SJRJ Keynote
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is a labor leader and civil rights activist who,
along with César Chávez, co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later
became the United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta has received numerous awards for her
community service and advocacy for workers', immigrants', and women’s rights. At 82,
Dolores Huerta continues to work tirelessly developing leaders and advocating for the
working poor, women and children.
Cornel West
Cornel West is a prominent and provocative intellectual. He is a Professor of Philosophy
Emeritus at Princeton University. He has written 20 books and has edited 13. He is best known
for his classics Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and his memoir, Brother West: Living and
Loving Out Loud. He is also co-host of the popular radio show “Smiley & West” heard on PRI
around the country. The co-hosts have recently co-authored the book titled The Rich and the Rest
of Us: A Poverty Manifesto. The new book is a game-changing text on economic injustice in
America.
SJRJ Concert
Dead Prez
With hard-hitting beats, politically aware rhymes, deft lyricism and strong song concepts,
dead prez emerged in 2000 as one of rap’s most politically strident outfits. Stic.man and
M-1’s music provided a voice for the voiceless, a sobering look at the global power
structure that was crippling billions of people internationally and millions of Americans
domestically. The duo’s first two studio albums, 2000’s Lets Get Free and 2004’s RBG:
Revolutionary But Gangsta, were accompanied by four acclaimed Turn Off The Radio
mixtapes and solo albums.
Rocky Rivera
Rocky Rivera is an accomplished journalist-turned-emcee whose editorials appeared in
XXL, The Source and Rolling Stone Magazine before she decided to pursue an artist’s
life. Trading her moleskines for microphones, she’s dropped three musical projects since
2008, Married to the Hustle Mixtape, the self-titled album, Rocky Rivera, and the recent
POP KILLER MXTP. Her debut album was released in 2010 and since then, has
garnered critical acclaim and press coverage from VIBE, 2DopeBoyz.com, Refinery29,
and numerous music blogs across the web. In 2012, Rocky became the only female artist
at the VIBE HOUSE’s Respect The West Showcase at the SXSW Festival, sharing the
stage with West Coast favorites such as Nipsey Hussle, Strong Arm Steady, Snoop Dog
and Kendrick Lamar. POP KILLER MXTP is her first project with Beatrock Music, and
is available for free download on BeatrockMusic.com & RockyRivera.com.
SJRJ Performance
Climbing PoeTree
Climbing PoeTree is the combined force of two boundary-breaking soul-sisters who have
sharpened their art as a tool for popular education, community organizing, and personal
transformation. With roots in Haiti and Colombia, Alixa and Naima reside in Brooklyn
and track footprints across the country and globe on a mission to overcome destruction
with creativity. In fifteen self-organized independent tours over 9 years, Climbing
PoeTree has blazed stages from Oakland to Atlanta, South Africa to Cuba with power
houses such as Erykah Badu, Alicia Keys, Danny Glover, Angela Davis, Alice Walker,
Sonia Sanchez, The Last Poet, and Dead Prez. They have led workshops in institutions
from Cornell University to Rikers Island Prison, and have toured over 11,000 miles on a
bus converted to run on recycled vegetable oil bringing their soul-stirring performances
to thousands of people across the nation. Climbing PoeTree interweaves spoken word,
video, sound collage, and award winning theater to expose injustice, heal from violence,
and make a better future visible, immediate, and irresistible. Read/see/hear more:
http://www.climbingpoetree.com
SJRJ Panels
Environmental Justice and Human Rights on the River presented by Chief
Caleen Sisk, Chief of the Winnemem Wintu; Winona LaDuke, Dania Colegrove, Hoopa
of Got Water, Klamath River Keepers; Annalea Hillman, Yurok, Klamath Justice
Coalition.
This panel will discuss the present state of the water wars on the California/Oregon River
system—a corporate federal alliance waging war on the Salmon and the healthy rivers
systems. We will also discuss a committed resistance of indigenous traditionalists and
activists against the destruction of sacred places, the disruption of sacred ceremonies, and
the government’s use of Federal Recognition to continue governmental cultural genocide
of traditional California tribes.
Activism, Justice and Future Generations presented by Winona
LaDuke
Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe) is an internationally acclaimed author, orator and activist.
A graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities with advanced degrees in rural economic
development, LaDuke has devoted her life to protecting the lands and life ways of Native
communities. A graduate of Harvard and Antioch Universities, Winona has written
extensively on Native American and Environmental issues. She is a former board
member of Greenpeace USA and serves, as co-chair of the Indigenous Women's
Network, a North American and Pacific indigenous women's organization. LaDuke is
founder and Co-Director of Honor the Earth, a national advocacy group encouraging
public support and funding for native environmental groups. With Honor the Earth, she
works nationally and internationally on issues of climate change, renewable energy,
sustainable development, food systems and environmental justice.She has written
extensively on Native American and environmental issues. Author of now six books,
including The Militarization of Indian Country.
