Howard Zinn (1922 – 2010)
It is with a heavy heart that I write these words. Howard Zinn, the great radical historian died from a heart attack at the age of 87. Zinn, a WWII fighter pilot, radically influenced millions of lives with his groundbreaking investigation into American history with his book A People’s History of the United States.
Zinn wrote over 20 books in his lifetime and was inspiration for a whole series of other books that follow the same model of looking at history with books entitled A People’s History of the American Revolution, A People’s History of the Civil War, A People’s History of the Vietnam War, as well as a recent volume by Zinn and Anthony Arnove entitled, Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
I first read Zinn in 1983 and felt like I was learning US history for the first time. I remember feeling both amazement and anger. I was angry because I felt like I had been lied to all throughout my education about what had actually happened in this country’s history and I felt amazed by all the stories of people, organizations and movements that have achieved amazing things.
GRIID has been using A People’s History of the United States as a primary text for a class called “A History of US Social Movements.” In this exploration we look at a rich history of social movements that have been the only real force for radical change in this country’s history. As Zinn would say, social change has always happened from social movements and never from elections.
It is important for all of us to critically come to terms with this country’s history in order to honestly deal with the present policies. Howard Zinn taught us that the US government has not been a positive force for change in the world, but American social movements have been.
In honor of what Howard Zinn has given to those who seek justice, we leave you with one of the many powerful lectures he gave. This lecture focuses on the banality of the so-called US War on Terror.
The Michigan State University Undergraduate Alliance (UGA) is staging its “State of the People” rally and march to the state capitol on Wednesday Feb. 3. The rally will begin at 4 p.m. at the MSU Administration Building, 150 Hannah in East Lansing, and with the march slated to arrive at the capitol, where they will join other groups taking action during Governor Granholm’s State of the State address.
“At MSU, tuition is rising rapidly–10% in two years,” reports Sam Inglot, an MSU student from Grand Rapids. “Programs are being eliminated. Graduate and non-tenure positions are being lost. Fewer sections are planned, meaning larger class sizes. Increased reliance on iClickers will essentially replace TA instruction. You will be paying more for less. The administration is squeezing the funds of every student while decimating or destroying the programs that many of us came here for.”
UGA believes that only a united effort involving both students and faculty can effect a change in these devastating tactics. As MSU is a public institution, the public at large should also raise its voice for quality education and reasonable tuition costs.
“At the State level, politicians are quickly dismantling education,” Inglot relates. “Funding for K-12 is being slashed. The Promise Scholarship, a vital financing source for undergrads, is being stripped. Politicians on the Left and Right are denying education its place and voice.”
UGA has issued the following call to action:
- Let’s ensure that Governor Granholm and those responsible for helping produce the dire state of education in Michigan hear our cries that education matters and cannot be a line-item budget cut.
- Let’s ensure that education assumes its proper place in the State of Michigan.
- Let’s demand that politicians keep their “Promise.”
Media Bites – BP
This week’s Media Bites takes a look at a recent commercial from oil giant BP. The spot is an animated piece that appears to be targeting children by having them drive a car and stop at a gas station just like adults. Viewers are also directed to a web link at the end of the spot where kids can play online games. This commercial is part of BP’s decade long attempt to re-brand themselves as an eco-friendly company which began with their name change from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum.
Some US Representatives Call for Relief for Palestinians
Last week, 54 members of Congress sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to pressure Israel to allow relief supplies to get to the thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.
The letter, which was initiated by Rep. Jim McDermott and Rep. Keith Ellison, say in part:
“The people of Gaza have suffered enormously since the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt following Hamas’ coup, and particularly following Operation Cast Lead. We also sympathize deeply with the people of southern Israel who have suffered abhorrent rocket and mortar attacks. We recognize that the Israeli government has imposed restrictions on Gaza out of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other terrorist groups. This concern must be addressed without the resulting de facto collective punishment of the Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip. Truly, fulfilling the needs of civilians in Israel and Gaza are mutually reinforcing goals.”
Only two Michigan Congressmen, Representatives Conyers and Dingle signed the letter to President Obama.
The Washington-based End the Occupation Campaign is calling on people to contact Representatives to either thank them for signing on to the letter or to confront them for not signing on. For those like West Michigan Representatives Ehlers and Hoekstra, the End the Occupation Campaign has an online message prepared for you to send to them.
However, it is worth noting the language of the letter, which states that Hamas came to power through a coup, when in fact they were democratically elected. Second, the Congressional letter implies that Israel has imposed the brutal blockade on Gaza because of “of a legitimate and keenly felt fear of continued terrorist action by Hamas and other terrorist groups.” In fact, Israel has claimed all along that there attack on Gaza was because Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement, when in fact the opposite is true.
