******************************************************************
                 People's Tribune (Online Edition)
                     Vol. 25 No. 7/ July, 1998

                 P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654
                     http://www.mcs.com/~league

******************************************************************

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE is available on the World Wide Web at
http://www.mcs.com/~league

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

PAGE 1: ECONOMIC CRISIS SWEEPS THE GLOBE

RISING POVERTY IGNITES FIGHT FOR A NEW SOCIETY

Living in this world is becoming one big roller coaster ride, and
it looks like the ride is getting rougher. The uprisings in
Indonesia are just the latest indication of how deep the Asian
economic crisis is.

Japan's economy is in the toilet. Russia seems poised on the verge
of economic collapse, and the crisis there will inevitably pull in
Poland and Germany, threatening the whole of Europe. You can bet
the United States isn't far behind. We are already seeing a
renewed wave of downsizing and layoffs in this country, whether it
be the result of mergers and acquisitions or fallout from the
Asian troubles.

How quickly all this will develop, no one can say for sure, but
one thing is clear: A deep, serious economic crisis is sweeping
the earth. The crisis is rooted in the fact that a growing mass of
humanity is being plunged into absolute poverty while a relative
handful of people is accumulating absolute wealth. The good news
is, there is something we can do about it.

We, the people, are basically faced with a choice: We can endure a
society, now developing, in the form of a police state that
enforces our suffering and upholds repression, or we can move
forward to a new, cooperative society that cherishes and nourishes
the lives of everyone.

Millions of people are beginning to fight out this choice, both in
this country and across the world. In the U.S., the Economic Human
Rights Campaign (which also has an international dimension) is one
example of the fight to rally people around our right to thrive.

Sponsored by the National Welfare Rights Union, and spearheaded by
the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, the Economic Human Rights
Campaign '98 is a national effort to highlight the economic human
rights abuses in this country caused by welfare reform and
poverty. During June, the campaign's New Freedom Bus -- Freedom
from Unemployment, Hunger and Homelessness -- has been traveling
around the country, collecting documentation of these abuses and
spotlighting the efforts of poor communities to survive and fight
back.

The documentation was to be presented to the United Nations at an
international economic human rights tribunal in New York on July
1. The success of the struggle ultimately depends on a very broad
consciousness, among the people, of their class and political
interests.

Today, the most revolutionary act we can commit is to show people
that the source of the crisis is an economic system that values
private profit above human life, and that the solution is a new
system that guarantees that every person's needs are met. The
developing world crisis and the people's growing struggle set the
stage for the world to be transformed. To complete that
transformation, revolutionaries must carry the vision of a new
society all over our country through every possible means.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

INDEX to the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition)
Vol. 25 No. 7/ July, 1998

Editorial
 1. IF THIS WEALTH WAS SHARED ...

News and Features
 2. JULY 4, 1998: YOU'RE NOT A CAPITALIST ... WHY SUPPORT THEIR
    SYSTEM?
 3. EYEWITNESS REPORT: INDONESIA RISES UP
 4. REMEMBERING A HISTORY-MAKING MOVEMENT 30 YEARS LATER DRUM:
    THE BEAT GOES ON AND ON
 5. A RIGHT TO A JOB - BY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
 6. NEW FREEDOM BUS CROSSES AMERICA, GATHERING TESTIMONY,
    DISPENSING HOPE
 7. MISERY GROWS IN CALIFORNIA
 8. WHY CALIFORNIANS DEFEATED PROPOSITION 226
 9. OUR ADVICE: DON'T BE POOR IN MISSOURI AND KANSAS
10. A VISION FOR OUR CITIES
11. STRIKE! UAW WORKERS WALK THE WALK

Women and Revolution: Visions for a New America
12. 'THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL MY SON'

American Lockdown
13. INVOKING THE SPIRIT OF MERLE AFRICA: ONA MOVE!

>From the League
14. SIMUEL RAMEY SETS AN EXAMPLE
15. SPEAKERS FOR A NEW AMERICA; NEW BOOKLET ON TAPE

[To subscribe to the online edition, send a message to pt-
dist@noc.org with "Subscribe" in the subject line.]


******************************************************************
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. EDITORIAL: IF THIS WEALTH WAS SHARED ...

Day in and day out, we hear about the booming economy, low
unemployment, low inflation, and so on. Yes, there's a crisis in
Asia and things are bad in other parts of the world, too, but,
here in the United States, everything is just peachy -- at least
on Wall Street. In the rest of America, a few random examples hint
that things are not so cheerful.

The country is going through a new wave of mega-mergers and
downsizing, with thousands of jobs being eliminated. Motorola
announced on June 4 that it will eliminate 15,000 jobs.

The "still-employed" are working longer hours than they did 20
years ago -- 47.1 hours a week today, compared to 43.6 hours a
week in 1977. A study on job-related stress involving 3,000
employees revealed that nine out of 10 workers surveyed said they
often or sometimes don't have enough time for their families or
other important people in their lives.

Another study, published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, found that poverty kills. Those who made less than
$10,000 a year had a death rate of 2.77 to 3.22 times that of
people with annual incomes of $30,000 or more. Americans who made
between $10,000 and $29,000 died at a rate of 2.14 to 2.34 times
higher than those in the $30,000-plus bracket.

A new wave of homelessness is looming this year as Congress
debates cutting back on the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's rental assistance program to the tune of $2.2
billion, a cut which could put a million more people on the
streets after this October. The average annual income of the
families helped by the subsidy program is $7,500.

These are just a very few of the many straws in the wind of change
blowing through our land. A wind coming from the social tempest
created by the dramatic change in the way the things we need are
produced in this society.

For the first time ever, new technologies enable the production of
absolute abundance. For example, food can be grown overnight;
homes can be built in a few hours. This is what's happening now,
but the trouble is, it is not being shared. A tiny section of
society -- the ones who are making the most money on Wall Street,
at our expense -- owns and controls both the technology and the
wealth it produces.

A solution is not possible under the present system called
capitalism, because it puts the interests of that tiny class and
its form of private property first, and the needs of everyone else
at the very last. Thus, the system itself must be replaced with a
cooperative one that guarantees a public, universal owning of the
wealth produced by humanity. A cooperative system ends the private
privileges of the wealthy few and forever ends the separation of
humanity into classes.

If this new kind of wealth was shared, poverty would be
eliminated. If this wealth was shared, all of us would have
secure, meaningful work that wouldn't stress us out or rob us of
time for our families and friends.

If this wealth was shared, all of us would have a decent home to
live in and no one would go hungry. All of us could live in an
environment that sustains our health instead of one that kills us.
All of us would have equal access to all the medical care we need.

At present, the rich already have this for themselves. They are
able to have it because they control the wealth and possess the
power to shut the rest of us out. That is wrong. Such an evil
cries out for a program to right that wrong, one that puts the
needs of all of us -- including those at the bottom -- first and
foremost.

******************************************************************

2. JULY 4, 1998: YOU'RE NOT A CAPITALIST ... WHY SUPPORT THEIR
SYSTEM?

By Nelson Peery

On July 4, we celebrate our country's 222nd birthday. While we
celebrate, we often fail to ask ourselves, "Why did we separate
ourselves from feudal England?" The answer that "we wanted to be
independent" begs the next question: "Why did we want to be
independent?" We wanted to separate ourselves from feudal England
because we were not feudalists and were not part of their system.

That thinking is very applicable for this Fourth of July, 1998. We
again need to ask ourselves, "We are not capitalists, why should
we support their system?"

