July 12, 2010 Dear Friends, There is much to be excited about in the global movement for nonviolent social MUSTE change. In the enclosed letter, you can see News from the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute the results of your generous contributions to the Muste Institute. Thanks to your support, we have exceeded our fundraising expectations. But the grassroots peace and justice movement NOTES keeps expanding, and our resources aren’t enough to meet the needs. We received 100 VOL. 17, NUMBER 4 Summer 2010 applications for the June cycle of our Social Justice Fund! People of all ages and backgrounds are out there organizing, mobilizing, and Teaching Rebellion, from educating to build a better future. With your help, this movement can continue to Oaxaca to Wisconsin make real gains. Please give generously. And please help by Rachel Wallis communities, we could engage in a dia- us spread the word about the Muste In October 2008, with support from a logue about cross-movement organizing, Institute by passing this newsletter on to Muste Institute grant, CASA Collectives direct democracy, and human rights in your friends, colleagues, and family of Support, Solidarity and Action began the U.S. as well. In addition to sharing the members, or posting it at your local library. a two-month organizing tour across 15 testimonies from the book, the tour also states using the book Teaching Rebellion: featured an exhibit of photography docu- Sincerely, Stories from the Grassroots Mobilization in menting the movement. Oaxaca. The goal of the tour was to The tour began on October 10 in Los engage with U.S. audiences around the Angeles with CASA board member grassroots mobilization that took place Melissa Mundt and photographer and Jane Guskin Jeanne Strole in Oaxaca in 2006, to share the stories of human rights activist Gustavo Vilchis. Co-Director Co-Director how people across social groups joined Gustavo and Melissa traveled through together to fight against a corrupt and eight cities in California, Oregon and P.S. We are deeply grateful to Melissa brutal government and in support of Washington, speaking to groups of Jameson for her thoughtful, dedicated worker rights. activists, students and indigenous service to the Muste Institute since 2003. Our hope was that by sharing the groups. Highlights included meeting Melissa stepped down from the Board in voices and experiences of Oaxacans with activists from the Frente Indígena de June; she had been on leave since late 2008. fighting for human rights in their own continued on page 2 No Nukes! No War! Peace activists gathered in New York City in early May 2010 to send a strong message for nuclear disarmament to the United Nations conference on the Nuclear Weapons Non- Proliferation Treaty. On May 2, thousands of people—including a 1,000-strong delegation KOROTZER BUD / NLN BY PHOTO PHOTO BY KIMBER HEINZ KIMBER BY PHOTO from Japan—marched from Times Square to the U.N. Our friends from the War Resisters League (WRL) were out in force, calling for Station; 22 people were arrested. A video of both “No Nukes—Start with U.S.” At left, actions can be viewed on the War Resisters Tejaswini Madabhushi of WRL holds a sign League blog site at warresisters.wordpress.com. that reads: No excuse for even one nuclear weapon,” while Elbina Mathews peers through Above: Molly Klopot (right) and Phyllis the eye of a skull representing Russia. Cunningham from the Granny Peace Brigade Demonstrators carried skulls named for all the and the Women’s International League for countries that have nuclear weapons— Peace and Freedom (WILPF)- NY Metro let the including, obviously, the United States. “The world know they won’t stay quiet about march was phenomenal,” remarked Tejaswini, nuclear weapons—or any other injustice. The “with so many young and really old from New York grannies had a strong presence at the various countries, voicing their dream of a May 2 march. WILPF NY Metro is a Muste nuclear free world.” On May 3, WRL members Institute tenant group, and the grannies often staged a “die-in” action at Grand Central meet and plan actions in the building. 2 • Muste Notes Summer 2010 Teaching Rebellion (continued from page 1) Organizaciones Binacionales, a bina- tional group of indigenous Mexicans, many of whom are originally from Oaxaca; and a presentation at the University of Washington Law School. ALVARADO MARTIN BY PHOTO Gustavo then flew to Minneapolis, STAHLER-SHOLK RICHARD BY PHOTO where CASA board member Rachel Wallis took over interpretation and coordination. Gustavo and Rachel trav- eled through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio, speaking to university audiences, immigrant From left to right: Gustavo Vilchis, Rachel CASA activists Gustavo Vilchis and Rachel groups and community organizations Wallis, and Simón Sedillo are interviewed on Wallis present to a class at Eastern Michigan about grassroots organizing in Oaxaca. WORT, a community radio station in University. Highlights included meetings in Madison, Wisconsin. Simón’s 2005 Madison, Wisconsin with members