Maybe We Can Do More

 Thanks to Greg Williams for these thoughts:

It was a strike of mostly Black sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin got there by accident.  A freak accident and bad working conditions got workers killed.  A strike was called. Martin was called but he was planning  a Poor People's Campaign, and he was tired.  SCLC would send some one...   They wanted Martin to stand with them and he did.  Today he would be standing with Unions again if he were here.  Just like 1968, in our world today there is a lot of unrest all over the place.

We should not be ignoring the signs of our time. If John Woolman could speak to us today, it would be to remind us that it is still the economy. Part of what Martin said the day before he died is:
"...The issue is injustice. The issue is the refusal of Memphis (or Wisconsin) to be fair and honest in its dealings with public servants, who happen to be sanitation workers.  Now, we've got to keep attention on that... Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness.  Let us stand with a greater determination.  And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be.  We have an opportunity to make America a better nation."

So While there are interesting things happening in Egypt, the Middle East, and elsewhere,  we have a drama here that demands our attention as well.  We ought to be making noise as Quakers, as spiritual people, as men and women interested in Justice. I find it interesting that folks from Egypt and elsewhere are sending Pizza to demonstrators here in the United States.  They understand the links and are reaching out in support.  We can send pizza as well,  but maybe...we ought to do more? This ought to be a buzz on facebook, a buzz in letter to the editors, a buzz to City Councilors, State Reps. and up the chain to  President Obama..

If we fail to act on this concern today it will be back tomorrow in greater force.  CUT THE WAR BUDGET SEND THE MONEY HOME TO OUR STATES!  The one thing we can"t afford to do is ...nothing.

Budget Math Doesn't Add Up

Opinion: This Budget Cutting Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Robin Aura Kanegis
Philadelphia Inquirer Feb. 15, 2011
It’s simple math: A military budget that has doubled in twelve years + worries about the resulting deficit = deep cuts to military spending.
Yet in a display of backward logic, the House majority’s initial announcement of planned cuts to current spending only included cuts to non-military discretionary spending, the spending that helps invest in our communities, schools, and our economic infrastructure. It seems the Pentagon has developed the ultimate cloaking mechanism -- to protect military budget bloat from mathematical reality.
The US military budget currently accounts for over half of our discretionary budget -- and nearly half of all military spending the world over.
Despite this incredibly lop-sided investment, increased military appropriations are set to glide past Congressional “budget hawks” like Harry Potter in his invisibility cloak. Meanwhile the fragments of federal funding which would address human needs, long-term infrastructure, or non-military actions in the world are scrutinized down to the dollar – at a time when the number of Americans in need is growing with every lost job or home foreclosure.
Reducing government spending by shrinking investments in our long-term well-being rather than cutting the military budget is as sensible as dieting by cutting back on salad while eating three desserts a day.
Even cutting nearly a trillion dollars out of the defense budget over the next ten years—a sliver off that third dessert— would leave us spending 14 percent more than we did during the Cold War era, according to analysis by the Sustainable Defense Task Force.
Yet the measure the House will consider this week for FY 2011 funding would cut just 2.8 percent from the president's FY 2011 defense budget request, compared with 20.6 percent from the budget for non-military foreign operations. Under this proposal the “Defense” budget will still increase by $8.1 billion dollars from the previous year.
We invest tax dollars in a shared safety net so it will be there to catch us during hard times. In our current slow-grinding economic crisis, more Americans have fallen into poverty, needing help with things like food and housing. The fact that the burden has increased on such programs as low-income housing and preventive health care clearly shows they are needed more than ever, not that they should be taken away.
Jack Lew, the Director for the White House Office of Management and Budget, writes that, “the sacrifices needed to begin putting our fiscal house in order must be broadly shared.” Yet all the cuts being proposed this week in Congress hit low- and middle-income families and communities the hardest.
Lew says the easy cuts are behind us. But simple math above says we have yet to seriously consider them. It’s time to pull back the cloak and make budget cuts where we need them most: in our off-the-charts military spending habit.
Robin Aura Kanegis serves as Director of Public Policy and Washington Office for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker-based organization working for peace, social justice and nonviolent change. She provides strategic direction for all aspects of the organization’s engagement with Congress and the Administration

March of the Dead on 9th Anniversary of War

A line of people dressed in black with uniform white masks walked slowly through the central bus plaza in downtown Providence this afternoon. 

