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
Action of the Day Many of these action alerts are found on the listservs and websites of organizations listed in our "Act Locally" section (Left).
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Swallowing the Mainstream
The Third Annual DC Underground Film Festival takes place this weekend. More than 45 films from the United States and abroad including shorts, documentaries, animation, experimental films and videos will be screened.
Documentaries to be shown cover such diverse subjects as billboard bandit Ron English ("POPaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English"), an Iraqi citizen's take on the war ("Battleground: 21 Days on the Empire's Edge"), the vast American wasteland of chain retailers and consumer culture ("Chain") and Chicago bands Shellac and Tortoise ("Burn to Shine").
The series "Women in the Director's Chair" will promote and showcase riveting films made by independent filmmakers. "Animation Underground" will feature recent work by talented and innovative American animators, such as Lev, Lew Baldwin, Takeshi Murata, Helen Hill, Chel White and Jen Sachs. And also included are lots of thought-provoking, funny and engaging films that prove you don't need a lot of money to make a great flick!
Tickets are $6. The festival runs Friday, Sept. 30, from 6 p.m. to midnight, and Saturday, Oct. 1, from 3 p.m. to midnight, at the Goethe Institute (812 Seventh St. NW, Gallery Place Metro).
More than 35 percent of District adults have low literacy skills. The UDC State Education Agency needs $32 million annually to provide literacy services, but only 10 percent of its funding comes from local and federal funds.
Help raise awareness and money for adult literacy at the Walk for Literacy 2005 Fifth Annual 3K on Saturday, Oct. 8, starting at TechWorld Plaza (8th and K Streets NW; Gallery Place Metro). Check in from 7:30 to 8 a.m. and walk from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Registration is $10 for students and seniors, $25 for individuals and $15 per team walker. One hundred percent of funds raised by the State Education Agency will go directly to programs that support adult learners. To register, or for more information, call 866/832-2289 or visit www.dcadultliteracy.org.
Here's an opportunity to meet folks who are making a difference in our community. The GRASSROOTZ initiative will showcase the accomplishments and endeavors of Organized C.O.U.P. and VoxUnion Media while raising funds for and increasing public awareness of their causes. Great music, conversation, drink specials, complimentary appetizers from 6 to 8 p.m., prize giveaways from AMC Theaters and Starbucks, and other surprises will ensure a fun-filled evening for all!
It's on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Felix Lounge in Adams Morgan (18th Street NW).
Here's some more info on feeder marches and other weekend action:
Eve of the March Concert Yikes McGee in Concert with a guest list of protest performers from around the country, including Maioan Person and JoJo Roberts. Friday, Sept. 23 8 to 11 p.m. Cafe Mawonaj (624 T St. NW)
Critical Mass Bike Ride A six mile bike ride for global justice and peace to kick off a long weekend of protest, rallies, demonstrations and direct action. Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. DuPont Circle
Saturday Morning Feeder marches * 60s Still Marching Against War 11 a.m., northwest corner of Sherman Square, 15th St. NW and Alexander Hamilton Pl. * Affordable Housing Delegation for Peace - 11 a.m., 16th St. and K St. NW * Buddhist Peace Delegation - 11 a.m., 15th St. NW and Constitution * California 11 a.m., Southeast corner of Sherman Square (Square is at Pennsylvania Ave and 15th St. NW) * Connecticut - 10:45 a.m., Washington Monument Visitor's Center, 14th St. NW & Constitution Ave. * Counter-Recruitment/College Not Combat 12:15 a.m., 15th NW and Constitution * Cuba-Venezuela Contingent - 10:30 a.m., the Ellipse in the front of the White House. Look for the Cuba-Venezuela banners. Global Justice 11:30 a.m., Dupont Circle * Labor 10 a.m., AFL-CIO Headquarters, 16th and I St. * Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender 11 a.m., southeast corner Pershing Park, Pennsylvania and 15 St. NW * Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, 11 a.m., Just south of Camp Casey 15th St. NW and Constitution * Not in Our Name - 11:30 a.m. in front of the National Archives Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue and 9th Street NW. Look for the globe flags. * Nuclear Abolition Contingent - 10:30 a.m. NW corner of Freedom Plaza, 14th St and E St.