Portland, OR (5-9-14 to 5-11-14 @ 6:30 pm) — The same venue (PSU) that, last year, resulted in women tabling for DGR (Deep Green Resistance) being assaulted, their literature being defaced, and their advocate having food and trash hurled at him soon thereafter, is hosting a sequel in the Student Union building from May 9th – 11th, billed as the 5th annual Law & Disorder Conference–FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. And while the organizers assert they have a ‘safer place’ policy, they did nothing to intervene in the assault on the women last year or to hold those responsible accountable. Nor did any of the men present who witnessed the assault lift a finger to stop it. Perhaps the constant barrage of shaming men has finally reached the threshold of converting them into self loathing males. Once upon a time, men would have defended/protected women from assault by a couple of self-aggrandizing male thugs. Not anymore–at least in the sick world of crotch debates and lifestyle (A)narchists. No, in fact, the assault has since been justified on the pretext the DGR line on gender (or cross-gender) politics was incorrect, the assailants described as ‘women’.
Currently, Kristian Williams, a prolific author, professed anarchist, and well researched theorist, is scheduled to speak at the event, but is under attack from obsessive identity politics f@natics. So far, the organizers have refrained from responding to posted threats to create “Hell” for Mr. Williams if he is allowed to give a presentation at the conference. Given the limp response to assault and disruption last year, it’s anyone’s guess how far the organizers will allow the intimidation to go. Mr. Williams would be well advised to bring his own security apparatus. Any controversial speaker at this event would be as well. These are d@ngerous elements. They’re proud of being able to intimidate and bully their way to forcing others to submit to their wishes no matter how great a violation of protocol or civil rights it may be.
So, what’s on the agenda for this crowd of carnivores?
May 9 – May 11 Starts at 6:30pm · Ends at 6:00pm
All events will be held at Portland State University
Smith Memorial Student Union Building (SMSU)
1825 Southwest Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Friday May 9th 2014 6:30pm-9:30pm6:00pm-9:30pm (Parkway North Room SMSU 101)
The Politics of Solidarity: Lessons Learned from the Struggle
Bo Brown, Mark Cook, Scott Crow, Jonina Ervin, Lorenzo Ervin, Michael Kuzma, Ed Mead, Leslie James Pickering [Mark Cook & Ed Mead are released members from the George Jackson Brigade who spoke recently at TESC, hosted by ACAP.]Summary
What are the politics of solidarity? What does it mean to really be an ally? This facilitated event will kick off the 5th annual Law & Disorder with a truthful discussion about how we deal with problems in the movement. Organizing for social and environmental justice is always messy. But there have been many valuable lessons learned about how we deal with race, class, gender and sexual orientation in the movement from underground revolutionary armed struggle to above ground community and national outreach. [More ‘divisive’ crotch debates? Is identity/gender politics the only thing selling to a rather tiny obsessive niche which can’t get its head above its waistline? Is anybody else listening?]
Saturday May 10th 2013 9:00am-8:45pm
9:00am-10:00am (296)
Doors open, coffee, baked goods & tabling
10:00am-11:30am Panels 1,2 & 3 (236, 238 & 327)
Panel 1 (236)
An End to the “War on Drugs”: Staying on Top of a Shifting Carceral Landscape.
Colleen and Benjamin-
Summary
US Attorney General Eric Holder recently gave a well-publicized speech in which he called for an end to the “war on drugs.” He acknowledged that incarceration exacerbates cycles of violence and poverty, and also noted the disproportionate impact that criminalization has on people and communities of color. Eric Holder essentially called upon policymakers to get “smart” on crime instead of “tough” on crime. This speech is timely amidst significant policy shifts and reforms in several states that have sought to reduce prison-related expenses, especially in the case of nonviolent drug offenders. His rhetorical gestures have been symbolic thus far on the federal level, but we believe that this speech, along with recent state-level reforms, is pandering to long overdue liberal concerns about mass incarceration while signaling a transition to more efficient- though no more just- forms of social control. This workshop will use Holder’s speech as a jumping-off point for identifying these changing carceral discourses and mechanisms of punishment. We will ask participants how these looming shifts toward major reforms may impact the abolitionist work that they do.
