DC Metro Action is a listing of local actions, entertainment, volunteer opportunities and the occasional rant on a wide range of socially just issues.
contact me at dcmetroaction@comcast.net
I went surfing for some Labor Day stuff to post and found this terrific history of the holiday from PBS. The Library of Congress has the story of the first Labor Day.
Also, take a look at the Take Back Your Time website. These people say we work too hard, 350 hours annually more than workers in Western Europe. They want more time for us to pursue hobbies, family and whatever else it is we do when we're not working – and I'm all for that.
So as the unofficial end of summer is upon us, have a terrific weekend. I'll be back on Tuesday.
Among the many post-presidency achievements of Jimmy Carter, Habitat for Humanity stands out as one of his most effective domestic projects. DC Habitat strives to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness in the nation's capital by building affordable energy- and resource-efficient homes. They sell houses to families who are ineligible for conventional financing and offer no-profit, no-interest, 20- to 30-year mortgages for their buyers. Prospective homeowners make a $500 down payment and contribute 300 hours of sweat equity, which must be completed in one year toward construction of their own and other residences.
DC Habitats needs volunteers for construction, planning groups and office support. Visit DC Habitat for Humanity to learn more about the organization’s work in Washington and explore volunteer opportunities.
Check out DC Metro Action's new section in the right-hand sidebar, Act Locally – a listing of groups in the metro area that are making progressive change happen. If you would like to see another group on the list, please use the comments link below to tell me about it, and I'll add it to the list.
After reading it, I got curious and did a Google search on "recall Mayor Williams." It returned about 23,400 web pages, so maybe this is an idea whose time has come.
The Organized Community of United People (Organized C.O.U.P.) is hosting a series of teach-ins every other Thursday, titled the Assata Shakur Series on Community Resistance. This week, on Thursday, Aug. 28, the subject is "The Black Studies Movement and Today's College Student."
The teach-in will be held at 7 p.m. at Café Mawonaj, 624 T St. NW (Shaw-Howard U. Metro). For more information, send an e-mail here.
If you're running on a broadband connection, Organized C.O.U.P.'s last teach-in, "Who is Che?" is available here.
The new issue of Mother Jones (Sept.-Oct.) arrived over the weekend, with its 10th annual listing of the "Top 10 Activist Campuses." When I think of campus activism, I think old school: Berkeley and Columbia. In fact, I had begun to think that large-scale student activism was a thing of the past. Sure, you can always count on enviros and PIRGs to stir things up, but I hadn't really heard about any groundswells coming from colleges – until I saw this list.
Showing up in the number four spot is hometown favorite Howard University, for putting 2,000 students onto the steps of the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action this past spring.
Columbia didn't even make the list, but New York University students put their urban campus at number three, for "crashing MTV's 'Total Request Live' in October and flashing their 'No War in Iraq' T-shirts before being hauled off camera. And later that month, 11 NYU students slipped past their tour guide at the United Nations and disrupted the General Assembly with anti-war chants."
Oldtime favorite Berkeley did not disappoint, with a spot at number nine for its 1,500 students who protested as the war with Iraq began, demanding that the University of Baghdad be declared a sister school. But the real surprise was at the top of the list: the University of Tehran, for "unflinching dissent in a nation where speaking out can lead to imprisonment, or worse."
Here's Mother Jones' Top 10 Activist Campuses:
1. University of Tehran 2. California Community Colleges 3. New York University 4. Howard University 5. University of Michigan 6. James Madison University 7. University of Chicago 8. St. Joseph's University 9. UC Berkeley 10. Yale University
Come to a free event that will use film, discussion and music to nurture resistance against the new form of colonization known as free trade.
"Surplus" – a new film by an Italian-Swedish anarchist that examines the role of technology and consumerism in an expanding global society – will be used to initiate discussion on anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian perspectives in the global justice movement, focusing on strategies for the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA) meeting planned for Miami this fall. Anarchist organizers from Florida and North Carolina will relay information about what promises to be Miami's largest demonstration of recent times.
Radical folk music will follow the discussion, so bring a guitar if you'd like to share a song. And please bring a donation if you can spare the cash. It all happens on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at the Brian MacKenzie Infoshop in the Flemming Center, 1426 Ninth St. NW. For more information, call 828/472-1865, or send an e-mail here.
Join Washington residents and advocates for the poor and homeless from across the country as they march and speak out for economic human rights, emergency shelters, rent control and affordable housing to stop the displacement of poor people from D.C.
Poor people are disappearing from the Washington. As Mayor Anthony Williams uses our tax money to subsidize luxury development to entice 100,000 wealthy new residents, more than 11,000 people who already live in DC are on a wait list for Section 8 housing and some 300 families are seeking emergency shelter. Meanwhile, rent control regulations are weak, and landlord-friendly loopholes threaten the rights of tenants to organize and purchase.
