From jdav@noc.org Sun Dec 1 19:52:02 1996 Date: Sat, 30 Nov 96 15:04 GMT From: Jim Davis To: pt-dist@noc.org Subject: People's Tribune (12-96) Online Edition ****************************************************************** People's Tribune (Online Edition) Vol. 23 No. 13/ December, 1996 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654 Email: pt@noc.org ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is now available on the World Wide Web at http://www.mcs.com/~jdav/league.html +----------------------------------------------------------------+ INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition) Vol. 23 No. 13/ December, 1996 Page One 1. 1996: HAVE-NOTS STRIKE A BLOW FOR INDEPENDENCE Editorial 2. GUEST EDITORIAL: THE 1996 ELECTIONS: THE BEST (OR WORST) THAT MONEY COULD BUY Spirit of the Revolution 3. A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE News and Features 4. MERIDEL LE SUEUR: 1900-1996 5. CHICAGO WIC MOMS TO PROTEST ABUSE FROM 'COMPANY STORE' 6. CAMPAIGNING FOR A NEW PENNSYLVANIA 7. ROBERT F. WILLIAMS: TRIBUTE TO A REVOLUTIONARY 1996 election results spark new battles for justice 8. ATTACK ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION DEMANDS A POLITICAL RESPONSE 9. DEFEND IMMIGRANTS FROM BILLIONAIRES' ATTACK 10. LABOR PARTY PRESS PUBLISHES SECOND ISSUE Women and Revolution: Visions for a New America 11. ABUSED WOMAN'S CHILDREN PLEAD: 'OH GOD, PLEASE LET MOMMY COME HOME' 12. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION Deadly Force 13. THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE INVOLVES EVERYONE 14. KILLING BY COP SPARKS A REBELLION IN MISSISSIPPI 15. ST. PETERSBURG RISES UP TWICE IN THREE WEEKS Culture Under Fire 16. MICRO-BROADCASTERS HOLD SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE, VOW TO GIVE VOICE TO THE PEOPLE! >From the League 17. YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW: FROM RESISTANCE TO REVOLUTION Announcements, Events, etc. 18. AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH 1997: A UNITED FIGHT FOR JUSTICE IS THE KEY TO AMERICA'S FUTURE ****************************************************************** We encourage reproduction and use of all articles except those copyrighted. Please credit the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on donations from its readers -- your generosity is appreciated. For free electronic subscription, send a message to pt-dist@noc.org with "Subscribe" in the subject line. For electronic subscription problems, e-mail pt-admin@noc.org. ****************************************************************** ****************************************************************** 1. PAGE ONE: 1996: HAVE-NOTS STRIKE A BLOW FOR INDEPENDENCE It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair ... the period was so far like the present period. ... The English novelist Charles Dickens was referring to the year 1775 when he opened his classic work A Tale of Two Cities with those words. He might as well have been talking about this year. 1996 will be remembered as a year of church burnings and corporate downsizings, but no single event shows just how bitter a "winter of despair" 1996 has been than President Clinton's signing of the welfare bill. By passing the welfare bill, America's rulers are sending the poor of this country a message, loud and clear. It goes something like this: "The New Deal is dead. From now on, you can expect nothing but the worst of times. The unspoken, unwritten truce which our side and yours once observed in the class war is now over." Fortunately, this challenge has not gone unanswered. 1996 will also be remembered for the tens of thousands of people who showed their willingness to "stand for children," both by demonstrating in Washington and by opposing the attacks on welfare. But perhaps most important of all, 1996 will go down in history as the year that, for the first time, the workers of the United States created their own Labor Party, an important step in the fight for political independence of the working class. Since the class truce is over, it's time for our side to act as if it is over, and go on the offensive. The formation of the Labor Party is an important first step in that effort. In this lies the possibility of our spring of hope. ****************************************************************** 2. GUEST EDITORIAL: THE 1996 ELECTIONS: THE BEST (OR WORST) THAT MONEY COULD BUY By John Slaughter Elections are supposed to be the showcase of American democracy. Every four years, the United States shows the world why our way is so much better, for our rulers are not imposed upon us, either by divine right of kings or by a military strongman, but rather by the consent of all the governed. And yet, somehow this election seemed, well, rigged. Amid all the hoopla, what was showcased was not only that almost 96 million people voted, but also that a majority of the eligible voters did not vote. The reality that could not be avoided was that with over $800 million spent on the elections, most contributed by corporations and wealthy donors, this could well be described as the best (or worst) election that money could buy. And with all the disgust over all the negative campaigning, the most disheartening fact is that most of it is true! The shrinking electorate and the glut of money in the elections are connected. It reveals that in spite of every effort to promote the view that America is a classless society, the fight in the elections was about which politicians could best maintain the interests of the wealthy, corporate class. You think that there is not a dime's worth of difference between the two major parties? Believe it. The corporate special interests and the super-rich contributors hedged their bets by giving to both sides. It was not important who won as long as the wealthy class continues to control those who hold the reins of government. While the pitch of the politicians is to the "middle class," the appeal to the "middle class" is designed to hoodwink the more affluent sections of the working class into deciding, even if it is only the lesser of two evils, which section of the ruling class will prevail. The underlying debate is really over which party can best control the poor (by force or persuasion) and also control the "middle class" (by the carrot or the stick). And what of the non-voters? Most of them don't vote because they don't see any real choice being offered in the electoral arena. No one represents their interests. And who are the non-voters? They are the down-sized, the downtrodden, the locked-out and locked-up. They are the chronically unemployed and the working poor. They are the members of the "middle class" only a paycheck away from economic disaster. These elections reflect the disturbing trend that has been developing in this country for some time. We are a nation of two opposite classes, one of obscene wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, representing the interests of capital, and the other a growing impoverished class on the bottom. How can democracy survive in such a scenario? If allowed to continue on its present course unchecked, its future is certainly in doubt, especially if our disgust succeeds in making cynics of us all, if we just throw up our hands and say there is nothing that we can do. This rigged, sham democracy certainly does not work for the betterment of the working class, but no democracy at all, that is, the open dictatorship of the capitalist class, would be a great step backward. The greatest hope for democracy lies with the working class itself. The class unity of the two parties provides a tremendous opening for the working class. The opposite interests of the rich, exposed in this election, spurs the class that was not represented to begin to think about its own class interests. What would society be like if we were in control? What would our program be if we had our own political party? What would government be like if the politicians really were of us and answered to us? How about a guaranteed job with a livable income for everyone? What about quality education for every child? Quality health care as our birthright? Or clean water and air, free of the pollutants of an economic system based