April Newsletter
Matt Dineen
April Greetings from Aid & Abet!
It's been a busy month of travels and tours for all of us. A couple weeks ago, we met face-to-face — a rare event! — in New York City to discuss where we're at and where we're headed with Aid & Abet. The meeting was great, we covered a lot of ground in a couple of hours, and we look forward to implementing some exciting new changes in the not-too-far-off future. We'll be sure to let you know when we do!
Aside from meeting up, we've all been traveling here and there throughout New England and the Northeast. Jen and Justine presented our "Publicity on a Shoestring" workshop at the Women, Action and the Media (WAM) conference to an enthusiastic packed room. Jen joined up with former Clamor folks in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia to talk about her pamphlet, "Becoming the Media." Matt had a good time checking out the NYC Anarchist Book Fair and chatting with folks there. And Justine trekked to New York to accompany Robert Hillary King to a Black Panther-sponsored event in Harlem and two well-received panels on prisoners and prisons at the Left Forum.
These were just three of the 19 talks Robert King, author of the autobiography From the Bottom of the Heap and the only freed member of the Angola 3, made on his 19-day tour of the U.S. Northeast, which wraps up this week in Philadelphia. The packed tour has gone very well, averaging 60-70 people at each event to hear Robert's powerful, moving story. We will continue working with Robert King throughout the summer and fall, so please get in touch if you'd like him to head your way next time out. In the meantime, the campaign to free Robert's Angola 3 comrades is gaining momentum and can always use more support.
In other news -- look for these terrific Aid & Abet authors, artists and activists in the next few months . . .
—Formidable social critic and Unmarketable author Anne Elizabeth Moore will be touring the West Coast in June. In addition to reading from the book and giving talks on a variety of other subjects, Moore will be offering screenings of her new documentary, "Infiltrating the Underground: The Corporatization of Underground Culture," which is being highlighted this week at the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival. Get in touch now to book an event with her at your community center, art museum, or infoshop!
— Time is running out to organize a talk for Mark Engler, author of How to Rule the World, at the end of May. He will be in Southern California talking about the financial crisis and globalization from below. Check out his latest analysis on the state of world here!
— Artist and author Cristy Road will be on tour with Sister Spit: the Next Generation this fall in Europe, but in the meantime she is available to do events in the States this summer. In November she will be touring the U.S. South reading from her books and zines, showing her art and doing talks on gender and sexuality, self-publishing, punk rock and identity. Contact Matt for more info.
. . . AND, book now for fall visits from these not-to-be-missed folks on our roster:
— Shira Tarrant, author of the new book Men and Feminism, will be on the East Coast October 14-22. If you're in the Boston, New York, or Washington, DC area, don't wait — get in touch with Jen now!
— New Orleans stalwart Malik Rahim, co-founder of Common Ground Relief will begin his new tour on the West Coast — but who knows where he'll end up? Get in touch now to bring him to your college/university, community center, or activist space.
— The Beehive Collective will be releasing their much-anticipated new poster on the True Costs of Coal this fall, and are planning a massive, nation-wide touring effort. Contact us now to bring them to your campus or community group for this important presentation!
— SmartMeme will be organizing community trainings on story-based strategy for the fall in San Francisco, Boston, and several more cities, in addition to trainings for individuals non-profits and activist organizations. Want to host them? Contact Jen.
That's all for this month — enjoy the spring!
Justine Johnson, Matt Dineen & Jen Angel
Aid & Abet
http://www.aidandabet.org