Author and activist Stephen Shalom responds to Israel’s claim that Hamas violated the ceasefire agreement by saying, “No, Israel broke it, on November 4, 2008. Israel and the United States claimed that Hamas refused to renew the ceasefire when it expired in mid-December. No, Hamas was prepared to extend the ceasefire if the murderous blockade of Gaza were lifted, as was supposed to happen during the ceasefire and as ought to have happened on moral grounds in any event.”
Despite some of the misplaced language of the letter sent to President Obama, it is a far cry from the near unanimous vote from Congress last year to support Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Book Review: Revolt on Goose Island
(This review was submitted by Micah Williams)
Just over a year ago, as the financial crisis wrought havoc and destroyed lives around the world, something strange happened. While blows kept coming to workers already pummeled to exhaustion, a small group of Chicago workers popped up in the news. It was a story about a factory going out of business—old hat in the postindustrial American economy. But this factory was not closing. It was, in fact, still open: in the kind of militant move rarely seen since the 1930’s, its laid-off workers were occupying it.
In Revolt on Goose Island: The Chicago Factory Takeover, and What It Says About the Economic Crisis (Mellville House, 2009), Kari Lydersen recounts the stirring story of Chicago workers at the Republic Windows and Doors factory, members of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) Local 1110, and their December, 2008, plant occupation. Her book brings the exhilarating energy of the workers’ struggle alive while offering poignant lessons to unions, community organizers, and other fighters for social justice in the context of the global economic meltdown.
The back-story to the drama that unfolded across newspaper and television headlines is a fascinating one. Portrayed as a parable of pissed-off workers pushed past the breaking point when employer abuse went a step too far, Local 1110 members’ nine-day factory occupation was seen as a spontaneous fit of rage. But Lydersen shows that behind the sit-down was tireless organizing by workers and their union. In 2004, disgusted with their uninvolved and organized crime-affiliated former union, the Central States Joint Board, workers voted UE as their new representative body. With a union listening to their demands for the first time, Republic employees became emboldened, constantly going to battle with managers—even marching to their homes—over grievances.
This history of militant organizing was behind the decision to occupy the plant when the company began removing machinery in the dead of night to sell off before the factory’s shuttering. Hatched a month before the actual occupation (at a time when workers were still unsure whether their jobs would be lost), the plan was discussed by workers at length. On Tuesday, December 2, workers’ suspicions were confirmed: the plant would close—in a mere three days. A shutdown was expected, but such short notice was not. Their incomes and health insurance suddenly gone, workers had little to lose: they would sit in at the factory.
The decision made to occupy the plant, workers and union staffers enlisted key supporters; these groups sprang into action once the plant was actually occupied. Lydersen’s account of local politicians and community organizations strategizing with them offers insight into the future of such struggles: if workers are to engage in high-profile fights with bosses and win, they must be backed by a wide variety of supporters. The ad-hoc coalition focused their efforts on Bank of America, the recipient of $45 billion in bailout money who closed Republic’s line of credit; workers demanded the credit line be reopened and their back pay and wages and benefits for the next two months be paid, in accordance with federal labor law. After nine days of occupying the plant, rallies and protests outside the Republic factory and Bank of America’s Chicago headquarters, tense negotiation sessions with the bank and factory owners, and a nation-wide outcry in support of the fired workers—all attended and reported on by Lydersen—UE members emerged victorious.
The book’s exploration of the union itself is fascinating. She quotes UE eastern region president Andrew Dinkalaker, saying, “Workers are at the breaking point where they are willing to take more drastic action. The question becomes, if they take drastic action, are they with an organization that will support them internally?” His framing reveals much about UE as an organization. Unlike most American unions, UE is led by its members, not staffers; in the case of the plant occupation, workers made decisions about their course of action, and staff played a supportive role. According to Dinkalaker,
“Most unions are top down—you have union bosses who can nix it if workers want to strike. The UE is set up democratically, so if its membership is interested and willing to take on a fight, the whole organization backs them and consults about the best way to achieve victory. It’s not seen as the workers needing approval from the national organization.”
The descriptions of rank-and-file democracy and transparency in UE, coupled with its willingness to fight and its organizers’ unflinching dedication to struggle, are refreshing to read when so many unions remain top-heavy and unresponsive to members.
As a witness to the Republic takeover, reading Lydersen’s vivid descriptions of the scenes at the factory and protests made me recall my visit to the plant. I arrived on a Monday, almost a week before the fight was won, in the midst of a typically miserable Chicago slush-rain to see a brigade of workers and supporters tossing donated food from a truck from one person to the next. Despite the weather, the animated atmosphere among the crowd gathered near the factory’s entrance was palpable: there was a clear sense that we were witnessing history directly before us. I tried to enter the factory to see exactly what was transpiring there (I think I envisioned some sort of liberated workers’ utopia—what exactly that would look like in a windows and doors factory, I’m not sure), but was turned away by a worker who appeared tired of turning young, giddy activists like me away. Still, morale was extremely high among workers and onlookers. As I conversed with supporters (some of whom had, upon hearing about the occupation, dropped what they were doing and driven to Chicago from neighboring states like Missouri), around a fire in a trash drum, we all agreed: we hadn’t seen anything like this in our lifetimes.
