February 28, 2005

All out for March 19-20 Global Days of Action to End the War in Iraq!
Mobilization for March 19 Mounts Nationwide
Chicago Protestes Demand Right to March and Students Oppose
Military Recruiters

Malcolm X Anniversary
Celebrate the Resistance
Malcolm X: "The Ballot or the Bullet"


Mobilization for March 19 Mounts Nationwide

Across the country in more than 100 cities and towns, actions of all kinds are being planned for March 19-20, the Global Day of Action Against War in Iraq. In addition to major actions in Fayetteville, North Carolina, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, many places from south to north and west to east are taking their stands and organizing to demand “Troops Out Now!”

The actions, marking the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, bring to the fore the resolute resistance of the Iraqi people and the crisis facing the U.S. as it continues its brutal and illegal war. Despite massive bombings and unending U.S. crimes against the Iraqis, their resistance is growing and strengthening across the country.

Many Iraqis boycotted and protested the fraud of the U.S. imposed and organized election in Iraq — with the U.S. exporting the fraud Americans are so familiar with, such as Iraqis being refused their right to vote because they were “not on the list,” polling places closed, ballots lost and so on. Elections in Iraq at gunpoint, like the entire occupation, has only further shown that U.S.-style democracy has no place in the world, least of all Iraq.

In the U.S., youth are vigorously resisting military recruiters, while military families are also taking their stand, with increasing numbers of troops refusing to go, demanding conscientious objector status and standing firmly against the war crimes in Iraq. The consciousness of the movement is such that no one is waiting for another election to demand change, no one is accepting occupation as democracy and everyone is united in saying Bush has No Mandate! Not in Iraq, not in the U.S.

What stands out in the mobilization is the broadening participation of people with all variety of backgrounds and viewpoints, the nationwide scope of actions, and the firm unity that the war must be ended and ended now and Americans have an important role to play in achieving this. Together, the peoples are showing that they are the decisive force to defend humanity and block the ruthless reaction of U.S. imperialism.

All out for March 19-20 Global Days of Action to End the War in Iraq!

We list below some of the many dozens of actions now being planned. The scope of activities across the south, including a major action in Fayetteville, organized mainly by veterans and military families alongside peace activists, shows that far from being a stronghold for Bush, the south is taking its stand for progress.

The South

Many people across the south are traveling to the regional action being held at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As one of the towns mobilizing in Georgia put it: “On March 20 last year, we staged the biggest demonstration Fayetteville, NC has seen in 35 years. Fayetteville is next to Ft. Bragg, NC – ground zero for the 82nd Airborne Division (that is preparing for their third trip to Iraq) and most of the US Special Operations community. On MARCH 19, 2005 in FAYETTEVILLE this year, we will mark the anniversary of the 2003 invasion AGAIN with a far bigger demonstration than the last. If you want to send a message from the belly of the beast, this year you need to visit North Carolina. The wheels are falling off this war wagon, and we need you in Fayetteville this March to give them another hard kick.”

ALABAMA

Huntsville, AL
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm
North Alabama Peace Network will hold a Peace Rally at Noon at the Five Points intersection.
At 3:00 PM, the ART AID benefit for families affected by war. Artists market and casual performances from 3PM to 7PM, benefit concert starting at 7PM.

ARKANSAS

Little Rock, AR
Poets 4 Peace
Saturday, March 19th 2005 6:30pm
This is the 2nd Annual Poets 4 Peace. The event was organized to mark the anniversary of the war in Iraq. Poets 4 Peace strives to bring together diverse members of our community to have greater understandings and to build better relationships with one another.

FLORIDA

Actions are planned in Naples, Orlando, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and elsewhere. Below are the Naples and Orlando events.
Naples, FL
2-yr Iraq War and Occupation Anniversary Protest
Saturday, March 19th 2005 3:30pm
Join us in solidarity with protests nationwide and around the world as we protest the two-year anniversary of the Iraq War and Occupation. Say NO! to the Bush agenda and YES! to PEACE. END WAR AND OCCUPATION OF IRAQ NOW! BRING THE TROOPS HOME ALIVE NOW! STOP THE U.$. EMPIRE

Orlando, FL
Protest Two Years of War and Occupation
Sunday, March 20th 2005 Noon
Bring family and friends on Sunday, March 20, 2005, the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, to the corner of International Drive and Sand Lake Road at noon and show your opposition to the unjust war and occupation. Bring signs and banners with the message you’d like to deliver to those in power: NO UNJUST WAR, NOT IN OUR NAME!

KENTUCKY

Lexington, KY
Interfaith Prayer Vigil for Peace
Tuesday, March 22nd 2005, 5:30pm
We stand on the corner in silence for 15 minutes and then circle for an interfaith liturgy and shared prayers. We have been meeting weekly since October 2001.
“The Peace Wave”
Sunday, March 20th 2005 12:00 noon
A call for world peace and environmental responsibility.
March 20th “International Earth Day, Spring Equinox.”
This is also the day after the second anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. Please join in our nonviolent but very loud world wide call for peace. Here’s how it will work. To celebrate this day we are asking drum circles and lone drummers in the eastern time zone to start drumming at 12:00 noon EST and play the heartbeat for peace for 15 minutes then drum freestyle with the heartbeat as the root until 1:15 pm. Drummers in the central time zone will start at 12:00 noon playing the heartbeat for 15 minutes then freestyle with the heartbeat as the root until 1:15 and so on across the country and then around the world. So its easy, where ever you are in the United States start at noon and play until 1:15pm. For drummers in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Asia, Middle East and Europe it will be noon on March 21st.

Louisville, KY
National Convergence for Farmworker Justice, Saturday, March 12th, 11:00am
Join farmworkers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and thousands of their allies - including actor and activist Martin Sheen - for a day of music, speeches, and colorful theater calling for an end to sweatshops in the fields! Boycott Taco Bell!
For the past three years, farmworkers from Immokalee and their allies have crossed the country, spreading the truth about sweatshop conditions behind the tomatoes in Taco Bell’s products. Each year, the CIW’s Truth Tours have culminated in major actions — including a 10-day hunger strike in 2003 and a 44-mile march in 2004 — outside of Taco Bell’s global headquarters in Irvine, California.

MISSISSIPPI

Biloxi, MS
Memorial for Peace
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00 noon
Vigil with signs and a field of grave
markers

NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville, NC
PEACE RALLY
Sunday, March 20th 2005 2:00pm
This is a Peace Rally to promote non-violent solutions to world conflict. This is in honor of the second anniversary of the start of the recent war on Iraq. There will be speakers, poets, musicians and tabling.

Charlotte, NC
Charlotte Says OUT NOW! Bring The Troops Home!
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm
Join us as we take part in a worldwide day of actions protesting the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. We have a responsibility to respond with renewed determination and commitment in the face of the Bush administration’s launching of a new phase of the war against the Iraqi people. The numbers of U.S. soldiers & Iraqis’ being killed & maimed is rising. Bush is about to ask Congress for another $80-100 billion to fund the war against the people of Iraq, on top of the $147 billion that has already been spent. Meanwhile, jobs are disappearing, unions are under attack, and budgets for healthcare, housing, and education are being slashed. It is vitally important for antiwar, labor, and community organizations to join together to stop the war against Iraq and the war against working people. Bring signs, puppets, etc.
Charlotte Bus To Fayetteville Demonstration, Saturday, March 19th, 2005
Bus will leave Charlotte March 19 at 7:00 AM & leave Fayetteville to return that same day at approximately 5:00pm.

