[PEN-L:5167] A Gathering of Grassroots & Scholar Activists (fwd)

[D Shniad <shniad@xxxxxx>]

> [Please post this electronic brochure to your nets. Thanks. Walda
> For more information call: 404-584-7141 Jerome Scott or Abbie
> Illenberger, email: projectsouth@xxxxxxxxxxx
> or call:  301-320-4034 -- Walda Katz-Fishman
>    email: wkatzfishman@xxxxxxxxxxx]
>
>
>      Clinton's Midterm Report Card: Voices From the Trenches
>          A Gathering of Grassroots & Scholar Activists:
>         Developing Education and Research for Liberation
>
>      Join  Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty
>            & Genocide on  June 22-23, 1995  at the
>       Conference Center - University of Tennessee, Knoxville
>
>
> WHO WE ARE:
> Project South Mission Statement
>
> Project South : Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide
> is an education and research organization of scholars and
> activists.  It seeks to develop and deepen the understanding of the
> historical and current role of social change in the South.  This is
> done in relation to the social struggles in the rest of the United
> State and the world.
>
> Our Model
>
> Project South brings scholar and grassroots activists together as
> equals to conduct its education and research program.  Each Working
> Group is co-facilitated by a grassroots activist and a scholar or
> cultural activist.  Joint or collective initiation, planning, and
> implementation of all projects and publications is a necessity.  We
> unite out of a common understanding and a concrete strategy to
> resolve the real problems of those at the bottom -- the homeless,
> the unemployed, the underemployed, those living in poverty, etc.
> Our education and research program points to a vision for human
> liberation.
>
>
> A Call to the Gathering
>
> Today's global economy and the high technology revolution are
> transforming every aspect of society and our lives.  A deeper and
> more pervasive poverty and a more intense oppression are the new
> realities of the 1990s.  Good jobs are being eliminated, wages are
> falling, jobs that are being created are minimum wage or close to
> it.  The poor are being criminalized -- especially youth, welfare
> recipients, and the homeless.  At the same time, the productivity
> of high technology means that there are enough goods and services
> to satisfy all human needs for the first time in history.  The
> challenge is: How do we insure that all people have equal access to
> this abundance?
>
> Organizing and educating -- including research -- go hand-in-hand.
> Our organizing should reflect the impact of the high tech
> revolution and postindustrial society in the global economy.  Our
> education and research should provide the clarity necessary to
> grasp what this impact is.
>
> We invite you to joins us at a gathering of grassroots activists
> and scholar activists.  We will organize Working Groups around
> critical policy issues - "Poverty & the Global Economy," "The
> Political Economy of the Southeast," "Criminal Injustice & the
> Police State," "Health Care," and "Environmental Justice." - to
> analyze and critique current policy, to propose policy initiatives
> to solve the problems of our communities, and to develop winning
> strategies.
>
> In case you're wondering about our title -- "Clinton's Midterm
> Report Card" -- consider: the political program of reaction and
> repression that was viewed as "lunatic right wing fringe" in the
> late 1960s and 70s is today the mainstream political agenda of the
> 104th Congress, with little or no serious opposition from the
> Clinton administration.
>
> Despite the Republican hegemony in Congress, the buck still stops
> with Clinton. And it is increasingly clear that the Democrats and
> Republicans are putting forth a unified strategy to govern --
> disagreement over details notwithstanding. Their strategy is to
> irreparably shred the social contract of the reform era. This
> political reality is the context of all our work.
>
> The mission of Project South and the task of our Working Groups to
> do education and research is more relevant now than ever. These new
> political realities must be understood, and new strategies for
> organizing -- IN OUR COMMUNITIES, AT OUR WORKPLACES, IN OUR SCHOOLS
> AND COLLEGES, AT THE BALLOT BOX AND IN THE STREETS -- must be
> developed from the bottom up.
>
> Our education and research agenda does not call for a return to the
> way things were before the November 1994 elections or even before
> the Reagan-Bush years. It calls for a vision and a strategy for
> tomorrow and our future. Be part of making it happen!
