly improvi- 3 How they respond is the interesting part. no more challenging than what they heard sational music was more than a practical or a. At CTP's inception, the musicians were all those years ago — the anthemic, rhetoric- personal choice. "Improvisation may be the already a little old for the punkhardcore driven songs that are so easy to sing along largest evolutionary marker I would call "po- scene: Ben Kates was 21, Rich Gilman-Opal- to that the message is lost. "The problem is litical" in the band's recent history.'" In their sky was 26 and Chris Jensen was 27. Over that there isn't a lot out there for those of us song "On Words." CTP calls improvisation a the life of the band. CTP has departed more who have been in punk for a long time," says way to "discuss freedom by demonstration" and more radically from the punk hardcore Ben. and calls "narration" the "dominant tongue scene. First, all three have always sought If you listen to CTP's three releases, that is you too much of everything we seek to be o music and projects more interesting and chal- can hear how this discontent affected their free from." o

WUl CTP's releases have also taken a new tially mean not having to work together as a reer choices that fit with the politics they sing direction in packaging. Handbook comes band nearly as much as with rehearsed songs. and write about. They are not making a case

with a lOO-pagc handmade book of essays, Interventions was less of a unified group proj- for a punk to hit 23, graduate from college,

stories, poems, and lyrics, mostly written in a ect and more of a three-way split. The lyrics and decide that it's okay to go and work on somewhat self-righteous, heavy-handed tone. contradict each other in several places, leav- Wall Street or something, as long as you're

Style is noticeably all but absent — the book ing the listener somewhat confused. If you still making political and musically challeng-

has a brown cardboard cover and is printed know whose voice is whose, then by the end ing music. Rather, CTP is showing that you in small, black and white font, hleas comes of the CD you'll have an intimate knowledge can make adult choices that gel with your with a magazine, also containing lyrics and of the personal politics of Ben, Rich and grown-up punk philosophy, and you can

essays, but also containing humorous pieces, Chris, but little more than a general idea of gracefully move away from punk music into

satire, and tons of pictures - not to mention the politics of the band as a whole. other genres that move and challenge you in full-color front and back covers that are po- Also, while CTP has not yet succumbed the way punk once did. You have to re-assess

litically on-point and attractive. Interventions to this, their evolution has the potential to your philosophy all the time, and adjust your

is simply a 2-C'D set, in a regular old jewel decrease musicianship. To the musically un- actions accordingly. You also have to be w ill-

case, with a booklet containing lyrics and a trained ear, it can be difficult to distinguish ing to make some compromises, something

short manifesto on the back. Very saleable. between a skilled musician whose desire and which zealots of all stripes are resistant to, CTP said that since lifestyle changes interest has taken hmi past mainstream, eas- punks being no exception.

have prevented them from touring or even ily digestible sounds, and a musician who just Despite the lack of record sales and non-

playing many local shows, they wanted the doesn't play his instrument all that well. Any existent tour schedule, CTP is still a model most recent release to get into as many hands three people with instruments could produce of a successfully aging punk band. They are

as possible. Record stores didn't seem to dissonance and non-traditional sounds, but it largely able to hold on to punk ideals with- know what to do with the handbook or the takes skill and work to do this in an interest- out making hypocrites of themseKes or com- magazine — Inter\'entions doesn't have that ing, engaging way. promising the quality or intention of their problem. However, CTP isn't trying to fool

anyone into buying Interventions - it's got a "manifesto" on the back cover that gives the potential buyer a good idea of the expected Stop accepting what you see accountability mentioned above. But these

changes in packaging reflect an important as- around you as the way things pect of CTP's growing up — the handbook have to be. Look closer, see was almost completely Dl Y - they assembled

each one themselves. Interventions was just how fucked up it is? Now the opposite, a move away from traditional start thinking about what punk ideals. But the priority was to get the

messages out to as many listeners as possible, you can do to change it. a real political concern trumping the pseudo- politics of sccnester-credibility. What exactly are these messages? CTP doesn't have one particular topic on which As far as the packaging project has gone, sound. They are taking part in what could be their lyrics are focused. Rather, each release the intention to get that message into as many a revolutionary mo\ement in the punk scene

offers a broad spectrum of ideas and sugges- hands as possible may be the right one, but it by opting out of the two options of growing tions on an extremely wide variety of topics. isn't working. Sales on all three releases have stale or selling out. They ha\e settled fimily On Interventions, songs address everything been very poor. Ideas was bolstered by the into adult lives, but rather than be complacent from criticism of Bush Administration and band's 2001 tour, and for a band on a scale about their music (which given the packed

western medicine, to critiques of pacifism, this small, touring is probably the only thing schedules of those adult lives, it would be

distribution of wealth, and body positive- that's going to do it. Which leads to the last very easy for them to do), they continue to ness. and most serious criticism of CTP: their lack push themseKes to seek out and create music

While their politics have shifted from of action. that is challenging, difficult, and innovative.

the far left to the even farther left, Ben says, All three members of CTP are very in- Rather than make their band a fun side proj-

"This shift has been gradual and small, and terested in social and political activism, and ect or, at the other end of the spectrum, make

someone unfamiliar with the nuances and the ways in which they do this ha\e matured it as marketable as possible. CTP prioritizes

schisms of far-left politics probably wouldn't right along with their music. However, as politics and sincerity, attempting to get their

even notice that it had occurred." In general. a band CTP is about as dormant as you can releases sold, enforce listener accountability, CTP's message seems to be: Stop accepting get. Chris says the releases are the action, and encouraging listener reader feedback and

what you see around you as the way things "While it would be great if we could do interaction. Their politics have not sufTered have to be. Look closer, see how fucked up more to "promote' our product, the product from their lifestsle choices but have deep-

it is? Now start thinking about what you can itself is a coherent inter\ention. and consis- ened and become more refined and more ma-

do to change it. Several songs focus on ac- tently putting out music for a long period ture, if E tual lifestyle changes you can make to make of time will have an impact." What this o I translates to is that almost never plays via email at o things better (in songs "Hours Stole Friim CTP Sarah Treller can he reached fM Myself," "A Letter to my Mother .About show s. their last tour was three years ago and saralretter(a eudoramail.com Vegetarianism," "Time's Up" and "One dol- only lasted three weeks, and they do very

lar. One vote. Many Dollars, Many votes.") little to publicize or promote themselves. Countdown to Putsch hasn't perfected All CTP members are either in school the punk agmg process. In terms of the music, or have full-time jobs, and all work in some relying mostly on improvisation can poten- capacity as teachers rhc\'\e have made ca- in statement of Ownefstiip, Management, and Circulation

1 Publication Title Clamor 2 Publication Number; 1534-9489, 3. Filing Date; September 27, 2004 4 Issue Frequency: Bimonthly 5, Number of Issues Publisher) "He who sees the truth, let him proclaim it, without asking Annually 6 6 Annual Subscription Price; $18,00. 7, Complete Mailing Address of Known office of Publication (not printer); PO Box 20128, Toledo, OH 43610, Contact who is for it or who is against it." Person lason Kucsma, Teleptione 419-243-4688, 8, Complete Mailing Address of HeaiJquarters or General Business Office of Publisher (not printer); PO Box 20128, -Henry George Toledo. OH 43610, 9 Full Names and Complete Mailing Address of Publisher,

Editor, and Managing Editor; A Publisher, Become The Media. Inc, PO Box 20128, Toledo, OH 43610 B, Editors; Jen Angel, Jason Kucsma. PO Box 20128. Toledo. OH 43610 C Managing Editors; Jen Angel, Jason Kucsma. PO Box 20128. Toledo. OH 43610 10, Owner (If the publication is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately followed by the names and addresses of all

stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of stock If

not owned by a corporation, give the names and addresses of individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated hrm. give its name and address as

well as ttiose of each individual owner. If the publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address). Become the Media. Inc, PO Box 20128, Toledo. OH 43610. Jason Kucsma, PO Box 20128. Toledo. OH 43610, Jen Angel. PO Box 20128. Toledo, OH 43610 11, Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other

Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds. Mortgages, or Other Securities; None, 12 Not Applicable 13 Publication Title; Clamor 14 Issue Date for Circulation Data Below; July/August 2004 15 Extent and Nature of Circulation, Average No copies Each issue During Preceding 12 Months; a Total number of Copies (Net press run); 7449 b Paid and/or Requested

Circulation (1) Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions stated on Form 3541 (Include advertisers proof and exchange copies) 936, (2) Paid In-County Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 (Include advertiser's proof and exchange Transcend copies) 0(3) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPS Paid Distribution: 4642, (4) Otiier Classes Mailed Through the USPS 103 c Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation; 5681, d. Free Distribution by Mail (Samples, Complimentary and other Free) (1), Outside-County as Stated on Form 3541; 93, (2) In-County as Stated on Form 3541); 0, (3), Other Classes mailed through USPS; 4, e Free Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other

means); 1362 f Total Free Distribution 1458 g Total Distribution; 7140 h Copies

Not Distributed; 309, i. Total; 7449, |, Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation;

80,80 No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date a. Total number of Copies (Net press run); 6527, b. Paid and/or Requested Circulation; (1) Paid/ Politics. Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 (Include

advertiser s proof and exchange copies); 1027, (2) Paid In-County Subscriptions Stated on Form 3541 (Include advertiser's proof and exchange copies); (3) Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Non-USPS Paid Distribution; 4864 (4); Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS 80 c Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation; 5971 d Free Distribution by Mail (Samples,

Complimentary and other Free) (1), Outside-County as Stated on Form 3541 ; 74

(2), In-County as Stated on Form 3541); (3) Other Classes mailed through USPS;

3 e, free Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means); 257, (, Total free

Distribution 334 g Total Distribution 6305, h Copies Not Distributed; 222 i Circulation Publication Total; 6527 i Percent Paid and/or Requested 94 48 16 of Statement of Ownership; Publication Required Will be printed in the Nov/Dec

2004 issue of this publication 1 7 Signature and title of Editor, Publisher, Business

Manager, or Owner Jen Angel, Editor Date September 27, 2004 I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete I understand that anyone www.freeliberal.com who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subiect to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). From the Center for Liberty and Community

Radical Talk Radio Now! ugly planet ^0 m m RELEVANT MUSIC * MORE Farai Chideya on Working Assets Radio Nate Clay on WLSam.com Desi Cortez on KNRCRadio.com A music magazine Thorn Hartmann on cableradionetwork.com dedicated to TheGuyJamesShow.com Mike Newcomb on 1100KFNX.com documenting artists Ed Schultz on BigEddieRadio.com who support innovation, TheTonyShow.com diversity, equality, PeterWerbe.com Lizz Winstead on Air America Radio justice and social And, many right-wing hosts introspection. are open to dissent. www.radio-locator.com ISSUE ONE: Includes photos and interviews with Winston Smith, Ricanstruction, Dead-Prez, Reclaim the airwaves. Anti-Flag, Ministry, Antibalas, Bitch & Animal, Michael Franti & Spearhead and more.