Wilmington, NC
Street Festival for Peace and Progress
Saturday, March 5th 2005 12:00pm
On March 5th, People Educating with an Active Commitment to Equality (P.E.A.C.E) will stage a march and street party/rally against the continued occupation of Iraq and the policies of the Bush administration. March 15th marks the 2nd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and our rally is a local event to mark that occasion, as well as to build momentum for the March 19th antiwar action in Fayetteville, NC. The march will start at Dram Tree Park at 12 pm noon at the foot of Castle Street and will go through the streets of downtown Wilmington ending at Riverfront Park. It will feature guest speakers, musicians, information tables for various sponsoring organizations, and voter registration. Attendees are urged to bring signs and banners.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Charleston, SC
A Day for Peace in an Age of War
Sunday, March 20th 2005 2:00pm

TENNESSEE

Chattanooga, TN
End the War Now/Stand Up, Chattanooga
Saturday, March 19th 2005 4:00pm
March and rally to end the war in Iraq.

Memphis, TN
Stop the Killing- US Out Now
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm
We will gather at First Congo, 1000 S. Cooper, and March through midtown to Overton Park where there will be a short rally featuring the music of the Tunnel Clones and Brotha’s Keeper, speakers, the Wheels of Justice Tour, food, fun and more....Please join us as the City of Memphis stands up to Stop the Killing.

TEXAS

Austin, TX
WAR NOT WORTH THE COST NOT WORTH THE LOSS
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:30pm
A Memorial procession through the entertainment districts will start at 1:30 at the Federal building 9th and San Jacinto down 6th St to the City Hall where there will be a concert for peace at 2:00pm

Houston, TX
March and Rally Against the War in Iraq
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:30pm
Sing Peace
Saturday, March 19th 2005 6:30pm
On the 2nd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, starting at sundown, honor the US and Iraqi victims with song, reflection, silence, and candlelight.

VIRGINIA

Norfolk, VA
Norfolk -Virginia Beach Bus to Ft. Bragg
Saturday, March 19th 2005 6:00am

WEST VIRGINIA

Martinsburg, WV
What are the Costs of War?” sign unveiling, speakers, vigil
Saturday, March 19th 2005 4:00pm
- Purpose: to build the anti-war movement in the Eastern Panhandle of WV by reaching out to people who may just be starting to oppose the war and to inspire those already opposed to actively speak out.
- Event will include unveiling an LED sign displaying Costs of War statistics - Iraqi civilians killed, US soldiers killed, financial costs of the war. There will be speakers, letter writing, tabling, concluding with a candlelight vigil.
- The sign will be placed in highly visible storefronts in the Eastern Panhandle. It will also be ‘mobilized’ on the back of a pick-up truck enabling it to accompany activists visiting store parking lots, etc.

Wheeling, WV
Mourning the Dead: Second Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq
Sunday, March 20th 2005 evening
Candlelight march followed by singing in honor of those who have died, both Iraqis and Americans.

The WEST

ARIZONA

Phoenix, AZ
A Invitation to Senator Kyl
Saturday, March 12th, 2005 4:30pm
ON SATURDAY, MARCH 12:
WE ACCUSE . . .
the Bush Administration of the deliberate use of torture around the world
WE DEMAND . . .
the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate this violation of
United States and international law
WE INVITE . . .
“ Distinguished Citizen” Senator Jon Kyl to sponsor legislation appointing a
special prosecutor
Meditation on Consequences of War
Saturday, March 19th 2005 9:00am.
The meditation will be centered on the consequences of war in general, and the present and future consequences of the United States war against Iraq in particular.

Tempe, AZ
4th Annual Local to Global Justice Teach-In, March 4&5, 2005: Special keynote speaker: UFPJ’s L.A. Kaufman. Workshops on bio-tech, border issues, anti-war, counter-recruitment, globalization, anarchism, art & activism, and more. Musical guests: David Rovics & Robb Johnson, Blackfire.

Tucson, AZ
23rd Annual Peace Fair & Music Festival
Saturday, February 26th 2005 11:00am
Arizona’s largest gathering of the peace, social justice, environmental, and labor organizations that make Tucson so special. Join us for a day of music, dance, food, and children’s activities.
END THE WAR Rally and March
Saturday, March 19th 2005 10:00am
10:00am - Rally at Catalina Park (4th Ave. one block south of Speedway).
11:00am - March for Peace.
11:15am - Marchers stop for short peace rally at the UA ROTC building, and on to.......
RALLY from NOON to 1:00pm at Military Recruiting Office on Speedway.

COLORADO

Denver, CO
Fallen....Not Forgotten
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm
We gather together on the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol to commemorate the lives destroyed by the invasion of Iraq. We also mourn the loss of our democratic ideals, including: Peace, Life, Civil Liberties, Healthcare, Housing, Education, a Clean Environment, Choice, Veteran’s Benefits, International Respect, Separation of Church and State, and Many Many More...

KANSAS

Manhattan, KS
Protest the Iraq War — End the Occupation
Thursday, March 17th 2005 4:30pm
The Anti-War vigil will occur during peak traffic hours at the intersection of 17th Street and Anderson Ave. We will have very visible signs and banners.

NEVADA

Las Vegas, NV
Wake Up the Media
Saturday, March 19th 2005 9:00am
Drumming and signs. The Review Journal has been consistently biased for the Bush agenda and against covering anti-war sentiment, which IS growing exponentially. It’s not accidental, and it’s not going to go unnoticed this March 19th.

IOWA

Burlington, IA
HONOR THE DEAD, STOP THE DYING
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2pm.
The names and faces of those who have died will be shown at this rally for peace. We found a way in to war. Now let’s find a way out.

UTAH

Salt Lake City, UT
THE WORLDS SAYS END THE WAR!
Friday, March 18th 2005 5:00pm
March 18: Jubilee Center Auditorium
5-7pm: SIGN MAKING PARTY
7pm: FREE Film Showing THE OIL FACTOR: BEHIND THE WAR ON TERROR
Saturday, March 19 - Rallies - Federal Building and City County Building
The Midwest

ILLINOIS

Palatine, IL
Until the Violence Stops
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2:00pm
A showing of “Until the Violence Stops,” a new film by Eve Ensler, followed by a discussion about international women’s rights and the importance of women to the peace movement.

Princeton, IL
Princeton Peace Vigil
Wednesday, March 23rd 2005 11:30am
Weekly vigil for peace.

Rockford, IL
Regional Peace Conference and demonstration
Saturday, March 19th 2005 9:00am

INDIANA

Indianapolis, IN
Midwest Peace Summit
Friday, March 18th 2005 11:00am.
Recurring Event
Students for Peace in Iraq, will sponsor the first regional “Midwest Peace Summit” to be held on the urban campus of IUPUI in Indianapolis, Indiana, Friday to Sunday, March 18 to March 20. Renowned author Michael Parenti will be the keynote speaker on Saturday afternoon. Everyone’s favorite protest comedian and folksinger, Dave Lippman, will be on hand to perform his antiwar hits and “George Shrub” schtick. The three-day regional event will host a diverse array of progressive workshops, seminars, musicians, artists, scholars, and antiwar and civil libertarian activists. On Sunday, March 20, at noon, from Monument Circle, an “End the War in Iraq NOW!” rally will be held on Monument Circle, intersection of N. Meridian and Market Streets in downtown Indy.
Nonviolent Civil Disobedience to End the War in Iraq NOW!
Sunday, March 20th 2005
There will be a nonviolent civil resistance on Sunday, March 20, following the end of the Midwest Peace Summit. Please consider forming affinity groups and join with activists from Indiana, Chicago, Champaign Urbana, Gary, Louisville, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, to say END THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ! TROOPS OUT NOW!

MICHIGAN

Ann Arbor, MI
“Stop the War” Day of Action
Sunday, March 20th 2005 1:00pm
March, rally, conscientious objection workshop, letter-writing, create a full-page signature ad, kids corner, address by Congressman Dingell, bands, refreshments.

