FROM THEORY TO ACTION
Teach-in to open anti-WEF protests
By Deirdre Griswold
New York
Theory without action will get you nowhere. Action without
theory may get you to the wrong place.
On Feb. 1 and 2, opponents of the World Economic Forum will
have a chance to test their theories and their ability to put
them into action.
The billionaires of the WEF, who usually meet on a
mountaintop in Davos, Switzerland, will be holding their annual
bash in New York this year. They probably think that this
metropolis, the financial capital of the world and home to
nearly 8 million people, is so traumatized by Sept. 11 that
good old-fashioned street demonstrations against greedy
capitalists, like the ones that have been rousing the world
since Seattle, will not be tolerated.
Surprise, surprise. Demonstrators are coming from all over
to creatively and forcefully make their demands known outside
the old-money Waldorf-Astoria hotel, where the WEF is meeting.
The main street actions will be held on Saturday, Feb. 2,
beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting all day. Permits have been
obtained for these protests.
But the day before, the theories that lead to these actions
will be presented, discussed, kicked around and generally be
given a good workout at two different events: a teach-in during
the day and a rally in the evening.
Here's a preview of what these events will look like.
The teach-in will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Community
Church, 35th Street between Park and Madison Avenues. It will
have opening and closing plenaries, book-ended around half a
dozen workshops. Many different organizations are contributing
to the list of speakers in both the plenaries and the
workshops. The whole thing has been pulled together by the
International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism)
coalition.
The first plenary--from 10:00 to 11:15--will focus on
corporate capitalism and George Bush's war against working
people at home and abroad. The closing plenary--from 3:00 to
4:00--will look at how the war in Afghanistan fits into U.S.
global strategy, oil and the military-industrial complex.
The workshop on "Racial and Political Profiling: What you
need to know about John Ashcroft's new 'anti-terrorism laws'"
will let legal experts explain this draconian new legislation,
but everyone will have a chance to raise their concerns and
strategies. The presiders will be Mara Verheyden-Hilliard and
Carl Messenio of Partnership for Civil Justice and Riva Enteen
of the San Francisco National Lawyers Guild. All three are also
with the NLG Mass Legal Defense.
The National Coalition for Dignity and Amnesty of
Undocumented Workers will chair the workshop on "Invisible
Workers Equal Superprofits: The role of immigrant labor."
"From Palestine to Iraq: Understanding U.S. strategy in the
Middle East" is being organized by Students for International
Peace & Justice, the International Action Center and the
Committee in Support of the Iraqi People.
"Globalization Makes Us Sick: The state of healthcare around
the world" will draw on the knowledge of medical workers and
consumers from Doctors for Global Health, Doc Bloc, Health Gap
Coalition and others.
The Center on Conscience and War will present a workshop on
"Resisting Military Recruitment on College Campuses."
Nicaragua Network, Network in Solidarity with the People of
Guatemala, CISPES, Colombia Action Network and the Stop the
U.S. War in Colombia Committee of the IAC will elaborate on
"U.S. Policy Towards Central America, Latin America and the
Caribbean: Keeping colonies for the corporations."
Workshops will run from 11:30 to 1:00, and again from 1:15
to 2:45.
Evening rally at FIT
People who've been attending the teach-in during the day
will get a break until 7 that night, when they can join
newcomers at a big rally at the FIT Auditorium on 27th St.
between 7th and 8th Avenues.
The rally will be where all these separate issues are
brought together: the struggles against war, racism and
corporate globalization. A list of those speaking and sending
messages reads like a Who's Who of strong voices of
opposition:
* former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who is suing
over the treatment of prisoners held by the U.S. in
Guantanamo;
* Rep. Barbara Lee of California, the only member of
Congress to oppose the resolution giving Bush the power to wage
this dirty war;
* Mumia Abu-Jamal, famed death row prisoner;
* Larry Adams, President, Local 300, National Postal Mail
Handlers Union;
* Nadia Ahmed, Students for International Peace &
Justice;
* Asha Samad-Matias, Muslims Against Racism & War;
* Rev. Lucius Walker, IFCO/Pastors for Peace;
* Ron Daniels, Center for Constitutional Rights;
* Rev. Curtis Gatewood, President, Durham Chapter of
NAACP;
* Brother Joel Magellan, Tepeyac Association;
* Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Partnership for Civil
Justice;
* Peta Lindsay, School Without Walls High School;
* Larry Holmes, International Action Center;
* Pam Africa, International Concerned Family & Friends
of Mumia Abu-Jamal;
* Macrina Cardenas, Mexico Solidarity Network,
and more.
Soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, thousands of people in New
York and other cities who mourned the victims also came out
with placards and buttons letting the world know they didn't
want this great tragedy to become the excuse for war and
racism. "War is not the answer" became the slogan of this
spontaneous movement.
"So what is the answer?" was the response of many people.
The teach-in and rally on Feb. 1 will be taking this question
up in all its complexity. The war has now happened, and so have
many racist attacks. Capitalist globalization continues to
ravage the Third World, even as economic crisis comes home to
millions of workers here.
More than ever, the movement that will go into action on
Feb. 2 needs to refine its politics, and the teach-in and rally
on Feb. 1 are expected to provide an exciting venue for
education, discussion and the shaping of a people's agenda
against the exploiters of the world.
Reprinted from the Jan. 31, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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