Against Racism and Oppression: June 2008 Archives

DRUUMM annual meeting

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 28, 2008 8:59 AM | | Comments (0)

Yesterday evening the U.U.A.s People of Color organization known as DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) celebrated its annual meeting with a large  gathering of over seventy people.   There were youth and young adults, there were several older veterans of the struggle, and all the generations in between.  


As a sign growth and maturity each of DRUUMM's several identity caucuses  was well represented:  Latino/a, African descent, Native peoples/ American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islanders,  Youth, and Young  Adults, and Queers of Color.


The meeting  was brought together by Manish Mishra, DRUUMM's outgoing President who told of the experiences of being President and some of the accomplishments of the Steering Committee in the last year.


The Mel Hoover "Beloved Community Award" for outstanding service to the People of Color in the UUA was given to two persons this year, Dr. Norma Poinsett and Rev. Dr. Bill Jones.  Norma is a long time African American activist having served on the Black Concerns Working Group, and Professor Jones is well known for his penetrating analysis  of racism within American society and within our own Unitarian Universalist Association.  Both also served on the UUA Board of Trustees.


A new steering committee was elected that included:


President -- Danielle Di Bona


First Vice President -- Leslie Takahashi Morris


Second Vice President -- Mel Hoover


Treasurer -- Robette Ann Dias

Recording Secretary -- James Coomes


Corresponding Secretary -- Joseph Santos Lyons


Multicultural / Families of Color Coordinator -- John Gilmore


Communications Coordinator -- Monifa Johnson


GA Coordinator -- Clyde Grubbs


Outreach Coordinator -- Tony Blumfield


UUA liaison --- Sofia Betancourt


The meetings sent prayers and well wishes to Leno Sottile,  son of  Robette Dias who was injured while on duty as a fireman the day  before, and to Robette who left Fort Lauderdale to fly home to be with Leno.


Native Peoples / American Indian Caucus of DRUUMM formed

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 27, 2008 10:52 AM | | Comments (0)

People So Bold! is proud to announce that a standing caucus of Native Peoples/American Indians gathered in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, June 26th for a late lunch and conversation about their work together.  While not all of the identifiable Native American DRUUMM members were able to make the caucus meeting, it was the first time that most of the identified Native American DRUUMM members came together.


The conversation identified three main areas of work for the caucus during the coming year: outreach to other Native American Indians within and around our Unitarian Universalist movement and congregations;  building awareness of Native American Indian history and issues among Unitarian Universalists; and advocacy work around issues of racism and cultural misappropriation as they impact the Native American Indian experience within our congregations and the denomination at large.


Those who gathered shared their stories and articulated several common concerns, and agreed that they would continue to discuss a name for the caucus.  There were several candidates for a name,  First People,  Native People, and American Indian were considered,  but it was agreed to let a decision on the name sit and see what comes up as we caucus some more.

People So Bold! Who does this blog seek to serve?

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 20, 2008 9:26 PM | | Comments (1)

The old People So Bold! was not clear about its audience and who it served.  It became part of the UU blog community and spent considerable time paying attention to other UU blogs.  While the conversation was engaging and worthwhile, it became unclear who People So Bold! sought to serve. 


Over time the old People So Bold! attracted Native American readers who found articles of interest, as well as people of color and euro-American anti-racist allies who found material that empowered their struggle to overcome racism and oppression. 


The new People So Bold! will seek to serve all those who seek to overcome racism, violence, patriarchy and colonialism. This blog will be an advocate, and its audience will be those who are looking striving for a new way of being human in a world of domination.

People So Bold! returns with with a new vision, and a new mission

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 18, 2008 11:31 AM | | Comments (0)

I left off blogging after the death of my late spouse and partner Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley,  the old blog had come out my life with Marjorie and my ministry in Florida.  


While I discussed my transition to Pasadena in the previous blog, after Marjorie passed away, I wasn't ready to think about a new direction and emphasis for my weblog.  I am now.  


The new People So Bold! will continue to reflect a Unitarian Universalist ministers voice and his search for a theology of liberation. People So Bold! will continue to comment on the Unitarian Universalist movement, but now with special emphasize on the people of color community within Unitarian Universalism and the soul work of anti racism.   


But there will be a significant change,  the new People So Bold! will now have as its mission to support and give voice to the struggle overcome the legacy of the conquest of North America by a racist, violent, patriarchal and imperious culture.  Its point of view will be that of a Native American Indian who grew up within Unitarian Universalism and knows it well, but is acutely aware of that this, the faith tradition of my lifetime grew out of, continues to reflect, and perpetuates the system of domination that People So Bold! seeks to overcome.

Free Hawaii

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 13, 2008 8:59 AM | | Comments (0)

Whenever the subject of Tibetan independence from China comes up, my father almost invariably says that if Americans think that China should free Tibet, then the U.S. should free Hawaii.  The first time I ever heard him say it, I laughed.  "But Dad," I said, "Hawaiians don't want to be independent from the U.S."  I very soon found out that statement was not necessarily true.

She includes this background.

