------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the March 6, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
BROOKLYN: BLACK COMMUNITY ORGANIZES AGAINST WAR Special to Workers World Brooklyn, N.Y. Two recent activities here signal the growing emergence of the Black community in the anti-war movement. In Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Buddhist women used their annual women's commemorative meeting on Feb. 23 to discuss Bush's war against Iraq and how to stop it. The theme was "Celebrating Women Warriors for Peace." Guest speaker Aisha al-Adawiya of Women in Islam told the fired-up group of mostly Black women that, "Women have the power to change the world. You can do it, never give up." This theme was echoed by others, including Soka Gakkai International-USA leader Patricia Kas ahara, who stressed the importance of taking action. International ANSWER Coalition representative and guest speaker Pat Chin urged maximum participation at the up coming March 8 International Women's Day anti-war protest in New York. Chin also stressed the importance of fighting against racism and for justice and socialism. The meeting was co-chaired by Beverly Morgan and Portia Waldon, who, along with Chin, are also founders of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Coalition for Peace. A Black History Month program on Feb. 13 used the publication of Walter Mosley's new book, "What Next: A Memoir Toward World Peace," as a forum for discussion on the deep anti-war sentiment in the Black community and how to mobilize greater participation in the peace movement. Mosley addresses his book to African Americans and identifies "global capitalism" as a deterrent to peace. Based on the long history of slavery and racism, Black people are, he correctly opines, uniquely positioned to be leaders in the anti-war movement. While admitting he has no ready solutions, Mosley calls for dialogue and action in the quest for peace. Several other speakers addressed the gathering. They included Vinie Burrows, UN Women's Democratic Federation; Job Mashariki, Black Veterans for Social Justice; Katrina James, Cornell Black Alumni Association; and Ron Daniels, Center for Constitutional Rights. ANSWER coalition representative Pat Chin outlined planned anti-war activities, while calling for increased Black participation. "Let's lift our spears for freedom, and sound our drums for peace," she declared. The meeting, which recalled Black heroes Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was hosted by Dr. Andree- Nicola McLaughlin of Brooklyn's Medgar Evers College and Dr. James Turner of Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center. n - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
