Thomas Merton Center Pittsburgh’s Peace and Social Justice Center
PITTSBURGH’S PEACE & JUSTICE NEWSPAPER VOL. 46 No. 2 February 2016
Congratulations to ATI LOCKOUT – Why and How Pittsburghers for Public Transit and 2015 Success! the Progressive Movement Must
Support the Steelworkers The lockout of 2,200 steelworkers by ATI (Allegheny Technologies, Inc.) is entering its 6th month and at a critical stage for workers and their families. On November 30th, 2015, the Company eliminated health-care benefits for all employees, and as of mid-February, workers will run out of unemployment benefits. Because of their ‘locked out’ status, workers are having and will have extreme difficulty getting any temporary employment elsewhere. Now, more than ever, the public and especially the economic-justice community need to step up to the plate and support these workers.
Pittsburghers for Public Transit has successfully mobilized six community campaigns over the last year, engaging thousands of residents. Baldwin and Groveton got service restored in September, and this fall over 1000 service requests were made to Port Authority. Thanks to the hard work and commitment from PPT staff and volunteers, Port Authority has approved service guidelines that include equity as a leading factor in their decision-making. PPT has consistently advocated for lower fares and is celebrating Port Authority's plan to reduce Zone 2 fares, starting January 2017! Stay up to date by visiting: www.pittsburghforpublictransit.org
By Mike Stout
The Issues behind the Lockout Here is what ATI’s most recent offer looks like: ATI is demanding massive cuts in health-care benefits, which will end up costing each worker between $3,000$6,000 annually. In addition, for employees hired after July 1st, health-care deductibles will be five times those of existing workers, out-of-pocket maximums more than twice as much, and co-pays even higher. ATI is demanding the elimination of Continued on Page 9..
In This Issue Deplorable Immigration Detention…..
Page 4
Affordable Housing For Whom?....
Page 6
SOA Grads Arrested….
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COP21: Head Spinning Our Readers Write…. Page 14 Climate Negotiations Dear Non-Muslim Allies By Mark Dixon
My two-week visit to Paris for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) climate negotiations left me with a spinning head, a heavy heart, and a belly full of obscenely delicious French patisseries. My head spins with an abundance of words placed there The Eiffel Tower all dressed up in lights for COP21. Photo By Mark Dixon by an army of climate spin-masters from every corner of the testers were tragically diminished by a terglobe, every industry, every culture and reli- rorist-induced state of emergency. And my gion. My heart beats heavily with the full, happy belly reminds me that there knowledge that the voices of climate proContinued on Page 13...
By Sofia Ali-Khan via the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh
Dear Non-Muslim Allies, I am writing to you because it has gotten just that bad. I have found myself telling too many people about the advice given to me years ago by the late composer Herbert Brun, a German Jew who fled Germany at the age of 15: “Be sure that your passport is in order.” It’s not enough to laugh at Donald Trump anymore. The rhetoric about Muslims has gotten so nasty, and is everywhere, on every channel, every newsfeed. It is clearly fueling daily events of targeted violence, vandalism, vigilante harassment, discrimination. I want you to know that it has gotten bad enough that my family and I talk about what to keep on hand if we need to leave quickly, and where we should go, maybe if the election goes the wrong way, or if folks get stirred up enough to be dangerous before the election. When things seem less scary, we talk about a five- or a ten-year plan to go somewhere where cops don’t carry guns and hate speech isn’t allowed on network television. And if you don’t already know this about me, I want you to know that I was born in this country. I have lived my whole life in Continued on Page 7….
The Thomas Merton Center works to build a consciousness of values and to raise the moral questions involved in the issues of war, poverty, racism, classism, economic justice, oppression and environmental justice. TMC engages people of diverse philosophies and faiths who find common ground in the nonviolent struggle to bring about a more peaceful and just world.
PITTSBURGH, PA PERMIT NO. 458
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February 2016
NEWPEOPLE - 1
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Thomas Merton Center
East End Community Thrift Store
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Tuesday—Friday: 10 am to 4 pm Saturday: Noon to 4 pm
Office Phone: 412-361-3022 — Fax: 412-361-0540 Website: www.thomasmertoncenter.org
The NewPeople Editorial Collective
Neil Cosgrove, Ginny Cunningham, Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Marni Fritz, Nijah Glenn, Erin, Ludlow, Bette McDevitt, Thomas Mulholland, Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush, Paola Corso, Jo Tavener, Jim McCarville
TMC Staff, Volunteers & Interns
Executive Director: Antonio Lodico Finance Director / Project Liaison: Roslyn Maholland Administrative Assistant: Marni Fritz Support Staff: Sr. Mary Clare Donnelly, Meagan McGill Office Volunteers: Monique Dietz, Nancy Gippert, Lois Goldstein, Barbara Irons, Joyce Rothermel, Judy Starr, Tyger New People Coordinators: Marni Fritz & Tom Mulholland East End Community Thrift Store Managers: Shirley Gleditsch, Shawna Hammond, & Sr. Mary Clare Donnelly TMC Organizer/ Internship Coordinator: Gabriel McMorland
Thomas Merton Center Interns: Imaz Athar, Joy Cannon, Raphael
Cardamone, Alexandra Clarke, Lamar Clark, Nijah Glenn, Erin Ludlow, Jordan Malloy, Kathleen Mannard, Meagan McGill, Earl Pearson, Matthew Petras, Deepti Ramadoss, Miriam Reichman, Olivia Smith, Vivian Tan, Kamaria Tucker, Kimberly Webb, Brett Wilson, Andrew Woomer
2016 TMC Board of Directors
Thom Baggerman, Ed Brett, Michelle Burton-Brown, Rob Conroy (President), Neil Cosgrove, Mark Dixon, Michael Drohan, Patrick Fenton, Mary Jo Guercio, Wanda Guthrie, anupama jain, Ken Joseph, Anne Kuhn, Jonah McAllister-Erickson, Jim McCarville, Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush (co-founder), Tyrone Scales, Evan Schindler, M. Shernell Smith.
The East End Community Thrift (Thrifty) is an all volunteer-run thrift shop which provides quality, low-cost, used clothing and household goods to the surrounding community. Thrifty needs volunteers and shoppers! Please contact us at (412) 361-6010 and ask for Shirley or Shawna, or stop in at 5123 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Email shawnapgh@aol.com.
TMC Affiliates
(TMC projects follow TMC guidelines and receive financial and ongoing resources and support from the Thomas Merton Center.)
(Affiliates are independent partner organizations who support the nonviolent peace and justice mission of TMC. - Articles may not necessarily represent the views of Affiliates)
Anti-War Committee awc@thomasmertoncenter.org Book‘Em: Books to Prisoners Project bookempgh@gmail.com www.bookempgh.org Capital’s End 724-388-6258, iamholtz@iup.edu CodePink: Women for Peace francineporter@aol.com, 412-389-3216 www.codepink4peace.org East End Community Thrift Shop 412-361-6010, shawnapgh@aol.com Economic Justice Committee drohanmichael@yahoo.com Environmental Justice Committee
environmentaljustice@thomasmertoncenter.org
Fight for Lifers West Greater Pittsburgh Interfaith Coalition Anne Wirth 412-716-9750 Harambee Ujima/Diversity Footprint Twitter @HomewoodNation
Human Rights Coalition / Fed Up (prisoner support and advocacy) 412-802-8575, hrcfedup@gmail.com www.prisonerstories.blogspot.com Marcellus Shale Protest Group melpacker@aol.com 412-243-4545 marcellusprotest.org New Economy Campaign gabriel@thomasmertoncenter.com Pittsburgh 350 350pittsburgh@gmail.com World.350.org/pittsburgh Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance Pittsburgh Campaign for Democracy NOW! 412-422-5377, sleator@cs.cmu.edu www.pcdn.org Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition jumphook@gmail.com; www.pittsburghdarfur.org Pittsburghers for Public Transit 412-216-9659 info@pittsburghforpublictransit.org Progressive Pittsburgh Notebook 412-363-7472 tvnotebook@gmail.com
Publish in The New People The New People is distributed to 3,000 people who belong to diverse organizations, businesses and groups each month. The deadline for all submissions is the 13th of the month for the following month’s issue.
School of the Americas Watch W. PA 412-271-8414 drohanmichael@yahoo.com Shalefield Stories (Friends of the Harmed) 412-422-0272 brigetshields@gmail.com
To Submit Articles, Photos, or Poems: Visit www.thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/submit. To Submit an Event to the TMC Calendar: Visit www.thomasmertoncenter.org/calendar/submit-event To Advertise: Visit www.thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/ad Advertising prices range from $15 for a business card size to $250 for a full page. There is a 10% discount when purchasing 6 months of ad space at a time, and a 20% discount when purchasing a year of ad space at a time. An additional 10% discount is available for non-profit organizations and faith-based groups.
Stop Sexual Abuse in the Military 412-361-3022 hildebrew@aol.com Westmoreland Marcellus Citizens Group 724-837-0540 lfpochet@verizon.net
Table of Contents
Page 1 Congratulations to Pittsburghers for Public Transit! ATI Lockout– Why and How the Progressive Movement Must Support the Steelworkers COP21: Head Spinning Climate Negotiations Dear Non-Muslim Allies Page 3 Who Are the “New People?” Neil Cosgrove Joins TMC Board Page 4 The Deplorable State of Immigration Detention in the UK and USA Cotton: The Fabric of Death Page 5 Premeditated Mass Murder and Nuclear Weapons Policy Western PA Towns” A Nuclear Wasteland Page 6 Affordable Housing For Whom? 2 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2016
YUIR: We Are Them Page 7 Institutional Islamophobia: How It Impacts the Mental Health of Muslim Americans Dear Non-Muslim Allies (cont’d) Page 8 Steelworkers Make Progress Against US Steel, ATI What’s Missing in Giant Eagle’s Snack Aisle? Union-Made Potato Chips Page 9 ATI Lockout– Why and How the Progressive Movement Must Support the Steelworkers (cont’d) Page 10 Take the Banana Challenge! School of the Americas Grads Arrested in Guatemala Page 11 ACLU’s Marion Damick at 90: TV Interview
Abolitionist Law Center 412-654-9070 abolitionistlawcenter.org Amnesty International info@amnestypgh.org - www.amnestypgh.org Association of Pittsburgh Priests Sr. Barbara Finch 412-716-9750 B.a.finch@att.net Battle of Homestead Foundation
412-848-3079
The Big Idea Bookstore 412-OUR-HEAD www.thebigideapgh.org The Black Political Empowerment Project Tim Stevens 412-758-7898 CeaseFire PA www.ceasefirepa.org—info@ceasefirepa.org Citizens for Social Responsibility of Greater Johnstown Larry Blalock, evolve@atlanticbb.net Global Solutions Pittsburgh 412-471-7852 dan@globalsolutionspgh.org www.globalsolutionspgh.org
North Hills Anti-Racism Coalition 412-369-3961 email: info@arc.northpgh.org www.arc.northpgh.org PA United for Single-Payer Health Care www.healthcare4allPA.org www.PUSH-HC4allPa.blogspot.com 412-421-4242 Pittsburgh Area Pax Christi 412-761-4319 Pittsburgh Cuba Coalition 412-303-1247 lisacubasi@aol.com Pittsburgh North People for Peace 412-760-9390 info@pnpp.northpgh.org www.pnpp.northpgh.org
412-512-1709
We are mission driven volunteers who look to build love and community by serving others in times of need.
For more information: Call 412-361-3022 or email newpeople@thomasmertoncenter.org.
