CASJ Weekly April 16
Community Action and Social Justice Coalition
Occupy Earth Week & IMF:
Monday, April 16th. 4pm-March* against Climate Change Deniers
Tuesday, April 17th. 5:30pm- Action against the tar sands pipeline
Wednesday, April 18th. 3:30pm- March & Action against hydrofracking
Thursday, April 19th. 8am- Action against Corporate Agribusiness.
1pm- community gardening at Wangari Maathai Garden
Friday, April 20th. 8am-March against Big Oil
4pm- Critical Mass bike ride to IMF sites of interest
Saturday, April 21st. 6am- Dawn March to World Bank Conference Site.
8am- Morning March to World Bank Conference site.
Noon- lunch at McPherson Square.
Midday-trainings at Murrow Park.
10pm- March to Delegates’ places of interest
Sunday, April 22nd. 1pm- March to World Bank Site in commemoration of the 42nd Earth Day
All marches meet at McPherson Square unless otherwise noted.
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/102129789922276/
Screening of 'We Always Resist: Trust Black Women'
Join AU Students for Choice this Thursday, April 19 (location and time TBA), for a screening of this timely documentary film that captures the activism of Black women in response to the anti-abortion movement and their attacks on women of color through racist, anti-choice national billboard campaigns that displayed the doleful faces of young black children with shocking statements like “Black Children are an Endangered Species,” and “The Most Dangerous Place for an African American is in the Womb.” This radical move by anti-choice organizations shows their willingness to disparage the integrity of black women as part of a sensationalized campaign of misinformation about abortion services and women’s reproductive freedoms. The subliminal messages behind these billboards assume the worst about black women: either they are too feeble-minded to make their own choices regarding pregnancy, or they selfishly and imprudently seek abortions. This film is a vital tool to fight against human rights violations and will provide activists and community organizers the opportunity to discuss the issue of abortion rights and activism. Join AUSC after the screening for a discussion about Black reproductive rights activism and some of the issues brought up in the film, including the religious movement's involvement with pro-choice activism. E-mail AUS4C...@gmail.com for more information!
Demand
the closing of the SOA/WHINSEC and an end to US militarization in the
Americas
Now, it is more important than ever to get
anti-militarization on the national agenda and to create broad
alliances of social justice activists to change the culture of
militarization! Join SOAWatch this week
(http://www.soaw.org/)
Monday, April 16: Flood Capitol Hill
with Justice
12pm. Gather at Upper Senate Park (New Jersey and Constitution
Ave, NW) for a rally, followed by a lively parade, a march on Capitol
Hill and nonviolent direct action.
1:30pm Congressional film screening with Congressman Jim McGovern,
featuring the testimonies of eight youth filmmakers, who submitted
entries to the "If I had a Trillion Dollars" film festival.
The screening is open to the public and will take place on April 16
at 1:30pm in the Cannon House Office Building, Room 122
Monday, April 16 and Tuesday, April 17: Lobbying on Capitol
Hill. Take what you've learned and get your Congress member to
cosponsor HR 3368! Art, culture and music will be an integral part of
the mobilization. Stay tuned for more information and updates to the
schedule!
Tuesday, April 17 @ 4 pm Justice for Farmworkers!
Picket,
Delegation and Theater at Giant Headquarters @ 8301 Professional
Place, Landover, MD. Check out the website for more information about
Coalition of Immokalee Workers!
99%
Spring Action Training
Build Your Skills:
Nonviolent Street Smarts and Effective Action
Thursday, 19 Apr
2012, 6:30 PM
St Stephen's Church
Washington, DC 20010
Hosted by Sonia Silbert/Washington Peace Center
For more
info:
http://civic.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=129288&id=
Ecosense: Poetry Contest
Wednesday,
April 18 8-10pm, Anderson Conference Room
Do you like to write
poetry? Do you like the earth? Do you like winning prizes? Then enter
Ecosense's poetry contest. The event will take place on April 18th at
8. If you would like to enter the competition please send your entry
to au_eco...@yahoo.com. On the 18th each person who sent in an
application will have a chance to read their poem to an audience.
