Events
SCHOOLS – The Mt. Diablo Peace and Justice Center in Walnut Creek, CA will host the Second Annual Conference Creating a Peaceful School, February 2. The conference is intended for parents, teachers, administrators, classroom aides and anyone who works with K-12 students.
Contact: Seven Hills School, 975 North San Carlos Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598; 925-933-7850; [email protected]; http://www.mtdpc.org/.
LEONARD PELTIER – February 4 is the International Day of Solidarity with Leonard Peltier. The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee calls on supporters worldwide to protest against the injustice suffered by the Indigenous activist.
Contact: http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info.
NUCLEAR – Western States Legal Foundation (WSLF) will be hosting its 30th annual gala, “Half Life: Celebrating 30 Years of Working for Peace and Disarmament,” February 10, in Oakland, CA. Guests include Dennis Kucinich, Daniel Ellsberg, Rose Aguilar, and Rep. Barbara Lee.
Contact: 655 13th Street, Suite 201, Preservation Park, Oakland, CA 94612; 510-839-5877; wslf( at)earthlink.net; http://www.wslfweb.org/.
EVOLUTION – February 10-12 will be the 8th annual celebration of Evolution Weekend, intended to demonstrate that religious people from many faiths and locations understand that evolution is sound science and poses no problems for their faith (affiliated with the Clergy Letters Project repudiating anti-science fundamentalism).
Contact: http://www.the clergy letterproject.org/.
LABOR – Workers Rising: A Symposium for Low-Wage Worker Organizing in NYC will be held at the CUNY Murphy Institute in NYC. The event will gather workers, organizers, scholars, candidates, and elected officials dedicated to building a more progressive NYC. The event is hosted by United NY, the Center for Popular Democracy, New York Communities for Change, Make the Road NY, SEIU 32BJ and others.
Contact: 347-985-2374; [email protected];
BLACK SOLIDARITY – The 18th Annual Black Solidarity Conference at Yale University will be held February 14-17. The theme is, From the Pulpits to the Polls: Ushering in a New Era of Activism.
Contact: PO Box 206471, New Haven, CT 06520; http://www.yale.edu/bsc.
WOMEN – CODEPINK is joining V-Day to demand an end to rape and gender violence. A staggering number of women around the world will experience rape or other violence in their lifetimes. The UN Secretary General says 1 out of every 3, over one billion women. CODE PINK invites all to actively participate in the Campaign by coming out to Strike, Dance and Rise on February 14 and, at minimum, add your name to the growing list of One Billion Rising to call for an end to violence against women.
Contact: [email protected]; http://www.code pink4peace.org/; http://one billionrising.org/.
CLIMATE – 350.org, the Sierra Club and other groups and individuals concerned about climate change will take to the streets of Washington, DC on Presidents Day weekend to form a massive human pipeline and to demonstrate opposition to climate change beginning with a rejection of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, with the big action taking place February 17.
Contact: http://350.org/.
AFRICA – The Priority Africa Network (PAN) will host the Third Annual Ubuntu Awards Ceremony, February 16. PAN’s mission is to inform, educate and mobilize people in support of the peoples of Africa for sustained peace; economic, political, social justice; and democratic development.
Contact: PO Box 2528, Berkeley, CA 94702; 510-652-1493; http://[email protected]; www.priorityafrica.org/.
FOOD – The 34th annual Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference will be held in Granville, February 16-17. The conference is Ohio’s largest and longest-running sustainable food and farm conference.
Contact: http://www.oeffa.org/conference2013.php.
STUDENTS – The 2013 IMPACT Conference will be held February 21-24, in Albuquerque, NM. The conference is historically the largest annual conference focused on civic engagement of college students in community service, service-learning, community-based research, advocacy and other forms of social action.
Contact: http://www.impact conference.org/.
GIRLS/FILM – The 2013 Girls Impact the World (GITW) Film Festival, presented by the Harvard College School Innovation Collaborative and Connec- ther, will be held February 23. The event is a film festival and scholarship program in which high school and undergraduate college students submit 3-5 minute short films that focus on a variety of global women’s issues.
Contact: http://www.connecther.org/gitw;[email protected].
JUSTICE – The Justice Conference 2013 will be held February 22-23 in Philadelphia, PA. The conference seeks to promote dialogue around justice related issues such as human trafficking, slavery, poverty, HIV/AIDS and human rights through speakers, organizations and workshops.
Contact: http://thejusticeconference.com/.
ISRAEL-PALESTINE – Israeli Apartheid Week is an annual international series of events held in cities and campuses across the globe. The aim is to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns. Events are being held through February and March.
Contact: http://apartheid week.org/; http://www.usacbi.org/.