* Peace Action noon, northeast corner of Constitution and 17th St. * Pittsburgh 11:30 a.m., on the South West side of the Ellipse, somewhere between C St. and Constitution Ave. Look for the big "Pittsburgh Says End the War" banner * Poets northwest corner of Sherman Square Park (15th St. NW and Alexander Hamilton Pl.) * Progressive Democrats of America, 10:30 a.m., southeast corner of 14th St. NW and Constitution * Teachers Against War 11 a.m.Constitution between 14th and 15th Sts. NW at the fountains in front of the National Museum of American History * Texas SE corner of 12th and E St. * Vermont - NE corner of the 17th St NW and Constitution Ave. Look for "Vermont Says No to War" banner. * West Virginia 11 a.m., NE corner of 12th and E St. * Wisconsin Madison and 14th St. NW * Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) noon, National Museum of American History, Constitution between 12th and 14th Sts. NW * Womens Convergence 10:30 a.m., Southwest corner of Freedom Plaza, 14th St. NW and Pennsylvania Ave. * Women in Black 11:30 a.m.., 14th St. NW and Constitution Ave, near the Museum of American History.
What if They Gave an Anti-War Rally and Everybody Came?
Everyone is coming to town this weekend: anti-war, anti-World Bank, anti-IMF and just about anti-anything which is unholy about America. The amazing thing is the infighting stoped. United for Peace and Justice is actually talking with ANSWER! Even MoveOn.org got into the action, encouraging its membership to participate (with a little prodding from DAWN). Be sure to check out September Action for up-to-the-minute information and volunteering opportunities.
To whet your appetite for action, here's a lineup of some of the week's events. Use that comment box below to leave info about anything I may have missed, 'k?
Welcome Center Mobilization for Global Justice is running a welcome center to serve as a source for basic information about the city (such as maps and Metro guides) as well as information about the IMF, World Bank and protest plans. The center is open now through Saturday, Sept. 24, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., at St. Stephen's Church (1525 Newton St. NW, Columbia Heights Metro).
Teach-In: The Global War on the Poor Speakers will make connections between military, economic and environmental violence against poor people and people of color here in the US and throughout the world. Come hear about and discuss the connections between New Orleans and Sri Lanka, Iraq and Haiti, and Soweto and Washington, DC. It's on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6:30 p.m., at St. Stephen's Church (1525 Newton St. NW, Columbia Heights Metro).
Movies to Inspire Confidence, Action and Hope Movies to Inspire Confidence, Action and Hope (MICAH)and Nonviolence International presents two evenings of films highlighting action for peace and global justice. "Hidden in Plain Sight" examines the controversy around the US Army School of the Americas and the movement to shut it down. "The Ambassador" presents Ambassador John Negroponte's ongoing role in US counterinsurgency activities, from Latin America to Iraq. "Something's in the Air/But It's Not on the Airwaves" features recent protest demonstrations and the media blackout against covering them. Screenings are on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23 and 24, at 7:30 p.m., at All Souls Church (1500 Harvard St. NW, Columbia Heights Metro). The suggested donation is $10.
Candlelight Vigil and Meditation Join the Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowshipon Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m., at St. Stephen and the Incarnation (1525 Newton St. NW, Columbia Heights Metro).
A Night of Anti-War Music A night of music will be held to benefit United for Peace and Justice on Friday, Sept. 23, at the Oneness-Family School (6701 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase). The music starts at 8 p.m. The suggested donation is $10, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Massive March and Rally United for Peace and Justice and the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition have planned a joint march and rally on Saturday, Sept. 24. Gather at 11:30 a.m. on the Ellipse (near the White House, Mall side).