Panel 2 (238)
Fighting for the Rights of People Experiencing Houselessness
Right 2 Survive- Portland based direct action group that educates both houseless and housed people on their civil, human and constitutional rights
Summary
This presentation will discuss the way government and city officials manipulate the law to try to enforce and regulate how and where the houseless community can exist. We will discuss past laws and regulations such as the Ugly law, Jim Crow, using “broken window policies to remove houseless from the public. We will also discuss the current situation and how the City of Portland is using Private patrol and security companies to regulate the houseless community. Lastly we will end with where we will go from here. What the struggles are and how they are interconnected with other struggles.
Panel 3 (327)
PFLAG Updates
Khalil Edwards- Portland Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays
Summary
In 2012 the Urban League of Portland and PFLAG Portland Black Chapter partnered to lift the voices of the Black LGBTQ Oregonian experience through a research project study that was both quantitative and qualitative. After studying the environmental landscape of existing research there were some obvious gaps in the lack of data that existed LGBTQ Oregonians and especially people of color. Without data very little can be done to target resources for services which include housing, economic development, and health services. The Lift Every Voice policy brief presents concrete policy recommendations in the areas of health, education, and economic opportunity. For many this project was the first time that an intentional project like this had occurred in the African American community of Portland. This workshop will review our research methods, the process of partnership building, and the policy recommendations. [Question: When is an acronym too long? Skip this one.]
11:30am-1:00pm Panels 3,4, 5 & 6 (236, 238, 327 & 294)
Panel 3 (236)
An Introduction to Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan
Mic Crenshaw- President of Education WithOut Borders and Co-Founder of Global Fam
Summary
With EWOB as our 501c3 umbrella organization, Global Fam has been able to co-found a computer center in Burundi Central Africa. This important work was directed by Africans in Burundi who wanted to create a computer center to increase computer literacy in one of the most impoverished countries in Africa. The effort was a collaboration between African activists and Hip Hop artists in the US and Free Geek who donated the computers. Money was raised through cultural events to ship the computers.This project was conceived at a conference in Rwanda in 2004. The relationships Mic Crenshaw formed in Rwanda have led to further collaborations with Cultural Activists in Zimbabwe and South Africa where he was able to help organize and participate in the Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan, an international project combining arts, activism and education in numerous cities and countries in Africa. Mic will be presenting a multimedia presentation on the Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan with Q&A. [Too concrete and requiring actual time/effort for lifestyle @narchists.]
Panel 4 (238)
Informants: Types, Cases & Warning Signs
Kristian Williams, Jenny Esquivel, and Scott Crow
Summary
Based on their research and personal experience, the panelists will describe the effect of infiltrators on current social movements. Kristian Williams will begin by presenting a basic taxonomy of informant types (e.g., infiltrator, cooperating witness, agent provocateur), explain how their operations differ, and the dangers they present to movements pursuing social change. Jenny Esquivel will then present a synopsis of the work of “Anna,” an FBI plant who infiltrated the anarchist movement and entrapped environmentalists in a bombing conspiracy; she will also explain the role of cooperating witnesses in the case. After which, Scott Crow will outline the career of Brandon Darby, an activist who became an FBI informant, disrupting relief work in New Orleans and entrapping young anarchists protesting the 2008 Republican National Convention. Public discussion to follow. [Alleged privileged white patriarch (Kristian) to discuss ‘snitch hunting’]
Panel 5 (327)
Decolonizing Anarchism
Maia Ramnath- Author of Decolonizing Anarchism
Summary
Drawing on the themes listed above, which have been the focus of both my scholarship and activism, and using examples from various historical and contemporary sites of struggle, I want to elaborate on 1) the multiple meanings and implications of decolonization, 2) the principles and praxis of solidarity, making connections across intersecting but distinct struggles and locations, 3) linking ideas to action, and past to present to future, by means of our own agency. [Jargon Parade]
Panel 6 (294)
Educate to Liberate
Anthony Rayson-
Summary
Working closely with prisoner activists to support their struggles, empower their fellow captives and strengthen ties between inside and out. This workshop will highlight the work of several prisoner writers and artists, including statements by them to the conference, detail how this is done and have prisoners reveal its importance. Anthony will have several examples of prisoner zines and artwork, along with other explanatory material, available for later study. He will also table literature and show a DVD of prisoner artwork. Even under such harsh and restrictive conditions, we are building a culture of resistance, behind the razor-wired dungeons of America, with the written voice and artistry of those enslaved!