After everyone has read their poem, people will vote by money on
which poem they liked the best. The person who earns the most money
will earn a $50 gift card. All the proceeds will go to the AU
Sustainability Fund. Entries will be due by 11:59PM on April 17th.Check out the FB event for more info:
http://www.facebook.com/events/311915252208648/?notif_t=plan_user_joined
Strut
for the Horn (Fashion Show)
Saturday, April 21, Doors
at 7:30, Starts at 8pm, Tavern, Ticket price $10 (all attendees need
an ID)
Support the famine relief in the horn of Africa by
donating funds to the Leon H. Sullian foundation, a DC based
foundation that contributes to the essential relief efforts in the
Eastern Africa region while enjoying the fashion show put on by the
African Students' Organization. Email newa...@gmail.com for more
info!
Beats of Faith: DC Hip Hop Artists and
their Inspiration from Islam
Wednesday, April 18, 2-4pm
McDowell Formal Lounge
Featuring Joshua Salaam: member of Native
Deen, Artist, and Community Activist
For more information visit:
www.american.edu/sis/islamicpeacechair
Sponsored by the Mohammed
Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace, The Center for Peacebuilding and
Development, International Peace and Conflict Resolution Program,
Washington College of Law International Legal Studies Program, and
American University's Muslim Student Association.
Syria 101:
Understanding the Uprising:
A Discussion with AU Faculty and
Students
Tuesday April 17, 5:30-7:30pm MGC 247
Hosted
by American University Middle East Studies, Lation and American
Student Organization, Saudi Student Association, Community Action and
Social Justice Coalition, Muslim Students Association
"Tejid@s
Junt@s: Workers, Students, and the Movement for Alta Gracia,"
Join the Fair Trade Student Association for a live streaming of
the documentary that explores how we as students are connected to
garment workers the world over and how finding and exposing those
connections can bring about positive change in the lives of people
everywhere. Join us in MGC 247 on Wednesday, April 18- the
documentary starts promptly at 8:30pm. For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/events/388728141149466/
New Investigation Exposes Extreme Cruelty at
Factory Egg Farm
A new undercover investigation at
Kreider Farms - a factory egg farm in Pennsylvania - reveals horrific
cruelty to egg-laying hens, including hens crammed inside barren
battery cages even smaller than the industry standard, where they can
barely move an inch for nearly their entire lives. In a New York
Times opinion piece, Nicholas Kristof reports, "Somehow, fried
eggs don't taste so good if you imagine the fetid barn in which they
were laid." Kristof notes that Kreider Farms is one of the few
major egg producers in the United States that actively opposes the
Egg Products Inspection Act Amendment of 2012 (H.R. 3798) that would
ban barren battery cages nationwide and reduce the suffering of
hundreds of millions of animals every year. Learn more and take
action at:
http://www.mfablog.org/2012/04/new-investigation-exposes-extreme-cruelty-at-factory-egg-farm.html
So
You Think You Know Nutrition? Test Yourself!