Healing, Hope and Strength for Survivors presented by Carissa Phelps.
Carissa Phelps will share her inspiring story, and give hope to those who believe in the
potential of exploited and trafficked youth. Carissa’s unique early life experiences
combined with her professional and personal accomplishments shaped her vision of a
world where runaways and sexually exploited youth are cared for and guided on their
journey to adulthood. The Carissa Project began as a platform to share one inspiring story
and has grown into a movement toward recognizing an often invisible group in society —
runaway and homeless youth.
Finding Truth in Corporate War Media Machines presented by Reese Erlich
and Normon Solomon
Media critic Norman Solomon and foreign correspondent Reese Erlich analyze how
and why mainstream media coverage of the Middle East is biased against the
people of the region and in favor of the Empire. Solomon and Erlich co-authored
Target Iraq, a best-selling book exposing U.S. policy on Iraq. They have
continued writing about the Arab Spring, Israel and Palestine and other conflicts in the
region.
Activism in Changing US Foreign Policy presented Stephen Zunes
Zunes will discuss what activists can do to change US policy; focusing on issues where
the current administration and Democratic Party leadership are far to the right of U.S.
public opinion. Arab Spring’/Civil Insurrections -- what the pro-democracy struggles can
teach us, what U.S. response has and should be; supporting resistance and challenging
intervention; problems with “humanitarian interventionism” and “responsibility to
protect” vs. legitimate international solidarity. This panel will discuss the stance the
Administration has taken on Palestine as well as its policies on other Arab nations.
Activism as a Career presented by Karissa Lewis of CTWO and Michael
Carrigan of CALC,
If we define social justice as the belief in an equitable, compassionate world where
difference is understood, valued and respected, then we can see that social activism and
social justice are flip sides of the same coin. Social action work is a way to meet the goal
of social justice.
Palestine: Gender, Resistance, and Asylum presented by Dr. Nusair, Dr.
Dallasheh, and Dr. Kanaaneh, moderated by Dr. Shiekh
The panel will juxtapose and analyze the narratives of Palestinian women in Israel with
military archival documents of the 1948 War. Dr. Dallashe focuses on the municipal
elections in Nazareth, presenting an example of the ways in which Palestinians sought to
maintain their identity and rights during the transition from the late Mandate to Israel. Dr.
Kanaaneh will focus on Palestinian women seeking gender-based asylum in the United
States and analyzes how the Palestinian women’s applications for asylum figure gender
ans space in Palestine/Israel.
Emcee Activists and Social Media presented by Jasiri X, Walidah Imarisha,
Rocky Rivera, and Stic.man
This panel will discuss the role of hip-hop in activism and organizing for social justice.
There are many emcees that are using hip-hop as a means for cultural resistance and
educating their listeners as they organize their communities.
Capitalism and the Environment presented by Clayton Thomas-Muller and
John Bellamy Foster
Clayton Thomas-Muller, of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation also known as
Pukatawagan in Northern Manitoba, Canada, is an activist for Indigenous rights and
environmental justice. With his roots in the inner city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,
Clayton began his work as a community organizer. Recognized by Utne Magazine as one
of the top 30 under 30 activists in the United States and as a “Climate Hero 2009” by Yes
Magazine, Clayton is the Tar Sands Campaign Director for the Indigenous Environmental
Network. He works across Canada, Alaska and the lower 48 states with grassroots
indigenous communities to defend against the sprawling infrastructure that includes
pipelines, refineries and extraction associated with the tar sands, the largest and most
destructive industrial project in the history of mankind.
John Bellamy Foster is editor of Monthly Review and professor of Sociology at the
University of Oregon.
Cultural Resistance presented by Dr. Kajikawa, M1, RodStarz, and G1
Cultural resistance is the practice of using culture, to contest and combat a dominant
power, often constructing a different vision of the world in the process. This panel will
focus on art as an organizing tool. M1 is a hip-hop artist, making up one half of Dead
Prez, political activist, and author. Rocky Rivera is an emcee and hip hop journalist. Dr.
Kajikawa is professor of ethnomusicology at the U of O.
