Next Deadline for Newsletter Articles: Saturday, February 18, 2012
Please submit copy to PAR’s e-mail address: parnewhaven@hotmail.com
No e-mail? Call Paula at (203) 562-2798 to find out how to submit your article. There is a 350 word limit.
Next Planning Meeting date is Thursday, February 2rd at 3 pm, Mitchell Library, 37 Harrison Street…all welcome.
Subscription: $13 for 10 issues, check payable to PAR, P.O. Box 995, New Haven, CT 06504
By Joelle Fishman, People’s World
This year’s 38th annual African American History Month Celebration hosted by the People’s World will highlight the theme, “‘We who believe in freedom cannot rest’ – Reclaiming the Struggle in 2012.” The event will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Peoples Center, 37 Howe St. The program will include awards and recognition to all participants in the high school arts and writing competition. Deadline for entries is Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.
Guest speaker Raglan George, Executive Director of AFSCME District Council 1707 in New York which represents home health care and child care workers, will address the challenges of extreme inequality in our nation, the rising fight back and the 2012 elections.
He will also share recollections of Henry Winston on his 100th birth year. Winston, who grew up in a sharecropping family, organized African American youth in the South in the 1930s and later served for 20 years as national Chair of the Communist Party USA. He was among the national CPUSA leaders jailed for their ideas in the 1950s who were later exonerated. Winston lost his eyesight while in prison, unable to get health care due to racism. He declared, “they have taken my sight, but they can never take my vision.”
Pictures drawn by children on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday celebration at Peabody Museum will also be on exhibit. Donation is $5, with buffet included. For more information call (203) 624-8664.
The People’s World is also sponsoring a coach bus to New York on Sunday, Feb. 19, for a special Henry Winston centennial program including Angela Davis, Jarvis Tyner and more.
Jan. 20, 2012
A federal judge has blocked Vermont from forcing the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant when its license expires in March. The Vermont Senate voted to deny the company a new operating license in 2010, but the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the plant’s license in the days following last year’s Fukushima nuclear crisis. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha overruled Vermont’s effort, saying only federal authorities can regulate nuclear safety. The Vermont Yankee plant is one of the oldest in the country and has had a series of radioactive tritium leaks. Vermont officials are expected to appeal the ruling.
By Jaime Myers-McPhail, CT Center for a New Economy
The Connecticut Center for a New Economy (CCNE) works with faith, labor, and community groups and individuals especially in Hartford and New Haven to advance a new social contract that includes: good jobs, high quality public education, a clean and safe environment, affordable housing, and quality health care for all. We need to build a bigger, louder movement for justice in health care and economic justice more broadly. We believe that in a rich society like ours no one should be poor. We have enough to go around but it is being hoarded by the wealthiest 1%.
In February, CCNE is going to turn up the heat on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his administration to deliver on campaign promises of real health care reform. While he cozies up with the insurance industry and impedes progress toward universal health care, hundreds of thousands of people across the state are left out in the cold with no coverage. A majority of these uninsured are people of color. We must remind Gov. Malloy of the severity of this problem, the solution to which must come from government. We must bring him the human faces and stories of a system that privileges white people while disadvantaging blacks and Latinos. A black baby born in the (very wealthy) state of CT is three times more likely than a white baby to die in the first year of birth. These are not just statistics, they are human lives. If we stand idly by, if we fail to take action to change this, then we are just walking over those bodies.
Details will soon be posted on Facebook. The important dates will be:
February 8th: (opening day of the session / red shirt healthcare4every1 “ambush”) come in shifts of 8:30-11 a.m. or 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
February 14th: Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care vigil outside the SustiNet Cabinet meeting, 8:30 a.m. (“Standing on the Side of Love” action).
To find out more or to get involved, call: (203) 710-1084 or email jaime@ctneweconomy.org or visit www.ctneweconomy.org or www,facebook.com/pages/
Jan 29
By Deb Malatesta, ANSWER CT
On April 4th ANSWER CT will be sponsoring a Jobs Not Jails march and demonstration in solidarity with many others around the country.
Despite having only 5 percent of the world’s population the United States contains 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated persons, with 2 million people imprisoned. This is over one million more than the nation with the next largest prison population.
Driven by the ruinous, so-called, “War on Drugs,” the mass incarceration epidemic is disproportionately aimed at poor and working class communities, particularly those that are mostly Black. Just over 35% of those in prison are Black, despite Blacks representing roughly 13 percent of the population. 21.2 percent of those incarcerated in the United States are there for non-violent drug offenses. Many non-violent offenders are addicts, who are criminalized rather then treated for their addiction. The proliferation of “supermax” prisons around the country has rapidly increased the number of prisoners subjected to prolonged isolation. Long-term isolation is widely considered akin to torture. As one report puts it prolonged isolation can cause: “anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia, and psychosis.” Without hope for meaningful jobs and opportunity we can never hope to end this crisis of mass incarceration, to demand: End the Drug War Now! Release All Non-Violent Drug Offenders!