on profit and greed? What a world we could build if our class was making the decisions! The time is right for the working class, employed and unemployed, to break its ties with the parties of the ruling class, not simply by walking away, but by organizing its own class party, consciously to begin the fight to take control of its own destiny. Such a class, conscious of itself and for itself, would change the forces of political power in this country. It would make the American dream of freedom and equality a reality. [John Slaughter is the author of New Battles Over Dixie: The Campaign for a New South and is available to speak through the People's Tribune Speakers Bureau.] ****************************************************************** 3. SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION: A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE By Chris Faatz As we enter this season of Christ's birth, it fills me with sadness to see the spokespersons of the reactionary religious right claiming the mantle of Jesus. Of course, it's understandable -- What better way to advance a fascist agenda than to claim religious legitimacy in this, the most religious nation on earth? But it's so false, so patently false. Here's a simple test: For whom did Jesus live, speak, and die? He was the son of a single, homeless, teen-age mother. He was born in a barn. He worked as a carpenter, and spoke out against the religious hypocrisy and political oppression of his day, bringing to light the vision of a new and better world, of the Peaceable Kingdom already aflame in the hearts and lives of those who choose to live in righteousness and discipleship. And so he was killed, as cruelly as possible, by the state and religious authorities, after a mock trial of the most grotesque proportions. Things really haven't changed much since then. Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition, like the scribes and the Pharisees, still speak out in the interests of the rich and the powerful, in defense of militarism, of prisons and executions, of big business, of the institutional and structural evils that cast a shadow of darkness across the earth. And, the only hope lies -- as it always has -- in Christmas. Jesus' birth, life, and teachings remain a light unto the world, a window into what God expects of His disciples. As Quaker Emil Fuchs wrote in 1949, "Behold today pathetic men driven on by stupid passions of greed and power to spoil their own inner purity and that of others around them. But, behold, also, the fresh challenge of the carpenter who lived in the creative power of God and who died against the spirit of this world." The line is clear: In the spirit of which world do we live, that of God or that of Mammon? Let us pray and work so that our brothers and sisters of the religious right may see the error of their ways, and choose, with us, to rise to Jesus' challenge to stand always at the side of the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed. What more powerful message is there than that? Merry Christmas, brothers and sisters! Chris Faatz is a religious socialist and pacifist and member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He lives near Portland, Oregon. ****************************************************************** 4. MERIDEL LE SUEUR: 1900-1996 Meridel Le Sueur was one of the world's best-known and best-loved revolutionary cultural defenders of, and spokespersons for, the common people. She passed away as she lived, productive to the very end. By Nelson Peery Meridel Le Sueur was one of the world's best-known and best-loved revolutionary cultural defenders of, and spokespersons for, the common people. She passed away as she lived, productive to the very end. Her last days were spent unearthing and writing of the great democratic struggles of the farmers and laborers of her beloved Midwest prairies. Meridel was born during the height of the great struggles of the farmers and laborers of the Midwest against the banks and robber barons at the turn of the 20th century. As she matured during the post-World War I revolutionary era, her remarkable writing talents became weapons in this ongoing struggle. She never laid them aside. Meridel was part of the great renaissance of writers during the Depression years. More than part of this group, she was a teacher to many of them. The McCarthy era of thought control sent most of the so-called revolutionary literary community crawling to the feet of the FBI, begging forgiveness. While these so-called radicals wrote the CIA book The God That Failed, Meridel, with heroic defiance, took a stand. She stood almost alone. She paid a terrible price for her defiance. Her acclaimed, beautiful, lyrical history, North Star Country, had opened the doors to literary fame. Suddenly, no publisher dared touch her work. She became a non-person in American literature and at times was destitute. Still, she never lost her faith in the ability of the masses to find their way. She remained unshaken in her love for and confidence in the America of the people. As a revolutionary who looked to the future, teaching writing was almost as important as writing itself. She always had time for new writers. She always set aside her work to offer criticism and help to those struggling to express themselves. It was part of her boundless confidence in the creative abilities of the people. As a new and powerful movement of the women for equality developed, they naturally turned to Meridel. Her years of struggle and scores of outstanding stories about and for women made her their principal mentor. As our organization struggled to move from sectarianism into the mainstream of the new mass movement, Meridel's patient criticism was indispensable to our press becoming a voice of the people as well as a voice speaking to them. We are deeply indebted to her. Meridel Le Sueur was an American communist in the best sense of the word. Her enormous cultural and political contributions, her unswerving, principled life is, and shall remain, an example for all revolutionaries. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ We claim our earth. We claim our flesh We have been nought We shall be all. I saw them. I am an old woman and I began to dance. I will never be afraid again. I will never feel alone again -- from the poem Arise! by Meridel Le Sueur, written to commemorate the Non-Governmental Organizations' women's forum in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** 5. CHICAGO WIC MOMS TO PROTEST ABUSE FROM 'COMPANY STORE' By Curly Cohen CHICAGO -- As another freezing winter sets in, women from across this city plan to demonstrate at Mayor Richard M. Daley's office to protest changes in the city's Women, Infants and Children program. Critics charge that some of the most bizarre attempts at "welfare reform" are taking Chicago back to the early 1900s, when many people were forced to shop at a "company store." At issue is the Chicago Department of Health's decision forcing at least 6,000 families from the CDoH's Lower West Clinic to redeem their WIC coupons at special "WIC stores," rather than at neighborhood grocery stores. Some mothers -- who have had to take along four children as they ride two buses through the turf of four different gangs in order to carry home a load of groceries including eight gallons of milk and 31 cans of formula, as well as eggs, cheese, juice, peanut butter and cereal -- are incensed that the city is showing off the WIC stores as if they are something good. WIC is a federally funded program designed to provide additional nutrition for low-income, high-risk women, infants and children. A report has been issued by the Healthy Babies Campaign, a grassroots, not-for-profit organization which has tested children for lead poisoning and certified women for the WIC program for the last 14 years. The group contacted 522 women. Highlights of the report include the following: No notice was given to the 6,000 clients who receive WIC coupons about the fact that they now can't go to their local grocery store to redeem their coupons; Forcing families to use the WIC stores is a financial burden because most clients have to take public transportation to get there; Private security guards wielding billy clubs are visible in both the WIC stores and office; Cramped and overcrowded conditions in the WIC office have not been eliminated; CDoH workers with low morale have been disrespectful to WIC families. In addition, at the WIC stores, the taxpayers are now paying more for the cost of food (there is no competitive pricing); for employees' salaries (at private stores, this costs the taxpayers nothing); and for remodeling, utilities, rent, and insurance, which taxpayers don't pay for in regular stores. Of the 522 people interviewed, not one WIC mother preferred to use only the WIC stores. All wanted the option of going either to a grocery store of their choice or to a WIC store. To participate in the demonstration or report abuse in the Chicago WIC program, call Gloria Martinez at 312-254-3718. