WILPF BUSINESS MEETING
WILPF will meet Thursday, March 10, at 7 PM, at Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N Van Ness. This meeting is open to all members.
WOMEN IN BLACK
March 2, (first Wednesday of each month) at noon at Fresno County Courthouse. Wear black, bring a sign, and stand in silence for peace – we ask that you respect the silent vigil, please.
STIR IT UP – WILPF – ON KFCF 88.1 FM (LISTENER-SUPPORTED FREE SPEECH RADIO FOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA) March 23, 3 PM (4th Wednesday of each month) Jean Hays does outstanding interviews on subjects involving WILPF interests and activities. You know you want to tune in!
RAGING GRANNIES
Meetings on selected Mondays at 7 PM. Call Ellie at 229-9807 for details.
RACING EXTINCTION & EARTH DEMOCRACY WORKSHOP
“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone”
These words, sung by Joni Mitchell in her song, Big Yellow Taxi, help provide the theme of WILPF Fresno’s next Earth Democracy workshop on March 19, the day after the screening of CSUF CineCulture’s WILPF co-sponsored water/environmental film, Racing Extinction. You must see this don’t-miss environmental thriller, from the people who gave us The Cove. The film addresses the fact that species are disappearing rapidly due to man-made conditions, including the lucrative wildlife trade.
Our Earth Democracy workshop will be called: Enlightened Apocalypse: Paying It Forward to Save Mother Earth. We will start with the concept of what the Earth would look like with no living thing left on it. We will then step back to take a look at what actions caused this total destruction of life, and then examine what we can do now to change conditions so it won’t happen. The examples of Tulare Lake, the San Joaquin River and the dams that have and will destroy our delicate balance of nature will be topics of discussion as well as others brought to the table by workshop participants.
Presenters will include a representative of Valley First Nations people, Steve Haze, Lloyd Carter and Walt Shubin. We will begin the workshop with an outdoor opening ceremony by members of a local tribe who will then open the discussion on Indigenous philosophy of our relationship to Mother Earth. Next we will hear stories from the other presenters, including a very short film and commentary on Tulare: The Phantom Lake and then break into discussion groups with the hope of coming up with next steps to stop further destruction of our environment and restore what has been damaged. Sound like a tall order? As the Friday film narrator says: “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. Maybe someone else with a candle will find you and, together, you will find others.” Come to see Racing Extinction, then attend our workshop the next day and light your candle, along with other workshop participants. Imagine the Earth coming back from the brink, a reverse apocalypse, a vibrant, lush, green home to all our precious species of plants and animals, humans included. In the days before the film and workshop, keep your eyes open for night projections of photos of endangered species on buildings near you!
CSUF CineCulture Film:
Racing Extinction, Friday, March 18, 5:30 p.m., Peters Education Center Auditorium (West of Save Mart Center in the Student Recreation Center Building). Free parking after 4 p.m. WILPF warmly welcomes our co-sponsors: Earth Day Fresno, Citizens Climate Lobby, and Beth Ann Harnish Lecture Series.
WILPF EARTH DEMOCRACY WORKSHOP:
Enlightened Apocalypse: Paying It Forward to Save Mother Earth
Saturday, March 19, Arte Americas, 1630 Van Ness Ave., (at Calaveras St.), 9 A.M. – 1 P.M. Coffee, tea and pastries provided at registration. Bring a snack for the morning break. Bring something to put on our Earth Table to celebrate the beauty of our beloved planet. The workshop is free. Hope to see you at both events. Mother Earth and each of her fragile inhabitants need all of us right now!!
Questions: 559-313-7674 —– Jean Hays
WHAT WOULD JANE DO?
The Fresno Branch of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) invites active students age 12 and older living in Fresno and Madera counties to propose specific, creative, and peaceful solutions to current local, national, and international values, issues and behaviors which defy peace and justice for all. This includes environmental issues.
The proposals shall be in the form of short pieces and may be in a variety of formats: essays, songs – hip-hop, rap or other, poems, including spoken word, newspaper-type articles, mini-stories, skit or one-scene play, radio interview scenarios, brief videos in a You-Tube compatible format, and posters, drawings or paintings. The responses shall be brief: less than 750 words or 7.5 minutes: Jane Addams died in her 75th year. Responses are to propose specific, concrete, and positive solutions to clearly-identified issues.
The submissions shall contain some linkage or convey some understanding of the work of Jane Addams, first International President of WILPF. Addams was an architect of peace. Although J. Edgar Hoover described her as “the most dangerous woman in America”, Addams was the first U.S. woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The submissions would also do well to convey some understanding of the 100 years of witnessing for peace and justice of the entire WILPF organization, specifically by addressing or applying one or more of the current WILPF emphases on racial, social, economic, gender, and all other justice “categories”.