End Exploitation of Prisoners Families! End Inhumane Living Conditions in Prisons! Jobs not Jails!
For more information on getting involved in the Jobs Not Jails march and demonstration or to sponsor or endorse the demonstration contact Chris or Deb at 203 903-4480.
By Joelle Fishman, Peoples Center
The New Haven Peoples Center, owned by Progressive Education & Research Associates, Inc., is a social, cultural and educational resource for the New Haven community. Founded in 1937, the Peoples Center is a site on the Connecticut African American Freedom Trail. For 75 years it has provided speakers, training, poetry, music and films to the community on issues affecting our daily lives. The facilities have been made available to community and union groups at little or no charge.
In 2011 the Peoples Center sponsored a Jobs and Unemployed Committee and launched a youth leadership project which founded the New Elm City Dream, opposing street violence and supporting jobs for youth and jobs for all. The First Friday poetry venue Free 2 Spit, use of the kitchen by Food Not Bombs, and the use of meeting space by a wide variety of organizations and individuals keep the Peoples Center full and busy.
The New Haven Peoples Center is an all-volunteer organization. The structure was erected in 1851 with later additions. Emergency repairs and restoration are now required, involving extensive work to maintain the structural integrity of the building, increase energy efficiency and improve its function.
The exterior masonry on the rear north wall collapsed due to tree roots. A temporary repair was done to last through the winter as an in-kind donation by the Connecticut Building Trades Council. This repair must be completed in 2012. The entire brick building is in need of pointing.
The heating system needs improvements to circulate heat properly. The roof, gutters and soffits need repair or possible replacement. The single-pane windows need to be replaced to increase energy efficiency. The hardwood floor in the community room needs to be repaired and refinished.
The proposed building project will maintain this historic building and allow the Peoples Center to continue to function as a social, cultural and educational resource to the youth and a broad cross section of the community. Letters of support and messages to members of the Board of Aldermen will be appreciated.
By Joan Cavanagh, Archivist/ Director, Greater
New Haven Labor History Association
“I had of course heard about the sit-down strikes and the great industrial union organizing campaigns of the 1930s, though there was actually very little historical writing about them available in the 1960s. I had heard of the ‘Haymarket riots,’ but I didn’t know that more than half a million workers struck in 1886, many of them in a nationwide general strike for the eight-hour day. I had heard of labor leader and socialist candidate Eugene Victor Debs, but I didn’t know anything about the huge strikes in all basic industries—steel, coal, and railroads—in the mid-1890s. Nor did I know anything about the big strike waves during and after World War I and World War II. And I couldn’t find a single book or article dealing with such periods as a general phenomenon…
“Such actions called up for me a vision of how ordinary people might liberate themselves from those who oppressed them. They showed people who had been divided and apparently powerless coming together for what I would later call common preservation. It showed them confronting and sometimes defeating the greatest powers in the land. Could that story, I wondered, still be relevant?”
In his newest book, historian, activist, writer (and member for life of the Greater New Haven Labor History Association), Jeremy Brecher answers that question with a resounding “Yes!” Save the Humans? is a multi-layered, nuanced tour de force through the history of 20th and early 21st century movements for “Common Preservation,” as well as an earnest plea that we apply the lessons learned from them to confront today’s global threats.
There will be a discussion and book-signing with Jeremy in the community room of the New Haven Public Library, 133 Elm Street, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, March 3 The event is cosponsored by the library and the Greater New Haven Labor History Association.
By Augusta Girard, Program Coordinator, Promoting Enduring Peace
PEP spent the day on Monday, January 16 at the Peabody Museum. As a video of Martin Luther King and the causes he fought for played on my laptop I tried to show the children what he did to fight for equality and freedom and how it isn’t much different today. People are still fighting for what they believe in; for things that still need to change. I asked them to make a protest sign as if they were going to march as MLK started over 50 years ago. I asked them what was important to them. The ages ranged from approximately 5 to 11. Overwhelmingly most wanted peace.
The following quotes (word for word) were taken from signs made by a handful of the children:
“Give Peace a Chance” “World Peace is Important” “We should have peace to the environment, the world. And it does not matter about your skin color and don’t let that get in your way” “Your gonna be remembered for the things that you say and do!! I’m different and so you are to. Don’t abuse other people just because they are different” “NO DISCRIMINATION We are all equal” “Save the Earth” “Animal Abuse is Wrong” “We want people to be friends” “Stop all Racism in the world.”