Panel 7 (236)
Organizing for Transgender Prison Justice
Ariel Howland-
Summary
Using an intersectional framework, this workshop provides a broad overview of how gender variant people are oppressed in the United States, how that relates to the prison industrial complex and what to do about it. Transphobia and cissexism are closely tied to white supremacy, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression. This workshop will discuss topics such as discrimination, poverty, colonization, state violence, sex work, exotification, stereotypes, self-esteem, immigration, healthcare, and activist communities among other topics. After an overview of the scope of the problem the workshop will shift to focus on activist communities and how they engage with (or don’t) the transgender community. Effective organizing for transgender justice follows empowered transgender and ally political communities. The conclusion of the workshop will discuss solutions to problems the transgender community faces in activist communities, the prison system, and in the broader culture. This workshop will include both presentation and group discussions. Transgender workshops often water things down to cater to a cisgender (non-trans) audience. While some vocabulary sheets will be provided this is not an appropriate space for trans 101 questions. If you don’t know much about trans people you are encouraged to look it up online or at the library before the workshop. As this workshop includes many heavy topics participants who feel upset are welcome to leave the room to take care of themselves.
Panel 8 (238)
Getting the Goods: Stories of Direct Action in the Workplace
Portland Industrial Workers of the WorldSummary
This panel discussion will feature five Portland I.W.W. members – Ryan W., C. Love, Ashley T., Casey E., and Adam K – who will share their stories of organizing with their co-workers to make improvements in their jobs in the food and retail industry. The purpose of this panel is to share work experiences that the audience can relate to, and show how it is possible to work together to meet demands. The format of this discussion will be to introduce the panel and briefly describe the FRWU and the IWW. Then each speaker on the panel will tell their organizing story. The panel will then conclude and take questions from the audience, and have a group discussion about steps others can take to make changes in their workplace. Facilitators and the Member/Organizer will present on the general approach the FRWU takes to organizing within the industry and what workers’ control could look like in Food & Retail industries. [A meaningfully real topic!]Panel 9 (327)
Political Prisoners and Mass Incarceration
Paulette Dauteuil- The Jericho Movement
Adam Carpinelli- The Jericho Movement
Summary
This presentation will cover many topics on prisoner support in response to mass incarceration. Topics will include solitary confinement, building of a medical team, post- 911 Muslim Political Prisoners and the attack on Assata Shakur. Members of the Jericho Movement will discuss the importance of building solid medical and legal support to PP’s and POW’s. [Good Stuff]
3:30pm-5:00pm Panels 10, 11,12 & 13 (236, 238, 327 & 294)
Panel 10 (236)
Resisting Federal Surveillance & State Repression: The Case of Leslie James Pickering, the Earth Liberation Front Press Office & Burning Books
Leslie James Pickering- Burning Books
Summary
Resisting Federal Surveillance & State Repression: The Case of Leslie James Pickering, the Earth Liberation Front Press Office & Burning Books. A decade after being under heavy federal surveillance for exercising free speech in support of the underground Earth Liberation Front, Leslie James Pickering discovered that his associates are being questioned by the FBI, the US Post Office is copying his incoming mail, he was put on a secret list for maximum security screening at airports and a federal grand jury subpoena was issued for records on him, his family and his bookstore, Burning Books. Leslie has launched an extensive legal and public campaign to resist this surveillance, which he believes is aimed to repress Burning Books and the surge of activism and awareness that the bookstore generates. This multimedia presentation will open eyes to methods used by the federal government to repress activists and freedom struggles, and how they can be resisted.