Grand Rapids, MI
End the Occupation
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm.
A Rally and March for peace and justice people, the faith community, students and others who oppose our country’s immoral actions in Iraq and around the world.

Midland, MI
Midland Citizens Against the War in Iraq
Saturday, March 19th 2005 noon
Vigil/Demonstration at the Courthouse- Bring protest signs, dress for the weather! We will stand at the Courthouse and remember all who have died in the conflict: Iraqis, Americans and Coalition soldiers.

Port Huron, MI
Iraq War: The Truth for a Change
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2:00pm
2 keynote speakers will represent Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out. Local panelists will discuss the costs of war, alternatives to the draft, war crimes, and Christians against the war.

MISSOURI

Saint Louis, MO
Charlie King - Karen Brandow Benefit Concert
Saturday, March 5th 2005 8:00pm
Charlie King and Karen Brandow in concert, to benefit the Peace Economy Project, a non-profit organization that researches military spending, educates about the dangers of an unchecked military-industrial complex, and advocates for a peace-based economy.

Springfield, MO
Honks For Peace
Saturday, March 19th 2005 11:30am
Honks for Peace. Peace Network of the Ozarks will demonstrate on the street on Battlefield Road in front of the Marine recruitment center. This is the corner of Battlefield and Kimbrough. Bring your own signs!

OHIO

Cincinnati, OH
End the War -Rebuild our Communities Rally & March
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm
March 19 Global Day of Action on the 2nd Anniversary of the War
1pm: Rally and March @ Fountain Square
Drumming circle, short speeches, music, march, memorials to Iraqis and soldiers who have lost their lives.

Columbus, OH
Two Years of [HELL]! End the USA occupations of Iraq and other nations!
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm.
The second year of USA occupation of Iraq will be recognized with a statehouse direct action in Columbus, Ohio. Music, speakers and the people will join voices calling for the end of war and the beginning of building our communities and global justice systems.

WISCONSIN

Brookfield, WI
Candlelight Conference 2005
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2:00pm
A one-day conference on creating community and taking action, featuring a wide variety of speakers with fourteen workshops to choose from.

Sheboygan, WI
Peace and Justice
Wednesday, March 16th 2005 7:00pm
Sheboygan Area PeaceSeekers and Veterans For Peace Sheboygan, are planning a Peace and Justice event. Local talent will perform and there will be a local Iraq Vet speaking about his experience. Sheboygan Area PeaceSeekers and Veterans For Peace Sheboygan, are also seeking local college and high school students to write poetry, essays or plays/skits to be performed that evening.

Superior, WI
Bring the Troops Home Now! protest
Sunday, March 20th 2005 1:00pm
The Northland Anti-War Coalition will be holding an anti-war march and rally in Superior, WI. Assemble at 1pm at Hammond Park (Hammond Ave. & 19th St.) for a march to downtown Superior, where we’ll hold a rally with speakers.
West Coast:

CALIFORNIA

In addition to major actions in San Francisco and Los Angeles, more than twenty demonstrations are planned across California. Below are a sample of the actions:

Fresno, CA
“Rally for Peace & Social Justice”
Saturday, March 19th 2005 noon
Join Peace Fresno and area progressive groups on March 19th. We will have speakers, music, vendor/info tables, and a children’s activity area.

Oakland, CA
Oakland GI Rights Hotline/CCCO Benefit
Sunday, February 27th 2005 3:00pm.
On February 27th, The Oakland GI Rights Hotline/CCCO will be holding a benefit at Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland, from 3 to 6:30 pm. The program will present three decades of anti-war activism, from Vietnam to Iraq. A panel of Conscientious Objectors (CO) including David Harris, Vietnam era CO, Dale Bartlett, Vietnam era CO, Jeff Patterson, Gulf War I CO, and others to be announced will discuss war and their experiences as Conscientious Objectors. The panel will be moderated by Steven Morse, CO, Veteran, Coordinator, GI Rights Hotline. Well known Independent Journalist Dahr Jamail, filmmaker Mark Manning, Nadia McCaffery, military mom, and others will report on their recent trip to Iraq.

Oxnard, CA
Perspectives on Peace in the Middle East
Saturday, March 12th 2005 3:00pm.
Rally at La Placita War Memorial, speakers, march around city hall, Q & A teach-in with a panel of three activist organizations at the Cafe on A Street.

Palo Alto, CA
War Tax Resistance Introductory Workshop, Saturday, March 12th 2005 9:00am
Unhappy about the U.S. policy on militarism, stop paying your taxes. More than half of our federal income taxes are being used for war. Find out more about this form of conscientious objection at our introductory workshop. Topics will include:
- Creative legal protests
- Refusing to pay all or part of federal taxes and the possible consequences of this form of civil disobedience
- Living below the level of taxable income
- Phone tax resistance
- Redirecting resisted taxes to local alternative funds and/or community organizations
- Local support networks for war tax resisters

San Luis Obispo, CA
NOT ANOTHER DIME FOR WAR
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2:00pm
‘Rally with speakers, tables, music, etc. Signs to focus on the human and monetary cost of war. Film at 4:30-6:15 ARLINGTON WEST—SLO Library.

Santa Rosa, CA
Counter recruitment: HOPE-High school Outreach Peace Education
Saturday, February 26th 2005 11:00am
Recurring Event (Monthly)
Countering the Military Presence in the local High Schools with book clubs, Conscientious Objector clubs; training progressive activists to do DEP- Delayed Enlistment Program Separations. Distribute resources to strengthen the social justice movement in local high schools.

Susanville, CA
Mourn the death of lives, and liberty
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:30pm
On the 2 year anniversary of the illegal and immoral occupation of Iraq we, the People for Progress, will convene to remember the loss of life. Meet at Memorial Park at 12:30pm for a short rally. From there the demonstrations will pour onto Main for a march uptown. We will reconvene at 6:00pm for a candle vigil uptown as well.

OREGON

Cottage Grove, OR
Memorial Peace Procession
Saturday, March 19th 2005 noon
Peace Procession carrying names of fallen in Iraq War and Iraqi victims. Calling for End to Iraq War; Support Our Troops by Bringing Them Home; Reparations to Iraq. Peaceful procession with other related events from March 18 through 19th. Cottage Grove, Oregon has the National Guard Armory that most Oregon National Guard in Iraq are stationed out of. State-wide event.

Manzanita, OR
Silent candlelight vigil on the beach
Saturday, March 19th 2005 sunset
We will gather on the beach at the end of Laneda St. in Manzanita at sunset and hold a candlelight circle vigil.

Portland, OR
Sunday, March 20th 2005 2:00pm
An interfaith memorial service for the Iraq war dead followed by a solemn procession carrying grave markers to set up a temporary “Arlington Cemetery” in the park blocks of Portland, Oregon. With Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Christ the Healer UCC, Metanoia Peace Community UMC, St Luke’s ELCA, Portland Catholic Workers.

WASHINGTON STATE

Port Angeles, WA
Rally for Peace and Justice
Saturday, March 19th 2005 noon
Gathering to express opposition to Bush Administration’s wars, war crimes and misuse of U.S. military

Wenatchee, WA
Stop the War in Iraq
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm
March and vigil

The East Coast

CONNECTICUT

Hartford, CT
March and Rally Against the War in Iraq
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm.
Statewide antiwar march and rally in Hartford.

Norwalk, CT
Norwalk for Peace & Justice Vigil
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm
No more blood for oil! Save the Bill of Rights! End all occupations! We have plenty of signs to share, or bring your own.

