5/26: A People's History of the UW

Wednesday May 26, 7pm

Bagley 131, University of Washington (map)

Free for UW students, $3 General Public

This May marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970 student strike in which thousands of UW students demonstrated to protest the  war in Vietnam in the wake of the Kent State shootings. Two years earlier the Black Student Union at UW occupied administration buildings in a successful campaign to increase opportunities for minority students. These were just a few high points from the exciting history of activism on the University of Washington campus.

As a new generation of activists organize against the budget cuts and other issues affecting us, come hear the inspiring stories from those who helped build the movement during this high point of student activism, discuss lessons for today, and get involved in the myriad of campaigns for social justice that are being organized on campus by the event's sponsors!

Speakers:

Aaron Dixon was co-founder and Captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party and played a key role in the formation of the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Seattle Chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Watch an interview with Aaron Dixon on the The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project website.

Steve Ludwig was a member of the University of Washington chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and helped organized the May 1970 student strike and many other protests on campus. Watch an interview with Steve Ludwig on the The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project website.

Larry Gossett was active in Seattle’s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1967, and co-founded the University of Washington Black Student Union (UW BSU) in 1968. Through the BSU, Gossett helped push the UW to create a Black Studies Program. Watch an interview with Larry Gossett on the The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project website.

Dean Patton came to campus in 1970 and worked at the UW Daily during the first half of that tumultuous decade. He was Daily editor in 1975 and spearheaded an antiwar action with the UW football team that is chronicled in A People's History of Sports in The United States. 

PY BATEMAN was a member of SDS and later joined a nascent women’s liberation movement that made great strides in making it possible for women in this state to obtain abortions legally. She founded the Anna Louise Strong Brigade with other women who left the Seattle Liberation Front (SLF). Py went on the found the Feminist Karate Union.

Moderated by Jessie Kindig UW History PhD student and Associate editor of PNW Civil Rights and Labor History Projects 

More Speakers TBA. 

Raffle and Silent auction

As part of the historic occasion of the 40^th anniversary of the UW student strike we will be holding a raffle and silent auction featuring items from the exclusive photo collection of SDS activist Steve Ludwig.  Ludwig’s photos—documenting everything from the struggle for Black studies, the 1970 student strike, and the women’s rights movement—vividly capture the determination of a young generation of activist struggling against racism, war, and oppression.  Proceeds will be used to help today’s UW activists in their many struggles for social justice.  So bring your cash and checkbooks --you don’t want to leave without a memento of the some of the greatest struggles our campus has ever known!

For more info or to endorse: isouw@uw.edu 

UW International Socialist Organization, UW Black Student Union, UW Campus Antiwar Network, UW Students Organizing for LGBT Equality (SOLE), UW College Greens, The Q Center, ASUW, MEChA de UW, First Nations, UW Student-Worker Coalition

Download Posters:
People's History of UW - half sheets
People's History of the UW 5/26 - 11x17

5/19: The Democrats - A critical Book Discussion

Join us for a Book Discussion
on "The Democrats:
A Critical History" by Lance Selfa

Wednesday at 7pm, Room 26 

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

http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/The-Democrats-A-Critical-History

In Part one of our meeting we'll discuss "The Democrats" by Lance Selfa p1-86  (part two of the book will be discussed 6/16).


The November 2006 and 2008 general elections represented a strong rebuke against George W. Bush and the Republican Party in general.  With the historic win of Barack Obama to the presidency, and with both houses of Congress firmly in the Democrats control, the sense of true "hope and change" abounded to many on the left.  At last, the "populist" Democratic Party would forever end Washington's corrupt,venal policies and its inextricable ties to corporate, big business interests. However, will the Democratic Party ever be the political institution that will bring about these sweeping reforms? In part one of this book discussion we'll begin to look at the history of the Party and it's role in the capitalist system.

In the second half of our meeting, we'll discuss local organizing. We'll hear an update from our LGBT rights committee on local and national actions for the Harvey Milk Day of Action (May 22) and other organizing to win Full federal Equality.  And we'll discuss our Socialism 2010 Conference in Oakland and our efforts to organize a contingent of Seattle activists to attend as a group.

5/18: Speak Out against Arizona’s racist immigration laws!

Come join the Student Worker Coalition and the International Socialist Organization for a Speak Out against Arizona’s racist immigration laws!

Tuesday May 18th, on the HUB lawn, University of Washington 11:00am-1:00pm

Arizona’s State Bill 1070 will have disastrous impacts on immigrants and their communities. It makes it illegal for documented and undocumented immigrants to not carry their papers, and allows police to stop and question anyone “suspected” of illegal immigration. SB 1070 enshrines racial profiling into law enforcement. To add insult to injury the Arizona Governor signed a law that will ban Ethnic studies programs from any educational institution that receives state money. This is an attempt to bury the histories of people of color and further sanction the kind of racism and vitriol that we have seen recently, like the attack by the Seattle Police on a local Latino man recently.

In 2006 a similar law at the federal level was defeated by mass demonstrations and protests. Help us talk to the UW community about Arizona’s law and about immigration issues in the United States. Join the ISO and SWC on the HUB Lawn on Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to speak out against this law. We welcome anyone to share their thoughts and stories relating to these issues.


Learn more about SB 1070 and the fight for immigrants rights in the U.S.:

http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/03/todos-somos-arizona

http://socialistworker.org/2010/04/30/juan-crow

http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/05/resisting-arizona-apartheid

http://socialistworker.org/2010/05/14/reason-to-protest-arizona

5/12: Political News Round up Discussion and Organizing meeting

5/12: 7pm UW School of Social Work, Room 26

     
For the first part of this weeks meeting we'll have a political roundup discussion centering on the May print edition of Socialist Worker Newspaper.

There's tons to discuss, ranging from Inside the Goldman Sachs scam & The banker robbers to New challenges for the Immigrant Right movement and  Anger builds over Arizona law to The 40th anniversary of the massacre of students at Kent State to Supreme Court appointments and the role of the court as Supreme guardians of the status quo and much more. Join us for a free flowing political discussion of the socialist perspective on the last months news!
 

In the second half of the meeting we'll discuss and plan for upcoming events like -- the I-1098 campaign to tax the rich, our Socialism 2010 Conference in Oakland, and our People's History of UW panel. Come get involved!!