[Corporations] [SDI] Democracy at the U.S. Social Forum

Thu Jun 21 18:43:10 EDT 2007

*DEMOCRACY*
*at the U.S. Social Forum*
* *http://www.DemocracyTrack.org
**
*
*
*THURSDAY, JUNE 28**TH***
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*/~ 10:30 am to 12:30 pm ~/**//*
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*Corporations and the Deterioration of Democracy: Reasserting Popular 
Sovereignty Over Corporations & Creating Democracy*
/Corporations/
Room 1202 room at the Westin Hotel

This session will discuss the tools used by the wealthy elite to execute 
their oppression of the masses and their subversion of 
democracy---constitutional level interpretations by the elite Supreme 
Court. the roots of imperialism and neoliberalism lie in our own 
country's governance structure. Primary sponsor:* *Sierra Club 
Confronting Corporate Power Task Force

*Our Bodies, Our Water: Our Right to Safe Water and Health*
/Corporations/
Socrates room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

This workshop will focus on raising awareness about "chemical body 
burden" and introduce specific strategies for claiming our right to safe 
water in the face of corporations that profit from polluting our bodies. 
Primary sponsor:* *Peoples Health Movement

*Building a Democratic Movement*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Triangle Classroom at the
Inman Park United Methodist Church

This workshop will focus around how and why organizations on a 
state-wide level should come together democratically to build a movement 
without losing their own autonomy. Specific topics will include how to 
balance effective, speedy, decision-making power while preserving the 
autonomy of individual organizations and the individuals themselves.  
Primary sponsor: Students for a Democratic Society**
* *
*Education Against Empire*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Mezzanine Left room at the Atlanta Civic Center

In this session, the Global Studies Association, would like to discuss 
some of our activities in studying and critiquing Empire, the current 
form of capitalism in its global moment. We would like to share some of 
our theories and research on the nature of globalization, its human and 
social costs, and how to resist and transform the system. Primary 
sponsor:* *The Global Studies Association

*Voter Disenfranchisement: From the Voter Fraud/Voter ID Scam to 
Electronic Ballots/Touch-Screen Voting*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Room 1401 at the Westin Hotel

Learn about the struggle to make sure that you get to vote AND that your 
vote is counted as cast. Panelists from the election integrity movement 
will detail the current threats to democracy from the use of "electronic 
ballot" technology, how these machines are used to disenfranchise voters 
en masse, and the movement to ensure a tabulated, accessible paper 
ballot for every voter, including voters with disabilities and minority 
language voters. Primary sponsor:* *Velvet Revolution.

*Youth Power: Creating Change through Effective Political Participation: 
Part I*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Room 1207 at the Westin Hotel

Our aims are that young people will gain an understanding of the 
political process and accountability mechanisms, preparation to insert 
their concerns and remedies in the 2008 election campaigns and 
encouragement to put concerns and remedies together as a political 
agenda. Primary sponsor: Southeast Regional Economic Justice Network

*Moving the Movement in the U.S.*
/Movement// Building///
Piedmont A at the Atlanta Civic Center

This panel discussion will draw from the knowledge and experience from 
veteran organizers from various sectors within the U.S., including 
labor, women, youth, queer, economic justice, and environmental justice. 
We will talk about the challenges we will have to overcome to build a 
broad-based, national progressive movement within the context of an 
internationalist global justice movement. Primary sponsor: Grassroots 
Global Justice Alliance
* *
*The Democratic Arts: Tools of Social Change      *
/Movement// Building/
Auditorium Back Left room at the
Atlanta Civic Center

Our workshop is designed to equip participants with an understanding of 
the democratic arts, the tools for practicing them, and their 
application to social change. The ideas we want participants to take 
away relate to demythologizing the Constitution and questioning the 
widely held assumption that the U.S. is or ever has been a democracy. 
Primary sponsor: Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County

*Defining Racism: Different Perspectives, Shared Goals*
/Race & Democracy/
Delphi room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