TMC Projects
Pittsburgh Palestine Solidarity Committee info@pittsburgh-psc.org www.pittsburgh-psc.org Raging Grannies 412-963-7163 eva.havlicsek@gmail.com www.pittsburghraginggrannies.homestead.com
Religion and Labor Coalition 412-361-4793 ojomal@aol.com
SWPA Bread for the World Joyce Rothermel 412-780-5118 United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) 412-471-8919 www.ueunion.org Veterans for Peace kevinbharless@yahoo.com 252-646-4810 Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Eva 412-963-7163 edith.bell4@verizon.net
TMC is a Member of Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network 412-621-9230 office@piin.org Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty Martha Connelly 412-361-7872, osterdm@earthlink.net TMC supports these organizations missions.
with Lynn Cullen 2016 Election Calendar Bread for the World Regional Workshop Page 12 CMU Osher Course on Thomas Merton Offered in Spring Searching For Copies of The NewPeople Pittsburgh Activism: A Retrospective Page 13 COP21: Head Spinning Climate Negotiations (cont’d) Page 14 Reader Writes Letter to the Editor Why? Unfamiliar Faces Bethlehem 2015 Page 15 Breaking News from the Giornale Vaticano In Memory of Rev. Warren Meltzer Co-Creating an Unfinished Universe
Merton Center News Who are "The New People"? By Jim McCarville and Bette McDevitt
The answer, spoiler alert, is you the reader. This article is about how The NewPeople Editorial Collective, that’s us, puts The NewPeople editions together and how you can contribute. The Collective typically meets three times a month. Near the first of each month the Collective reviews what activities Thomas Merton Center (TMC) members are undertaking as well as what is going on in the larger world regarding peace and social justice. In this meeting, we select topics and assign writers from among the Collective to the extent we can. We often call upon members of the Center who have some knowledge of the topics to write articles. Sometimes, a topic is assigned to an intern, who will then do the research needed before writing up the article. At this time, we have four interns from various colleges and universities in the area. We also receive and welcome unsolicited submissions from members/readers by the 13th of each month. That is a firm date so Marni Fritz, the newspaper coordinator, doesn’t have to pull an all-nighter to layout the paper. Now, for submissions: We have some standards for submissions. No single article can be more than 750 words, and one person may submit up to two articles per issue.We ask that articles be submitted through the Merton Center website, a somewhat la-
borious process, but it works well on this end. The submission process will reject the article if it is over 800 words. A long article can be divided, and continued in the following issue. Small blurbs and photos about TMC project-related events are very welcome. Poetry is a popular submission as well. Photos can also be submitted in this way. Still, submissions by e-mail tend to go astray. Note the guidelines for submissions are included on the website to the right of the submission form. Articles are then assigned to two or more Collective members for review and editing. This can get interesting; we consider the relevance of a topic whether or not it has been covered previously- and if it falls within the mission of the Merton Center and is of interest to the readers. We edit for clarity, grammar and punctuation, and make every effort to keep intact the style and intent of the writer. Shortly after the deadline of the 13th, the Collective meets again. This time the members will report back to the Collective on the articles they have reviewed. We discuss the appropriateness of the article for possible inclusion in the next edition, subject to timeliness and space availability. If an article is not included, we try to let the writer know. Sometimes we slip up on this, in spite of good intentions. Marni Fritz, Thomas Mulholland and TMC interns then lay out the selected articles for proofing.
The Collective meets the third time to proof the articles and hopefully catch anything that may have been missed in the process. Marni and Neil Cosgrove, co-chair of the Collective, provide the final proofing, layout and headlines. Marni then ships the product out for printing, After about a week it comes back to TMC for distribution. Currently it is distributed at such places as: Biddle’s Escape, Crazy Mochas, Carnegie Libraries, and the Big Idea Bookstore. How can you help? First, we are in need of reporters to cover stories, especially stories about TMC related activities. We could use more articles on art and cultural subjects that tie in with interests of the readers. Second, we need help in distribution, both identifying places willing to display our newspaper as well as physically delivering the paper to the locations each month. Third, we like feedback, and welcome letters to the editor and opinion pieces.
Members of the Editorial Collective are: Neil Cosgrove, Ginny Cunningham, Michael Drohan, Russ Fedorka, Marni Fritz, Nijah Glenn, Erin, Ludlow, Bette McDevitt, Jim McCarville, Thomas Mulholland, Joyce Rothermel, Molly Rush, Jo Tavener.
Neil Cosgrove Joins the TMC Board By Joyce Rothermel
This year, the Thomas Merton Center welcomes Dr. Cornelius (Neil) Cosgrove to its Board for a three-year term. Retirement has brought Neil and his wife Joan to Pittsburgh from New Castle, PA and has afforded them the time to get involved in organizations they have supported in the past. One organization they returned to is the Merton Center and both Neil and Joan are now regular volunteers: Neil is co-chair of The NewPeople Editorial Collective and Joan helps out at the East End Community Thrift Shop. In November, Neil was elected to the TMC Board and begins his service this month with the annual board retreat on February 6. Taking a public stand in the civic arena (which the Merton Center and its members frequently do) is not new to Neil. His father was a judge in New York State, and his mother had his son Neil out in the streets during a presidential campaign at age 9. As a teenager, Neil worked in summer camps assisting children from disadvantaged backgrounds one year and children with disabilities for four subsequent summers. During his college years, Neil worked at a steel- making plant and for the railroad. In both jobs, Neil became a union member. With degrees in history, journalism and English education, Neil pursued his career in academia in the teaching of English. Beginning in Nassau in the Bahamas, where he taught inner-city youth and again joined a union and this time served as shop steward. Back to New York, Neil taught first at Villa Maria College in Buffalo and then locally at Slippery Rock State University (SRSU) where he worked and was active in the union for 27 years. As a young man, Neil read some of the writings of Thomas Merton. He came to learn of the Thomas
Merton Center when he lived in New Castle and worked at SRSU by reading the Pittsburgh PostGazette and hearing of Merton Center activities through academic channels. When he saw what the Merton Center was trying to accomplish, especially in the area of peace and nonviolence, he became a member. Wanting to stay active in retirement, Neil looked for ways he could use his abilities. One of the ways he identified was at the Merton Center through the work of The NewPeople Editorial Collective. Journalism is right up his alley! Now Neil can be found at least three days a month meeting at the Center and assisting with the final layout before going to press. In between times, Neil is attending a variety of activists’ activities with his new digital camera in hand and writing articles of interest to NewPeople readers. Neil sees the paper playing a central role in the work of the Center and is working to professionalize it. He also wants to help expand its outreach with a greater web presence. Besides his TMC volunteer hours, Neil and his wife go to the town of Duquesne weekly to get physically involved with the sorting of grocery products at the Gr. Pittsburgh Community Food Bank (GPCFB). While still in New Castle, Neil assisted with the monthly distributions of the GPCFB at St. Vitus Church. It was a natural transition to join in the activities at the source in Duquesne. Traveling and the regular reading of French complement Neil’s volunteer work. He says, “I am definitely not bored!” In terms of board service, Neil brings administrative and management experience that he gained in chairing the English Department at SRSU. He has a
Neil Cosgrove. Photo by Joan Cosgrove.
practical bent and is adept at looking at budgets and managing personnel. He wants to share his vision of the role of The NewPeople with the rest of the Board and work with them to enhance the Center’s fundraising capabilities, which are needed for the Center to grow. When asked about his source of hope, Neil says he has faith in American democracy and younger people. The worse things get, the more he thinks people pay attention. You will learn more about Neil by reading his articles that appear regularly in The NewPeople. Thank you, Neil, for your commitment to the Board and your many contributions to the Thomas Merton Center. Joyce Rothermel serves on The NewPeople Editorial Collective with Neil Cosgrove.
Save the date! The 23rd Annual Thrifty “Affordable Chic” Fashion Show & Luncheon will be held on Saturday, April 30th.
Unleash your inner fashionista and support your local community thrift store!
Thrifty’s Wish List We currently have a need for winter items – please donate them if you can! We also need men’s clothing, large and small.
The East End Community Thrift (Thrifty) is a volunteer-run thrift shop, which provides quality, low-cost, used clothing and household goods to the surrounding community. Since its inception in 1993, Thrifty has worked with over 100 area homeless programs to offer their residents vouchers to shop free for items they need for themselves and their families.
February 2016
NEWPEOPLE - 3
How “Civilized” Are We? The Deplorable State of Immigration Detention in the UK and USA By Danielle Fritz
The Harmondsworth and Colnbook immigration removal centers are located just outside of Heathrow Airport in London, next to a Sheraton hotel. The sterile and unassuming building complex appears to be a series of office buildings; the only indication to the contrary is a small sign placed by the road. Yet combined, the centers have the capacity to hold over 1,000 people and are part of one of the largest immigration detention systems in Europe. Asylum seekers and other migrants are placed in immigration detention centers for administrative purposes, which include establishing the detainee’s identity, effecting his removal from the United Kingdom, or facilitating his immigration claims. The conditions in immigration detention centers in the United Kingdom have come under intense scrutiny from civil society organizations and government-commissioned inquiries. Common problems include inadequate medical and mental health care, high rates of self-harm amongst detainees, sexual and other forms abuse, and suicides. Moreover, the United Kingdom is the only country within the European Union that does not place a time limit on the duration of immigration detention. Until very recently, the government routinely detained asylum seekers as part of the Detained Fast Track (DFT) system. If government representatives determined that a person’s asylum claim was uncomplicated, the government would then process the claim on an accelerated timescale while the asylum seeker remained in detention. Roughly 99% of asylum claims processed through this system were rejected. After a series of legal challenges, courts ruled that the DFT functioned unfairly and violated detainees’ rights. For instance, asylum seekers lacked sufficient time to prepare appeals while in deten-
tion. Courts also determined that the safeguards designed to keep vulnerable asylum seekers out of detention and off of the DFT were inadequate. Many survivors of torture, trafficking, and other severe abuses were detained and could not gather the necessary evidence to support their asylum claims. As a result of the court decisions, the Minister of Immigration suspended the DFT in July 2015. As a volunteer for an organization that supports immigration detainees in the United Kingdom, I have visited the centers near Heathrow Airport and worked with detainees in-person and over the phone. I have spoken to hundreds of clients who expressed fear, isolation, anger, depression, and confusion about their detention. I have worked with survivors of torture and trafficking, many of whom suffered from deteriorating mental health under the stresses of detention. There are common themes in many of the conversations—detainees do not understand why they are treated like criminals in high-security facilities; many asylum seekers are shocked that a country like the United Kingdom maintains such draconian policies towards people seeking protection; and most have lost faith in the government to handle their immigration claims fairly. Asylum seekers who have fled nightmarish situations around the world come to regret their decision to seek safety in the United Kingdom. They conclude that the rhetoric of human rights so often employed by government officials and politicians is nothing more than an empty promise. The scale of immigration detentions and the conditions within the centers harms thousands of asylum seekers and migrants annually in the United Kingdom. The situation in the United States is far worse. According to the Global Detention Project,
the United States operates the largest immigration detention system in the world. On average, the daily population of immigration detainees exceeds 30,000. Populations within the centers include foreigners with prior criminal convictions, but also include undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors, and families—many of whom have not committed any crimes. There are nearly 1,000 immigration detention sites of varying size within the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) often rents local jail cells to hold detainees or subcontracts the maintenance of large detention centers to private companies. Detainees typically lack access to adequate legal representation and they do not have a right to a government-appointed attorney. Physical, including sexual, abuse claims are common, and many detainees are unable to access proper medical care. The toll on detainees and their families is severe, yet immigration detention centers remain hidden from public view. In these secretive sites, the universal right to be free from arbitrary detention— enshrined in domestic and international law—is regularly violated. To learn more about the scale and nature of immigration detention in the United States, as well as community-based alternatives to detention, you can visit the website of the Detention Watch Network (http:// www.detentionwatchnetwork.org). Danielle Fritz is a Research Assistant with the ‘International Centre: Researching child sexual exploitation,trafficking and violence’ at the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom. She is also a licensed attorney in the state of New York.
Cotton: The Fabric of Death
Review of Book: “Empire of Cotton: A Global History” by Sven Beckert By Michael Drohan
Through the prism of the cultivation of the cotton plant and the conversion of its fiber to yarn, cloth and garments, Sven Beckert, in this magnificent book, actually compiles a history of the development of capitalism, a history of colonialism, slavery, expropriation, enclosure, industrialization, imperialism, and the eventual deindustrialization of the global North, all in one volume. In the process, he dismisses many of conventional myths about progress, industrialization, and the “civilizing” mission of Europeans and North Americans. The book covers approximately 5,000 years of history and the geographical itinerary of the growing of cotton and its conversion to cloth and garments. It provides an immense trove of information on all aspects of the cotton industry and on the political economy in which it was embedded. Thus, it is not only a history of cotton but also of the social history and the institutions to which the plant gave rise. The book begins with the account of the early history of cotton spinning and weaving in India, China and Central and South America. These cultures developed the cotton plant and dominated the world market in the production of chintzes, calicos and other treasured kinds of cotton cloth for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The invasion of these cultures, East and West, changed all that through a process which Beckert calls ‘war capitalism’. He defines war capitalism as the imperial project of land expropriation from indigenous peoples and the enslavement of their populations through violence and war. It was nothing as anodyne as ‘discovery’ or scientific exploration but brutal force which took the land of native Americans, Indians and Chinese and transported masses of the population of Africa into slavery in the Americas. Until the eighteenth century, India and China were clearly the most developed countries in the production of cotton and its manufactured byproducts. The combination of cheap slave labor supplied largely by Africans torn from their home and cul4 - NEWPEOPLE February 2016
tures and abundant land taken from native American people changed all that. The cheap cotton produced under these violent circumstances together with the harnessing of power enabled Lancashire in the UK to outcompete Indian cloth and eventually dominate the cotton cloth industry. Yet another element in this development was the intervention of the British state through protectionist measures such as taxation of foreign cloth. Beckert’s narrative contradicts the conventional narrative of the emergence of industrial dominance in Europe through free market principles. Violence, slavery and land expropriation were the dominant characteristics of the new system of industrial production. After the independence of the United States in the 1770s, the domination of the UK in the production of cotton cloth exploded through the combination of expropriated land, slave labor in the cotton fields, and exploited wage labor in the UK. The abolition of slavery in the US placed this entire system in crisis and endangered the entire enterprise, as the supply of raw cotton from the southern United States was decimated. The system was saved, so to speak, by the development of alternative sourcing of cotton in Anatolia, Egypt, China and especially India, together with the gradual reintegration of former slaves as sharecroppers and debt peonage workers. A point that Beckert develops is the equally exploitative nature of ‘free wage labor’ in the so-called Satanic mills of Lancashire and Lowell, MA in the Northern United States. The early workers in the cotton mills were largely women, children and the homeless of the poor houses of Great Britain. In large part the poor/workhouse inmates had been the victims of enclosure, thrown off their small holdings by the landed aristocracy of Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe. An essential point underlined by Beckert is the intimate connection between slavery and the industrial prosperity of Great Britain. Slave produced cot-
ton gave Britain the competitive edge in the production of cotton cloth. The penultimate phase in the development of the cotton empire that Beckert explores is the demise of Europe and the Northern United States as the dominant industrial producers of cotton cloth and products. The process began even before 1900 with the decentralization of cotton cloth production, as cotton capitalists sourced cheaper labor and the capitalist industrial bourgeoisie in the ‘Global South’ sought independence from Europe. This process has led to the return of cotton production to India, China, Bangladesh and other centers in the Global South, with an even more brutal system of exploitation of human labor. The last phase of the development of the empire of cotton is the emergence of giant retail corporations as the dominant players. Companies such as Walmart scour the globe in search of the cheapest product and they now exert a dominant role in where, how and when cotton products are produced. Walmart and its likes determine the location of production at every stage, from the cotton fields to the final garment, pushing wages at every stage to the minimum and profits to the maximum.