The march will start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Bushville tent city on the National Mall (at Seventh Street and Madison Drive) and will travel to Judiciary Square, ending at Freedom Plaza, in front of the Wilson Building at 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
"Liberia: America’s Stepchild" follows the parallel stories of the United States' relationship with Liberia – founded and backed by the American Colonization Society and the U.S. government as a home for freeborn Blacks and former slaves – and the settlers' relationship with the indigenous people. As seen through the eyes of Liberian filmmaker Nancee Oku Bright, the film explores the roots of the turmoil that has ravaged the African republic since 1980.
Join the Institute for Policy Studies' Foreign Policy in Focus and the Social Action & Leadership School for Activists (SALSA) at a special screening of this dramatic documentary, followed by a discussion of the current issues facing Liberia, featuring historian Carl Patrick Burrowes and Damu Smith of Black Voices for Peace. The event is Tuesday, Aug. 26, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Visions Cinema, 1927 Florida Ave. NW. Tickets are $7 (advanced purchases are strongly recommended; for more information, contact Visions Cinema at 202/667-0090). A portion of the proceeds will go to aid Liberian civil society. For more information, contact the Institute for Policy Studies at 202/234-9382.
Friday, Aug. 22, 6:30 p.m. A panel of activists who organized and participated in the original March On Washington will discuss their hopes and expectations in 1963 and assess the challenges of the continuing struggle for justice in 2003. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Among the panelists will be field organizers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and members of the SNCC Freedom Singers; Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.), a former SNCC chairman and one of six organizers of the historic 1963 march; the Honorable Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, who was director of the Washington Bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the DC coordinator for the original march; and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who was a SNCC field organizer and a member of the 1963 March on Washington staff in New York City.
Friday, Aug. 22, 8 p.m. Mae Harris, Charles Nesblett and Bernice Johnson Reagon of the SNCC Freedom Singers will perform and lead a "community sing" at the National Museum of American History, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.
Friday, Aug. 22, 8 p.m. Attend a free screening of "Brother Outsider – The Life of Bayard Rustin" with special guests and a post-screening discussion. A pre-screening reception with a cash bar starts at 6 p.m. The film will be shown at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW.
Saturday, Aug. 23, 9 a.m. DC Democracy groups will be out in force for the march. Join up with them and help distribute fliers that show how the District's fight for democracy is an unfinished part of the Civil Rights struggle. And don't forget to sign their petition seeking to free DC's budget from congressional control. The groups will start out from the African-American Civil War Memorial (at the U Street/Cardozo Metro at 10th and U Streets NW,) on Saturday at 10 a.m. Look for the Free DC caps and banner.
Proceeds from the Saturday, Aug. 23, 7 p.m. screening of “Weather Underground" (see DC Metro Action, Wednesday, Aug. 13) will benefit the Arthur Flemming Center, a community center that houses groups as diverse as Emmaus Services for the Aging, DC Indymedia, Positive Force DC and the Washington Peace Center (among others). The film's director, Sam Green, will answer questions after the movie, and Mark Andersen of Positive Force DC and the Flemming Center will say a few words about the center and the crucial community services it provides. The event takes place at Visions Cinema, 1927 Florida Ave. NW. For more information, call 202/667-0090.
Join thousands of concerned citizens from around the country this weekend as they convene at the Lincoln Memorial to honor the 40th Anniversary of the 1963 March On Washington. The theme of the event is "Return. Repair. Renew."
Friday, Aug. 22, 4 p.m. Mrs. Coretta Scott King will unveil a memorial inscription of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial.
Friday, Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m. Prayer vigil, featuring the Rev. Bernice King, at the Lincoln Memorial.
Friday, Aug. 22, 9 p.m. Spoken Word on Washington, a non-violent demonstration of open-mike poetry featuring Yolanda King, at the Lincoln Memorial. If you would like to participate, send an e-mail here. Each poet will have five minutes total, and poetry should reflect the "Return, Repair, Renew" theme, the movement for social justice, or the struggle against racism, poverty and militarism.
Saturday, Aug. 23, 9 a.m. Be part of the DC contingent to the march. Assemble at Lincoln Park, the African-American Civil War Memorial, Dupont Circle, Howard University, or the following Metro stations: Anacostia, Brookland/Catholic University, Eastern Market, Fort Totten, Minnesota Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, Stadium/Armory or Union Station. At 10 a.m., the groups will start out for the Washington Monument.
Saturday, Aug. 23, 11 a.m. Meet up with the DC feeder marches at the Washington Monument for a rally led by Civil Rights veterans Dr. James Forman, Frank Smith and Lawrence Guyot.
Saturday, Aug. 23, 2 p.m. Teach-ins, on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.
Saturday, Aug. 23, 3 p.m. Gather at the rally to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial.
The Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) – the amazing poor people's movement based in Philadelphia – is spearheading the Poor People's March for Economic Human Rights. Help KWRU build "Bushville," a tent city that will stand on the National Mall from Aug. 23 to 29.
The march, which left Marks, Miss., on Aug. 8, will depart from the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington on Saturday, Aug. 23., at 10 a.m. The group will enter Washington via the Key Bridge and then join the rally for the 40th Anniversary of the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial.
Each day during its time on the Mall, Bushville will focus on a different Universal Human Right that is not being met in the United States, the richest country in the world. The first event will be an interfaith service on Sunday, Aug. 24. Bushville will examine the right to health care on Monday, Aug. 25; the right to housing on Tuesday, Aug. 26; the right to food and water on Wednesday, Aug. 27; the right to education on Thursday, Aug. 28; and the right to a living wage and the effects of NAFTA and the FTAA on Friday, Aug. 29.
For more information, call Anne Kretzmann at 202/246-5462.
The DC Host Committee for this weekend's March On Washington is holding an "Oldies But Goodies/Hand Dance Mixer Fundraiser" on Thursday, Aug. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Cada Vez, 1438 U St. NW. Tickets are $10. For more information, call 202/832-7204.
Come see "By Hook or by Crook," a queer/post-gender buddy film written and directed by (and starring) Silas Howard (of Tribe 8) and Harry Dodge (of San Francisco’s Bearded Lady and John Waters' Cecil B. Demented). Sponsored by the DC Independent Media Center, the film will be shown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 21, at the Flemming Center, 1426 Ninth St NW. For more information, call 202/288-3730.
Local non-profit Ramona’s Way provides service within a feminist context to addicted and abused women throughout the DC metro area. Spoken-word group Mothertounge is doing a benefit show for Ramona's Way at the Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW) on Wednesday, Aug. 20, from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Tickets are on a sliding scale of $3 to $5 and all proceeds will go to Ramona’s Way.
Organizers with the Philadelphia-based Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) and the D.C. chapter of Code Pink have set up a donation drive to build a reservoir of supplies needed to sustain a Poor People's Encampment on the Mall from Aug. 23 to 30. The encampment will house between 200 and 500 people, all of whom will need the following supplies:
Water Non-perishable juices Packaged foods and snacks Meals (Aug. 23-29) Rain gear First aid supplies, especially asthma medication Toiletries Baby supplies Art supplies for children Blankets Tarps American flags
These supplies can be sent to (or dropped off in the entryway behind the chapel at) St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St. NW. Please mark items: "KWRU Poor People's Encampment" and deliver during the following hours only:
Monday – Thursday, 8:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
KWRU is looking for monetary donations to help cover the cost of vehicles and gas, and the group also needs a small stage, sound system and hand carts for its week on the Mall.
To donate a meal, stage, sound system, handcart or money, or to find out more about the KWRU encampment, call Anne Kretzmann at 202/246-5462. For questions about the St. Stephens drive, or to volunteer during the week of Aug. 23-30, please contact Kristen Arant at 202/393-5016.
Learn about the "Labor in the Pulpits" program and meet clergy, union organizers and others who are working together to put the “labor” back in Labor Day. More than 75 local congregations have already signed on to raise economic justice issues over the holiday weekend event, which is co-sponsored by Jews United for Justice and the Metro Washington Labor Council, AFL-CIO. All are welcome to attend an organizing meeting on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Ninth and Massachusetts NW (Metro: Gallery Place or Mount Vernon Square). For more information, call 202/483-1945 or send an e-mail here.
The Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition and the DC Host Committee for the March on Washington urges you to get involved in the 40th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. March (or ride) as part of the DC contingent to the Washington Monument at 11 a.m. The DC feeder marches will meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, at the following locations:
Lincoln Park Anacostia Metro African-American Civil War Memorial Metro Dupont Circle Metro (south exit) Eastern Market Metro Minnesota Avenue Metro Stadium Armory Metro (stadium exit)
The DC Host Committee has been working hard and needs your help. Please call 202/232-2500, ext. 2, or go online to volunteer to mobilize the people of the DC metro area.
If you are planning to attend the march, consider signing up with the Project Documentation group, which will record the event in multiple formats (audio, photo and video) from as many prospective viewpoints as possible to later share with the millions who won't be able to attend the march. If you'd like more information, call 202/396-3520 or send an e-mail here.
You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows
In 1969, a radical splinter group broke off from Students for a Democratic Society, convinced that only militant action could end racism, the war in Vietnam and the inequalities inherent in a capitalist society. The Weather Underground engaged in numerous bombings, bank robberies and in 1970, helped Timothy Leary escape from prison. Those actions landed the group's members on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
"The Weather Underground," a new documentary by independent filmmakers Sam Green and Bill Siegel, explores the rise and fall of the infamous American radicals whose goal was to overthrow the U.S. government. Today – in light of a new age of terrorism – the group's former members as well as their critics look back on the ’70s and reflect on what they did and why they did it.