Different anti-racism trainers/facilitators use different and sometime 
contradictory definitions of racism. However, since we are all working 
for the same goal - dismantling racism - we feel it is important that we 
have an open dialogue about our varying definitions; what, if any, is 
the impact on our work of using varying definitions; and how we can 
collaborate in spite of those differences. Primary sponsor: Baltimore 
Racial Justice Action (BRJA)
*/ /*
*/~ 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm ~/*
*/ /*
*Creating a "Third Party" That Will Make the State Our Own*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Mezzanine Center at the Atlanta Civic Center

This session directly addresses the impulse to build a unified movement, 
one that consciously employs "all available resources" in "educating 
others and ourselves." Moreover, a historical and internationalist 
perspective provides many potential answers to the question of what kind 
of unifying organization we need. Primary sponsor: Defenders Of Democracy

*Voting Rights and Election Integrity Movements: Moving Forward Together*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Magnolia Conference Room at the
Days Inn Downtown

This session is designed for people active in the voting rights and 
election integrity movements to come together to listen deeply to each 
other and build on our common goals toward a unified movement for true 
democracy in the U.S.. Primary sponsor: Velvet Revolution

*Visioning Toward Democratic Global Governance*
/Global Democracy/
Dogwood Conference Room at the
Days Inn Downtown

Our biggest challenge is to overcome the legacy of Bush unilateralism, 
militarism, and imperialism. Our proposal: To create momentum toward a 
post-Bush era that both practices and celebrates Earth Community. 
Primary sponsor: Coalition for World Parliament & Global Democracy
* *
*Holding the U.S. Accountable for Racial Discrimination Against Native 
Americans*
/Race & Democracy/
Zena room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

The United States has filed its Periodic Report with the International 
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination 
Committee and is slated to be examined by the Committee next spring. 
This workshop will review previous CERD Conclusions and Recommendations 
to the United States with regard to Indigenous Peoples, the standards 
applied to States by the CERD Committee, and the issues that might be 
presented to the Committee by Indigenous Peoples in the U.S..  Primary 
sponsor:  Intern. Indian Treaty Council.

*/~ 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm ~/*

*1st Steps in Dismantling Corporate Rule*
/Corporations/
Mediterranean room at the
Atlanta Marriott Downtown

This introductory workshop teaches the history and context for corporate 
power and will help participants to take the "1st Steps" necessary to 
reclaim our democracy from corporations. After an initial presentation, 
we will facilitate a series of focused discussions and small and large 
group exercises. Primary sponsor: Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County

*Campus Organizing Roundtable*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Mezzanine Center room at the Atlanta Civic Center

Higher education is in crisis, but those with the most to lose and the 
most to gain don't share knowledge, experience and resource enough. This 
roundtable will therefore provide a unique, much needed opportunity to 
strengthen our ties and build a movement to make education something 
that really is of, by and for the people. Primary sponsor: Democratizing 
Education Network

*Intergenerational organizing & the new SDS***
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Sanctuary room at the
Inman Park United Methodist Church

This panel will talk about the dynamics of intergenerational organizing 
- and how they relate to race, gender, class, and sexuality - and one 
national project that is making intergenerational organizing a reality 
for hundreds of people across the country: The new Students for a 
Democratic Society (SDS), and it's sister organization Movement for a 
Democratic Society (MDS). Primary sponsor: Students for a Democratic Society

*Access to Higher Education: Breaking Down the Barriers*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Atlanta Ballroom D room
at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown

Access to higher education goes beyond facts, figures, and financial 
aid. This workshop will examine a comprehensive campaign addressing all 
barriers to higher education. Participants will learn how immigration, 
the war, racism, sexism, homophobia, and reproductive rights are all 
access issues. Primary sponsor: United States Student Association

*Defending Democracy from Corporate Theft** & **Restoring People-Powered 
Elections***
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Second Floor Meeting Room at the Central Library

