Why We Can't Wait

The system of social inequality has and continues to be dictated by rich white Anglo-Saxon-Protestant American males who have manipulated the truth, distorted reality in order to impose their will upon their fellow human beings. One example of this falsification of true freedom is the Catholic Church. The Church tries to regulate the lives of Catholics by offering principles and values that relate to family and sexuality. But recent history shows that these principles and values have been violated by the very people who are responsible for inspiring adherence to them. Lately, the church has been under tense scrutiny because many priests have been molesting children for many years with the knowledge of their superiors. Furthermore, according to the principles that the Pope preaches, one is to abstain from having sex until one is married and one is to stay married unto death: that is the will of God. Yet, if this was true then the majority of Catholics would not lose their virginity so early in life, never get divorced and pedophiles would not have operated with impunity as priests.

Since the Church is unable to neither police its own nor inspire the behavior it demands of its flock, Catholics can no longer continue to believe that women should be punished because Eve gave Adam an apple. The reason for man’s fall from paradise is not a justification for perpetuating inequality and condemning women to be subservient to man. This story is as ludicrous as the one claiming that, out of all the women in the world, Mary was the only woman to give birth by Immaculate Conception throughout history. Since women have a new found freedom to a certain extent then what is being predicated in the bible is not actually true now that women have a voice and vote in what matters.

Sentiments of a Kind

As an African-American, I am always conscious of how I am treated by my fellow citizens based on my heritage, education, and status of citizenship according to my income level. And I notice that there exist a tendency for citizens to treat African-Americans with a lack of respect based on a school of thought which stems from the idea of white superiority. Race has always been an issue that has divided us as citizens and as humans in general however the idea that a person is superior and deserves an inherent privilage is absurd. Furthermore, white superiority resembles the same train of thought and belief system that produced Nazsim. Yet society has adopted this idea that amongst human race being black is being onfthe lowest rung on the ladder and is similar to being on a team that is and will always come in last place in the human race by default. I do not believe that everyone shares these sentiments towards African Americans but for those that do are under an illusion that this acceptable and that African Americans can not and are not taking the actions to deal the threat to their well being.

Reflections on CIW and SFA class visit

Recently Max Perez of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and Liz Fitzgerald of the Student Farm worker Alliance came to speak at Kathy's Critical Social Thought class at SFSU. CIW is based out of the agricultural town of Immokalee, Florida. Workers and allies have been organizing since 1996 to campaign for fair food and just labor practices. Max told us that CIW began out of harsh work and living conditions in Immokalee and, in particular, of an incident in which a man working the fields stopped to get water and was beaten. The town then organized and marched to the contractors house with the message that "to beat one of us is to beat us all." After that march change came. Their was a realization of the power of the collective and strength of empowered workers. According to Max, CIW still has the bloodied shirt of the beaten worker. What stood out vividly to me in this talk was Max describing the conditions of the workers in 1000+ acre fields: men and women waiting early in the morning for buses to the fields, waiting for tomatoes to dry before harvest, waiting in lines to turn in over-filled buckets of produce for a single wage chip, waiting to cash in wage chips for 40 cents each, waiting for liberation, waiting, working, waiting. For me the idea of waiting for justice brings King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to mind. King states, "there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair." The beating of a fellow worker set off organization which led to failed strikes but other huge successes with a modified organization plan. The role of the student in this movement has been great, as Liz and the SFA have directly worked with and supported CIW to achieve significant change. To fight back CIW and SFA have campaigned to gain the support of food service corporations to pay 1 cent more per pound of tomatoes to be allocated to pickers. The most recent big success has been the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange agreeing to a code of conduct. This code of conduct enforces labor laws, implements the penny per pound increase, protects worker health, etc. SFA has engaged in direct actions that targets food chains and supermarkets to sign on to the penny more per pound agreement.
Listening to Max and Liz and hearing the conditions that sparked this movement, as well as the strategies they are using to gain great success in their struggle inspires me to see the connections to our country's past and future. CIW has documented several cases of slavery which most people in this country believe no longer exists but is, in fact, thriving. I envision the waiting and despair that slaves endured, the waiting that our black and other citizens of color did in the 50s and 60s for desegregation, and the waiting that workers in our agriculture fields are doing for fair conditions today. So much waiting for liberation. Max and Liz called their struggle "collective liberation." As I write there is revolution and uprising in the middle east. I can not help but think what an uprising in America would look like? With the assault on labor unions in Wisconsin and the protests of workers defending their negotiations rights I wonder if these days are one of the historical moments so many have been waiting for. As I learned in Freedom School, we need to be prepared to take action at the right historical moment and it gives me hope envisioning CIW workers marching, with everything to lose, to the home of their contractor to tell him that they had rights and that their collective was a community not easily broken.

Healing Slavery's Legacy

Healing the Wounds of Intergenerational Trauma

At California Institute of Integral Studies

April 21 - Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, with Dr. Joy DeGruy

April 22 - Slavery's Legacy: A workshop on Intergenerational Trauma and Healing

This series features ground-breaking dialogues with leading scholars, psychotherapists and shamanic practitioners dealing with the residual effects of historical trauma on Native and African American communities and other under-served communities. The series will explore current clinical findings and scientific research and raise questions such as:

    * What is intergenerational trauma?

    * How does it manifest in particular groups?

    * How do historic systems of oppression impact modern health?

    * Is trans-generational trauma one of the causative factors in the alteration of gene expression?

    * What are some of the healing modalities and practices from indigenous and Western traditions?

Freedom Riders Reunion -- panel discussion and photo exhibit

Freedom Riders Reunion   Tue, Mar 1, 7:00pm ---- an evening of stimulating discussion among veterans of the Freedom Rides 

Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St. SF CA
Free!
Advanced Reservations Required
Email Arts@jccsf.org or call 415-292-1233

In the spring and summer of 1961, hundreds of Americans – blacks and whites, men and women converged on Jackson, Mississippi, to challenge state segregation laws. The Freedom Riders, as they came to be known, were determined to put an end to segregation and discrimination through civil action. Be there for a Freedom Riders reunion panel and and a tour of the “Breach of Peace” photo exhibition in JCCSF’s Katz Snyder Gallery.