7-12-07, 9:34 am
Visioning a Better US at the United States Social Forum
By Mari Rice
The United States Social Forum was held in Atlanta, Georgia on June 27-July1, 2007. A diverse group of over ten thousand people came for the first ever Forum of it’s kind held in the United States. They came from all walks of life: young, old, poor and professional, Native, Latino, African American and European American. They came from other parts of the world including Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, North America, and Europe. Activist, academics, trade unionist and community organizers came united in their belief that “Another world is possible,” the slogan for the United States Social Forum. The last World Social Forum was held in Nairobi, Kenya in January 2007. The World Social Forum committee delegated Grassroots Global Justice to coordinate a United States Social Forum planning committee. Atlanta’s own Alice Lovelace, internationally known artist and activist served as the National Lead Organizer. Atlanta the bedrock of civil rights movement was chosen to be the host city. The United States Social Forum consisted of over 900 workshops, cultural events, a film festival and youth based activities. The Forum included over 13 Solidarity theme tents including, the Peace and Justice tent, Immigrant Rights tent, the Africa tent, and the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights tent. Workshops covered youth concerns, the environment, immigration rights and health care issues to name a few of the myriad topics covered. The five day event featured dynamic plenaries presented by leading experts. The first plenary titled Gulf Coast Reconstruction in the Post Katrina Era: Challenges, Visions and Strategies discussed the destruction of New Orleans and Gulf Coast in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and Rita. The speakers included Sharon Harshaw, Coastal Women for Change; Daniel Castellanos, New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice and Mwalimu Johnson, Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana. The forum offered reflections and perspectives of people affected by the tragedy. Presenters discussed how local, states and federal government’s abandoned low-income communities and communities of color including immigrants, women, children, elders and disabled peopled. The second plenary was titled US Imperialism, War, Militarism, and Prisons: Movements Towards a United States Based in Peace, Economic and Environmental Justice. Kai Barrows, Infrastructure Director for Critical Resistance, a national grassroots organization, spoke about the prison industrial system. Barrows said the prison industrial complex includes human rights violations, community powerlessness, imprisonment of political prisoners, the death penalty, industry and labor issues, and policing. The next speaker Judith LeBlanc, national Co-Chair for United for Peace and Justice shared her insight on war and militarism. She said 70% of people want the war to end. Although Latino and Native Americans enlistment in the military remain constant, military enlistments for blacks have dropped significantly. Families are saying, “Not my child!” maintained LeBlanc. She continued saying, “The funding for rebuilding our communities and Iraqi communities, for health care and education is being used towards the Bush administration’s endless preemptive war strategy. They say we can’t stop the war. Yes we can stop the war!” The rally cry, “Another World is Possible! Another US is Necessary!” inspired and engaged people through open discussions, analysis, and democratic problem solving. The United States Social Forum was an historical event, an unforgettable gathering of people and optimists who left with hope for the human condition. --Mari Rice is a journalist living in Atlanta, GA and an avid reader of . Her work has appeared in news papers and anthologies including Catalyst, Child Magazine, The Atlanta Voice, the White House Project and Crux an upcoming anthology on South USA-South Africa.
