The ACTION CENTER believes you will be interested in the following Black History Month forum:

Boston Workers World Party Invites You to -----
Honor and Celebrate Black History Month AFRICA & THE STRUGGLE AGAINST IMPERIALISM

Featured Speaker:  Abayomi Azikiwe:
Editor of Pan-African News Wire; 
WW contributing editor;
A leading organizer for the Detroit-based

Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs Saturday, February 22, 4 PM
at The Action Center, 
284 Amory Street,  Jamaica Plain, MA 

Additional Speakers include:

Miya X

Chuck Turner

Local 8751 USWA Boston School Bus Drivers Union on the 
Struggle to Stop Veolia's Union-Busting & Re-Hire the Fired Leaders

Refreshments served 
For more info: 617-522-6626   
Wheelchair Accessible

http://www.workers.org/

U.S. Hands Off Syria! – No War!

  All Out Saturday, Sept. 7, Boston!
Rally at Park St. Station (Tremont & Park Sts.), 1:00 PM 
read more..
United Boston September 7 Call:

Dear Antiwar and Social Justice Activists,

  A U.S. attack on Syria is imminent as the Obama administration presses Congress to approve a war that the American people and the whole world rejects. They say it is a limited punitive “surgical strike” against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons.  Make no mistake, any military intervention will be a war against the Syrian people.

  To date, neither the U.S. or anyone else has presented credible proof of the use of Sarin gas by the Syrian government, the current pretext for yet another war. We certainly know the U.S. government is capable of manufacturing “evidence”, as they did with WMD’s in Iraq, so we should remain skeptical.

  More importantly, the U.S. has no political, legal or moral standing to use force against any nation. The warmaking would-be cop of the world has an unbroken record of military interventions that have murdered millions to advance the interests of the ONE PERCENT.  In fact, the U.S. has used and/or supported the use of biological and chemical warfare all over the world, and uses and manufactures these and many other weapons, equally horrific.

  With yet another war imminent, all antiwar and social justice activists must assume a mobilization footing and challenge the warmakers in the administration and in Congress on a daily basis. Protests and campaigns to demand that Congress votes against war are planned across the country and indeed, around the world.

  All out to oppose any U.S. attack on Syria!  We stand for peace!

  (Organizations supporting the rally on Saturday – list in formation.)

  United for Justice with Peace, Committee for Peace & Human Rights, United National Antiwar Coalition, International Action Center, Mass. Peace Action, American Friends Service Committee, American Iranian Friendship Committee, Mass. Liberty Movement (Liberty Clubhouse), ANSWER Coalition, Mass. Global Action/encuentro 5, Green-Rainbow Party, Women’s Int’l League for Peace & Freedom-Boston, Women's Fightback Network, Team Solidarity - United School Bus Union Workers, Community Church of Boston, Mass. Pirate Party, #MassOps, Revolution is Evolution, Jewish Voice for Peace, Syrian American Forum, ComeHomeAmerica-Boston Chapter, Veterans For Peace-Smedley Butler Brigade, South Asia Center, South Asians for Social Justice, Arlington United for Justice with Peace, Chelsea Uniting Against the War, Workers World Party

Anti-war protest August 29 in Times Square

Statement of International Action Center

The people have made it crystal clear: We don’t want another war!

Last week there were demonstrations and rallies against bombing Syria in at least 48 U.S. cities. This Saturday, the 1:00 PM Times Square demonstration will be one of dozens across the country. OnMonday, September 9, as Congress goes back into session, the Syrian American Forum and others will protest in front of the White House, then march to the U.S. Congress.

The cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan exceeds $4 trillion dollars. The cruise missiles the US is planning to fire at Syria cost $1.5 million apiece. The profits of the missile’s maker, Raytheon, may be soaring -- but our cities are crumbling. People are hurting from joblessness, foreclosures, sequester cuts and furloughs. Hospitals and schools are closing.

We need funds for job programs, healthcare and education, NOT billions wasted on war and destruction.