Feeder Marches Global Justice 11:30 a.m. at Dupont Circle
Pro-Palestine 11 a.m. at Farragut Park (K Street and Connecticut Avenue NW)
DC Labor 10 a.m., inside the AFL-CIO headquarters (16th and I Streets NW)
Closing Rally and Concert Operation Ceasefire is a free 10-hour concert starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Washington Monument. The concert will feature Joan Baez, Steve Earle, Thievery Corporation, LeTigre, Head Roc, Sweet Honey in the Rock and other performers, and is hosted by Jello Biafra with special guest Cindy Sheehan. Operation Ceasefire is a collaboration of ESL Music, the Mintwood Media Collective, United for Peace and Justice, Catalyst Campaigns, BellVisuals and the DC Anti-War Network.
The Nuclear Horror Continues: Human Impact of Radioactive Weapons, 1945 to 2005 Sixty years ago this August, the United States waged nuclear war against a defeated and virtually defenseless Japan, annihilating in an instant the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. Since then, the world has somehow avoided the use of nuclear weapons, but worldwide, many millions have been exposed to ionizing radiation from fallout from bomb tests and nuclear reactor accidents with countless casualties. More recently, the United States has used depleted uranium munitions against the people of Iraq and Bosnia, Afghanistan and Kosovo, creating a whole new generation of Hibakusha (radiation survivors), including American GIs.
Now the US seems hell-bent on using nuclear weapons for the first time since 1945. Bush wants to resume nuclear testing and begin production of new nuclear weapons. His Nuclear Posture Review calls for preemptive nuclear strikes against non-nuclear states. It also calls for integrating nuclear capability into conventional weapons systems. Not since the dawn of the nuclear age at the end of World War II has the danger of nuclear war been greater. Join Richard Falk for a discussion about Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Iraq and Afghanistan on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (1313 New York Ave. NW).
DC Poets Against the War Open Mic Sunday, Sept. 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Busboys and Poets (1390 V St. NW, U Street/Cardozo Metro).
During your lunch break on Tuesday, Sept. 20, join thousands of citizens from across the country and send a message to Congress: Save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!
* Congress is about to vote on whether to open the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling.
* There are some places that should be off-limits to oil drilling and the Arctic Refuge is one of them.
* Tell Congress to protect the Arctic Refuge for wildlife, for the Gwich'in native people, for our children!
Join the rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the West Lawn (facing the Mall) of the Capitol. For more information, log onto www.arcticrefugeaction.org.
Help shape the DC Comprehensive Plan and the kind of place the District will be for generations to come. The plan guides how and where we as a city will grow, and provides the policy and planning guidance we need to address the issues facing Washington today.
Planning fairs will be held Sept. 21-28 in locations throughout the District. Each of the four planning fairs will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. The content of each fair is the same, so participate in the one most convenient for you.
The planning fairs will feature "stations" on relevant topics, including housing, public education facilities, transportation, land use, economic development, historic preservation, urban design, arts and culture, parks and recreation, public facilities and infrastructure, and the environment. Representatives of city agencies will be available to answer questions.
Pick the day and location most convenient to you:
Wednesday, Sept. 21 - Kelly Miller Middle School (301 49th St. NE, Benning Road Metro) Thursday, Sept. 22 - Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th St. NW, U Street/Cardozo Metro) Tuesday, Sept. 27 - Eastern High School (1700 East Capitol St. NE, Stadium-Armory Metro) Wednesday, Sept. 28 - Woodrow Wilson High School (3950 Chesapeake St. NW, Tenleytown Metro)
Until 9/11, the most infamous act of international terrorism ever to take place in the nation's capital was the 1976 car bombing that killed Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier and 25-year-old American Ronni Moffitt. Letelier and Moffitt were colleagues at the Institute for Policy Studies, where Letelier, former ambassador to the United States and defense minister under Salvador Allende, had become one of the most outspoken critics of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. A massive FBI investigation traced the crime to the highest levels of Pinochet's regime.
The Institute for Policy Studies invites you to Sheridan Circle (23rd Street & Massachusetts Avenue NW) on Sunday, Sept. 18, from 10 to 11 a.m., for the annual gathering to remember Letelier and Moffitt, and all those in Latin America struggling against state-sponsored terrorism. Bring flowers and your family and friends for this important moment of remembrance and reflection.