Over the course of some 200 years, there were reasons that the
workers supported the capitalist system. As the United States
economically and politically conquered most of the world, the
ruling class gave part of the plunder to the American people as a
bribe for their political and military support. The workers in a
good portion of the world did not believe that there was any
poverty in the United States, and everyone was a capitalist.

At the end of World War II, this ruling class embarked on its
greatest effort -- the destruction of the socialist sector of the
world. They needed more support than ever from the masses. To
achieve this support, they increased the bribe and millions of
workers began to purchase houses and automobiles. The workers
understandably felt they had an economic stake in the system. That
was not enough. The ruling class knew they also had to have the
hearts and minds of the people. Every sort of lie, slander,
distortion of history, appeal to racism and to nationalism,
smothered the political and social consciousness of the people.

Murder, frame ups, blacklisting and ostracism faced those who
would not submit. Thought control almost took over our country.
Only approved books could be read, certain subjects could not be
discussed, and opposition was equated with treason. The democratic
practice of lively political discussion among workers was lost. As
young generations matured, they accepted what they inherited and
few even thought to question the system.

Times are rapidly changing. With globalization and automation, the
ruling class no longer needs to bribe the workers for their
support. If the American workers won't work for "competitive"
wages, starving workers from other countries will. General Motors'
brutal, callous attempt to force their workers to accept cuts in
wages and standards of living is just the latest example.

Yet, under the terrible circumstances of hunger, homelessness,
lack of medical care, or lockouts, few workers raise the question
of the system. They have been trained to blame individuals or
political parties. They will never blame the system unless they
are challenged to do so.

Herein lies the importance of the Fourth of July. Just as the
people of the 1770s had to be challenged -- "What the heck do we
need a king for? We're not part of that system" -- so today we
have to challenge the workers, employed and unemployed. "You're
not a capitalist. Why support their system?"

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

DID YOU KNOW THAT ...

According to a survey released in early June, Americans among the
richest 1 percent are already looking forward to the most fabulous
retirement ever known by a leisure class. These superrich are
taking the gains they have already made in the 1990s and pouring
most or all of it back into U.S. stocks, where they expect to reap
even more profits. They expect to gain 15 percent a year over the
next three years and 12 percent a year over the next decade.

In addition to investing more in stocks, they are also saving more
of their income. After-tax savings for the richest 1 percent has
gone up from 19 percent in 1993 to almost 25 percent today.
Amazingly, the average saving rate for the other 99 percent of
Americans has fallen from 6.2 percent in 1992 to 3.8 percent
today.

The researchers said that these investments and savings are
earmarked for respondent's "retirement." Considering that many of
the superrich don't really work for a living and already have
everything they need, one could wonder what it is they're saving
for and retiring from.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

JOIN WITH OTHERS TO MAKE THE VISION OF A WORLD OF PLENTY A REALITY

Who is the League of Revolutionaries for a New America? We are
people from all walks of life who refuse to accept that there
should be great suffering in a world of great abundance.
Together, we can inspire people with a vision of a cooperative
world where the full potential of each person can contribute to
the good of all. Together, we can get our message of hope out on
radio and television, in places of worship, union halls, and in
the streets. We don't have all the answers, but we are confident
that together we can free the minds of the millions of people who
can liberate humanity. Join us!

____ I want to join the League of Revolutionaries for a New
America.

____ Send me a bundle of 5__10__25__50___100___ People's Tribunes
to get out in my city.

____ Send me a membership kit so I can build a chapter of the
League of Revolutionaries for a New America in my city.

____ I want a speaker in my city. Send me a "Speakers for a New
America" brochure.

____ I want to make a financial donation to the League of
Revolutionaries for a New America.

Name

Address

City/State/Zip

Phone

E-mail

******************************************************************

3. EYEWITNESS REPORT: INDONESIA RISES UP

By Curly Cohen

Flying out of Jakarta on May 14, the plane dipped and turned
north. Billowing smoke rose from the numerous fires set. More
evident than the fires was the rage. Everywhere and everyone has
been holding this rage for far too long. It had to be released.

The constant and daily demonstrations by university students were
the drum call, the mantra, the chant, as steady as the hum of the
scooters 18 to 20 hours a day on the streets. Sometimes four to a
scooter, sometimes five, everyone trying to eke out a living in a
bankrupt economy. There is no public aid to fall back on.

Twenty-four hour street convenience stores offer lifesavers, gum,
cigarettes, water and pop. And the people -- a group of five or
six with sleeping mats next to their wares, lay underneath the
protection of highly worn colonial buildings left over by the
Dutch.

"Ah Salaam Allekhim" was the greeting, and it was met with a weary
and wonderful smile. Next, the trading or giving of cigarettes as
a friendly gesture. And when it became clear that you were from
America -- home of Chicago, Mohammed Ali, Michael Jordan -- the
smiles got deeper and warmer. Their demand was simple: "We need
your help. We look to you and your country." Always with "please"
attached to it.

Later, radio reports stunned me when a British reporter explained
how polite the looters were. I was stunned not by the politeness,
but by the voice of the reporter who was obviously moved by the
people's behavior. This wasn't Western rage; this was Indonesian
rage that was polite and patient. Thirty years of patience with a
government that produced about the third richest family in the
world. Suharto, the king.

But those that have toiled -- and I mean toiled -- now were
receiving one more cut. The people have been so patient, while
every place on their body was cut. The last cut was too much. The
gas price at the pump doubled. Electricity rates rose by 75
percent. The following day, all prices were up. I had arrived 21
days earlier and on my first day had already and easily found the
resistance movement at the hotel I was staying in. We shot some
pool together.

Joko, a university student, is handsome and tanned except for two
recent bruises inflicted by the police on his face and collarbone.
He was incredibly patient with my lack of Indonesian. Using
English, it took him two to three times longer to communicate. The
following morning, we walked to the docks at 6 a.m. On the way
there, it was clear that it was a different world, just five
minutes by foot from the safety of a mostly empty hotel.

We had descended into the 'hood, the barrio of a different
circumstance. At 6 a.m., life had not yet come to the streets. In
another hour, the chaos is at your heart, but it works and there's
always room, even for a weird Western traveler.

The docks are huge, with ship after ship after ship. Fifteen with
lumber, one with rice, fifteen more with lumber, one more with
rice. The vessels were thirty to forty yards long.

A lumber plank ten inches by six inches ran from the ship to the
dock. It was very steep. The grade was maybe thirty degrees --
dangerous, with nothing there to catch your fall. What a choice:
deeply polluted water or the hard concrete. OSHA would have a
field day. But no one slipped, that I saw. They couldn't afford
to, and there was no insurance to boot. More important, there were
plenty to take their place. And all for a dollar fifty a day. From
7 a.m. to 7 p.m., six days a week.

The men I interviewed ranged in age from 15 to 43. All were new to
Jakarta, arriving within the last ten years from Sumatra,
Surabaya, Flores, Celebes and Timor. No longer could they stay at
their family's plot of land that had fed their previous
generations for a thousand years. Now, they were forced to migrate
to the city.

I didn't ask, but I don't think any of the men weighed more than
100 pounds, either barefoot or in thongs. Everyone wore a hat, and
under the hat a T-shirt falling down to their shoulders to catch
the sweat. One salty bead dripping into the eye is too dangerous
and not worth losing a job over. That T-shirt also protects their
back from the relentless sun of a land that sits only six degrees
below the equator. Most wear long-sleeved shirts to protect them
from becoming black.