War propaganda always accompanies war. In 2003 before the attack on Iraq, it was “weapons of mass destruction.” In 1991 in the first Gulf War it was “incubator babies.” In Vietnam it was U.S. ships being fired on in the Gulf of Tonkin.

It’s ludicrous to think that the Assad regime used chemical weapons on the same day weapons inspectors arrived in Syria. The inspectors were less than ten miles away from the attack and had been invited by the Syrian government.

But even if the Syrian government did it, the U.S. is the last country on earth that should start a war on the basis of combatting war crimes.

The Pentagon’s 2004 assault on the city of Fallujah alone left the residents there with staggering rates of cancer, birth defects and infant mortality due to the U.S. military’s use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus.

Just last month the recipient of $1.5 billion in annual military aid, the Egyptian government, brutally cleared the streets of protest encampments that included men, women and children.

By far, the world’s largest stockpile of chemical, nuclear and every other kind of weapon belongs to the United States -- the only country to have used nuclear weapons on civilians.

No, President Barack Obama and Sec. of State John Kerry don’t care about the people of Syria one bit. What they care about is removing a government that gives aid to the Palestinian resistance, Hezbollah and other victims of the Israeli brutality. The repressive regimes in Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf kingdoms beat down the people of the region so that U.S. oil companies can have unfettered access to oil profits.

We don't want another war for the 1%. The rich will win and the people in the U.S., Syria and the entire Middle East region will lose. Hands off Syria!


Call for Hands Off Syria! Actions 

GET ON THE BOSTON-PROVIDENCE BUS TO THE 2013 POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN MARCH FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON!

  • SIGN UP HERE (BUS LEAVES 11 PM FRI MAY 10, FROM ROXBURY COMMUNITY COLLEGE PARKING LOT; LEAVES MIDNITE FROM BURGER KING AT CENTRAL H.S. PROVIDENCE iacboston.org/2013poorpeoplesmarchbus.html
  • DONATE / PAY FOR YOUR TICKET 

    [Archived image unavailable: Donate with WePay]

     (IF YOU CAN'T GO ENTER A DONATION)
  • COME TO THE ORGANIZING MEETING SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 6 P.M. at the ACTION CENTER, 284 AMORY ST, JAMAICA PLAIN, MA (in Brewery Complex near Stonybrook on Orange Line
    • HEAR THE PLANS FOR THE POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN!
    • HELP PLAN OUTREACH TO FILL THE BUS!
    • DISCUSS THE PEOPLES FIGHTBACK 
    • DISCUSS POLICE STATE REPRESSION AND BOSTON BOMBINGS 

Download the 2013 Poor Peoples Campaign LeafletCall4PoorPeoplesMarch-1[Archived image unavailable: Call4PoorPeoplesMarch-2]

 Peoples Power Assemblies Boston c/o Action Center 284 Amory St Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
617-286-6574 iacboston.org

Download the 2013 Poor Peoples Campaign Leaflet

RECLAIM DR. KING JR’S DREAM DURING THIS HISTORIC YEAR –

2013 MARKS THE 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1963 JOBS & FREEDOM MARCH

and the 45th anniversary of the 1968 Poor Peoples Campaign

On the anniversary of the Poor Peoples Campaign ignite a fight for people’s rights

2013 POOR PEOPLES CAMPAIGN & MARCH FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON D.C.

Beginning on Saturday, May 11th – the anniversary weekend of the Poor Peoples Campaign, we will hold a civil rights walk and March from Baltimore to Washington D.C. and arrive in Washington on Sunday, May 12, 2013.

We invite people from around the country to join us in Baltimore on May 11th.

There will be support vehicles to ensure that everyone can participate, regardless of physical ability.

We are Marching because...

POLICE BRUTALITY & MASS INCARCERATION ARE GROWING

Baltimore has become the capital of police killings! Since January, 2012, 16 people have been killed by the Baltimore City Police Department and not a single officer has been indicted. The epidemic of police terror and abuse are not confined to our city. The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement has documented that every 36 hours a Black person is killed by police agencies in this country. Police repression and racism go hand in hand with the mass incarceration of young people, mostly of color, who are locked away in prisons across this country.

