Campaign reports

To: Retort
From: The regrouping and silver linings department


Local and Global Organizing after 9/11

 Autumn Leonard, Tomás Aguilar, Mike Prokosch, and Dara Silverman
 United for a Fair Economy
10/25/01

>"[O]ne part of the deep mourning I feel is for the global justice movements
>as they were before those planes crashed into the Twin Towers: steadily
>growing in scope and influence, increasingly occupying a central place on
>the global stage. We were blown off that stage on September 11, and the
>context for our ongoing activism is now utterly transformed." (LA Kauffman,
>Free Radical #19, September 17, 2001)
>
>"Local grassroots organizing is the radical other to globalization. What is
>restraining globalization is local activism. It is local people organizing
>in defense of place, culture and values against the onslaught of
>globalization and it is where we see the most life-affirming activity.
>Often people from the local communities are the targets. I would not
>mistake mass protests as the only movement that is challenging
>globalization." (Shea Howell, Detroit Summer, Detroit MI)
>
>After September 11, United for a Fair Economy called 49 activists and
>organizers across the country and asked them, "What is the state of
>organizing now?" We talked to a range of people from direct action
>organizers and prison justice activists to labor union members, immigrants,
>youth of color, queer activists and community organizers dealing with
>globalization in their front yards. We see a larger movement emerging that
>can pull all these movements together.
>
>Overall, we heard that:
>* The issues are still there. The partners are still there, so are the
>issues that pushed us into action, so are the changes in consciousness that
>movements have achieved. Most people we talked to plan to keep working on
>the issues they were already focused on, though some have added anti-war
>mobilizing to their plates as well.
>
>* September 11 "hit the pause button" for some key partnerships, tactics,
>and
> campaigns, but also opened the way to building new ones.
>
>* It is a teachable moment. It is a hard time to oppose official policy
>publicly but an excellent time to bring a deeper analysis to mainstream
>society.
>
>* Movements need to reframe their work because the new moment highlights
the
>need to have a race, class, and sexuality analysis. (Gender analysis is
>important as well , but we didn't ask specific enough questions about it.)
>Initiatives based on a broader analysis will help pull together movement
>partners and strengthen the alliances that already exist. (see related
>article, "Reframing the US globalization movement")
>
>We will summarize what people told us; list some strategies that people
>proposed; then finally try to assess where new partnerships are taking off.
>For related articles, please see www.globalroots.org. This new organizers'
>website will look at race (leadership by people and organizations of
color),
>"localizing" (building a movement where people live, work, and organize),
>and strategies that pull together the partners for a broader globalization
>movement.
>
>A. Questions and Answers
>Who we talked to: This article is based on 49 interviews with global and
>local activists across the country. 31% people of color 11% queer and 55%
>women.
>
>1. What moment are we in? How would you and your organization describe it?
>
>"Every person of color is at risk now."
>Rep. Byron Rushing, Massachusetts House of Representatives, Boston, MA
>
>"This is one hell of a teachable moment. Globalization is on everyone's
>minds now." Jerome Scott, Project South, Atlanta, GA
>
>"I am a little frustrated with the mainstreaming and sudden, popular
>interest in public safety, in the sense of vulnerability. That is really a
>middle class phenomenonSto suddenly have a call for safety is a slap in the
>face. I have been terrorized for years. Two days after September 11, a
>fourteen year-old kid got shot and killed on his bike. My partner is coming
>home, is he going to get shot? This stuff doesn¹t stop for us and it makes
>me angry. That is what I think of the political moment."
>Kai Lumumba Barrow, Critical Resistance, New York, NY
>
>"Labor is focusing on the recession. There are already a quarter million
>layoffs."
>Fred Azcarate, Jobs with Justice, Washington, DC
>
>"Clearly Arab-Americans are being victimized and attacked here in Chicago.
>They are afraid. They won't go to an anti-war rally or anything like that.
>It is a time when they must sit back and let others work because they are
so
>scrutinized right now. Anyone can be picked up and held for anything. It
has
>paralyzed our ability to campaign and work on local issues."