The plaza was crowded with students and people going home from work, enjoying the gorgeous weather at the start of a three day weekend.  The war in Afghanistan was far from their minds.  I watched their faces as this strange parade approached.  Most looked puzzled or startled, then quickly became quiet and subdued. Many stopped talking.  Some pulled out cameras and took pictures.  Signs worn by the marchers carried the names of dead Afghan civilians - fathers, young men, women, children with names and ages, and date of death, followed by U.S soldier deaths and information on the other costs of war - the Post Traumatic Stress so many soldiers suffer and the $1 trillion that could have been funding head start programs, affordable housing, and health care.  Those of us handing out fliers found people to be unusually receptive to receiving them.  Some people wanted to talk.  "Had it really been nine years?"  "I had not idea so many people were dying there."  "Wow, it keeps going on and we hardly think about it." 

From the bus plaza we walked through city streets and over to the plaza in front of the Textron World Headquarters building.  We paused there, standing in silence.  One person came up to me looking curious.  I handed him a flier and explained briefly what we were doing.  A smile of recognition spread across is face.  "That's the perfect place to stand" - and asked permission to take a photograph.  The security guard came out, looking worried.  I handed him a leaflet, reminded him we were on a public sidewalk and assured him we wouldn't be there long.  (Note to self - we need to go back during work hours and stay longer!)

From there we walked back to the bus plaza for one more loop there.  Two teenagers came over curious about the masks but utterly baffled about what we were doing.  They had no idea that their country is at war.  Lots of work to do! 

As we debriefed at the end, the marchers we pleased with the event.  They found that being in the mask was very powerful, that it removed the personal dynamics that are part of most interactions and let the message just speak for itself.  Others spoke of it becoming a mediation walk, which allowed them to just be present to the horrors of war without the usual intellectual or political "noise".  And all commented on how well it drew attention and seemed to touch people. 

Thank you to all who participated.  I am grateful. 



. 

One Nation Working Together for Peace and Justice

On Saturday October 2 several bus loads of folks from Rhode Island attended the rally in Washington DC.  What began as primarily a labor rally focused on a call for good jobs morphed into a more complex message as well over a hundred other groups endorsed the rally and added their messaging.

Over 150,000 people attended, packing the space on either side of the long reflecting pool all the way to the end opposite the Lincoln Memorial.  It is pretty annoying to have the Washington Post under-represent the turn out, saying it "petered out" as you moved away from the Lincoln Memorial.   I guess they must not have actually walked through the crowd or seen the view from the far end (shown above).

There were LOTS of different and creative signs.  I was impressed at how common the theme of "end the wars/fund jobs" was.  I think it resonated with a lot of people - not all of whom came planning to carry a sign but chose to pick that one up. 

 I wasn't able to hear most of the speeches - I was helping staff the AFSC table at the far end of the Reflecting Pool.  I have a sense that a lot of the "dots" were there but that they weren't necessarily connected - war/military spending, militarization, immigration, funding for services, anger at corporate greed and congressional failure to bail out workers.  So that is our work as we come home - to build on the relationships and connections that came from bringing so many people together and connecting to dots so that we can tackle corporate power, massive wealth concentrated among just a few, the profiteering of the military industrial complex, immigration and more. 

We would love to hear what you thought of the rally.  Respond if you'd like and start the conversation of next steps.  

An Invitation to Paul Ortiz and the DREAMers from an Ally (Community Voices)

 Please read this post by my colleague, Pablo Parades, as he reflects on the Dream Act.

Pablo Parades Fri, 24 Sep at 1:17pm

LA DREAM Act Credit-Ruben Hernandez, http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamactivistorg/3660708115/

by Pablo Paredes
Dear Paul and beloved DREAMers,
As a Latino, a veteran and an activist we share much in the way of life experiences.  When I hear Paul's history I am proud and stand in admiration wondering how I can connect with such an activist and build together.  I can see why you are throwing your hat in the ring in defense of the DREAMers.  These are folks I also admire and feel a deep sense of pride for because I consider myself connected to the larger community with them. A community of migrants, children of migrants, people of color, and marginalized folks fighting back against injustice.  In many ways, I feel they have become excelent role models for our community. They challenge us to be unafraid and to stand for what is right even if it means taking risks.  They have answered a call that many sheros and heros in our history have before them.  They now form part of an amazing continuity of freedom fighters that includes the freedom riders of the civil rights era, the out and unafraid queer folk who staged the Stonewall uprising and many even before those moments in relatively recent history.