With foam encased in plastic supermarket bags taped down to use as
shoulder pads, they were carrying four to six pieces of lumber --
sometimes bundled, sometimes not -- 16 to 20 feet long. I suspect
the lumber they were carrying weighed more than they did.

After work, they took a water taxi that holds eight to ten people
to the end of the dock, to their houses without plumbing. Children
balanced themselves at the edge of the dock, then peed and pooped
right in the water. In this barrio, there were few children that
went to school. The ones that went were in uniform, and most of
the children I saw were without one.

It was here that the rage was boiling. It was here that you could
see three luxury apartment buildings looking like the land of Oz
off in the distance. It was here where these workers had, through
their sweat, earned their right to sit at a just -- economically
just -- table of democracy.

******************************************************************

4. REMEMBERING A HISTORY-MAKING MOVEMENT 30 YEARS LATER DRUM: THE
BEAT GOES ON AND ON

By General Baker

Thirty years ago, in 1968, the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement
(DRUM) was founded at Chrysler's Hamtramck Assembly Plant near
Detroit. It was the first of the RUM groups that later became part
of the core of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers.

The Hamtramck Assembly Plant was the home of the Dodge cars, where
Chargers and Hemis rolled off the line at a clip of 72 cars per
hour. DRUM was born out of the dire need to address the conditions
of factory life at the point of production. The strike on July 12,
1968 began a groundswell and became a rallying point for black
workers everywhere! The group was formed during a wildcat strike
at the Dodge Main Plant in May, 1968 and led its first strike on
the same plant on July 12, idling 10,000 workers for 5 days.

The strike itself caught both the United Auto Workers (UAW) and
Chrysler off guard; neither was prepared to deal with the
upheaval. Thus, Chrysler labeled the strike extralegal instead of
illegal and no discharges were sustained. Both Chrysler and the
UAW frantically called out to find some new minority
representatives within their ranks, in place of the old leadership
types, to deal with the new conditions.

The DRUM strike took place because there was no other way, at the
time, to address the effects of discrimination in the workplace.
There was no possible Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
lawsuit to demand economic redress, no television or other media
exposure to popularize our plight; just tit-for-tat struggle at
the gates and the factory floor.

Things have changed since then. There are many lessons learned
from the DRUM struggles. First and foremost, that event changed
both the UAW and Chrysler. They claimed they stood for equality,
but nothing could be further from the truth. The Fair Employment
Practice Commission which was hailed as a path or solution to
racial discrimination, was incompetent and ineffective and thus
did nothing.

Not a single representative tied to the bureaucratic structure of
the corporations or the union lifted a finger. Because DRUM was
not tied to either of them, and stood independent of both, it was
able to strike out in both directions in the battle for equality.

 But the DRUM road was pursued in a period when the speculative
wing of capital was still in its infancy, at a time when the
financial and industrial wing of capital held hegemony. Thus, the
large and stable plants were still like stable fixtures.

The wholesale development of plant closings was not yet
predominant, thus rendering the point of production central to
organizing large concentrations of unskilled and semiskilled
workers. It took place when the body shops and paint shops inside
of the large auto plants had real concentrations of black and
other minority workers, before they were replaced by robots.

It coincided with the period of time when trade unions were still
growing and not in decline. It took place before Honda, Toyota,
Mercedes, BMW, etc., arrived on U.S. soil. It took place when
mergers were almost unheard of and the U.S. auto industry was
exclusively the "big four" of Chrysler, General Motors, Ford and
American Motors.

Today, semiskilled and unskilled, unemployed as well as employed
workers, are all thrown into battle for the few remaining high-
paid jobs, wherever they may surface. And, once again, black
workers find themselves striking blows from the bottom as new
barriers and tests of all kinds block access to entry-level and
apprentice jobs.

Today, on the 30th anniversary of DRUM, the battle is for economic
survival.

The fight to maintain our standard of living takes center stage,
and such a struggle demands the mobilization of all who are
affected on all fronts.



******************************************************************

5. A RIGHT TO A JOB - BY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

By Adolph Reed

Editor's note: In the June issue of the People's Tribune, Adolph
Reed discussed the Labor Party's campaign to enact a 28th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution according to the following
proposition:

"Every person shall have the right to a job and to receive a
livable wage for their work (defined as a minimum of $10/hour in
1997, indexed to inflation)."

The article pointed out that such an amendment is necessary
because, "It is clear that on its own the private economy does not
create enough decent jobs for all who need them. We face a chronic
job shortfall." His abridged article continues here.

Why not seek this objective through congressional legislation,
which would be easier to attain than a Constitutional amendment?

The fate of the 1946 Employment Act and the 1978 Humphrey-Hawkins
Act shows the limitations of trying to secure the right to a job
through legislative processes.

Even though heavy majorities consistently have favored the idea in
public opinion polls since the 1930s, corporate interests have
been able to block or blunt attempts to legislate it. Embedding
the guarantee of a job and livable wage in the Constitution would
make it substantially more difficult to ignore.

Moreover, building the kind of grass-roots, popular movement that
would be necessary to amend the Constitution could transform the
nature of political debate so that it would be far more difficult
for politicians to dilute or side step the mandate. Besides, it is
important for working people to make unambiguously clear that
access to a livelihood must be a fundamental human right and that
increasing productivity benefits us and does not bludgeon us into
overwork and job insecurity.

Where would the capital come from to pay for the massive public
investment this amendment implies?

Fulfilling the warrant of the Labor Party's proposed 28th
Amendment certainly would require massive public investment.
However, some of the cost of this investment would be offset by
savings realized through curtailment of the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children program (AFDC), what is typically called
"welfare." Federal AFDC expenditures for 1993 were more than $42
billion, which would be saved by guaranteeing a living wage job to
all who can work.

******************************************************************

6. NEW FREEDOM BUS CROSSES AMERICA, GATHERING TESTIMONY,
DISPENSING HOPE

[Sponsored by the National Welfare Rights Union and spearheaded by
Philadelphia's Kensington Welfare Rights Union, the Economic Human
Rights Campaign '98 is a national effort to highlight the economic
human rights abuses in this country caused by welfare reform and
poverty. (Economic human rights are mainly expressed in articles
23, 25 and 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
adopted by the United Nations in December 1948.)]

During June, the New Freedom Bus -- Freedom from Unemployment,
Hunger and Homelessness -- has been traveling around the country,
collecting documentation of economic rights abuses and
spotlighting the efforts of poor communities to survive and fight
back. There have been rallies, marches and tribunals in
conjunction with the bus tour in the cities the bus has visited.
The documentation collected by the New Freedom Bus riders was to
be taken to the United Nations in New York City for an
international economic human rights tribunal on July 1, where a
formal case against the United States was to be initiated.

The bus riders have kept up a grueling schedule the past month,
visiting 35 cities in 30 days. The riders have posted notices
about their travels on the Kensington Welfare Rights Union's web
site (http://www.libertynet.org/kwru/index.html). Below are
excerpts from some of the postings that were available at press
time.


ALBANY AND ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

Arriving in Albany, New York, the freedom riders dramatically
marched into the "Does Work End Poverty?" conference just as Cheri
Honkala, executive director of the Kensington Welfare Rights
Union, began her address to the conference. Hosted at the State
University of New York at Albany, the conference was a gathering
of service providers, social-welfare advocates, academics, and
representatives from a variety of other agencies and
organizations.

