Concerned Families of Westchester Newsletter
July 19, 2020
Hello All – Last Friday the world lost two giants of the US civil rights movement, John Lewis and
the Rev. C. T. Vivian. Vivian was some 15 years older than Lewis, and during the early civil rights movement Vivan was an organizer and mentor, while Lewis joined the newly-formed Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), soon becoming a leader. Both had found a path to Gandhi's ideas of non-violent civil disobedience as a mode of struggling for freedom, and both became Freedom Riders in 1961. And both were severely beaten by white mobs and police, not once, but many times. They were so brave.
Bernice Reagon Johnson, founder of the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, once described the early civil rights movement as "a borning struggle," "breaking new ground and laying the foundation for ever-widening segments of the society to call for fundamental rights and human dignity. Few forces have created as many ripples that crossed racial, class and social lines as did the Civil Rights Movement." This was the experience of many people, I believe, whose learning during the civil rights movement became embedded in their DNA and carried over to many movements down the line. Perhaps the Black Lives Matter movement is playing a similar role today, teaching techniques of struggle and amplifying the courage to overcome that will reap significant change in the future.
Recently, John Lewis tweeted some thoughts that could be his legacy: "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." Amen.
News Notes
Almost 60 years ago, in the same year that John Lewis was boarding a bus as a Freedom Rider, another movement – to abolish nuclear testing in the atmosphere – was gaining traction. My first March on Washington demanded an end to testing, which both moved the world towards nuclear war and poisoned our atmosphere with radioactive dust. JFK soon ended testing in the atmosphere, but testing underground continued until 1996, when it was banned by Treaty. Now President Trump wants to resume nuclear testing. Why? What's the point? For insights, read "Making America Feared Again: The Trump Administration Considers Resuming Nuclear Weapons Testing" by our main expert on nuke history, Lawrence Wittner [Link].
Not only in Georgia, but in NY (and Westchester) as well, the June 23rd congressional election was seriously mismanaged, resulting in many voters being unable to vote and raising concerns whether all votes cast would be counted. Several groups, such as Citizens for Voter Integrity and Concerned Voters of Westchester [no relation] are organizing locally to prevent voting disaster in November. For an example of what we will be up against, read "New York Could Throw Out 1 in 5 Mail-in Ballots in One District, Disproportionately Hitting Brooklyn" by Ryan Grim, The Intercept [July 16, 2020] [Link].
After a 17-year pause in federal (not state) executions, the Trump administration murdered three men last week. This useful article from The Nation ("The Trump Administration Is on a Capital Punishment Killing Spree") illuminates some of the thinking of the Supreme Court and Attorney General William Barr that has renewed this bloodbath. The lawyers for the first man to be executed, Daniel Lee, who was on death row for 17 years and for whom the family of his victims urged clemency, wrote an article for The Times that I encourage everyone to read ("The Justice Department's Shameful Rush to Federal Executions"). [Link]
At our weekly CFOW meeting yesterday, we learned about the Sister District Project of the Bronx and Westchester. In a nutshell, the Project is part of a national effort to pair progressive activists in 'safe" electoral districts with state-legislature campaigns for progressive Democrats in critical elections in other states. The Bronx-Westchester group, for example, is supporting two state assembly candidates in suburban Philadelphia, who are in close elections, but have a good chance. The Sister District Project enlists volunteers to help with fund-raising, phone-banking, etc. Some thoughts about choosing to work on state-legislature campaigns include the importance of these legislatures in the coming redistricting (gerrymandering), the current attacks on many basic rights or benefits that the Right is deploying via state legislatures, and the relatively small changes (e.g. several hundred votes) that can make a difference. To learn more, check out the Project here.
