NORTHLAND ANTI-WAR COALITION
Report from the August 12 planning meeting.
-Present: Hal B., Suzanne G., Dory R., Andy A., Adam R., Ray S., Michelle N., Peter K., Mike R., Bob K., Ron M., Leah O., Carl S., Joel K.,
1. SEPT. 21 "STRIKE FOR PEACE": The overall plan is to hold a day of action on Sept. 21 that will consist of: 1.) a march that will gather at 11:30am at the CJM Memorial and from there march to the Civic Center for a noon rally; 2.) a series of one hour workshops before and after the march, all of which will be held in Building for Women; 3.) an evening concert.
-PROFS: Adam passed around a list of progressive professors from area campuses that was put together to send notices to about the upcoming Strike for Peace.
-WORKSHOPS: Carl reported that there are currently 7 confirmed workshops that have been applied for. Several more ideas were suggested at this meeting. People have until the first week of Sept. to propose a workshop. We decided to hold all workshops at the Duluth Building for Women, which will charge us only $50 for the day. To reserve a workshop time slot, or for more info on hosting a workshop, contact Carl at northlandiguana@gmail.com. Workshops should incorporate the theme of not only opposing the current war, but we can do to help challenge the system that keeps producing wars.
-CONCERT: It was decided to also hold a concert on Sept. 21. The concert will be in the evening, and will serve as a fundraiser for renting buses to send local folks to the Oct. 27 regional peace rally in Chicago. A committee was set up to work on the concert consisting of David, Adam, Mike, and Jen. We're tenatively planning on holding a concert that will consist of folk music for the first half, and rock for the second.
-RALLY SPEAKERS: We also discussed speakers for the noon rally. A number of ideas for speakers were suggested, including Winona LaDuke, Karen Diver, Bekcy Lourie, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, David Karten and Shante Wolf. Each suggested speaker was assinged someone to contact them to see if they'd be interested.
-ADVERTISING: Quarter sheet fliers have distributed throughout the community. A full page flier for bulletin boards will be coming out soon. We also want to produce "We Support the Strike for Peace" posters for supportive small businesses and offices. We also decided to spend $500 on advertising in the press. A publicity committee of Joel, Michelle, Adam, David, and Carl was set up.
-FYI: An ad hoc group is planning to do a modest civil disobedience action on Sept. 21. This is not sponsored by NAWC, but it will be announced at the rally by some of the folks who are planning this.
2. IRAQ SUMMER PROJECT: Leah O. of the Iraq Summer Project came up from the Twin Cities to report on their efforts to organize protests against elected officials who keep voting to support the war in Iraq. They are focusing in particular on Senator Norm Coleman right now. They're planning on holding a press conference in Duluth at the foot of the Lift Bridge at 1pm on Thursday [Aug. 16]. NAWC voted to endorse the Duluth press conference. On Aug. 21 they'll be protesting at a Bush fundraiser in Eden Prairie, and on Aug. 28 they'll be holding a town hall meeting in St. Paul. And they're distributing yard signs that say "Support the Troops, End the War", which you can pick up at either the Amazing Grace coffee shop or Chester Creek Cafe in Duluth. For more info contact Leah at (612) 419-2570
3. MINNESOTA 8 THEATER PROJECT: Suzanne reported that the MN History Theater is putting on a play about the Minnesota 8 called "Peace Crimes: What History Has Taught Us." It's about draft resistance that took place during the Vietnam War. Locally there'll be a week of readings and events at UWS after Thanksgiving.
4. WEBSITE: The Northland Anti-War Coalition's new website can be viewed at www.northlandantiwar.com or at www.northlandantiwar.net, but not at www.northlandantiwar.org. The old .org site has been hacked into and so far we have been unable to regain access. Special thanks to Ozone for setting up the new site at the .com and .net addresses. Info about the local peace movement is also avaiable at NAWC's blog, which is localed at www.northlandantiwar.blogspot.com
5. OCT. 27: Adam proposed that NAWC endorse the Oct. 27 regional peace protest in Chicago that is being organized by United for Peace and Justice, and that we organize buses to send local folks to it. Proposal was adopted unanimously.
6 ANNOUNCEMENTS: There were several announcements that were made at different times during the meeting. Below is a list of them.
-Hal B. announced that the UWS Scholar Research Project is looking for ways to increase student participation in local social justice projects. They need organizations to point students toward. Contact Hal at hbertils@uwsuper.edu for more info.
-Michelle O. is looking to go back to Iraq with the Christian Peacemaker Team. She is also looking to hold a meeting for local activists to get ideas for what sort of things she can do there and/or bring back that would be of most use to the local peace movement.
-Veterans for Peace will be holding a meeting on Aug. 21 at the Superior Public Library on efforts to impeach President Bush.
-Andy A. reported that there will be a workshop on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by Dr. Gary Kohls on Aug. 22 at 7pm in Rm. 3217 in the Social Science Building of the College of St. Scholastica.
-Carl S. reported that Youth for Socialist Action will be holding a forum on "Recipes for Change: Solutions & Actions for the Fall" on Aug. 25 at 7pm in Leif Erickson Park.
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This report was prepared by Adam R. using handwritten notes from the meeting taken by Carl S.
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NORTHLAND ANTI-WAR COALITION
P.O. Box 16853, Duluth MN 55816
http://northlandantiwar.blogspot.com
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