SUN Haiti fundraiser, WED Zinn movie screening, and more!

[Ethan Boyles]

 

Welcome to the Weekly Newsletter of the ISO, We have a lot of info for you this week!

Summary of Upcoming Events:
Meetings:
SUN 1/31 -- Haiti fundraiser at Town Hall
WED 2/3 -- Movie Screening -- "Howard Zinn: You Can't be
                   Neutral on a Moving Train"
WED 2/10 -- How the Movement was Built: 50 Years Since the Civil Rights Sit-Ins with Guest Speaker Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Study Groups:
Tues 2/2 Meaning of Marxism, 1st meeting
Sat 2/6 Sexuality and Socialism, 3rd meeting
Tues 2/9 Black Jacobins, 1st meeting on Capitol Hill
Sat 2/13 Black Jacobins, 1st meeting in University District

 

All the Details Below....

*********

TOMORROW:
Raising Awareness and Support for the People of Haiti
Sunday, January 31, 2010
4-6pm Briefing • 6-7pm Dinner Break • 7-9pm Benefit Concert 

Briefing: Free of charge, no reservations required.
Concert: Suggested donation $20

Visit Town Hall Seattle for ticketing and more information.

The two hour program includes: activist/teacher Jesse Hagopian and health educator Sarah Wilhelm, both survivors of the quake; civil rights attorney and NAACP president James Bible; immigrant rights advocate Sandra Aguila; International Studies professor Matthew Sparke; Stephen Gloyd, Health Services Professor; Representative Jim McDermott and other guests. After a dinner break, we will return to the Great Hall at 7pm for a Benefit Concert, with a terrific roster of artists.

Sponsored by Town Hall Seattle
Co-Sponsored by The Seattle International Socialist Organization , The Seattle King County Branch of the NAACP, and the UW Geography and International Studies Departments.
Endorsed by MLK County Pride At Work, Seattle OUTprotest, and  Jewish Voice for Peace-Seattle

*********
Why Militant Struggle?
In a January 28 UW Daily article, Keep violence out for fairer budget Rebecca Kuensting attacks the International Socialist Organization for proposing “militant struggle” to oppose budget cuts and tuition increases. She feels that militant struggle must mean violence, or at least unproductive “stubborn displays of anger.” We believe that power concedes nothing without a demand and militant struggle (disruptive, confrontational actions: sit-ins, strikes, and occupations such as the recent ones in California) is in-fact the only thing that has won major change in US History -- It took a civil war (an extreme form of “militant struggle”) to free the slaves. It took a mass, very disruptive civil rights movement to win legal equality for African Americans. It took militant sit-down strikes and even battles with the police and National Guard for workers to win their right to organize unions, Social Security, Welfare, Unemployment Compensation, the 8 hour day and the weekend.

The ISO has submitted a a full response to the Daily to explain our position on responsible militant organizing. Read our response here

*****************

This Wed 2/3 Join us for a Movie Screening

 Howard Zinn:
You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train

Wednesday at 7pm, Room B14 

in the basement of the UW School for Social Work
(Corner of 15th N.E. and N.E. 41st)  

Howard Zinn died of a heart attack last Wednesday at the age of 87. With his death, we lose a man who did nothing less than rewrite the narrative of the United States. We lose a historian who also made history. Howard was a fixture of countless struggles for justice and equality in the U.S. over many long decades. He was as determined in his 80s as he was many years before as a witness and participant in the great battles of the civil rights movement and the fight against the Vietnam War.

This week we will honor his life with this documentary film that that is not only the story of Zinn's life, but essentially a very inspiring history of American radicalism for the last 87 years!

The people's historian Nation columnist Dave Zirin honors the author of A People's History of the United States and a fighter in many struggles over half a century.

A historian who made history Alan Maass pays tribute to a historian who helped make history.

Who's afraid of the big, bad Zinn? Brian Jones takes on the right-wingers who attacked Howard Zinn's The People Speak


*********

How the Movement Was Built:
50 Years Since the Civil Rights Sit-ins

Guest Speaker
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

from Northwestern University in Chicago

WED, Feb 10th 7pm
UW Architecture Hall Room 147

Check out the Facebook event and download a poster here

This February marks the 50th anniversary of the student lunch-counter sit-ins protesting segregation in the south. The act of four college students in Greensboro, NC sparked a wave of student activism which transformed the political landscape, striking a serious blow against racism and inspiring a generation of activists. Where did these protests come from and how were they built? What lessons can activists today learn from this inspiring history? Come hear our guest speaker and join this important discussion!

KEEANGA-YAMAHTTA TAYLOR is a doctoral candidate in the department of African American Studies at Northwestern University. She is a long time LGBT rights activist, most recently active in Join the Impact Chicago and as a central organizer of the group’s mobilization to Washington DC for the National Equality March. Taylor is author to several articles on racism in the United States for publications like CounterPunch, The Black Commentator, the International Socialist Review and others. She is on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review and a member of the International Socialist Organization in Chicago.

Resources to lean more:
Download or stream talks given by Keeanga or having to do with the history of the Civil Rights Movement

Read Articles written by Keeanga:
Black Reconstruction in America 1860–1880
Millions More, A Tale of Two Cities: From DC to Toledo
The Bride Wore Black: The Shooting of Sean Bell and the Resurgence of American Racism
New Orleans since the storm: An American travesty
"Life ain't been no crystal stair" Blacks, Latinos and immigrant civil rights

***********
Join a Study Series, we have three currently ruining
-- For an introduction to Marxism and the politics of the ISO try The Meaning of Marxism Study group.

-- For a history of the Haitian Revolution of 1794-1803 that helped form the first independent nation in the Caribbean try The Black Jacobins Study group.

-- To discuss the roots of LGBT oppression, the history of the gay movement, and how to win sexual liberation for all try the Sexuality and Socialism Study group.

For more information see the full listing or to sign up for any of the three Study Series email info@seattleiso.org