[sixties-l] National Conference on Organized Resistance

From: radman (resist@best.com)
Date: 01/02/01

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    ATTENTION ACTIVISTS!!
    
    The National Conference on Organized Resistance (formerly the National 
    Conference on Civil Disobedience) is in its fourth successful year. In 
    years past, the NCCD has played a significant role in coordinating a 
    dialogue between activist groups, and sparking in-depth discussion of the 
    strategy and tactics of our various social justice movements. This year, 
    NCOR again envisions being a useful forum for cutting edge discussion for 
    people at all different levels of involvement. Last year, over 600 people 
    converged in Washington, DC for a weekend of experience, discussion, 
    planning, and protest. Don't miss this year- we have a fantastic weekend 
    scheduled!
    
    NCOR will be held the weekend of January 27-28, 2001, and involves over 30 
    workshops on topics such as counterintelligence, activist gatekeeping, the 
    prison industrial complex, food politics, nonviolence, and anarchism.
    
    Speakers include Ward Churchill, Cindy Milstein, Rod Coronado, Julie 
    Davids, Mark Goldstone, and many, many others!  (See workshop listings below.)
    
    The one cost registration fee for all workshops all weekend is $10.
    
    To check out the schedule, register, find out about rides and housing, and 
    anything else you want to know, visit:
    
    <http://www.organizedresistance.org>
    
    Yours in resistance,
    the NCOR Coordinating Committee
    <info@organizedresistance.org>
    ==========================
    Focus: Workshops & Speakers
    
    STRATEGY WORKSHOPS
    
    "Balancing Fears and Realities - Paranoia and Precaution for our movement 
    today." Ward Churchill, co-author of the Cointelpro papers, present the 
    history of government surveillance, infiltration, and provocation. The 
    second workshop in this two part presentation will consist of a panel of 
    activists who are dealing with today's version of government infiltration.
    
      Activst Gatekeeping and Activist Colonialism
    Nisha Anand, Asif Ullah, and Mac Scott - These three New York based 
    activists will facilitate a discussion on how organizations and activist 
    groups construct gates and how racism, classism, and sexism can help 
    maintain gates and disenfranchise groups of people. Small groups will 
    discuss and identify their own gates and imperialist assumptions.
    
    Toward an Inclusive Movement: Racism and the New Left Sandra Barros, Peter 
    Chung, Meg Starr, Esperanza Martell, and Ashanti Austin - Given that white 
    supremacy has been embedded in capitalism since its very beginnings, it is 
    no surprise that racism continues to be an impediment to the very movements 
    that are committed to struggling for change.  The panel will discuss new 
    ways of talking about coalition building and racism, confronting white skin 
    privilege and breaking through old, divisive assumptions and 
    behaviors.  This is a participatory workshop.
    
      Art of Nonviolence
    The visual aspects of a campaign and demonstration are a critical factor in 
    getting the message out. Discuss guerilla street theater, puppets, media 
    images, costumes, and much more.
    
    What are the Tactics For:
    Exploring the Targets and Demands of our Movements Julie Davids will host a 
    panel to explore the importance or irrelevance of formal demands and the 
    picking of targets as elements of our campaigns and movements. 
    Globalization, environmental destruction, AIDS drugs prices, criminal 
    Injustice, global sweatshops, and other movements will be examined.
    
      Ask the Lawyers
    Mark Goldstone will host a panel of lawyers to answer questions from 
    activists. Hear from the lawyers who defended activists in Seattle, 
    Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Find out what did and 
    didn't work in the streets and especially in the courts. Lawyers will 
    address how we can combat the new, repressive, paramilitary tactics in 
    response to mass mobilizations. There will be plenty of time for questions 
    and answers.
    
