Announcement :: Human Rights : International

Three Spectacular Events This Week at the LPC

by Lucy Parsons Center Radical Film Night
Email: films (nospam) lucyparsons.org (verified)

21 Jan 2006

Three Spectacular Events This Week at the LPC
January 24-28
Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Ave
Boston’s South End

All Events Are Free

Tues, 7pm – January 24
Zapatista Workshop from the Snail’s Pace Collective

Wed, 7pm – January 25
Screening of The Battle of Algiers. Part of Radical Film Night.

Sat, 5pm – January 28
Radical Relief Reportback from the Gulf Coast

*** Jan 24 *** Jan 24 *** Jan 24 *** Jan 24 *** Jan 24 *** Jan 24 ***

Workshop tour discussing autonomy and alternatives to the current US political system as inspired by the EZLN’s Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona.

We are a collective made up of people from all over the United States of America, students and anti-capitalist organizers with diverse experiences and origins. We are musicians, dancers, muralists, writers, photographers, cooks, friends, compañeros who came together in September of 2005 under the ideals of the Mexico Solidarity Network to study Mexican social movements. In our four months in Mexico, we created relationships with indigenous communities in rebellion, displaced peoples in rebel refugee camps, empowered campesinos, maquila workers, ex-braceros, families of the disappeared, and urban resistance movements, with whom we now stand in firm solidarity. At each encounter and exchange we have been asked pointedly and also implicitly to return to our communities and share what we have seen and apply the lessons to our own forms of struggle. This workshop is our response.

Proposal:

On January 1, 1994 the EZLN (Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional) rose up in arms in the name of democracy, liberty and justice. They have since been organizing internally to create participatory governing structures and autonomous health and education services for the indigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico. On the 19th of June 2005 the EZLN declared a Red Alert throughout Zapatista territory and mobilized to protect meetings held in Zapatista communities. Out of these meetings came the Sexta Declaracion de la Selva Lacandona. This declaration called for all anti-capitalist groups in Mexico to come together to create a national project called La Otra Campaña (The Other Campaign). This campaign directly challenges the foundations of the presidential election to be held in 2006 by creating a national network of permanently mobilized groups that exists independent of any state structure and offers an alternative to the party/electoral system.

The Sexta Declaracion provides inspiration for international communities to evaluate their own forms of resistance moving towards international networks of anti-capitalist struggle. As US organizers we respond to the Sexta by recognizing our responsibility to create our own sustainable and accountable alternatives to electoral politics. We will begin this process by facilitating an info session and conversation about the Sexta Declaracion and the Otra Campaña and their meanings for us as organizers. We hope to open dialogues about building community and creating autonomous spaces in the US. Because the homogenizing political system of the US disregards the diverse needs of those that exist within it, we propose this workshop as a conversation about another kind of politics, which reaches across our diverse range of struggles, looking specifically at the Otra Campana as an example of how we can begin this process. We hope to demonstrate how our work complements the work of those around us, to reaffirm and build networks of political actors who share this vision of a system which invites direct participation.

- The Snail’s Pace Collective (Gianna Rodríguez, Tessa Landreau-Grasmuck, Aaron Samsel, Monica Gomery, Erica Bratz, Alie Huxta, Diane Amdor)
snails (at) riseup.net

*** Jan 25 *** Jan 25 *** Jan 25 *** Jan 25 *** Jan 25 *** Jan 25 ***

Battle of Algiers (1965, 117 min)

The Revolt that Stirred the World!

How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.

The Pentagon ordered a screening of this film in August of 2003. The parallels between the Iraqi Insurgency and the Algerian resistance are hardly subtle.

A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it.

The film was banned in France for many years beginning in 1966, and scenes of torture were cut from the original American and British releases as incendiary toward the French. In addition, international politicians of right-wing inclinations have criticized The Battle of Algiers as mere communist and terrorist propaganda.

Among Third World groups, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the broader Palestinian nationalist movement may be among the best known of those who have made use of The Battle of Algiers as a discussion piece, propaganda film, and training aid of sorts. This may be attributable to pre-existing affinities between the FLN and PLO, as both groups were Arab secular nationalists, fostered in exile by the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser.