Revolt on Goose Island inspires such feelings. The book is a testament to what is possible when workers and community members organize and fight. It shows that in the midst of bleak economic times when we aren’t accustomed to hearing about organizing victories, workers can still fight and win.
(In November of last year, GRIID posted a story on a talk by Republic and Windows & Doors Workers in Grand Rapids.)
Tomorrow Night’s State of the Union and What Won’t Be Said
Tomorrow President Barack Obama will address the nation in his first State of the Union address. He will address the nation on the heels of a new poll showing that only 26% of those polled strongly approve of what President Obama has done so far in the White House.
Some news reports say that the President will focus on the nation’s budget deficit. According to Monday’s New York Times, “President Obama will call for a three-year freeze in spending on many domestic programs, and for increases no greater than inflation after that, an initiative intended to signal his seriousness about cutting the budget deficit, administration officials said Monday.”
Locally, the Grand Rapids Press today has a story with area reactions to the President’s plan to talk about “middle class tax relief” in tomorrow’s State of the Union address. The Press also published today a short piece from the Associated Press that, like the NY Times, focuses on what the President will say about the budget deficit.
WOOD TV 8 posted the same AP story on their website today and WOOD Radio is featuring on their main page a story similar to the GR Press, one that focuses on the President’s proposed tax cuts for the middle class.
The international media has a different take on what President Obama will address tomorrow in his State of the Union address. The Guardian reported that the President might scale back some of his plans considering low approval ratings and last week’s Massachusetts election defeat. “Although the White House denied Obama was scaling back his plans, the tone will be more populist and tightly focused on jobs and the economy.”
The Guardian also reported that the President might downplay the importance of climate legislation or omit that issue completely from his address tomorrow night.
With all the stated focus on budget deficits and tax relief for the middle class, one independent journalist is pointing out why there is no discussion of the bloated US military budget. Glenn Greenwald points out that while the President is calling for spending freezes in regards to domestic programs, but not in the area of military spending.
Greenwald says, “all security-related programs are exempted from the freeze, which means it does not apply to military spending, the intelligence budget, the Surveillance State, or foreign military aid. As always, the notion of decreasing the deficit and national debt through reductions in military spending is one of the most absolute Washington taboos.”
According to the group Global Security, the US spends about the same on the military as the rest of the world’s countries do combined. This is an incredible fact, but the question is why this is not an issue for most US reporters considering the nation is faced with major economic and budgetary issues? It is certainly a question to think about while watching or listening to the President tomorrow night. We should all pay attention to see if military spending comes up and if the news coverage of the speech raises that issue.
The Human Impact of the Palestine Conflict
This Thursday (January 28), three time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Archbishop Elias Chacour will speak in Grand Rapids about the human impact of the Palestine conflict.
Chacour is the founder of the Mar Elias Education Institutions and author of the acclaimed book Blood Brothers. He has traveled and spoke on the consequences of violence in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and is a strong advocate for non-violence.
Chacour will speak at the Cultural Center of St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church located at 2250 East Paris SE in Grand Rapids. The presentation begins at 7:30 pm and is sponsored by Healing Children of Conflict.
Healing Children of Conflict is a Grand Rapids-based group that is sponsoring Palestinian and Iraqi children that have been seriously wounded by the US military or US weapons. The children will be brought to Grand Rapids in order to receive medical treatment.
Thursday’s event is free and open to the public.
Documentary on Argentina at the Bloom Collective 1/28
This Thursday, the Bloom Collective will host a screening of the documentary film Argentina: Hope in Hard Times. “What would you do if you lost your job, they closed the banks so you couldn’t access your savings, and the government seemed unable to help? In Argentina they stormed supermarkets for food; the police gunned down 30 people in just one day. But what happened next was truly extraordinary.”
ARGENTINA – HOPE IN HARD TIMES joins in the processions and protests, attends street-corner neighborhood assemblies, visits workers’ cooperatives and urban gardens, taking a close-up look at the ways in which Argentines are picking up the pieces of their devastated economy and creating new possibilities for the future. A spare narrative, informal interview settings, and candid street scenes allow the pervasive strength, humor, and resilience of the Argentine people to tell these tales. These are their inspiring stories – of a failed economy and distrusted politicians, of heartache and hard times, of a resurgence of grassroots democracy and the spirit of community – told in resonant detail.
Thursday, January 28 7pm
Bloom Collective 1134 Wealthy (back space)
Suggested donation of $3 Discussion will follow
The local news media continues to report on local humanitarian responses to the crisis in Haiti and that certainly says something about people’s capacity to do good. Anytime people raise money for emergency relief efforts it has the possibility of relieving someone’s suffering.