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iv1VIV. uglyplanet, torn Unlikely

When Michigan inmate Kebby Warner attempt-

ed to call her daughter on her fourth birthday, she discov-

ered that the telephone num-

ber, which she had been calling

once a month, was restricted. The reason? Michigan Depart-

ment of Corrections had started

a new telephone program with

Sprint. Those on an inmate's

telephone list had to pay a min-

imum of fifty dollars before

they could receive a call from

their incarcerated loved one.

If the outside person was un-

able or unwilling to pay. Spring

and the prison kept the number

restricted. The new system re-

inforced the sense of isolation

and alienation that prisons in-

flict upon their inmates.

Victoria Law

o Ol

00 in Communities

"Roberta," an incarcerated mother in California, learned of War- her unit, seeing how much weight she had lost, shared their food from ner's situation and offered to pay the fifty dollar deposit from her own the canteen with her. While such actions do not overtly challenge or prison wages. (The pay scale at Roberta's facility ranges from eight to change Boo's medical condition or the inadequate health care system, thirty-two cents per hour.) "I know how it is not to hear your child's they do break through the sense of isolation that prisons inflict upon voice," she wrote in her offer. "I've been there. And thank God for the their inmates. kindness of strangers that I was able to talk to them [my children] a Other strategies have had even broader effects. In New York few times during the roughest times. I would give it [the deposit] to State, inmate Kathy Boudin discarded the standard method of having her [Warner], just let me know if I can and where to send it, okay?" women answer multiple-choice questions about unrelated paragraphs Within prison activist circles, women's concerns have often been and instead used the issue of AIDS to teach literacy to her fellow in- dismissed as personal, self-centered and apolitical. At the same time, mates in the Adult Basic Education class. She handed out vocabu- women prisoners' resistance is often overlooked — usually because it lar>' worksheets drawn from an AIDS program the class had recently is not as dramatic as the hunger strikes, work stoppages and riots seen watched, encouraged students to write about their feelings about the in men's prisons. In addition, women in prison often complain about disease and had the class write a play about the issue. Her students the apathy among their peers, furthering the impression that there is became aware of themselves as a community — first in the classroom little to no unity in female facilities. However, women in prison have and then in the larger setting of the prison. They not only began to also demonstrated their capacity to network, share and help each other help one another over the stumbling blocks towards literacy, but also in times of need. used their newfound knowledge of the disease to support and comfort Prison activists and scholars have usually overlooked such ac- others. tions, examining networking in female facilities through the lens of Sometimes the networks have multiplied available resources, the prison family instead. However, the prevalence of the prison fam- such as when women have assisted their peers with their legal work. ily — in which inmates take on traditional roles such as mother, father, After losing custody of her own daughter, Kebby Warner used the daughters, aunts — declined after knowledge she had gained in the 1971 Attica Rebellion as pris- the prison law library to assist oner groups and social services another inmate with the legal for inmates began to emerge in its paperwork that kept her from place. Women behind bars today losing her child. Likewise, Mar- are attempting to create commu- garet Majos and "Elsie," in two nity and share the few resources different Illinois prisons, have available to them without replicat- assisted women around them ing the traditional gender roles of with their legal work. This shar- the patriarchal family. ing of resources is often recipro- Some acts have been as sim- cated. When "Elsie" was placed ple as comforting an ill compan- on a suicide watch after engag- ion. When Oregon prisoner "Boo" ing in a hunger strike against the was taken to a prison infirmar> unsanitary preparation of food, after turning yellow, her fellow another woman on the unit lent inmate Barrilee Bannister made a her a pen and paper to write let- get-well card and had 80 women ters to outside supporters. Simi- sign it. When Boo was released larly, when Warner filed a griev- fi"om the infirmary, the women on ance against a male officer, the

Women in Prison Break the Alienation of Incarceration

IV) o woman she had helped agreed to hold her paperwork so that prison

officials would not "lose" or destroy it during a search or transfer.

Some inmates ha\e been more systematic in their sharing and networking. Rhonda Leland, a California inmate, stated, "My greatest concern, outside of the personal issues of my children, are the women here." While other women have complained that those around them will not share or network but would rather squabble and complain,

she has stated that they "do their best to network together but there is never enough resources or help." Despite the limited resources^ Le- land decided to reach out to people outside the usual prisoner support groups. She contacted Krista Buckner. an author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and W. Mitchell, a motivational speaker, to promote self-es-

teem and positive self-images to the inmates at Valley State Prison for Women. However, Leiand's work on women's self-esteem issues have by and large been ignored by scholars, academics and even prison activists; the lack of self-esteem, more specific to women than to men

both inside and out, is not considered an exciting or glamorous topic

nor are there striking and visible means to organize around this issue.

Not all attempts at networking and sharing are ignored. In 1987,

the women at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York started the AIDS Counseling and Education Project (ACE). By fonning an official group — one that was approved by the prison superintendent — women were able to reach inmates throughout the facility instead of the limited few they encountered throughout the day.

Inmates involved in ACE not only educated and counseled their fellow inmates about HlV/AlDS, but also helped care for those with

AIDS in the prison infirmary, breaking through not only the isolation of prison but also the stigma of AIDS. Even with the administration's permission, ACE continually faced staff harassment and interference. Fearing that the group's one-to-one peer counseling sessions would lead to inmate organizing, prison staff

made both counseling and life more difficult for ACE members. After an HIV positive inmate overdosed in the prison infirmary, prison staff Despite the risk of demanded that ACE members take urine tests or leave the group. At retaliation, women in times, prison officials also restricted inmates from meeting at their regularly scheduled time or using the meeting room. prison continue to help ACE members not only managed to continue their program, but also received support from outside AIDS and health organizations: each other. volunteers from the local hospital did seminars and trainings, and the AIDS Institute awarded the group a quarter million dollar grant. ACE took on [the battle] know ing the risk could mean m> life in more ways

members also wrote and published a book detailing the group's history than one," Shumate wrote before her death. "And yes. I would do it all

and its impact on women with AIDS. over again. If I can save one life from the medical nightmare of CCW F

While the seemingly simple acts of sharing resources and com- Medical Department then it's well worth it." forting one another may not seem as threatening to prison control Shumate's death did not deter others froin continuing her work. and security as inmate organizing and agitation, the potential power Those she taught now teach others how to understand their lab work, of women sharing and networking undermines the operations of a chart their results, keep a medical diary and hold prison officials ac-

system that seeks to foster an atmosphere of alienation and isolation. countable for what they say and do. "ir

The administration at Bedford Hills scrapped Kathy Boudin's literacy

education model in favor of multiple choice questions. The Idaho Further ReaJing:

Department of Corrections has an outright ban on its inmates shar- Kathy Boudin. "Participatory Literacy Education behind Bars: AIDS

ing resources or materials. One inmate at Idaho's Pocatello Women's Opens the Door." Har\ard EJucatioiuil Review Vol. 63 No. 2. Sum-

99.'». Correctional Center circumvents this policy by donating her books to mer 1 207-232.

both a books-to-prisoners program and the facility's library so that "Charisse Shumate: A Warrior, a Friend, an Inspiration." The hire hisiJc other incarcerated women may also read and enjoy them. Issue 19. Fall 2001. www.womenprisoners.org/fire/OOOI82.html Women who reach out to their fellow prisoners risk repercus- The Women of the ACE Program of the Bedford Hills Correctional Fa-

sions. After nine years of assisting her fellow mmates with their legal cilitN. Breaking the Walls of Silence: AIDS and Women in a New

work, California inmate Marcia Bunney was fired from her position as York State Maximum Security Prison . Woodstock. NY: 0\erlook a law library clerk. Prc^v MWS o o Despite the risk of retaliation, women in prison continue to help (M each other. California inmate Charisse Shumate taught her peers with I Klorui Law has heen doing prisoner support work for over a decade

sickle-cell anemia about both the disease and the necessary treat- and has focused on women in prison since 2000. She is one of the co- ments. She also advocated the right to compassionate release for any founders of New York City Books Thmugh Bars, a group that send^

prisoner with less than a year to live and was the lead plaintiff in a literature to inmates across the country: and is a co-editor of the zine

class-action lawsuit about prison health care. Shumate died in prison Tenacious: Art and Writings from Women in Prison. You can contact

after the Board of Prison Terms denied her compassionate release. "I her at vikkiml(ciyahoo.com O Reel Democracy Jennie Rose Are film festivals the last refuge'

town hall with hundreds of benches Czechoslovakia (former), Edinburgh, Aand rows of chairs provides seating and Locarno, Switzerland. Each festival for people from all walks of life who sit has become "important" in the global dis- down and share their views. This sounds course of culture and cinema.

too good to be true. The last place I would Like weeds, film festivals have a

expect to witness this scene is in the red way of popping up in repressive environ-

carpet setting of a major film festival. ments. In fact, the first ever festival took

But nowadays, it's at the film festivals in place in Venice, Italy in 1932 against the such far-reaching locales (for some) as backdrop of Mussolini's fascism. Gi-

Pusan, South Korea and Saint Sebastian. useppe Volpi di Misurata, a complex figure Film Center of the Art Institute of Chica-

Spain that the last platforms for truth tell- who did not always bow to Mussolini, ob- go at the time. "Everyone else was doing ing still exist. tained an independent manifesto from the John Ford retrospectives and "The His-

"I have begun to think of film fes- government that freed the festival from all tory of the Western," so I did a two-week

tivals as the last refuge of democracy in government pressure. The festival's regu- festival of revolutionary film. I showed all

this increasingly controlled and manacled lations made clear the intent to "exclude the Latin American films. I did American

world of ours." says feminist film scholar all interference of a political nature." As documentaries on university sit-ins. It was

and author B. Ruby Rich who is an Ad- a result, amidst the thuggish atmosphere a great shot in the arm for people at that junct Professor of Film Studies at the of the Mussolini regime, fair awards were time in Chicago."