Cheri's message was direct: The only way that we're going to
change things in this country is by building an organization, by
building a massive movement capable of reaching the majority of
people in this country. And like any struggle in history, it must
be led by those most affected. However, people from all walks of
life have an essential role to play.

Before leaving the conference, the Freedom Bus Human Rights Choir
performed on stage, receiving a standing ovation. Many at the
conference showed their support for the bus riders.

>From Albany, the bus traveled to Rochester, where we were hosted
by a number of social-work students, recent social-work grads, and
community members from various organizations. Like everywhere we
have been, people in Rochester were hurting -- and dying -- from
the economic changes taking place in this country. Massive
downsizing by Kodak and Xerox have rocked Rochester. Welfare
recipients of many different races told of their struggles to
survive and meet the confusing and often contradictory new welfare
rules.

"It's not enough to beg for our freedom, it's not enough to try
and lobby for our freedom, but we need to build an organization to
take back this country so everyone is guaranteed, as human beings,
the right to the basic necessities of life," was the message at
the rally.

One pastor told us how his church, with its poor congregation, was
struggling for its survival. With new workfare requirements, much
of his congregation can no longer attend church -- they have to
work all Sunday (even though workfare jobs provide nowhere near
living wages).


LORAIN AND CLEVELAND, OHIO

This area of Ohio was built around industry -- steel, the auto
industry, etc. As our economy has changed, thousands and thousands
of jobs have been downsized.

In Cleveland, we heard speeches and testimony from a wide range of
organizations in support of the campaign. We learned that 40
percent of people in Cleveland live in poverty. Recent laws have
made it even more difficult to survive. But these struggles are
largely invisible -- the major newspaper in the area, for example,
fully supported welfare reform.

Representatives from many important organizations came out to
support the rally, including the United Electrical Workers, the
Steelworkers Union, the STOP Coalition, the United Church of
Christ, and many others. Before leaving, we were deeply moved by
the words of street poet Daniel Thompson.

Back in Lorain, we had a tribunal before a panel of influential
community leaders. We heard testimony of people who, after working
all their lives, found themselves without access to life-
sustaining medication. We learned that 52 percent of welfare
benefits in Ohio have been cut since welfare reform. Of those who
have been dropped off the rolls, only one-third managed to
actually "get off" welfare because they managed to find a job or
their situation otherwise changed; the other two-thirds have been
cut off of assistance because of sanctioning. And the rate at
which people are dropped off the rolls continues to accelerate.
The panel of community leaders signed a statement supporting the
claims of economic human rights violations in Ohio.


ON THE BUS

There are educationals every day on the bus, on different topics
relating to the Freedom Bus -- the economics, politics, history,
etc., of different areas of the country, as well as discussions of
our strategy for building a national movement. These educationals
are conducted by different Freedom Bus riders. We plan and
strategize for the days ahead. We rehearse different songs, and
write new songs. Different individuals have many different
responsibilities -- coordinating the logistics for the next few
stops, writing about the trip, updating the web page, coordinating
press contacts, and (as always) dealing with the crises of the
day.


BRADSHAW AND WELCH, WEST VIRGINIA

They discovered coal in McDowell County around the turn of the
century. At its peak in the 1950s, over 100,000 people worked
here, extracting billions of dollars of the world's finest coal --
coal of such high quality that McDowell coal has been used to
produce the finest steel in the country. Today, all those jobs are
gone. But the coal hasn't stopped flowing. In fact, coal
production is at an all-time high, while employment is at an all-
time low. High-tech production has left this community with
unemployment rates in excess of 90 percent. McDowell County has
the fifth-highest poverty rate in the country and 60 percent of
its children live in poverty.

As the jobs disappeared, so have the people. Today, less than
30,000 people live here. Seven out of ten people have been forced
to leave. Some, like Frances Patton-Rutherford, have families that
have lived on this land for three centuries, and aren't prepared
to leave.

At our rally at Bradshaw City Hall, she said: "I have lived my
life in loss. We've lost families. We've lost jobs. We've lost
schools. We've lost our water system. This is our home. This is
where we want to live. We don't want to go to North Carolina to
work part time for Burger King, which someone in my family did
last week. Many don't have the resources to leave. We are trying
to get together and figure out a future here.

"In a country as wealthy as ours, it is unabidable this growing
divergence between rich and poor, between children
who can see a doctor when they are sick, between children who can
live in a safe house, between children who can get a quality
education [and those who can't]. We can do better. I'm not willing
to give up on my community, or my country."

Frances is a board member of Big Creek People in Action and
coordinator of the McDowell Family Resource Center.

Cheri Honkala addressed the rally:

"We bring you greetings from poor and homeless people across the
nation. We are here today not to speak on behalf of the poor --
because we are the poor. What has happened to us that we won't
even ask for food stamps? My mom didn't want to ask for food
stamps; she felt ashamed, afraid that she had somehow failed. I
want you all to repeat after me: I'm poor and I count! ...

"We are here to hear from all of you here in West Virginia -- to
take your very important struggles for survival to the United
Nations -- not to beg for a future, but to demand a future for all
of us.

"Today marks a historic beginning in which we poor folks from the
North begin to hook up with poor folks from the South, to let
nothing divide us, to work together to create a new society free
from hunger and poverty. As there is a piece of steel from
McDowell County in all parts of the country, we will take the
steel foundation of the leaders in McDowell County and use it to
inspire all poor people throughout the nation to stand up and be
heard, to speak for ourselves, and to no longer be silent. ...

"For years both the Republican and Democratic parties have been
telling us one thing before election day and another the day after
they are elected. They tell us to get off the dole -- yet they
don't create the jobs we need and that's why we are promoting the
Labor Party's Right to a Job at a Living Wage Campaign. We are
calling for a 28th Amendment to the Constitution saying, 'If you
want us to work, give us a job that pays a living wage.'

"From every holler to every housing project, we will inspire our
sisters and brothers to leave their homes and join the fight. ...
Together we will win."

Rick Wilson of the American Friends Service Committee spoke about
the long history of struggle and resistance to oppression by the
people of West Virginia. He went on to explain the specifics of
welfare reform in West Virginia.

West Virginia is one of only five states which elected to count
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as family income. This
decision, which affects at least 20,000 low-income West
Virginians, was made by state administrators, and not by
democratically elected officials. As a result of this policy, any
family in which a member receives SSI payments for a disability is
effectively denied state cash assistance.

Wilson gave some examples of the effects of welfare reform in West
Virginia. A family of nine lost state cash assistance due to SSI.
They were forced to give up their home and move in with relatives.
A father of five who is disabled and is the primary caregiver lost
state cash assistance when welfare reform went into effect. The
family's furniture was subsequently repossessed by a rent-to-own
company.

One family began receiving SSI when the father became paralyzed in
an accident. Through Aid to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC) and SSI, they were able to survive and buy a mobile home.
Welfare reform went into effect and they now face the prospect of
losing their home.

The rally closed with an unexpected surprise: some of the young
people on the Freedom Bus wrote and performed a song together.
Here are the lyrics:

We are going on the bus
We are marching for our lives
We are going on a bus
For Freedom

We want you to listen
We want you to hear
Our stories are important
To live without fear

We need our rights
For we are human
We need our rights
For we are children
We need our rights!