This author is a member of the Editorial Collective and of the Board of the Merton Center
The Long Nuclear Shadow Premeditated Mass Murder and Nuclear Weapons Policy By Michael Drohan
On December 22, 2015, the National Archives and Records Administration of George Washington University, D.C., published a document entitled “Atomic Weapons Requirements Study for 1959,” which they had succeeded in getting declassified. The document had been produced in June 1956 by the Strategic Air Command (SAC), which was led by General Curtis LeMay. The latter is well known for his hawkish policies and his advocacy for the use of nuclear weapons in Cuba, Korea, and many other countries where the US was having a conflictual relationship. The report is 800 pages long and contains truly frightening details of what might be called the razing to the ground of much of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China. The study distinguishes between three different types of targets and designates the type and strength of the nuclear weapons to be used in each category. The first order priority for destruction was the air power facilities of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China; 1,100 airfields were designated to be destroyed with ground blasting H-bombs of one to seven megaton capacity. But air power facilities was much more expansive than airfields and included air force storage areas, air force military control centers, guided missile centers, atomic energy centers, airframe entities, aircraft engine entities, liquid fluid plants and liquid fluid refineries. In a word, a vast swath of the industrial infrastructure of the former Soviet bloc was designated for nuclear destruction. The policy was a bomb as you go systematic destruction of the entire air power of the Soviet bloc. The Strategic Air Command (SAC) document identified a second list for systematic destruction,
which was urban-industrial areas in the bloc. The document listed 1,200 cities with priorities established among them. The highest priority was Moscow, with 179 Designated Ground Zero (DGZ) locations. Leningrad had 145 such locations. What is particularly chilling in this second listing is targeting of “populations” in the various cities identified for destruction. The list constitutes a special category designated as No. 275. The details of the populations targeted for bombing are not contained in the declassified document but are rather contained in an accompanying, still classified document entitled “Bombing Encyclopedia..” The National Archives and Records Administration is still seeking the declassification of this latter document. The most shocking revelation of this document is its flouting of all accepted norms of civilized behavior and conduct in war. It has been recognized as a basic principle of warfare that civilians and noncombatants cannot be used as targets. But this document in a premeditated way designates for bombing and therefore mass-death whole swaths of the then Soviet population. Their expansive definition of the sectors of society contributing to a potential war effort was so great that hardly anyone was excluded from it. Even those employed in agricultural production could be designated as people contributing to feeding the enemy forces and hence appropriate targets for nuclear annihilation. This document was produced in 1956 and has been classified until 2015, a period of almost 60 years. Most of the population of the US and the world is still unaware of what was planned and done in our name. The fact that Curtis LeMay and his
likes did not get their way in executing this plan could be designated as a miracle, as a result of which humanity has survived at least through the Cold War crisis. In a more recent period of nuclear lunacy, with the admission of India and Pakistan into the nuclear arms club, Arundhati Roy says in regard to the leaders of India, “What do you do with these levels of lunacy? What do you do if you’re trapped in an asylum and the doctors are all dangerously deranged?” Yes, that is the basic question that we are confronted with in a world where nuclear weapon possession and possible use is normalized. The declassification of this document on nuclear targeting and policy should put the importance and urgency of nuclear abolition on the front burner of everyone’s consciousness. We have somehow survived the first 70 years of the nuclear age, but that is no guarantee of anything for the future. Somehow nuclear weapons and the lunacy that they engender is like unto an ugly secret that no one dare speak of. Never shall it enter the polite or not-sopolite discourse and conversation of Presidential candidates. Of all the existential dangers that face humanity, including global climate change, terrorism and gun violence, nuclear weapons are clearly the most pressing and imminent danger. Yet, it is the greatest taboo in media, politics and social discourse. Clearly there is something bizarre about this situation. Michael Drohan is a member of the NewPeople editorial collective.
Western PA Towns: A Nuclear Wasteland By Molly Rush
APOLLO Back in the 1970s Cindee Virostek discovered that since 1957 NUMEC [Nuclear Materials & Equipment Corp.] had been processing thousands of pounds of bomb grade uranium and plutonium in her hometown of Apollo. In 1963 a fire in a vault containing bomb grade uranium caused a release of the toxic materials. A 1966 report by Atomic Energy Commission estimated that three kilograms were released. NUMEC had denied harming the public but government and company records indicated improper handling of nuclear material and raised questions about radiation releases from rooftop stacks. The plant, then run by Babcock & Wilcox, closed in 1983, leaving behind a deadly legacy: ten unlined 500-foot trenches of highly radioactive waste. Records of their contents were incomplete or missing. Confronted with this history, Cindee embarked on fourteen years of research, compiling voluminous files used in a quarter- century crusade to force government action to clean up the mess, estimated to cost up to $500 million in taxpayer dollars. Cindee contacted the Merton Center and on January 15, 1989 I joined in a protest outside the plant and was astounded to see that it was located right in the middle of Apollo. In 2009, after a long-running legal battle, Babcock & Wilcox agreed to settle for $52.5 million with 365 local claimants for injury, wrongful death and property damage. Codefendant Atlantic Richfield Co. settled for $27.5 million. “I’m glad the lawsuit came to an end—that’s a good thing,” Cindee says. But the lawsuit
doesn’t fully compensate people for their losses….it does not bring closure…There are a still a lot of unanswered questions. “It will take a few people to stay involved in the fight to find out what actually took place.” Residents still don’t know what emissions came out of the plant. “We’ll live with it forever…the three of them destroyed our town,” commented Helen Hutchison, a widow who in 1958, with late mayor Jim Hutchison, was the first to complain,. “We were activists before any of this came to fruition,” she told Trib Live. In 2012, cleanup crews unexpectedly found waste including plutonium, hundreds of drums from the cruise missile Pluto Project, and from the Westinghouse Astronuclear National Lab. Federal regulators said the waste could safely stay buried in the field, which for years was used by residents for informal recreation. Neither Cindee nor persistent Leechburg environmental activist Patty Ameno are convinced, and the long struggle continues. On January 15th the EPA announced it would conduct extensive tests for nuclear and chemical contamination in the sediment of the Kiski River.
waste, which was left uncovered in Strabane, 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. The plant and waste site were then covered by a huge 25-foot clay mound. Stories abound about local people using the material in concrete for sidewalks and walls and even a public swimming pool. Strabane was called “the most radioactive town in America,” and in 1978 the U.S. Department of Energy’s found the site to have radioactivity two to three times higher than normal up to a third of a mile away. That same year the U.S. designated the site and 24 others in the country for immediate cleanup. It removed radioactive uranium tailings, contaminated dirt and other materials from 155 private properties around the site and buried them in a clay-lined “encapsulation cell” designed to last at least 200 years. Eight thousand of the town’s 11,000 residents lived within a mile of the dirt mound. “If you were to walk around the cell, you couldn’t tell there was anything there,” said James Yusko, a PA Dept. of Environmental Resources health physicist. Isabella Spinosa, who lived 500 feet from the site, commented in 1986 that “Every house on STRABANE & CANONSBURG PA. this street has cancer. In every house someone has died. That kind of preys on your mind all From 1911-22 Standard Chemical Co. ran a the time.” radium refining mill that Marie Curie visited in Urine samples were sent to the International 1921. It produced more radium in a year than all Institute of Public Health in Toronto at that the plants in the rest of the world. time. Sister Rosalie Bertell reported then that In 1930 it became a uranium refining mill. early test results had shown traces of radioactive Between 1942 and 1957 Vitro Manufacturing lead and polonium. Co. produced uranium for the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. Molly Rush is a member of the NewPeople Between 1911 and 1957 Standard and Vitro Editorial Collective and is a founding member produced over 200,000 pounds of radioactive of the Thomas Merton Center. February 2016
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Not the Few, But the Many Affordable Housing For Whom? As the loss of affordable housing in the city of Pittsburgh becomes more troubling, conflicts over redevelopment of the former Civic Arena site in the Lower Hill symbolize both the systematic economic disenfranchisement of African-Americans following World War II and the expanding crisis in housing for larger and larger segments of the population within cities with growing per-capita income and aging housing stock. The city and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey franchise, the primary developer of the Lower Hill site, both argue they can do no better for potential renters than setting aside 20% of the proposed 1,188 residential units for so-called “affordable housing,” which in this case means that 15% of the units would be “affordable” to renters making 80% of the area’s median family income (around $39,100), with another 5% available to renters earning 60 to 70% of that income. Rents for that 15% of “affordable” units would be a minimum of $750 a month for a one-bedroom unit. The Hill District Consensus Group (HDCG) has argued forcefully for making 30% of the units available to those earning 50% or less of median income, a figure very close to the $20,946 median for African-American families in the city, and an amount the Penguins claim is just not “economically feasible.” How would the Penguins’ know, counters HDCG, as the franchise has never tested the proposition through a public bidding process. Given that the project has received public monies to the extent of “a $15 million acquisition/development credit, substantial parking revenues, and an estimated $21 million in abated property taxes,” the Group has complained to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that the developers are violating the Fair Housing Act. The city of Pittsburgh would like the complaint
to go away, and to have its Affordable Housing Task Force discover other neighborhoods where the kind of housing the HDCG is advocating could be placed. The city’s position demands a certain level of amnesia concerning what happened in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when 8,000 mostly AfricanAmerican residents and 413 businesses were removed from the Lower Hill to make way for the Civic Arena. What the Lower Hill neighborhood once meant, and still means, to Pittsburgh’s AfricanAmerican community stands in direct opposition to the concerns about developers’ profit margins that appear to motivate the Penguins. More broadly, defining affordable housing as $750 a month for a one-bedroom apartment (hardly what one would call a family dwelling) suggests how threatening the city housing market has become for all people of modest means, apart from those struggling to escape poverty. Once praised for its affordable cost of living, finding shelter in Pittsburgh is becoming as challenging for the young, aging, and poor as it has already become in many other American cities. A quick survey of the Apartment Finder web site reveals older one-bedroom apartments in Squirrel Hill renting for over $1,000 a month, while a three-bedroom in a new Strip district development can cost as much as $3,700. Nationally, the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies reports that rents increased by 3.2% in 2014, “twice the pace of overall inflation” at a time when wages remained stagnant and the apartment vacancy rate was the lowest in nearly 20 years. The reluctance or the inability of young people to purchase homes, and baby-boomers interested in downsizing, create further upward pressure on rents. If you are 25 to 34 years old, the low possibility of long-term employment in our “globalized”
YUIR: We Are Them By Sophia Ogot and Olivia Rautio
Who are we? We are them. The young people who see how youth are silenced in all corners of the city. We are them. Young people who want to be leaders in their community. We are them. Young people who sit in classrooms scrutinizing every history lesson. We are them. Young people who are students first, before “public” or “private” is placed in front of them. We are them. Young people who make up more than one racial group. We are them. Young people who talk and expect someone to talk back. We are them. Young people who acknowledge how the issues of the few, are the issues of the many. We are them. Young people who want to steer the boat and not just sit in it. We are them. Young people who are leaders of today, knowing there might not be change by tomorrow. We are them. Young people who aren’t ambitious, liberal, or revolutionaries, just themselves. We are them. Youth Undoing Institutional Racism (YUIR) is an organization that involves Pittsburgh youth who collaborate together to better understand the current realities of racial inequalities ingrained in our institutions, while also understanding the intersection of racism and poverty. This racial justice group gives Pittsburgh youth a chance to voice their ideas about how to move towards an ultimate end to institutional racism in our society. The school-to-prison pipeline is a specific epidemic of institutional racism that YUIR is currently focusing its attention on. The group has created a campaign to bring awareness of and to terminate the school-toprison pipeline, a system of unjust policies and practices which funnel students, specifically those of color and of poverty, into pathways of incarceration rather than of opportunity. Tackling this problem includes demanding to eliminate zero-tolerance policies, school police officers, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, and alternative schools, while initiating restorative justice 6 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2016
practices within the school community. Students from both public and private schools are working together on this campaign, while also learning from one another about the racial injustices they personally face in their schooling systems. Students are students, no matter what kind of institution they belong to. Students are students, no matter which racial identity box they check off. At the end of the day, all students should receive opportunities from their schools which allow each individual to be able to flourish and thrive from their education. There is power in the young people’s voices. There is power in the young people’s minds. YUIR has both the energy and ideas to lead the way and to challenge the systems in our communities. We have the ability to change things for ourselves and for future generations. It is essential and necessary for us to tell our stories and have our voices be heard, for we truly are the future of tomorrow. And why not allow those who have the largest influence on the future the leadership and opportunities to change it? It is critical and important to listen to and learn from the youth. The youth need to be allowed the opportunity to turn their ideas into actions. The youth hold the key to create impact. As Malcolm X once said, “... the young people are the ones who most quickly identify with the struggle and the necessity to eliminate the evil conditions that exist.” Sophia Ogot and Olivia Rautio are high school seniors. Both are new to YUIR, with only a couple of months under their belts, and already feel a tight connection with the group and have learned so much from the program in such a short amount of time. They have been close friends since their freshman year, and hope their first collaboration helps support the program that is so near and dear to their hearts.