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 1,000,000 UNEMPLOYED ADULTS TO LOSE FOOD STAMPS MONTHLY UNDER NEW WELFARE LAW. On January 1, under federal law, childless adults between the ages of 18 and 50 will be limited to three months' food stamps in a three-year period unless they are working or in training at least 20 hours a week. Over 40 percent are women. Average income is $170 a month. They are eligible for no other federal assistance. Alabama 14,000 Alaska 2,000 Arizona 16,000 Arkansas 6,000 California 86,000 Colorado 10,000 Connecticut 10,000 Delaware 2,000 D.C. 5,000 Florida 46,000 Georgia 24,000 Hawaii 5,000 Idaho 2,000 Illinois 56,000 Indiana 16,000 Iowa 6,000 Kansas 6,000 Kentucky 18,000 Louisiana 19,000 Maine 6,000 Maryland 17,000 Massachusetts 14,000 Michigan 49,000 Minnesota 12,000 Mississippi 11,000 Missouri 24,000 Montana 2,000 Nebraska 2,000 Nevada 5,000 New Hampshire 3,000 New Jersey 18,000 New Mexico 5,000 New York 105,000 North Carolina 15,000 North Dakota 1,000 Ohio 66,000 Oklahoma 12,000 Oregon 13,000 Pennsylvania 75,000 Rhode Island 4,000 South Carolina 7,000 South Dakota 1,000 Tennessee 34,000 Texas 84,000 Utah 4,000 Vermont 2,000 Virginia 22,000 Washington 23,000 West Virginia 4,000 Wisconsin 8,000 Wyoming 1,000 TOTAL 1,000,000 Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 11/96 Numbers estimated ****************************************************************** 6. CAMPAIGNING FOR A NEW PENNSYLVANIA By the Greater Philadelphia Area Office of the LRNA These cuts are an attack on our lives. We will not roll over and die quietly. We will fight for our lives and the lives of our children. We will win. -- The Kensington Welfare Rights Union PHILADELPHIA -- Via a weeklong, 140-mile march to Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania state capital, and a "Ridgeville" encampment on the Capitol building's front steps for more than a month, the leaders of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU) have attracted statewide, national and international attention to the immorality and inhumanity of the state's new "welfare reform" law. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge's response has been to limit the legal hours of protest at the Capitol building and to launch an all-out attack on the KWRU. In the words of one leader, "Our governor has essentially said that we can protest during the day, but that we must return home at night. However, that is just the point -- as homeless and poor people, we have no home to go to. As homeless people we are protesting in the only way we can and with the only resources at our disposal." This unfolding drama of protests and struggle has served as a vehicle for tremendous agitation and propaganda on the real questions and issues of the day. The KWRU and those poor and homeless people and other social allies who have joined with them are in the middle of an intense battle. They are fighting to achieve the strategic objective of aligning the bulk of the American people with the questions, interests and demands of the new poor as opposed to the questions, interests and demands of the new rich. The stay at the Capitol building -- which lasted more than a month -- has been an exercise in winning strategically, by losing tactically. They have been losing tactically in the sense of: * being kicked out of the Capitol rotunda after 12 days of protest; * losing the right to protest on public property after 8 p.m.; * having their tents and only vehicle confiscated by the police; * having their blankets stolen from them by the police in subfreezing weather; and * police jailing and police harassment of leaders. Yet they have been winning strategically in the sense of the kinds of people who have been uniting with them and the ways in which this has been done: * Twelve ministers from different denominations have come forth to assist the KWRU in securing a poor people's embassy as a base of operations for statewide work; * the nearby striking Beverly Nursing Home Workers, who were fired from their jobs, adopted the KWRU's tactic of a tent city for three days, took up joint collections for themselves and the KWRU, invited KWRU members to speak at their rallies, and raised over $500 for the KWRU; * lawyers from Pennsylvania Legal Services have fought to guarantee their First Amendment rights; * hundreds of people from all different walks of life (including nine other encampments of homeless people in and around Harrisburg) have provided daily contributions of blankets, food, clothing and money; and * a deepening of connections with a crew of supporters back in Philadelphia called the Underground Railroad and consisting of health care workers, students and professors, lawyers, religious leaders, and more. This struggle continues. More and more people are fighting for the cause. A statewide campaign for a new Pennsylvania has begun. ****************************************************************** 7. ROBERT F. WILLIAMS: TRIBUTE TO A REVOLUTIONARY By William H. Watkins DETROIT -- More than 200 people gathered here on November 1 to honor, remember and pay tribute to one of the towering figures of the 20th century. Robert F. Williams, black revolutionary, freedom fighter, author, agitator, propagandist and loving family man, passed from this earth on October 15, 1996. Rob, as he was known, was a son of the South. Born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina, he suffered the indignities of economic and racial oppression. After serving in the Marine Corps, he moved to Detroit in search of a better life. The Detroit race riots of 1943, Northern segregation and the brutal exploitation of labor in Detroit would shape his world view and commitment to social justice. Rob would grow to despise capitalist exploitation and its partner, racism. His study of politics, labor and race combined with his knowledge of military science and weaponry greatly influenced his views. Rob was becoming an articulate, militant revolutionary. Returning to the South, Rob presided over the Monroe NAACP in the 1950s. He worked tirelessly, organizing protests, demonstrations, boycotts, and other actions. He attracted national attention during the famous "Kissing Case," where he organized the community to defend two black males, ages 7 and 9, who were charged with rape. Rob's uncompromising advocacy of militant, and even armed, resistance to Southern terror and injustice helped shape a new movement. His now-famous frame-up on kidnapping charges forced him and his family into exile. In the early 1960s, Rob lived and traveled in Cuba, Africa, North Vietnam and the People's Republic of China, where he was provided a platform to tell the world of the suffering and oppression in the barbaric Southern United States. Rob fulfilled his historic duty. He spoke out everywhere on the plight of oppressed people. His twice-weekly radio broadcasts, "Radio Free Dixie," boomed from Havana as enthusiastic young blacks across the country strained their ears to shortwave radios to hear a slice of the new message. The Crusader, published by Rob and wife Mabel, circulated to and touched thousands. His views contradicted the accommodation of peaceful, passive and non-violent resistance. Rob helped to stand the resistance movement on its feet. He readied our people for the battles that lie ahead. Rob might be best known for the publication of his book Negroes With Guns in 1962. An entire generation of