Does a Big
Mac or an egg have more cholesterol? Does fish have more or less
fiber than beef? PCRM recently commissioned a survey that asked these
and nine other questions to assess the public’s knowledge of
nutrition issues. Take the quiz now:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiets/pcrm-nutrition-quiz
How
"Big Ag" Bought Iowa's "Ag-Gag" Law
New evidence of political corruption
has come to light since Iowa Governor Terry Branstad bowed to
pressure from "Big Ag." By signing into law a bill that
makes criminals out of undercover investigators who expose cruelty to
animals, corporate corruption, dangerous working conditions,
environmental violations, or food safety concerns at factory farms,
Governor Brandstad failed Iowans, Iowa's farmed animals, and the
American people. Learn more and take action at:
http://www.mfablog.org/2012/03/how-big-ag-bought-iowas-ag-gag-law.html
Five
Ways The Affordable Care Act Helps Young Americans
Thought it was useless? Think again:
http://campusprogress.org/articles/five_ways_the_affordable_care_act_helps_young_americans/
“5 Days for
the Cuban 5″
In September 1998, five Cuban men were arrested in Miami by FBI
agents. Gerardo Hernandez, Ramón Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez,
Antonio Guerrero and René Gonzalez were accused of the crime of
conspiracy to commit espionage. The US government never accused them
of actual espionage, nor did it affirm that real acts of espionage
had been carried out, as no classified document had been confiscated
from the Five. Their actual mission in the United States was
monitoring the activities of the groups and organizations responsible
for terrorist activities against Cuba. After the triumph of the Cuban
revolution in 1959, Cuba had been the victim of more terrorist
attacks than any other country in the world, killing 3,478 and
injuring 2,099. The vastly majority of those attacks originated in
southern Florida, by groups tolerated and partly financed by the US
government. After their arrest, the Five were immediately placed in
solitary confinement, isolated from all other inmates for the entire
17 months of pretrial custody. The trial, which lasted over six
months, became the longest trial in United States history. More than
119 volumes of testimony and over 20,000 pages of documents were
compiled, including the testimony of three retired US Army generals
and a retired admiral, who agreed that no evidence of espionage
existed.
Near the trial’s conclusion, when the case was about to be
handed to the jury for consideration, the US government recognized in
writing that it had failed to prove the main charge against Gerardo
Hernandez, conspiracy to commit murder, admitting that it was facing
an “insurmountable obstacle” in connection with winning the case.
This charge had been added seven months after Gerardo’s arrest.
However, the jury, under intense pressure brought to bear on them by
the local media and Cuban-American community, nonetheless found the
Five guilty of all charges. The Five were sentenced to a total of
four life sentences plus 77 years and were imprisoned in five
separate maximum security prisons spread across the US without the
possibility of communication with each other.
Join The Cuban
5 for 5 Days of Action in DC! PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE FROM APRIL 17 TO 21:
Tuesday, April 17
All
day of lobbying on Capitol Hill
Wednesday, April 18
Lobby activities continue with
distribution of information to elected officials.
2pm-4:30 pm
Discussion of the Flawed Trial of the Cuban Five as Described in
Stephen Kimbers’s Book, What Lies Across the Water at the
University of California Washington Center 1608 Rhode Island Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C. Host: Wayne S. Smith, Senior Fellow, Center for
International Policy, and Former Chief of the U.S. Interests Section
in Havana. Presenter: Stephen Kimber is an award-winning
Canadian journalist and writer. The author of one novel and seven
books of nonfiction, he is Professor of Journalism at the University
of King’s College in Halifax, Canada, where he specializes in
nonfiction.
7pm: Screening of the documentary “Will the Real
Terrorist Please Stand Up, Nyumburu Cultural Center at University of
Maryland, with the participation of invited guest Miguel Barnet,
President of the National Association of Writers and Artists of
Cuba (UNEAC)
Thursday April 19
6:00 pm, 102 Park Ave, Takoma Park,
MD . Community Event to launch a new committee in Takoma Park in
support of the Cuban 5. Local elected officials will be invited.
Distribution of information and showing of the new documentary
“Esencias” about the historic tour of La Colmenita in the U.S. in
October 2011. Local elected officials will be invited. Distribution
of information and showing of the new documentary “Esencias”
about the historic tour of La Colmenita in the U.S. in October 2011.
7pm: Screening of the documentary “Will the Real Terrorist
Please Stand Up,” Blackburn Center Auditorium, Howard University,
2400 Sixth Street, NW featuring Professor Piero Gleijeses, author of
Conflicting Mission: Havana, Washington and Cuba 1959-1976.