By Neil Cosgrove
economy makes taking on a 25- to 30-year mortgage seem quite daunting. In addition, the Joint Center for Housing Studies observes that currently nearly a quarter of people in that age group are already paying more than 50% of their income for housing, while those committing more than 30% of income to housing is now at 46%. Add the growing percentage of millennial renters (over 40%) carrying student debt, and the large size of that debt (current average of nearly $31,000), and the possibility of taking on a mortgage grows distant. Mayor Peduto has proposed the use of Section 8 rent subsidies to allow low-income families to purchase housing that might otherwise become blighted. Under that federal program, tenants currently pay 30% of their rent while government vouchers make up the difference. Why not apply the same subsidies to mortgage payments? While praising the concept, critics fear such a program would lead to underfunding, and to participants losing their vouchers when their incomes increase, even slightly. Alternatives to keeping affordable housing in the city include more and more of the people who make the city run moving to less expensive innerring suburbs, which will consequently stress our already stressed transit system. Given that outcome, and the housing burdens currently placed on a variety of populations, maybe the battle over Lower Hill housing costs no longer seems specific to the African-American community. Neil Cosgrove is a member of the NewPeople editorial collective and the Merton Center's Board of Directors. Penn Plaza WE WILL NOT BE HOMELESS February 5, 2016 10:00 AM Penn Plaza (corner of Penn and Euclid) Right now in Pittsburgh, over 21,000 families are in need of affordable housing. At the same time, there are over 10,000 apartments planned to be built in the next few years, and yet only a handful will be affordable! Come support Penn Plaza tenants who are facing imminent eviction at the end of February. We need HOMES WE CAN AFFORD IN THE CITY!! Stand with us, as we defend our brothers and sisters from becoming homeless.
Photos taken by Traisaun Leake at the Youth Undoing Institutional Racism Training hosted by American Friends Service Commitee. Pittsburgh October 2015 .
Opposing Islamophobia Institutional Islamophobia: How It Impacts the Mental Health of Muslim-Americans By Imaz Athar
Islamophobia is more than a buzzword, but a widespread discriminatory ideology that sees no difference between Muslim and terrorist. Like many forms of discrimination, Islamophobia is embedded in our society’s institutions, including the government and media. Muslim-Americans have undergone intense racial profiling by government agencies, such as the NSA. Popular news outlets have also shared Islamophobic attitudes -- Fox News host Bill O’Reilly once exclaimed “Muslims killed us on 9/11,” failing to differentiate between Muslims and terrorists. The views of these institutions are largely diffusible, easily consumed by the unsuspecting and fulfilling the starving ignorance of the closeminded. In fact, an ABC/Washington Post poll has shown that only 37% of Americans have a favorable view of Muslims. As Islamophobic attitudes have become almost ingrained in our society’s consciousness, many Muslim-Americans have encountered widespread prejudice, including verbal and physical assaults. Islamophobia can have a piercing impact on their mental health. A 2005 study by the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) states that the harassment that Muslims face in their daily lives “can increase the risk of common mental disorders.” It makes perfect sense that discrimination against identity can have a negative impact on mental health, as mental health issues in the Muslim community are inextricably linked to identity. In an interview with Huffington Post, Kameelah Rashad, a Muslim chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that identity “comes up repeatedly” when Muslim students approach her about their mental health. For many Muslim-Americans, forming an identity is a turbulent process. On the one hand, according to Rashad, Muslims who proudly express their religion fear that they will be associated with terrorists. Meanwhile, Muslims who are wrongly associated with terrorism attempt to withdraw themselves from aspects of their religion to ‘fit in’. Muslim-
Americans are also dissociated from larger society. Even if Muslim-Americans attempt to display sorrow with fellow Americans, like after the tragic San Bernardino shooting, it isn’t viewed as genuine -instead, there is a pressure on Muslim-Americans to take ownership for the actions of the terrible individuals who commit terroristic acts. Dissociation, association, dissociation: Muslim-American identity is in constant flux, a taxing push and pull on the mind. Mental health in the Muslim community is as important an issue as ever, especially in a time when Islamophobic sentiment is so strong. Unfortunately, mental health issues in the Muslim community are not well-researched. Aasim Padela, a Muslim doctor at the University of Chicago, did a search of 18 million research studies in medical journals between 1980 and 2009 and found that only 10 included the keywords “American,” “Muslim,” “Islam,” “health care” and “health disparity.” A lack of information on the health of Muslim-Americans is troubling, and it can be attributed to difficulties in studying a very diverse Muslim-American population. Nonetheless, a lack of research can also be due to widespread Islamophobia. Islamophobia has become stitched into the fabric of many institutions, perhaps even our health institutions, and it’s certainly possible that Islamophobic sentiment is (at times, unknowingly) perpetuated by them. In an interview with the University of Chicago, Padela states that his grants for research on the Muslim community have been rejected by funders because the Muslim community is “not an important enough population to look at.” Padela believes the lack of spending public health dollars on Muslims may be the result of some “unconscious bias or Islamophobia.” Otherwise, why would individuals from the second largest religion in the world not be an “important enough” population to study? In addition to being sparsely researched, mental health in the Muslim community is also not appropriately treated by clinicians. According to the study
Dear Non-Muslim Allies Cont’d this country. I have spent my entire adult life working to help the poor, the disabled and the dispossessed access the legal system in this country. And I want you to know that I am devoutly and proudly Muslim. I am writing this in response to a non Muslim friend’s question about what she can do. Because there is much that can be done in solidarity: If you see a Muslim or someone who might be identified as Muslim being harassed, stop, say something, intervene, call for help. If you ride public transportation, sit next to the hijabi woman and say asalam ‘alaykum (That means ‘peace to you.’). Don’t worry about mispronouncing it; she won’t care. Just say "peace" if you like. She’ll smile; smile back. If you feel like it, start a conversation. If you don’t, sit there and make sure no one harasses her. If you have a Muslim work colleague, check in. Tell them that the news is horrifying and you want
them to know you’re there for them. If you have neighbors who are Muslim, keep an eye out for them. If you’re walking your kids home from the bus stop, invite their kids to walk with you. Talk to your kids. They're picking up on the antiMuslim message. Make sure they know how you feel and talk to them about what they can do when they see bullying or hear hate speech at school. Call out hate speech when you hear it—if it incites hatred or violence against a specified group, call it out: in your living room, at work, with friends, in public. It is most important that you do this among folks who may not know a Muslim. Set up a “learn about Islam” forum at your book club, school, congregation, dinner club. Call your state CAIR organization, interfaith group or local mosque and see if there is someone who has speaking experience and could come and answer questions about Islam and American Muslims for your group. They won’t be offended. They will want the
The Thomas Merton Center & Islamic Center of Pittsburgh present The Thomas Merton Center & Islamic Center of Pittsburgh present
Wednesday, February 17th 6:30-8:00 PM Thomas Merton Center 5129 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224
RSVP Required
Anti-Muslim hysteria has engulfed the media as of late, distorting facts and encouraging rampant misunderstanding about Islam. It is important now more than ever for us to show compassion for our Muslim neighbors and help stop the spread of intolerance. The Thomas Merton Center and Islamic Center of Pittsburgh have teamed up to create a potluck dinner to do just that. This is a great opportunity for people of all faiths to come together and show solidarity with Pittsburgh’s Muslim community! Food will be provided by Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, but guests are encouraged to bring a dessert or non-alcoholic beverage. All are welcome! RSVP Required: call 412-361-3022 or email marnifritz@thomasmertoncenter.org
by BUSM, clinicians are often unaware of the prejudice Muslim patients face in their everyday lives. Furthermore, another study explains that clinicians may not be fully accepting of their Muslim patient’s customs. For instance, “if a non-Muslim female psychologist assumes that a hijab is oppressive against women, she may unconsciously try to steer her client away from covering, instead of understanding the significance of the hijab”. Clinicians may unknowingly promote Western ideals, while rejecting Muslim customs that our society views as deviant. Ultimately, it’s more stressful than relieving for a Muslim to discuss how Islamophobia affects their health with clinicians that also possess Islamophobic attitudes. According to Mona M. Amer, a professor of psychology at the American University of Cairo, the number of studies on the mental health of Muslims has increased since 9/11. Increased research indicates that this isn’t a hopeless situation. However, the problem persists -- there is still a general lack of knowledge on the health of Muslims, largely due to Islamophobic attitudes that are both consciously and unconsciously promoted. Part of the solution is for Muslim-Americans to educate others on the issues that are unique to the Muslim community. But Islamophobic sentiments, in its multiple forms, must be recognized. Only then can we create an environment of cultural awareness where the voices of everyday Muslim-Americans can actually be listened to and accepted, an environment devoid of Islamophobia -- the diffusible stink that consumes the unsuspecting and fulfills the close-minded. Imaz Athar is an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, studying Neuroscience and Sociology. Imaz discovered the art of writing at a young age, and he continues to pursue his passion today. Although he ultimately hopes to become a physician, he aspires to share stories on scientific and social issues and give a voice to the unheard. By Sofia Ali-Khan via the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh
opportunity to do something to dispel the nastiness. Write Op-Eds and articles saying how deplorable the anti-Muslim rhetoric has gotten and voice your support for Muslim Americans in whatever way you can. Call your state and local representatives; let them know that you are concerned about hate speech against your Muslim friends and neighbors in politics and the media, that it is unacceptable and you want them to call it out whenever they hear it, on your behalf. Out yourself as someone who won’t stand for Islamophobia, or will stand with Muslims—there is an awful lot of hate filling the airways, and there are an awful lot of people with access to the media and/ or authority stirring the pot about Muslims. Please help fill that space with support instead. Post, write, use your profile picture or blog to voice your support. Ask me anything. Really. Engage the Muslims in your life. Make sure you really feel comfortable standing for and with your Muslim friends, neighbors, co-workers. I can tell you that in addition to the very real threat to their civil and human rights that Muslims are facing, we are dealing with a tremendous amount of anxiety. While we, many of us, rely on our faith to stay strong, we are human. This is not an easy time. What you do will mean everything to the Muslim-Americans around you. Thank you for reading and bless you in your efforts. Share freely. Sofia Ali-Khan is a public interest lawyer and writer. She has worked as an attorney for Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Prairie State Legal Services in Illinois, and the American Bar Association. She has practiced in the areas of welfare law, Medicaid access, immigrant access to public benefits, immigration, zoning and licensing, and Language Access under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. February 2016
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Regional Labor News Steelworkers Make Progress Against US Steel, ATI By Patrick Young
Steelworkers, US Steel Reach Tentative Agreement on Three-Year Contract
to US Steel’s global headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh. Under the proposed deal, USW held the line against paying any portion of their healthcare The United Steelworkers announced Decem- premium, while agreeing to pay larger deductiber 19 that it had reached a tentative agreement bles and co-pays. The offer does not include any across-the-board wage increases, but does prowith US Steel for a new three-year agreement covering 18,000 workers, replacing the contract vide for an enhanced profit-sharing plan if the that expired September 1. The tentative agree- market turns around. ment culminated a months-long bargaining process that occurred against the backdrop of a do- Feds to ATI: Lockout is Illegal mestic steel industry crisis. The more than 2,200 members of the United The agreement is subject to membership ratiSteelworkers locked out of their jobs since Aufication. Workers across the country will submit gust 15th got an early Christmas present on Dea mail-in ballot, with votes tallied February 1. cember 18th: The National Labor Relations Locally the agreement would impact workers at Board (NLRB) notified the union and AllegheUS Steel’s Edgar Thompson Works in Braddock, Irvin Works in West Mifflin, and Clairton ny Technologies that it intended to issue a complaint alleging that the four-month long lockout Works in Clairton. Throughout the bargaining process the Steel- was illegal. The NLRB complaint will allege that ATI workers union accused US Steel of using a tembargained in bad faith, both before and during porary downturn in the market as an excuse for deep and permanent cuts in working conditions. the lockout. It will also allege that ATI unlawAmong other things, the steelmaker demanded fully locked out workers to support bad faith workers agree to pay for a considerable portion bargaining positions and outlandish demands on its plants in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, of their health insurance, to a two-tier benefit Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon. package providing basically no coverage for Union leaders noted that ATI’s behavior new-hires, and to dramatic increases in the use throughout the bargaining process was particuof outside contractors. larly egregious. “In all my years as a negotiator, Steelworkers around the country mobilized I have never seen a company engage in such to show their opposition to the company’s deobvious bad-faith bargaining,” said USW Intermands, including a massive 3,000-person march national Vice President Tom Conway, who leads the union’s negotiations with ATI. The remedy for the company’s violations of the National Labor Relations Act would require ATI to reimburse all locked-out workers for any losses incurred since the beginning of the lockout—including wages and benefits—and to require the company to bargain a new contract in good faith. No date has yet been set for hearing the complaint before an administrative law judge. Shortly after the NLRB announcement, USW officials and ATI returned to the bargaining table to resume negotiations. Union officials met with ATI managers at the USW Headquarters on DeVisitors are welcome at ATI picket locations. cember 30th and then again the followPhoto By Bette McDevitt ing week. As this issue of the NewPeople went to print negotiations were ongoing
and limited information about any progress was available.