>Louise Cainkar, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights,
>Chicago, IL
>
>"Many [of our staff] are poor and working class, they have people in the
>military, there are issues that have to be taken care of."
>Si Kahn, Grassroots Leadership, Charlotte, NC
>
>"In three or four weeks the recession will supplant terrorism as a national
>issue."
>Tim Costello, Campaign on Contingent Work, Boston, MA
>
>"I hear people saying everything is different now, but I see that there is
a
>lot that is not so different."
>Gabriel Sayegh, Prisoner Within, Olympia, WA
>
>2. What issues are you working on now? Whom are you working with? What has
>happened to existing coalitions and what new coalitions are forming?
>
>"The organizing [that our members are doing] is documentation [of] civil
>rights and human rights abuse by police, civilians and immigration [the
>Immigration and Naturalization Service]."
>Eunice Cho, National Network of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Oakland, CA
>
>"The war is not going to divide us at all because we're really still
focused
>on the reason that brought us together. It's not disintegrating, not at
all.
>But it has definitely added to the discussion. People here are more excited
>than ever about working on globalization. It's kind of like after the World
>War [II] when people said if we don't start to equalize power, we're going
>to see more of this happen."
>Kristi Disney, Tennessee Industrial Renewal Network, Knoxville, TN
>
>"Work on state-level issues like the budget hasn't been affected much. But
>work on national issues like Fast Track, Social Security privatization, and
>the mobilization for global justice is pretty derailed. We were trying to
>get people moving in North Carolina for the first time [on global justice
>issues]. Now that didn't go anywhere."
>Cathy Howell, AFL-CIO NC and SC, Wilmington, NC
>
>"September 11th has actually made it pretty clear that our organization [a
>multi-issue queer group] is not involved in the same communities as the
>white queer communities and made it clear who we want to be working with.
It
>has strengthened [our] connections with low-income organizations and other
>social justice groups led by folks of color."
>-Shawn Luby, NC Lambda Youth Network, Durham, NC
>
>3. What openings do you see for organizing in the short-term?
>
>"The opportunity for global economy work is there more than ever but now
>there's a temporary gap between education and action. The opportunity for
>education is greater but for action less."
>Jeff Crosby, North Shore Labor Council, Lynn, MA
>
>"We have been called by law enforcement asking us where we stand,
>threatening our funding, employers stop giving us orders for employment. We
>have also been contacted by funders saying they want to help with the
>educational process. We have been at the epicenter because we are the most
>well-known."
>Ismael Ahmed, Arabic Community Center for Economic and Social Services
>(ACCESS), Dearborn, MI
>
>"Racial targeting is a huge inroad. Among people of color, it makes this
our
>issue." Jerome Scott
>
>
>
>"We can¹t just be protesting any longer. Have to think about how we can
>develop programs, to bring people back to the community."
>Grace Boggs, Boggs Center, Detroit, MI
>
>September 11 was a setback for the global protest and immigrant rights
>movements in the US and it is particularly a time of danger for immigrants,
>prisoners, people of color, organized and unorganized workers.
>
>
>B. What is happening for each wing of the movement?
>
>
>Organized labor. Russ Davis, a labor organizer with Massachusetts Jobs with
>Justice, said a week after September 11, "The labor movement's pulling out,
>students will go off to form a new antiwar movement, and community-based
>groups will go back to local organizing. I don't know if there is a
movement
>now." The AFL-CIO and some member unions were joining forces with other
>wings of the movement and planning to participate in fall IMF-World Bank
>protests. They pulled out, but reaffirmed their commitment to long-term
>collaboration on the global economy. Service unions are preoccupied with
>disaster relief and with supporting their New York members who have lost
>jobs. In the medium term, all unions will have to deal with the recession
as
>it hits their members. There is little space for discussing the war within
>unions.
>
>Youth of Color have linked opposition to the war to the assault on low
>income communities and communities of color in the U.S. Strong coalitions
>led by African-Americans and Latinos have helped frame the issues, chosen
>the tactics and re-focused the nascent anti-war efforts into an urban peace
>movement. There is no way this could have happened without the long-term
>institution building that has developed a base of active leadership, and a
>global and local analysis. Young people, especially young people of color,
>do not necessarily identify with the traditional symbols of the U.S. peace
>movement and are creating new ways to express opposition to the war through
>art, culture, and dialogue.