University of California at Berkeley and guaranteed (audiences chose the winners) Of course, not all festivals are cre- the author of Chick Flicks: Theories and and thanks to a "special concession by the ated equal. And over the years, the glitz Memories of the Feminist Fihn Move- Head of Government," no one censored of Cannes can eclipse the fact that many

ment. Rich is currently working on a book the festival entries. festivals spring up to fill political needs. It

that re-reads cinema in the post-9/1 1 era. Since then, festivals have often been may be too easy to forget that all you need According to Rich, film festivals are "the sites where people bear witness to events to have a film festival are a projector and last place where a true participatory dis- they were never supposed to know about, an audience. For instance, The Conscien- course can prevail and where persons of where programmers exercise free speech tious Projector: Films for the People and deep-seated convictions and open minds in the face of repressive regimes. Take the the Planet, a small festival on Bainbridge can come to exchange views, surrender example of the 1996 New York Film Fes- Island, Washington, showcases film proj- control, and be changed forever by what tival. The festival was slated to premiere ects that underscore the connections be-

goes by on screen." the landmark documentary The Gate of tween foreign oil, national security, global From humble beginnings (both the Heavenly Peace, about the events leading climate change, and energy conservation.

1948 and 1950 Cannes festivals were can- up to the massacre at Tiananmen Square. It is now in its third year and growing.

celled due to lack of funds), film festivals The Chinese government did not want to Yes, there's both less and more than

are now covering the global political arena share this subject with the world. In the the "city on a hill" democratic Utopia at

like a vast cult of democracy. "Once ev- end, though, The New York Film Festival work at film festivals. But, there's enough

erybody wants a piece of the action, then declined a formal request from the Chi- true democracy on the scene to take note. more festivals are inevitable," enthuses nese government to censor the film, and At film festivals, audiences may vote for Rich, who has worked in film exhibition the documentary premiered before a rapt their favorites, viewers may question film- for the last 30-odd years. audience. makers, stars may mingle with plebeians Nowadays it's Cannes, Berlin, Venice, B. Ruby Rich was a part of the audi- and films from rich countries and poor

Sundance Toronto, Saint Sebastian, Ha- ence at that premiere and counts it as one countries may get to share the stage. "We vana, Buenos Aires, Pusan, Tulluride, New her most memorable festival experiences. may give up on participatory government York, Vancouver, Karlovy Vary located in Rich shares the belief with others who sup- some days," says Rich, "but there's always port film festivals that if you reach even hope in the cinema to get us by." During one person, the struggle to find distribution these days when heckling the president can

is worth while. To this end, her moment of get you fired, it turns out that we may have

glory came two decades earlier when Rich to look to film festivals as some of the last organized her personal tribute to the Stars venues of free speech. tV and Stripes during the bicentennial.

"I got the Chicago Tribune (a tradi- A San Francisco survivor ofthe dotcom era, tionally conservative paper) to under- Jennie Rose has also survived as a music write a festival of revolutionary cinema andfilm writer, an animator, and a corpo- to commemorate the bicentennial," says rate lackey. She usually writes about science Rich, who was associate director of the and nature. Reach heratjenneric@pacbell.

a\ Crit^^ cal mAbb! Exhibitionism The Ride for Humanitarian

words and photos Teri Dana!

o the middle of an urban summer cook- ment we hold in our most common experi- even attempt to arrest anyone as our sea of Inout, the Charles Manson doppelganger ence: our body unclothed, in its simplest naked cyclists, following our map-maker lifted up my skirt with a branch from the form. Travis CuIIey. made its way through some of backyard and asked if he could take my pic- Privatization of land and space seem to the most wealthy, repressed and prestigious ture. Iwas sixteen and thought the situation afford humans valuable experiences, such as neighborhoods in Chicago, including the novel as hell. Photos were snapped, and fif- sheltering, nurturing environments that fos- Gold Coast, the Magnificent Mile, the Gal- teen minutes later this love-repressed vestal ter community. However, when done without lery district, Bucktown, and Lincoln park. virgin found herself agreeing to inodel nude careful design consideration, these shelters There were many highlights, such as the girl

for a figure drawing class at his art studio. I and transportation structures become the who carried a dog on her back, the pantsless justified the activity by its monetary value. A prisons that keep us from having a com- priest, all the participants who employed

few weeks later, it was my first time naked in munity at all. Some people think that driv- many glittery accessories and body paints, player carried public, in front of a group of students. 1 quiv- ing hybrid cars and vehicles that don't use and of course the nude tuba by ered and fumbled on the art room podium as fossil fuels alone will create social change. pedicab. Considering the Buddhist teaching, on pure 1 changed poses. Years of negative body im- Unfortunately, when people go out the doors "we are what we think," we focused age reinforcement, layers of classic morose of their homes, immediately into an automo- enjoyment, functionality, and natural status Christian values, and everyday experiences bile, and arrive at their destination with no for three hours. This truly led to elation, un- that brainwashed me into equating nudity lime outside, contact with others becomes polluted breathing, and unspoiled love glow, with sexuality fell away in a mere three extremely limited. When we don't have ac- which we will continue in many other naked hours. The advent of artists worshipping my cess to the people around us, we stop view- cycling and socially conscious events. form for the express purpose of aesthetics ing one another as more similar than differ- The World Naked Bike Ride is a free, dif- was all it took to change my mind. So my life ent. Instead, we grow to fear one another fun, non-sexual ride, organized by many as an exhibitionist began, which soon turned as we fear the unknown. Cycling together, ferent groups. It happens annually in 29 cities into a tool for social change. clothed or unclothed, helps us stay in touch worldwide, and several times a year in Spain, visit I experienced similar spiritual ecstasy with one another. Cycling, and especially Italy. Vancouver and Chicago. You can on June 12, 2004 during the three hours of nude cycling, brings us to a place where we www.worldnakedbikeride.org to participate the World Naked Bike Ride. Globally, over are willing to like one another because we and to nominate your city for participation if

1500 naked riders from twenty-nine cities are humble and vulnerable to each other. Cy- it is not listed. iV took to the streets. In Chicago, more than cling makes everyone around you aware that 250 naked cyclists collectively sought to face you are willing to do what seems more dif- For more information, email automobile traffic with our naked bodies. ficult in order to make progress. The rewards teriftiworldnakedbikeride.org. We sought the most efficient way to defend of physical health and a heightened social

our dignity and expose the unique dangers life make the choice that much easier. Teri Danai is a polymath living in Chicago faced by cyclists and pedestrians as well as During our ride, passers-by and auto- IL who likes to ride her tallhike. paint mu-

the negative consequences we all face due to clad humans" responses ranged from drunk- rals, read. sew. garbage pick, and bring

oil dependency and other forms of non-re- en astonishment to deep-seated glee, from peace to her neighbors. She has writtenfour

newable energy. Additionally, we sought to horrific amazement to wild laughter. The hooks, and will read your aura if you ever renew publicly the sense of joy and wonder- police did not arrest anyone. They didn't meet her.

Orgasm: The Faces of Ecstasy of close-ups of the bottoms of naked people Blank Tapes and Libido Films walking on a treadmill. While they walk, their www.libidomag.com interviews play on the soundtrack, creating amusing and discordant effects. Ono's film

of acceptability or at- Orgasm: to grow ripe, be lustful, akin to strength: intense or uncontrol- refuses conceptions

traction it into lable emotional excitement; the climax of arousal typically occurring to- as turns butt cheeks abstrac-

ward the end of coitus. Orgasm: to lose control: embarrassment, private, tions.

secret; to finish, reach a goal; self consciousness, shame, fear, regret. The central sequence of Orgasm is a

Orgasm: to claim control; respect, dialogue, political protest, public, close-up study of the aroused face which

laughter, delight. creates new intimacy and new explicit-

Orgasm: The Faces of Ecstasy, the latest documentary from Libido ness. The interviews before and after

Films, approaches orgasm aware of the complex and contradictory defi- this sequence ask the volunteers why they

nitions and implications surrounding sexual arousal. Shot over four and would participate, what this public display might mean, and

a half days, with 22 volunteers aged 22 to 68 from various backgrounds, how they look and sound when they fake an orgasm. Together, these three sections into funny expressive hour. Orgasm is a non-linear look at people before, during, and after they get cohere a and on off alone or with a partner. The twist? Hafferkamp and Beck shot the The film's focus on climax as the goal of sexual arousal does limit its

volunteers' from the shoulders up and asked them to look back at the conception of sexuality. This may not be its intention, and the interviews camera while they came. work against such a simplifying of the focus, but this limit seems almost

This looking back dares viewers to turn the mirror on themselves and inherent in the project itself.

ask how they look at and are looked at dunng sex. And, when one man Still, Orgasm is definitely an enjoyable and valuable film. It is an ex-

smiles, waves, and says, "Hi Mom," this dialogue assumes entirely differ- tended redo of a project shot by Joani Blank, the founder of Good Vibra- tions, 10-minute party. ent dimensions. These are human beings who can make us laugh at all who made a short about people coming at a sex

this senous sex talk. Here, Libido has taken on a sexy and smart project in a sexy, smart, and Reminiscent of Yoko Ono's 1966 No. 4 (Bottoms). Orgasm also con- delightful way, as usual. -Brian Bergen-Aurand o fronts a common representation of sexuality. Bottoms is shot after shot o U THINK PINK! by Justin Carter Queer Radio Rocks Chicago

When Clamor first approached me to profile Think Pink, a anything with a house techno dance beat. Sure, maybe some of queer radio show on WLUW 88.7 FM in Chicago, I wasn't us do listen to that, and when walking through Boy's Town, you

all that intrigued or interested. I had never listened to the show; can hear plenty of it. But. some of us still want our rock and roll,

1 had never even heard of it; and when I hear the words "queer our pop and hip-hop. and, even, our punk.

radio show" or "queer music." my first reaction is to cringe and Ali & Erik, Think Pink's hosts, do a great job mixing plug my ears. up the show and not just sticking to one genre. Sure, a vast

Let me explain. I grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, and when majority of the musicians on the play list may be gay musicians,

I actually listened to the radio. 1 listened to University of Iowa but you have to remember it is a show geared toward the queer

radio because they played the good music. On Friday afternoons community. Still, sometimes they break from the expected, and it

they ran the queer radio show. The playlist usually consisted of is nice to know that they are playing new music for people who the stereotypical "queer music." They featured Pet Shop Boys. have been prisoners of stereotyping.

Donna Summer. Erasure, anything from the '80s, Dead or Alive. If a queer teen in small town Nebraska is only exposed to

Madonna, and Cher Are you following me? I, like many other typical queer music on radio and television or in film, the \ icious queer people, do not listen to only that kind of music. Sure, cycle will continue. They will think. "I better stop listening to

maybe I am guilty of listening to it in the "SOs but by the late Metallica and better start listening to Madonna, otherwise I'll

'90s, I had evolved. be in this closet forever" Without altemati\es, queer youth

So, against my better judgement. I tuned in to Think will continue being pulled into the typical factor: One day they

Pink to give the show a listen. Only, I couldn't tune in because are alternative rock teens listening to Nir\ana or Smashing of the limited area that can receive the broadcast from the Loyola Pumpkins, and then they see a gay character on TV or in a movie.