young, and not-so- young, black American freedom fighters took up this anthem. Rob influenced both the famous and the not so famous. In Cuba, he regularly conferred with Comandante Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Well-known African American revolutionary figures and groupings such as Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party, the Deacons for Defense, the League of Revolutionary Black Workers, Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) and the Student Non- violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), along with thousands upon thousands of justice-seeking individuals acknowledge the profound influence of Robert F. Williams. He traveled in Asia, meeting with Ho Chi Minh before taking up residency in China for several years. It was Rob who asked Chairman Mao Tse-tung to issue a statement on the struggle of African Americans for justice and equality. The resulting statement was the now-famous proclamation of August 8, 1963. Chairman Mao's two-page statement would "rock the house." The statement ended with the often-quoted declaration: "The evil system of colonialism and imperialism arose and throve with the enslavement of Negroes and the trade in Negroes, and it will surely come to its end with the complete emancipation of the black people." The November 1 tribute to Robert Williams spoke eloquently of his contributions. Rob was one of those individuals who not only studied the world, he changed it. Messages of condolence were delivered both in person and sent from around the world. They spoke of him as hero, warrior, fearless freedom fighter, comrade, mentor, and brother. Robert F. Williams forever changed history. He dared to step up when it was unpopular. He showed us a new way. He taught us how to resist. For those of us who lived through this period, we will never forget him. For you, the next generation, we pass this on. ****************************************************************** 8. ATTACK ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION DEMANDS A POLITICAL RESPONSE By the Oakland Chapter, League of Revolutionaries for a New America OAKLAND, California -- Two years ago, it was the "three strikes and you're out" law and the anti-immigrant measure, Proposition 187. Then this November, California voters gave the country another abomination: Proposition 209, which ends affirmative action in state agencies. Proposition 209 is an ugly political law which appealed to the most mean-spirited, shallow defense of privilege. But political laws ultimately express economic laws. These economic laws are even uglier and will ultimately blow away these cheap, tiny privileges like dry leaves from last summer. It's winter in America. The billionaires and their political thugs envision an America in the 21st century that will be nothing like the one we grew up in. They are well aware that California has lost 1 million jobs since the early 1980s. These jobs were not taken by women, minorities and immigrants. They were taken by robots, computers, micro-pro- cessors and other forms of high technology. The economy is never going back to the assembly-line era. It's gone. The capitalist system will not care for those who cannot produce for it. Post-industrial America has no intention of spending billions of tax dollars to feed, house, educate or provide medical care for people who will not be able to work. In a society which is organized to ensure maximum profits for a tiny class of capitalists, these people are expendable -- they have no value because they produce no value for corporations. The passage of Proposition 209 and of the welfare bill marks the beginning of the dismantling of the social infrastructure established when millions of unskilled workers produced every day. Witness California's Proposition 13, another product of this "trendsetting" state. In the 18 years since that measure was passed in 1978, more than $20 billion has been transferred from the state's public schools, which used to get this tax money, to private corporations. California once had the best system of public schools in the nation. Now California's schools are among the worst. The children who saw their education devastated after Proposition 13's passage are now ready for college. Proposition 209 is going to finish the job of destroying their education. The University of California system is one of the largest and richest intellectual infrastructures in the world. Closing the door on affirmative action opens the door to downsizing the universities. Suddenly, California's state subsidy of education is being withdrawn. It now costs over $4,500 to go to the UC schools, and the cost is rising dramatically every year. Proposition 209, the welfare act and a host of other laws are designed to end the social contract that is a tacit agreement between the rulers of society and the people. Once, the capitalists would have described that contract this way; "We, the capitalists, need your labor for production. You must work for us to survive. In exchange, the government will provide a social infrastructure that will support your ability to work (especially because if we paid for these things, it would cut into profits.)" But in the electronic era, that version of the social contract is no longer valid. The new social contract of the capitalists reads something like this: "Since we no longer need your labor, we are under no obligation to guarantee the social infrastructure. We owe you nothing. Take care of yourself." A change is gonna come. Eighty million Americans live in poverty or on the edge of poverty. Millions of voices from the food kitchens, the prisons, the foster homes, the churches, the gangs -- can articulate a completely different social contract, one which respects our humanity, our needs and promises us the future: "People must have food, shelter, education, medical care and a way to produce and contribute -- by any means necessary." The fight is on! If we do not organize to impose our new social contract on this tiny class which intends to determine our fate, we will keep sliding into the American nightmare. ****************************************************************** 9. DEFEND IMMIGRANTS FROM BILLIONAIRES' ATTACK By Allen Harris The political right wing in the United States, the puppets in the hands of the tiny class of millionaires and billionaires which actually rules this land, continues to step up its attacks on immigrant workers. These attacks concern every single American living under the shadow of poverty. These attacks must be resisted and defeated. Although the right wing's propaganda against immigrants has been national in scope, they have paid special attention to immigrants in California. They use that politically important state as a kind of laboratory in which to perfect their attacks for use elsewhere in the country. A major recent example was Proposition 187, a California ballot initiative which passed in November, 1994 after a heavily funded right-wing campaign. The echo of 187 was heard soon afterward in the right-wing 104th Congress, which eventually incorporated its foul language into the welfare "reform" bill which President Clinton signed in August, 1996. The anti-immigrant propaganda waged on behalf of the millionaires and billionaires aims at making scapegoats out of people who have nothing to do with the economic mess this country is in. The propaganda aims at nothing more than persuading one part of our class to support the greed of the billionaires at the expense of another part of our class. First, the propaganda attacks the undocumented immigrants; next, it attacks those who are documented. It seeks to split the class along lines of nationality, language and skin color. The right wing's propaganda blames immigrants and/or people of color for "welfare fraud" as well as the loss of jobs through downsizing. This in spite of the fact that welfare never amounted to more than a fraction of the budgets of the federal and state governments and the fact that the victims of capitalism never downsized a single corporation. This also in spite of the fact that 42 percent of all the wealth in the United States is owned by 1 percent of the population -- the millionaires and billionaires. As