*** Jan 28 *** Jan 28 *** Jan 28 *** Jan 28 *** Jan 28 *** Jan 28 ***

Radical Relief Reportback from the Gulf Coast

Hurricane Relief workers who traveled to the Gulf Coast with the Frida bus in the late fall will recount their experiences through pictures and stories.

http://www.peoplesfreespace.org/hurricanerelief/

The present goal of the Hurricane Autonomous Workers Collective is to raise awareness of the terrible conditions which still exist for hundreds of miles along the Gulf Coast which have been ignored by mainstream media, to help others who wish to volunteer or offer their resources to hurricane survivors connect with the grassroots organizations that have filled in the gaps left by FEMA and the Red Cross, and to support communities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in their efforts to rebuild their neighborhoods and stand up for economic justice. Hundreds of miles of coastline are still devastated by the hurricanes, and many are still homeless and hungry, waiting for FEMA trailers and insurance checks that have never come. The media has misrepresented the effects of the hurricanes, often promoting racial stereotypes and ignoring the conditions of poor neighborhoods strewn with debris, and houses that still stand unrepaired and ignored four months after the hurricane. There are many active grassroots collectives in the region who are filling in where traditional relief organizations have fallen short, who are working directly with communities, and who are willing to house and feed volunteers. The HAWC will facilitate connections between volunteers and other grassroots organizations in the area in order to ensure hurricane stricken communities get the support that they need.

The HAWC is planning a Hurricane Relief Caravan, destined to leave Portland for the Gulf Coast at the end of January. We are seeking volunteers willing to continue with the hurricane relief effort, doing home repair, clean up, tree removal and supply distribution. The hurricane zone needs volunteers willing to do general labor, as well as mechanics, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, nurses, CNA'S and others with medical training, and anyone who has skills, knowledge, or a willing set of hands to lend to the relief effort. We are also looking for donations and supplies for mold remediation and construction tools and materials, as well as non-perishable food items, medical supplies and fuel. The Gulf Coast relief effort is also in great need of transport vehicles, so volunteers and supporters who bring their own vehicles, or know of used trucks and vans for sale or for donation would be extremely helpful.

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ABOUT LPC
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+++ Where are we?

Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston's South End
Telephone: 617.267.6272
Email: lucyparsons (at) tao.ca
Web: http://www.lucyparsons.org/

+++ Directions

By train/public transportation: Take the Orange Line to the Mass Ave. stop, or the Green "E" line to the Symphony stop. Walk south on Mass Ave for a minute or two. Go left onto Columbus Avenue for 1-1/2 blocks. Lucy Parsons Center will be on the left.

By bus:Take the #1 Dudley/Mass Ave bus to the corner of Columbus Avenue and Mass Ave. Walk east on Columbus Avenue 1-1/2 blocks. Lucy Parsons Center will be on the left.

By car, from Storrow Drive:Exit at Copley. Go left at the light, onto Arlington Street. Continue approximatley five blocks until Columbus Avenue. Go right onto Columbus Avenue for approximately eight blocks. Lucy Parsons Center will be on your right. If you reach Mass Ave, you've gone one block too far.

From I-93 N or S:Take the Storrow Drive exit. Continue 1-2 minutes on Storrow and exit at Copley. Go left at the light, onto Arlington Street. Continue approximatley five blocks until Columbus Avenue. Go right onto Columbus Avenue for approximately eight blocks. Lucy Parsons Center will be on your right. If you reach Mass Ave, you've gone one block too far.

+++ What are we?

The Lucy Parsons Center, Boston's collectively run radical bookstore features an extensive selection of radical books and magazines, internet access, space for talks and meetings, and free movies Wednesday nights. Located at 549 Columbus Avenue in the South End the store is just down from Mass Ave and easily reached from the Mass Ave and Symphony T stations and the #1 bus. Regular store hours Mon-Fri 12-9pm Weekends 12-6.

+++ Volunteer

Volunteering at LPC isn't just about donating your labor. All of the Lucy Parsons Center volunteers contribute to all aspects of running the store and can take part in all decisions in how it's run. If you know anything about grant writing, web design, or any other skills you think would be useful, or if you just want to be part of this great radical project, please email Pete at petestid (at) yahoo.com

+++ Use our space for radical stuff

One of the most important aspects of the Lucy Parsons Center is providing a community meeting place for radical activities. If you want to host an event, please send an email to Rebecca at rebeccabatchelder (at) yahoo.com. Make sure to give enough notice so that we can approve the event at our bimonthly meetings.

If you have a group that needs a space to have regular meetings, just come to the bookstore and fill out a space request form. Again, make sure to allow time for approval by the collective.

+++ Donate MONEY!

We need support to help ensure the Lucy Parsons Center continues to grow and be an important resource for the community. Donations can be made in the form of cash, check or credit cards. Please call the store for more info. If you don't have a lot, don't worry, even donating the change of your purchase can make a difference.

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