HIGHLANDER AND KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

The Highlander Center has been an important place in grassroots
organizing efforts since its founding in the 1930s. Rooted in
ideas of popular education, it was a space where leaders of the
Industrial Union movement of the 1930s and Civil Rights movement
of the 1960s came to develop skills, theories and strategies. The
Highlander has continued its historical role of supporting
organizing efforts across the country.

Our day at Highlander was a time to meet and strategize, looking
at many of the different fronts on which this campaign is
operating -- dealing with logistics, our communication strategy,
the legal aspects of the campaign, and (as always, at the center
of our discussions) continuing to build the efforts of the poor to
organize ourselves across this country.

Community groups like Solutions to Issues of Concern to
Knoxvillians (SICK) and other organizations held a human rights
picnic in Knoxville. We heard testimonies of people in Knoxville
and on the bus who are struggling both to survive and to fight the
conditions they are facing. There was also music by local
musicians, poetry, and plenty of food to go around.

Michelle Nored, a welfare recipient from Knoxville and an
organizer, shared the following poem with us:

Within my life I've made a choice,
I spoke my mind, You've heard my voice.
A simple life I've laid to rest
So I could choose for me the best.

So many folks have shown concern,
And many heads my kids have turned.
"Just why has she done that to them?
Those kids are outcast from within."

With curly hair and perfect tans,
My kids were formed with God's own hands.
"Just where does she think she gets off?
Those kids will surely pay the cost!"

A Welfare Mom no doubt, agreed?
How else so many could she feed?
"I'll bet they all end up in jail,
With trash like that, they're sure to fail."

"We're the ones that she should thank,
For goodness sake we fill her tank.
We buy her food, pay rent and lights,
Just who is she to claim some rights?"
They speak as though I'm not around;
As if I'd dare not make a sound.
For after all, you know they're right,
Why should I stand up, fuss, or fight?

I've got life easy,
I've got life licked.
Free Medicaid, food stamps, and WIC.

What's wrong with me?
Could I be wrong?
I don't think so,
I know I'm strong.

For seven years I've fought the fight,
Been kicked by men and shamed in spite.
I've walked with kids a lot in rain,
No car to drive and lots of pain.

Yet look at me, I'm still upright,
Been bumped and bruised, but still I fight.
Too many moms don't have the strength
To tell those folks just what they think.

I think it's time to let them know,
They can't do that, just tell them NO!
You will not kill me, I will not quit.
Why should I with this great wit?

******************************************************************

7. MISERY GROWS IN CALIFORNIA

By Ethel Long-Scott

In California these days, a lot of political discussion focuses on
how to spend an unprecedented state-budget surplus. But thanks to
welfare reform, the future of millions of Golden State residents
is anything but golden. The state program called CalWorks that
replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children has worsened the
lives of the most destitute. Even as state coffers are
overflowing, economic misery is increasing among large numbers of
the working poor, and even some middle-income professionals are
threatened.

The Personal Responsibility and Family Act President Clinton
signed in August, 1996 ended federal responsibility for any safety
net for workers and the unemployed. It finished off the social
contract that helped the United States out of the Depression, gave
states money to set up new time-limited workfare programs, and
accelerated the privatization of services that had been state-
supplied. One result in California is that, with the approval of
the twin parties of Capital, the Republicans and the Democrats,
the private sector downsizing of the 1970s and 1980s is hitting
the public sector with a vengeance.

By census data, there are 3.6 million Californians living below
the poverty line. More realistic figures go up to 6 million. Most
are children. They are suffering the reduced benefits, denials of
benefits, denials of basic health care and increased homelessness
that we see everywhere in the country. At the same time, many
state officials are pushing new adventuresome schemes for finance
capital, thanks to California's budget surplus and reduced welfare
costs. The new welfare-reform laws have resulted in the rulers
stealing further from the poorest and most vulnerable.

To prepare for welfare reform, the California Legislature took
away money the counties used for small General Assistance and
welfare stipends to the poorest of the poor. More than 180,000
state employees haven't received negotiated cost-of-living
increases in five years. Hundreds of thousands of city, county and
state workers have been laid off in a massive public- sector
downsizing.

We are witnessing the culmination of California's 50-year Pacific
Rim Business Strategy accelerated by global capitalism.
Computerized, automated manufacturing ended millions of U.S. blue-
collar jobs and cheapened labor costs in the global world of work.
The results are devastating to working-class cities like Oakland.

Two generations ago, Oakland was a bustling manufacturing center
with moderate to high- wage, blue-collar jobs. Unemployment was
low. Many with less than a high school education could earn a
livable wage to care for their families.

Today, much of Oakland has shifted to an information-based economy
of small firms, financial services, computer-consulting firms, and
the shrinking public sector. Most of these jobs require moderately
to highly skilled, computer-literate individuals, and pay a
moderate wage of $10 per hour. Specialized service firms pay $15
plus.

Unfortunately, Oakland's poorest residents can't get these jobs
that pay higher than the minimum wage. The average pay for a
person transitioning off welfare is $6.79 per hour, just $1.04
above the minimum wage of $5.75. No wonder the misery is
spreading.

At the same time, California just went through the most expensive
election in its history. Two Democrats, both multimillionaires,
spent $60 million on their primary campaigns, an average of $45
for each vote they got. California, like the rest of the nation,
is at a crossroads. Will the rich keep getting fat at the expense
of workers and their children? Will the tremendous economic engine
of computerization continue to subsidize the business gambles of
the rich, or will that wealth be turned to addressing the
increasing unemployment and poverty experienced by nearly 6
million Californians? The answer rests with employed and
unemployed together designing a future focused on economic
security.

"This time it's all of us or none of us."

******************************************************************

8. WHY CALIFORNIANS DEFEATED PROPOSITION 226

by the Oakland Area of the LRNA

The June election in California indicated a step-up in the moral
battle for the hearts and minds of the working class. The issues
centered on deception vs. morality and privilege vs. rights.

California voters defeated Proposition 226, which would have
forced unions to get written permission from every worker, every
year, before they could spend money on political campaigns or
issues. Proposition 226 would have silenced the voice of the labor
movement, while leaving corporate political spending unrestricted.
Corporations already outspend unions 11 to 1 on politics. The
proposition was written and financed by out-of-state, conservative
multimillionaires.

Big-time business interests -- like the Chamber of Commerce and
manufacturer organizations -- did not campaign for the measure,
even though they would love to see unions completely destroyed.
They are more concerned with a resurgent labor movement that
articulates and fights for an independent agenda. To openly
support Proposition 226 would have broken the status quo, the
business unionism strategy that keeps labor contained.

Initiatives in California are always sold in moral terms. Because
the American people are a moral people, the interests of wealth
are codified into law in the initiatives and are cloaked with
appeals based on right and wrong, good or bad. Proposition 226 was
not termed an anti-labor act; it was framed as "the paycheck
protection act." Americans have a strong sense of "fair play" and
were repulsed by 226's small print. The elections underscored the
huge moral dilemma that confronts the working class. Voters have
rejected Ross Perot multimillionaire clones that try to buy their
way into office. Ronald Unz, a multimillionaire who authored the
anti-bilingual education Proposition 227, was able to dupe the
voters.

Why is it so compelling to have millionaires, who would never send
their kids to public school, propose solutions to social crises,
in this case schools? For 50 years, the U.S. has been one of the
few countries in the world to refuse to sign UN documents granting
Americans economic human rights. Instead, the government sponsors
"programs," which it doles out as privileges, not rights. You
can't defeat an enemy if you accept his moral assumptions. Unz was
successful -- as capitalists so often are on social issues -- in
portraying the right to an education as a privilege for "special
interests." When 20% of the people own 80% of everything, there is
only one special interest -- the class that Ron Unz represents.
Social issues are not "special interests." Its time to fight for
rights not privileges, then "our tax money" is going to whom it
should go to -- us!