University campus on the North East side of Chicago. Luckily The next day they adopt a higher voice, maybe a lisp. They trade

we live in the 21st century, and I was able to obtain a copy of the in their music collection at the local used CD shop for Madonna

show from the co-hosts Ali & Erik. 1 received a CD a few weeks and Cher collections. 1 know, I did it. We become other people's

later and put it aside because I was still very skeptical and wanted stereotypes. Eventually, I learned that I am my own person and to avoid an hour and half cringing and holding my hands over my what others projected on to me was not my scene. But other

ears. Finally, as the deadline for this piece approached, I listened people want to be accepted by their community, and isolated

to the CD. I listened again. Then, I listened one more time. queers will sometimes not see that it is okay to be different.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It's different; it's Shows like Think Pink will help and, we can hope,

something on the radio that I actually have on my iPod. It's broaden their music and cultural palettes, and also let straight

Magnetic Fields, it's Belle & Sebastian, it's the Pixies. And, oh people know that we don't always fit that "friend-of-Dorothy-

" wait, it's also Pet Shop Boys. Indigo Girls, and Morrissey. But Barbara-Striesand-ice-skating-Madonna-lo\ing-dancing-queen

wait, what's thai? Could it be punk rock? Ahhhhhh, indeed it is. prototype. Think Pink is music made by and for the GLBT

Think Pink is also the band Pansy Division. community in Chicago and be\ ond.

See, there is this preconceived notion, correct me if I am

wrong, that queers all listen to the same typical "gay" music. To listen online go to w www luw.org. Think Pink airs Tuesda\ s. Showtunes. Barbara Streisand, Celine, Whitney, Cher, Madonna, 6:30-8:00p.m. (CST).

to Dual-Action Vibrators These toys have been known to leave women satisfied and happy. If you see one of these toys, purchase immediately and return to the safety of Sex Toys for a Passionate World your bedroom.

New York: New York: Seattle:

94 Rivington St. 43 Mercer St. 707 E.Pike St. 212-375-1701 212-966-2120 206-328-2914 www.babeland.com 1-800-658-9119 and topics in sex, a big celebrity name (an excerpt same as the man trying on women's lingerie in [PRINTl from actor Alan Cumming's novel), a pseudonym, a public dressing room while being humiliated

and every kind of writer in-between. The vanation by his wife.. However, I always felt compelled to

[Best American Erotica 2004] in style and experience is exciting and refreshing, continue reading and see where the story would

Susie Bright, ed but occasionally the juxtaposition works against the end If I ended up closing the book and rewnting

Touchstone Books wnter and the story; not every piece is as refined the fantasy in my head to better suit my personal

wwwtouchstonebooks.com as the others, nor does each stand as strongly on needs, the erotica still did its job of connecting

its own. But this is often the burden earned by a the two most important sex organs in a reader:

We will never discover universal truths about collection. the brain and the. well, you know.

the realm of sex and desire. No one act will turn As an editor, Bright's talents lie not only Raymond Johnson

everyone on, which means no one erotic story in selecting the best of each erotica genre, but

will excite everyone. However, we do have Susie also in her arrangement of the stories. While [Girls Rock!:

Bright, the unofficial observer and recorder of sex each story could be devoured singulariy with Fifty Years of Women Making Music]

and sexual desire in America, and she comes each sitting, reading straight through creates a by Mina Carson. Tisa Lewis, and Susan M. Shaw

close to finding a little something for everybody in delightful ebb and flow for the reader, switching University Press of Kentucky

Best American Erotica 2004. Each year she puts activities and partners, varying pace and rhythm. wfww.kentuckypress.com

together a sampler of the best American erotica I was immediately drawn to "A Red

published around the country and tnes to find at Dress Tale." a story about a woman's first-time I'm driving across New Mexico en route to Utah, o least one sexy truth (in fantasy form) for everyone negotiation and expenence of a submissive repacking a tent, cello, guitar, and review copy o who picks up the book. exploitation fantasy. Though I didn't initially of Girls Rock! into my truck every moming The

The submission policy for her collection enjoy another story of oversexed backstabbing book is billed as bnnging together "history, feminist

requires previous publication, but that is a pretty astronauts filming sexual exploits in space. I analysis, and developmental theory to look at how broad requirement. Bright includes personal web couldn't get the idea out of my head afterwards and why women have become rock musicians."

sites and zines in addition to books by major For some, the lesbian softball players doing The authors deliver on their promise, alternating

publishers The result is a cross-section of talent it under catcher's gear might not electnfy the between quotes and summanes of all the Judith 1 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES

BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST-CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO 25 BOWLING GREEN OH POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE

BECOME THE MEDIA PO BOX 20128 TOLEDO OH 43610-9987

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O Payment enclosed O Bill me later two months. Your first issue will be mailed within 4 6 weeks

Intefnational subscriptions are $25US (surface mall) or $40US (air) Butlers, Andrea Dworkins, and Adrienne Riches accountable work. From Missy Elliot and Queen learned that 'W' was coming to our little town of

of the West and the curt peppered statements of Latifah to all the women of Motown, black women 15,000. I'd been hearing about this book from

female musicians local, famous, and infamous. tell their distinct but related history of rock. a friend in London. Read it, he said. With three

The book starts slow, the first chapter The structure of the book is cyclical, striding days to organize, 1,500 demonstrators turned

reading like a 20th century Genesis from Lillith's through eight broad topics and examining rock up to say no to Bush (the largest political protest

perspective. This is our feminist rocker genealogy herstory, psychology and process through each. in our town's history) and by the end of his visit,

illustrated in line after line of "first guitar" creation The book discusses the giri and her instrument, three of us were in jail. I was in the middle of

stories. Paz Lenchanitin, Bitch (of Bitch and the girl and her race, the singer and the song, the George Lakey's chapter, "Strategizing for a Living

Animal), Emily Saliers (of the Indigo Girls), Rana band, the women's music movement, the giri and Revolution" about how Otpor, a youth movement

Ross, Kate Schellenbach (of Luscious Jackson), her image, the business, and survival. Though in Serbia, organized to oust Slobodan Milosovic,

and the Wilson sisters (of Heart) are some of the repetitive, I got used to the authors' style: smart when were informed by the authorities that they'd

familiar names to make an appearance. and truly feminist analytical poetry. be gathering evidence before deciding how to

The rest of the book is more interesting, if The most invigorating bits of the book were charge local activists.

not always more accessible. The authors do a about people, places, and events I know,, like I mention this because too often really good

wonderful job highlighting oppression — primarily Ladyfest Midwest the Chicago scene. In fact, I books seem far away from our everyday struggles;

race, gender, and orientation — and its effect not laughed aloud when I came across a mention disconnected from the solutions we muster and

only on female musicians, but on the music, the of my own band. It is exciting to see my own the larger movements into which we fit. We feel

creative process, the business, and the largely experiences part of such a work but also a bit sad clumsy and flummoxed while the writer's we most

untold herstory of rock. I was amazed at how many that we can even begin to fit our history into one admire make it all seem so much sexier, lyrical,

of these women I had never heard of. short book. So much gets erased. and in any case, never boring. Solnifs collection

Lack of familianty is what makes this book In the end, as a female rocker, I learned is an antidote. It took me away and brought me

difficult to absorb. Without a prior at least cursory, a lot from Giris Rock! It gave me a concrete back-inspired, more defiant, ready.

knowledge of feminism and the herstory of rock, encyclopedia of names and faces of women in An activist himself, Solnit's twenty years

it would seem difficult to care about the plights of rock, places to store away in my mental roll-o-deck. of experience in direct action manifestations.

girirocker x or y at the label, in the dressing room, or It gave me a real sense of a legacy that we have Art and Revolution, as well as his carpenter's

in the studio. But most of the stories are touching, grandmas who've been building these bridges for hands have resulted in a poetic, smart, and

personal, gritty, real, and political. In fact, many of us. It's a powerful thing to be written into being, to immediately useful volume of essays on topics

the most influential female musicians were also illuminate the hidden stories with joy ranging from Post-Issue Activism, Prefigurative

known for their activism or personal strength. Some -Natalie Nguyen Politics, Street Theater, Forward Movement,

of the most prominent include Malvina Reynolds, and Anti-racist organizing. The pieces in this

Aunt Mollie Jackson, Peggy Seeger, Kathleen [Globalize Liberation: How to Uproot collection are grounded in real stories and real

Hanna, Joan Baez, Ani DiFranco, Sweet Honey in the System and Build a Better World] lessons, bringing the rebellions in Argentina,

the Rock, and Tracy Chapman. And, brief memorials Edited by David Solnit poll-tax resistors in Scotland, and farm workers

lend weight to the accounts: "Balladeer Ella May City Lights, 2004 in Immokalee to readers with passion and the

Wiggins sang her protest songs in the coalmines of www.citylights.com intention of advancing concrete, practical, and

Kentucky and was shot to death for her activism." beautiful solutions. Standout offerings include

As well, the stories' attention to rock n' roll's black Chock a block with over thirty essays. Globalize Patrick Reinsborough ("Decolonizing the

roots was also crucial in making this a complete and Liberation came to me on the same day we Revolutionary Imagination"), John Jordan ("The

Zine Spotlight

Verbicide #11 Twenty-Four Hours #4 Ok- I'll admit that I volunteered to review Twenty-Four Hours simply

Jackson Ellis, Editor-in-Chief Josh Medsker, publisher/editor because I liked the name. What I found was a thoughtful literary zine, mostly Scissor Press wvw.geocities.com/twentyfourhourszine short fiction with a small poetry section and two excellent interviews. The conceptual bridge between fiction pieces seemed to be the highly wvw.scissorpress . com personal nature of the stories. Only one of the five stories was not written

in the first person. Although the plots differed greatly, each story explored Ooh, I love magazines, so much that tossing another one on the leaning

character's relationship to situation, I tower of must-reads risks serious detriment to my social life. But for one a surreal or mundane. found the quality of the writing to be somewhat inconsistent, but one standout Verbicide the risk must be taken. Itcaptured my imagination so fully that I

can't wait for the next issue. piece was "Epilogue (Part 2)" by Jeff Burandt, a futuristic story written in a

On the cover Verbicide claims broadly to cover "independent slang reminiscent of "A Clockwork Orange" or Frank Miller's "Dark Knight

literature, music and art." What ties together the short fiction, band Returns."