"American missionaries arrived in Hawaii in 1820. In 1887, a group of primarily American and European businessmen forced King Kalakaua to sign the "Bayonet Constitution," which stripped the king of administrative authority, eliminated voting rights for Asians and essentially limited the electorate to wealthy elite Americans, Europeans and native Hawaiians."

Leonard Peltier considered to be a "political prisoner"

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 11, 2008 3:15 PM | | Comments (0)

Continue reading Leonard Peltier considered to be a "political prisoner".

Leonard Peltier is a Five-Time Nobel Nominee

By
Clyde Grubbs
on June 5, 2008 2:51 PM | | Comments (0)
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fargo, North Dakota

Leonard Peltier is a Five-Time Nobel Nominee

American Indian activist Leonard Peltier has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the fifth consecutive year. The fact that Peltier has earned the distinction of a Nobel nomination every year since 2004 is especially remarkable - Peltier has been an inmate in the United States federal prison system since 1976.

Peltier's conviction in the killing of two FBI agents in South Dakota has long been internationally decried as one of the most blatant injustices in recent United States legal history. In the aftermath of his trial, federal prosecutors were openly excoriated for having manufactured evidence against Peltier, for having withheld exculpatory evidence, and also for having coerced witnesses into giving false testimony. Lynn Crooks, Assistant Special Prosecutor in Peltier's trial, admitted to a federal judge that "the government does not know who killed its agents, nor do we know what participation Leonard Peltier may have had in it."

And yet Leonard Peltier has remained a prisoner for more than 32 years. Fifty five United States Senators and Congressional Representatives (including Democrats and Republicans) have filed an appeal brief demanding that Peltier receive a new trial. Amnesty International has repeatedly called for Peltier's immediate release from prison, governments from all over the world have passed resolutions insisting that Peltier be released, and a large contingent of distinguished human rights advocates have been very outspoken in their strong support for Peltier - including four people who have already received the Nobel Peace Prize: Mikhail Gorbachev (1990), the 14th Dalai Lama (1989), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984), and Mother Teresa (1979).

It is not Peltier's status as a political prisoner, however, that has earned him the honor of five Nobel nominations. The basis for Peltier's nominations has been his own remarkable success in furthering the causes of peace and human rights. Despite more than three decades of unjust incarceration, Peltier has worked tirelessly on a multitude of efforts to help other people achieve a more dignified and humane existence. While the Nobel Committee in Oslo (Norway) requests that letters of nomination not be made public, it is nonetheless widely known that Leonard Peltier has facilitated numerous significant donations to a wide variety of charities and human rights organizations.

Peltier is, of course, not financially wealthy - but he is an accomplished painter. Often expending his meager prison commissary account funds on art supplies such as paints, brushes, and canvas, he produces works of art which are subsequently donated and auctioned. Peltier has also worked to establish assistance programs for many underprivileged groups, and he has helped in other ways to fund a multitude of efforts from scholarships for Native students to shelters for victims of domestic violence. It is difficult to determine precisely the sum total of donations and contributions that Peltier has helped to facilitate, Peltier refuses to boast about his humanitarian work and many of his projects have not been made public. It is estimated, however, that the contributions resulting from Peltier's work extend into the millions of dollars.

Peltier's long record of human rights advocacy involves more than raising money. He has written a great deal while in prison, consistently taking advantage of every opportunity to encourage people not to harbor resentments, to take care of the environment, and to treat each other with love and respect. It is no small irony that a person treated in such an inhumane way should so strongly advocate the humane treatment of others, that a person so financially impoverished should help raise such extraordinary amounts of money for others, that a person with such just cause for bitterness and resentment should encourage forgiveness, and that a person imprisoned should be one of America's strongest advocates for freedom.

Peltier's 1999 book Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance (Saint Martin's Press) continues to be a best seller on many lists. It is fitting that Leonard Peltier's own words (from his book) should conclude this press release: "We are in this together - the rich, the poor, the red, the white, the black, the brown, and the yellow. We are all one family of humankind. We share responsibility for our Mother Earth and for all those who live and breathe upon her. I believe our work will be unfinished until not one human being is hungry or battered, not a single person is forced to die in war, not one innocent languishes imprisoned, and no one is persecuted for his or her beliefs. I believe in the good in humankind. I believe that the good can prevail, but only with great effort. And that effort is ours, each of ours, yours and mine....Never cease in the fight for peace, justice, and equality for all people. Be persistent in all that you do and don't allow anyone to sway you from your conscience."

For more information about the content of this press release, media correspondents are encouraged to speak with the Leonard Peltier media contact person at 701-412-4617 or peltiermedia@yahoo.com.

For more information about Leonard Peltier's case, about his humanitarian work, or about his works of art, please contact his defense committee at this address:

Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
P.O. Box 7488
Fargo, North Dakota 58106
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

Write to Leonard Peltier at this address:

Leonard Peltier # 89637-132
USP Lewisburg
PO BOX 1000
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837
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This page is a archive of entries in the Against Racism and Oppression category from June 2008.

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