By defeating Proposition 226 unions discovered they could generate
some power. They were right to say that the voice of labor must
not be silenced. But now what? Do we sit and wait for the next
right-wing initiative before we act again? Do we use labor's voice
to uncritically support the Democratic candidate for governor? Or
do we voice the moral imperative of human rights and force it into
the political arena?

The 1998 elections are raising important and critical issues. We
are interested in starting some dialogue. Send e-mail on this
topic to: www.nanoforth@hotmail.com

******************************************************************

9. OUR ADVICE: DON'T BE POOR IN MISSOURI AND KANSAS

By the Kansas City Area Office of the League of Revolutionaries
for a New America

Kansas City is thought to be the heart of one of the most
economically buoyant parts of the country. But welfare reform and
federal cutbacks are hurting the area in dramatic ways. Perhaps
because Kansas and Missouri are particularly ill-prepared for
welfare reform, the Center on Hunger and Poverty ranks Missouri
44th and Kansas 49th as the states with the worst welfare policies
for helping poor families improve their economic situations.

In the past five years, 100,000 people have been slashed from
Missouri's welfare rolls, the number of people in area shelters
has doubled, and Missouri has seen an 11 percent statewide
increase in homelessness. In Kansas City, homelessness has
increased by 30 percent over the past two years.

On the Kansas side, relatively wealthy Johnson County has at least
42,000 people below the poverty line, outnumbering the total
residents in 70 of Kansas' 105 counties. Rural poverty is common
in both states; it is perhaps most vivid in Southeast Missouri,
where 39 percent of the children live in poverty and 40 percent of
new mothers lack a high school diploma.

With federal funds slashed, 13,000 Missouri families seek
assistance from private agencies each month. In Kansas City,
Kansas, at least one federally funded medical clinic has run out
of money and is only seeing emergency, obstetric and hospital
patients. Also on the Kansas side (Wyandotte County), workfare
puts mothers to work with only 19 day care slots for every 100
children who need them; 31 percent of the area's toddlers are
currently dependent on public assistance.

******************************************************************

10. A VISION FOR OUR CITIES

By Hollis Glaser

The gap between the rich and the poor is becoming wider. Our inner
cities are being destroyed by drugs and racism, by a lack of jobs,
and by a government which has removed social- support programs.
The poisoning of the Earth becomes more extensive and irreversible
every year. Multinational corporations accrue greater and greater
power while destroying traditional societies in the quest to make
more profit. What is needed is a clear vision of an alternative
way of life.

Imagine living in a building which was energy-efficient and used
renewable energy -- wind power and solar power -- so you had no
electric or power bills to worry about. Now imagine being part of
a community-based economic system where everyone is valued for
what they bring to it. Where everyone benefits from the work of
everyone else, and where there is no "top" or "bottom."

Briefly, the system works as a credit union based on goods and
services people provide, instead of on money. So, when one person
helps another buy groceries, or fix some furniture, or babysit,
their accounts are appropriately credited and debited. In this
way, they are both free to trade with someone else, or not all.
There is no inflation in this system, no unemployment or
underemployment. People are free to engage in a variety of tasks,
and everyone who wants to participate can offer whatever skills or
goods they have.

This is a system based on trust; the only way for it to work is
for people to trust that everyone will do their share. As people
trade, the system grows stronger. As the system grows stronger,
people's trust in one another strengthens. As their trust grows,
so they build stronger relationships and develop community. So,
many, maybe all, of your basic needs can be attained without
needing money.

Imagine living in a community where everyone's energy sources were
renewable, so that there are no monthly utility bills, and
everyone has what they need. Imagine that the food you eat comes
from local farmers who are a part of the trading system. Imagine
that everyone's basic needs were taken care of, that people had
plenty of free time, and no one depended upon an outside bankroll
in order to survive. In other words, imagine that the community
took care of its members.

Although this might seem far-fetched, it is how humanity survived
for thousands of years, and how many are still surviving. It is
only recently, in the past few hundred years, that this
traditional way of life has broken down. All of these technologies
and systems are currently available; we have the means to put them
into operation. What we need, however, is the political will.

For more information and contact with others working on these
issues, call or write to:

Grassroots Economic Organizing Newsletter; P.O. Box 5065, New
Haven, CT 06525;  203-389-6194.

Real Goods ( for renewable technologies);  555 Leslie street,
Ukiah, CA, 95482-5507;  707-468-9292 x2210.

Co-op America (a network of various activists, goods and
services); 2100 M Street NW,  Suite 403, Washington, D.C.; 800-
424-2667.

******************************************************************

11. STRIKE! UAW WORKERS WALK THE WALK

By Claire McClintock

FLINT, Michigan -- Shortly after 10 a.m. on June 5, United Auto
Workers (UAW) Local 659 vented months of pent-up frustration and
marched out the East Gate door at the Flint Metal Center. Led out
with both the UAW and American flags, the workers carried "UAW on
Strike" signs and shouted "U-A-W!" They were met at the gate with
hugs, handshakes and high fives by scores of other Metal Fab
employees as well as union members from other UAW locals from
around the Flint area.

Shouting, jeering and howling we marched to the main road and were
met with honks of horns from vans and trucks alike driving up and
down Bristol Road. It was exhilarating to be able to flex our
union muscle.


AN EXPLOSION WAITING TO HAPPEN

Conflicts at General Motors (GM) have grown in recent years with
seven strikes called by UAW last year. At the Flint Metal Center,
labor woes surfaced when in 1994 the local contract was opened and
replaced with a new "competitive" agreement. The contract
disrupted long-standing and hard-won work rules, work standards
and classifications.

Workers could not reconcile GM's record-breaking profits and new
hi-tech investments with the deterioration of workplace dignity.
However, GM played the "job" card, promising future work. This
included a letter of agreement signed by the division vice
president promising cradle and other work, including "A/W" and "G"
cradles. The membership reluctantly passed the special agreement.

Last year's regular contract talks brought even more demands by
management, squeezing out more workplace changes. GM announced a
$300 million investment to try and offset the controversy. This
time, the workers flatly rejected the contract. However, it was
brought back to vote and the contract passed by a slim margin.


PROMISES MADE, PROMISES BROKEN

In February of this year, Regional Manager Tom Brody of the GM
Metal Fabricating Division informed the UAW that cradle work would
in fact not be coming to the Metal Fabricating Plant. He also
added that other anticipated project work was now in question.
Negotiations soon began to try and resolve the issue. In the
meantime, management abuses and harassment on the shop floor, and
even on the gates, escalated along with mounting unresolved
grievances. The Shop Committees asked for and received an
overwhelming authorization to strike. Authorization does not mean
the plant will automatically strike. It just means that it may
strike.

On Sunday afternoon of the Memorial Day weekend, while Metal Fab
workers were out of the plant, management locked all the gates,
turned off all of the telephones, hustled in scab workers and
truckers to a plant dock, and, like "thieves in the night," rushed
GMT 800 dies out of the door. These dies are needed to produce the
new extended-cab pick-up truck to be launched in the fall. With a
strike threat looming, GM needed to protect what is considered one
of the most important new products in years. At this point,
cooperation and the bargaining table itself were null and void.