interviews, photography, poetry, and non-fiction is the challenging nature Josh Medsker, the editor/publisher, conducted both interviews in the zine, one with Levi Asher of of all the art — rebellious and hard to classify, sparking my interest rather LitKicks.com, and one with fellow 'zine

that making me feel alienated from a particular genre. Even the coverage publisher Susan Boren, creator of the 'zine ClipTari. I fully enjoyed both,

of bands I'd never heard of made me want to check out some samples on especially Boron's. As a zine happy urbanite recently relocated to a more

the internet. Faves were "KALM Correspondence" by B. Brandon Barker, mainstream cultural zone, I appreciate any introductions to independent

a short story in the format of letters written and received, about one writers and publishers.

man's battle against the tyranny of lite FM, and "Bill Shields: The Seal Overall I thought Twenty-Four Hours viasvieW put together, and I plan

Who Never Was," by Seth Gotro, a non-fiction piece exposing one of the to check out the next edition, but I liked everything about Verbicide, so

author's literary heroes as a fraud, and exploring the deep relationship enough said — head out to an alternative magazine rack or get on the

internet and keep in between artist and audience. these magazines business! o -Sfe//a Meredith o and the Fury: The Invisible Icons of Anti- The goals of this new terronsm are not Sound new [The No-Nonsense Capitalism"), and Manuel Callahan ("Zapatismo Like many terrorist strategies, these new terrorists Guide to World Poverty] Beyond Chiapas"). aim to disrupt the system. What distinguishes this Jeremy Seabrook Globalize Liberation is a diagnosis, terror is tactical. "As soon as they combine all New Internationalist / Verso. 2003 prescription, and the evidence of wellness in many the modern resources available to them with this www.versobooks.com/www.newint.org small and large instances around the world. If you highly symbolic weapon, everything changes."

want to make change, this will set you on your The weapon in question is the terronsts' own When I first saw the title to this book I was tumed way with strategy (because it "counters despair deaths. These tactics reflect a competence at off because it sounded like an embarrassingly and fosters vision"), tactics, and abundant creative using hegemony's own weapons and a profound insulting Fodor's travel guide. Fortunately it ain't.

inspiration like "fire in dry grass." . understanding of the symbolism and utility of a It's a beautifully written and infonmation filled -Holly Wren Spaulding willingness to die. indictment on the ideology of Capitalism world- Baudrillard's analysis of the American wide and the myths it perpetuates. Some of those [The Spirit of Terrorism] response to this new landscape follows and myths, that poverty can be cured through charity, Jean Baudrillard is not, primarily, a discussion of the wars in "development." or more capitalism, or that mari

Verso, 2003 Afghanistan and Iraq. It focuses rather on the culture and free trade' create more jobs in the third www.versobooks.com emotional response to 9/1 1's symbolic and very worid, are tom apart and dispelled by Seabrook. public attack. The most notable visceral response, Not only in a manner that is backed up with hard "Allergy to any definitive order, to any definitive on Baudrillard's view, is the "Amencan people's facts, but with a language that, while describing a power, is — happily — universal," Jean Baudrillard immense compassion for itself — with star- world filled with exploitation and manipulation, is says in his work the Spirit of Terrorism, observing spangled banners, commemorative messages, also direct and poetic. The different indictments on that hegemony is, at least, universally distrusted the cult of victims. .."etc. This attack vindicates all the post-Cold War poverty that grips most of the and, at worst, loathed. What, then, allows a that came before. America, to Baudrillard, is given population of this planet, is chopped up into bite- confrontation with hegemony? Baudrillard posits "the right to be the best... from now on, Americans sized pieces that make the subject easy to digest. that only singularities, individualized cultural are victims." We are learning the hard way what This book (and all the books in the No-Nonserise situations, can threaten this definitive power. humiliation feels like, a day-to-day cultural fact of Guide series) is pocket-sized and only 130 pages. Competing hegemonic regimes cant — they will life for much of the Third World. "The worst thing But in those short 130 pages Seabrook manages ultimately be consumed dialectically by merely for global power is not to be attacked or destroyed, to show both the personal affects of poverty of following their hegemonic impulse to join in the but humiliated," Baudrillard offers. individuals around the worid thnj short biographies, creation of a broader universal order September Tragically, since the attacks, America has and also show how the West systematically creates 11th and our ongoing war on terror is not, then faced a "challenge (that) can be taken up only this situation to our own benefit and the rest of the "...a 'clash of civilizations', but (a) confrontation by humiliating the other in return." This desire for worid's detnment. between undifferentiated universal culture and humiliation has led us to wars in Afghanistan and Through six chapters, Seabrook tries to dispel everything which... retains something of an Iraq and, more troublingly, we find that "freedom is how those who create poverty, the West, define irreducible alterity." Islam, in this reading, is "merely already fading from minds and mores, and liberal what it is through the use of facts and statistics, a moving front" where opposition to hegemony can globalization is coming about in precisely the and how they are presented to us. For example,

find temporary shelter. It is singulahties, defending opposite form — a police state globalization." one statistic says that 12 billion people exist on themselves against hegemony, that perpetrated -Keith McCrea less than a dollar a day but what it doesn't say is

the 9/11 attacks and it is against them that that many of those people are making less than a hegemony now defends itself [The Journal of Aesthetics & Protest] dollar a day because they exist through barter, and The Spirit of Terrorism is Baudrillard's Marc & Robby Herbst, et. al Editors are not part of the global economy where people consideration of the 2001 attacks on the World www.journalofaestheticsandprotest.org work for wages. Seabrook contends that one of the Trade Center, this conflict's most famous goals of international capitalism and colonialism is battleground. Early in the first of the four essays This, my first Journal, proves that no subject is too make the inhabitants of the worid part of a global compiled here is the following declaration: erudite or too specific for indy media to address. economy controlled by the West, where "third

"Terrohsm is immoral. (A)nd it is a response to a Our intrepid editors tear it up on a variety of worid" nations are to be used as Producers for us, globalization which is itself immoral. So let us be subjects and never leave you feeling as if your the Consumers. Most of us are led to believe that

immoral, if we want to have some understanding of intelligence has been doubted Corey Dickey's poverty is something that is the fault of the people this..." He further urges us, before considering this excellent discussion of Japanese playwright that are its victims, or an unfortunate circumstance event, to "try to get beyond the moral imperative and author Yukio Mishima more than covers the resulting from ones sun-ounding environment (such of unconditioned respect for human life" and give six buck cover price. Dickey powerfully reminds as starvation) But. in reality, it is more than likely credence to the decision to put other values before us that the anti-modernisms that inform post- created from outside sources Seabrook points human life — things like justice, freedom, and the modernism, whether in the aesthetics of Mishima to a culture of Colonialism and Impenalism that dignity of others. In order to address 9/11, we or the philosophy of Heidegger, remain indigestible is endemic in the West. We live in a culture that must realize that the enemies of hegemony are medicine — a clump in throat of any critique survives off of the poverty we inflict on the rest of driven, not by a "hatred bred of deprivation and of mercenary liberal capitalism. Other subjects the worid. As the author states, 'colonialism was not exploitation, but (by) humiliation." The architects of include the role of beauty in revolution and the an event, it was a process and it continues today" the 9/11 attacks were not the poor and desperate, difficulty of maintaining truly open art spaces and The No-Nonsense Guide to World Poverty they were educated and relatively affluent. Their communities for practicing artists. Really a great is excellent not only as a pnmer on poverty for o motivations can't be understood with the same zine. o those who are ignorant about it. but also provides tools used to understand the Intifada, for example. -Keith McCrea more ammunition for those well versed in the This is a new terronsm, a terronsm of living room subject matter (Another excellent book on this televisions more than of body counts, of "death in subject that I highly recommend is The Lords of real-time — 'live'... This is the spirit of terrorism" Poverty: Power Prestige, and Convption of the in evidence in the 9/11 attacks according to International Aid Business by Graham Hancock.) Baudrillard. -SKOT! CO For Your Coffee Table Brian Bergen-Aurand

Women by Women: says, 1 offer these images as another way to think about how to live in Erotic Photography the spirit of both love and passion — in all their tantalizing varieties." Edited by Peter Delius Her lens focuses on the normalcy of all these activities. Playing and Jacek Slaski a dominatrix is as normal as kissing a camel at the zoo or tugging on Introduction by your sister's braids. Dawn hugging her dying great-grandmother, Mark Sophie Hack and and Steve lazing in bed with their poodle, and a woman emerging from Stephanie Kuhnen the "car wash" at the Lifestyles swingers convention share a common (Prestei, 2003) ground. Annie Sprinkle's "tittle chapeau" fits as well as Patrick Buck- lew's "mangina" or a traditional white wedding dress. An older couple

This is an aggressive inves- holds hands, two elephants nuzzle, one woman takes four partners, and no one seems hurt, manipulated, or objectified. In these photo- tigation. It centers female pliotograpliers to ask how graphs, people hold hands, eat breakfast together, suck on and spank the female lens alters the one another, lie in the grass together, climax together or alone, and march side-by-side for women's rights. Ail the while, the emphasis is on erotic. It also centers the re- lation between the subject, honesty, love, lust, and respect. artist, and spectator to ask Ferrato's images challenge monocular visions of relationships as how women photographers she repeatedly asks why we can't have more than we do. Cultivating a challenge these boundahes. After a long history of men looking at wom- healthy lust "is central to a healthy and vigorous pshyche," she says. Per- en, this book asks how women look at women. haps that's the most important point of all. Included are images by internationally recognized female photographers Eve Arnold, Sylvia Plachy, Lillian Bassman, former model Male Bodies: turned photographer Ellen von Unwerth, and Ellen Auerbach. So small A Photographic a sample would provoke long conversations about women photograph- History of the Nude ing women in an erotic light. Among these women, though, is an out- By Emmanuel Cooper standing collection of newer lenses presenting the female form from (Prestei, 2004) multiple angles.