Prisoner Support: Inside and Outside Incarceration
Coyote Sheff and Petey- Former prisoners
Summary
Coyote Sheff was released from a Nevada state prison back in November of 2013. He never rested while in prison, starting an Anarchist Black Cross chapter at the prison he was in to actively sticking up for his comrades and taking part in prison rebellions to protest different policies or actions by the prison administration. Coyote Sheff and Petey will be talking about their own respective experiences, stressing the importance of prisoner support during incarceration and after, supporting prison struggles from providing reading material to an anarchist reading group inside the prison walls to the many ways those on the outside can support prison rebellions. [Nothing new, but worth rehearing–maybe]Panel 12 (294)
Educate to Liberate
Anthony Rayson-
Summary
Working closely with prisoner activists to support their struggles, empower their fellow captives and strengthen ties between inside and out. This workshop will highlight the work of several prisoner writers and artists, including statements by them to the conference, detail how this is done and have prisoners reveal its importance. Anthony will have several examples of prisoner zines and artwork, along with other explanatory material, available for later study. He will also table literature and show a DVD of prisoner artwork. Even under such harsh and restrictive conditions, we are building a culture of resistance, behind the razor-wired dungeons of America, with the written voice and artistry of those enslaved!
Panel 13 (327)
Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy
Criss Crass-
Summary
This is a talk and discussion for activists engaging with dynamic questions of how to create and support effective movements for visionary systemic change. Drawing lessons for transformative organizing through firsthand looks at the challenges and the opportunities of anti-racist work in white communities, feminist work with men, and bringing women of color feminism into the heart of social movements, this talk draws on 25 years of personal activist experience. How can we transform divisions of race, class, and gender into catalysts for powerful vision, strategy, and movement building in the United States today.to help us see how divisions of race, class and gender can become bridges to help expand democracy and create healthier communities. From civil rights and women’s liberation to Occupy Wall Street and immigrant justice, Crass brings together effective strategies for social change that have put awareness of privilege into action that can further democracy for us. [Jargon, Theory]
5:00pm-6:30pm Panels 14, 15,16 & 17 (236, 238, 327 & 294)
Panel 14 (236)
Freedom of Information Act and You!
Michael Kuzma-
Summary
Mike has long viewed the law as being a tool to bring about social, political and economic change. For roughly three decades he has fought to make government more open and accountable through use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He has litigated a number of FOIA cases and has spoken throughout the United States and Canada about this topic. Mike’s presentation will revolve around FOIA. He will discuss FOIA, what it is and how it can be utilized by activists to pry loose documents from a host of federal agencies. Questions from the audience are welcome and will be taken during and at the conclusion of my presentation. [Good Stuff]
Panel 15 (238)
Community Corrections and the Barriers to Re-entry
Trisha Jordan- Red Lodge
Summary
The prison re-entry system is a revolving door. It is overwhelmed, underfunded and understaffed. Probation Officers are limited in providing attention and resources for minimum to medium risk individuals released from prisons and jails. Over 70% of the community corrections budget is spent monitoring and case managing high risk offenders. Low to medium risk individuals are left to “figure it out” on their own. A handful of agencies and organizations who specialize in re-entry find themselves overwhelmed with lines of formally incarcerated individuals who many times are told to “come back tomorrow.” The barriers to re-entry are many, and the old fashioned approach of “one size fits all” is slowly giving way to a case management. Red Lodge Transition Services works from a holistic model creating an innovative approach to shifting the tide on incarceration and working toward prevention as well as lifting individuals out of poverty, promoting community service, and sobriety. This panel will discuss returning to community in more detail from their personal experiences and perspectives. [Good Stuff]Panel 16 (327)
An Evening with Portland Rising Tide
Portland Rising Tide
Summary
This workshop will explore contemporary currents in the climate justice movement. The panelists will discuss the work of Rising Tide, both nationally and locally, as well as recent actions against the tar sands megaloads in Eastern Oregon and the Keystone XL pipeline by the Tar Sands blockade. We will also discuss resistance to the dozen energy export terminals proposed in the Pacific NW and British Columbia as well as methods of repression used by the state against those fighting similar infrastructure in Texas. Over the last year the FBI has visited a variety of Rising Tide activists throughout the NW in an effort to stifle our climate justice work.