Hospital Workers Shine a Light on UPMC’s Poverty Wages Workers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) shined a light—literally— on the healthcare giant, accusing Pittsburgh’s largest employer of paying poverty wages. Hospital workers and community supporters held a candlelight vigil in front of UPMC Montefiore in Oakland on December 16th, days after Pittsburgh’s Wage Review Committee released a scathing ‘City for All’ report documenting the social and economic consequences of the poverty wages paid by UPMC and other major employers in Pittsburgh. Workers spoke out about their experience living on poverty wages and projected quotes from the wage board report on the side of the hospital for rush-hour drivers to see.
Lawsuit Blocks Implementation of Paid Sick Time Legislation Pittsburgh Common Pleas Judge Joseph James struck down the city’s paid sick day legislation, ruling it “invalid and unenforceable.” Pittsburgh’s legislation was passed by City Council in August with massive grassroots support generated by a coalition of unions and community organizations spearheaded by Pittsburgh United. The legislation requires businesses to grant employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked. Judge James reviewed the law after the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association and five local businesses issued a legal challenge. In his ruling, the judge cited a 2009 State Supreme Court decision prohibiting municipalities like Pittsburgh from regulating businesses by determining their ‘duties, responsibilities, or requirements.’ Mayor Bill Peduto called the ruling “a step back for Pittsburgh.” The Mayor’s office has not announced whether or not it will appeal. Patrick Young is the Financial Secretary/ Treasurer of Fight Back Pittsburgh, an associate member program of United Steelworks (USW) Local 3657.
What’s Missing in Giant Eagle’s Snack Aisle? Union-Made Potato Chips
By Kenneth Miller
There are two United Food and Commercial Workers Locals in PA, Local 23 in the West and Local 1776 in the East. Together they represent the State Store Workers and do legislative work as the Wine and Spirits Council. The UFCW State Store contract is the best contract for retail workers in the state and Wal-Mart Workers and Giant Eagle Workers can aspire to its wages, union rights and job security. Those locals resist any further degradation of the State Store system. Locals 23 and 1776 are amalgamated, representing workers with hundreds of union contracts. In the West, those include the Giant Eagle Corporate contract covering about 45 Giant Eagle locations in the Pittsburgh area. In the East Local 1776 includes a fistful of snack food factories with UFCW contracts. 8 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2016
Given Local 23’s organizing, you would think the snack food aisle at Giant Eagle would feature choices between union and nonunion potato chips. But you won’t find union labels on any of the bags of potato chips found there. Some chips are associated with specific factories, but many, the store brands in particular, have no factory information. Are you a worker in the potato chip or retail sector? Do you drive the trucks that are filled with our chips and arrange them on the shelves at Giant Eagle? Do you eat potato chips or have questions about industrial union organizing? Then that absence of union potato chips in Giant Eagle should be of concern to you. One of the many activities of the Pittsburgh Anti Sweatshop Community Alliance is SPUD FEST, where we eat chips and drill down on
ways we might expose the potato chip supply chain in PA. Our discussion, complete with a celebration of SPUD FEST and a bag of chips, continued at the Summit Planning Meeting. We also, accompanied by a 10-pound bag of potatoes, talked over the supply chain while manning the table of the Pittsburgh Anti-Sweatshop Community Alliance during the 18th Annual Summit Against Racism. Kenneth Miller’s article is an extension of his previous coverage of the 98th and 99th Farm Show, Giant Eagle, and The Best Major League Sweatshop Education in America. Let’s talk about Sweatshops @ PNC Park by contacting Kenneth at 412-512-1709
Supporting ATI Workers ATI LOCKOUT – Why and How the Progressive Movement Must Support the Steelworkers Cont’d By Mike Stout
pensions and retiree health care for new hires – a move which will bankrupt the existing pension plan in the long run. ATI wants to eliminate overtime pay after 8 hours and extend the work day to 12 hours, with the right to extend the work day up to 16 hours if “business needs” warrant. ATI wants work rule changes that would allow it to contract out at least 40% of the jobs to non-union entities, a pure union-busting measure.
With their benefits expiring, ATI steelworkers need other unions, workers, progressives and retirees to step up to the plate – NOW! We need to do more than just stand on the sidelines cheering them on in support. These workers need our active support. Our Answer: SOLIDARITY
Community solidarity is a crucial element for organized labor and the survival of working class towns and boroughs. Locked-out workers and their local unions need material What’s at Stake support. As individuals we can donate monDuring the 1980s and ‘90s, close to 90% of ey and supplies such as food and firewood to the unionized steel industry in this area was locals. Also, show support to the workers eliminated. With the massive drop in commodi- through attendance at rallies or events orgaty prices for oil and gas the past two years, and nized by the union, and by writing Letters to the corresponding drop in demand for steel tub- the Editor to newspapers such as the Postular products, the remaining 10% and what’s Gazette. Additionally, you can stay up-todate by reading news sources and texting “ATI” to 47486 to receive messages and alerts from the USW. Lastly, harangue your friends, relatives and neighbors to do all of the above. As organizations, groups like the Thomas Merton Center, PIIN (PA Interfaith Impact Network) and other unions should: issue strong statements of solidarity to the public At one of the three picket locations at the Brackenridge Plant. Photo by Bette McDevitt through every means available, and to ATI in particular. Also, these groups should take up collections and organize fundraisers such as benefit concerts, spaghetti dinners, and the like for the locals. Finally, send email blasts to their membership urging them to do all of the above.
Brackenridge ATI picket Site. Photo by Bette McDevitt
left is on the verge of extinction. While every country around the world supports their steel industry and workers to some degree with tariffs, buying excess steel production, wage subsidies and some form of industrial policy, U.S. steelworkers are left helpless to swim in the sea of laissez- faire, free-for-all global capitalism. If ATI is successful with this attempt to wring these massive concessions and essentially bust the union, it will further grease the skids for the continued downward spiral for wages and working conditions for ALL workers, union and non-union alike. In late December, the Regional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) told ATI and the USW it will issue a formal complaint alleging the lockout is illegal, and citing the company for bargaining in bad faith, which could potentially force the Company to pay back all lost wages and benefits to the workers- a sum currently exceeding $60 million and mounting. While this is obviously a victory and step forward for the union, the case must now be presented before an administrative judge. If either side doesn’t agree with the judge’s decision, it can then be appealed to Federal Court. This process could take months, even years.
Solidarity Unionism Our Only Solution Lastly, we are long-past due for a Union-spring in Western PA. As long as there are locked-out workers at ATI, union drives at Three Rivers Casino, UPMC, and the university adjuncts, fights by the postal and transit unions to save services and jobs, the fight for a $15 an hour living wage at fast food places – as long as these fights stay isolated, we will all lose. If 20,000 workers can come together for a Labor Day Parade, why not, in the spring, to put all these demands on the same table? In August, 1986, organized labor shut down downtown Pittsburgh for a half a day, when 45,000 came out to stop the use of non-union labor to remodel the train station on Grant Street. Why can’t we do it again? Mike Stout is a long-time union and community activist, retired steelworker, songwriter and performing member of Pgh. Musicians' Union local 60-471.
Locked Out ATI Local Union Locations in PA: ATI Locations to Call and Register Your Support for the Workers *USW Local 1138, 130 Lincoln Ave., Vandergrift, PA 15690 ATI Pittsburgh Headquarters, 412-394-2800 Donations: 331 Market St., Leechburg, PA 15656. 724842-2091.. ATI Brackenridge Mill Office, 724-226-5555 *USW Local 1138-6, 242 Allvac Lane, Latrobe, PA 15650. ATI Natrona Heights Office, 724-226-2674 Donations: Local 1138 donation address above. ATI Latrobe Office, 724-532-532-8401 *USW Local 1196, 1080 Brackenridge Ave., Brackenridge, PA 15014. ATI Midland Office, 724-773-2700 Donations: above address. Tax ID# 25-0318003. 724-2249000. ATI Vandergrift Office, 724-567-2001 *USW Local 1196-1, 1300 Pacific Ave., Natrona Heights, PA 15065. ATI Washington Office, 724-229-3807 Donations: Local 1196 above.
*USW Local 1212, 950 Tenth St., Midland, PA 15059. Donations: 617 Midland Ave., Midland, PA 15059. 724-7732636 *USW Local 7139, 500 Green St., Washington, PA 15301. Donations: 1505 Jefferson Ave.,Washington, PA 15301. 724-225-8608. *USW Local 1138-1, Mill Bridge Rd., Leechburg, PA 15656.
February 2016
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Challenging Central America’s Status Quo Take The Banana Challenge! By Tom Webb
Longtime students and activists knowledgeable of the Central American scene are probably aware of the role the agricultural export economy has played in shaping the politics, economies and cultures of countries like Honduras and Guatemala. In both countries, often derisively labeled “banana republics,” bananas remain among the leading exportable crops. Guatemala is the third largest banana exporter in the world behind Costa Rica and Colombia. This crop remains among Honduras’s major export crops as well, although the spread of banana diseases threatens its standing. As noted two months ago in an article in The NewPeople, an interfaith pilgrimage to Honduras and Guatemala, organized by the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity last August, explored the root causes of the dramatic spike in immigrants from these two countries. After meeting with over twenty different faith-based organizations, academics, direct service providers and immigrants themselves from these two Central American countries, we decided to further educate our U.S. constituencies on our findings. One means of informing others is by encouraging our faith-based communities and secular coun-
terparts to join in a forty-day banana fast. While corresponding to the Christian liturgical season of Lent, it is meant as an opportunity for members of other faith traditions to participate as well. This is not so much a boycott of bananas as a means of learning more about one of the root causes of immigration from these two countries both historically and currently. A small bibliography is intended to educate those who participate about the problematic role of the oligarchs and multinational corporations, who have controlled the banana industry historically and to the present. Additionally, participants can learn through two DVD’s about the growing role African palm oil and gold-mining now play in creating a crisis in Honduras and Guatemala. Participants are encouraged to donate the money they save from not purchasing bananas to Radio Progresso in El Progresso, Honduras. Radio Progresso, which is operated by the Jesuit community in Honduras, is a progressive radio station which often times finds itself on the polar opposite side of government renditions of events in Honduras. Ismael Moreno, SJ (aka Padre Melo) is the director of the station. Government and corporate interests have
tried to bribe, intimidate, threaten and even target the radio station and its employees in many, many ways over the years. Participants of the School of the Americas Watch know Padre Melo from his testimony at the November vigil recently. Funds from the “Banana Challenge” will be used as part of an “Emergency Solidarity Fund” that will go to help Radio Progresso address the humanitarian needs of leaders and activists who are displaced and forced to relocate for safety. Checks should be made out to “IM4Humanintegrity” with “Honduras Emergency Solidarity Fund” on the memo line. They should be mailed to Rev. Deborah Lee, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, 310 8th Street, Suite 310, Oakland, CA 94607. For more information about the “Banana Challenge” see below. You may also contact Rev. Deborah Lee, dell@im4humanintegrity.org.