much as the right wing seeks to keep our class weak and divided, they also are working mightily to hide the fact that the people of California and the rest of the United States can build a society in which its people do not have to choose who must suffer and die so the rest can live. Rather than simply accepting the political control that the billionaires use to enrich themselves and impoverish us, we the victims of their domination can use that power ourselves -- along with the emerging technology -- to provide everyone in California, in America and the world with all the means for an abundant life. In other words, we can choose to seize the power that now exists to end poverty itself, thus ending material inequality and thus cutting the ground from under all the forces who seek to divide our class with the propaganda of color and national bigotry. To do this, we must organize our leaders and fighters; we must educate ourselves and our class brothers and sisters in preparation for this task. This is what the League of Revolutionaries for a New America is doing now. ****************************************************************** 10. LABOR PARTY PRESS PUBLISHES SECOND ISSUE The Labor Party, which held its founding convention June 6-9 in Cleveland, has issued the second edition of its paper, the Labor Party Press. The issue includes articles about the Labor Party's national campaign for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing everyone a job at a living wage, about how the new welfare bill is an injury to all, and information on how to join and build the Labor Party. Among other things, the Labor Party program calls for a constitutional amendment to guarantee everyone a job at a living wage, universal access to quality health care, access for everyone to quality public education, an end to corporate welfare and making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes. To join the party and subscribe to its press, write: The Labor Party, P.O. Box 53177, Washington, D.C. 20009. Categories of membership dues are: $20, regular membership/renewal; $10, unemployed/low-income; $50, sustaining member; $100, Five Score Club. Phone: 202-234-5190. FAX: 202-234-5266. E-mail: lpa@labornet.org. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "We are the people who build and maintain the nation but rarely enjoy the fruits of our labor. We are the employed and the unemployed. We are the people who make the country run but have little say in running the country. We come together to create this Labor Party to defend our interests and aspirations from the greed of multinational corporate interests. ... We offer an alternative vision of a just society that values working people, their families and communities." >From the preamble to the Labor Party's program +----------------------------------------------------------------+ ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ WOMEN AND REVOLUTION: VISIONS FOR A NEW AMERICA The purpose of this column is to open debate on all issues concerning women today. We see it as a place where women can discuss and debate strategies for winning women's equality and improving women's status. This is critical to our playing our historic role of leading in the building of a new America. Send your articles, 300 words or less, to People's Tribune Women's Desk at pt@noc.org +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 11. ABUSED WOMAN'S CHILDREN PLEAD: 'OH GOD, PLEASE LET MOMMY COME HOME' FRONTERA, California -- Theresa Cruz is a battered woman who told police that she was repeatedly beaten, cut, tortured, raped and stalked for five years by her former husband, Charles. After Charles was shot in the legs by a man Theresa barely knew, she was convicted in 1991 of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. She is serving a life sentence, with the possibility of parole in seven years. Charles has fully recovered. Below are excerpts from an open letter from Theresa's children that was written to appeal for public support for Theresa. Our names are Andrea, Anntoinette, Carlitos and Adriana. We are children who are victims of domestic violence and suffer pain and terror too. We pray you will take time to read what we have to say. Carlitos, 12 -- "Our mother is a battered woman, serving a life sentence at Frontera Prison. In 1991, our mother was sent to prison for attempted murder. My father was shot in the legs. My father is not crippled, maimed or dead. His life has continued, while ours has been hurt and destroyed. Our mother moved five times in three years. My father beat her, stalked her and robbed her over and over, and then made her believe he was going to take me away from her and she would never ever see me again." Andrea, 16 -- "I went to Sacramento twice with my grandmother to testify about a proposed law regarding battered women, AB 231. [The bill allows the state Board of Prison Terms to consider a more broadly defined claim of "battered women's syndrome' when commuting or paroling women imprisoned for violent crimes committed in retaliation for spousal abuse.] I took police reports, photographs of our mother after various beatings, and cards that her abuser would leave in our mailbox signed "Black Friday the 13th." I also took police reports of the break-ins at our home. In October 1995, we were informed that AB 231, the bill on which I testified, passed the legislature, was signed by Gov. Wilson, and would go into effect January 1, 1996. Our mother's case was a major factor in achieving the passage of this bill. But she has received no consideration under the bill." Anntoinette, 15 -- "Our mother has been in prison for six years. On May 22,1996, she went for her consideration hearing for parole. The Board of Prison Terms commended her for all her achievements and for being a role-model inmate. The Parole Board told her she fit the AB 231 bill, and that her case is a prime example of the results of domestic violence. They told her to continue doing everything she has been doing because one day she will be free and with her children again." Adriana, 6 -- "Oh God, please let my mommy come home." When do we say "enough is enough"? Was AB 231 for real, or was it signed just to look pretty in the public's eye? People, people, we cry to you for your help. We have worked so hard. We need you desperately. Please write two letters: one to Gov. Pete Wilson and one to the Board of Prison Terms, letting them know that you are a voting citizen and that you are aware that Theresa Cruz's case was the basis for passing AB 231. Insist that she be reconsidered for parole now. Insist that AB 231 be enforced and that Theresa Cruz be released. We need you. We have to stand by each other. Without you, we cannot do it. God bless you, and please write your letters. Write to: Gov. Pete Wilson State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Board of Prison Terms James W. Nielsen, Chairman, 428 J. Street, 6th Floor, Sacramento, California 95814 For more information, contact the Free Theresa Cruz Campaign, 144 North 9th Street, Apt 3L, Brooklyn, NY 11211, Phone: 718-963-2518, e-mail: mjhuth@aol.com. ****************************************************************** 12. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION By S. Reid My heart goes out to Andrea, Anntoinette, Carlitos and Adriana and to their mother, Theresa Cruz (see article on this page). What kind of society is it that throws a woman in prison, for life, for daring to stand up for her rights, and forces children to grow up alone, praying for the day their mom will come home? The bond between mother and child should never be broken. We need a society where childhood and motherhood is a time of joy, not pain. The People's Tribune is printing the Cruz story because it symbolizes the despair and hope of so many poor families in America today. But who is to blame for domestic violence? Why is the system doing nothing to stop it? And, most important of all, what can we do to stop it? I was inspired by the courageous stand of Theresa and her children. I too have been a victim of domestic violence. It took years of talks with my comrades, and a lot of study, until I understood the cause of women's oppression. I would like to share what I have learned with other revolutionary women. First, it's the capitalist system that is destroying the family, and not the other way around. It appears that the terrible social and moral ills of our time, such as domestic violence, or even youth violence, are the cause of the destruction of society. In fact, these ills are the result. Today the capitalist system and its global economy are destroying the lives of every man, woman and child who does not create a profit for the capitalist. The role of the police, prisons, and courts is to protect the capitalists' wealth. But it's becoming clear that a system that can create such incredible wealth on the one hand and such devastating poverty and despair on the other, is no longer useful to society. The purpose of society is to raise the children. Earlier societies were organized by women and everything was produced and owned cooperatively. People lived in harmony. There was no inequality, dependency, or abuse. But once new tools produced a surplus, there was wealth for someone to steal. The greatest revolution in history was men taking control of the herds, land -- and the women. This process was ruthless. It took centuries, and the violence and oppression of women extends to this day. Today, fantastic new tools -- robots and computers -- are kicking both men and women out of the workplace and into the streets. Yet these same tools, in the hands of the people, could liberate humanity from want. This economic revolution is setting the stage for a political revolution that will save humanity and create a society of unlimited abundance. Since oppression has its roots in scarcity, this abundance will mean the end of oppression. This new world will come about when society's tools are once again owned in common by the mass of the people. Women's liberation will come about as a part of this revolution. Today Theresa Cruz and millions of women and children are struggling valiantly against rape and domestic violence, for reproductive rights, for laws that protect women and against a system that denies families the necessities of life. Their struggle is part of the fight to create a new cooperative society of peace and harmony for all. Standing up for women like Theresa Cruz is the practical step we must take to build the powerful movement we need to free humanity. Send your thinking on this and other women's issues to People's Tribune Women's Desk, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654. The author is the coordinator of the People's Tribune's Women's Desk. ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ "Deadly Force" is a weekly column dedicated to exposing the scope of police terror in the United States. We open our pages to you, the front line fighters against brutality and deadly force. Send us eyewitness accounts, clippings, press releases, appeals for support, letters, photos, opinions and all other information relating to this life and death fight. Send them to People's Tribune, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Ill. 60654, or call (312) 486- 3551. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 13. THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE INVOLVES EVERYONE The People's Tribune stands in sympathy with the families and communities of Leland, Mississippi and St. Petersburg, Florida. The killings by police in those two communities exemplify the wave of police violence sweeping poor communities and aimed especially at jobless youth. The uprisings and protests in response to those events are harbingers of the future. Five years ago, black, white and Latino workers joined hands and demanded justice following the verdict in the Rodney King police brutality case. Their unity proved that a social revolution is unfolding in America in response to the electronic revolution. Today, people can no longer co-exist with an economic system that allows billionaires like Microsoft's Bill Gates, (who has a net worth of $20 billion) to live in splendor, while millions go without basic necessities and then face police terror to keep them in line. The unskilled and semi-skilled workers, among whom blacks and other minorities have been concentrated, were the first to be affected by the changes in technology and the forces of the state. Today downsizing is reaching all sectors of America. New laws stripping us of our rights have been put on the books, so the same situation can occur anywhere. Now is the time to build our fighting capacity. An injury to one is an injury to all. The fight for justice in America involves everyone. -- the editors ****************************************************************** 14. KILLING BY COP SPARKS A REBELLION IN MISSISSIPPI Special to the People's Tribune LELAND, Mississippi -- A small town in one of America's poorest regions exploded in rebellion on October 30 following the death of a black motorist during a police shooting. Leland is a town of 6,300 near Greenville. Its mayor, Sam Thomas, responded to the uprising by declaring a state of emergency and imposing a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew. "There won't be any Halloween tonight or the rest of the week. You will either be off the streets or in jail,'' said the mayor as quoted in a Reuter news report. On October 17, Aaron White, 29, a television repairman, died of a gunshot wound to the head on October 17. According to authorities, White died in a shootout with police which followed White crashing his pickup truck into a tree on a rural road. Initially, police said one of their officers shot White. Then they changed their story, saying White had committed suicide, explaining that White had a .38-caliber pistol, while the officer who shot at him had one of a larger caliber. Protests followed. Some 1,500 people met at a local high school to discuss White's death. Afterward, about 400 marchers went to the local police department seeking to meet Thomas and Police Chief Mike Dees. When Thomas and Dees agreed only to speak to the march's organizers, said Reuters, tempers flared and the rebellion was on. The rebellion left parked police cars damaged by rocks, 10 shop windows broken and two downtown businesses firebombed, according to Reuter. No one was hurt and the rebellion ended around 1 a.m. ****************************************************************** 15. ST. PETERSBURG RISES UP TWICE IN THREE WEEKS Special to the People's Tribune ST. PETERSBURG, Florida -- For the second time in three weeks, the black community of this Gulf Coast city erupted in rebellion following a policeman's fatal shooting of 18-year-old TyRon Lewis. Lewis was killed on October 24 as he sat in an automobile while an officer identified as Jim Knight fired several shots at him from outside. Knight claimed that he shot Lewis when the car lurched toward him. Witnesses said the shooting was unprovoked. The neighborhood exploded into a night of rebellion in which 29 fires broke out. On November 14, a grand jury ruled that Knight's shooting of Lewis was justified. A press report said the grand jury said that Lewis had bumped Knight four times in a stolen car and refused to obey orders to surrender. In the most recent uprising, some 200 police attacked the community, firing volleys of tear gas. In self-defense, a police officer was shot in the leg and the co-pilot of a sheriff's helicopter was shot in the arm. Earlier, on November 2, hundreds of people mourned Lewis at a funeral service at Bethel Metropolitan Baptist Church, attended by the Rev. Joseph Lowry, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council. "I'm tired of going around the country preaching eulogies of young men whose dreams have been denied,'' Lowry declared, according to press reports. Lewis' cousin, Miguel Boye, 21, said in a press report that "He was shot in cold blood. What happened to him is not right. He didn't deserve to die. It makes me feel good to see so many came to pay respects.'' ****************************************************************** +----------------------------------------------------------------+ CULTURE UNDER FIRE Culture jumps barriers of geography and color. Millions of Americans create with music, writing, film and video, graffiti, painting, theatre and much more. We need it all, because culture can link together and expand the growing battles for food, housing, and jobs. In turn, these battles provide new audiences and inspiration for artists. Use the "Culture Under Fire" column to plug in, to express yourself. Write: Culture Under Fire, c/o People's Tribune, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654 or e-mail cultfire@noc.org. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ 16. MICRO-BROADCASTERS HOLD SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE, VOW TO GIVE VOICE TO THE PEOPLE! OAKLAND, California -- From November 8-10, an international group of micro-broadcasters -- men and women who set up unlicensed radio stations for as little as $500 -- held a conference at the hall of Hotel and Restaurant Workers Local 2850. The meeting confirmed that micro-power radio has grown from a handful of individuals into a full-blown movement. Among those present were pioneers like Napoleon Williams of Black Liberation Radio in Decatur, Illinois; Stephen Dunifer of Free Radio Berkeley, and Black Rose of Zoom Black Magic Radio in Fresno, California. They were joined by micro-broadcasters from Kansas, Massachusetts, and Georgia -- and from Mexico, Canada, and Europe. Plans were made to share news and programming, for defense against government and corporate attacks, and for the rapid increase of the number of micro-stations. Above all, there was unity that the primary goal of micro-radio is to be the voice of the community in struggle. The following interviews were conducted at Oakland's Life Radio, 103.3 FM, during the conference. Napoleon Williams: We are dedicated about bringing about better conditions for our people. I speak out on everything and anything. Our station is on 24 hours a day. Truth is our pillar. We should change the term "pirate." That term came from shortwave broadcasters who operated in international waters. We should change the term to "liberation radio." [The term] "pirate radio" gives the idea that you're stealing something. "Liberation" says right out what you're about. We're about liberating people's minds. We must continue to struggle -- we're obliged to. We got to where we are at on the backs of people who died for us. We're chumps if we choose to do anything less for those who will come behind us. We've got to use radios and whatever is at our disposal. We can't say we're gonna fight and then accept our enemy's or oppressor's rule. Black Liberation Radio is an act of civil disobedience. Once I learned how to put radio stations on the air, they can't stop me. This is not a battle that's going to be decided in the courts. It's going to be decided by the people. Black Rose: I agree with Brother Napoleon about that term "pirate." We have never been pirates; we are freedom fighters. I refuse to accept their license. I will not apply, because a license is giving up a right for a privilege. I refuse to be censored by someone who means me and my community no good. I want to see thousands of unlicensed community stations going 24 hours a day. Stations should be networking all over the country -- brothers and sisters who have a common goal that is to better the lives of their people. Every town should have two or three. A big city like Oakland should have 20 or 30. Fulano de Tal: (broadcasting with the Zapatistas in Mexico): We call our radio Bats'il Radio, which means "Truth Radio" in the Mayan languages. We usually broadcast three to five hours a day, starting early in the morning. We have two different stations and we always broadcast from the Autonomous Regions of Chiapas. Many people in Chiapas don't have electricity, but they have portable radios. We have to take the radios to the tops of mountains where there aren't any roads. Even though the equipment is light, we couldn't walk very far with it, so we take the radios up on donkeys, along with a gas generator for power. Our main goal is to broadcast the truth and information. It's about broadcasting the oral tradition of the Mayan culture. We have more than seven languages, so we invite people on to translate and to comment on everything. We try to copy the commercial styles. We play music. Instead of commercials, we present capsules of information. We talk about history. History is very important, because the better a people know their history, the better they understand the situation they are living in. We make sure the old people come on, because their stories contain the history of the Mayan peoples. We don't just broadcast news; instead we invite people to come on the air and comment on the events. We try to present messages of freedom from all over the world. We tell people about how to avoid diseases. We talk about new crops and the best times to plant them. You people in the U.S. can use free radios as a weapon, just as we do. We don't mean lethal weapons. We are shooting true words that will plant consciousness in everybody's minds. In Mexico, there are only a few stations. They are all government stations -- and they are all on AM. FM is completely abandoned, so we broadcast on FM. Chiapas is occupied by the Mexican army; they try to jam our signal. So we are running all over the band and always changing our frequency. The people are getting used to finding us. [For more information, contact the Association of Micro-Power Broadcasters at 1635 D Francisco Street, Berkeley, California 94703 or Free Radio Berkeley at frbspd@crl.com.] ****************************************************************** 17. YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW: FROM RESISTANCE TO REVOLUTION As 1996 draws to a close, so does one of the most important periods in the history of the United States. The past 20 years can be characterized by the onslaught by the capitalists and politicians on the rights and benefits that the working class had fought for and won. This onslaught was capped with the passage and signing of the bill that wipes out the safety net for families (and especially children) in 1996. Yes, 1996 will be remembered for the election when the United States became, for all intents and purposes, a one-party country. Except for a few individual Democrats, the Democratic Party as a whole has adopted a Republican agenda. Underneath the "Democrat" and "Republican" or "liberal" and "conservative" labels is the agenda of the capitalists. The virtual merging of the two parties under this agenda eliminates the illusion that the workers, the poor and the minorities have a voice. NAFTA, the immigration bill, budget cuts, and the so-called "welfare reform" bill unleashed a war to drive the standard of living in this country down. This war on poor and working people is the political solution to the growing economic changes taking place throughout the world, economic changes that have created the conditions for abundance. There is no scarcity of goods, only scarcity of wages. This war is not taking place without a response. 1996 represents the culmination of a period of widespread resistance to the attack on our rights and benefits. Marches, demonstrations, gang summits, youth conferences, takeovers of buildings or housing, reorganization of institutions (unions), and individual acts of protest (workplace violence or suicide) are all symbols of resistance. The 1996 election year had the largest protest vote in history. More people didn't vote than did. At the same time, people were mobilized to vote by the thousands not for someone, but against someone else. There emerged a culture of resistance, a period of scattered fighting along individual fronts of resistance and protest. Latinos, African Americans, women, the homeless, welfare recipients, unions, children and the youth have all fought to resist the attacks on them as groups. Looking toward 1997 and the tasks that lie ahead, we have to put the scattered, isolated fighting behind us. We must rally around our people in the struggle for program -- our class interests. We must unite the scattered fights under one banner and all participate and build a party where we will have a voice. We, the League of Revolutionaries for a New America, believe that the Labor Party can be that party. 