CFOW Nuts & Bolts
Please consider getting involved with Concerned Families of Westchester. Until shut down by the virus, we have been meeting for a protest/rally each Saturday in Hastings, from 12 to 1 p.m., at the VFW Plaza (Warburton and Spring St.) In this time of coronavirus, we are meeting (by Zoom conference) each Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. If you would like to join our meeting, please send a return email to get the meeting's access code. Our weekly newsletter is archived at https://cfow.blogspot.com/; and news of interest and coming events is posted on our CFOW Facebook page. And if you would like to support our work by making a contribution, please send your check to CFOW, PO Box 364, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706. Thanks!
Rewards!
The passing of John Lewis and the Rev. C.T. Vivian this week put the gospel and freedom songs of the civil rights era on my mind. There was a lot of singing during civil rights events, sometimes in Black churches (a stretch for a suburban white boy). There are zillions of great songs on-line; here are a few: The Staples Singers with Freedom Highway (1965); Nina Simone with Mississippi Goddam (1964, after the murder of Goodman, Cheney, and Schwerner); The Freedom Singers (out of SNCC) with Woke Up This Morning; and The Golden Gospel Singers with Oh Freedom! Enjoy!
Best wishes,
Frank Brodhead
For CFOW
REMEMBERING JOHN LEWIS, FREEDOM FIGHTER
John Lewis Risked His Life for Justice
Editorial, New York Times [July 17, 2020]
---- The passing of John Lewis deprives the United States of its foremost warrior in a battle for racial justice that stretches back into the 19th century and the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments. Americans — and particularly his colleagues in Congress — can best honor his memory by picking up where he left off. [Read More] To read The Times' obituary of John Lewis, recounting his long life-struggle for justice, go here.
How We Remember a Prophet
By Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, The Nation [July 18, 2020]
---- As this nation mourns the loss of one of her most faithful sons, we should beware of those in power who issue statements praising the memory of John Lewis while they continue to stand in the way of the genuine democracy he risked his own life to press toward over and again. Jesus was right: In decorating the grave of John Lewis with flowery words, Republicans who refuse to restore the Voting Rights Act testify against themselves that they are the descendants of Bull Conner and Jim Clark, George Wallace, and Strom Thurmond. … A prophet has crossed over from this broken world to the other side of life's river, but his vision of a New Jerusalem right here and now is needed now more than ever. If we would honor him, let us commit ourselves to the radical revolution of values he saw the need for in 1963. Let us love this nation enough to insist that it must be born again. Let us organize and mobilize ourselves in this election year to transform our imagination of what is possible. If our current representatives in statehouses and in the Congress cannot pass a John Lewis omnibus bill, then let us pursue a nonviolent movement with the fire of love, truth, and justice burning in our hearts until we purge this land of the racism and injustice that have lasted far too long. [Read More]
UPRISING AND CRISIS
(Video) The Left Remakes the World: Amna Akbar on Canceling Rent, Defunding Police & Where We Go from Here
From Democracy Now! [July 15, 2020]
---- We look at another looming crisis for the American public: mass evictions. More than four months into a pandemic that has left millions unemployed, eviction freezes across the country are ending, even as case numbers rise and states reimpose lockdown measures. As the Cancel the Rent movement inspires rent strikes and protests nationwide, a coalition of labor unions, workers and racial and social justice groups in 25 states plans to stage a mass walkout this Monday called the "Strike for Black Lives." We speak with Amna Akbar, law professor at Ohio State University, who wrote about how to respond to all of this in her op-ed in Sunday's New York Times headlined "The Left Is Remaking the World." [Read More] Amna Akbar's New York Times article, highly recommended, can be read here.
America Is on Track for a Million Coronavirus Cases a Day, and at Least 800,000 Deaths, by the End of 2020
[FB - Dr. Redlener is President Emeritus and a co-founder of the Children's Health Fund.]