In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., we should all champion the diversity we find around us, by increasing our knowledge about different groups. “Fear, begot by ignorance, can be overcome, because ignorance can be remedied.”
At the end of his legacy, Dr. King was looking not just at issues of race, but he also became more broadly concerned about social justice. Environmental justice is social justice. Although the Environmental Justice movement was not directly conceived by Dr. King, it embodies his spirit. Promoting Enduring Peace has taken on the task of joining the Peace, Social Justice and Environmental movements.
“Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” ? Martin Luther King Jr.
To see the presentation go to http://www.pepeace.org/ (Click on Sliderocket presentation)
By Al Marder, GNH Peace Council
With U.S. Labor for Friendship with Cuba as a program consultant, Marazul Charters, Inc. is organizing a research delegation to Cuba for full-time trade unionists: April 25 -May 2, 2012.
The research goals of the delegation are to (1) learn how the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), Workers’ Central Union of Cuba, the country’s national trade union federation, is working with the new economic policies within the context of socialism; (2) learn first-hand from Cuban workers about the accomplishments and new challenges of a different economic system than our own; (3) be apprised by the CTC about the effects of the 50-year old U.S. economic blockade against the Cuban people, and; (4) learn how full economic and trade relations between the U.S. and Cuba could help workers from both countries by providing economic opportunities.
The U.S. government continues to impose restrictions on travel to Cuba. But under a General License already issued by the U.S. Treasury Department, full-time professionals are permitted to travel to Cuba to conduct research in their fields. To qualify under the General License for professional research for this particular delegation, you must work full time as an appointed or elected official of a labor union or be an academic in this field.
The cost of the program is approximately $1,600 for double occupancy and $1,700 for single occupancy, which includes round trip air fare from Miami to Havana, a Cuban visa, hotel accommodations, breakfast daily, several additional meals, a bi-lingual guide, and a full research program. Delegates are responsible for their own air fare to and from Miami. The research program will include exchanges with CTC leaders and rank and file Cuban union members, visits to hospitals, labor unions, the Lazaro Pena School of the Cuban Workers, work sites, and the observance of Cuba’s May Day celebration on May 1st. The deadline for all applications is Friday, April 13, 2012.
If you are interested, or know someone who is interested and who meets the above qualifications, contact Marazul Charters at info@marazul.com. Marazul Charters will send you details on the arrangements, the qualifications, as well as the application form.
Jan 29
By Deb Malatesta, ANSWER, CT
On Jan. 16, 2010, Jewu Richardson fought for his life after being brutally shot just inches from his heart by a New Haven police officer while he was sitting in his car, unarmed with his hands raised in submission.
At the time of the shooting, Jewu was awaiting the start of a highly publicized Federal lawsuit against the City of New Haven after he served time for drugs planted on him by the federally-indicted NHPD Narcotics Task Force under Billy White.
In January 2006, New Haven Police Department Narcotics Task force planted drugs on Jewu and arrested him. For 13 months, Jewu sat in jail. The day before his jury trial was to begin, Billy White and his thugs were arrested by the FBI on charges of bribery, theft of government funds, criminal conspiracy to name a few. When Jewu arrived at the courthouse the prosecutor had filed a 30 day continuance. The prosecutor knew he had no case when the officers who accused Jewu were in jail on federal charges of conspiracy. Two days later, the prosecutor, judge and Jewu’s attorney met secretly and nollied the case without consulting him. After Jewu spent thirteen months in jail, they claimed there is not enough evidence to prosecute. In response, Jewu filed a motion for complete dismissal of all charges. And in 2008, Jewu filed a Federal lawsuit against the City of New Haven, New Haven Police Department, Chief of Police and the officers involved.
In 2009, cops began harassing and intimidating Jewu. On January 16th, 2010, they shot him in the chest through the windshield of his car to silence him for good.
The NHPD is now charging him with 1st degree assault of a police officer, an attempt by the NHPD to justify his near-fatal shooting. He’s facing 20 years in jail. But as Jewu says, “They tried to kill me and I should be dead, but they messed up. They messed up big time.”
Jewu is a father, a psychology student, and a community activist. Don’t let him go to jail for a crime that he did not commit. Justice for Jewu! For more information contact www.justiceforjewu.com.
The 2012 theme is “New Haven + reading legacies.” The New Haven Free Public Library Foundation will award cash prizes of $100 in each age category, and a $25 award for “Peoples’ Choice” winner, selected at the Winners Reception on April 21.