We march to bring national attention to these issues and to demand community control of police and an end to mass incarceration. On May 11, 2013 we will link arms with the families of the victims of police killings to demand that the Justice Department charge killer police.

POVERTY IS DEEPENING AND THE PEOPLE NEED JOBS, NOT JAILS

One out of every four persons in Baltimore City lives below the poverty level. Growing poverty due to continuing depression level joblessness in every major city in this country and in many towns underscores the need to revive Dr. King’s fight to end poverty. Justice minded people everywhere must begin to prepare a united resistance to stop any and all austerity measures, whether it comes in the form of cuts to social security, Medicare, unemployment or food stamps.

We must renew Dr. King’s call for “Jobs or income now” and demand that the federal government: 1) bailout the people, not the banks; 2) provide a massive Works Projects Administration program to put the people back to work and 3) through Executive Order place a moratorium on home foreclosures.

WORKERS RIGHTS ARE UNDER ATTACK

If the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive he would be on the front line of stemming the tide of right wing attacks on workers and unions couched in the misleading language of “right to work.” Dr. King would have been leading sit-ins to win justice for low wage workers from Wal-Mart to McDonalds. His last days were spent fighting for sanitation workers rights – this battle is yet to be finished.

On May 11th we will be marching to defend workers’ rights from Detroit to Atlanta.

JUSTICE FOR ALL IS NEEDED

We will march to continue the ongoing struggle to stop racism, end attacks on immigrants, women and LGBTQ people.

We can no longer be divided from or consider a person as "illegal” simply because he or she has crossed a border; the fight for justice is far from over when someone can be profiled and murdered because they are Black, Latino/a, Native or Asian; it continues when women are still denied equal rights and LGBTQ people continue to suffer from violence and bigotry.

FUND EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE & HUMAN NEEDS, NOT WAR & OCCUPATION

Dr. King proclaimed very accurately that “every bomb that falls on Vietnam, is a bomb dropped on our inner cities.” The names of the targeted countries and occupations have changed. What hasn’t is the growing trillions spent on the Pentagon that drain the wealth of this country and that could instead fund healthcare for every uninsured person, provide education for youth, stop school closings and provide jobs for all. Not only does war still threaten the people of this world, but the refusal to deal with ever growing evidence of climate change, and the insatiable desire to put profits before people, threatens the entire planet. The only way to build Dr. King’s beloved community is to end war and put people’s needs before profits.

It is urgent that we reclaim Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and begin a new revolution to ignite a people’s movement for not only civil rights but human rights.

The Occupy movement inspired many, but the 1968 Poor Peoples Campaign in Washington D.C. was, outside of other heroic examples in labor history, one of the first “occupations.” Let’s bring the movement together. Join the 2013 Poor Peoples Campaign March!

The campaign to reclaim Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy in this historic year to fight back against police terror, austerity measures, attacks on workers and student rights was voted and consented on at the December 15, 2012, National Peoples Power Assembly.

We in Baltimore invite everyone to join us – from Oakland to Atlanta, from Detroit to New York. Our problems are the same as your problems – let’s stand together. If you are interested in organizing your community, school, or union to be part of this effort call us at 410-500-2168 or 410-218-4835 or email[email protected]. To sign on as an endorser of this effort please contact us by phone or email.

Initiated by: Baltimore Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly
2011 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218
Phone 410-500-2168 or 410-218-4835
www.PeoplesPowerAssemblies.org

 Peoples Power Assemblies Boston c/o Action Center 284 Amory St Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 
617-286-6574 iacboston.org

BE PART OF HISTORY: Reclaim Dr. King’s dream during this special year
Ignite a fight for people’s rights!

Join the 2013 POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN and MARCH

www.PeoplesPowerAssemblies.org

SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEKEND

FRIDAY, MAY 10 -- 5:00 P.M. Pre-Poor People’s March Kick-off in the Community at Biddle Street and North Montford Avenue, 21213 – Join us from 5 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. Remember Anthony Anderson Sr. with family members. Hot dogs and refreshments! We will be putting together signs and listening to spoken word artists and singers. We’ll open up the People’s Power Assembly with a community speak-out, and showing videos as it gets dark. We will also canvas the neighborhood.