>
>White Youth. Many white youth have thrown themselves into creating an
>antiwar movement, or an antiwar-antiracist movement. That has taken some of
>the youth base away from anti-corporate and globalization campaigns. Some
>white youth have taken on " double duty," adding antiwar work to their
>global or labor activism. Students are continuing anti-sweatshop campaigns,
>living wage campaigns, and other campus-based economic justice campaigns
>which bring them together with organized labor and, potentially,
>community-based organizations.
>
>Faith Based Organizing. While we did not talk to as many people working in
>religious communities as we would have liked, a few themes emerged. We
heard
>stories of antiwar pastors clashing with their congregations. We heard Rev.
>Dr. A.J. Pointer say, "those people who are openly haters need to be dealt
>with in America." We heard about mosques opening their doors open for
>educational events. The American mainstream has demonized or ignored Islam
>for a long time, making this a unique opportunity to educate people about
>the basics of the religion. People of faith are coming together to give
>solace and support to their communities.
>
>Community-based organizations. "People are still getting kicked out of
their
>houses and people are still getting kicked off welfare," said Galen Tyler
of
>the Kensington Welfare Rights Union. Community groups reacted in different
>ways to 9/11. Some paused, adjusted, and moved on. Depending on which
>issues people were focused on, their work had to adjust in different ways
>(see immigrant organizing). When global organizers start to build
>connections with local organizing, they will see that there are a lot of
>people who have been fighting globalization locally for a very long time.
>But many local organizations led by folks of color are being undermined by
>the fallout from 9/11. Foundations and nonprofits are channeling funds
>toward New York and DC, leaving local groups' budgets in doubts. Even in
New
>York and DC, community organizations are asking whether any of the relief
>money will go their communities.
>
>Immigrants. Immigrant amnesty was on the political agenda because U.S.
>business needed immigrant labor, unions needed to organize them, and
>immigrant voters could swing an election. September 11 "set us back five to
>ten years," said several organizers.
>Racial attacks and new laws restricting immigrant rights hit this sector
>harder than any other. Immigrant day laborers are being cheated of their
>wages, but are afraid to organize for fear of deportation. Some immigrant
>communities have decided to protect themselves by expressing fervently that
>they are Americans. Two well-publicized polls found a majority of
>African-Americans supporting racial profiling of Middle Easterners. These
>polls capitalize on legitimate fears in the Black community and are used to
>divide people of color. Coalitions of young African-Americans and Latinos
>are opposing the targeting of immigrants, but their partnerships with
Middle
>Eastern and South Asian communities is limited.
>
>Border Communities. The Border patrol has gained support since 9/11. They
>have become even more aggressive and organizing is challenging under these
>conditions. In border towns like Laredo and El Paso, many workers from
>Mexico cross daily to work in US-owned companies (at lower wages than US
>workers). Since 9/11, they cannot cross as freely and often not at all.
>Mexican workers have lost jobs and local US businesses are forced to either
>close down or hire US workers at higher wages.
>
>Queer Organizing. Scapegoating, harassment, verbal and physical abuse are
>nothing new for queer organizers, but now many are working much harder to
>make connections with low-income communities and communities of color. Some
>organizers said that in order to defeat anti-gay legislation you need to
>have the support of communities of color.
>
>Prison Activists. Activists described the swift, severe crackdown on
>prisoners, the most socially controlled population in the US. Many
prisoners
>lost visitation rights and their mail was even more carefully searched.
>Inmates in one prison told Angela Davis that they fear all prisoners will
be
>left alone to die slowly in their cells. Prison activists are worried about
>the effect of a stronger police state on people opposing racial profiling,
>unequal sentencing, and other forms of criminal injustice. Some groups are
>examining possible alliances with people in the new antiwar movement, yet
>staying focused on prisons.
>
>Environmentalists. Many environmentalists thought their work would grind to
>a halt. After a short recovery period, their activists are clamoring to
>keep at their corporate targets, like CitiGroup and Staples. Many
>environmentalists' focus is to act bio-regionally, within their local area.