MAINE

Bridges for Peace
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm
Simultaneous vigils in towns, on bridges and streets, for Bridges for Peace 12:00 - 2:00pm. More than thirty towns will have actions.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston, MA
Boston says “Bring the Troops Home Now!”
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2:30pm
CIRCULATE FAR AND WIDE: March 19th, Iraq War Anniversary Protest and Rally
* U.S. out of Iraq - bring the troops home now
* $80 Billion for jobs, education, housing and healthcare – not war and occupation
* Military recruiters out of our schools, end “stop loss,” no draft
No Mandate for War!
Sunday, March 20th 2005 1:00pm
Big anti-war demonstration on the Boston Commons and march through the streets of Boston.

Fall River, MA
Speak out for Peace: a peacebuilding rally
Saturday, March 19th 2005 noon

Spencer, MA
2005 Spencer Peace Symposium
Sunday, March 13th 2005 6:00pm
Week of events promoting the “possibilities and choices for peace”; Starts Sunday with an InterFaith Service; presentations by peacemakers; movies; artworks; Peace Cranes; day-long vigil on Saturday the 19th (bombing anniversary) with a Peace-Walk.

MARYLAND

Baltimore, MD
Rally and March
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm END THE WAR! REBUILD OUR COMMUNITIES! BALTIMORE’S YOUTH ARE NOT DISPOSABLE! Following the Rally... Mass March to a Symbol of Military Recruitment

Columbia, MD
Iraq and the U.S. Addiction to War: What is the Way Out?
Sunday, March 20th 2005 3:00pm
Public Forum and Panel Discussion

Potomac, MD
Community Discussion on Iraq, Terrorism, Neoliberal Globalization
Saturday, March 12th 2005 1:00pm, Potomac Library Meeting Room
This will be an open discussion for people of all opinions. Should we withdraw our troops and end the war in Iraq? Is US foreign policy serving the interests of multinational corporations and the wealthy at the expense of everyone else? Is the war on terrorism inciting the very terrorism it is supposed to reduce? Is the global spread of neoliberalism really to the world’s benefit? The last part of the discussion will be focused on the question, “What is to be done?”

NEW JERSEY

Lambertville, NJ
Lambertville Rally & March
Sunday, March 20th 2005 3:00pm
Local peace and justice groups are uniting in Lambertville, NJ on March 20th to speak out against the occupation in Iraq and mourn the loss of life, on all sides, that has resulted from the war. The event will include speakers, the moving Iraqi memorial wall exhibit, musicians, and a march from Lambertville across the bridge to New Hope, PA, to demonstrate that we are a community united to bring our troops home.

Maplewood, NJ
Be About Peace Day
Saturday, March 19th 2005 1:00pm
Arts and Crafts for Peace Activities for People of All Ages, followed by a Candlelight Vigil

Morristown, NJ
“Chasing Freedom” - Film
Sunday, March 13th 2005 1:30pm
Free film and discussion afterward. Free refreshments, browse sale-table, free Peace Table handouts.

NEW YORK

Coram, NY
Call In & Demand an Exit Date To End The Occupation of Iraq
Friday, March 18th 2005 9:00am
For The Second Anniversary of The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq CALL On March 18, 2005 Congressman Tim Bishop at 631-696-6500 or FAX Congressman Tim Bishop at 631-696-4520 or VISIT Congressman Tim Bishop’s Office at 3680 Route 112 Suite C, Coram, New York. URGE HIS SUPPORT FOR A NEGOTIATED MILITARY EXIT DATE OUT OF IRAQ BEFORE ANY MORE FUNDING FOR THE WAR AND OCCUPATION IN IRAQ!!!

Ithaca, NY
Vigil-a-thon
Saturday, March 19th 2005 10am
All day vigil for peace on the 2nd anniversary of the US led invasion of Iraq. Our theme will be: Another World Is Possible.

New Paltz, NY
Antiwar March and Rally
Saturday, March 19th 2005 noon
This is a regional event, drawing activists from throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley. There will be an outdoor rally followed by a march through town.

Rochester, NY
RSVP • Mobilization for Our Children’s Peaceful Future
Saturday, March 19th 2005 4:00pm
This rally/ march is the commencement of a new local Anti-war Campaign to:
* Bring our soldiers home now
* Oppose a new military draft
* Counter military recruitment
* Support soldiers’ right to resist
* Support full benefits for veterans
Rally, with speakers, on Saturday, March 19th, 4:00pm at Broad and Exchange (outside the Blue Cross Arena), followed by a march to downtown military recruiting stations at State and Main.

PENNSYLVANIA

Bethlehem, PA
War is a Wonderful Thing: An Evening of Dissent with Real West
Saturday, March 19th 2005 8:00pm
Music performance (antifolk and beatnik jazz) to mark the second anniversary of Iraq invasion and mourn the lives lost. We invite regional organizations to participate (literature distribution, presentation or performance, etc.)

Harrisburg, PA
Shocking and Awful
Friday, March 18th 2005 4:00pm
Bring the Troops Home Now!
End the war on Errorism!
Money for Jobs, Healthcare, Housing & Education -Not War!
Protect Civil Rights!
Stop the Patriot ACT, the Death Penalty and Gay Amendments!
Fight for Gay Rights, Women’s Rights, Animal Rights, Youth Rights & Humanity!

Philadelphia, PA
Anti-War Memorial Walk & Call for Nonviolent Resistance
Sunday, March 20th 2005 2:00pm
THE WORLD STILL SAYS NO! TO THIS WAR
The Anti-War Memorial Walk will conclude with a rally and reading of the National Call for Nonviolent Resistance (being launched March 19 - 20 nationally by the Iraq Pledge of Resistance and a network of peace, justice, and religious groups. During the Anti-War Memorial Walk there will be a ceremonial stop at the Phila. Federal Jail (7th & Arch Sts.) where over the past two years people have been jailed for their participation in the March 20, 2003 civil disobedience/mass blockade of the Phila. Federal Building in which 107 people were arrested the day after the start of the U.S. bombardment and invasion of Iraq.

Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Says, “End the War. Rebuild our Communities.”
Saturday, March 19th 2005 2:30pm
Mass March and Rally on the 2nd Anniversary of the Iraq War. The event will kick off with a rally and concert at Forbes and Murray in Squirrel Hill at 2:30pm, followed by a march to Oakland for a concluding rally at William Pitt Union that will start around 4:00pm.

Swarthmore, PA
Our Media and a Healthy Democracy
Thursday, March 3rd 2005 7:30pm
Public Forum on Our Media and a Healthy Democracy

Valley Forge, PA
Good Friday Stations of Justice & Peace, A Trail of Mourning & Truth at Lockheed Martin, the Iraq War’s #1 profiteer.
Friday, March 25th 2005 noon

RHODE ISLAND

Providence, RI
Protest the Occupation of Iraq
Saturday, March 19th 2005 12:00pm
The Community Coalition for Peace (CCP) in Providence is planning a march and peace rally in Providence on March 19th, the second anniversary of the war in Iraq. Event participants will meet at Memorial Square on South Main Street (site of the “No time to be silent” weekly vigil) between 12 and 1 on March 19th, march to Beneficent Church, and then have a two-hour peace rally at the Church from 2 to 4:00 pm with speakers and entertainment.

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Chicago Protestes Demand Right to March and Students Oppose Military Recruiters

Organizers for Chicago's March 19 action against the war in Iraq have been demanding their right to march on the public streets. Chicago City officials have repeatedly denied protesters a permit to march along Michigan Avenue, a busy shopping and business street where parades are held annually. Organizers for the action, now twice denied a permit, filed suit in U.S. District Court in an effort to overturn the city's decision.

The Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism, a main organizer of the action, is also asking a judge to declare unconstitutional the city's permit appeal process, which requires a ruling by a hearing officer of the Mayor's License Commission before the matter can be appealed in court. "That's the formal name, the mayor's Commission," said Charles Nissim-Sabat, one of two attorneys for demonstrators. "It doesn't even have a semblance of independence." He added, "They have an in-house judicial procedure that is not impartial, and that has to be overturned."

In their suit, the coalition shows that city officials are denying a permit for the March 19 anti-war rally because they disapprove of "the content of the coalition's speech." The suit also brings out that each year the city approves a permit for the Greater North Michigan Avenue Association's Festival of Lights Parade, on North Michigan Avenue. The suit also says the city is required, by city ordinance to provide an alternate route of "comparable public visibility," and it did not do so.

In an effort to work with the City, organizers offered one route, and when they were denied, offered a second one, which the City also denied. The City is demanding that demonstrators follow a route along far less visible and busy streets.

The City claims it denied the permit because the demonstration will cause too much disruption to traffic and require a large police presence. They did not say why a large police presence was needed.

Protesters brought out that two years ago, in an action opposing the start of the Iraq war, demonstrators also marched. Police used force against the protesters and unjustly arrested hundreds of them near Michigan and Chicago Avenues. This year's action is not only to demand Troops Out Now! but also to commemorate the stand taken two years ago against police violence and for the right to protest. There is also a court case against the arrests that occurred, with a judge currently deciding whether to grant the case class-action status, meaning it will be heard on behalf of all those arrested.

Organizers are confident that a visible and lively march will take place on the 19th and are urging all concerned to join the fight to End the War Now!

UIC Students Oppose Recruiters on Campus

Students and faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have been organizing against military recruiters on their campus. Air Force recruiters recently came to the UIC School of Public Health (SPH) to try to convince graduating SPH students that the military is a positive career opportunity. The Air Force sent three recruiters, including one with the rank of Major, and had the event catered. However, recruiters walked away frustrated and empty-handed as a result of the anti-recruiter actions. As a student activist reports, "There were two components to the action and together they were effective in getting across an alternative message and preventing the recruiters from accomplishing their objectives.

"The outdoor component consisted of about 10 dedicated people who did a great job of making our presence as visible and vocal as possible. Armed solely with banners, signs, educational leaflets and their wits the crowd managed to talk with people and get out a lot of good information about the war and the lies told by recruiters. Many of the people coming in and out of the building thanked us for being there and we even managed to attract the attention of the Dean's office. Dr. Sylvia Furner, Senior Associate Dean for the School of Public Health, spoke with us and made it clear that her office was not responsible for the event."

The activist added, "The indoor component consisted of about 8 people who had gone inside with the intention of challenging the recruiters during the Q&A session. The first few questions were innocent enough but the subsequent line of questioning became increasingly more provocative and forced them to address things such as the nature of the war and their particular role in it, rampant discrimination and exploitation in the military, the role played by medical personnel in the implementation of torture, the use of medical research and drugs to enhance the performance of combat pilots, conflicts of interest regarding the Hippocratic oath, and so on.

"It was clear that the recruiters had not been confronted with this line of questioning previously. The degree to which they were caught off guard was apparent when one of them admitted that "the military is the most discriminatory employer out there" and spent five minutes trying to convince us that he was not personally homophobic. Another recruiter acknowledged that the responsibility for the use of torture in Iraq rests largely with Donald Rumsfeld and other Department of Defense officials.

"One SPH student asked a question about toxicology and the head recruiter was surprised to learn that it was listed as a sub-field on one of their pamphlets; naturally she was unable to field the question. The third recruiter didn't speak much and when he did it was only to explain why they knew so little about all of this stuff. Apparently they're just too busy "doing their job" to get the facts straight. The contradiction of trying to sell something and knowing so little about it spoke for itself."

Students and faculty have formed an organization on campus to step up efforts to oppose military recruitment and build opposition to the war in Iraq. They plan to confront recruiters whenever they come on campus, with another eight actions already decided on.

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Malcolm X Anniversary

Celebrate the Resistance

February 21 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, an effort by the state to silence and quell the growing resistance movement of the time, particularly among African American workers. As a tribute to Malcolm X, a martyr of the entire working class, we reprint in this issue Malcolm’s speech, “The ballot or the bullet,” whose content remains relevant to all waging the resistance today.

Malcolm X: "The Ballot or the Bullet"

delivered April 3, 1964, in Cleveland, Ohio

Mr. Moderator, Brother Lomax, brothers and sisters, friends and enemies: I just can't believe everyone in here is a friend, and I don't want to leave anybody out. The question tonight, as I understand it, is "The Negro Revolt, and Where Do We Go From Here?" or "What Next?" In my little humble way of understanding it, it points toward either the ballot or the bullet.

Before we try and explain what is meant by the ballot or the bullet, I would like to clarify something concerning myself. I'm still a Muslim; my religion is still Islam. That's my personal belief. Just as Adam Clayton Powell is a Christian minister who heads the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, but at the same time takes part in the political struggles to try and bring about rights to the black people in this country; and Dr. Martin Luther King is a Christian minister down in Atlanta, Georgia, who heads another organization fighting for the civil rights of black people in this country; and Reverend Galamison, I guess you've heard of him, is another Christian minister in New York who has been deeply involved in the school boycotts to eliminate segregated education; well, I myself am a minister, not a Christian minister, but a Muslim minister; and I believe in action on all fronts by whatever means necessary.

Although I'm still a Muslim, I'm not here tonight to discuss my religion. I'm not here to try and change your religion. I'm not here to argue or discuss anything that we differ about, because it's time for us to submerge our differences and realize that it is best for us to first see that we have the same problem, a common problem, a problem that will make you catch hell whether you're a Baptist, or a Methodist, or a Muslim, or a nationalist. Whether you're educated or illiterate, whether you live on the boulevard or in the alley, you're going to catch hell just like I am. We're all in the same boat and we all are going to catch the same hell from the same man. He just happens to be a white man. All of us have suffered here, in this country, political oppression at the hands of the white man, economic exploitation at the hands of the white man, and social degradation at the hands of the white man.

Now in speaking like this, it doesn't mean that we're anti-white, but it does mean we're anti-exploitation, we're anti-degradation, we're anti-oppression. And if the white man doesn't want us to be anti-him, let him stop oppressing and exploiting and degrading us. Whether we are Christians or Muslims or nationalists or agnostics or atheists, we must first learn to forget our differences. If we have differences, let us differ in the closet; when we come out in front, let us not have anything to argue about until we get finished arguing with the man. [...]

If we don't do something real soon, I think you'll have to agree that we're going to be forced either to use the ballot or the bullet. It's one or the other in 1964. It isn't that time is running out time has run out!

1964 threatens to be the most explosive year America has ever witnessed. The most explosive year. Why? It's also a political year. It's the year when all of the white politicians will be back in the so-called Negro community jiving you and me for some votes. The year when all of the white political crooks will be right back in your and my community with their false promises, building up our hopes for a letdown, with their trickery and their treachery, with their false promises which they don't intend to keep. As they nourish these dissatisfactions, it can only lead to one thing, an explosion; and now we have the type of black man on the scene in America today I'm sorry, Brother Lomax who just doesn't intend to turn the other cheek any longer. [...]

Well, I am one who doesn't believe in deluding myself. I'm not going to sit at your table and watch you eat, with nothing on my plate, and call myself a diner. Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American. Why, if birth made you American, you wouldn't need any legislation; you wouldn't need any amendments to the Constitution; you wouldn't be faced with civil-rights filibustering in Washington, D.C., right now. No, I'm not an American. I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I'm not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver no, not I. I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.