Imperialism, Islamaphobia, and Migrant Rights presented by Deepa Kumar,
David Barsamian, and Harsha Walia
This panel will explore the ways imperialism promotes hegemony abroad and the
consequences within the US particularly focusing on Islamaphobia and migrant
rights. David Barsamian is one of America's most wide-ranging and respected
independent journalists, David Barsamian has altered the media landscape with his radio
programs and books with Noam Chomsky, Tariq Ali, Howard Zinn, Arundhati Roy and
others. Deepa Kumar is an Associate Professor of Media Studies and Middle Eastern
Studies at Rutgers University. Her second book titled Islamophobia and the Politics of
Empire looks at how the "Muslim enemy" has historically been mobilized to suit the
goals of empire. Harsha Walia is an organizer with No One is Illegal. NOI is grassroots
anti-colonial migrant justice group with leadership from members of migrant and/or
racialized backgrounds. We strive and struggle for the right to remain, the freedom to
move, and the right to return. As a movement for self-determination that challenges the
ideology of immigration controls, we combat racial profiling, detention and deportation,
the national security apparatus, law enforcement brutality, and exploitative working
conditions of migrants.
SJRJ Workshops
Ceremony Is Not a Crime presented by Caleen Sisk, Chief of the Winnemem
Wintu
Chief Sisk will be showing “Ceremony is not a Crime,” a Moving Image Production
documentary film of the actions taken by the tribe to secure a mandatory closure for a
safe and respectful ceremony only to discover the treacherous plans by the USFS to turn
their ceremony into a war games exercise for the very law enforcement officers who were
supposedly sent to protect the ceremony from racist drunk boaters.
Non Violent Direct Action from a Community of Color Perspective
presented by Dania Cologrove, Hoopa of Got Water?-Klamath River Keepers
Got water is a grassroots organization that stands up for indigenous rights, sacred site
issues, environmental justice and offers non violent direct action trainings enpowering
people to stand up for their rights. River Keepers is the non-profit branch. Dania
Colegrove works with other trainers under the Klamath Justice Coalition. She and Analea
Hillman will do a workshop on direct action strategies by working with participants on a
particular local issue, taking them through the steps.
Runaway Girl: Community Protocol for Response (CPR) Raising
Awareness and Offering Solutions to the Commercial Sexual
Exploitation and Trafficking of Youth presented by Carissa Phelps
During this session we will discuss the various topics concerning the sexual exploitation
of youth from influences of the media, straight talk about street talk, awareness and
understanding, while community members will network and share details about their
programs.
National Racism Free Zone Project presented by Baharti Ansari
Learn to encourage and motivate individuals and groups to take responsibility for
eliminating racism by establishing racism free zones™ within schools churches, work
places and communities. And to foster a national and international environment in which
racists attitudes are expressed constructively and respectfully, thereby creating an
awareness and openness to change through compassionate caring and honest dialogue.
Hip Hop and the History of the Black Panther Party Presented by
M-1 of Dead Prez, aka Mutulu Olugabala
This workshop will examine the relationship between the black revolutionaries that split
from the civil rights movement in the early 1960's, thus forming the group that would
become the Black Panthers, to international movements that evolved from these roots
including Hip Hop. The discussion will explore the relationship between organizations
like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); the black leaders who
were spied on, infiltrated, and assassinated by the FBI under COINTELPRO; the Black
Liberation Army (the most underground aspect of the Black Panther movement) and its
leaders in prison, including Russell Maroon Shoatz - former Black Panther and BLA
member; the current transition of gangs and street organizations like the Bloods, Latin
Kings, & Crips as they evolve into viable political organizations; and the resurgence of
interest in the Black Power movement, abolition of the Prison Industrial complex and the
death penalty, as well as campaigns to free political prisoners in the US. The audience
will also be introduced to the stories of BPP members from past and present including
Fred Hampton Jr., Deborah Johnson aka Akua Njeri (Fred Hampton Jr's mother and
widow of Fred Hampton), Assata Shakur (now in political exile in Cuba), Willie
Mukassa Ricks who coined the term "Black Power", Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame
Ture) and Omali Yeshitela, founder of the International People's Democratic Uhuru
Movement.
Introduction to Community Organizing Karissa Lewis, CTWO
The Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO, pronounced "C-2") is a racial-justice
organization dedicated to building a social-justice movement led by people of color. We
were established in 1980 as a training and resource center that promotes and sustains
direct-action organizing in communities of color in the United States. CTWO provides
organizer training programs, including the model Movement Activist Apprenticeship
Program (MAAP) and builds an active network of organizations and activists of color to
achieve racial justice in its fullest dimensions.