>As one activist said, "trees are still going to get cut down," and Congress
>is trying to use "united we stand" sentiments to push through
>anti-environmental legislation like drilling in the Alaskan National
>Wildlife Refugee.
>
>Mass movements abroad. Two days after President Bush's address to Congress,
>the militaries of Mexico and Central America met and declared a war against
>terrorism, with the #1 target "ethnic groups." The militarization of
Chiapas
>has returned to its highest levels, while indigenous and grassroots
>organizations have been threatened in other countries. But sister movements
>abroad are not pulling back now, and are horrified that the US
globalization
>movement would even consider it. "They have always called us terrorists
>because we fight for land and bread," said Berta Caceres of Honduras. Many
>countries see similarities between the World Trade Center attacks and what
>they encounter regularly.
>
>
>C. Recommendations for movements
>
>"It's good you're in a listening mode and not falling into the white male
>culture of having an answer."
>Shea Howell
>
>*Listen. Right now it is more important than ever to listen to the people.
>For example, the 911 Solidarity Committee Against War and Racism in the Bay
>Area has been listening to how people in their member groups are reacting
>politically and spiritually, and working from there. It¹s a time not to
>preach, but to learn together.
>
>*Don't overreact. Many campaigns were putting effective pressure on the
>driving institutions of the global economy before September 11. Organizers
>do not need to invent a whole new set of campaigns, because they already
>exist.
>
>* Refocus the work. The focus on "globalization" as an abstract theme has
>been blown off the stage. People and communities need to find new ways to
>put everyday economic issues at the center of public consciousness.
>Activists need to take the spotlight off of tactics and move on to
long-term
>strategy that will build a popular movement for justice.
>
>* Pay attention. The events of September 11 sent many activists into a
>tailspin. White protesters were among the most disoriented; one youth
>organizer described the "hollowness" of their experience and their "need
for
>leadership." At the same time, many activists of color rapidly integrated
>September 11 into their analysis, summed up a strategy, and took action.
>Maybe it is time for the movement to recognize their leadership.
>
>It doesn't come naturally. The work of middle-class white folks often gets
>more media attention which allows them to jump in, take charge, and not
look
>around to ask, "is anyone here more qualified than me?" That behavior
>pattern is defining the new peace movement in many places, and it will keep
>that movement from broadening.
>
>White activists have enormous contributions to make to movements: passion,
>brains, resources... but please, don't just take charge and assume you have
>a corner on the market. Form alliances with community-based groups. Listen,
>learn, and support. Build relationships, build trust, and become
>accountable. Help build a movement where those most affected by
>globalization are framing analysis and solutions.
>
>
>D. What strategies can the movement best pursue?
>
>It should pick strategies that build partnerships -- which pull together
the
>forces that belong in the movement. Often they will already be working on a
>given issue. If not, it's in their interest to work on it. Here are some
>examples.
>
>* Now is an extraordinary time for global, community, and labor activists
to
>build cross-race alliances and to work for immigrant rights. More
>established communities of color need to support their brothers and sisters
>facing prejudice, violence, and loss of economic security.
>
>* Privatization is a particular way to deal with the recession and build
>coalitions. Community, labor, and youths' interests overlap when services
>and jobs are threatened. The recession will cut tax revenues; cities,
>counties, and states will try to privatize or cut services to economize.
>Opposing budget cuts and privatization here connects to the mass movements
>that are opposing IMF-World Bank structural adjustment policies, the Free
>Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the General Agreement on Trade in
>Services (GATS).
>
>* Last year, the AFL-CIO took a big step and started supporting amnesty for
>all immigrants. That position becomes harder in recession and war, but this
>is when the alliance becomes really crucial for both partners.
>
>* The recession will be the context for everybody's work. Labor unions and
>community groups are already getting hit with layoffs and the threat of
>service cuts. Both need allies, but the recession cuts into unions'
>bargaining power against management. Allies can help unions organize new
>members and increase their bargaining power particularly in a sharp
>recession. Labor unions can help community groups push for better funding
in
>these hard economic times. To defend their members' interests as workers
and
>as community members, labor unions need to act as a social movement.