Mass Imprisonment is Prison Slavery
JoNina Abron-Ervin & Lorenzo ErvinSummary
More people are incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails than in any other country in the world. With just five percent of the world’s population, America has twenty-five percent of the world’s prison population. This workshop will examine how the “war” on drugs led to the current mass imprisonment of people of color, who comprise half of the over two million people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails; how mass imprisonment has devastated poor and low income communities of color; why mass imprisonment is slavery; and proposals for how to organize people of color to fight to end mass imprisonment. [Depressing and important]
6:30pm-7:30pm (238)
Supporting Prisoner Strikes from Palestine to Pelican Bay
Ed Mead- Prison Art
Bo Brown- Prison Activist Resource Center
Summary
From Palestine to Pelican Bay supporting prisoners of empire is difficult work. Effectively tending to the needs of incarcerated and detained persons takes a considerable amount of detail and patience. Day by day prisoners and detainees are brutalized in different ways such as solitary confinement and other forms of torture. What can be the most challenging solidarity work is supporting the collective efforts of prisoners engaged in strikes. Prisoners face the most difficult retaliation and backlash from the prison administration when on strike. This facilitated workshop will discuss the ins and outs of supporting Prisoners on hunger and work strikes. We will focus on recent examples such as Pelican Bay prison in Northern California and the more recently started strike at the regional Northwest I.C.E. detention center in Tacoma, WA. [Brutally critical to hear]
8:00pm-9:30pm (327)
From Quilombismo to Pan Africanism: African People’s Fight for Their Humanity and Liberation
Nehanda Imara- All African People’s Revolutionary Party
Summary
Pan Africanism is the philosophy based on the belief that African (Black) people share common historical and cultural bonds and objectives. Pan Africanism simply put is African Unity and African Liberation. African people share in common negative experiences of oppression from slavery and colonization. More importantly, Pan Africanism is the highest extension of Black Power and the African Personality. Pan Africanism is African people organized into a collective mass movement to reclaim the land, resources, and spiritual dignity of all African people in Africa and the African Diaspora. The Quilombo movement of African people in Bahia, Brazil provides a case study of African people’s Pan-African agency. Quilombo communities of Bahia similar to the Maroon societies of Jamaica are spaces where African people organized as liberated territories where they could grow their food, practice their religions and more importantly resist the oppression of slavery and exploitation. Thousands of Quilombo communities are still in Bahia today that continues to build upon this legacy of African people’s power. This workshop/presentation will explore the liberation strategies that the African community can develop from looking at the history of Quilombismo and Pan African organization.