WOMEN – March 8 is International Women’s Day and events are planned worldwide.
Contact: http://www.globalwomenstrike.net/; http://www. internationalwomensday.com/about.asp.
EDUCATION – On March 16-17 the Museum of the City of New York will host Teaching Social Activism in the Classroom. Educators are invited to present and participate in this two-day conference which will highlight the various tools and techniques used by teachers to engage their students in the history and practice of social change.
Contact: 1220 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10029; 212-534-1672; [email protected]; http://www. mcny.org/.
YOUNG FEMINIST – The 9th Annual National Young Feminist Leadership Conference will be held March 23-25, in Washington, DC. Sponsored by the Feminist Majority Foundation, the 2013 conference will focus on the impact young women have when it comes to domestic and global issues.
Contact: 1600 Wilson Blvd, Suite 801, Arlington, VA 22209; 866-444-3652; [email protected]; http://www.feminist campus.org/.
WOMEN/FILM – Women, Action, & the Media (WAM!) will host the WAM!Boston Film Festival, March 23-24, in Cambridge, MA.
Contact: 7 Temple Street, Cambridge, MA 02139; 617-876-5310; [email protected]; http://www.women actionmedia.org/.
HISTORIANS/WAR – Historians Against the War will host their national conference, April 5-7, in Baltimore, MD. The theme is The New Faces of War; and will feature panels, roundtables and workshops.
Contact: PO Box 442154, Somerville, MA 02144; conf@historiansagainst war.org; http://historians againstwar.org/.
MEDIA – The sixth National Conference for Media Reform will be held April 5-7, in Denver. The conference is the country’s largest conference devoted to media, technology and democracy issues.
Contact: http://www.free press.net/.
ABORTION RIGHTS – The 27th annual conference, From Abortion to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom, will be held April 12-14 at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.
Contact: Civil Liberties and Public Policy, 893 West Street, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA 01002; 413-559-6976; [email protected]; http://clpp.hampshire.edu/conference.
MILITARY SPENDING – April 17 is a Global Day of Action on Military Spending. Events are planned worldwide.
Contact: http://demilitarize.org/.
MILITARY SEXUAL VIOLENCE – SWAN (Service Women’s Action Network) will present Truth and Justice: The 2013 Summit on Sexual Violence, April 17-18, in Washington, DC. The summit gives survivors and their families the opportunity to share their experiences with congressmembers, policy experts and one another; along with key panels by law and policy experts on major topics involving military sexual violence and survivors’ access to justice.
Contact: http://truthandjusticesummit.org/.
LABOR – May 1 is May Day. Workers of the world will celebrate the 124th anniversary of International Worker’s Day. Born out of a call for an 8-hour workday in the United States, this day is an opportunity for all workers to show their solidarity with one another, as well as to renew the call for labor rights.
LABOR – The Pacific Northwest Labor History Association’s 45th annual conference will be held May 3-5, in Portland, OR. This year’s theme is Labor Under Attack: Learning from the Past and Preparing for the Future. A call for presentations, workshops and papers is currently underway.
Contact: PNLHA, 27920 68th Ave. East, Graham, WA 98338; 206-406-2604; [email protected]; http://www3.telus.net.
MARIJUANA – On the first Saturday of May marijuana legalization activists will hold informational and educational events, rallies and marches in over 300 cities around the world.
Contact:http://global cannabismarch.com/.
FEMINIST SCI-FI – The feminist science fiction convention, WisCon 37, is scheduled for May 24-27 in Madison, WI.
Contact: WisCon, SF3, PO Box 1624, Madison, WI 53701; [email protected]; http://www.wiscon. info/.
MULTICULTURE – The 26th annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) will take place May 28-June 1, in New Orleans.
Contact: SWCHRS, 3200 Marshall Avenue, Suite 290, Norman, OK 73072; 405- 325-3694; [email protected]; www.ncore.ou.edu.
MEDIA – The 2013 Alliance for Community Media Annual Conference will be held May 29-31, in San Francisco, CA. Participants will include educators, community leaders, media professionals, journalists, nonprofit leaders, policymakers and students.
Contact: http://www.all communitymedia.org/.
RADIO – The 38th Annual Community Radio Conference is scheduled for May 29-June 1, in San Francisco, CA, with discussions and workshops.
Contact: 1101 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004; 202- 756-2268; comments@nfcb. org; http://www.nfcb.org/.
ART/ANTI-CORPORATE – The Snake Oil Exhibition will run until April 1 at the Albany Community Center Foyer Art Gallery. Snake Oil is Doug Minkler’s artistic response to Corporate- Congressional lies and a celebration of community activism.