These 22 million victims are waking up. Their eyes are coming open. They're beginning to see what they used to only look at. They're becoming politically mature. They are realizing that there are new political trends from coast to coast. As they see these new political trends, it's possible for them to see that every time there's an election the races are so close that they have to have a recount. They had to recount in Massachusetts to see who was going to be governor, it was so close. It was the same way in Rhode Island, in Minnesota, and in many other parts of the country. And the same with Kennedy and Nixon when they ran for president. It was so close they had to count all over again. Well, what does this mean? It means that when white people are evenly divided, and black people have a bloc of votes of their own, it is left up to them to determine who's going to sit in the White House and who's going to be in the dog house.

It was the black man's vote that put the present administration [of Lyndon B. Johnson] in Washington, D.C. Your vote, your dumb vote, your ignorant vote, your wasted vote put in an administration in Washington, D.C., that has seen fit to pass every kind of legislation imaginable, saving you until last, then filibustering on top of that. And your and my leaders have the audacity to run around clapping their hands and talk about how much progress we're making. And what a good president we have. If he wasn't good in Texas, he sure can't be good in Washington, D.C. Because Texas is a lynch state. It is in the same breath as Mississippi, no different; only they lynch you in Texas with a Texas accent and lynch you in Mississippi with a Mississippi accent. And these Negro leaders have the audacity to go and have some coffee in the White House with a Texan, a Southern cracker that's all he is and then come out and tell you and me that he's going to be better for us because, since he's from the South, he knows how to deal with the Southerners. What kind of logic is that? Let Eastland be president, he's from the South too. He should be better able to deal with them than Johnson.

"Look At It The Way it Is"

In this present administration they have in the House of Representatives 257 Democrats to only 177 Republicans. They control two-thirds of the House vote. Why can't they pass something that will help you and me? In the Senate, there are 67 senators who are of the Democratic Party. Only 33 of them are Republicans. Why, the Democrats have got the government sewed up, and you're the one who sewed it up for them. And what have they given you for it? Four years in office, and just now getting around to some civil-rights legislation. Just now, after everything else is gone, out of the way, they're going to sit down now and play with you all summer long the same old giant con game that they call filibuster. All those are in cahoots together. Don't you ever think they're not in cahoots together, for the man that is heading the civil-rights filibuster is a man from Georgia named Richard Russell. When Johnson became president, the first man he asked for when he got back to Washington, D.C., was "Dicky" that's how tight they are. That's his boy, that's his pal, that's his buddy. But they're playing that old con game. One of them makes believe he's for you, and he's got it fixed where the other one is so tight against you, he never has to keep his promise.

So it's time in 1964 to wake up. And when you see them coming up with that kind of conspiracy, let them know your eyes are open. And let them know you something else that's wide open too. It's got to be the ballot or the bullet. The ballot or the bullet. If you're afraid to use an expression like that, you should get on out of the country; you should get back in the cotton patch; you should get back in the alley. They get all the Negro vote, and after they get it, the Negro gets nothing in return. All they did when they got to Washington was give a few big Negroes big jobs. Those big Negroes didn't need big jobs, they already had jobs. That's camouflage, that's trickery, that's treachery, window-dressing. I'm not trying to knock out the Democrats for the Republicans. We'll get to them in a minute. But it is true; you put the Democrats first and the Democrats put you last.

Look at it the way it is. What alibis do they use, since they control Congress and the Senate? What alibi do they use when you and I ask, "Well, when are you going to keep your promise?" They blame the Dixiecrats. What is a Dixiecrat? A Democrat. A Dixiecrat is nothing but a Democrat in disguise. The titular head of the Democrats is also the head of the Dixiecrats, because the Dixiecrats are a part of the Democratic Party. The Democrats have never kicked the Dixiecrats out of the party. The Dixiecrats bolted themselves once, but the Democrats didn't put them out. Imagine, these lowdown Southern segregationists put the Northern Democrats down. But the Northern Democrats have never put the Dixiecrats down. No, look at that thing the way it is. They have got a con game going on, a political con game, and you and I are in the middle. It's time for you and me to wake up and start looking at it like it is, and trying to understand it like it is; and then we can deal with it like it is.

The Dixiecrats in Washington, D.C., control the key committees that run the government. The only reason the Dixiecrats control these committees is because they have seniority. The only reason they have seniority is because they come from states where Negroes can't vote. This is not even a government that's based on democracy. It is not a government that is made up of representatives of the people. Half of the people in the South can't even vote. Eastland is not even supposed to be in Washington. Half of the senators and congressmen who occupy these key positions in Washington, D.C., are there illegally, are there unconstitutionally.

I was in Washington, D.C., a week ago Thursday, when they were debating whether or not they should let the bill come onto the floor. And in the back of the room where the Senate meets, there's a huge map of the United States, and on that map it shows the location of Negroes throughout the country. And it shows that the Southern section of the country, the states that are most heavily concentrated with Negroes, are the ones that have senators and congressmen standing up filibustering and doing all other kinds of trickery to keep the Negro from being able to vote. This is pitiful. But it's not pitiful for us any longer; it's actually pitiful for the white man, because soon now, as the Negro awakens a little more and sees the vise that he's in, sees the bag that he's in, sees the real game that he's in, then the Negro's going to develop a new tactic.

These senators and congressmen actually violate the constitutional amendments that guarantee the people of that particular state or county the right to vote. And the Constitution itself has within it the machinery to expel any representative from a state where the voting rights of the people are violated. You don't even need new legislation. Any person in Congress right now, who is there from a state or a district where the voting rights of the people are violated, that particular person should be expelled from Congress. And when you expel him, you've removed one of the obstacles in the path of any real meaningful legislation in this country. In fact, when you expel them, you don't need new legislation, because they will be replaced by black representatives from counties and districts where the black man is in the majority, not in the minority.

If the black man in these Southern states had his full voting rights, the key Dixiecrats in Washington, D. C., which means the key Democrats in Washington, D.C., would lose their seats. The Democratic Party itself would lose its power. It would cease to be powerful as a party. When you see the amount of power that would be lost by the Democratic Party if it were to lose the Dixiecrat wing, or branch, or element, you can see where it's against the interests of the Democrats to give voting rights to Negroes in states where the Democrats have been in complete power and authority ever since the Civil War. You just can't belong to that Party without analyzing it.

I say again, I'm not anti-Democrat, I'm not anti-Republican, I'm not anti-anything. I'm just questioning their sincerity, and some of the strategy that they've been using on our people by promising them promises that they don't intend to keep. When you keep the Democrats in power, you're keeping the Dixiecrats in power. I doubt that my good Brother Lomax will deny that. A vote for a Democrat is a vote for a Dixiecrat. That's why, in 1964, it's time now for you and me to become more politically mature and realize what the ballot is for; what we're supposed to get when we cast a ballot; and that if we don't cast a ballot, it's going to end up in a situation where we're going to have to cast a bullet. It's either a ballot or a bullet.

In the North, they do it a different way. They have a system that's known as gerrymandering, whatever that means. It means when Negroes become too heavily concentrated in a certain area, and begin to gain too much political power, the white man comes along and changes the district lines. You may say, "Why do you keep saying white man?" Because it's the white man who does it. I haven't ever seen any Negro changing any lines. They don't let him get near the line. It's the white man who does this. And usually, it's the white man who grins at you the most, and pats you on the back, and is supposed to be your friend. He may be friendly, but he's not your friend.

So, what I'm trying to impress upon you, in essence, is this: You and I in America are faced not with a segregationist conspiracy, we're faced with a government conspiracy. Everyone who's filibustering is a senator that's the government. Everyone who's finagling in Washington, D.C., is a congressman that's the government. You don't have anybody putting blocks in your path but people who are a part of the government. The same government that you go abroad to fight for and die for is the government that is in a conspiracy to deprive you of your voting rights, deprive you of your economic opportunities, deprive you of decent housing, deprive you of decent education. You don't need to go to the employer alone, it is the government itself, the government of America, that is responsible for the oppression and exploitation and degradation of black people in this country. And you should drop it in their lap. This government has failed the Negro. This so-called democracy has failed the Negro. And all these white liberals have definitely failed the Negro.