Environmental Law Training Presented by Kim Marks from CLDC
Kim Marks is a grassroots organizer who also works within the Rising Tide North
America Collective. She is a former board member of IMPACT Personal Safety, ASJE,
NFPA, & Bark. Ms. Marks works with indigenous and frontline communities in the
United States, Canada, and South America on climate justice issues, fighting the root
causes of climate change.
Hip Hop and Activism Presented by G1 and RodStarz of Rebel Diaz
This multimedia workshop focuses on the historical and current connections
between community activism and Hip-Hop culture. By looking at historical
examples of community organizing through Hip-Hop, as well as music, videos, and
pictures, we explore the notion of community self-determination inherent in HipHop, and how this essence can be reclaimed in the context of today’s corporate rap
music industry. Talking Points include:
Community Alliance of Lane County presented by Michael Carrigan
The 1966 mission of CALC was to mobilize opposition to the Vietnam War. Over forty
years later, CALC continues to challenge militarism, but has deepened our mission to
educate and mobilize for peace, human dignity and social, racial and economic justice.
We address root causes of oppression by seeking to change attitudes, behaviors, and
policy through education, activism, and cultural means. We challenge ourselves and
others to address privilege and power, to work collaboratively as effective allies, and help
build leadership, especially for disempowered and marginalized people.We work with
and for a multi-racial, multi-class, multi-gendered, multi-generational movement on
social justice issues and projects.
Raw foods and health presented by stic.man of Dead Prez
Khnum “STIC” Ibomu is an award winning Hip Hop artist, producer, author and healthy
lifestyle advocate. He has studied martial arts for many years and is passionate about
running. STIC’s ground breaking solo album “The Workout” is completely dedicated
to health & fitness and is helping to pioneer a new genre of Fit Hop
Music. “The Workout” celebrates the drive and dedication one undertakes to achieve a
health and fitness lifestyle. The Workout is motivational music relevant for all levels
of sports and fitness training as well as personal disciplines such as running, yoga, martial
arts, calisthenics, weight control, diet, self-healing, substance abuse recovery and more.
Media Production and Social Movements presented by David Martinez
This workshop will focus on the role of media, specifically moving image media, in
current and past social movements. I will show clips from films that I produced about
struggle in Darfur, as well as actions in the San Francisco Bay Area like USUncut,
Occupy Oakland, and student actions at UC Berkeley. We will discuss both the formal
aspects of media production and how the politics of social movements are portrayed in
films.
The bipartisan "austerity" threat to the U.S. public Presented by Normon
Solomon
Norman Solomon is founding director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and cofounder of the nationwide online activist group RootsAction.org. He co-chairs the
national Healthcare Not Warfare campaign and is a longtime associate of the media
watchdog group FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting). His books include The
Habits of Highly Deceptive Media and War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits
Keep Spinning Us to Death.
Freelance journalist Reese Erlich has covered the Middle East for 27 years,
having recently traveled to Syria, Egypt, Libya and Gaza. He writes regularly
for The Progressive magazine, Global Post and Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Radio.
Art in the Movement presented by Jason 'Pleado' Wellman
In 'Art in the Movement' we will discuss the importance of art in social movements and
some of the various manifestations of art from graffiti and visual media, to street theater,
to song and dance. Examples will be given, songs and skits will be performed and ample
time will be spent brainstorming for future actions!
Barriers to Reentry: Red Lodge Transition Services Speaking Panel
presented by Jessica Rojas, Red Lodge Transition Services, Portland Oregon
Red Lodge Transition Services in a nonprofit organization based in the Portland area that
assists Native American women and men in the transition from incarceration into the
community by providing mentorship and resources based on individual needs. This
workshop will include a speaking panel of formally incarcerated individuals involved in
the program and those who volunteer for Red Lodge in correctional facilities and in the
community. There will be about 4 people on the panel to answer questions and share
experiences transitioning from incarceration and volunteering in correctional facilities.
Radicals in the Workplace presented by Jeff Humphrey DDS
A talk about the ways in which we can organize in our workplaces – whether it is how we
talk with coworkers about political issues, how we are trying to build or revitalize a
union, or how we orient our political perspectives to sync with our daily jobs
Resistance & Organizing in Women's Prisons presented by Victoria Law,
New York
While there is a growing outrage over mass incarceration, this concern often focuses on
male prisoners. Women prisoners have rich but largely unknown histories of resistance to
incarceration. Their activism has been overshadowed by an emphasis not only on male
incarceration but on masculine forms of resistance that privilege violence and celebrity
over networks and collectivity.