    Nonviolence as a Philosophy vs. Nonviolence as a Tactic Chris Ney - 
    Believing that social change requires participation from a wide range of 
    people, Chris will show how nonviolence can offer common ground without 
    compromising core values. Large group presentation and small group 
    discussion will help participants clarify for themselves where they stand 
    on the issues and better understand and respect those who hold different 
    viewpoints.
    
      The Importance of Direct Action
    Craig Rosebraugh - The history of direct action as it applies to social and 
    political movements is often neglected and even sacrificed for teachings 
    primarily focused on state sanctioned forms of protest. Yet the history of 
    direct action, both in the U.S. and abroad, is rich, plentiful and has 
    demonstrated the importance of this strategy in the advancement of many 
    struggles. This workshop will discuss the importance of direct action both 
    in a historical context and in current day society.
    
      Organizing Resistance
    Rod Coronado - Nonviolent civil disobedience or violent uncivil 
    disobedience? What is morally, ethically and ecologically justifiable when 
    resisting the wholesale wanton destruction of biological diversity and 
    traditional indigenous peoples? living in harmony with nature. A discussion 
    on when aggressive self-defense of people, land, wildlife and culture is 
    warranted and an exploration of historic and contemporary examples of when 
    it happens.
    
    Nonviolence Training: Why is it Important? What should it include? How 
    Should it Change?
    Kate Donnelly, Nancy Jodaitas, Meg Starr, and Ashanti Austin - The long 
    history of nonviolence training is one of evolution. From month long 
    trainings in India to weekend trainings during the Civil Rights movement 
    and now to a few hours of training before an action, the content of the 
    tradition has been changing. Reflecting the needs of the participants and 
    the needs of various movements, the emphasis on philosophy and strategy is 
    different for every facilitator.
    
      Pacifism as Pathology: A Tactic Discussion
    Ward Churchill - The article, "Pacifism as Pathology," has stirred up 
    debate in many activists circles. Hear the argument from the author as he 
    facilitates discussion on this new text.
    
    Mass Action Planning vs. Community Organizing
    TBA
    
      CASE STUDIES
    Animal Rights in Practice: Where Have We Gone Wrong?  Miyun Park and Paul 
    Shapiro - Despite tireless efforts for more than two decades by American 
    animal rights activists, more animals are exploited and killed in our 
    country than ever before. Even worse, the methods used to exploit these 
    animals have become increasingly more torturous. In this workshop, a 
    discussion will be held regarding possible reasons the movement has yet to 
    achieve success, and what we can do about it. Miyun Park and Paul Shapiro 
    are co-directors of Compassion Over Killing, Washington, D.C.'s only 
    grassroots animal rights organization.
    
      The Struggle for Democracy in DC
    Martin Thomas -Residents of Washington, D.C. have no voting Representatives 
    or Senators in Congress and lack control over our local budget and laws; 
    thus making DC a colony right in the heart of what claims to be the capital 
    of the free world. Many call the struggle for democracy in DC to be the 
    unfinished business of the civil rights movement to bring rights to the 
    over 500,000 majority African-American citizens of D.C. This workshop will 
    be a case study on how direct challenge of unjust laws has furthered the DC 
    democracy movement. The workshop will focus on converting popular support 
    into direct action, building and maintaining diverse coalitions in a city 
    with much racial tension and where race underlies many political issues, 
    direct action at the U.S. Capitol and the art of the political trial.
    
    The Criminal Injustice System and the Growing Prison Industrial Complex 
    Project South - This interactive workshop uses a historical timeline from 
    the 1900 to the present and people experiences in the criminal injustice 
    system to locate the growing prison industrial complex in US social history 
    (economic history, government policy history, and popular movement 
    history). The interactive timeline and quiz examines the history of 
    repressive policies aimed at poor and working-class communities of color - 
    with regard to genocide, slaver and social control. It covers attacks on 
    activists and the many prisoners jailed for protesting or resistance to 
    oppression. The growth of the prison industry is also covered, from prison 
    construction to privatization to prison labor.
    