10:00am-11:30am Panels 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 (236, 238, 323, 328 & 294)
Panel 1 (236)
Popular Education and In-Prison Organizing: Currently Imprisoned Women Facilitating Movement Growth
Colleen Hackett-
Summary
This discussion will explore how to build and use a popular education -based curriculum inside a prison setting, using the case of Colleen’s work with currently incarcerated women. The class is led by women on the “inside,” and introduces a radical, systemic analysis of structural and interpersonal violence, as opposed to a psychologized model of domestic violence that often blames the victim. Creating and maintaining political spaces on the “inside” is a tricky endeavor. This workshop will offer concrete strategies in navigating the prison bureaucracy. We will explore how to use radical pedagogy to facilitate in-prison political growth, as well as discussing how this maps on to prison abolitionist visions. [Inside the belly of the beast?]Panel 2 (238)
Indicting the Proverbial “Ham Sandwich”: Grand Juries 101
Lauren Regan- Civil Liberties Defense Center
This discussion is about the federal grand jury process and how it is abused to repress political movements and activists. Historically, activists have been targeted for their civic engagement. Government witch hunts went after activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and Oakland in the last few years. Recently NW activists have been targeted by the FBI, having their homes raided, computers seized, as well as being served grand jury subpoenas to testify against their fellow community members. Find out how you can resist political repression and support activists. [Arrogant lawyer who doesn’t respond to e-mail inquiries]
Panel 3 (328)
All-Volunteer Military or Poverty Draft?: Countering the War Machine
Recruiter Watch PDX Panel
Summary
“When the rich wage war, it’s the poor who die.” – Jean-Paul Sartre
In a crumbling economy, more and more young people are in danger of being lured into the military with false promises. How can we dialogue with young people about militarism without seeming to judge them or their life circumstances? What is truth-in-recruiting? What are the realities of military life? How is young people’s privacy currently being invaded by military recruiters and the Pentagon under the No Child Left Behind Act and JAMRS? Why is “equal access” so important in combatting military presence in Portland public high schools? How can allies help? Learn the answers to these questions and more at this Truth-in-Recruiting 101 workshop which includes a panel of civilian and veteran activists doing local truth-in-recruiting work. Resource materials will be available.
“Suppose they gave a war and nobody came.” – Carl Sandberg
Panel 4 (323)
Zombies and the White Savior Complex
Jared Rhea-
Summary
Zombies have become a reality. The dead are walking and you are their menu. Now what? Do you have the skills necessary to survive in a world vastly different from the one you were raised to live in? Would you want to survive there? What would your vision of a brave new world look like? What type of world would you unwittingly recreate? Why is it that white guys always seem to safely lead the way away from zombie hordes? Why do these questions even matter? With the rise of zombie literature and media, a growing number of media makers have used this genre as a means of critiquing society as it currently exists, as it would under threat of extinction, and of envisioning the creation of an alternate reality. As individuals interested in combating zombie capitalism seek to create alternate ‘sustainable’ realities, perhaps it can be useful to explore zombie dystopias in order better understand utopian visions. Using anarchist ways of teaching/learning as a lens from which privilege, specifically white privilege, can be named and challenged, we will explore a few zombified creations and experiment with ways of gaining skills that can help prepare us to challenge privilege in the here and now while educating for the utopias that we hope to create. Because seriously, what is it with white saviors and zombie media? [Racist ‘white privilege’ dogma]Panel 5 (294)
Educate to Liberate
Anthony Rayson-
Summary
Working closely with prisoner activists to support their struggles, empower their fellow captives and strengthen ties between inside and out. This workshop will highlight the work of several prisoner writers and artists, including statements by them to the conference, detail how this is done and have prisoners reveal its importance. Anthony will have several examples of prisoner zines and artwork, along with other explanatory material, available for later study. He will also table literature and show a DVD of prisoner artwork. Even under such harsh and restrictive conditions, we are building a culture of resistance, behind the razor-wired dungeons of America, with the written voice and artistry of those enslaved! [Prison Chronicles]11:30am-1:00pm Panels 6, 7, 8 & 9 (236, 238, 323 & 328)
Panel 6 (236)
Screening and Q&A of Project Censored
Nolan Higdon- Project Censored
Summary
This presentation will include the viewing of the short award winning film Project Censored the movie followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session. The discussion will focus on the rich value of media literacy and critical thinking in society. It will provide hands-on training in identifying, researching, and summarizing independent news coverage of significant stories that corporate media cover incompletely.