1997 must be the year we move from a culture of resistance to a culture of revolution, the struggle for orderly, democratic organization of the country. The League is committed to providing the political education to facilitate and clarify the path to a cooperative society. We will continue to work within all the struggles against the attacks and for unity on the basis of our class interests. Resistance and protest must be transformed into strategic planning. From the vision of despair and repression we must construct the vision of what can be, given the wealth and abundance available to us: a vision of hope through change. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ The People's Tribune wishes all our readers a holiday season of peace and joy! We know our readers are special. They care deeply about humanity and the future. They fight day in and day out for justice. Throughout the year they give from the pocketbook and from the heart, often when they don't have much themselves. In this spirit we ask each of our readers to consider giving a gift subscription to the People's Tribune to someone who would love and use it! The future depends on awakening millions of people to the revolutionary changes in society and to their role in guaranteeing that these changes benefit all humanity, not just a few wealthy individuals. Give the People's Tribune! +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Send a one-year gift subscription to the person indicated. Enclosed is a check or money order for $25. Send to: People's Tribune, P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654. Name Address City State/Zip Phone +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Humanity is being reborn in an age of great revolutionary change. The tools exist to produce all that we need for a peaceful, orderly world. For the first time in history, a true flowering of the human intellect and spirit is possible. Our fight is to reorganize society to accomplish these goals. Our vision is of a new, cooperative society of equality, and of a people awakening. The revolution we need is possible. A great moral optimism is beginning to sweep this country as the poor, the oppressed, the decent-hearted, embrace this revolutionary mission and make it a reality. The League of Revolutionaries for a New America takes as its mission the political awakening of the American people. We invite all who see that there is a problem and are ready to do something about it to join with us. For more information, call 773-486-0028. Send the coupon below to P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, Illinois 60647. +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Now is the time to join the League of Revolutionaries for a New America I want to JOIN! Name Address City State/Zip Phone ****************************************************************** 18. AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH 1997: A UNITED FIGHT FOR JUSTICE IS THE KEY TO AMERICA'S FUTURE During February, African American History Month, we celebrate the centrality of black history to American history. The speakers on this page have participated in some of the major battles of the past 25 years for social equality. Today they stand in the forefront of the struggle to build a cooperative America, free from want, race hatred, sexual oppression and strife. These speakers excite their audiences with stories and analysis of their experiences and with a vision of a new society. Below are comments from and descriptions of some of our speakers: GENERAL BAKER, chair of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America, autoworker and national labor leader: "The main task this year is to develop real class alliances that reach beyond the African Americans to the broader community." BRENDA MATTHEWS, a poet and playwright who works with low-income women and teen-agers on Chicago's West Side: "I use my poems as a way to plant seeds of change and to offer some solutions to those most affected by what the system is doing. I deal openly with drugs, poverty and the disintegration of the family. Sometimes I worry that I say too much. But, Gwendolyn Brooks, the famous Chicago poet, said I should never make apologies, that artists must pick up the pen and speak the truth. I've always been a revolutionary, but I didn't know it. Since I joined the League of Revolutionaries for a New America, I began to understand the mechanics of class and poverty. I'm in it for the long haul." ABDUL ALKALIMAT, professor of African American studies, author and activist: "History lives. The events we are experiencing have deep roots in our historical experience. The 'end of welfare as we know it' is a great attack on everything we have fought for since the first petition for change during slavery. We should use this February as a time to recapture our ability to know the nature of the system's evil deeds and organize resistance to it." MAUREEN TAYLOR, co-chair of the Michigan Welfare Rights Union: "I became a revolutionary when I began to realize that if the vast majority of black women were to escape the ravages of being poor that this system had to be challenged. Today the spirit of resistance still lives in me. I try to transfer that passion not just to women of color, but to all of my sisters in America. Because once we take control of the methods of freedom, we can free the whole world -- brothers, too." Invite one of these speakers to your African American History Month celebration. Write to P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654, or call 773-486-3551, or email speakers@noc.org, or visit our web page at http://www.mcs.com/~jdav/league.html. ****************************************************************** ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, published every two weeks in Chicago, is devoted to the proposition that an economic system which can't or won't feed, clothe and house its people ought to be and will be changed. To that end, this paper is a tribune of the people. It is the voice of the millions struggling for survival. It strives to educate politically those millions on the basis of their own experience. It is a tribune to bring them together, to create a vision of a better world, and a strategy to achieve it. Join us! Editor: Laura Garcia Publisher: League of Revolutionaries for a New America, P.O. Box 477113, Chicago, IL 60647 (312) 486-0028 ISSN# 1081-4787 For free electronic subscription, email: pt-dist@noc.org with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To help support the production and distribution of the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, please send donations, letters, articles, photos, graphics and requests for information, subscriptions and requests for bundles of papers to: PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE P.O. Box 3524 Chicago, IL 60654 pt@noc.org Reach us by phone: Chicago: (312) 486-3551 Atlanta: (404) 242-2380 Baltimore: (410) 467-4769 Detroit: (313) 839-7600 Los Angeles: (310) 428-2618 Washington, D.C.: (202) 529-6250 Oakland, CA: (510) 464-4554 GETTING THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE IN PRINT The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is available at many locations nationwide. One year subscriptions $25 ($50 institutions), bulk orders of 10 or more 15 cents each, single copies 25 cents. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654, tel. (312) 486- 3551. WRITING FOR THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE We want your story in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. Send it in! Articles should be shorter than 300 words, written to be easily understood, and signed. (Use a pen name if you prefer.) Include a phone number for questions. Contact PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE, P. O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654, tel. (312) 486-3551. ****************************************************************** We encourage reproduction and use of all articles except those copyrighted. Please credit the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on donations from its readers -- your generosity is appreciated. For free electronic subscription, email: pt-dist@noc.org with a message of "subscribe". ******************************************************************