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Happy Women's Rights Day from Radical Women!
Dear Friends,
Greetings on the occasion of Women's Rights Day, the anniversary of the signing into U.S. law of voting rights for women on August 26, 1920.
We honor the courageous women who fought for this hard-won measure. They were not handed the ballot; they demanded it and took it. They traveled the country organizing public support, appeared before Congress and state legislatures, invaded polling places, were arrested and jailed, chained themselves to the gates of public buildings, held hunger strikes, and suffered forced feeding. They endured slander, insults, catcalls and other attacks on their freedom of speech as they took their message everywhere: women must be free and granted their full rights as citizens. These foremothers deserve our thanks for their valiant efforts.
But the struggle is far from over. Voting rights are still a fiction for many people of color. Living standards and job opportunities are plummeting. Women still lack economic parity with men, control over our own bodies, universal healthcare and childcare, safe and well-paying jobs, affordable housing, quality education -- all the things that make life livable and sweet. And the world still desperately needs freedom from poverty, bigotry, war and violence.
These essential needs will remain out of reach as long as we live under a system that imposes discrimination and poverty on the many in order to generate wealth for an elite few. That system, the capitalist system, will remain in place as long as the twin parties of business, the Democrats and Republicans, control Congress, the White House, the legislatures, Governors' mansions, and city councils. Working women and men need to break out of the two-party quagmire and change the status quo. Voting for anti-capitalist and socialist candidates is one very important way to use our hard-won and valuable voting rights.
But we also need much more than protest votes. Women, especially women of color, are drivers in crucial organizing taking place in the antiwar, racial equality, immigrant, labor, welfare rights, student and queer movements. Radical Women foresees a vast new upsurge to replace capitalism with the shared abundance and liberated human relationships of socialism. To that end, we are holding a national conference in San Francisco from October 3 through 6 to discuss "The Persistent Power of Socialist Feminism." The gathering will develop an action plan to mobilize a radical, multi-issue feminist movement. Activists and scholars from China , Australia , Central America and the U.S. -- including courageous civil liberties attorney Lynne Stewart-- will be in attendance to offer their insights and wisdom. Plan to attend and add your thoughts and experiences to the mix. Check out our website www.radicalwomen.org/2008_conference.htm for more information, or phone 206-722-6057.
Now is the time to come together to set a bold new course for women!
Anne Slater
National Organizer
Radical Women, U.S. Section
625 Larkin Street Suite 202
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 415-864-1278
RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com
www.RadicalWomen.org
Radical Women National Conference
The Persistent Power
of Socialist Feminism
October 3-6, 2008
San Francisco
The Women's Building, 3543 18th St.
Speakers
Embattled civil liberties attorney Lynne Stewart
Activists & scholars from Central America, China, Australia and the U.S.
Key topics
* Multi-racial organizing in a society divided by racism
* The dynamic leadership of youth and queers
* Women of color and immigrant women spark a labor revival
* For a U.S. feminist movement independent of the twin parties of war & reaction
Workshops
Organizer skills training * Strategy workshops
Radical culture & more!
For more information, to register or donate, go to
www.radicalwomen.org/2008_conference.htm
Radical Women's 41st Anniversary Conference occurs at a very important time. Around the world, women are part of a bold resistance to reactionary social and political forces. In Latin America, women and indigenous people are providing vibrant workingclass leadership against crippling neoliberal trade agreements. In Mexico, "Adelita" brigades shut down congress to oppose privatization of the nationalized oil industry. These movements provide a powerful stimulus to the entire hemisphere.
In the U.S., women are both targets and opponents of repression. In the anti-war, racial equality, immigrant, labor, student and queer movements, organizing is sparked and driven by women, especially women of color. They demand justice for Sean Bell and Black youth in Jena as well as funding for services in New Orleans. They oppose racist shock-jocks and lead unionization campaigns. They have stopped shipments of Iraq war supplies on the streets of Washington State. They defend civil liberties and continue the fight for affirmative action, childcare, and an end to sexual violence. They infuse the immigrant rights movement with militancy inspired by anti-imperialist upsurges in Latin America and fueled by the fight against U.S. xenophobia.
U.S. women are fighting tooth and nail to keep gains won by past generations, as well as to advance women's cause. But feminist reformists and NGOs hold back the movement by diverting organizing into single-issue and Democratic Party politics. Radical Women looks for inspiration and strategies to our revolutionary socialist foremothers, and to the civil rights militants, students, lesbians, and unionists who spearheaded the Second Wave women's liberation movement. Such women today are the sparkplugs for radical change and, by working in coalition with supportive men who have their own stake in achieving human liberation, they can truly shake the status quo.
Now is the time to mobilize women who are open to revolutionary alternatives to capitalism. The Radical Women conference is an opportunity to grapple with ideas, examine the limitations of reformism, gain the confidence to challenge the system, and build the ranks of socialist feminists. Radical Women has a time-tested program, decades of experience, and the responsibility to reach out, connect with, and train women who are outraged and ready to take action to change the world.
If you are interested in attending or helping with this exciting and historic event, contact the Conference Organizing Center at radicalwomenus@gmail.com, 206-722-6057 or 722-2453. All genders are welcome.