Katrina Webb's black and white bed-play is a ticklish and athletic When it comes to the history jaunt between the curve of a calf muscle and a lampshade on a wom- of the male nude, Emmanuel an's head. Lucia Ferrario hides her model's face behind jet-black hair Cooper wrote the book, liter- a contrast against pale skin and white sheets. Freckles, blemishes, the ally From his first study of the slight black lines of cleavage and the gap between front teeth press male nude. Fully Exposed: Male Bodies A PHOTOCtAPHIC HISTOIV Of THf NUM against the frame in Melissa Ulto's close-up work. The Male Nude in Photog-

Ivana Ford's woman in the doorway is the most seductive of the raphy (1990), Cooper has collection. A yellow spotlight on a black dress, hair, and background, immersed his readers and and an eyebrow raised enough to rhyme with the curl of a bang take viewers in the sexual politics hold. In contrast, Dianora Niccolini's giant body against a cityscape, of representation. An art and r^ooning the neighbors from a rooftop, is spiritedly defiant, comical, and photography historian and even slightly intimidating. Merging with their black background. Nana regular conthbutor to major gay periodicals. Cooper bhngs his formi- Watanabe's cartographies of the body verge on abstraction. dable historical knowledge to bear on this chronological collection of 50

Most exciting of all are Enka Langley's collaborations. Her beauti- provocative photographers to ask: How have images of the male body ful, bold, unabashed, and interactive approach to women and their bod- been used? ies refreshes old ideas of what happens between a photographer and Since 1839, images of the male body have documented physical her model. Seeing her in the frame with her models blurs the assumed perfection, medical ailment, anatomical study portrait modeling, athletic prowess, erotic pursuit, gay iconography and the effects of HIV/AIDS. Coo- boundaries and interrupts the standardized hierarchy. I wish there were more of her here. per brings these images together against the backdrop of their cultures to show us the multiple histories of the male nude. Strikingly he argues, how Love and Lust cultures continue to play hide and seek with images of the penis speaks By Donna Ferrato loudest about when the male nude is the most transgressive. (Aperture, 2004) Some of the most canonical photographers are here; Eakins. Muybridge, Sandow, Weston, Cunningham, White, Warhol, Leibovitz

How do we keep love and lust and my personal favorite. Nan Goldin. Their presence reminds us of alive? This is the question behind a crucial photographic trajectory. In addition to these touch points,

Donna Ferrate's follow up to her the collection also includes some outstanding entries on Will McBride, acclaimed documentation of do- Duane Michals, Robin Shaw, Tony Butcher, and Jonathan Webb. mestic violence, Living With the With each of these male and female photographers, we gain an-

Er7emy (1991). In her latest collec- other view of the less studied history of the male nude and a new point tion, Ferrato photographs people of departure. In bringing these studies fonward. Cooper asks us to con- engaging with multiple partners, template why the male nude is so important right now. He says, "This is highly charged sexual personas, an appropriate moment to look at the new wave of photography of the or more traditional relationships male nude within its historical context, and how this reflects and com- to show how love and lust are ments on the times in which we live." What we see and what we don't intimately connected. Restnctive see tells us a lot about ourselves. morality is her target, and, as she ... a welcome entry were executed in 1927. The men were convicted only passingly familiar with, as well as more in-

into the arena of teen because they were immigrants, the lowest caste depth looks at topics I was already very familiar

of society And even worse, they were anarchists. with. I can see that this book would also lend itself media that very well The evidence against them was flimsy and the trial well to being read in parts, to being picked up and was a mockery of objectivity. The judge in charge put down as the mood strikes you. With the wealth

may, given time and a of their sentencing was quoted as saying "Did you of topics it can also be used a great resource, or

see what I did to those anarchist bastards the can be read for pure enjoyment. Pick one up, flip

few more pages, give other day? That will hold them for awhile." through it, read an essay that catches your eye

The book includes writings by both Sacco — I'm sure you will agree. its the media much and Vanzetti, Eugene Debs, Upton Sinclair, H,G. -Brandon Bauer Wells, Emma Goldman and Howard Zinn. During needed kick. the appeals of the case there was an international [Shameless Magazine #1]

movement in support of the two men. People gave www.shamelessmag.com

what little money they had to the defense fund.

[Rebel Lives: Sacco and Vanzetti] There were protests around the world. And still The summer issue of Shameless doubles as

John Davis, ed. the men were executed. Sacco and Vanzetti were its premiere issue, pointing the way to what will [Rebel Lives: Louise Michel] considered terrorists and were convicted due to hopefully be a long and bright future for this much

Nic Maclellan, ed. their ethnicity and political beliefs. It is a story that needed magazine. Vanously subtitled as being "an Ocean Books, 2004 should be remembered in this climate of fear in our independent magazine for strong, smart, sassy

www.oceanbooks.au country today. giris for giris who get it," Shameless sets out to. in -Heather Mayer the words of co-editors Melinda Mattos and Nicole

Ocean Books' Rebel Lives series is an accessible Cohen, "give teen media a senous kick in the

introduction to the lives of men and women whose [Serpents In The Garden: ass." Rather than simply reproducing the largely

actions had a profound influence in the radical Liaisons with Culture and Sex] false and trite characteristics of teenage girts

movements of their times. Some, like Chris Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St, Clair peddled in other rags (you know who you are),

Hani, Haydee Santamaria, and Louis Michel, are CounterPunch/AK Press Shameless aims to. as per its name, offer a more

unfamiliar to most of us. Others, like Albert Einstein www.akpress.com/www.counterpunch.org realistic approach that sidesteps the foundational

and Helen Keller (reviewed in Clamor. Jan/Feb shame of the previously mentioned offenders.

2004) are well-known, but their radicalism has been Serpents In The Garden is a new book by the The point here is a combination of inclusiveness

If artifice, left out of conventional histories. The books begin editors of CounterPunch. you are familiar with and a pointed evasion of both noble goals

with a short introduction to the topic, followed by the reporting and good old muckraking found in but difficult to achieve, much less in a first issue.

excerpts of primary and secondary sources including CounterPunch you will have an idea of what to However, where others have failed. Shameless

writings by the subject, their contemporaries, and expect from this collection of essays. The subtitle succeeds admirably.

works by later histonans on the subject. The editing claims the essays in this book are liaisons with Though 1 can't speak for the highlighted

nor girt. is excellent. Selections are short and vaned. Each culture and sex , but that is hardly an adequate audience, being neither strong, sassy, a

chapter has an introduction explaining the relevance description of the breadth of essays contained Shameless has much to offer readers within and

of the texts included. The books are easy to read, in this book. There are four main sections in the outside its focus. Anchoring this first issue are a

book covenng culture in general, music, art and diverse group of articles that make up in interest even with no prior knowledge of the subject. I had

done pnor research on Sacco and Vanzetti, so their architecture, and sex, as well as a smaller section what they lack in length: perhaps the only real

on the topic of death. The essays are wntten by problem plaguing this offenng is just that, articles story was familiar to me, but Louise Michel I had several different authors, some taking a step back that while tackling important topics in interesting never heard of. In either case I found the books to

be interesting and informative. and looking at their topics from the outside, and ways, stop all too soon. From Martin Saraiva we Louise Michel was a leader of the Paris others speaking very much from within their given get, in the section "Women on the Job," an insightful

filled with humor, examination of the benefits and problems awaiting Commune of 1871. Though short-lived (it only topic. The essays are human, lasted two months) the Commune served as an honesty, at times biting, and all very well written. women working as sound engineers/house into inspiration for later revolutionary movements. For a book covenng the range of topics, it's a very technicians: from Anna Leventhal, a look

Michel was the head of the Women's Vigilance satisfying read. the still largely male-dominated and misogynistic

Committee, but also a part of the men's committee. Some of the topics taken to task in this book worid of community radio and its role as a venue of

in Airwaves." and She fought with the men and during her trials include: the ecological fetishism of Julia Butterfly self-expression "Making These

articles fill of refused to have a lesser sentence than her Hill, the unabashed fascism of Salvador Dali. and many more like-minded the 48 pages wnte- comrades due to her sex and proved an inspiration an in-depth essay on the red and green history of Shameless, as well as a handful of one-page concerning diverse topics as advice upon to Emma Goldman, whose story of their first Mayday, and Suge Knight and the story of Death ups such stash, narrative of meeting is included Also included is a poem about Row Records, as well as a very thoughtful and discovenng your dad's pom a her by Victor Hugo, and wntings on the Commune insightful look at the paintings of Lucian Freud vegan survival with a nifty hummus recipe to boot. by Marx, Engles, Bakunin. Kropotkin and Lenin. — this is only the tip of the iceberg There is also and altematives to tampons for those with medical,

in or objections Something for Michel's story is inspinng in her complete devotion a wonderful personal story of being on the line environmental, other more, well, to the revolution. As Emma Goldman wrote, Louise Detroit, and great wnting on the death of Edward everyone to say the least, and to say

Michel stood out sublime in her love for humanity, Said by Alexander Cockburn. Also included by here goes.

girl o way of an introduction is a list of what the editors 1 could hardly imagine a teenage reading o grand in her zeal and courage rsj this issue of Shameless and treating it as The book on Sacco and Vanzetti is more consider to be great books of the twentieth century premiere

in less epiphany, a kind of woridliness interesting due to its relevance in today's in English as well as translation. than an bamng

to most at that age There is certainly political climate Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo I read this book straight through for this unavailable troubling Vanzetti were arrested in 1920 for the murder review and there was never a dull moment, 1 enough helpful, informative, and at times the of two men dunng a payroll robbery. They were learned and was exposed to the history of some information in these pages to galvanize even apathetic of teenage girls, much less the wrongly convicted and sentenced to death, and musicians I had never read about before or was most O various and sundry others who may come upon retribution as impersonal, implying fairness versus [Brightback] magazine. Though the stated demographic revenge, being personal, involving bias, is defined the Ala.Cali.Tucky be very specific, the audience that could by revenge being rooted in feelings of anger and may galaxia, 2003

to read Shameless is large, making it a its ability to imbue zeal and righteousness when stand galaxia-platform.com welcome entry into the arena of teen media that vindicated. Barad looks at the causes of anger, very well may, given time and a few more pages, the quandary of its power and the dangers of its This 2003 release was written and recorded while give the media its much needed kick. excess. Brightblack members were homeless and camping -Isaac Vayo Read either front to back or independently out in rural places, including the three states which by essay. Terrorists or Freedom Fighters is a make up the album name. The result of so much [Terrorists or Freedom Fighters] powerful compilation of essays that demands time under the big bright black sky with stars and Edited by Steven Best, PhD and readers to question the important issues of animal wind as inspiration is a deliciously comforting,