5 years ago I also felt the call and I also took some risks.  See in 2004 I found my brown body in a blue navy uniform and I was asked to take young Marines to Iraq to face possible death and probable orders to take the lives of Iraq's women, children and elderly in large numbers as "colateral damage".  I could not do it.  What's more, I felt it was the time to take a stand.  As a latino I was also motivated by the reality that 4 green card Latin@ soldiers were among the firs week's casualties and over 20% of the invading force was RAZA.  These numbers speak to the reality that when brown bodies finish bootcamp they are more likely to navigate combat rather than navigating radar and high tech systems.  When I took my stand on December 6th, 2004, and refused to participate in the invasion and occupation of Iraq and spoke out publicly against that illegal and imoral war being fought disproporitonately by folks of color - my family was also risking something else.
My partner's visa had expired and I was drawing attention to our family at a time when her status was a vulnerability.  She told me that the risks we faced were so much smaller than the risks that soldiers of color and Iraq's people faced.  So I went through with it and I was Court Martialed and kicked out of the military without many benefits.  I was held in a legal detention center for 10 months and I served out a 3 months of a Hard Labor sentence as well. My wife discovered she was pregnant a few months before my trial.  I was not free during the final months of her pregnancy.
It is this history that makes me feel closer to the ideals, activism experience and willingness to face risk of the DREAMers than perhaps most people who haven't lived these kinds of life choices involving serious risks.  After being discharged I was unemployed, uneducated, and unqualified to do anything other than War making from a Navy vessel.  My undocumented partner and I, who were living in San Diego where I was discharged, had a newborn baby. Our Young family went from friend's living room to living room trying to survive and figure out an employment opportunity for me to support us.  We were always terrified of travel even in the city and of accessing services because there were raids back then all the time and families torn apart.  I wanted to petition for my wife's status but the process took long and we could not afford the application and legal fees ($1500 just to get started at that time.)
After almost a year of this lifestyle a job opportunity appeared in Oakland.  This was almost as scary as continuing our current reality because it meant crossing ICE check points in order to go north.  Because the job had a 3 month trial period we made an even more difficult decision that I would go first and stay in a friends living room while sending money back to my wife who now had to navigate the city, undocumented and not very fluent in English- by herself.  As soon as the first paycheck came we began trying to work for her status but the lawyers said we had to be together and so she had to come up to Oakland.  I went back down and we decided we would risk everything driving up even though my trial period was not over yet.  We hopped in a little car and headed north with a newborn and not much to call our own.  As we approached a truck weigh station I think some powerful force intervened on our behalf.  I accidentally got off on the weigh station which was only for trucks and it just so happens by doing so we dodged an ICE Check point.  My wife's heart pumped so hard I could feel it in her tense piercing grip around my right hand as we drove just ten feet to the right of the destruction of families like ours.
I am sharing some of my personal life to assure you that I am not the "Social Justice Elite" by any stretch of the imagination.  I am not an "anti-militarist absolutist" by any stretch of the imagination.  My experience led me to commit myself to work with young people of color and undocumented youth in low-income realities to fight for rights and challenge militarism that leads so many in these communities to death, psychological trauma and dire poverty.  I've spent the last 5 years working with high school aged youth from low-income communities of color mostly in the public schools of this interesting state of California.  
 I am committed to these youth.  I organize with them politically, I believe in lifting their voice but I also am committed to their basic needs.  I help many of the youth I work with on homework and school projects, i've invited more than one into my home when they were in trouble.  They have cried on my shoulder and vented in my living room. I've advocated with them about problems in their group homes, in altercations with police, and in problems at school.  I've volunteered to teach spanish as an active elective, so that one of them could make enough credits to graduate on time.  This community is my life.  I know it well I know their stories and most of this country does not and does not seem to want to listen.