>
>* "Localizing" global issues and "globalizing" local issues is still a
>key strategy for bringing partners together. Indigenous and environmental
>justice activists have pioneered this strategy and also have built
alliances
>across borders.
>
>* Sister movements abroad aren't stopping. Now is a good time the US
>movement to recognize their leadership and start making concrete alliances
>that actually support each others' battles, the way unions in different
>countries sometimes join forces against a common employer. Some official
>spokespeople have started labeling "anti-globalization" organizations as
>"terrorists." This is a crucial moment for US activists not to isolate
>themselves, but to reach across borders and establish mutual support.
>
>
>
>There are also some elements that belong in any strategy:
>
>* Build an alternative economic vision that will feed six billion people
and
>do it fairly. The discussion has to happen across race, class, gender, and
>borders.
>* Education can help people place themselves and corporations within the
>current economic system. This builds understanding and moves people to
>action.
>* Analysis can identify the common interests of people that are the basis
>for long lasting partnerships. White activists can learn from the analysis
>of organizers of color who have been fighting oppression for a long time.
>* Discussion about what our movements are for can create a common vision --
>provided that people of color and of different faiths are at the table from
>the beginning, framing the discussion, putting out their perspectives,
>leading the project.
>
>
>
>Who we talked to:
>
>
>Ismael Ahmed, Arabic Community Center
>for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS),
>2651 Saulino Court Dearborn, MI 48126
>(313) 842-8380 access0
>
>Jennifer Allen, SW Alliance to Resist Militarization (SWARM)
>PO Box 384 Tucson AZ 85702
>520-320-9436 jennifer0
>
>Francisco OPancho¹ Arguelles, National Organizers Alliance
>2002 San Sebastian Ct #1311 Houston, TX 77058
>281-615-9759 pazypuente0
>
>Betty Ahrens, Iowa Citizen Action Network
>506 Kimball Road
>Iowa City IA 52245
>319-354-8116 bettyahrens0
>
>Tim Atwater, Jubilee USA
>222 East Capitol Street
>Washington, DC 20003-1036
>202-783-3566 timatwater0
>
>Fred Azcarate, National Jobs with Justice
>501 3rd St Washington, DC 20001
>202-434-1421 fazcarate0
>
>Kai Lumumba Barrow, Critical Resistance,
>460 W. 128th St, New York, NY
>917-493-9795 kailumumbabarrow0
>
>Juliette Beck, Global Exchange,
>2017 Mission Street, room 303 San Francisco, CA 94110
>415-558-9486 x254 juliette0
>
>Grace Boggs, James & Grace Lee Boggs Center
>3061 Field Street, Detroit MI 48214
>313-832-1371 glbg0
>
>Carolyn Bninski, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center,
>3210 Darley Avenue Boulder, CO 80305
>303-554-1445 rmpjc0
>
>Kim Burden,
>Cincinnati, OH
>burdenk0
>
>Louise Cainker, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
>36 S. Wabash Suite 1425 Chicago, IL 60603
>312-332-7360 louise0
>
>Lois Canright, Puget United for a Fair Economy
>1712 32nd Ave. S Seattle, WA
>206-322-1517 loisufe0
>
>Candace Carpenter, Texas Observer
>307 W. 7th St Austin, TX 78701
>Carpenter0
>
>Josefina Castillo, AFSC
>1304 East Sixth Street, #3 Austin TX 78702-3355
>B. jcastillo0
>
>Eunice Cho, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
>310 8th St Suite 303 Oakland, CA 94607
>510-465-1984 echo0
>
>Laura Close, STARC Alliance