So, where do we go from here? First, we need some friends. We need some new allies. The entire civil-rights struggle needs a new interpretation, a broader interpretation. We need to look at this civil-rights thing from another angle from the inside as well as from the outside. To those of us whose philosophy is black nationalism, the only way you can get involved in the civil-rights struggle is give it a new interpretation. That old interpretation excluded us. It kept us out. So, we're giving a new interpretation to the civil-rights struggle, an interpretation that will enable us to come into it, take part in it. [...]

How can you thank a man for giving you what's already yours? How then can you thank him for giving you only part of what's already yours? You haven't even made progress, if what's being given to you, you should have had already. That's not progress. And I love my Brother Lomax, the way he pointed out we're right back where we were in 1954. We're not even as far up as we were in 1954. We're behind where we were in 1954. There's more segregation now than there was in 1954. There's more racial animosity, more racial hatred, more racial violence today in 1964, than there was in 1954. Where is the progress?

And now you're facing a situation where the young Negro's coming up. They don't want to hear that "turn the-other-cheek" stuff, no. In Jacksonville, those were teenagers, they were throwing Molotov cocktails. Negroes have never done that before. But it shows you there's a new deal coming in. There's new thinking coming in. There's new strategy coming in. It'll be Molotov cocktails this month, hand grenades next month, and something else next month. It'll be ballots, or it'll be bullets. It'll be liberty, or it will be death. The only difference about this kind of death it'll be reciprocal. You know what is meant by "reciprocal"? That's one of Brother Lomax's words. I stole it from him. I don't usually deal with those big words because I don't usually deal with big people. I deal with small people. I find you can get a whole lot of small people and whip hell out of a whole lot of big people. They haven't got anything to lose, and they've got everything to gain. And they'll let you know in a minute: "It takes two to tango; when I go, you go."

The black nationalists, those whose philosophy is black nationalism, in bringing about this new interpretation of the entire meaning of civil rights, look upon it as meaning, as Brother Lomax has pointed out, equality of opportunity. Well, we're justified in seeking civil rights, if it means equality of opportunity, because all we're doing there is trying to collect for our investment. Our mothers and fathers invested sweat and blood. Three hundred and ten years we worked in this country without a dime in return I mean without a dime in return. You let the white man walk around here talking about how rich this country is, but you never stop to think how it got rich so quick. It got rich because you made it rich.

You take the people who are in this audience right now. They're poor. We're all poor as individuals. Our weekly salary individually amounts to hardly anything. But if you take the salary of everyone in here collectively, it'll fill up a whole lot of baskets. It's a lot of wealth. If you can collect the wages of just these people right here for a year, you'll be rich richer than rich. When you look at it like that, think how rich Uncle Sam had to become, not with this handful, but millions of black people. Your and my mother and father, who didn't work an eight-hour shift, but worked from "can't see" in the morning until "can't see" at night, and worked for nothing, making the white man rich, making Uncle Sam rich. This is our investment. This is our contribution, our blood.

Not only did we give of our free labor, we gave of our blood. Every time he had a call to arms, we were the first ones in uniform. We died on every battlefield the white man had. We have made a greater sacrifice than anybody who's standing up in America today. We have made a greater contribution and have collected less. Civil rights, for those of us whose philosophy is black nationalism, means: "Give it to us now. Don't wait for next year. Give it to us yesterday, and that's not fast enough."

"Depriving You of Rights is Criminal"

I might stop right here to point out one thing. Whenever you're going after something that belongs to you, anyone who's depriving you of the right to have it is a criminal. Understand that. Whenever you are going after something that is yours, you are within your legal rights to lay claim to it. And anyone who puts forth any effort to deprive you of that which is yours, is breaking the law, is a criminal. And this was pointed out by the Supreme Court decision. It outlawed segregation.

Which means segregation is against the law. Which means a segregationist is breaking the law. A segregationist is a criminal. You can't label him as anything other than that. And when you demonstrate against segregation, the law is on your side. The Supreme Court is on your side.

Now, who is it that opposes you in carrying out the law? The police department itself. With police dogs and clubs. Whenever you demonstrate against segregation, whether it is segregated education, segregated housing, or anything else, the law is on your side, and anyone who stands in the way is not the law any longer. They are breaking the law; they are not representatives of the law. Any time you demonstrate against segregation and a man has the audacity to put a police dog on you, kill that dog, kill him, I'm telling you, kill that dog. I say it, if they put me in jail tomorrow, kill that dog. Then you'll put a stop to it. Now, if these white people in here don't want to see that kind of action, get down and tell the mayor to tell the police department to pull the dogs in. That's all you have to do. If you don't do it, someone else will.

If you don't take this kind of stand, your little children will grow up and look at you and think "shame." If you don't take an uncompromising stand, I don't mean go out and get violent; but at the same time you should never be nonviolent unless you run into some nonviolence. I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go insane, and I'm not responsible for what I do. And that's the way every Negro should get. Any time you know you're within the law, within your legal rights, within your moral rights, in accord with justice, then die for what you believe in. But don't die alone. Let your dying be reciprocal. This is what is meant by equality. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Struggle for Human Rights

When we begin to get in this area, we need new friends, we need new allies. We need to expand the civil-rights struggle to a higher level to the level of human rights. Whenever you are in a civil-rights struggle, whether you know it or not, you are confining yourself to the jurisdiction of Uncle Sam. No one from the outside world can speak out in your behalf as long as your struggle is a civil-rights struggle. Civil rights comes within the domestic affairs of this country. All of our African brothers and our Asian brothers and our Latin-American brothers cannot open their mouths and interfere in the domestic affairs of the United States. And as long as it's civil rights, this comes under the jurisdiction of Uncle Sam.

But the United Nations has what's known as the charter of human rights; it has a committee that deals in human rights. You may wonder why all of the atrocities that have been committed in Africa and in Hungary and in Asia, and in Latin America are brought before the UN, and the Negro problem is never brought before the UN. This is part of the conspiracy. This old, tricky blue eyed liberal who is supposed to be your and my friend, supposed to be in our corner, supposed to be subsidizing our struggle, and supposed to be acting in the capacity of an adviser, never tells you anything about human rights. They keep you wrapped up in civil rights. And you spend so much time barking up the civil-rights tree, you don't even know there's a human-rights tree on the same floor.

When you expand the civil-rights struggle to the level of human rights, you can then take the case of the black man in this country before the nations in the UN. You can take it before the General Assembly. You can take Uncle Sam before a world court. But the only level you can do it on is the level of human rights. Civil rights keeps you under his restrictions, under his jurisdiction. Civil rights keeps you in his pocket. Civil rights means you're asking Uncle Sam to treat you right. Human rights are something you were born with. Human rights are your God-given rights. Human rights are the rights that are recognized by all nations of this earth. And any time anyone violates your human rights, you can take them to the world court.

Uncle Sam's hands are dripping with blood, dripping with the blood of the black man in this country. He's the earth's number-one hypocrite. He has the audacity yes, he has imagine him posing as the leader of the free world. The free world! And you over here singing "We Shall Overcome." Expand the civil-rights struggle to the level of human rights. Take it into the United Nations, where our African brothers can throw their weight on our side, where our Asian brothers can throw their weight on our side, where our Latin-American brothers can throw their weight on our side, and where 800 million Chinamen are sitting there waiting to throw their weight on our side.

