SAN FRANCISCO
Dinner rally builds for March 20
By Nancy Mitchell
San Francisco
Over 250 people filled the Green Room of the
War Memorial Building in San Francisco's Civic Center Feb. 22
for an historic awards dinner to honor those on the front lines
of the struggle against war and racism. The event was a benefit
for the International ANSWER--Act Now to Stop War and End
Racism--Coalition.
A huge ANSWER banner hung from the historic building
welcoming people as they arrived. The event was hosted by
Veterans For Peace and "Bob Basker" Post 315, an unusually
progressive post of the American Legion.
Hari Dillon, president of the Vanguard Foundation, was a key
honoree. Dillon has been a longtime leader in the civil-rights
and anti-war struggles in the Bay area. He and the Vanguard
Foundation have provided instrumental assistance in building
and broadening the anti-war movement of the past two years.
In a salute to the ANSWER Coalition's hard work, he said:
"We need to act now to stop war and end racism, and that's what
your organization has been doing. Your leadership has been
unyielding and courageous."
Dillon made a resounding call to the pro gressive movement
to embrace the Pales tinian struggle for self-determination:
"If we are to maintain our integrity as a movement and our
dignity as a people, we cannot march to stop the war in Iraq
and ignore the decades-long struggle against occupation of the
people of Palestine."
Vanguard also honored 10 youth activists of the anti-war
movement.
Other honored guests of the dinner included former U.S. Rep.
Cynthia McKinney, Marine resister Steven Funk, who was released
earlier in February from the Marine Corps brig after serving
his term, United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, San
Francisco Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer Walter Johnson,
Michel Shehadeh of the Los Angeles 8, and Marion Greene of the
LEF Foundation.
Presenters/masters of ceremony includ ed leading ANSWER
activists Elias Rashmawi of the Free Palestine Alliance, Mario
Santos of BAYAN, Barbara Lubin of Middle East Children's
Alliance, LeiLani Dowell, Gloria La Riva and Richard Becker of
the International Action Center.
Speakers reflect recent struggles
Virtually all of the core ANSWER activists attended, either
as volunteers or as guests. A beautiful 32-page commemorative
journal of ads and solidarity statements, with a full page
March 20 flier on the back cover, was prepared for the
event.
Reflecting recent political struggles with in the anti-war
movement, several speakers emphasized the need for the movement
to include unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, along
with demanding an to end the occupation of Iraq and bringing
the troops home, defending civil rights and liberties, opposing
racism, and demanding money for people's needs, not war. Many
participants promoted the March 20 Interna tional Day of
Protest against the occupation of Iraq.
The War Memorial is across the street from City Hall, and
several speakers referred to the historic developments there
regarding same-sex marriage during the past two weeks. Some
speakers also discussed the struggle to save the life of Kevin
Cooper and end the racist, anti-worker death penalty.
Many attendees remarked that the evening was a one-of-a-kind
event, a celebration and recognition of the behind-the-scenes
contributions of so many to the movement, as well as a united
show of solidarity with many struggles.
Among the many organizations participating were KPFA
Pacifica Radio (outgoing station manager Gus Newport and
"Flashpoints" host Dennis Bernstein), the San Francisco Labor
Council, Letter Carriers Local 214, Veterans for Peace, BAYAN
USA, the Free Palestine Alliance, Allied Sign and Display Local
510, Students for Justice in Palestine-Berkeley & Davis,
Middle East Children's Alliance, A Jewish Voice for Peace, San
Francisco Day Laborers Program, Cesar Chavez Parade Committee,
and Inkworks Press.
Also the National Lawyers Guild, the Not In Our Name
Project, LEF Found ation, Workers World Party, National Com
mittee to Free the Cuban 5, General Union of Palestine
Students-San State, the San Francisco Women's Building, Comite
'98 por un Puerto Rico Libre, and others. GI resisters from the
first Gulf war--Aimee Allison, Erik Larsen, Jeff Paterson and
Azania Howse--were also among the attendees.
Reprinted from the March 4, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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