Tom Webb is a staff member of the Oakland Catholic Worker, regional coordinator of Pax Christi Northern California and a journalist for the Oakland Voices Project of the Oakland Tribune. He was a participant in the “Roots Causes” pilgrimage in August.
School of the Americas Grads Arrested in Guatemala By Joyce Rothermel
Last month, eighteen former military officials were arrested on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in one of the largest mass arrests of military officers in Latin America. Twelve of them were trained at Ft. Benning in the School of the Americas (SOA). The arrests happened one week before the inauguration of newly elected President Jimmy Morales, of the National Convergence Front (FCN). Morales, whose party has close ties to the military, is facing pressure in light of the arrests. His right hand man, Edgar Justino Ovalle Maldonado, the FCN party co-founder, newly elected congressman, and retired colonel, is also facing similar charges, though he was not arrested. He has immunity as a congressman. Guatemala's Attorney General, however, has requested the Supreme Court look at the case to strip him of his immunity. Ovalle Maldonado, also an SOA graduate, is linked to massacres and disappearances during the 1980's.
•Luis Alberto Paredes Nájera (SOA, 1960) •César Augusto Cabrera Mejía (SOA, 1967) •Juan Ovalle Salazar •Gustavo Alonzo Rosales García •Hugo Ramiro Zaldaña Rojas •Raul Dahesa Oliva •Edgar Rolando Hernández Méndez
any justice or reconciliation until there is accountability and the perpetrators start going to prison". The people of Guatemala are hungry for justice. History has shown that one cannot count on the government to hold itself accountable. It is known from experience that the power needed to makes the changes so desperately needed will come from the people, the grassroots. Vice-President Biden, who The arrests are linked to two particular cases, attended President Morales' inauguration, also had a both of which have gone before the Inter-American meeting with the northern triangle Presidents last Court of Human Rights. The first case concerns the month regarding the ill-named Alliance for Prosperioperations that occurred at the military base in ty, which supposedly addresses the root causes of Cobán. In 2012, exhumations by forensic anthropol- migration. This conversation comes at the same time ogists led to the uncovering of at least 550 victims that Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) is who disappeared between 1981 and 1988. The sec- carrying out raids and deporting Central American ond is for the disappearance of Marco Antonio Mo- refugees who have fled US-sponsored state violence. lina Theissen, a 14-year-old boy disappeared by the Instead of actually addressing the root causes of miG-2 military intelligence forces on October 6, 1981. gration by changing its destructive foreign policy in A pretrial held before a District Court last month in Central America, the U.S. continues to create the the case of the disappearance of Marco Antonio de- conditions that make people flee their home countermined that four of the former military officers tries through violence and economic exploitation. The officers arrested in January 2016 were: accused (three of whom are SOA graduates) will go This was the case during the dirty wars of the to trial, facing charges of forced disappearance and 1980's, and unfortunately it is the case today. •Ismael Segura Abularach (SOA, 1976) crimes against humanity. As Guatemala continues to seek truth, justice and •Pablo Roberto Saucedo Mérida (SOA, 1970) It is unknown yet if newly sworn-in Morales, accountability, shouldn't the U.S. think about doing •César Augusto Ruiz Morales (SOA, 1970) whose party is backed by the Guatemalan military, the same, and holding its officials accountable? •Manuel Antonio Callejas Callejas (SOA, 1962 & will allow for these cases to run their course. The There is no question that there was absolute 1970) struggle for justice in Guatemala remains a chalcomplicity by the U.S. during the 36-year-long •Colonel Fransisco Luis Gordillo Martínez (SOA, lenge. Given the recent mass mobilizations that armed conflict that marked Guatemala for genera1961) brought down the former President and SOAtions to come. For Guatemalans, this is a decades•Carlos Humberto López Rodríguez (SOA, 1970) graduate Otto Pérez Molina and his Vice-President long struggle to break down the wall of impunity •Edilberto Letona Linares (SOA; 1970) Roxana Baldetti, Morales faces a citizenry that has and the culture of silence and fear. The steps being •José Antonio Vásquez García (SOA, 1970) lost much of the fear that created a culture of sitaken by survivors to bring cases forward have been •Manuel Benedicto Lucas García (SOA, 1965) lence. In a recent National Catholic Reporter article, nothing short of courageous. For the U.S., what has •Carlos Augusto Garavito Morán (SOA, 1984) Fr. Roy Bourgeois stated that "there will never be transpired over the past month serves as a sobering reminder that the U.S. fully backed the Guatemalan military through training, funding, advising and equipping. Every Monday at 9:00 pm SOA Watch maintains that in order for there to truly be justice, those responsible in the U.S. for the training and funding of one of Latin America's Airs within city limits: most brutal conflicts must be held to account in Comcast Channel 21 & Verizon FiOS Channel 47 any and all courts applicable, whether they be doFebruary mestic, regional or foreign.
ACLU's Marion Damick at 90
Progressive PGH Notebook TV Series PCTV 21 - Public Access TV Videographer: Rich Fishkin Youtube.com/richfishpgh Producer: C.S. Rhoten (412) 363-7472 tvnotebook@gmail.com 10 - NEWPEOPLE
February 2016
(Information for this article comes from the School of the Americas Watch.) For more information, go to www.soawatch.org
Joyce Rothermel is a member of the SW PA SOA Watch.
Celebrating Marion Damick ACLU’s Marion Damick at 90: TV Interview with Lynn Cullen By Carlana Rhoten
“I want to be remembered for trying to be a social activist, and a supporter of underdog causes.” Marion Damick On July 23, 2015, the Board of Directors of the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union celebrated Marion Damick’s 90th birthday with a formal resolution “commending her for a life of service in the interest of civil liberties, civil rights, religious liberties and the rights of the incarcerated to humane treatment.” Rich Fishkin happened to attend the ACLU picnic, and was intrigued by her impressive history and the fact that she is still going strong as a leader in the community. He scheduled a video interview with Marion by Lynn Cullen, well--known media person. The show is an inspiring testament to the power of the human spirit and a must see for all. During the month of February, it will be aired every Monday at 9 PM (in the city limits) on COMCAST Channel 21 and on VERIZON FIOS CH 47, as an episode of the PCTV 21 Progressive Pgh Notebook TV Series. The program is available at youtube/richfishpgh. Just search for the title. From the most humble beginnings as a volunteer in her basement office, next to the coal chute, Marion served the ACLU for over thirty years . From 1962 to 1993 , her titles shifted from Secretary to Associate Director to Director, during some of the most controversial cases and Supreme Court victories. She is not a lawyer herself and credits Roz Litman and the deceased Thomas Kerr as two of the most active attorneys handling ACLU court cases during that period. It is probably hard for most people to realize how dangerous it was to be a progressive and member of the ACLU during the era of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC) and the attacks by Senator Joseph McCarthy. Hundreds of people were fired from their jobs; writers, actors, singers like Pete Seeger, producers in film and tv were blacklisted and denied any employment in the entertainment industries. Many left the country and some were imprisoned for their refusal to co-operate with the extreme right-wing, who imagined a communist in every Liberal closet. (See the current film Trumbo, and Red Hollywood, Netflix ‘s streaming documentary on blacklist). During those years, the ACLU staff were often the only people with the guts to defend the victims, and, indeed, risked becoming victims themselves. Into this politically and culturally
charged environment, Marion Damick was the tough, cool, businesslike person often found at news conferences and in front of a camera, explaining the ACLU as a defender of the American Constitution. A famous quote, often used to explain why the ACLU might defend the KKK’s or fascist groups’ First Amendment Rights was: “I do not agree with what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it.” In addition to free speech, the ACLU stood for equal justice under the law. One of these cases Still of Marion Damick from her interview with Lynn Cullen. involved a rash of rapes and robberies of elderly women in Homestead, Pa (1950's) and the subsequent racial profiling that went to the Supreme Court in 1989 and resulted and fingerprinting of only African--American men in victory. Lynn Cullen can be seen Monday- Friday 10and boys. The ACLU objected and got national cov11 AM on the Intenet www.pghcitypaper.com. Call erage of the illegal police action. Luckily the issue in 412-316-3381. ACLU can be contacted at 412was resolved without going to court, when the police 681-7736. found the stolen items in a pawn shop and stopped their illegal practice. During Marion's tenure several famous legal Carlana Rhoten produces the Progressive Pgh cases came to the fore and gained national attention. One involved the Pittsburgh Press newspaper Notebook TV series and Rich Fishkin is a videogusing gender to separate and define job categories in rapher. the want ads of the paper, turning back an evolving trend of women as equals in the workforce, a result of the war effort! The ACLU sued the paper, took it to the Supreme Court and won. In 1986 the local chapter sued the City of Pittsburgh and County of Allegheny over the display of a nativity scene on the grand staircase of the Courthouse; another case
Save the date of Saturday, April 2, 2016 for this year’s Bread for the World Regional Workshop. It will be held again this year at Christ United Methodist Church, 44 Highland Road in Bethel Park. Beginning at 9 AM the Workshop will start with a morning session on the theme of the 2016 Annual Bread for the World Offering of Letters and be followed by a box lunch. The workshop will continue with an optional afternoon session on the topic of immigration and its relationship to domestic and international hunger and how to get involved. More information will be included in the March issue of The NewPeople. To find out more about the workshop and the SW PA Bread for the World Team, call 412-780-5118.
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Learning About Merton & the Center CMU Osher Course on Thomas Merton Offered in Spring By Joyce Rothermel
Following the 100th anniversary year of Thomas Merton’s birth last year, the Merton Center was approached to offer a course on Thomas Merton at Carnegie Mellon University’s Osher Program. Carol Gonzalez and I, who were on the anniversary committee in 2015, readily agreed. The six-week, sixsession class is entitled “Thomas Merton, a Spiritual Guide in a Troubled World.” It begins on Thursday, May 12 from 1 – 2:30 PM. The final session will be on Thursday, June 16 at the same time and will be offered in Wean Hall, Room 4707 on CMU’s campus in Oakland. The classes will provide an inspiring exploration into the life, relationships, writings, and contemplative practices of Thomas Merton. In addition to the biographical information of Merton's life, classes will focus on his published writings, correspondence with many of his contemporaries around the world, interfaith dialogue, and his spiritual journey in his last year (1968). It will reveal the reason Merton continues to be read and inspire the lives of people in the 21st century as a promoter of peace between peoples and religions. It will also include the mission and history of the Thomas Merton Cen-
ter that was founded in Pittsburgh in 1972 and continues to operate out of the Garfield section of the city. Carol Gonzales is an educator, contemplative activist, Episcopal laywoman, and an Ignatian guide and leader in CVX-CLC, an international, lay Ignatian community on mission in the world. A former history teacher at Shady Side Academy, Carol has served on the board of the Thomas Merton Center, led numerous Merton and Dorothy Day study groups, leads weekly spiritual support groups with incarcerated women, and has been active in community development on the Northside --including urban farming and tree-tending-- for decades. Carol is eager to engage with others on the journey, as disciples of meditation become apostles of Love. Joyce Rothermel is a life-long Catholic and active member of St. James Church in Wilkinsburg. She is a retired non-profit administrator who served as associate director of the Thomas Merton Center from 1977-87 and has returned as a regular volunteer and board member since her retirement in 2011. She received her master’s degree in education with a concentration in peace and social justice from the
Pittsburgh calling the city to divest from Apartheid South Africa. Picture courtesy of Carl Redwood
University of Dayton in 1977. Jim Forest’s biography on Merton Living W ith Wisdom, is required reading for the course. Also recommended but not required is Merton's "Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander". Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), formerly the Academy for Lifelong Learning, is a gathering of people eager to enhance their education by attending classes in a pleasant atmosphere on the campus of a great university. Any adult in the Pittsburgh area is eligible to join the Osher Institute at Carnegie Mellon. Endowed by the Bernard Osher Foundation, OLLI at CMU is a non-credit program supported by Carnegie Mellon University since its charter in 1992. Members participate in courses selected by the Curriculum Committee with suggestions from the membership. Dedicated volunteers lead courses and manage the program. Most classes are held during daylight hours. To find out more about Osher, go to www.cmu.edu/osher Joyce Rothermel is a board member of the Thomas Merton Center.
Photo Courtesy of the Post-Gazette.