---- If someone had suggested five months ago that we would be seeing more than 3 million cases and 135,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. by mid-July, I wouldn't have believed it. But now it's distinctly possible that, five months from now, half of all Americans could have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and more than 800,000 Americans may die in this extraordinary outbreak. That is what many of our most prominent public-health experts now expect. Could their projection models be off base? Maybe. But don't count on it. As bad as the health consequences, disruptions, restrictions, and fear of the last five months have been, things could get a whole lot worse. … As for a vaccine, you can bet that Donald Trump's "October surprise" will include an announcement that a new vaccine will be ready for the public by year's end. But here's why you should be skeptical. While there may be innovative technologies for producing a coronavirus vaccine, there is simply no shortcutting the time it takes to test any new vaccine for efficacy and, especially safety. … Maybe there is a middle ground. If we could manage to create the tools (accurate, ubiquitous testing and effective contact tracing) and rules, including consistent use of masks and social separation, and, if necessary, return to sheltering in place, at least in some places, we could have a shot at getting America's outbreak under control. Unfortunately, though, if Donald Trump is once again inaugurated in January 2021, all bets are off. [Read More]
More on the Covid-19 Plague – "Inside Trump's Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus" by Michael D. Shear, et al., New York Times [July 18, 2020] [Link]; and "As Trump Moves to Hide Covid-19, We Already Know Which Communities Are Suffering Most" by [Link].
Federal Agents Invade Portland, Citing Trump's Executive Order Protecting Statues
By Dan Friedman, Mother Jones [July 2020]
---- Portland has been invaded by federal agents—including unidentified, camouflage-clad officers who have emerged from unmarked minivans to arrest protesters. These officers have reportedly refused to say what agency they work for. But their supposed authority to police Oregon's largest city and make arrests appears to rest on a June 26 executive order by President Donald Trump calling for the protection of statues, monuments, and federal property. Black Lives Matter protests in Portland have continued this month, drawing attention from Trump, who falsely described the city as "totally out of control." Trump also threatened this week to "take over" cities he claims are suffering from crime sprees. Agents from US Marshals Service, Federal Protective Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been in Portland since early this month. But on July 14, protesters began to document instances in which armed agents wearing masks and military-style fatigues emerged from unmarked vehicles, detained protesters with no explanation, and drove away. [Read More]
For more perspectives on Portland – "The Border Patrol Was Responsible for an Arrest in Portland" by Ken Klippentein, The Nation [July 17, 2020] [Link]; and "Trump Unleashes His Secret Police in Portland" by Jeet Heer, The Nation [July 17, 2020] [Link].
FEATURED ESSAYS
The Case to Defund the Pentagon
By Bernie Sanders, Senator from Vermont [July 19, 2020]
---- Fifty-three years ago Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. challenged all of us to fight against three major evils: "the evil of racism, the evil of poverty and the evil of war." If there was ever a moment in American history when we needed to respond to Dr. King's clarion call for justice and demand a "radical revolution of values," now is that time. … [When the Senate returns from vacation], its first order of business will be to pass a military spending authorization that would give the bloated Pentagon $740 billion—an increase of more than $100 billion since Donald Trump became president. … If the horrific pandemic we are now experiencing has taught us anything it is that national security means a lot more than building bombs, missiles, nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction. National security also means doing everything we can to improve the lives of tens of millions of people living in desperation who have been abandoned by our government decade after decade. That is why I have introduced an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act that the Senate will be voting on during the week of July 20th, and the House will follow suit with a companion effort led by Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). Our amendment would reduce the military budget by 10 percent and use that $74 billion in savings to invest in communities that have been ravaged by extreme poverty, mass incarceration, decades of neglect and the Covid-19 pandemic. [Read More]
With Fear and Favor: The Russophobia of 'The New York Times'
By David S. Foglesong, The Nation [July 18, 2020]