    Critical Resistance Building the Movement against the Prison Industrial 
    Complex CR East - The United States now has more people in prison and a 
    higher percentage of its population in prison than any other nation in the 
    world. Organizers of Critical Resistance Northeast, March 9-11 in NYC, will 
    facilitate a discussion of regional issues around the Prison Industrial 
    Complex to build momentum for the conference and work towards creating 
    regional strategies of resistance.
    
    The Zapatistas as a Model for Community Based Direct Action Chris Day - The 
    Zapatista Uprising in 1994 broke with many of the old models of 
    revolutionary organizing. This workshop will look at the distinctive 
    features of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), their civilian 
    support bases, and the autonomous municipalities they have built up. The 
    workshop will consist of one or more presentations on the following themes 
    to be followed by an open discussion: Historical Roots of Zapatismo, 
    Decision-Making in the EZLN and Zapatista Communities, Armed Struggle and 
    Non-Violent Resistance in Zapatista Practice, The Place of Indigenous 
    Identity in Zapatismo, Is the Zapatista Experience Applicable in the U.S.?
    
    Food Politics: Bioengineering, Sustainable Agriculture, and Urban Gardening 
    Tom Osher of Bagelhole in San Francisco, Terra Selvaggia of the 
    Bioengineering Action Network, and Bronx Urban Gardeners - What is the 
    history and politics of the food we eat and why are we dependent on 
    multinational corporations and supermarkets to bring us our food? Panelists 
    will discuss the history and give lessons on how to become more 
    self-sufficient and self-sustaining with the land around us and why they do 
    what they do.
    
      The Labor Movement and Alliance Building
    In this panel, labor movement activists, including organizers from Direct 
    Action Network Labor Solidarity Working Group (DAN-Labor), will discuss the 
    history of labor and direct action; the obstacles organizers face with 
    these alliances; and activist goals, strategies, tactics and successes.
    Parallel Communities and Economic Self-Sufficiency R. Hanhel - Activists 
    have become more convinced that they neither like nor want to be part of 
    the economics of competition and greed that increasingly dominates the 
    planet, and instead would like to work toward the economics of equitable 
    cooperation. This workshop focuses on why it is important for people who 
    oppose the economics of competition and greed to begin to live according to 
    the norms of equitable cooperation, and how we can begin to do this.
    
      Independent Media Center
    What does the large growth of Independent Media Centers around the globe 
    mean for activists of today? Hear from some people who are a part of this 
    ambitious project what IMCs are doing to organize grassroots movements for 
    progressive global change.
    
      Pirate Micro-Radio
    Prometheus Radio Project - Learn from this Philly based collective why you 
    should and how you can set up your own pirate micro-radio station.
    
      The Struggle for Direct Democracy
    Cindy Milstein and Freedom Rising - What is the definition of freedom? And 
    how does direct democracy contribute to a free society? This workshop 
    focuses on the importance of direct democracy within the movement, 
    especially in relation to the events of the past year. Cindy Milstein, 
    board and faculty member of the Institute of Social Ecology, and members of 
    the Freedom Rising affinity group will present.
    
      Homes Not Jails
    Kirby - Find out about the philosophy behind squatting on a global level, 
    and the issues that drive squatting in the US.  Also, learn some skills for 
    housing takeovers and how to address homelessness and other social 
    problems. This workshop will also address the race and class dynamics of 
    doing housing takeovers.
    
    Anarchism within the Movement:
    What role has anarchism played in the past? What is the place of anarchists 
    in the current day? Cindy Milstein discusses those who have shaped the 
    movement. Limitations and potentials of anarchism, as well as the future 
    directions of anarchism, will be discussed.
    
    Activism in the Workplace
    Alexis Buss
    
    Vieques: Resistance to US Imperialism
    Roberto Rabin
    
    Melbourne to Prague and onto Quebec: The Future of the
    Globalization Movement
    TBA
    



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