The dynamic “A World to Win, A Planet to Save” socialist feminist conference starts in Los Angeles in 5 days! Over the past few years, people all over the world have taken brave action against the inhumane profit system. But what comes next in order to create a just and healthy world? Come to the Freedom Socialist Party convention and let’s strategize.
Highlights on Saturday, May 24 include a 10:30 a.m. presentation on “In the Midst of the Great Recession: Reaction, Rebellion and Opportunity” by Steve Hoffman. Hoffman is an AFSCME member and delegate to the Martin Luther King County Labor Council. He organized the first post-recession rally against cutbacks in Washington state.
Afterwards, at 3:15 p.m., Yolanda Alaniz and Christina López will explore “Which Way Forward for Immigrant Rights?” Alaniz is co-author of Viva la Raza: A History of Chicano Identity and Resistance. She grew up working in the fields of Eastern Washington, joined the Brown Berets and MEChA at the University of Washington and helped found two groundbreaking Latina organizations. She became involved with the FSP in the 1970s. Christina López grew up in the projects in Phoenix, Arizona. As president of the Radical Women chapter in Seattle she helped lead actions in defense of immigrant rights, social services, unionists and reproductive justice. Author of the pamphlet“Estamos en la Lucha: Immigrant Women Light the Fires of Resistance,”she was the write-in candidate of the Freedom Socialist Party for U.S. vice president in 2012.
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening, a public forum on “One Hemisphere Indivisible: A Revolutionary Socialist Perspective” features four socialist leaders, writers, and theoreticians from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and the United States. The speakers are involved in building the Committee for Revolutionary International Regroupment and the movement to free Nestora Salgado, an indigenous leader imprisoned on false charges in Mexico (click here to read more about each panelist). English-Spanish translation will be provided. Entrance is included with convention registration; suggested $2 door donation if this is the only session you attend.
Sunday, May 25 will begin with a 10:15 a.m. panel presentation on “Students of Color and the Corporate Campaign to Wreck Public Education.” Speakers will draw from their experiences organizing in Baltimore, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and national campaigns. Interactive workshops in the afternoon include: How would socialism work? • Race, gender and sexuality: a class approach versus the politics of identity • The international campaign to free Nestora Salgado • How to stand up in your union • Socialist feminism: theory and practice • Karl Marx on the economy and ecology • Electoral politics: an interesting side trip on the road to power.
Activities start Monday, May 26 with a 9:45 a.m. roundtable on “The Power of Union Caucuses to Spark Labor Militancy.” The remainder of Monday will be devoted to issues and skills workshops, with the same topics as Sunday, plus an additional one on “The Art of Revolution.”
The gathering on Tuesday, May 27, will be closed for FSP to discuss and vote on its national leadership team and the party’s priorities in the period ahead.
Click this link to see a detailed agenda and schedule online.
All sessions will be held in Koreatown at the AFSCME District Council 36 building, 514 Shatto Place (one block from the Vermont subway station). Facilities are wheelchair accessible. Daily registration is $20; students and strikers pay $10. You can register online at www.socialism.com or at the door. For more information or to make arrangements for childcare or Spanish translation, call 323-732-6416.