Anthony J. Nocella II exploitation and how each of us plays into this spacious, warm and breathy album. Sighing their Lantern Books, 2004 systematic oppression. Best and Nocella have way through these slow, rhythmic jewels, Nathan www.lanternbooks.com compiled an essential reader for both the animal Shineywater and Rachael Hughes weave an rights newcomer and the seasoned activist. almost gospel-like web that settles on you like Terrorists or Freedom Fighters takes a -Michael Wilcock the night sky. The simple lyrics don't attempt to comprehensive and exhaustive look at the inner dig too deeply; instead they whisper of summer workings, tactics, ethics, organization and history of nights, of wandering with no compass for direction the Animal Liberation Front. In the foreword. Ward [AUDIO] and that feeling that comes with being alone but Churchill sets the stage for readers to examine not lonely. Besides the gorgeous shimmering the methods and belief system of the ALF, a non- [85 Decibel Monks] male and female vocals, all washed out in steel hierarchical organization of autonomous groups Tack-Fu Presents the Production Team pedal guitar and backed up by rich piano chords, and individuals bound together by a simple set of Tack-Fu Productions the entire album is drenched in heavy reverb, guidelines for the protection and equal rights of www.tackfu.com almost smothehng you with that southern comfort. all animals. Churchill draws correlations between Occasional tambourine punctuates these slow and the significance of the ALF's struggle for an end Iowa City doesn't possess the most illustrious captivating songs, which are even complete with to the subjugation of animals and the great battles history in regards to hip-hop. But, it's kinda like cricket chirps! Ala.Cali.Tucky was produced by fought against apartheid, Nazi genocide, and Howard Dean being harangued for not having Paul Oldham, brother of the prolific troubadour/ Jim Crow laws, while analyzing the effectiveness more black folks on his staff in Vermont. But some songwriter Bonnie Prince Biliy (Will Oldham). In of direct action resistance as opposed to more white folks, most likely sporting a delightful ac- fact, Brightblack recently toured the Midwest and passive protest. The numerous writers who have cent of some variety, have come through with a Texas with Bonnie Prince Billy, and their songs contributed essays, for the most part, seem to pretty damned quality hip-hop album. The master were even more hypnotic and alluring at the live view the actions of the ALF as imperative steps of the production is Tack-Fu, accompanied by his show than on the album. Be careful, this album to combat the genocidal mentalities that allow team of ruffians (The Chaircrusher, Hartless and can suck you under and hold you there — you may humans to exert their believed supremacy over drumk). The fact that DJ Vadim, Manchild, lllogic even be tempted to sell your possessions and go animals. The book is an impressive and extensive and Blueprint appear on this release solidifies that a-wanderin'. It makes you wish for nothing more primer to those outside and inside animal rights fact that there is talent behind the boards in the than a night sky overhead and a whiskey bottle communities for understanding the motivations mighty land of Iowa: those folks aren't collaborat- by your side. of actions that many consider extreme — even ing outta pity. The first track, "Enter Dependents," -Emily Sloan terrorist. An underlying theme of the book and the sports Mars ill. The viola drone, hand drums and

ALF on the whole is a re-evaluation of the inherent echo-laden snare hit make the track float, while [Bullet Teeth] specieism that allows humans to justify animal it's being ridden by average raps. Tack Fu spends Drive Yourself to the Hospital cdr abuses such as livestock factory farming, lab time with the sounds he uses so he oftentimes [email protected] testing, and fur farming. feels whether or not an emcee or a vocal sample

A quote in the ALF primer (reprinted in the is needed. More frequently than not he figures Man, why doesn't everyone live around Toledo? book) says, "When you see the pictures of a correctly. "Oh Yeah," featuhng DJ Skwint, comes Fuck 'em, it's their mistake and Bullet Teeth is but masked liberator, stop asking who's behind the off without any vocal accompaniment as does one example of why I love living in the 419. A deft mask and look in the mirror." Certainly these "Interlude in E-Minor." Occasionally, he figures melding of old-fashioned DIY punk, post-American founders were the ancestors of the anarcho-punks wrong ("Mr. World"). A tune by drumk, however, TapesAA/olf Eyes noise, and late '80s Touch & Go and black block protestors of new millennium is the highlight of the instrumental numbers. His pigfuck, Bullet Teeth tear shit up in a big, messy, direct activism. Dr. Maxwell Schnurer points out "Mongolian Fire" best uses the eastern theme noisy way. The songwriting is focused, the band in his essay "At the Gates of Hell: The ALF and that is visited on this album a few times. A couple uses the (limited) musical tools at their disposal the Legacy of Holocaust Resistance," that these of electo-glitch tracks ("Hot Water for Tea Key to the max, and the production is remorselessly were pages the ALF took from the books of Jewish Player") get stowed away on here as well, show- asskicking. Contact 'em, buy their shit, book a activists who fought against Nazis in the Third casing the collective's ability to leave the compla- show for them, and stand the fuck back. If this fails Reich. And these were tactics of the suffragettes cency of most hip-hop and try somethin' new. So to kick your ass, you probably have no business fighting for women's hghts in the early twentieth friends, in closing, simply contribute to our national reading Clamor m the first fucking place. century, notes Dr. Mark Bernstein in his essay pastime of buying stuff and buy this. Go. -Keith McCrea "Legitimizing Liberation." -Dave Cantor

Any successful movement should initiate self-reflection and Dr. Judith Barad looks at Iowa City doesn't possess the most illustrious history in regards to anger and its link to the motivations for animal hip-hop. But, it's kinda like Howard liberation acts in her essay "Aquinas' Account of Dean being harangued

Anger." Should the activist achieve pleasure from for not having more black folks in on his staff Vermont. o fighting for animal lives? The subtlety between o [Coyote Shivers] Old Time Relijun remain a unique transcendental and truths spoken and delivered. There is also a

Gives It To Ya Twice experience that you'll probably enjoy, if you're so great sample of a classic Bad Brains riff on the

Foodchain Records. 2004 inclined, in somebody's basement. Awesome! Get track "Telegram where Saul's voice sounds very

www.foodchainrecords.com your freaky dance party on. reminiscent of HRs. .

-vigilance The song directly after "Act III, Scene 2 I

There will be sluts and drugs and fags and rock- (Shakespeare)' titled "Reparations ..(for an

..." n-roll ... should be fun Coyote Shivers belts out [Sandman] unrequited love)" more than makes up for the

the first line of his latest album with such hope The Long Walk Home previous track, and is one of my favorite tracks on

and excitement that convinces the listener that it Cnmethinc, 2004 • the album. Another stand out is the song "Afncan - "should be fun," and it is. As once a guitar player wwwcnmethinc.com v»A/vw.rappincowboy.com Student Movement" which is very minimal and

for The Conspiracy (the band who went down in subdued, combining a synthesis of industrial beats

rock history as the first non-Soviet band signed Sandman is the uber-prolific leading contemporary and acapella vocals that really grounds the track

to the Soviet run record label MELODIYA), this cowboy poet of now. He's also Montana's very in a powerful way. This track hits hard through its

Ramones inspired rocker "Gives it to ya Twice," own rappin' cowboy whose hardly ever at home restraint and precisely because of it.

with his double disc album. The first disc entitled in Olympia because he's always touring like mad. I was surprised by some of what he was

"One Sick Pup" includes energy and punk infused With several releases on his own label. L-ONE- doing in this album upon the first listen. This album

songs such as "Just Be Fnends" where he R Records and various others scattered about gets a hold of you initially, but I think it really gets

explains, "I've got what you want and you've got from a handful of other small, underground labels, better the more you listen to it. After the first few

what I want." he is hustling non-stop. The Long Walk Home listens the music starts sinking in and becomes

The Toronto native once said he knew he showcases his characteristic acoustic crooner more nuanced All of the tracks on this album are

wanted to be in a rock band the first time he saw style, with an accapella, some whistling, a tiny delivered with passion and force Even when the

the Ramones live. Rock is exactly what he does smattenng of hip-hop, and even a touching sing- lyrics are spoken softly passion and urgency hangs -

for those of us who can never get enough of that a-long for good measure. But, you know, mostly off of every word. It is refreshing to hear an artist B

New York punk influenced sound. This album is this record is all "sad cowboy with acoustic guitar" taking these kinds of risks. The press sheet says

absolutely a treat for the ears and mind. songs. Favontes were the opening accapella, that most of the songs were expenments Saul was

Although a lot more mellow, the second disc "The Cowboy's Life is a Very Dreary Life" and the worthing on before crafting it into an album, and it

entitled "From My Bedroom to Yours" does not closing ode to MLK, "Folk Legend," followed by retains that experimental feeling. It is very fresh in

disappoint. Beginning with a slow acoustic version a short but sweet hidden track. Sandman's style its experimentation and has come together as a

of "Sugar High" (from the movie Empire Records), and delivery can wobble from sincere to tongue- solid album- check it out.

this part of the album goes on to songs like "She and-cheek, and sometimes its hard to know just -Brandon Bauer Won't Fuck Me" about his girl loosing him to the where he's at. And that's ok. He can bust a mad " girl next door. After enjoying this album, I would freestyle like it ain't no thing and then turn around [Semiofficial]

recommend keeping an eye out for more Coyote and yodel like he's home on the freakin' range A The Anti-Album

Shivers in the near future. working class hero for the people. Sandman talks Rhymesayers

-Ashley Cressoine the talk with his music and walks the walk with this vww.rhymesayers.com

release on Cnmethinc — a fitting destination and

[Old Time Relijun] proper pairing for one rabble-rousing drifter and Semi. Official stands tall as a tnje representation of

Lost Light a collective anarcho-clearinghouse. Undeniably the culture and the movement of underground hip-

K Records enigmatic and ironically iconoclastic, he's hop. The debut of mastermind collaboration. The

www.krecs.com threatened to get more serious with his song- Anti-Album, was most definitely the hottest record I

it. it writing, so I would recommend picking up his most heard in 2003. And the best thing about is that

Old Time Relijun from Olympia, WA. continue to recent self-released A Year In the Life of Slippery will never burn me out. Its that solid. And tmthfully.

mesmerize with a trademark sound that is honed Goodstuff while it lasts — especially if you're I feel bad for any so-called head that has not yet

by extensive touring, and they make me move looking for a thematic recording of full-length heard it. A project that has been in the works

every time I've caught them live. This generally Sandman in unfettered dirty hip-hop mode. since late '99 but didn't drop until Sept '03. Semi

takes place in someone's low-hung, dangerously -vigilance Official remained a stnctly subterranean word of

cramped basement with lots of eccentric types, mouth release with no publicity. It features all-lhe-

generally in an undulating sweaty mass situation. [Saul Williams] way-innovative production by DJ Abilities, who

The Old Time Relijun really have a way with s/t weaves outrageous sample interiudes throughout

their audience. Definitely loud and cacophonic, Fader Label the joint while dropping well-crafted beats with

often experimental but then super-catchy, with wwwthefader.com perfection. Combined with the master lyncism of

an accomplished rhythm duo on upright bass veteran translator and project conceptualist. I Self

and sthpped down drums that really carnes it all, Saul Williams isn't content to stick to any Devine, whose always on point with his delivery

and a mad preacher of Bacchanalian-rock getting prescribed formula — this is not purely a hip- and content, the Semiofficial word is borne.

all spiritual on the mic, guitar, and clannet. With hop album, it's not solely a spoken word album Behold another dope release on Rhymesayers

songs guaranteed chock-full of birth, blood, water, either but there are elements of both on this Entertainment (MNPLSi) Sick tracks like the

monsters, copulation, alchemy, mythology, and disk. William's sums it up in his own words: "The mind-boggling "Semi Official?" intro, the visceral

sometimes even throat-singing! And I believe tracks range from politics to relationships and the o this album, the third full-length, to be their most politics of relationships What I ended up with was accessible and movement inducing release to something that captured the authoritative cool of "You know, we just date. This album features a weird, cyclical birth hip-hop, the playful angst of rock and roll, the raw

to death/rebirth theme and favorites include torment of emo (and, my favorite, screamo ), and drop the shit out "Vampire Victim" (the new Monster Mash). "Cold the fuck offness of punk."