Panel 7 (238)
The Sex Worker’s Outreach Coalition
Steph Cascadia-
Summary
This presentation will be an introduction to the Sex Worker’s Outreach Coalition and its campaigns and events. The panel will be speaking to the intersections of sex work and the legal system in a broad sense as well as local sex work labor laws. In addition, the panel will include how sex workers span all social movements, and how sex workers have contributed significantly to these movements. [Possibly new material]Panel 8 (328)
Black Flags and Windmills: Creating Power From Below
Scott Crow- anarchist organizer, activist and writer
Summary
This visual and engaging presentation drawn from Scott Crow’s book Black Flags and Windmills illustrates through stories, analysis and diverse political movement histories how individuals and communities can create collective liberation to change their own worlds by creating power from below. It covers how the It covers how the ideas, philosophies and practices of anarchism have grown shaping and influencing modern political movements and tendencies from the post-Seattle alternative globalization movements to the Common Ground Collective after Hurricane Katrina, the Occupy uprisings, environmental and animal rights movements and beyond. It also covers the rise of the surveillance state and the implications of political activism being labeled ‘terrorism’. The presentation which is equal parts personal story, radical history and organizing philosophies asks questions about how we engage in social change, the real and perceived challenges presented by the state and power and dares us to rethink how we engage in creating sustainable and liberatory futures. [Worth hearing proposed strategies for change by an established author]Panel 9 (323)
A community Response to Police Violence
Jo Ann Hardesty-
Summary
The AMA Coalition for Justice & Police reform came together in the summer of 2001 after Kendra James was killed by a Portland Police officer after attempting to drive away from a traffic stop where she was a passenger. James’ death was a touchstone for many in Portland who saw the shooting of an unarmed African American woman as a symptom of a Police Bureau needing major reforms. In 2010 after a rash of shootings by Portland Police officers of unarmed community members the AMA Coalition sought the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division assistance to investigate the patterns and practices of Portland Police. After a fourteen-month investigation, they released findings that proved Portland Police officers used excessive force against people with and perceived to have mental health issues. While the community was delighted with what was uncovered through the investigation, community voices were excluded from determining the appropriate reforms. The AMA Coalition was granted friend of the court status, the first in the nation. The workshop will talk about that process, where we are now and how other communities can organize to take back control of local police forces. [Good Stuff]
BREAK FOR LUNCH TIME- 1:00pm-2:00pm
2:00pm-3:30pm Panels 10,11, 12, 13 & 14 (236, 238, 323, 328 & 294)
Panel 10 (236)
Prison Imperialism: How the US is Spreading a Repressive Incarceration Model Around the World
James Patrick Jordan- Alliance for Global Justice
Summary
The US Bureau of Prisons and USAID have been quietly investing in prison construction and helping restructure penal systems in a variety of countries around the world—usually countries with militaries that are heavily subsidized by the US government, that have been directly invaded by the US military, or that are linked to the US through Free Trade Agreements. These countries include Colombia, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Honduras, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and elsewhere. These efforts are often referred to as the “New Penitentiary Culture”. This “prison imperialism” has its roots in the 2000 accord known as the Program for the Improvement of the Colombian Prison System. Since this accord was implemented, there has been a disproportionately large increase in the general prison population and even more so in the number of political prisoners. Reports of torture in the jails have sky-rocketed. The first Colombian prison constructed with US funding, La Tramacua, is notorious for its bad conditions. In fact, UN, Colombian government agencies and an international NGO have, on three different occasions found fecal contamination of prison food. At La Tramacua, prisoners only have access to fresh water for an average of 10 minutes a day. This workshop will not only shed light on US “prison imperialism”, but will focus as well on the domestic and international struggle against the US model of mass incarceration, neglect and abuse of those we call “Prisoners of Empire.”
Know Your Rights: Train the Trainer
Portland Anarchist Black CrossSummary
The Know Your Rights training will give you the confidence to make decisions about how to engage your actions. Where is the line drawn between legal and potentially illegal protesting? Armed with knowledge, activists can make informed choices regarding their interactions with government agents and can best protect their rights should they end up in handcuffs and in the legal system.