When they moved the dies, they called the Union out. The following
Wednesday, the International Union issued a 5-day notice to
strike.


A DAYTON REPLAY WITH HIGHER STAKES

The 17-day UAW strike at Dayton, Ohio in 1996 shut GM down. The
Flint facility carries some of the same features. Like Dayton, the
issue here is work promised to us that GM refuses to deliver. And
like Dayton, the Flint plant could shut down GM in a matter of
days. The plant is the producer of sheet-metal parts, hoods,
finders, as well as engine cradles, impacting a number of auto
products and virtually all truck production. The situation gives
tremendous leverage to the UAW. Finally, like Dayton, we face a
formidable adversary with deep pockets (GM ate $900 million in
losses as a result of the Dayton Strike).

But this is where the similarities end. First of all, Flint has
the largest concentration of GM workers in the world
(approximately 33,000 workers, down from 77,000 workers in the
late 1970s). Flint is the birthplace of the UAW -- not just a
union town, but UAW country. The emotional ties and commitment to
the contributions of the labor movement cannot be underestimated.
Of the seven area UAW locals in the Flint area, five have taken
and approved strike votes.

Within days of sneaking the dies out of Metal Fab, state and local
governments had just given GM tax breaks to build a new engine
plant, hiring 700 displaced workers to the tune of a staggering
$53,000 per worker.


GLOBAL COMPETITION: WHO BENEFITS?

We, the workers, cannot live with the downsizing, plant closings,
worker intimidation and harassment. We cannot reconcile GM's
record-breaking profits built on the backs of a community whose
unemployment rate is 25% with an ever-growing new class of
jobless, part-time, temporary and otherwise disposable workers,
many of whom are our children and grandchildren. This strike is
then about our families, our children and our community vs. the GM
corporate family and its bottom line.

GM is aggressively carving out its own niche in the global market.
The hi-tech revolution is sending shock waves around the world,
and capitalists like GM are joining the party. "We must get
competitive to survive in the global economy" bombards GM on the
shop floor, at the bargaining table, and in the media. We have
learned the hard way that this "competitiveness" is a code word
for reducing labor cost. This is done primarily by investing in
labor-replacing equipment such as robots. As a back-up, GM seeks
to exploit the cheapest labor possible, be it Mexico, China, or
the sweatshops sprawled along the I-75 corridor.

In our heart of hearts, we knew when we walked out of the plant
that we carried with us the aspirations and hopes of a closing
Buick City, a barely open V-8 plant, a sold Carpenter Road plant,
as well as a battle-weary Chevrolet Manufacturing Complex. A
victory at Metal Fab is critical. Without it, the good life that
our founding members fought for and passed on to us (without a
strike fund or a bargaining table) may take years to recoup.

******************************************************************

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

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

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

12. 'THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL MY SON'

By Sandra Reid

"For as long as I can remember, my [grand]mother and I have gone
to the prison every Friday night to visit my dad. When I was
little, I used to crawl up the bars, not knowing that the state
wanted to kill my father. It wasn't until I got older that I knew
this was not normal."

-- Maria Dicks, age 19.

Maria's grandmother, Shirley Dicks, has spent every waking minute
for 21 years fighting to save her son from execution on
Tennessee's Death Row. She is disabled and lives with her brother-
in-law because she lost her home. Still, she managed to raise her
granddaughter, write six books and speak all over the country
against the death penalty and prison abuse.

The People's Tribune asked Shirley what she has learned.

"The thing that stands out is that you can't trust the system,"
she said. "There are abuses and brutality in prison after prison.
The whole system is a money-making project. The more prisoners,
the more money they get. They're not even trying to rehabilitate.
You can steal a loaf of bread and get 20 years."

Jeff Dicks, her son, almost died from a heart attack recently
because the prison waited three days, until he almost passed out
from pain, before sending him for care.

"I went on the web and thousands of letters came in, so the prison
had to respond. Unless you have someone fighting for you, you
won't be heard. That's why I'm looking for stories for my new book
on prison brutality. I'm trying to bring the injustices and
brutality to the public, because things are turning backward. I
want people to know that if you are treated like an animal, you're
going to come out of prison angry and an innocent person could
take the brunt of it."

Shirley wants her new book to refute the notion that being in
prison is like hotel living.

"People should visit and see how the prisoners fight to stay
alive," she says. "It looks like they're breeding a bunch of
animals. In a Georgia prison, a warden applauded guards who were
banging prisoners heads against the wall. The brutality is not
just a few bad guards.

"A woman with AIDS in a California prison had convulsions and died
after she had to stand in the rain to get medical care. Guards
thought she was faking. In the men's prison, guards put different
gang members together and bet on who would win the fight. Then
they shoot rubber bullets. They've killed seven prisoners."

Shirley says she keeps up her strength because: "I'm fighting to
save Jeff's life. It doesn't matter where you stand on the issue
of the death penalty, an innocent man's life is at stake."

Shirley Dicks is a member of Murder Victims Families for
Reconciliation, Amnesty International, Journiers For Justice and
Tennessee Friends Outside. She also has a prison ministry. She has
been on talk shows and the British Broadcasting Corporation did a
documentary on her life. She is available to speak through
Speakers for a New America. Call 773-486-3551; write to Box 3524,
Chicago, Illinois 60654; or e-mail speakers@noc.org

Editor's note: Time is running out. Jeff Dicks will go to Federal
Court this summer and does not have an attorney. To help, e-mail
sdicks@bellsouth.net or visit
http://members.xoom. com/jdicks/index.htm

+----------------------------------------------------------------+

Shirley Dicks, an author and mother of a Death Row inmate in
Tennessee, is looking for prisoners' stories about guard brutality
in the prison system or medical abuse. Write to Shirley Dicks,
P.O. Box 321, Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130 or e-mail
sdicks@bellsouth.net

+----------------------------------------------------------------+


******************************************************************

13. INVOKING THE SPIRIT OF MERLE AFRICA: ONA MOVE!

By Steve Wiser

Imagine, if you can, leaving prison -- in a coffin.

Imagine spending nineteen and a half years of your life in jail
for a crime you did not commit and could not have committed.

Imagine while in prison hearing from a passing guard that eleven
of your family, including babies, have been bombed and burned
alive.
On March 13, 1998, Merle Austin Africa was pronounced dead. The
Pittsburgh Post Gazette covered the event in a minuscule, well-
buried snippet, stating, "Austin was serving time for killing a
Philadelphia police officer." Nothing could possibly be further
from the truth, or a more blatant lie.

Merle Austin Africa and eight other members of a spiritual group
known as MOVE were convicted for the murder of a Philadelphia
police officer, James Ramp. Officer Ramp was shot on August 8,
1978 with one bullet that entered his head from above and behind.

The members of MOVE were below and in front of Officer Ramp and
immersed in water to their necks. How could nine people shoot one
bullet? How could they shoot any bullet while struggling to keep
their mouths above water? They were not charged with weapons
possession. How then could they shoot without weapons? They were
charged with aggravated assault. Who assaulted whom when over one
hundred police in riot gear attacked their 33rd St. house?

They were charged with conspiracy and multiple counts of attempted
murder. Who conspired and who attempted to murder whom when a
police officer testified there was "an excessive amount of
unnecessary firing on the part of the police personnel when there
were no targets, per se, to shoot at," and when a stake-out
officer admitted under oath that he had emptied his carbine into
the very basement from which he heard screaming women and
children.