 So let's talk about undocumented youth within this community.  Studies and activist often mention that there are over 2.1 million undocumented youth in this country and about a quarter of them live in California where I do my work in the public schools.  Most are in elementary school or High school or were there in the last 5 years at the same time that i've been doing this work in High schools.  Few, a relatively small percentage are in college where you do your work.  I don't mean that to minimize your commitment or your voice but i think perspective is critical.  The fact is of these 2.1 million we know that at least 1.4 million will never see a college classroom.  There are reasons for this that most activist and people wrestling with our country's inequality are somewhat familiar with.  But I will restate a few.
Tracking systems in public schools that often pipeline white students to college tracks while students of color and especially undocumented English language learners are tracked on paths that don't prepare them for transfer into 4 year institutions.  English Language Learners often undocumented are also mislabeled "special needs", sometimes they are erroneously thought to have speech impediment and other tracked disabilities simply because they are not english dominant and administrators misunderstand this.
The parents of undocumented parents earn far less income and work longer hours than citizen parents leading to low parent involvement and behavioral as well as academic problems that push these students out of school or into poor grades and bad tracks.  The lack of federal financial aid for those who somehow make it past all these other barriers means youth who are academically prepared for college still lack access to college.  Many undocumented youth have family commitments that result from their parents status that don't allow them to pursue a higher education including single parent homes where the eldest has to pay parental roles or be a wage earner.
These stories and these youth who will never see a college classroom, account for over 62% of the 2.1million undocumented youth being talked about in the DREAM debate.  They are the majority, the most affected, and they are almost completely absent from the dialogue.  We are focusing on the voices of the relatively small slice of this community that is very articulate, educated, and already in or clearly pipelined toward a four year university.  I admire them, I support them and I can understand very clearly why being with them and seeing their valiant efforts day in and day out someone as committed to justice as you, would stand with them.
This is exactly why I stand with the other 62%.  I admire them and I support them because they have a strong voice as well, they have a lot to say and they are also valiant.  Every day they face this adverse system that pushes them literally out and they do so with courage.  Yesterday one of these valiant youth told me enraged how he feels when even teachers speak of "illegals".  He responded "I may have come from Mexico but they came from England, so why am I the Illegal."

  These moments of push back and resistance have made me fall in love with these young folks that no one seems to want to listen to.  They are not as fluent and articulate as some of the DREAMer voices in english.  They are not without "baggage".  They are often not college bound.  But they have dignity, humanity and incredibly valuable things to teach us as well.
I learned a lot from your open letter, Paul, even if some comments felt unfair.  I am sure this letter will contain some language that you to will take issue with.  But I also hope that the DREAMers and you too, will find some value in my perspective and my call for inclusiveness and unity.
Given that I absolutely admire and stand in solidarity with the intentions of the DREAMers if not the current DREAM Act options for 62% of our youth.  Given that I want to build with this new vanguard of the freedom fight and with you and your important contributions to this fight.  Given that our movement can be stronger if it includes more voices especially the voices of the majority and the most affected among undocumented youth.  I want to propose that we try to move forward together incorporating each other's voices and concerns.  I want to invite the DREAMers to meet with the youth I love and hear their stories, concerns and needs.  Most importantly I want to ask that the DREAM movement would invite us to their table where we would be honored to sit and better STAND with them and organize with them for all of our collective rights and freedom.

 At that table we will have to have difficult conversations about wether federal financial aid such as pell grants is negotiable, and wether community service and vocational paths are negotiable, and lastly what the military component means to 62% of the youth who are most affected and for whom college may not be an option.
I am sure there will be some compromises, I don't expect all of our issues to unilaterally shape the debate.  But I do hope they can get a fair hearing, without name calling and with sophisticated understanding of what is at stake and sufficient voice for the major stake holders.
I think I have laid out the case for why the voices of the youth I love and of veterans of color like myself deserve to become part of the dialogue.  These are the most affected youth and the largest part of the undocumented youth community and to exclude them would betray the spirit of this struggle for justice.
As long as a military component is on the table then voices from young vets of color are critical to raise the issues that we understand are at stake.  Paul, I know and appreciate that you were able to follow the footsteps of Zinn and Fanon and to a large extent so have I even if I am still low-income living in affordable housing and not your typical success story.   And you are right that those experiences shaped me and politisized me as they did you and our elders you mention.
However this experience is the exception not the rule.  For every Zinn there are thousands of homeless vets.  For every Fanon there are thousands of veteran suicides (18 a day as we speak).  For every story like mine there are dozens of stories like Jesus Suarez del Solar who got his citizenship through the military but post humorously after bleeding to death in the harsh Desert lands of Iraq.
So our stories and our ability to raise the stories of the homeless, the war casualties, the suicides and all manner of injury that the military can inflict (on our Arab brothers and sisters as well) have to become a part of the DREAM dialogue so long as a military component is considered.