Contact: 1249 Marin Avenue, Albany, CA 94706; 510-524-9283; [email protected]; http:// www.justseeds.org/blog/2013/01/snake_oil_exhibition.html.
LEFT FORUM – The 2013 Left Forum will be held June 7-9, at Pace University in New York City.
Contact: 365 Fifth Avenue, CUNY Graduated Center, Sociology Dept., New York, NY 10016; http://www. leftforum.org/.
MEDIA – The 15th annual Allied Media Conference will be held June 20-23, in Detroit.
Contact: 4126 Third Street, Detroit, MI 48201; http:// alliedmedia.org/.
SYRIA/MIDDLE EAST – The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) is currently seeking funds to assist more than 200,000 refugees fleeing violence in Syria.
Contact: https://www.mecaforpeace.org.
PALESTINE – Palestinian students have called for all U.S. students to put boycotts, divestments and sanctions at the heart of University action.
Contact: http://pacbi.org/; http://www.bdsmovement.net/; http://www.boycottisraelnetwork.net/.
IRAN/WAR – United For Peace and Justice has initiated and launched the Iran Pledge of Resistance with numerous member groups and other peace and social justice organizations. The pledge is to take action against war with Iran.
Contact: http://www.iran pledge.org; http://www.united forpeace.org.
Fundraising
RADIO/OCCUPY – Voices of the 99% is a radio station born out of the Occupy Movement that also covers resistance movements worldwide. The group is moving to a 24-hour format, building a new broadcast center and a network of syndicated partner programs. They are currently fundraising to accomplish these things.
Contact: http://www.indie gogo.com/Vof99.
Books
CREDIT CRISIS – The Anthology of the Credit Crisis: Magical Thinking, Irrationality and the Role of Inequality is a new book by Niccolo Caldararo that applies an anthropological perspective to the credit crisis. The book seeks to explain banking and the means of credit creation which involves magical thought and manipulation.
Contact: 415-405-2536; [email protected]; http://anthropology.sfsu.edu/niccolocaldararo.
HAITI – Haiti’s New Dictatorship: The Coup, the Earthquake and the UN Occupation is a new book by Justin Podur about the history of the past seven years, from the 2004 coup against Aristide to the devastating 2010 earthquake; and abuse and neglect by international forces.
Contact: Between the Lines, 401 Richmond Street West, #277, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3A8, Canada; 416- 535-9914; [email protected]; http://www.btlbooks.com.
FOOD – Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America by Wenonah Hauter is an expos? of how agribusiness and food corporations are undermining a healthy food system and how voting with your food choices will not solve the problem.
Contact: The New Press, 38 Greene Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10013; 212-629-8802; http://thenew press.com/.
AFRICA/ANARCHISM – Last year a Jura Books Collective member traveling in Africa conducted an interview with Sam Mbah, a Nigerian author, lawyer, academic and anarchist. The interview has been published as a blog under the heading Anarchism is not dead in Africa. Mbah’s book, African Anarchism, was the first anthropological study of the anarchistic elements of traditional African societies.
Contact: http://jura.org. au/; http://sammbah.wordpress.com/.
HITCHENS – Unhitched: The Trial of Christopher Hitchens by Richard Seymour is an interrogation of the politics and motives of the infamous ex-leftist.
Contact: Verso Books, 20 Jay Street, Suite 1010, Brooklyn, NY 11201; 718- 246-8160; jessica@verso books.com; http://www.versobooks.com/.
HAITI – Lucy Parsons was an early American radical who led the defense campaign for the “Haymarket martyrs,” including her husband Albert Parsons, and remained active in struggles of the oppressed throughout her life. Lucy Parsons: American Labor Revolutionary is a new book about her life by Carolyn Ashbaugh.
Contact: Haymarket Books, PO Box 180165, Chicago, IL 60618; 773-583-7884; http://www.haymarketbooks.org.
Film
HONDURAS – Lower Aguan River Valley: The Clamor for Land is a documentary about the Honduran LIBRE Party that has grown out of the people’s pro-democracy movement in opposition to the post-June 2009 military coup; and the violent repression in the Lower Aguan river region where campesino farmers are being forcibly and illegally evicted from their lands.
Contact: Right Action, Box 50887, Washington, DC 20091-0887; info@rights action.org; http://www. rightsaction.org/.
DECAY – Detropia is a new documentary that paints a portrait of the city of Detroit’s decline. The film poses the troubling question: Is Detroit a harbinger for U.S. cities and towns of the near future?
Contact: Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-3764; http://www. bullfrogfilms.com/.
CIVILIZATION – The Crisis of Civilization is a documentary film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system.
Contact: Cinema Politica, PO Box 55097 (Mackay), Montreal, Quebec, H3G 2W5; http://www. cinemapolitica.org/.