However, along with humanitarian relief comes the responsibility to understand the historical and political context of the current crisis in Haiti, particularly when it comes to US policy.
Today the Grand Rapids Press has an interesting editorial entitled “From here to Haiti.” The editorial points out the positive response from West Michigan to the crisis in Haiti, most notably the Haitian orphans who were brought to town with the help of Amway corporate jets. Bethany Christian Services is the agency heading up this adoption project.
Then the Press article highlights some local longstanding West Michigan/Haiti partnerships that were initiated by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, an Aquinas College education project and a recent (2008) Cornerstone University anti-poverty project.
The editorial concludes with more praises for West Michigan’s commitment to philanthropy and this final paragraph:
“It’s been uplifting to see this country lead the world in the rush to ease Haiti’s suffering during an unfathomable tragedy. But for Haiti to have a better tomorrow, the world will need to be there next month, next year, and next decade. Because of our ties and commitment, West Michigan must resolve to help ourselves, as well as our nation and our world, remember and remain.”
While I agree in general with this statement it ignores two things. First, it ignores some of the West Michigan connections that have not been a positive influence on Haiti. In the 1990s the children’s clothing manufacturer H.H. Cutler closed down their manufacturing operation in West Michigan and moved much of it to Haiti, since labor costs were a fraction of what they are here.
The labor conditions in Haiti have been well documented by groups like the National Labor Committee, which has classified the labor conditions there as sweatshops conditions. Another local connection is with the Haiti Baptist Mission based in Rockford, Michigan. In her book, The Rainy Season: Haiti Since Duvalier, author Amy Wilentz talks about the corrupt practices of the religious leaders from the Haiti Baptist Mission working in Haiti.
These are just a few examples, so while I salute the current humanitarian efforts from West Michigan in support of Haitians that the Grand Rapids Press acknowledges it does a disservice to its readers to not include local organizations that have contributed to Haiti’s ongoing poverty.
Independent News Coverage of Haiti
The second thing that the Press editorial ignores is the role that current US media coverage of the crisis in Haiti plays in terms of the public understanding of this crisis.
Much of the coverage, as we already have noted, has little historical context of the US relationship to Haiti or the motives behind this country’s policy in the small Caribbean country. In the US, some of the best coverage of what is going on in Haiti has come from Democracy Now!, which has sent a news team to that country for daily reports.
Independent reporter Jeremy Scahill has also been writing about Haiti, particularly what role private security forces are playing in “relief” work. Scahill reported on this phenomenon after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and is now uncovering similar patterns in Haiti.
A recent article by author Nikolas Kozloff points out that the news coverage coming from Latin America and the Middle East is much different that that of the US in their coverage of Haiti. Kozloff says, “Watch the U.S. media and its coverage of the crisis in Haiti, and you get the impression that Washington is a benevolent power doing its utmost to help with emergency relief in the Caribbean island nation. But tune into al-Jazeera English or South American news network Telesur and you come away with a very different view.”
Kozloff has a link to this excellent story by al-Jazeera. When watching this story think about how it compares to US-based news reporting.
Supreme Court ruling is a blow to democracy
Yesterday the US Supreme Court ruled to overturn a ban on direct corporate spending on elections. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, “In a 5-4 decision, the court’s conservative bloc said corporations have the same 1st Amendment rights as individuals and, for that reason, the government may not stop corporations from spending freely to influence the outcome of federal elections.”
The federal ban had been in effect since 1907 and prevented corporations and unions from spending their own treasury funds on broadcast ads or billboards that urge the election or defeat of a federal candidate.
Corporate and special interests groups already have tremendous influence during elections and this Supreme Court decision will only exacerbate the problem. Fortunately, some public interest groups are responding with campaigns to confront the court’s decision.
The Center for Media & Democracy (CDM) responded to the Supreme Court decision by saying they “strongly oppose this radical decision by a bare majority of the Supreme Court to rewrite the First Amendment and give corporations even greater influence in elections and public policy. With this decision, huge corporations like Goldman Sachs and AIG will be able to use their enormous wealth to run campaigns against the president or any person who might oppose their agenda.”
CDM has created an online petition encouraging people to express the voice their opposition to this decision. The Center for Media & Democracy will also have a new “portal” they are launching in SourceWatch to help educate the general public about these issues and provide a gateway for getting more involved.
In addition, Public Citizen has also begun a petition campaign in response to the Supreme Court decision. However, Public Citizen thinks that what will ultimately have to happen would be to “pass a constitutional amendment to ensure corporate money does not overwhelm our democracy and clarify that the First Amendment is for people — not corporations.”
Public Citizen also posted a short video message from their President Robert Weissman, explaining their strategy.