of documentary film El Enemigo Común (The Thanks to the support of the Muste the Mexican-American student group Common Enemy) documented paramilitary Institute, we were able to devote at least MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil activity against indigenous communities in half of the tour dates to community and Chicano de Aztlán); presentations with Oaxaca—see elenemigocomun.net. grassroots organizations who couldn’t the parents of New York activist jour- afford to pay an honorarium or travel nalist Brad Will, who was murdered in organizations, student groups and expenses. During tour events, we also 2006 while covering the Oaxaca rebel- more. Highlights included a meeting raised more than $900 to support the lion; and a photography workshop with with the Olneyville Neighborhood families of political prisoners in Oaxaca. an immigrant women’s domestic vio- Association in Providence, Rhode We have continued to build on the rela- lence support group. Island (a Muste Institute grantee); and tionships begun with the speaking tour, While the Midwest leg of the tour events with People United, an immi- most recently mobilizing in response to was wrapping up, an East Coast tour grant organizing project in Harrisburg, the assassination of two human rights was beginning with Sylvia Hernandez, Virginia. activists in rural Oaxaca in April 2010. a former political prisoner and Oaxacan This tour was organized on a shoe- You can get more information about activist, and former CASA Coordinator string budget. We made use of the CASA’s work at www.casacollective.org. Chris Thomas. The two traveled from hospitality of our hosts, our friends and Photos, videos and blog entries Vermont to Virginia, speaking to com- our families, and borrowed cars when- about the tour can be found at munity bookstores, immigrant ever possible to save on travel expenses. teachingrebellion.wordpress.com. Howard Zinn: 1922-2010 A.J. Muste Memorial Institute “I do believe [...] change can occur but it will not happen ‘one day’ or in one 339 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012 cataclysmic moment. It will happen over time as people, little by little, take phone (212) 533-4335 fax (212) 228-6193 over the institutions of society—the economy, the universities, the neighbor- email <[email protected]> hoods—and run them democratically. [...] I don’t reject the idea of revolution, website: www.ajmuste.org but I reject the idea of armed struggle, or a military action to achieve it. The Board of Directors revolution must be democratic in means as well as in ends, and this requires Susan Kent Cakars David McReynolds building mass support for change by long, persistent struggle.”—Howard Zinn James A. Cole Peter Muste, Chair (interview by Paul Glavin and Chuck Morse published in Perspectives on Anarchist Brian Drolet Jill Sternberg Theory, Spring 2003.) Christine Halvorson, Nina Streich Secretary Robert T. Taylor Howard Zinn—activist, teacher, his- Carol Kalafatic Martha Thomases, torian and longtime Muste Institute Bernice Lanning Vice Chair supporter—died on January 27, 2010 at Lynn Lewis John Zirinsky, Rebecca Libed Treasurer age 87. Roslyn Zinn, his wife, died in May 2008. In this photo, Howard is Staff arrested at a May 1971 protest in Boston Jane Guskin, Co-Director against the Vietnam war. The image Jeanne Strole, Co-Director was used in Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Rose Regina Lawrence, Assistant to the Co-Directors Neutral on a Moving Train, a documen- Salvador Suazo, Superintendent tary by Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller Eric Bachman, Program Associate, INTF which the Muste Institute supported Yeidy Rosa, Program Consultant, Adalys Fund with a grant in December 2002. Summer 2010 Muste Notes • 3 Social Justice Fund Grants, June 2010 The Social Justice Fund makes grants for dignity and social and economic justice grassroots activist projects in the U.S. and for immigrants. The Coalition formed in around the world. The next deadline is the spring of 2006 as immigrants were September 24, 2010. Guidelines are at mobilizing across the U.S. in response to ajmuste.org/guidelin.htm. If supporting repressive national legislation. This social justice activism is important to you, grant goes for the Human Rights please donate now to help us expand this Promoter Project, training immigrant important grantmaking program. leaders to organize in defense of their rights under the U.S. Constitution and KOROTZER BUD / NLN BY PHOTO ALTERNATIVES TO the Universal Declaration of Human INCARCERATION COUNCIL (ATIC) Rights, and to educate others through Lauderhill, FL: $1,250 the creation of human rights committees. Formed in July 2008, ATIC addresses the reality that half of Florida’s more CONNECTICUT NETWORK TO Activists from Think Outside the Bomb march than 100,000 incarcerated residents are ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY in the international nuclear non-proliferation jailed for nonviolent, victimless third Hartford, CT: $1,000 demonstration on May 2 in New York City.