WILPF BUSINESS MEETING
WILPF will meet Thursday Sept 12, 7PM, at Fresno Center for Nonviolence, 1584 N Van Ness. This meeting is open to all members.
WOMEN IN BLACK
Sept 4, first Wednesday of each month at noon at Fresno County Courthouse; come on the month in which your birthday falls! Wear black, bring a sign if you wish, and stand in silence for peace.
STIR IT UP – WILPF – ON KFCF 88.1 FM (LISTENER-SUPPORTED FREE SPEECH RADIO FOR CENTRAL CALIFORNIA)
Sept 25 3PM (4th Wednesday of each month) Jean Hays does outstanding interviews on subjects involving WILPF interests and activities. Tune in!
RAGING GRANNIES
Meetings on selected Mondays at 7PM. Call Ellie at 229-9807 for details.
DR JEAN KENNEDY ON THE RADIO
WILPF member Dr. Jean Kennedy is doing a radio program every Saturday at 8 PM. You can listen on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk1dr. Some links to recent shows are http://www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk1dr/2013/08/04/social-justice-class-by-dr-kennedy and /2013/08/11/social-justice-class-by-dr-kennedy. Contact: 559-270-1023.
FILM AND NIGHT OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SOLIDARITY
September 6, 5:30 PM at Peters Auditorium
(west of Save-mart center, NE corner of Woodrow and Shaw)
A FIERCE GREEN FIRE: The Battle for a Living Planet (2012)
First time in the Central Valley! This film is an exploration of the environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future – and succeeding against all odds. Directed and written by Mark Kitchell, and narrated by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2012
Discussants: Mark Kitchell (Director), and grassroots activists from Kettleman City, Fresno, & other valley communities.
Sponsored by WILPF & Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, El Pueblo Para el Aire y Agua Limpia/People for Clean Air and Water of Kettleman City, Central California Environmental Justice Network, Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, Fresno Brown Berets, Fresno Center for Nonviolence, Fresno Metro Ministry, Peace Fresno, Reedley Peace Center, Sierra Club Tehipite Chapter.
FILM September 20, 5: 30 PM same venue: LA AMERICANA (2008)
Discussant: Nicholas Bruckman (Director)
When nine-year-old Carla suffers a life-threatening accident, her mother, Carmen, must leave her behind and make the dangerous and illegal journey from Bolivia to the US, where she hopes to earn enough to save her daughter’s life.
This film shows how immigration policy affects families on both sides of the border. Winner of multiple awards at film festivals across the country, La Americana inspires audiences to discuss immigrants’ rights and immigration reform. Co-Sponsor: Chicano Latin American Studies Department
JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON MARTIN
A large adult male armed with a gun stalks and kills a slender teen carrying only candy and a soft drink. His perception of the threat posed by this youth is based entirely on race and this race-based attitude is unfortunately shared by the police who for 45 days refuse to arrest him and a jury which acquits him. A clear case for federal civil rights charges exists. Correspondence to the Attorney General may be sent to:
Eric Holder
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Office of the Attorney Public Comment Line – 202-353-1555
SOLO SUFREN LA DERROTA AQUELLOS QUE DEJAN DE LUCHAR.
“THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE DEFEATED ARE THOSE WHO STOP STRUGGLING.”
(Jose Mujica, president of Uruguay at the 60th anniversary of the start of the revolution)
A Pastors for Peace Caravan (Thank you very much, Fresno WILPF, for your donation to Pastors for Peace!) including WILPF members Gerry Bill and Leni V Reeves, with Sue Kern and Tonatzin Risco from this area and 70 others from the US, Canada & Mexico, went to Santiago de Cuba. We saw hurricane damage from Sandy and reconstruction efforts – it looks like Santiago is ahead of New Orleans after Katrina although it’s months vs. years – and even helped a bit, with some tree planting for reforestation and foundation digging for new homes. We visited some of the completed homes, along with neighborhood projects, including an outdoor gymnasium for senior citizens. We saw the Moncada, now a museum and school complex, but an army barracks in 1953 when 158 men and 2 women attacked on July 26 to begin the Cuban Revolution, and we visited the places where the revolution was planned, including the house of Frank Pais, Baptist schoolteacher and leader of the clandestine movement, who was killed in the street by police and never saw the triumph of the revolution he was making. This and the visit to the Moncada, where large numbers of the attackers were captured and subsequently tortured to death reminded us that free healthcare and free education and the other benefits of the revolution didn’t just happen by magic. We visited a farm cooperative for a discussion and a great party, and got to see Santiago’s famous Carnival, a joyous home-made affair. We were privileged to attend the 60th Anniversary Celebration of the start of the Cuban Revolution. Most important, we broke the blockade, taking medical aid in our luggage, and defied the travel ban.
IT’S TIME TO END THE BLOCKADE OF CUBA NOW.