 Hoping to build bridges and unity like what we saw in the marches of 2006. Back then I marched with a diverse group of folks from the community and allies from Tijuana to California raising the issues of criminalization and militarization of the Latin@ community.
Our March stopped of at Cesar Chavez's Grave to let him know he can rest in peace and power because his struggle continues and it stopped at recruiting stations not to advertise the military path to our community but to challenge it.
In struggle and toward comm-UNITY,
Pablo Eduardo Paredes
Latin@ Veteran and Undocumented Youth Ally
American Friends Service Committe
Youth and Militarism Program and Human Migration and Mobility Network
First published on Facebook, reprinted with permission

It has been an intense 24 hours.  Wednesday night several hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil for our friend and fellow activist David "Doc" St. Germain.  Many people spoke of his love, his passion for justice, his love of talking things through, and how we will all miss his wonderful bear hugs.  We were people from his church (First Unitarian), fellow activists, people who had been homeless, his family - all people touched by his generosity of spirit, his love (which meant action, not just some nice mushy feeling) and his determination that ALL people be treated with dignity.  It was a powerful gathering. 

This afternoon over 200 people gathered at Dexter Park in Providence to say NO to racism and racial profiling, to say NO to RI being like Arizona.  We have come close.  Governor Carcieri's Executive Order  implementing E-Verify and police participation in the 287 G program have put us closer that many are aware.  Though it is hard to document changes, many people of color are clear that there is increased racial profiling, more pretext stops (a broken taillight that leads to further questioning, including on immigration status) and more deportations, often of people who have been living and working here for years. 

Following the rally, over 100 people loaded onto buses for a trip to the Chaffee for Governor campaign office.  All candidates for Governor had been asked to fill out a survey of policy positions, ranging from their willingness to withdraw the Executive Order (stop insisting on the use of E-Verify for all state contracts and sub-contracts and withdrawal from the 287G program), support instate tuition for RI high school graduates, regardless of immigration status, drivers licenses based on ability to drive not proof of residency, and more.  Chaffee's office had not returned to survey, and as one of the top candidates, the group wanted answers.  100 people streamed into his office, and presented the list of questions, one by one.  Most of the answers were actually pretty good.  He has declared that one of his first acts as governor would be to renounce the use of E-Verify and he supports the in-state tuition bill and the bill curtailing racial profiling.  It was not clear that his office understood the 287G program and that there was hesitancy on the drivers license issue.  There will be more conversations!  But it was a strong visit, with the group making it clear that we expect to be consulted and listened to.  

R.I.P. David St. Germain (Doc)

My friend Doc jumped to his death on Friday, July 23rd, despairing that the medical care he needed to survive would not happen.  But that is not what I want you to know about Doc.

David St. Germain, known to most of us as Doc, was a man with a huge heart, an intolerance for injustice and the courage to speak truth to power, even when doing so cost him personally.  If someone was being wronged, he simply couldn’t stand by and not try to address the problem.  It breaks my heart that we were not able to adequately stand by him in his latest troubles.  I’m sorry Doc.  All I can say is that I, and I suspect others as well, will try to pick up where you left off.  They are big shoes to fill.

I met Doc shortly after moving here three years ago.  In what became a pattern, Doc would show up at some event, wait till things quieted down afterward, then ask if we could talk.  Something was troubling him.  Sometimes it was individuals he was concerned about , but often it was systems that were causing harm that so troubled him.  I remember him looking at me, tears pooling in his eyes, and asking if I knew that there was human trafficking in Providence.  It hurt him deeply that people could be caught in such a degrading situation right in front of us and people were looking the other way.   Later he refused to stand by silently after the police brutally beat a man in their custody and he struggled to find a way for the community to hold the police accountable.  Other times he was searching for ways to approach problems.  He queried me about Quakers and the American Friends Service Committee, about non-violence and ways to speak truth to power that would achieve the results he wanted, always wanting to learn more so that he could be as effective as possible.  Would that more of us were as humble and as open to learning new skills as Doc.

Over time we talked about some of his problems, but all too often he pushed those aside to refocus the conversation on whatever injustice  weighted on his heart at the time.  I wish I had been a better friend and worked as hard on the ways the systems he needed failed him as he worked when it failed others.   There is much work to do.  I hope that his death reenergizes us, helps us understand how essential this work is to real people.  May we do so with the love and passion and humor that he modeled, but may we also be sure to care for one another along the way.