Water" (w/ catchy sing-a-long), and "The Rising There are beautiful moments on this disk and let the music

Water, The Blinding Light" (trance-swamp rocker!). — hard hitting moments, slamming beats, insights, stand for itself." ^4 "Songs in the Key of Tryfe" (feat. MF Doom), the beaten just phor to the recording and this is how rights activists, environmentalists, and anarchists

funk of "Systems Goe," "Hit the Deck" (feat. Budah they got out the aggression, but this disc doesn't converged on Miami to protest these talks.

Tye), the power of "Crime" (with a 12" single lack energy. It also doesn't hoard talent, but it's a "The Miami Model" as it came to be known

that devastates!), the serious mover "Get Up." trade off. Pretty much the groove that's reached describes the actions taken by the city of Miami

and "Wishing for a Miracle" (feat. Gene Poole), amidst the crunch of every track is minimalist. to control and contain the demonstrators. To the

Especially fond of "Transitions," with its message And while I enjoy everything simple from Kraut organizers of the trade talks the Miami Model

that, yeah, we're all going to die so get your Rock to Steven Reich, the reliance on the wah- was an overwhelming success and is a model to

thoughts in order and focus on how you're going wah peddle ("Little Strange," "Random Deity") is be replicated around the country in cities faced to live. And the graffiti whter's joint, "Nocturnal a little disturbing. Fortunately, the tempo changes with demonstrations this scale. This documentary

Terrorist Squad," is a well-constructed musical on "Next Time I'll Be a Spider" hints at the practice clearly shows the anti-democratic tactics taken triptych. While discussing the album recently with that theses DC natives have put into their craft. and the police state atmosphere that the Miami

I Self Devine, he sums up the underground nature The track sounds like Sabbath listening to The Police Department cultivated. of the project by saying, "I personally think Semi, Who while trying to cover a Stooges song. The The Miami Model begins with a very

Official's gonna be a cult. It's gonna be something Stooges connection ain't done yet either. Thee informative segment about police brutality in the that'll sell slow like a steady stream. Because Snuff Project, when they keep the tracks short, are city and about the Overtown neighborhood, a

everybody that hears it and marinates with it, they effective. And even though I don't think that they're predominately African-American and Haitian area really love it. You know, we just drop the shit out gonna become millionaires, they should at least of Miami. It also shows the hype and fear that and let the music stand for itself." make gas and beer/liquor money wherever they was created by the corporate media about violent

-vigilance go for a decade or so. anarchists who were coming to Miami to protest

-Dave Cantor the FTAA. This demonizing of demonstrators led

[The Six Parts Seven] the Miami City Council to pass a law banning Everywhere and Right Here [Who's America?] assemblies of more than seven people without a Suicide Squeeze Records, 2004 URB Magazine presents a compilation by permit. Intimidation of activists and harassment www.suicidesqueeze.net System Recordings & Definitive Jux soon followed in the days and week leading up to

The cover of this latest release from the Six Parts viAA/w.definitivejux.net the protests. By the time the protests began they

Seven depicts a snake weaving through a formation were met by a highly militarized and overwhelming of giraffes, a fitting visual for an album dominated This is a no-brainer. A well-done, collaborative CD police presence. by some of the most restrained serpentine guitar compilation that dropped in Sept 04 containing The Miami police attempted to divide the work since, well, Television maybe. A headphone ten tracks of alternating electronic and hip-hop protesters and break up their marches by using album to say the least. Everywhere and Right music from innovators in each genre. Their every means at their disposal — pepper spray,

Here recalls nothing more than Apollo-era Brian mission is simple: Draw attention to the upcoming rubber bullets, pushing into the protesters' lines

Eno in its wistful use of lap steel, creating stark presidential election with this CD, which is an and provoking the demonstrators. In some cases tumbleweed dreamscapes delivered straight from attempt to raise money and awareness to get- the police forced the protestors out of the streets the honzon. The aforementioned guitar work, out-the-vote and toss the Bush junta out on its but offered them no escape route and no where to along with the lap steel and judicious washes proverbial elephant ear. Plus this is a non-profit go as they came down on them with their batons. from the vibes — all soaked in an ample amount endeavor with proceeds going to The League of Protest footage from the front lines shows the of reverb — combine in tranquil songs that come Pissed Off Voters and Music for America to further police causing situations, not simply reacting to and go without demanding much more from the those causes. All the tracks contributed to this them. The city looks as if it is under siege by walls listene' than an open ear and a relaxed posture, release are solid hitters and most are exclusive of black clad riot police. since anything but is an impossibility in light of to the compilation. To name a few, Mr. Lif tells The documentary does a good job of showing the calm it produces. Previous tours with TV on it like it is on two tracks, one solo ("Home of the how the corporate media is far from being unbiased the Radio and shows with Shannon Wright and Brave" remix) and one with Akrobatik as The in their coverage of the talks. Major media outlets the Unicorns seem perfectly natural given the Six Perceptionists ("Memorial Day"), and Camutao were embedded with the police in the same way

Parts Seven's sound, and their aim of providing shows off his crooning skills in Central Services w/ journalists have been embedded with soldiers in fresh sonic additions to the independent rock El-P on "I Work For the Government Now." Really, Iraq. Corporate media outlets were reporting solely canon. Maybe the perfect moment on this disc it's all good music for a good cause, what more do from the police perspective, making any claims to is the guitar coda to "Already Elsewhere," where you need? Props to URB, System Recordings, & objective journalism a farce. Journalists who chose everything drops away but the shimmehng lead Definitive Jux for doing the right thing and leading not to be embedded faced the same heavy-handed and a touch of vibes. Beautiful, Elevator music it the charge. Let's all make it happen on election police response that the protestors faced. may be, but it's the coolest elevator ever. day (Nov 2nd!!) and exercise our right for a taste It is documentaries like this that make

-Isaac Vayo of democracy in action. Indymedia so important. The video activists who -wg//ance contributed the footage and those who edited the

[Thee Snuff Project] final documentary should be lauded for giving us

Dyin Ain't Much of a Livin an honest on-the-ground account of the protests Hackshop Records, 2004 [VIDEO/DVD] and the police tactics used. I am sure we will wwwhackshoprecords.com increasingly see this type of militarization of our [The Miami Model DVD] police and the disinformation through the corporate

If you turned down the volume on your stereo to FTAA IMC Video Working Group media of opposing points of view.

Thee Snuff Project will still make blood spurt from viAww.ftaaimc.org If you are interested in screening this your ears. Scott Taylor has one mode of singing documentary as a joint benefit you are encouraged and it's called attack. The whole album is just The Miami Model is an Indymedia production that to contact the FTAA IMC Video Working Group to set unrelenting. From the guitar drone on the longest focuses on the events surrounding the FTAA (Free up a screening — ftaaimc.org. Proceeds from the intro ever, "Intro to Every Black Window," to the Trade Area of the Americas) talks held in Miami, benefits will go to the production of this documentary vaned tempos on "Start Your Own Cult," the rage Florida in November of 2003. A diverse coalition of on DVD and to various other projects. o doesn't let up. I don't know if these kids were groups including Union members, students, human -Brandon Bauer o «< W Community in the Jails

n Palmer Peter Holderness

The protest actions against the Republican National Convention in hearts and a collective energy about the week drawn from the size of New York City between August 27 and September 2. 2004, were the actions and the peacefulness of most gatherings. And. of course, centered around creating and promoting community. Events includ- there was an inevitable sense of shock at the NYPDs seeming eager-

ed bicycle rides, vigils, music, plays, film screenings, die-ins. panty ness to arrest as many as possible — dare I say it — precmpti\el>.

flashes, and other non-violent forms of culture and counter-culture. In the holding pens and jails, as in the streets, the police had %an- And, while there was a good deal of (justified) anger at the unwel- ous community-breaking tactics that they employed repeatedly. One

come take-over of our city by the anti-intellectual, anti-art, anti-First that was used in the pens at Pier 57 and in the holding cells at Central

Amendment GOP, the city and the thousands of visiting protesters Booking was to constantly be mi.xing up the groups of people in hopes

vowed they would eke life, art, and solidarity out of this exploit. of destroying solidarity and making it ditficult to organi/e. The Bush Administration, aided by New York Mayor Mi- Perhaps, though, this technique backfired in that messages were chael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, as well spread more easily among everybody, and we got to know the faces

as a willing army in blue working serious overtime for the and stories of a great many of our fellow detainees. It didn't hurt that event did their best to curtail those freedoms as much as pos- we did not change clothes so we seemed to become cartoon characters sible during that week, which began just before the RNC. of ourscKes. dressed the same tor the entire period of detention—al-

By Tuesday, August 31 (dubbed A3 1 by organizers), several ways identifiable, just getting filthier.

friends of mine had been arrested and spent time in the now-infamous Strong solidarity came from without as well. In the dark and quiet

Pier 57, where inany were held after arrest. They had told us about of our second night. I was in an 8- by 10 1 2- foot cell with 10 other

filthy former bus depot, about bicycles confiscated by the N^P1), but young women. Our small cell faced a high w indow across the hall from

also about a high degree of solidarity and organization within the cells. which we could hear the streets erupting below with the cheers and

A3 1 was lo be a day of massive civil disobedience and non-violent screams of the hundreds of people family, friends, lawyers, acti\ists direct action across the city, and the NYPD had been preparing during — outside the courts trying to get us free. And this gave us strength. So

the weeks prior to arrest huge numbers on that day. we all began to talk more slow ly. quietls. and freeK than before. .Vnd in

And. sure enough, people were arrested in large groups, ihc po- this small cell w a\ up on the 1 2th floor of 1 00 Centre Street, we \ ow ed in other cells through- o lice einploying orange nets lo close ofl" entire blocks. I met people ar- as did the hundreds of other men and women o rested at a vigil and march between Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan out the building and the city we would try to let the world know that

and Madison Square Garden, at a die-in on 25th Street, at a .street party these tactics of preempti\e arrest, these favors lo George Bush, will

on 16th Street near Union Square led by marching bands, in front of not be tolerated in our cities Not to young educated Americans, not to

the main New York Public Library at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue, and illegal immigrants, not to middle-aged dissidents, "it

elsewhere. We descended that evening upon Pier 57 with fire in our something else for you to do during work ...

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