Total break with Bush’s war policies

Activists from around the United States gathered at Wayne State University in Detroit Nov. 11-13 to work on a program for reversing the growing crisis of urban areas.

Under the theme: “Feed the cities, starve the Pentagon,” the event took a strong position against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and called for support for the mass actions on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in December.

“The National Conference to Reclaim Our Cites” (NCRC) attracted delegates concerned about the $500 billion annual defense budget, which is draining resources from the vast need for housing, healthcare, quality education, employment, infrastructural development, food, access to water and utilities, environmental safety and community control of police.

Andrea Hackett of the student chapter of the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice (MECAWI),
the host organization, welcomed the
participants.

David Sole, president of UAW Local 2334 in Detroit and a key organizer of the conference, recalled that “the city of Detroit announced that it had a $300 million budget deficit and in facing that deficit, the city administration called in union presidents from all the various unions representing 15,000 city workers and told us that we had to take a 10 percent wage cut and take $47 million in medical care cuts.

“Some of us raised the fact [in a planning meeting] that there is one place where there is plenty of money going and that no one talks about and that is the Pentagon budget and specifically the Iraq war.”

Donald Boggs, president of the Metro-Detroit AFL-CIO, noted that over $210 billion has already been spent on the Iraq war. Boggs pointed out that the Iraq war has cost the state of Michigan over $5 billion and the city of Detroit some $369 million, which could have wiped out the budget deficit.

“With 6.5 billion people living in the world today, over half are living on less than two dollars a day,” said Boggs. “America is the biggest exporter of worker oppression in the world and we need to stop it, starting at home. I can only promise you that as long as I am president of the Metropolitan-Detroit AFL-CIO, yes I will push my leaders, but in the final analysis it is going to take the rank and file telling us it is time that we do something about the war.”

JoAnn Watson, who was recently re-elected to the Detroit City Council, addressed the plenary, saying that “I am blessed to be here representing the left wing of the Detroit City Council. All organizations need to have a left wing—uncompromising soldiers willing to take a stand for peace and justice, calling for freedom now and the taking of no prisoners.”

Watson then paid tribute to Rosa Parks, who provided the spark for the modern civil rights movement on Dec. 1, 1955. In a recently passed Detroit City Council resolution submitted by Watson, the legislative body of the municipal government has recognized Dec. 1 as a day of action honoring the late civil rights pioneer, who died Oct. 24.

The resolution reads in part that “the tragic Katrina hurricane exposed to the world the continuing urgent need even 50 years later to battle racial inequality, poverty and war, the three things that Dr. [Martin Luther] King came to see as the main enemies of all human progress, and that the Detroit City Council declares Dec. 1, 2005 Rosa Parks Action Day for Equality, Peace and Economic Prosperity for All, and be it resolved that the Council encourages all businesses in the city, both public and private, to conduct demonstrations on Dec. 1, or allow the many workers and students in the city who will want to attend Rosa Parks commemorative events taking place during normal business hours, to take time off to demonstrate for social justice in the manner of Mother Rosa Parks.”

Another plenary session, chaired by Ann Rall of MECAWI, featured Maureen Taylor of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Clarence Thomas of the Million Worker March Movement from Oakland, California, Larry Holmes of the Troops Out Now Coalition, Violetta Donawa of the Wayne State University student chapter of MECAWI, Jerry Goldberg of the A Job is a Right Campaign and Brenda Stokely of the Karina Solidarity Committee in New York.

Final Resolution

The conference delegates at the closing session Nov. 13 agreed to support and work towards building the Dec. 1 Day of Absence activities that will take place around the country.

In addition, the conference endorsed a national mobilization in New Orleans scheduled for Dec. 9-10 calling for justice for the communities that have been severely affected and dispersed as a result of the aftermath of Katrina. Also the delegates agreed to work to build demonstrations against the occupation of Iraq on its third anniversary during March 18-20 next year.

Clarence Thomas of the Million Worker March Movement spoke about the upcoming commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre of 1886 in Chicago which represents the symbolic origin of May Day. The conference agreed to support this event in an effort to reclaim May Day as the holiday of working people in United States.

Moreover, the final resolution called upon the elected officials of major American cities to politically break with the Bush administration on the continuing occupation of Iraq and to set a deadline of Dec. 16 to demand the return of tax dollars slated to go to the Pentagon in order to continue the war.

For more information log on to: www.reclaimourcities.org

Azikiwe is editor of the Pan-African News Wire.