Friday, April 20
“OBAMA GIVE ME FIVE”
Public
Event, Festival Center, 1640 Columbia Road, NW. Beginning at 6 pm
with the traveling exhibit, Humor From My Pen, the political cartoons
of Gerardo Hernandez. Meeting begins at 7pm with topics including; 1)
Lift the blockade of Cuba 2) End the Travel Ban 3) Free the Cuban
Five, 4) Remove Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor
terrorism and 5) Return Guantanamo to Cuba.
Keynote Speaker: Dolores Huerta, President, Dolores Huerta
Foundation and Co-Founder of the United Farm Workers. Special Guest:
Actor Danny Glover, and many more will speak.
Saturday 21 April
10 am, meeting with leaders of
different religious denominations (Place TBA) with Special Guest:
Rev. Dora Arce-Valentín, Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba. Cuban
Theologian and professor of the Evangelical Theological Seminary of
Matanzas.
1 pm picket/rally at the White House, people will be
coming from DC and cities all over the country including buses from
New York City that will travel to DC under the slogan “Freedom ride
for the Cuban 5″. We are urging everyone to bring their signs and
banners to send a strong message to President Obama.
4 pm,
Closing Event, Bolivarian Salon of the Embassy of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela, 2443 Massachusetts Ave, N.W., Keynote Speaker
Cindy Sheehan. Presentations by DC children’s theater group: “The
greatest weapon of Cuba, a tribute to Cuban doctors”, directed by
Obi Egbuna Jr. and Hemingway’s HOT Havana: Brian Gordon Sinclair,
Artistic Director.
For more information about the Cuban 5,
check out the website: http://www.thecuban5.org/wordpress/the-case/
Join the Guatemalan Human Rights
Coalition for these two awesome film screenings. Check out their
website http://ghrcusa.wordpress.com/
for more info:
Granito: How
To Nail A Dictator
Directed by Pamela Yates
In
English and Spanish with English subtitles
As a young filmmaker in 1982, Pamela Yates went to Guatemala to document the "hidden war" the government conducted against its own Mayan people. When the Mountains Trembled, the powerful film that resulted, featured 22-year-old Mayan human rights defender and future Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú. Thirty years later, Yates wanted to help bring some of the principals in the hidden genocide to trial by searching her old reels for footage that could be evidence against them. Part political thriller, part memoir, Granito depicts a riveting, haunting tale of genocide with a cast of characters that includes a courageous forensic anthropologist exhuming remains of the disappeared and an archival researcher uncovering damning documents in government archives.
Post screening discussion with director Pamela Yates, producer
Paco de Onis and forensic anthropologist Fredy Peccerelli at 4/19
screening. Special guests TBA for 4/21 screening.
Screenings
Thur, Apr 19, 6:30pm Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Sat, Apr 21, 6:30pm Landmark’s E Street Cinema
For more information and to purchase tickets see:
http://www.filmfestdc.org
The Echo of Pain of the
Many
Directed by Ana Lucia Cuevas
In ‘The Echo of Pain of the Many’ we witness a moving,
thought‐provoking and rare documentary by a Latin American woman,
recording her return from exile and into the still dangerous and
volatile political environment of contemporary Guatemala, where over
the course of four years, writer--‐director Ana Lucia Cuevas
discovers, through the archived records of the perpetrators of the
crimes themselves, the involvement of her own government and Foreign
Intelligence Services in the abduction, torture and murders of her
brother and his young family.
May 8th, 5:30pm
The Elliot School of International Affairs,
Lidner Family Commons
1957 E Street, NW, Washington, DC
Post
screening discussion with director Ana Lucia Cuevas and Amnesty
International
Love,
CASJ
Community Action & Social Justice Coalition
http://www.aucasj.org/
Kay Spiritual Life Center
4400 Mass. Ave, NW
WDC 20016
Phone: 202 885 3333
Fax: 202 885 3317
Note: Pursuant to Title II and Title V of H.R. 3162: Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT
ACT), all incoming and outgoing electronic transmissions may be
monitored by numerous federal and state law enforcement
agencies without notice.