In spite of all of this, the MOVE members were sentenced to 30 to
100 years each by Judge Malmed who, days later, stated, "I haven't
the faintest idea who shot Officer Ramp."

When I first heard this account, I couldn't believe it. Over the
following three years, I visited prisons across the state,
interviewed eight of the nine MOVE members, talked with the trial
lawyers, read transcripts, talked with eye witnesses and
journalists, viewed film footage of the event, and read every book
on the subject I could get a hold of. The verdict I found was
simple and horrifying: a tremendous, soul-searching injustice has
taken place in this case.

The MOVE members, a people of strong character and deep
spirituality, sit in prison- today for a crime they did not
commit. They have been there almost twenty years now and are
sentenced for 10 to 80 more years. And one of them, a close and
dear friend, will be imprisoned no more. Only through death could
she be released. How many more will follow before justice is
established?

If MOVE members are not guilty of murder, aggravated assault,
attempted murder and so on, why are they in prison? Using extracts
of letters from Merle herself, I will let her words speak for
themselves, of the faith, conviction and beliefs of her people, of
why they are imprisoned:

"MOVE people are in jail for telling the people who run the
government to stop exploiting and polluting the Earth, because
they're killing it. They put us in jail because we wouldn't shut
up, wouldn't stop exposing the wrongness of the government. Since
they felt they couldn't beat us into stop talking and giving
people information, they tried killing our babies ( we lost five),
beating our men, beating women and pregnant women unmercifully,
and unjustly jailing us, like they gave us 30 to 100 year
sentences, and, in their desperation to stop MOVE, they murdered
my 11 brothers and sisters.

"But, through all the brutality, it hasn't stopped us, hasn't made
us weak or made us give up, because what's goin' on, on this
Earth, the wars, the racism, religious and racial prejudice, the
exploitation of the animals, plants, all species of life, has GOT
to stop or there won't be any Earth left that we'd recognize.

"The fight MOVE is fighting isn't just for us, it's for all
people, all species, because anybody can be victimized, be
murdered or thrown in prison. ... The reason the government did
these things to MOVE was because they felt they could get away
with it and nobody would say anything. And, from 1973 to 1985,
nobody did. But people saw how sick, vicious and brutal the
government is on May 13, 1985, when they murdered my family, and
people said 'Hey, wait a minute, what's going on here?' People
woke up and realized that if they can do it to MOVE, they can do
it to them too, and that's what is so frightening. ...

"A lot of people don't understand that MOVE's work ain't fighting
cops and going to prison -- those things came about because of our
uncompromising stand for what's right. MOVE stands for family,
love, happiness, health, and we experience all these in MOVE, it's
what keeps us going in times like these. ...


+----------------------------------------------------------------+

THE COLOR OF JUSTICE ... GREEN!

Above the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington are
inscribed the words, "Equal Justice Under The Law."

This is a very noble principle at the very least, but consider
this: Five, maybe six, of the court's nine justices are
millionaires and the other three aren't that bad off, either.

In late May, the justices filed reports of their holdings, as
required of them and other federal judges under the law. This law
is conveniently loose. They are allowed to estimate their worth
within a broad range, not to the exact penny. They also must
report gifts and other reimbursements, while personal property and
the value of a primary residence are exempt, according to the
Associated Press.

Just the same, the numbers are interesting.

The two richest justices were appointed by President Clinton! They
are Ruth Bader Ginsburg ($5.9 million to $24.1 million for her and
her husband) and Stephen G. Breyer ($4.3 million to $15.9 million
for his family).

The other justices:

Sandra Day O'Connor, $2.3 million to $5.6 million.
David H. Souter, $1.1 million to $5.3 million.
John Paul Stevens, $1.29 million to $2.74 million.
Antonin Scalia, $675,000 to $1.59 million.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, $210,000 to $590,000.
Anthony M. Kennedy, $30,000 to $280,000.
Clarence Thomas, $30,000 to $175,000.

Justice may be equal under the law, but the justices are more
equal than a lot of us, regardless.

+----------------------------------------------------------------+


******************************************************************

14. SIMUEL RAMEY SETS AN EXAMPLE

LRNA gives award to revolutionary who heroically sells the
People's Tribune and Tribuno Del Pueblo

[Simuel Ramey, a member of the Oakland, California Chapter of the
LRNA, was given an award by the Third Convention of the LRNA for
his eight years of work circulating the People's Tribune and
Tribuno del Pueblo.]


By Chris Mahin

In April, Simuel Ramey received an award from the League of
Revolutionaries for a New America for his work in distributing the
revolutionary press.

He earned it.

Simuel has been selling the People's Tribune in Oakland,
California for eight years. For more than five of those years, he
has sold about 350 copies of each issue.

"The People's Tribune is the educational tool I use to wake up the
masses," he said during an interview, just days after receiving
the award at the LRNA's Third Convention.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Simuel described his role in
circulating revolutionary newspapers. His customers come from all
walks of life; they range from a bus driver to two members of the
Oakland City Council. They include people of all different races
and nationalities. (And Simuel also sells the Tribuno del Pueblo,
the bilingual sister publication of the People's Tribune, in the
predominantly Latino Fruitvale section of Oakland.)

Simuel sells the revolutionary press from noon until 6 p.m. every
day, at locations ranging from supermarkets to the city's posh
Jack London Square. Some people pay as much as one dollar for a
single copy.

After the Oakland Chapter elected him a delegate to the LRNA's
Third Convention, Simuel paid his travel expenses from money he
made selling newspapers. He traveled to Chicago on a Greyhound bus
-- and sold the revolutionary press in every city where that bus
stopped along the way.

Simuel has been arrested four times for selling the People's
Tribune and Tribuno del Pueblo in Oakland. His most memorable run-
in with the police took place on November 2, 1997, when he was
arrested on a trumped-up charge of distributing without a license.
The case was taken before Judge David Krashna. When the arresting
officer showed the court one of the People's Tribunes which Simuel
had been selling, Judge Krashna said, "But officer, I buy this
newspaper from this man." The judge dismissed the case when the
prosecution could not cite any legal statute making it illegal for
Simuel to sell his newspapers.

Because he has relentlessly defended his First Amendment right to
circulate newspapers, Simuel has forced the Oakland police to
leave him alone. "Now the cops don't bother me at all," he
explained. "They wave at me."

If you would like to distribute a bundle of the People's Tribune
and the Tribuno del Pueblo like Simuel Ramey does, contact the
National Circulation Committee of the LRNA by calling 773-486-3551
or by sending e-mail to chris@noc.org

******************************************************************

15. SPEAKERS FOR A NEW AMERICA

Our speakers provide a message of hope and unity to create a
society whose wealth benefits all. Our speakers speak from the
point of view of the most destitute and what is needed to solve
their problems. Our speakers speak from the point of view of what
is in the best interest of all of society -- not what is in the
interest of a handful of billionaires. For a free brochure, write
to P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, Illinois 60654; send e-mail to
speakers@noc.org; or call 773-486-3551.


NEW BOOKLET ON TAPE

We are pleased to announce that "Moving Onward: From Racial
Division to Class Unity," a new pamphlet by Brooke Heagerty and
Nelson Peery, is now available on audiotape. The labor for this
project was donated thanks to Donna and Mike Thornton. Send $10,
plus $2 shipping, to the address above.

******************************************************************

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 (773) 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: (773) 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. (773) 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. (773) 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".
******************************************************************