Goal: To end US oppression worldwide, US citizens need to re-take 
control of their government, which begins with citizen-run, monitored 
and supervised elections. This workshop will present discussions with 
those involved in election reform, listen to workshop attendees election 
experiences & voting system problems, envision a revitalized, engaged 
voting public and strategize methods of making that vision a reality. 
Primary sponsor: Defenders of Democracy
* *
*Colonialism in the United States*
/Global Democracy/
Room 1404 Westin Hotel

We are planning a panel event to discuss colonialism within the United 
States. Each panelist brings with them an experience with a form of 
colonialism.            Primary sponsor: Green Institute

*Creating Democracy: Infrastructure for Revolution in the U.S.*
/Movement// Building///
Atlanta Ballroom B at the
Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown

In this workshop we will discuss what structures ( in addition to 
non-profits) can work to create fundamental social change in the U.S.. 
Drawing on the democratic traditions and lessons of the civil rights 
movement, women's liberation, and anti-nuclear movement, and recent 
examples from affinity groups of the anti-globalization movement, we 
will look at what an alternative organizing model and practice for 
revolution in the US could look like that is based on socially just, 
grassroots, small group democracy. Primary sponsor: Rural Organizing Project

*Direct Action Skills and Tactics Track*
/Movement// Building/
Small Dining Room at the
Task Force for the Homeless

The Ruckus Society is collaborating with Art in Action, Midnight Special 
Legal Collective, and smartMeme/STORY to provide a direct action skills 
and tactics track at the US Social Forum.             Primary sponsor: 
The Ruckus Society
* *
*Through the Lens of Culture*
/Race & Democracy/
Second Floor Gallery D at the Hammonds House

This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to develop 
shared definitions of key concepts in cross cultural effectiveness. It 
will also focus on assessing organizations. Using case studies of 
institutional oppression as a catalyst, we will focus our conversation 
on dismantling oppression at the structural and institutional level. 
Primary sponsor: Oakland CAN

*Undoing Racism/ Community Organizing: An Anti Racist Solution for 
Building a Movement toward Social Transformation and Equity*
/Race & Democracy/
International F room at the Westin Hotel

After these sessions, participants will begin to have a collective 
understanding of the imbalance of power, understand the relationship 
between poverty, power, and wealth, and how it relates to the foundation 
of racism, and be able to distinguish the differences between racism, 
diversity, prejudice, discrimination, and other terms use 
interchangeably as racism. Most important participants will understand 
the importance of how accountable community organizing is key to 
building an antiracist, multicultural movement for social transformation 
and equity. Primary sponsor: The People's Institute for Survival & Beyond

*FRIDAY, JUNE 29**TH***

*/~ 10:30 am to 12:30 pm ~/*

*Ending Corporate Personhood*
/Corporations/
Fellowship Hall room at the
Trinity United Methodist Church

Is a Corporation a Person? The Supreme Court says yes. When corporations 
wield legal rights in the U.S. Constitution, it undermines our democracy 
and actually allows corporations to rule. Corporate rule effects all 
aspects of our lives and every social justice and environmental issue. 
Primary sponsor: California Center for Community Democracy

*Creating the Local Green Economy: Success Stories from the Grassroots*
/Local Democracy/
Room 1208 room at the Westin Hotel

Something powerful is building in cities, towns and neighborhoods across 
the USA. Citizens who may not consider themselves environmentalists are 
organizing in their communities for local change that promotes green 
principles and "localization". Primary sponsor: Global Exchange

*/~ 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm ~/*

*A Free University In A Free Society*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
First Floor Room at the Prince Hall Masons Grand Lodge

The purpose of this session would be to discuss the real meaning of a 
slogan we've been throwing around for a while. Sure, it sounds hella 
cool, but what would "A Free University in a Free Society" actually look 
like? Primary sponsor: Students for a Democratic Society

*Empowering Student Democracy*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Room 1208 at the Westin Hotel

This panel will be address participatory democracy across the americas 
and specifically focus on how students can translate participatory 
democratic experiments to their campus in order to improve. Primary 
sponsor: Global Exchange