Pittsburgh Activism: A Retrospective The Thomas Merton Center is taking part in the Penn Ave First Friday Gallery Crawl again this month! On February 5th, join us in the Thomas Merton Center Annex as we showcase our community's photographs and stories of Pittsburgh's rich and vibrant history of activism from the 1970s to present day! Come share your own experiences of Pittsburgh activism with new and old members alike! There will be wine and cheese, physical and digital photographs on display, and other media from past actions in Pittsburgh. Friday, February 5 6:00-9:00 PM TMC Annex 5119 Penn Ave
Searching for Copies of The NewPeople 2004-2008 Are you in possession of any issues of The NewPeople between 2004 and 2008? We are searching for any remaining copies during this time period. They have not been preserved at the University of Pittsburgh archives and the in-house archives went missing during the TMC building move. These issues contain valuable history about the TMC's social justice efforts and social movement struggles in Pittsburgh. If you have any copies, please contact Vanessa at vanessavesch@gmail.com.
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Your Ad Here! The NewPeople circulates to roughly 3,000 individuals and businesses in the greater-Pittsburgh area! Take out an ad today! For more information visit: http://thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/ ad/
Climate Change Negotiations COP21: Head Spinning Climate Negotiations Cont’d By Mark Dixon
remain vital and abundant opportunities for joy, even during trying times. Let’s dive into the details... COP21 opened with a stunning display of political force: the leader of nearly every nation on Earth gathered in-person to declare their support for climate action to an attentive if not skeptical global audience. President Obama delivered a surprisingly passionate and sincere 13-minute powerhouse of a speech, ignoring countless timekeeping bells to challenge the world to take action, declaring, “Nothing will deter us from building the future we want for our children.” This tone was echoed by the leadership of the European Union and United Nations, with France frequently and highly commended for its “masterful” handling of the delicate diplomacy. Even billionaire entrepreneurs joined with a chorus of religious leaders to call for climate action. This unified chorus had a missing voice, however: tragic acts of terrorism caused the French government to demand that hundreds of thousands of climate protesters stay home, allowing the COP21 delegations to chart their own course with limited influence from this critical but crippled public voice. So, what course did they chart? Faced with a United States Congress unwilling to ratify a binding treaty, the delegations at COP21 were forced to pursue a non-binding agreement reliant heavily on political peer-pressure. Some of the language gives me hope. Some of it looks painfully inadequate. Will it work? I have no idea, but for the sake of discussion I will at least share my opinions about the major points as I see them… Parties agreed to hold global average temperatures “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursu[e] efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.” While insufficient, this clever wording was better than I expected, particularly considering their admission that “much greater emissions reduction efforts will be required…” to meet those targets. I was also pleasantly surprised to watch the sizeable press corps chase down and prod any available scientist for information about the ultimate feasibility of a 1.5°C target. Hopefully this leads to significant new journalistic and scientific efforts in that direction. The agreement encourages nations to “reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible,” seeking greenhouse gas neutrality “in the second half of this century.” I believe that this language will simply give permission for all nations to replace “as soon as possible” with “as soon as it is politically and economically painless.” Furthermore, “in the second half of this century” is not nearly soon enough to stay below 1.5°C, let alone 2°C, without massive amounts of unproven and potentially physically impossible carbon sequestration. Quite a bit of hope seems to be placed in a nonbinding “ratchet mechanism” that encourages nations to improve upon their current decarbonization goals every five years. This mechanism shifts the basis of civilizational transformation from a political push to a free-market, technological waiting game. If COP21 doesn’t generate the necessary “market signal,” there is little else to drive meaningful CO2 belt
-tightening in the future. When the COP21 agreement was finally adopted, a thunderous roar emerged from the large plenary hall, followed by images of tears, hugs and hands clasped in celebration. These were not simply bureaucrats checking boxes for their fossil-fueled masters. I suspect they knew that we have a challenging road ahead, but they paused to joyfully celebrate this small victory filled with huge, if insufficient, accomplishments. It is a testament to the profound challenge presented by climate change that a diplomatic event as monumental and celebritystudded as COP21 would present such a humble step in the necessary path towards transformation. It is now time for us all to engage our hearts, minds, and bodies to bring our dear humanity the rest of the way home. (COP21 was a climate conference hosted by the United Nations in Paris during December 2015, and I attended it as a crowd-funded citizen journalist. This is one of my reports, and the rest are at my website given below ). Mark Dixon is an award-winning filmmaker, activist, and public speaker exploring the frontiers of social change on a finite planet. He attended the COP21 climate conference hosted by the United Nations in Paris, France during December 2015. Mark’s COP21 citiMark Dixon (author and photographer) attends an evening activist zen journalist reports can be found at: https:// event in Paris. Photo By Mark Dixon markatcop21.wordpress.com/ .
COP21 protester at the D12 action in Paris.
Photo By Mark Dixon
THIS MAY BE THE YEAR Help peace prevail by donating to the Molly Rush Legacy Fund now or in the future. All donations, no matter how modest, are greatly appreciated. Complete, clip, and mail this form to: Thomas Merton Center, 5129 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. In Honor/Memory of:___________________________________________________
Merton Center’s Molly Rush Legacy Fund Donation/Pledge: $__________________
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February 2016
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Our Readers’ Page Reader Writes
By Mike Stout
Thank you for your excellent review of The Devil's Chessboard in the January edition of The NewPeople written by Michael Drohan. My only additions and hope was that you would have strongly encouraged TMC members to get and read this book, given the reasons why, and that somehow we could make it more available through the TMC. The factual, documented information in the book is not only irrefutable, but until Americans, and especially the left, become aware of this history, we will never understand the road forward. The 'deep state' or secret government' created back in the late 40s-early 50s, culminating in their coup d'état with the assassinations of the 60s (JFK, RFK, MLK, Malcolm X, especially), still exists today. It determines all foreign and domestic policy. It decides who will be president, is responsible for the military occupations, and quagmires around the world, and is ultimately responsible for the gross wage disparity and polarization of wealth continuing unabated in this country. The assassinations in the 60s served forewarning to any politician or leader, black or white, what the consequences would be if they 'step out of line.' Whether directly or indirectly, it was responsible for 9-11 and its resulting climate of fear
Contribute To Our Next Issue! Have an opinion or a response to an article in this month’s issue? Send it in! We are looking for opinion pieces to fill an opinion page in each issue Are you a poet in the Pittsburgh area and would like to showcase your work on peace and social justice issues? Send it in! We are always looking for peace and social justice poems to feature in our newspaper. Interested in writing an article? Please do! Submit all things here: thomasmertoncenter.org/newpeople/ submit-an-article/
Unfamiliar Faces By Minnie Mariah Wilson
and massive attacks on our civil and human rights. Its main means of control domestically are the disinformation, mis-directions and brain-washing spread by the mass corporate media. Its means of control internationally are the barrels of their guns and missiles. Most of their tactics, whether assassinations, torture abroad, mass incarceration, or 'big-lie' propaganda machines such as Fox News are right out of Nazi Germany. Ignoring this "subterranean network of financial, intelligence and military interests" will continue to lead us down dead-end roads, right and left. For the right and more conservative-leaning workingclass Americans, it will leave the common people open to the blathering of fascist-leaning politicians blaming others of different color or religion, who are in the same boat as whites, for their problems. On the left we'll be forever stuck in the Democratic Party vice-grip of thinking we can somehow 'reform' this blood-sucking profit machine, and accepting their continual 'lesser of two evils' formula for political action. As a movement, employee-owned prints shop operator for 25 years, I dealt with activists, business people and political operatives across the spectrum,
Letter to the Editors Dear Editor, Regarding the dribble article, “Black lives Inherently Affirms All Lives,” in the Merton Center News of December 15th. Why do I say “Dribble?” It is not believable to me that whites, whether a household, neighborhood or church, truly cares about “Black Lives.” Not only do present news stories and happenings substantiate this, but past history of whites also back this up, like the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, the struggles of Rosa Parks and the brutal beating and murder of Emmett Till. Further, I only need read and re-read “Roots,” “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and “100 years of Lynching’s” to know the actions and attitudes of Whites. My Gram-Gram and Grand-Pop told us the White slave owners cared more about the lives of their thoroughbred horses than they did about a black life. Do I believe that a sign “Black Lives Matter” on church property was destroyed, vandalized, and stolen in a so-called affluent North Hills community?---------Absolutely.....Yes, I believe it. When it comes to whites claiming they care about working toward fighting racist, bigoted behavior, I feel like the Indians---“White Man speak with forked tongue.”
Your love is so difficult to read from behind these slits for eyes Your love is so very painful that I couldn't imagine your hate My kindness is met with curses they dig into me deep, but I dare not pull them out lest my face meet another blow
Janet Louise Martin
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February 2016
Mike
Mike Stout is a long-time community and union activist, retired steelworker and former Grievance Chairman of USW local 1397, songwriter and musician, and a 22-year member of Pgh. Musicians' Union Local 60-471.
Why?
By James McCarville
deep, deep, deeper into the sunni-shia war we drift, we dive. why? The poet is a member of the Editorial Collective and the TMC Board.
Bethlehem 2015 Bethlehem 2015
By: Kemmer Anderson
Workmen restore the Church of Nativity Among the broken hearted of Bethlehem Where walls define our boundaries of fear. Rifle sights from watchtowers scope out the youth In Al-Aida refugee camp. Guards and snipers target a son.
Triggers and barrels point at flat, pop-up figures: Children of rocks and courage nailed by crossfire From nameless killers disguised by the word security. Fence wire and concrete slabs complete separation That divides people from their olive fields and worship. Despair occupies the stateless state of Palestine. Minnie Mariah Wilson. Photo Credit: Mr. J-Swan Vivdasl
There the occupation speaks a warrior’s language Similar to the Roman orders spoken in Palestine at the birth Of Jesus. Has the reign of the Prince of Peace ended? Along Apartheid Street the separation wall calls out Narrative and names: human portraits painted on the wall Ricochet off the unsettled eye on the West Bank.
I will place a kiss upon its cheek and embrace that moment should it ever arrive I pray that he will materialize before I disappear into eternity Minnie Mariah Wilson is 31-years-old and a children's book author and illustrator of Just Ask My Mom and Dad/ SOCKS. Minnie also writes poetry and has been working as a production assistant for over 7 years.
Thanks for opening the door.
Aboud Shadi lies dead, shot through the heart, A Palestinian boy, a questionable enemy, executed By a lie buried deep in the soldiered eye of Cain.
Your love is so confusing I've failed many a times to understand I ignore the red ring around my neck and i'm not too fond of the purples and blues that are speckled all about me The mirror keeps whispering to come near-I refuse Your sight longs for my presence at all times and mine longs for your smile, but it's been awhile In my suffering I wait to see that familiar face from long ago Patiently waiting for it to emerge which is the reason for my pleasant demeanor despite my agony
from Tea Party to Anarchists. With hundreds of customers I engaged in political discussions about the issues of the day. Usually at the start of these discussions, there would be a wide gap of differences. But once I turned the focus and discussion to our common enemy: the 'deep state' and their big banking and financial puppeteers, and backed it up with facts, there would be common agreement and unanimity. The Merton Center would do our movement a great service in finding the organizational means to continue exposing this lost, covered-up history, and what this will mean for future activity. Staying in the same modus operandi will leave us stagnant and forever preaching to the choir.
The gray cement walls built by those deaf to time And history form our mirror of a genocide For soldiers needing to see the face of Justice.
Kemmer Anderson. Photo Credit: Steve Fendler
Kemmer Anderson has taught English at McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN, for 38 years. A graduate of Davidson College, he has published in Christian Century, Sojourners, and Sewanee Review. He is the author of two poetry books, Wing Shadows Over Walden Ridge and Songs of Bethlehem: Nativity Poems.