Breaking Down Political Barriers
Ahjamu R. Umi- All African Peoples Revolutionary Party
Summary
It is critically important for most activists have the idea for how they want the world to look, but they don’t have the experience and/or expertise in how to work with people who have different beliefs than they do. As a result, their efforts stall beyond the handful of people they already work with. So the question is how we develop positive working relationships with people to achieve mutually beneficial goals that advance the movement. This workshop will focus will be on concrete tactics to create alliances across ideological, racial, gender, etc, lines to build mass movements for positive change. [Good to know if genuine]Panel 13 (323)
Organizing Despite Death Threats: Injured GM Factory Workers in Colombia
Portland Central Solidarity Committee
Summary
How have a group of injured autoworkers managed to take on General Motors, one of the most powerful corporations in the world? Come and find out! Watch the documentary and hear the workers describe their struggle in their own words. See the tent encampment they’ve occupied for nearly 1000 days right in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. Watch cell phone footage of the assembly line that was smuggled from the plant. Hear about what led them to stitch their lips shut with a needle and thread and go on a series of extended hunger strikes to bring GM to the negotiating table. And get involved in local organizing efforts to support them in their struggle. [Excellent history to know]
Panel 14 (294)
Educate to Liberate
Anthony Rayson-
Summary
Working closely with prisoner activists to support their struggles, empower their fellow captives and strengthen ties between inside and out. This workshop will highlight the work of several prisoner writers and artists, including statements by them to the conference, detail how this is done and have prisoners reveal its importance. Anthony will have several examples of prisoner zines and artwork, along with other explanatory material, available for later study. He will also table literature and show a DVD of prisoner artwork. Even under such harsh and restrictive conditions, we are building a culture of resistance, behind the razor-wired dungeons of America, with the written voice and artistry of those enslaved!
3:30pm-5:00pm Panels 15,16 & 17 (236, 238 & 323)
Panel 15 (236)
Behind the Badge: A Theatrical Examination of Police and Prison in America
Benjamin Turk
Summary
What does it mean to be a compassionate, dedicated, humane police officer in the country with the world’s highest incarceration rate and a continuing tradition of racial injustice? Insurgent Theatre brings audiences behind the badge of a neighborhood liaison officer, using stripped-down interactive theatre and a radical analysis to peer into the inner life of a man in blue. [Interesting, Novel]Panel 16 (238)
Tools to Identify Crypto-fascists
Rose City Antifa
Summary
The presentation will be an overview of current fascist and far right typologies. This will cover various subcultural and ideological niches in the far right, including religious varieties, suit-and-tie fascists, National Anarchists, and racist bioregionalists. The purpose of this presentation is to give the audience some idea of the current trends in fascist organizing. We hope to also show that the stereotypical nazi skinhead is an extreme minority in current white supremacist and fascist organizing. We hope to give radicals in particular some tools to identify crypto-fascists and other tendencies in the far right that are currently trying to gain purchase in certain sectors of the left as well as in numerous subcultural milieus. This is particularly important in the current period as we have seen the far right seizing upon the poorly defined politics of populist movements such as Occupy. The left in the U.S. really needs to develop a sharper analysis around this, as we are seeing many far right movements in the U.S. taking cues from their successful colleagues abroad. European fascists have long understood how to adapt the tactics and aesthetics of left militancy to garner recruits to the right. Fascists will seize upon the weaknesses of the left. We hope to start conversations on oppression, solidarity (Who are we in solidarity with and why? What criteria is necessary for solidarity?) and how to prevent right entryism in radical political spaces. [i.e. Left wing totalitarians will discuss strategies for how to exclude right wing totalitarians and what they look/smell/sound/taste like. Replay of Stalin vs. Hitler?–bring popcorn and a program. You can’t tell your Nazis without a blueprint…provided by your local r@dicals who know what’s best for you.]Panel 17 (323)
Organizing to Win: How Students Raise Their Voices
Portland State University Student Union
Summary
Organizers from the Portland State University Student Union (PSUSU) & the Portland Student Union (PDXSU, Portland high school students) explain how they used direct action tactics while organizing around teacher/faculty contracts, not only to win, but to change the conversation about student power and public education in Portland.
*5:30pm-7:30pm
*FREE DINNER for Law and Disorder and Queer Students of Color Conference participants!! Catering will be provided by local & vegan E’Njoni Café.
Native American Student and Community Center
710 SW Jackson Street, Portland OR 97201
*Please note that this is the only event for the weekend that will be in a different building!