*Don't be Afraid to Vote for Third Parties*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Mezzanine Left at the Atlanta Civic Center
The session will be a small group discussion about the importance of 
voting for what we want, rather than voting for the less objectionable 
ruling class candidate. We will provide handouts about important social 
justice issues, and will seek to establish long-term connections among 
socialist and other progressive groups that are represented in the 
session. Primary sponsor: Peace and Freedom Party

*What is Local Democracy? Building from the Bottom Up for Political Power*
/Local Democracy/
Sparta room at the
Atlanta Marriott Downtown

This session will be an introduction to the Local Democracy movement, 
and will engage participants by starting to explore a few of the 
submovements that compose it. Specifically this session will feature 
speakers with experience in direct legislation, home rule, community 
wealth creation, and community empowerment and antiracism.  Primary 
sponsor: Liberty Tree

*Corporate Control of Hip Hop        *
/Media Democracy/
Library room at the
Trinity United Methodist Church

This ground breaking audio, visual, and lecture presentation invites 
attendees to share in a full sensory exploration of the role Hip-Hop 
plays in shaping the culture of mass media information dissemination. 
The purpose of this Capitol Resistance presentation is to give 
provocative insight on the inner workings of the music industry - by 
analyzing its pivotal role in shaping recent world history. Primary 
sponsor: Green Institute

*Media Justice Scenario:  Imagining the (Un)-thinkable*
/Media Democracy/
Room 1203 at the Westin Hotel

The purpose of this panel is to imagine the (un)thinkable -- to push the 
boundaries of current research on social, political, and technological 
changes in media, in order to further understanding of the potential 
implications of the changes in the media. The discussion will suggest 
possible strategies for a more favorable scenario. Primary sponsor: The 
Media Justice Fund of the Funding Exchange

*A Little Revolution from time to time . . . Democratizing the 
Constitution for social change in the U.S.A.*
/Movement// Building/
Sanctuary room at the
Inman Park United Methodist Church

This session will take another approach in addressing the possibilities 
for deep social change in U.S.A.. We will take an open-eyed look at the 
reality of a Constitution that was, from the get-go, a class 
compromise.  Then we'll take a look back at constitutional change 
throughout U.S. history, and at the recent constitutional processes in 
Latin America.  We'll wrap with an engaged group discussion regarding 
what it will take to democratize the U.S. Constitution.  Facilitators 
include Greg Coleridge, George Friday, Ben Manski, and Virginia 
Rasmussen, with guest presentations by Venezuelan academic Edgardo 
Lander and Nation writer John Nichols.  Primary sponsor: Program on 
Corporations, Law & Democracy

*Summit** on Independent Politics*
/Movement// Building/
International G room at the Westin Hotel

The primary purpose of the IPPN Summit is to provide time for 
discussion, debate and sharing of perspectives concerning electoral work 
in the USA and its relationship to other forms of organizing.

*/~ 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm ~/***
* *
*The Higher Education Crisis: From Resistance to Democratization!*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Auditorium - Fourth Floor room
at the Auburn Avenue Research Library

This session will feature both facilitated discussion and some prepared 
presentations. It will ask and address the question of how the crisis in 
higher education can not only be resisted, but used as an opportunity to 
change our universities and colleges into truly accessible, public, 
welcoming, and democratic institutions. Presenters will include 
represenatives of the AAUP, USSA, DEN, Liberty Tree, AFT, and the 
Venezuelan student movement.  Primary sponsor: Democratizing Education 
Network

*Voter Organizing for People Who Hate Voting*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Sunshine Class room at the
Trinity United Methodist Church

Whatever the cause you represent year-after-year, when election time 
rolls around use your numbers to swing or win elections. Learn the 
importance of using your networks to create strong voting blocs and 
convincing them of their power. In this session, get hands-on experience 
figuring out how to create voter guides that address the needs of your 
community. Primary sponsor: The League of Young Voters