>831 N. Watts Portland OR, 97217
>503-247-5995, radkid20
>
>Jeff Crosby, IUE/CWA Local 201 and North Shore Labor Council
>100 Bennett St Lynn, MA 01905
>781-598-2760, kroz120
>
>Tim Costello, Campaign on Contingent Work
>33 Harrison St. 4th floor, Boston, MA 02111
>617-338-9966, ccw0
>
>Russ Davis, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice,
>3353 Washington St Boston, MA 02130
>617-524-8778, bostonjwj0
>
>Kristi Disney, Tennessee Industrial Renewal Network (TIRN)
>1515 E. Magnolia, Suite 403 Knoxville, TN 37917
>865-637-1576 trade0
>
>Joleen Garcia, Xicana/Xicano Education Project
>131 Adams #2 San Antonio, TX
>210-226-263 joleen0
>
>Cathy Howell, AFL-CIO ­ North Carolina and South Carolina
>Wilmington, NC
>919-833-7624, cathync0
>
>Shea Howell, Detroit Summer
>4605 Cass Ave Detroit, MI 48201
>313-832-2904 detroitsummer0
>
>Minsun Ji, Colorado American Friends Service Committee
>901 West 14th Avenue, #7 Denver, CO 80214
>303-623-3464 mji0
>
>Si Kahn, Grassroots Leadership
>1515 Elizabeth Avenue, PO Box 36006 Charlotte, NC 28236
>704-376-9206 skahn000000
>
>Susan Knight, Coalition for a Humane Economy
>1506 Elm St. Cincinnati, OH 45210
>513-421-7803 susieknight0
>
>Shawn Luby, North Carolina Lambda Network,
>115 Market Street Durham, NC 27705
>919-683-3037 SNCLambda0
>
>Doralina Luna, Coalición De Derechos Humanos
>PO Box 1286 Tuscon, AZ 85702
>520-770-1373 Azbrp0
>
>Rebekah Lusk, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights,
>36 S. Wabash Suite 1425 Chicago, IL 60603
>312-332-7360 rlusk0
>
>Will MacAdams, City Kids
>560 Ella T. Grasso Blvd New Haven, CT 06510
>i) willblaze3330
>
>Alma Lilia Nava Maquitico, Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project,
>715 Myrtle El Paso TX 79901
>915-544-9483maquitico0
>
>Jeff Milchen, Reclaim Democracy
>PO Box 532 Boulder, CO 80306
>303-402-105 jeff0
>
>Ethan Miller, Maine Global Action Network
>217 South Mountain Rd Greene, ME 04236
>207-946-4478 emiller40
>
>Wendi O¹Neal, Highlander Center
>1959 Highlander Way New Market, TN 37820
>865-933-3443 wao0
>
>Rev. Dr. A.J. Pointer, Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle
>930 E. Myrtle Ave Flint, MI 48505
>810-787-9731
>
>JP Pluecker, Ada Edwards Campaign
>PO Box 667307 Houston, TX 77266
>713-528-8037
>
>Patrick Reinsborough, Rainforest Action Network
>221 Pine St. Suite 500 San Francisco, CA 94104
>415-398-4404 x315 organize0
>
>Molly Rooke, Campaign ExxonMobil
>6139 Stichter Ave Dallas, TX 75230
>214-369-6667 Molly0
>
>Rev. Charles Roots, Cannon Baptist Church
>910 E. Galespie St Flint, MI 48505
>810-785-1781
>
>Gabriel Sayegh, Prisoner Within
>Olympia, WA
>Prisonerwithin0
>
>Jeremy Simer, global justice activist
>PO Box 12421 Seattle, WA 98101
>206-329-0790 jeremy0
>
>David Solnit, Freedom Rising Affinity Group
>POB 18773 Oakland, CA 94619
>info0
>
>Rev. Susan Starr, Applied Research Center
>37 81 Broadway Oakland, CA 94611
>510-653-3415 x 319 sstarr0
>
>Jerome Scott, Project South
>9 Gammon Ave. SW Atlanta GA 30315
>404-622-602 projectsouth0
>
>Alex Tapia, Campaign ExxonMobil
>611 Congress, Suite 200 Austin, TX 78704
>512-479-7744 alex0
>
>Felicia Trevor, Stepstone Center
>1119 Woody Creek Rd- POB 336
>Woody Creek CO 81656
>970-963-3483 flash0
>
>Galen Tyler, Kensington Welfare Rights Union,
>POB 50678 Philadelphia, PA 19132
>215-203-1945 kwru0
>
>Mary Zerkel, Praxis Project, American Friends Service Committee
>637 S. Dearborn, 3d floor Chicago, IL 60605
>312-427-2533 x 15 praxisafsc0
>