>
>
> Working Groups
>
> Made up of scholar and grassroots activists, Project South Working
> Groups are organized around our five priority areas - "Poverty &
> the Global Economy," "Political Economy of the Southeast," "
> Criminal Injustice & the Police State," "HealthCare," and
> "Environmental Justice.".  A major objective for the Gathering is
> for each Working Group to develop a program of research and
> education around their focus area and an implementation plan for
> that program.  These plans will include conducting research and
> developing educational materials.
>
> Gathering Information
>
> Where:         Conference Center, U of Tennessee, Knoxville
>                at 600 Henley St.
> Registration:  $10.00 (before 5/15),
>                $20.00 (after 5/15)
> Food:          $25.00 - includes 2 meals on Thursday,
>                3 on Friday and beverage service
> Housing:       UT dorms:
>                single room- $14.50 per day
>                double room - $11.50/person per day;
>                Hotel rooms available at Holiday Inn across from the
>                Conf Center. Call for reservation: 1(800) 465-4329
> Transportation:  Shuttle available at Gathering
> Cosponsorship :  Cosponsors may be individuals or organizations.
>    Cosponsorship means distributing Gathering materials to your
>    network, participating in the Gathering planning process, and
>    making a financial contribution of $100 or more (which is tax
>    deductible).  Cosponsors will be listed in the program.  Table
>    space will be provided to cosponsors during the Gathering.
>
>
> Gathering Schedule (tentative)
>
> Thursday, June 22, 1995
> 9:00 am - 11:30 am  Registration at UT Dorms & Shuttle to
>                     Conference Center
>     ** Participants should eat before noon **
>
> 12 noon - 2:30 pm   Opening Plenary
>                     "Liberation Education and Research"
>
> 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm   Working Group  Session #1
>
> 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm   Dinner
>                     Shuttle to Dorms & Cafeteria
>
> 7:30 pm - until     (To be Confirmed)
>                     Computer Training, Cultural Activities,
>                     Optional Working Group Meetings
>
>
> Friday, June 23, 1995
> 7:00 am - 8:30 am   Breakfast at Dorms & Shuttle to
>                     Conference Center
>
> 9:30 am - 12 noon   Working Group Session #2
>
> 12 noon - 1:00 pm   Lunch at Conference Center
>                     Keynote Speech
>
> 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm   Working Group Session #3
>
> 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm   Closing Plenary
>                     Reports from Working Groups
>
> 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm   Dinner at Dorms
>
>
>
> Registration Form
> Name  ______________________________________
> Organization________________________________
> Address_____________________________________
> City _________________  State ____ Zip_________
> phone _________________ fax _________________
> e-mail  _____________________________
>
> Enclosed is:
> Registration Fee:   $10 before 5/15           $________
>                     $20 after 5/15
> Food Fee:           $25                       $________
> Housing Fee:                                  $________
>      single at $14.50/day for ____  days
>      double at $11.50/person/day  for  _____ days
>       __  Wednesday   ___  Thursday  ___ Friday
>
>                                       TOTAL:  $________
> Cosponorship:
> Yes, I/we want to be a cosponsor.
> Enclosed is my/our fee                        $________
>
> ____ I need information about child care;
>      Age(s) of child(ren):
> ____ I have special needs.
>
> ____ Please send information about the Southern region Up &  Out of
>      Poverty NOW!  Survival Summit Planning Meeting, June 24 at the
>      U of Tennessee, Knoxville
>
> * Make checks or money orders payable to "Project South"
> For more information call: 404-584-7141 Jerome Scott or Abbie
> Illenberger, email: projectsouth@xxxxxxxxxxx
> or call:  301-320-4034 -- Walda Katz-Fishman
>    email: wkatzfishman@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Please indicate which working group(s) you are interested in:
> Poverty & the Global Economy           ___
> Political Economy of the Southeast     ___
> Criminal Injustice & the Police State  ___
> Health Care For All                    ___
> Environmental Justice                  ___
>