Eligibility: The response shall be submitted on-line to a drop-box to be published by March 11 on WILPF-Fresno’s Facebook page. All actively-enrolled students aged 12 and above in any curriculum, including public or private schools and colleges, trade schools, alternative schools, home schooling, etc. are eligible (except immediate family members of WILPF members, who are not eligible.) An active email address is also required. Students may respond as a group: all members of the group are to be active students.
Awards: three (3) $500 prizes will be awarded. It is WILPF-Fresno’s intent to offer a prize within each of three age ranges: 12-15; 16-19; 20 and beyond. Honorable mentions will be provided to other outstanding entries. Publicity will be provided for all awards and honorable mentions.
Process: Make inquiries and obtain an application/enrollment form on line by sending a statement of intent to submit to mentor4peace-wilpfresno@yahoo.com. After March 11, the applicant will receive an application form. Via email, WILPF-Fresno will send a link for enrollment and submission on a designated internet site. Arrangements will be made for receipt and review of actual posters; initial submission and review of such objects is to be via photos from multiple perspectives submitted on-line. The dialogue opens on March 11, during Women’s History Month. The deadline for submissions is 5:00 pm on May 1, International Workers’ Day. Every effort will be made to complete the award-selection process and celebrate the winners before the end of May.
The intents of this project are two-fold: to encourage students to become proactive participants in the forging of peace by recommending positive, concrete and specific solutions to problems which can build a foundation for peace in the Central Valley of California, within the nation, and within the world. Again: within the context of What Would Jane Do? The second purpose is to wrap up WILPF-Fresno’s Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of peacemaking in the Central Valley with a community-wide awareness building project. (This project is sponsored in part by WILPF-U.S. Section: see www.wilpfus.org.) Help WILPF-Fresno to celebrate our 50 years in Fresno and join the peace-making process!
—– Murphy
A WORLD WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Thursday, January 28th WILPF Fresno hosted Ellen Thomas and Carol Urner, co-chairs of the Disarm/End Wars U.S. WILPF Issue Committee. This year, the two launched their Nuclear-Free Action Tour as an active way to visit local WILPF branches to educate all of us about international efforts to ban nuclear weapons and to promote HR-1976 which is the only bill in Congress calling for abolition of nuclear weapons.
Sharing facts regarding international and domestic strides toward nuclear dismantlement and elimination, Carol and Ellen gave us valuable information. By joining forces, branch by branch and city by city, we can make progress to eliminate nuclear power, to clean up uranium mines, to halt continued production and transportation of nuclear waste. These nuclear issues are interconnected with human rights, environmental restoration, energy conversion, and ending the war economy.
Nuclear Weapons Abolition was first put on the ballot in 1992 by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has introduced various versions since.
This session the bill is HR-1976 “Nuclear Weapons Abolition & Economic and Energy Conversion Act”. Now the time is right, as this is an election year; there’s never been a better time to talk to our leaders. We need to all work together to promote nuclear disarmament and energy conversion.
Ask your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor HR-1976….Call today, Congressional switchboard 202-224-3121 OR www.congress.org/contact
Learn more about the WILPF Nuclear-Free Future Campaign at www.prop1.org
—– Teresa Castillo
DAKOTA ECOGARDEN/ECO VILLAGE NEWS
The Garden: It loves the rain and it has received lots of loving attention from some of our newer residents. Broccoli and onions are abundant. The edible pod peas will be ready in no time.
Vacancy: We have an upstairs room vacant. We welcome applications by one or two homeless persons who have a little income: $250 for one, $350 for two. They would be part of the EcoGarden community, sharing the kitchen and other facilities with the other residents.
Success/Cats/Tents: We had one resident move out to her own apartment in January. She has a job! And she took two of our feral cat family with her! We have three more, already neutered, to give away. We are in the intake process with two people who will probably move into our two vacant tent spaces, but call Nancy W. at 224-1738 if you know someone who needs shelter, or if you do yourself as we have vacancies come up as people find jobs and homes of their own. Also call if you or your organization is interested in learning more about our transitional housing project.
Save the Date: We will have a fundraising event on Sunday, May 22. Lance Canales will perform, in a lovely Old Fig garden. If you have a donation to offer for our silent auction, let me know. For more information about the Dakota EcoGarden or the Eco Village Project of Fresno, see our Facebook page or Webpage: ecovillagefresno.org
—– Nancy Waidtlow
SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
The first Showing Up for Racial Justice, Fresno meeting will be March 9th, 6:30 to 8 PM; call Ingrid at 240-9205 for location. We are a group of Fresno area people who are concerned about Racial Justice. We will be discussing SURJ, our community, and what are the right actions for the Fresno area. We hope you join us.
The national SURJ mission statement is:
SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing White people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves White people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change.
—– Ingrid Carmean
The WILPF page is edited by Leni Villagomez Reeves. Contact at lenivreeves@gmail.com