*Participatory Budgeting: Community Control Over Public Money*
/Local Democracy/
Apollo room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

This session will be an introduction to participatory budgeting and how 
it has been applied in Latin America and North America. Participatory 
budgeting is a process in which city residents directly decide how part 
of a municipal or public budget is spent. Primary sponsor: Liberty Tree

*Creating a Culture of Democracy*
/Movement// Building/
Second Floor Meeting Room at the Central Library

Envision a United States with a functional democracy, a system of 
self-government that repects human rights and values, the environment 
and sustainable development. Primary sponsor: Defenders of Democracy

*SATURDAY, JUNE 30**TH***

*/~ 10:30 am to 12:30 pm ~/*

*Trading Water, Trading Democracy*
/Corporations/
Library room at the Trinity United Methodist Church

We will expose and emphasize how democratic water governance is at risk 
under neo-liberal financial and market-driven trade policies. One of the 
biggest challenges the U.S. movement for "fair" trade faces is to shift 
the discussion from economics and trade to governance and democracy. 
Primary sponsor: Alliance for Democracy

*Got Democracy? - Changing Felon Disenfranchisement Laws to Change Power*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Room 1402 at the Westin Hotel

The Got Democracy? workshop will build power with and develop the tools 
necessary for people directly impacted by felon disenfranchisement laws 
to effect policy change on the state level. Primary sponsor: Got Democracy

*Asserting Community Rights: Local Campaigns to Challenge Corporate Rule*
/Local Democracy/
Azalea Conference Room at the
Days Inn Downtown

We will engage participants through telling the story of Measure T in 
Humboldt County; throughout the workshop we will use that experience as 
a reference point. We will use a variety of formats to facilitate 
attendees applying the content to their communities, including small 
group discussion, brainstorming, and role-plays. Primary sponsor: 
Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County

*Race, Property and the Commons*
/Movement// Building/
Athena room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

Things that were once clearly commons or shared things are fast being 
turned into property and privatized. Our workshop will connect issues of 
Race, Property, and the Commons. We envision a lively, participatory 
conversation with on-your-feet activities, deep inquiry into root 
causes, with plenty of time to explore strategy. Primary sponsor: The 
Program on Corporations Law and Democracy

*Participatory Budgeting: Making it Work for the U.S.    *
/Local Democracy/
Achilles room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

This session will strategize how to implement participatory budgeting in 
the U.S.. Participatory budgeting is a process in which city residents 
directly decide how part of a municipal or public budget is spent. After 
being pioneered in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre, participatory 
budgeting has spread to hundreds of cities around the world. Primary 
sponsor: Institute for Policy Studies

*/ /*
*/~ 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm ~/*

*Power Shifting: From Corporate Rights to Sovereign Communities*
/Corporations/
Library room at the Trinity United Methodist Church

Free trade is neo-colonialism on a global scale and immigration and 
outsourcing (jobs and factories) is a disruption of community and 
displacement of people world-wide in general and, therefore, 
unsustainable in regard to people and nature. We will focus on reframing 
the discussion toward how to build a movement for a "People's Trade 
Agreement" that respects the rights of communities and nature which is 
rights-based rather than free vs. fair trade both part of the same 
regulatory approach. Primary sponsor: Alliance for Democracy

*Democratizing Education Network Action Plenary*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Lenox room at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown

During this session, members and prospective members of the 
Democratizing Education Network (DEN) representing a variety of diverse 
constituencies nationwide will come together to discuss, decide on, and 
coordinate upcoming activities.