They've got a great lineup of films, including Il Posto, Maids (Domesticas), Office Space, Living to Work, Mardi Gras: Made in China, Off to War, The Phantom of the Operator, and Where Do You Stand? Stories from an American Mill. Check the film fest website for the full schedule and ticket information. Discount tickets are available to union members.
Jane Fonda will attend a 25th anniversary screening of her film "Nine to Five" on Saturday, Sept. 17. The event is a benefit for Working America, and the evening's program will include Fonda and Karen Nussbaum, co-founder of 9 to 5, the organization of women office workers.
NOW activists will be gathering every day to protest the nomination of John Roberts to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Check out the themes for each afternoon protest and bring signs! If you want to attend the hearing, line up each day by 6:30 a.m. to get a ticket.
Monday, Sept. 12. Meet on C Street, between Delaware Avenue and First Street NE. Dawn Vigil: 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. Bring flashlights, signs and friends!
What Is Bush Hiding? 11 a.m. to noon Bring empty boxes and signs and let's demand the rest of the documents!
Tuesday, Sept. 13, to Friday, Sept. 16. Meet behind the Senate Hart Office Building on C Street, between First and Second Streets NE.
Morning Visibility, daily 7 to 9 a.m.
Lunchtime Visibility, themed events daily noon to 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday: "Save Title IX" Come in your sports gear, college T-shirts or sweatshirts, and bring lots of signs!
Wednesday: "Demand Pay Equity" Bring cookies, brownies and other goodies for our mock bake sale! We'll have a booth with signs "selling" goodies: $1 for men and 76 cents for women! And as always, bring signs!
Thursday: "Save Reproductive Rights" Come barefoot and pregnant (if you're not pregnant, a pillow works!), bring caution tape, hangers and lots of signs!
I love that the DCist fundraiser proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. And with a suggested minimum donation of only $5, it gives all of us an opportunity to help out. Read about it here.
Check out this webpage for all of the DCist coverage of local fundraising and volunteer opportunities.
Please join students from the Howard University School of Law at Lafayette Park every night at 8 for a candlelight vigil in honor of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They will be there every night until the government rescues every stranded person. For more information, contact Tiara Higdon at TFHigdon@law.howard.edu or 202/250-5970.
Once again, we are called to duty as a community. After Hurricane Andrew, Cafe Mawonaj put together funds, food and other needed items for the people who needed it. They are determined again to assist in the disasters that Hurricane Katrina has left, especially in New Orleans.
Cafe Mawonaj has collected items that will be delivered straight to the people of New Orleans, beginning with a van filled with critical supplies that has already left. They are hiring a 24-foot truck to deliver more supplies this Saturday and are in need of the following: water filters, women's sanitary products, diapers, phone cards to facilitate phone calls to loved ones, medical supplies and money.
Cafe Mawonaj has committed its space to collect the donations and will transport them to areas around New Orleans to reach those needing help. Cafe Mawonaj has also committed funds to help with the needs of the survivors and will give one dollar to the relief effort for every meal sold for the month of September.
They need our action and support. Volunteers are needed to help load the truck on Friday, Sept. 9. Your financial donations are needed to help with fuel costs. Drop off all donations at 624 T St. NW, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Checks should be made payable to Cafe Mawonaj. For more information, call Concei at 202/460-5929.
Mother Jones has published its annual roundup of college campus activism, and two of our own made the list.
The Student Activist of the Year honor goes to Georgetown junior Nate Wright, who co-founded Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) and quickly launched a movement. By February there were 80 STAND chapters in 24 states, with thousands of students raising relief funds and lobbying Congress to pass the Darfur Genocide Accountability Act.
Among the Top Ten Activists Campuses is Howard University, which ranked number four for hosting Black Tuesday, a massive protest organized by a dozen historically black colleges to urge the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action. Kicking things off with a teach-in and poetry slam on March 31, students then marched on the court, where thousands camped for the night. The next day, 6,000 students 2,000 from Howard rallied.
"I'm tired of hearing people say that the civil rights movement is dead and that this generation is doing nothing to help," organizer Andrea Van Dorn told the Howard Hilltop. "We are here to show the world that we are united and there are still activists."
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