The documentary opens Friday, Aug. 15, at Visions Cinema. On Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22-23, director Sam Green will be present for a Q&A session after the 7 p.m. screening (exact time of screening may change). Proceeds from the Saturday evening performance will benefit the Arthur Flemming Center.
I've been posting actions every Monday through Friday for nine months, and now even Google knows that DC Metro Action is the number one place to learn about an action in the DC metro area.
Be a part of the 40th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington. Rally with Martin Luther King III and a coalition of labor, peace, justice and human rights groups at the Lincoln Memorial, on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22 and 23.
At the 2003 March on Washington, more than 100 organizations will take a stand against increased U.S. militarism, racism, class warfare, the destruction of the environment and a so-called "war on terrorism" that justifies the arrests of innocent people and instills fear in all Americans. Other events include a prayer vigil, poetry jam and teach-in.
The DC Host Committee needs help planning and organizing the rally. The committee meets every Tuesday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, 10th and G Streets NW. For more information, call 202/232-2500, ext. 2, or go to this website.
This summer, organizers from the Youth Action Research Group used participatory action research to gather feedback from young people on how they are treated in youth programs, schools and public spaces – and how they'd like to be treated. The team will present its findings and analysis, followed by an opportunity for questions, on Friday, Aug. 8, from 7 to 8 p.m., at La Casa, 3166 Mt. Pleasant St. NW.
After the discussion, stay for a party to celebrate the connections and collaborations formed this summer, the power of young people, and their commitment to change and challenge the way they are seen and targeted in their communities. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call 202/462-5767.
Become the media-savvy person you were meant to be, courtesy of DC Indymedia. On the second Saturday of each month, the group sponsors free media skill-shares and workshops from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Arthur S. Flemming Center, 1426 Ninth St. NW.
Workshops will vary each month but will include classes on basic journalism, photography, audio, video and computer skills, such as blogging and desktop publishing. Come prepared for fun and learning, with lots of hands-on exercises and opportunities for all to share their experiences.
The next workshop will be Saturday, Aug. 9. To RSVP, or if you are interested in teaching a class, contact dc@indymedia.org DC Indymedia.
Let us never forget that for all of W's bravado in his hunt for WMDs, the US is the only nation ever to have used nuclear weapons in war.
Saturday, Aug. 9, is the 53rd anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki, and the Hibakusha, the witnesses and survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, will be in Washington to tell their story. Join the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Committee for a Community Welcome for the Hibakusha on Friday, Aug. 8. A reception, discussion and potluck supper will be held from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at St. Stephens and the Incarnation Church, 16th and Newton Streets NW. For more information, call 703/369-7427.
Come help local United for Peace and Justice groups grade the performance of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Bush Administration during their first "semester" of the Iraq occupation. How do the numbers add up?
* 100 Days of U.S. Occupation
* More than 6,000 Iraqi Civilians Dead
* 420 G.I.'s Dead
* 0 Weapons of Mass Destruction Found
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, gather at Dupont Circle at 6 p.m. with members of Code Pink, the Washington Peace Center, the American Friends Service Committee-D.C., the Institute for Policy Studies, Democracy Rising, Ministers for Racial Social and Economic Justice, and others. At 6:30 p.m., the groups will take their report card and a 100-piece "uranium" cake to Rumsfeld's house for a candlelight vigil and Speak Out, featuring representatives from the recently formed Occupation Watch Center in Baghdad, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, and Iraqi Americans for Peaceful Alternatives.
Rumsfeld can't have his cake and eat it, too! For more information, call the Washington Peace Center at 202/234-2000.
Come hear American University professor Jamin Raskin speak about the history, constitutionality and politics of granting non-citizens the right to vote in local elections. A specialist in constitutional law, Raskin will discuss how Takoma Park, Md., enacted non-citizen voting and the current movement in other parts of the country to "share the vote." Raskin is also the author of several books on constitutional authority, including "We the Students: Supreme Court Cases For and About Students" and "Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court Versus the American People."
Sponsored by the Voting Rights for All DC Coalition, the lecture will be held Monday, Aug. 4, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Latin American Youth Center, 1419 Columbia Rd. NW (one block from the Columbia Heights Metro station). For more information, call Olivia or Dave at 202/483-4165.
From the DC Housing List: The Gray Panthers and Mayday DC are continuing their Monday, noontime vigils at the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, asking for the reopening of the Franklin School Shelter and for better accommodations for the homeless.
DC Metro Action is published by Michael Schlesinger, a 32-year veteran of electoral and issue organizing who is committed to social justice and to increasing participation in the political process.
All original content (C) 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Michael Schlesinger