---- In recent years the Times has committed itself to relentless, hyper-partisan demonization of Russia as a deadly threat to America. The sensational story that Russia paid bounties for the killing of American soldiers in Afghanistan is just the most recent example. The Times articles were based on anonymous intelligence officials' statements about interrogations of captured Taliban militants or criminals in Afghanistan. The National Security Agency strongly dissented from the reported intelligence assessment. The Pentagon, which used a route across Russia to supply US forces in Afghanistan, said that it "has no corroborating evidence" to validate the allegations. The Taliban indignantly denied the claims. George Beebe, former head of Russia analysis at the CIA, and constitutional lawyer David Rivkin argued that the sources for the story were not very credible, particularly because the Afghan government, which oversaw the interrogations, had a clear motive: It "desperately wants the U.S. military to remain in Afghanistan." By July 7, even the Times belatedly acknowledged that "there's a lot missing from the reports that Russia paid for attacks on American and other coalition forces in Afghanistan." It then urged that "emotions and politics be kept at bay," yet it was the Times itself that had inflamed emotions and stoked partisan controversy. [Read More]
The U.S. struggle for justice for Palestine begins a new chapter
By
---- 2020 has indisputably been a chaotic year. From the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent disruption of daily life, to the killing of George Floyd and the passionate resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement that followed, to the looming general election: there has been plenty occupying the minds and newsfeeds of Americans. … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to announce plans to annex parts of the West Bank on July 1. That date has come and gone, and still no formal announcement has been made. But what is perhaps most noteworthy about this incident isn't that Netanyahu almost moved from de facto to de jour annexation of the West Bank, but that the response from influential members of Congress made it clear that, should Israel plan to move forward with annexation, it would not go without consequence. … The progress and victories of recent years absolutely are a cause for celebration. But it is important to keep in mind that the fight is far from over. Regardless of whether or not Israel moves forward with formal annexation any time soon, there still remains the constant threat of creeping annexation and the endless, everyday violence and discrimination imposed by Israel. The past several months have been exhausting for everyone, but the people of Palestine need support now more than ever. This is the time to escalate our activism, not let it fade away. [Read More[
Other perspectives on this important issue – "J Street Is Facing New Pressure to Back Conditioning Aid to Israel" by Ryan Grim and Maryam Saleh, The Intercept [ [Link]; and from Haaretz [Israel], "'We'll be here as long as it takes:' Anti-Netanyahu protests grow across 200 junctions in fourth week" [July 19, 2020] [Link].
OUR HISTORY
Who Were the Freedom Riders?
By July 18, 2020]
---- Representative John Lewis was among the 13 original Freedom Riders, who encountered violence and resistance as they rode buses across the South, challenging the nation's segregation laws. … Mr. Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, was among the original 13 Freedom Riders who rode buses across the South in 1961 to challenge segregation in public transportation. The riders were attacked and beaten, and one of their buses was firebombed, but the rides changed the way people traveled and set the stage for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. [Read More]
Edward Said and the 'rendezvous of victory'
By
---- Since the beginning of the formation of his political consciousness in 1967, Edward Said emerged as the world's most significant moral intellectual since Jean Paul Sartre and Bertrand Russel. As professor of literature and literary criticism and spiritual figurehead of the Palestinian cultural landscape, together with Ghassan Kanafani, Mahmoud Darwish, and countless others, he was instrumental in making Palestine one of the predominant moral causes of our time. His dedication to fundamental Palestinian human rights elevated him to a status of icon and inspiration. After the official leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the infamous Oslo Accords in 1993, Said began to argue that it was high time that the Palestinian people moved away from the illusion of the two-state solution and advocate a democratic approach, one that could guarantee their basic rights, namely freedom, equality, and justice. I was inspired by Edward Said because I belong to a generation that did not witness the Nakba. I am part of a generation that was thought to be resigned to more than 50 years of military occupation, and more than 70 years of dispossession and apartheid. Herein comes Edward Said, a member of the Nakba generation with a different world-view, telling us something "new," or rather reminding us and the world about the basics of human rights — that Palestinians are worthy of freedom and self-determination like the rest of the peoples of the world. [Read More]