Entries may be submitted between Feb.1 and March 1, 2012. Poems will be judged on original interpretation of theme as well as other criteria. Contest is open only to those who live, work or attend school in New Haven. One poem per person. Poems must be original and previously unpublished. Poems may not exceed one column, 25 lines, double-spaced.
Entry must include separate page with poet’s name, address (non-residents indicate school or workplace in New Haven), age category (youth, ages 9-13 / teen, ages 14-18 / adult, ages19+) plus phone and/or email.
Submissions may be dropped off at any NH Public Library branch or emailed to nhfplevents@gmail.com (use “poetry contest entry” in subject line) by March 1 at 5 p.m. Failure to follow guidelines will result in disqualification. Poems will not be returned.
2012 Poetry Contest Winners Reception will be held at NH Main (Ives) Library, Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m. Questions? (203) 946-8835 or nhfplevents@gmail.com
By Ben Jones, CT Network Against the Death Penalty
The 2012 legislative session begins in February. We have no time to spare to ensure our elected officials know that THIS is the year to end Connecticut’s death penalty.
Please take a moment and sign the petition to Governor Malloy and your legislators in support of repeal: signon.org/sign/end-the-death-penalty-3. Then please forward the petition to as many people as you can (CT citizens and beyond). If we generate enough signers now, MoveOn.org will forward this petition to their entire Connecticut list – which is tens of thousands of individuals!
We’ll need everyone for this year’s lobby day for repeal, Wednesday, February 29th. At 10 a.m., a press conference will feature CT Murder Victims’ Families Speaking Out Against the Death Penalty. At 11 the CT ACLU is sponsoring a lobbying training and a free lunch at noon. To participate in the training and free lunch, RSVP to ACLU Field Organizer Isa Mujahid at gimujahid@acluct.org or at 860-523-9146.
In the afternoon on February 29, we will all go in groups to talk with our legislators about repeal. It is important that we are able to fill the Capitol with repeal supporters, so please plan now so you can join us on the 29th. Thank you for all you have done to get to this point, where Connecticut is on the brink of repealing its death penalty. Together, over coming weeks of the legislative session, we will be working hard to make sure we achieve our goal.
Dear PAR contributors and progressive community members,
Readers want to know: What is the purpose of your organization? How are you building your group? What campaigns are you organizing? What events are you planning?
The deadline for the February issue of the Progressive Action Roundtable Newsletter is Friday, January 20. Please send in to this e-mail address – parnewhaven@hotmail.com – articles about your group’s recent and current activities and upcoming actions and events.
We are asking everyone to limit her/his article to 350 words. Be sure to indicate your name and organization as they should appear in your byline.
If you haven’t written recent articles for PAR, please include information about your group’s purpose. Do not use different fonts or sizes in your article. List either a phone, e-mail address or website so that readers will have a way to get further information.
About calendar items:
If you mention an event in an article, please also send a SEPARATE calendar announcement.
Please give street addresses for any events or meetings–even for “well-known” public buildings.
VERY IMPORTANT: Please indicate whether your event location is wheelchair accessible.
You can also send us SAVE THE DATE items about future events, even if you do not yet have all the details in place.
The Newsletter will come out approximately January 31; please consider this when submitting calendar items.
Here are other suggestions about submitting copy to the PAR Newsletter:
1. If you ask or encourage new groups to submit articles or calendar items to PAR, please give them a copy of these tips.
2. Submit copy by e-mail, either as regular e-mail text or as an MS Word attachment (.doc).
3. If you are a first-time author in the PAR Newsletter, thank you! We hope you will also subscribe and encourage others in your organization to do so.
4. If someone else from your organization who doesn’t have e-mail is going to write an article, we can arrange to receive a disk or a paper copy. Send an e-mail to us and include the name and phone number of the person who needs help, or call Paula at (203) 562-2798.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT INSERTS:
We prefer to carry articles & calendar listings rather than inserts. But if you have an insert to include in the Newsletter, we ask you to send the information contained in the flyer to this e-mail address as well so that it can be easily added to the PAR Calendar.
Your organization must make and pay for the copies of the insert, and you must call Mary Johnson (203) 387-7858 in advance to see if there is room for it. There is a fee of $7 for an insert, which we hope will offset the extra postage.
We will be able to handle only those inserts that are a full (8.5×11) or half (5.5×8.5) sheet of paper (not postcard).
It would be very helpful if groups that submit an insert could send someone to help with the mailing. Call Mary (203) 387-7858 to volunteer.
We always welcome more helpers and new ideas!
If you would consider attending the monthly planning meeting or helping with the Newsletter mailing, please call Mary Johnson at (203) 387-7858.
Many thanks! We’re looking forward to your articles!
Thank you for your help in creating this community newsletter.
– PAR Planning Committee
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