SATURDAY, MAY 11 -- 10 A.M. The Poor People’s Campaign March rally begins. The March will start at 11 A.M. sharp. We will gather in the lot where Anthony Anderson Sr. was killed by Baltimore Police. This is one of the poorest communities in Baltimore. At a brief rally, we will recognize all who have come.

Representatives of the families of Alan Blueford and other victims of police killings will be coming from as far away as Oakland and California’s Bay area. Students are coming from local campuses and from other cities. A bus of poor people and union workers from Boston will join us.

OUR Walmart workers, who are fighting for workers’ rights will join us in Baltimore and later in Hyattsville. We will be marching past one of the super Walmart’s.

We will take a break for bag lunches as we exit Baltimore City and begin our March down Route 1. Route 1 is the historical route used by prior Civil Rights leaders in the campaign to desegregate restaurants and other facilities. It’s important that we raise the demand to defend voting rights, which are under attack.

The Baltimore and Washington D.C. Metropolitan AFL-CIO Councils have both endorsed, along with the national United Food and Commercial Workers Union Minority Coalition and other union locals.

Several key things to be aware of: There will be support vehicles, vans, and cars, so there will be options. Some people may choose to ride the entire route. Most will take breaks and alternate between walking and riding. Some participants will also have to drive. For those activists who view the 41-mile march itself as very important, we are making it possible for them to walk the entire route. From our own experience and that of others who have done this, the key is unity, a lot of spirit, group decision--making and lots of water.

The “Rude Mechanical Band” from the Occupy movement will take part in this walk. Some Boston school bus drivers from United Steelworkers Local 8751 will have a special sound car, which will blare great music.

We will break near Elkridge/Columbia which is about 1/3 of the way. There, we will be greeted by local activists for a break and dinner at the side of the highway. We will also schedule bathroom breaks on the route.

Students and activists will greet us at the University of Maryland College Park, where we will continue our People’s Power Assembly and hear and record testimony, thoughts and proposals from participants.

Depending on physical needs, there will be floor space for bedrolls and sleeping. For those who need beds, we will arrange for motel rooms nearby. For some Baltimore and regional participants who have brought cars, they may go home to sleep and return the next day for the final leg of the march.

SUNDAY, MAY 12 -- 10 A.M. Our final leg of the March will begin. This is Mother’s Day. It was the actual day that Coretta Scott King led the kickoff of the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968. We will gather in front of the corner near Hyattsville Bus Boys & Poets at 5331 Baltimore Ave., Hyattsville, MD 20781

Women participants will lead this part of the March, including the women of OUR Walmart, who are marching in honor of Alan Forest; the mothers and sisters of the victims of police killings; youth from the Dreamers; women workers impacted by the sequestration cuts, and others. Bring your mothers, sisters, daughters and friends on this special day. Honor Mother’s Day in the best way possible. We urge our brothers to bring roses for all the women marchers.

This is the shortest leg of our March.

We expect to arrive at Freedom Plaza at 3 P.M. where we will be greeted by Dr. Bernard Lafayette and Dr. C.T. Vivian, who helped lead the original Poor People’s Campaign. We will also hear greetings from local community and labor representatives and Occupy D.C. from the Peace House.

We will then get snacks and food and proceed to a 5 P.M. People’s Power Assembly where we will hear people’s testimony on the many issues and important proposals about where we should go from there.

8 P.M. to 9 P.M. We will show videos and have teach-ins. During this period, we will hold a meeting of those who will remain in D.C. to decide what we do on Monday and in the future.

Please stay tuned. We will soon be posting more concrete logistics and arrangements.

Download the 2013 Poor Peoples Campaign Leaflet 

M.L. King and Poor Peoples Campaign

Initiated by: Baltimore Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the People’s Power Assembly 

Contact: 410-500-2168 or 410-218-4835                  email: [email protected]  

 Peoples Power Assemblies Boston c/o Action Center 284 Amory St Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 

617-286-6574 iacboston.org