Marginalization of Transgender People an overview presented by Ariel
Howland
Using an intersectional framework, this workshop provides a broad overview of how
gender variant people people are oppressed in the USA. Transphobia and cissexism are
closely tied to white supremacy, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression. This
workshop will include presentation and group discussion. This workshop is meant for
people who are not transgender but anyone is welcome to attend.
Internalized Oppression presented by Karissa Lewis, CTWO
When people from targeted groups internalize myths and misinformation, it can cause
them to feel (often unconsciously) that in some way they are inherently not as worthy,
capable, intelligent, beautiful, good, etc. as people outside their group. They turn the
experience of oppression or discrimination inward. They begin to feel that the stereotypes
and misinformation that society communicates are true and they act as if they were true.
This is called internalized oppression.
Intersection between Hip-Hop, Organizing, and Social Media
presented by Jasiri X
The intersection between organizing, hip hop, and social media is a vital one in todays
age and is one that Jasiri X lives. Jasiri is an emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the
creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with
Jasiri X, which has garnered critical acclaim, thousands of subscribers, and millions of
internet views.
Water For the PoeTree presented by Alixa and Naima from Climbing PoeTree
Often as writers we depend soley on our visual memory t conjure up imagery, but out
writing becomes even more lively when we tap into our other senses. In this interactive
workshop participants are taken through a multi-sensory experience where they are
blindfolded and all their senses are stimulated to trigger memory, tap into their spirit, and
enrich their poetry. Participants will work individually and with the group to create a
final poetic piece interwoven with everyone’s strongest voices.
Economic and ecological justice: Creating our own political economy
presented by Professor Hannah Holleman
This workshop will introduce the interrelated issues of economic and ecological justice
within the framework of the struggle to create our own political economy. Goals of the
workshop will be: 1) To think through together the ways in which the global
environmental crises are part of the very human crises facing communities around the
world in their struggles for survival against the endless profit-making imperatives of
capitalism. 2) To consider ways to collaborate across difference to address the persistent
racism, sexism, imperialism, and heterosexism permeating both movements for change
and economy and society in general. 3) To start thinking about possible frameworks in
which we might develop alternatives to the racist, anti-ecological, heterosexist, and
patriarchal winner-take-all model of the current economic system.
Schools not Prisons presented by Jose Gutierrez and Cassandra Villanueva
Did you know Oregon spends more money on building prisons than higher education?
Now more than ever, students across the state are demanding accountability for how
Oregon treats its youth populations and provides for their futures. In this workshop,
participants will:
-Review Oregon's cost of incarceration and harmful impacts on students
-Learn about current campaign efforts to change public safety and sentencing including
Measure 11, Oregon's mandatory minimum sentencing
-Discuss best practices for building student power and taking collective action
Human Rights Abuses and Struggles presented by Stephen Zunes
The United States remains by far the world's leading military, economic and strategic
supporter of the world's major abusers of human rights. Popular human rights struggles in
recent history have successfully challenged U.S. policy in Latin America, Southern
Africa and Southeast Asia, yet have made little headway in the Middle East, where
Democrats have joined Republican in their unconditional support of both Israeli
occupation forces and Arab dictatorships, supplying the tools of repression, attacking
reputable human rights groups, and actively undermining international humanitarian law.
This workshop analyzes this phenomenon, the impact of pro-democracy struggles in the
Arab world, means of transcending the divisiveness regarding Israel/Palestine and ways
to build a successful movement to change U.S. Middle East policy.
Indigenous Environmental Network Presented by Clayton Thomas Muller
The INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK CANADIAN INDIGENOUS
TAR SANDS CAMPAIGN works with Indigenous and non-Indigenous supporters and
environmental organizations, social justice organizations and unions for a coordinated
and collective response led by concerned First Nations and Métis opposing the expansion
of the tar sands.
No One Is Illegal presented by Harsha Walia
No One Is Illegal (Toronto) is a group of immigrants, refugees and allies who fight for
the rights of all migrants to live with dignity and respect. We believe that granting
citizenship to a privileged few is a part of racist immigration and border policies designed
to exploit and marginalize migrants. We work to oppose these policies, as well as the
international economic policies that create the conditions of poverty and war that force
migration. At the same time, it is part of our ongoing work to support and build alliances
with Indigenous peoples in their fight against colonialism, displacement and the ongoing
occupation of their land.
Art and Activism presented by Alixa and Naima from Climbing PoeTree
This workshop will focus on how art can be fashioned as a tool at the service of or vision
for a more just and peaceful world. Through dialogue, hands on activities and a slide
show presentation we explore mural painting, graphic design, poetry, theatre, silk
screening, popular education, video animation and story gathering, as tools for social
movements, community organizing, campaign strategy, and collective healing.