Holy Vatican Bankers, Bat-Priest! BREAKING NEWS FROM THE GIORNALE VATICANO Now it Can Be Told - The Story Behind the Story of Crime and Evil Vanquished in the Roman Curia Episode 2: Corruption Uncovered
By Robert Jedrzejewski
The Bat-Cellar hummed with excruciating nervosity as The Bat-Priest (aka Fr. Franco Bergoglio), Reuben (aka Ricardo Goldenson) and The Moth (aka Umberto Falena) huddled over secret documents The Moth had uncovered, detailing the incredulous banking shenanigans of His Eminenza Cardinal Richeloni Albatrosso. As head of the Piccolo Banco Vaticano (PBV), he was virtually shoveling laundered money (euros) into an audit-proof (so he thought) account. Whence this river of illgotten booty? - a string of Cafes, Trattorias, Ristorantes, Cucinas and Gelaterias spread out over the vast expanse of the Roman metropolis. This was a black spider web of intrigue, guile and massive net-working that, obvious to Roman cognoscenti like The Bat-Priest and The Moth, took years and years to develop. But Albatrosso was entrenched for years and years in Curial financial affairs and nurtured scrofulous minor spiders while spinning his lucrative web of thievery and deceit. In all the aforementioned establishments, little jars near the cash registers invited patrons to part with their euro-cents change for "Albatrosso's Piccoli Poveri" (i.e. Albatrosso's poor children). Except, each establishment's delivery boy, minus his "dieci percento" (10%) cut, took the money to the PBV and then to the Cardinal's private strong box. Reuben (aka Ricardo Goldenson) saw how the books were cooked and the spidery scope of this elegant and massive fraudulenza. Over the years it amounted to MILLIONS of euros in the Cardinal's bulging coffers. If Umberto Falena (aka The Moth) could receive inside-the- Vatican leaks, he could also deliver them. This was the beginning of the master plan to
bring down the powerful Albatrosso and thus rid His Holiness of one weighty load around his neck. Part A of the Bat-Priest's scheme: get directly into the Pope's hands an independent audit of Cardinal Albatrosso's personal PBV holdings. This would require surreptitious entry and access to the bank vaults; Joe the Jun (aka Giuseppe Schiaffini) could be relied on to discover a subterranean entry thereto. Part B would require some deft paperwork, and thanks to the Bat-scroptic praxometer's FlexoManuscript-Extensograph attachment (FME), The Moth was ready and able to produce what was required: (1) an official-looking MOTU PROPRIO (i.e Papal Edict) and (2) gilt-edged Papal badges personally identifying the wearers as unquestioned emissaries of the Pope's personal security detail. WHAT in the name of Judas-priest was this all about?? Pazienza! Pazienza! - a little back-tracking will enlighten you. (A big part of Fr. Franco's ministry was to the poverty-stricken youth of his vast parish. He not only befriended the "scugnizzi" (river rats, as the snobs called them) but scrounged recreational supplies for them and even found newspaper delivery and other jobs for some. The "ragazzi" (boys) would turn out to be for their friendly Pastor something like Sherlock Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars in assisting the Trio of crime-fighters in their plan.) Part C would require a lot of overtime work by Fr. Franco. Disguised with a beard and an impressive regalia-like uniform, imitative of the Swiss Guard, The Bat-Priest zipped through the streets and alleys of Rome on the Bat-VespaCycle to every establishment soliciting euro-cents for the Cardinal Albatrosso fund. . He personally, with typical Italian
In Memory of Rev. Warren Metzler
By Joyce Rothermel
St. James Church in Wilkinsburg began the New Year with a great loss; on New Year’s Day, their pastor of 34 years, Warren Metzler, passed on. Warren was a long time member of the Merton Center and during his adult years he was a strong witness for peace, non-violence, and social justice. He protested the Vietnam War by participating in peace vigils. He was a tax resister opposing tax dollars used for war. He was a draft counselor for conscientious objectors. In opposing the Rev. Warren Metzler Iraq war, he participated in a die-in along Fifth Avenue during a In his senior years, living to peace march here in Pittsburgh. be 79, Father Metzler became very Fr. Metzler was active in the enthused with the example Association of Pittsburgh Priests of Pope Francis, and he spoke and called his congregation to about many of the Pope's recent form a social justice and peace messages of inclusion, the care of committee. He was a voice oppos- the planet, the plight of refugees ing violence in Wilkinsburg. Even and immigrants, and economic in the face of a limited budget, he justice. continued to have a social service minister on his staff for social ser- The witness of Fr, Metzler s life vices to the Wilkinsburg commu- has inspired many and his spirit will live on in his legacy of peace, nity. He fostered diversity in all justice, and nonviolence. forms within the congregation where all were welcome. His parJoyce Rothermel is a member of ish was an active member of the PA Interfaith Impact Network. He St. James Parish in Wilkinsburg. supported PIIN’s efforts and was a voice for economic justice supporting the drive for $15 an hour by fast food restaurant workers in Wilkinsburg and beyond.
flourish and braggadocio, delivered a gilt-edged ultimatum to each, demanding that henceforth all contributions near the cash registers were to be handed over to youthful Papal representatives, identified by their official badges; no longer would the establishment's Albatrossian minions receive the contributions. Fr. Franco's "ragazzi" were only too happy to assist and spread out over the city, sporting their badges and returning the funds to Reuben (aka Ricardo Goldenson), who set up a special Papal fund for the poor, minus the "dieci percento" (10%), which went to establish a youth recreation and learning center at Santa Maria. Pope Francis (the erstwhile Jorge Bergoglio) was surprised early one morning after his prayers to receive a special delivery package containing the true audit of Cardinal Albatrosso's finances, as well as a bank statement of an account for the poor in his name, in the tens of thousands of euros. The delivery was accompanied by a cryptic note, signed simply "I Vostri Amici" (Your friends), The Bat-Priest, Reuben, The Moth. Not long after, his Eminenza Cardinal Richeloni Albatrosso received a registered letter from the Vatican Post Office, informing him that he was immediately being re-assigned as Papal Nuncio (Ambassador) to Sierra Leone. (Next: The spindly Monsignore Gravilvoce Baldoni, President of the Relics and Canonization Dicastery (Department) of the Curia gets a ghostly midnight visit from the Bat-Priest - or was it just a dream???) Robert Jedrzejewski is a retired college instructor of Philosophy, Theology and Literature.
Co-Creating an Unfinished Universe By Joyce Rothermel
“Co-Creating an Unfinished Unileast being verse: Challenges and New Directions” affected is the topic for the upcoming talk by Ilia by techDelio, OSF at an event sponsored by nology. Association of Pittsburgh Priests on Sun- That is, day, March 6 from 2 – 4 PM at the technoloKearns Spirituality Center, 9000 Babgy is cock Blvd., in Allison Park next to evoking LaRoche College. new patIlia Delio is a Franciscan Sister terns of from Washington, DC and an American relatedtheologian specializing in the area of ness science and religion, with interests in which evolution, physics and neuroscience and now inthe import of these for theology. clude an Ilia Delio, OSF Here is a flavor of Ilia Delio’s artificial thinking: “Here…is our ecological ques- device. Hence, we need an operative deftion, are we becoming a new species, a inition of IT as ‘intentional technology.’ techno sapiens? If so, what are the con“Until we come to grips with the sequences for the environment? Will technological evolution we have created techno sapiens use technology more effi- and which is recreating us, there can be ciently to green the earth or will techno no true greening of the earth.” sapiens signify a post-biological species (Excerpted from “Why the Earth and a post-biological world? Won’t Green Without Us”, March 4, “Without technology at the center 2015, Global Sisters Report: A Project of of the ecological discussion, the quest the National Catholic Reporter). for a greener earth is stifled. The ecologIlia Delio’s recent publications inical question must begin with technology clude From Teilhard to Omega: Coand human becoming because we hucreating an Unfinished Universe and mans are becoming something new with The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: technology. By this I mean that the con- God, Evolution and the Power of Love. stant use of technology is altering the Plan to come to hear Ilia Delio in human brain, diminishing distinctions person. Cost for the talk is $20. Reservabetween virtual and real and altering pat- tions can be made in advance but are not terns of human relationships. Although required by calling Sr. Mary Joan Coulthe nature we are trying to preserve is the tas at 412-366-1124. natural world, humans emerge from this natural world. We belong by birth to this Joyce Rothermel chairs the Church Renewal Committee of the Association of cosmos which is our home. If human nature is changing with technology then, Pittsburgh Priests. in a sense, all of nature is changing or at February 2016 NEWPEOPLE - 15
Sunday
Monday
Celebrate Black History EVERY MONTH!
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#BlackHistory Matters
Fight Back for Pitt Faculty!6:30 PM– Rm 538 William Pitt Union
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1913– Rosa Parks born
Penn Plaza WE WILL NOT BE HOMELESS Rally– 10:00 AM– Penn Plaza, corner of Penn Ave & Euclid
February 2016
Saturday
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Regular Meetings Sundays: Book’Em: Books to Prisoners Project First three Sundays of the month at TMC, 46pm Contact: bookempgh@gmail.com Anti-War and Anti-Drone Warfare Coalition 3rd Sunday at 11:30 am at TMC, 5129 Penn Ave., Garfield, PA 15224
Pitt's Black Action Society presents: An evening discussion with Bernice King– 5:00 PM- O'Hara Student Center, 4024 O'Hara St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Pittsburgh Activism: A Retrospective through mixed media– 6:00-9:00 PM– TMC Annex 5119 Penn Ave
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1944– Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, born
1990– Nelson Mandela released after 27 years in prison
University Lecture Series Jelani Cobb– 4:30 PM- Porter 100 , Carnegie Melon University
1909– NAACP founded in NYC
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1965– Malcom X assassinated, Audubon Ballroom, NYC
Friday
4 Intersections of Poverty: Public Health & Dr. King’s Message– 6:00-7:00 PMRangos 3, University Center at Carnegie Mellon University 5032 Forbes Ave
Marxist Student AssociationStudents for Liberty Debate– 8:30 PMO'Hara Student Center 4024 Ohara St
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Thursday
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V-Day to end violence against women and girls
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Wednesday
1980– 7,000 1807– Foreign march to protest slave trade KKK in outlawed in US Greensboro, NC
Free Buffet served by Living Stones Ministry– 4:30 PM – Presbyterian Church of Mt. Washington, 213 Bailey Ave, Pgh PA 15211
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Tuesday
Mondays: SW Healthcare 4 All PA /PUSH Meeting 1st Monday, 7:30 —9 pm Association of Pittsburgh Priests 2nd Monday, 7—9 pm, Prince of Peace Rectory 162 South 15th, Southside, Pgh. PA 15203 Amnesty International #39 2nd Monday, 7—9 pm First Unitarian Church, Morewood Ave. 15219
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Wednesdays:
Inspirational Stories about Creating a Sustainable, Vibrant, Healthy, and Just Region– 4:30- Hill House Kaufmann Center, 1825 Centre Ave
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1942– Huey P. Newton, cofounder of Black Panther Party, born
1931– Toni Morrison born
1990– Black students at Tennessee State University sit in to demand equal funding
FORUM: Imperialism and Regime Change: The Bloodbath in Syria– 3:00 PM– Carnegie Library East Liberty, 130 S. Whitefield St
1934– Audre Lorde, born
Meet Your Muslim Neighbor Potluck– 6:30 Pm—8:00 pm– TMC 5129 Penn Ave
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” -Audre Lorde
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The Raizman Lecture featuring Jenny Nordberg— 6:00 – 7:30 PMCampbell Memorial Chapel, Chatham Universty
TMC Anti-War Speaker Series Featuring Tayfun Gol– 6:00 PM– Carnegie Library East Liberty
Girls Coalition Networking Happy Hour! 5:30-7:30– Church Brew Works, 3525 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15201
USAS National Conference Pittsburgh– 8:00 AM- University of Pittsburgh-
USAS National Conference Pittsburgh– 11:00 AM- University of Pittsburgh-
usas.org
usas.org
4200 5th Ave–
Human Rights Coalition: Fed-Up! Every Wednesday at 7p.m. Write letters for prisoners’ rights at the Thomas Merton Center 4836 Ellsworth Ave Darfur Coalition Meeting 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Meeting Room C Carnegie Library, Squirrel Hill 412-784-0256 Pennsylvanians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (PADP) 1st Wednesdays, 7-8pm, First Unitarian Church, Ellsworth & Morewood Avenues, Shadyside Pittsburghers for Public Transit 2nd Wednesday, 7pm, 1 Smithfield St., lower level
Thursdays: International Socialist Organization Every Thursday, 7:30-9:30 pm at the Thomas Merton Center Global Pittsburgh Happy Hour 1st Thursday, 5:30 to 8 pm, Roland's Seafood Grill, 1904 Penn Ave, Strip District Green Party Meeting 1st Thursday, 7 to 9 pm, 2121 Murray, 2nd floor, Squirrel Hill Black Political Empowerment Project 2nd Thursday, 6 pm: Planning Council Meeting, Hill House, Conference Room B
Fridays: Unblurred Gallery Crawl 1st Friday after 6 pm, Penn Avenue Arts District, 4800-5500 Penn Ave., Friendship and Garfield 15224 Hill District Consensus Group 2nd Friday, 10 am — 12 pm, Elsie Hillman Auditorium, Kaufmann Center 1825 Centre Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 People of Prisoners in Need of Support 3rd Friday, 7:00pm New Hope Methodist Church, 114 W. North Ave, Pittsburgh 15212
4200 5th Ave–
Saturdays:
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“What we are dealing with right now is a disease that has plagued Amer-
University of Pittsburgh Human Rights Conference– 12 Noon– 5:00 PM– William Pitt Union
ica since its inception. Convicting a few cops isn’t going to deal with that disease. We’ve been trying hard this year to be clear that state violence is bigger than police terrorism. Although police terrorism plays a specific role on behalf of the state, it is not the totality of what state violence looks like or feels like in our communities. We’ve been shifting the narrative to talk about state violence being structural racism. Given that, what we are lifting up here is that we need a bigger vision than just Band-Aid reforms—we need to move towards a transformative vision that touches on what’s at the root of the problems we are facing.” Alicia Garza of Black Lives Matter
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Project to End Human Trafficking 2nd Sat., Carlow University, Antonian Room #502 Fight for Lifers West 3rd Saturday, 10 a.m. to 12:30 pm, Thomas Merton Center
February 2016
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