For more information, to register or donate, go to
www.radicalwomen.org/2008_conference.htm
Dear Friends,
Greetings on the occasion of Women's Rights Day, the anniversary of the signing into U.S. law of voting rights for women on August 26, 1920.
We honor the courageous women who fought for this hard-won measure. They were not handed the ballot; they demanded it and took it. They traveled the country organizing public support, appeared before Congress and state legislatures, invaded polling places, were arrested and jailed, chained themselves to the gates of public buildings, held hunger strikes, and suffered forced feeding. They endured slander, insults, catcalls and other attacks on their freedom of speech as they took their message everywhere: women must be free and granted their full rights as citizens. These foremothers deserve our thanks for their valiant efforts.
But the struggle is far from over. Voting rights are still a fiction for many people of color. Living standards and job opportunities are plummeting. Women still lack economic parity with men, control over our own bodies, universal healthcare and childcare, safe and well-paying jobs, affordable housing, quality education -- all the things that make life livable and sweet. And the world still desperately needs freedom from poverty, bigotry, war and violence.
These essential needs will remain out of reach as long as we live under a system that imposes discrimination and poverty on the many in order to generate wealth for an elite few. That system, the capitalist system, will remain in place as long as the twin parties of business, the Democrats and Republicans, control Congress, the White House, the legislatures, Governors' mansions, and city councils. Working women and men need to break out of the two-party quagmire and change the status quo. Voting for anti-capitalist and socialist candidates is one very important way to use our hard-won and valuable voting rights.
But we also need much more than protest votes. Women, especially women of color, are drivers in crucial organizing taking place in the antiwar, racial equality, immigrant, labor, welfare rights, student and queer movements. Radical Women foresees a vast new upsurge to replace capitalism with the shared abundance and liberated human relationships of socialism. To that end, we are holding a national conference in San Francisco from October 3 through 6 to discuss "The Persistent Power of Socialist Feminism." The gathering will develop an action plan to mobilize a radical, multi-issue feminist movement. Activists and scholars from China , Australia , Central America and the U.S. -- including courageous civil liberties attorney Lynne Stewart-- will be in attendance to offer their insights and wisdom. Plan to attend and add your thoughts and experiences to the mix. Check out our website www.radicalwomen.org/2008_conference.htm for more information, or phone 206-722-6057.
Now is the time to come together to set a bold new course for women!
Anne Slater
National Organizer
Radical Women, U.S. Section
625 Larkin Street Suite 202
San Francisco, CA 94109
Phone: 415-864-1278
RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com
www.RadicalWomen.org
Radical Women National Conference
The Persistent Power
of Socialist Feminism
October 3-6, 2008
San Francisco
The Women's Building, 3543 18th St.
Speakers
Embattled civil liberties attorney Lynne Stewart
Activists & scholars from Central America, China, Australia and the U.S.
Key topics
* Multi-racial organizing in a society divided by racism
* The dynamic leadership of youth and queers
* Women of color and immigrant women spark a labor revival
* For a U.S. feminist movement independent of the twin parties of war & reaction
Workshops
Organizer skills training * Strategy workshops
Radical culture & more!
For more information, to register or donate, go to
www.radicalwomen.org/2008_conference.htm
Radical Women's 41st Anniversary Conference occurs at a very important time. Around the world, women are part of a bold resistance to reactionary social and political forces. In Latin America, women and indigenous people are providing vibrant workingclass leadership against crippling neoliberal trade agreements. In Mexico, "Adelita" brigades shut down congress to oppose privatization of the nationalized oil industry. These movements provide a powerful stimulus to the entire hemisphere.
In the U.S., women are both targets and opponents of repression. In the anti-war, racial equality, immigrant, labor, student and queer movements, organizing is sparked and driven by women, especially women of color. They demand justice for Sean Bell and Black youth in Jena as well as funding for services in New Orleans. They oppose racist shock-jocks and lead unionization campaigns. They have stopped shipments of Iraq war supplies on the streets of Washington State. They defend civil liberties and continue the fight for affirmative action, childcare, and an end to sexual violence. They infuse the immigrant rights movement with militancy inspired by anti-imperialist upsurges in Latin America and fueled by the fight against U.S. xenophobia.
U.S. women are fighting tooth and nail to keep gains won by past generations, as well as to advance women's cause. But feminist reformists and NGOs hold back the movement by diverting organizing into single-issue and Democratic Party politics. Radical Women looks for inspiration and strategies to our revolutionary socialist foremothers, and to the civil rights militants, students, lesbians, and unionists who spearheaded the Second Wave women's liberation movement. Such women today are the sparkplugs for radical change and, by working in coalition with supportive men who have their own stake in achieving human liberation, they can truly shake the status quo.
Now is the time to mobilize women who are open to revolutionary alternatives to capitalism. The Radical Women conference is an opportunity to grapple with ideas, examine the limitations of reformism, gain the confidence to challenge the system, and build the ranks of socialist feminists. Radical Women has a time-tested program, decades of experience, and the responsibility to reach out, connect with, and train women who are outraged and ready to take action to change the world.
If you are interested in attending or helping with this exciting and historic event, contact the Conference Organizing Center at radicalwomenus@gmail.com, 206-722-6057 or 722-2453. All genders are welcome.
For more information, to register or donate, go to
www.radicalwomen.org/2008_conference.htm
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