Let the world know how bloody his hands are. Let the world know the hypocrisy that's practiced over here. Let it be the ballot or the bullet. Let him know that it must be the ballot or the bullet. [...]

The dark people are waking up. They're losing their fear of the white man. No place where he's fighting right now is he winning. Everywhere he's fighting, he's fighting someone your and my complexion. And they're beating him. He can't win any more. He's won his last battle. He failed to win the Korean War. He couldn't win it. He had to sign a truce. That's a loss...The white man can't win another war fighting on the ground. Those days are over. The black man knows it, the brown man knows it, the red man knows it, and the yellow man knows it. So they engage him in guerrilla warfare. That's not his style. You've got to have heart to be a guerrilla warrior, and he hasn't got any heart. I'm telling you now... Nowhere on this earth does the white man win in a guerrilla warfare. It's not his speed. Just as guerrilla warfare is prevailing in Asia and in parts of Africa and in parts of Latin America, you've got to be mighty naive, or you've got to play the black man cheap, if you don't think some day he's going to wake up and find that it's got to be the ballot or the bullet.

"We Will Work With Anyone, Anytime"

I would like to say, in closing, a few things concerning the Muslim Mosque, Inc., which we established recently in New York City. It's true we're Muslims and our religion is Islam, but we don't mix our religion with our politics and our economics and our social and civil activities not any more. We keep our religion in our mosque. After our religious services are over, then as Muslims we become involved in political action, economic action and social and civic action. We become involved with anybody, any where, any time and in any manner that's designed to eliminate the evils, the political, economic and social evils that are afflicting the people of our community.

The political philosophy of black nationalism means that the black man should control the politics and the politicians in his own community; no more. The black man in the black community has to be re-educated into the science of politics so he will know what politics is supposed to bring him in return. Don't be throwing out any ballots. A ballot is like a bullet. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket.

The political philosophy of black nationalism is being taught in the Christian church. It's being taught in the NAACP. It's being taught in CORE meetings. It's being taught in SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) meetings. It's being taught in Muslim meetings. It's being taught where nothing but atheists and agnostics come together. It's being taught everywhere. Black people are fed up with the dillydallying, pussyfooting, compromising approach that we've been using toward getting our freedom. We want freedom now, but we're not going to get it saying "We Shall Overcome." We've got to fight until we overcome. [...]

So the economic philosophy of black nationalism means in every church, in every civic organization, in every fraternal order, it's time now for our people to be come conscious of the importance of controlling the economy of our community. If we own the stores, if we operate the businesses, if we try and establish some industry in our own community, then we're developing to the position where we are creating employment for our own kind. Once you gain control of the economy of your own community, then you don't have to picket and boycott and beg some cracker downtown for a job in his business.

The social philosophy of black nationalism only means that we have to get together and remove the evils, the vices, alcoholism, drug addiction, and other evils that are destroying the moral fiber of our community. We our selves have to lift the level of our community, the standard of our community to a higher level, make our own society beautiful so that we will be satisfied in our own social circles and won't be running around here trying to knock our way into a social circle where we're not wanted. So I say, in spreading a gospel such as black nationalism, it is not designed to make the black man re-evaluate the white man you know him already but to make the black man re-evaluate himself. Don't change the white man's mind you can't change his mind, and that whole thing about appealing to the moral conscience of America America's conscience is bankrupt. She lost all conscience a long time ago. Uncle Sam has no conscience.

They don't know what morals are. They don't try and eliminate an evil because it's evil, or because it's illegal, or because it's immoral; they eliminate it only when it threatens their existence. So you're wasting your time appealing to the moral conscience of a bankrupt man like Uncle Sam. If he had a conscience, he'd straighten this thing out with no more pressure being put upon him. So it is not necessary to change the white man's mind. We have to change our own mind. You can't change his mind about us. We've got to change our own minds about each other. We have to see each other with new eyes. We have to see each other as brothers and sisters. We have to come together with warmth so we can develop unity and harmony that's necessary to get this problem solved ourselves. [...]

It's time for you and me to stop sitting in this country, letting some cracker senators, Northern crackers and Southern crackers, sit there in Washington, D.C., and come to a conclusion in their mind that you and I are supposed to have civil rights. There's no white man going to tell me anything about my rights. Brothers and sisters, always remember, if it doesn't take senators and congressmen and presidential proclamations to give freedom to the white man, it is not necessary for legislation or proclamation or Supreme Court decisions to give freedom to the black man. You let that white man know, if this is a country of freedom, let it be a country of freedom; and if it's not a country of freedom, change it.

We will work with anybody, anywhere, at any time, who is genuinely interested in tackling the problem head-on, nonviolently as long as the enemy is nonviolent, but violent when the enemy gets violent. We'll work with you on the voter-registration drive, we'll work with you on rent strikes, we'll work with you on school boycotts...We will work with you against the segregated school system because it's criminal, because it is absolutely destructive, in every way imaginable, to the minds of the children who have to be exposed to that type of crippling education.

Take Up Self-Defense

Last but not least, I must say this concerning the great controversy over rifles and shotguns. The only thing that I've ever said is that in areas where the government has proven itself either unwilling or unable to defend the lives and the property of Negroes, it's time for Negroes to defend themselves. Article number two of the constitutional amendments provides you and me the right to own a rifle or a shotgun. It is constitutionally legal to own a shotgun or a rifle. This doesn't mean you're going to get a rifle and form battalions and go out looking for white folks, although you'd be within your rights I mean, you'd be justified; but that would be illegal and we don't do anything illegal. If the white man doesn't want the black man buying rifles and shotguns, then let the government do its job. [...]

If he's not going to do his job in running the government and providing you and me with the protection that our taxes are supposed to be for, since he spends all those billions for his defense budget, he certainly can't begrudge you and me spending $12 or $15 for a single-shot, or double-action. I hope you understand. Don't go out shooting people, but any time brothers and sisters, and especially the men in this audience; some of you wearing Congressional Medals of Honor, with shoulders this wide, chests this big, muscles that big any time you and I sit around and read where they bomb a church and murder in cold blood, not some grownups, but four little girls while they were praying to the same God the white man taught them to pray to, and you and I see the government go down and can't find who did it.

Why, this man he can find Eichmann hiding down in Argentina somewhere. Let two or three American soldiers, who are minding somebody else's business way over in South Vietnam, get killed, and he'll send battleships, sticking his nose in their business. He wanted to send troops down to Cuba and make them have what he calls free elections this old cracker who doesn't have free elections in his own country.

No, if you never see me another time in your life, if I die in the morning, I'll die saying one thing: the ballot or the bullet, the ballot or the bullet.

If a Negro in 1964 has to sit around and wait for some cracker senator to filibuster when it comes to the rights of black people, why, you and I should hang our heads in shame. You talk about a march on Washington in 1963, you haven't seen anything. There's some more going down in '64.

And this time they're not going like they went last year. They're not going singing ''We Shall Overcome." They're not going with white friends. They're not going with placards already painted for them. They're not going with round-trip tickets. They're going with one way tickets. And if they don't want that non-nonviolent army going down there, tell them to bring the filibuster to a halt.

The black nationalists aren't going to wait. Lyndon B. Johnson is the head of the Democratic Party. If he's for civil rights, let him go into the Senate next week and declare himself. Let him go in there right now and declare himself. Let him go in there and denounce the Southern branch of his party. Let him go in there right now and take a moral stand right now, not later. Tell him, don't wait until election time. If he waits too long, brothers and sisters, he will be responsible for letting a condition develop in this country which will create a climate that will bring seeds up out of the ground with vegetation on the end of them looking like something these people never dreamed of. In 1964, it's the ballot or the bullet.

(Speech edited for space, subheads ours, for full text go to blackcommentator.org)

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Voice of Revolution
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