*Militant Student Unionism in the U.S.*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
Conversation Pit room at the Central Library

This will be a session on the state of student associations across the 
U.S.A. and some basic steps we can take to make them more militant and 
more democratic. Note:  Watch the Democracy Tent postings for this 
session to be rescheduled.  Primary sponsor: Coalition for Students Power

*Elections for Radicals*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
Centennial Ballroom A room at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

Current U.S. elections are profundly undemocratic, and if we want to 
ensure that people are able to participate in a meaningful way in making 
the decisons that affects their lives then we must demand fundamental 
reforms of the election process. Presenters include Bill Fletcher, 
Adrienne Maree Brown, Medea Benjamin, David Cobb, and Jose Angel 
Gutierrez. Primary sponsor: Liberty Tree

*Pushing Back: Building Electoral Power among Low-Income Communities of 
Color*
/Elections & Voting Rights/
5th Floor Conference Room at the CARE

This session will introduce the Pushback Network to the wider group of 
participants at the Forum and engage participants in dialogue about how 
civic engagement strategies can and should be integrated into long-term 
politically conscious organizing work. Primary sponsor: Pushback Network

*People's Tribunal on Global Corporations: Building a People's Law Movement*
/Global Democracy/
Room 1204 room at the Westin Hotel

This is a People's Law Tribunal designed to highlight the way existing 
courts project corporate power and not people's justice.  Primary 
sponsor: CIPA-APEX

*News for the People: How Corporate Media Consolidation Crippled Black 
Politics & How to Effectively Fight Back*
/Media Democracy/
Authors/Writers Lounge room at the Auburn Avenue Research Library

The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate how corporate 
consolidation of Black-oriented commercial radio has led directly to the 
current crisis of leadership in Black America and contributed mightily 
to social disorganization in African American communities. We will 
propose specific strategies to enable communities to force owners to 
establish news departments at every Black-oriented outlet in their 
market. Primary sponsor: Black Agenda Report
* *
*The Crisis in US Media and the Growing Movement for Media Democracy*
/Media Democracy/
Room 1203 room at the Westin Hotel

A panel of US and international journalists and activists will discuss 
the successes and challenges of the current independent media movement 
in the US. Primary sponsor: Between the Lines Radio

*F*&k! the Police: Why Hip Hop doesn't cooperate w/Law Enforcement Agencies*
/Movement// Building/
Large Dining Room room at the
Task Force for the Homeless

Give a clear analysis of why folks within the hip hop community and 
youth do not, and should not voluntarily cooperate with law enforcement 
agencies. We are not encouraging anyone to break the law, but rather to 
exercise their constitutional rights. Primary sponsor: National Hip Hop 
Political Convention

*White Privilege as Benefit, Identity, or Social Control? Exploring the 
Fault Lines Between Race and Class*
/Race & Democracy/
Sanctuary at the Trinity United Methodist Church

We want to point out that the "race problem" in the US is a white 
problem, and that the focus of this workshop is the white race, not 
Black people or other people of color.       Primary sponsor: Unitarian 
Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, Ga

*Justice, Democracy & Truth: The Greensboro Truth & Reconciliation Process*
/Race & Democracy/
Cary-McPheeters Gallery room
at the Auburn Avenue Research Library

In Greensboro, NC, on November 3, 1979, in the absence of a dissuasive 
police presence, Klansmen and Nazis killed five labor organizers and 
wounded ten others at an anti-Klan rally sponsored by the Communist 
Workers Party.  This workshop will be made up of presenters including 
community members and survivors of the who initiated and worked with the 
independent truth and reconciliation commission.

                                           *//*
*/~ 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm ~/*

*Democratizing Education Network Steering Committee Meeting*
/Democratizing Education Convention/
First Floor Room at the
Prince Hall Masons Grand Lodge

Come to the DEN Steering Committee meeting, find out what the DEN is up 
to, and find out how your campus or community organization can get 
involved.

*Uniting for Democracy: Unifying And Growing the Voting Integrity Movemen*
/Elections & Voting Rights/**
Second Floor Meeting Room at the Central Library

The Voting Integrity movement nationwide has been divided over solutions 
to restore transparent elections to the nation, yet for the sake of 
preventing fascism, we should be able to unite around core principles.  
Primary sponsor: Defenders of Democracy
* *
*Click Your Heels Three Times: Fair Trade Means Another World is Here!*
/Global Democracy/
Room 1208 room at the Westin Hotel

Panelists will discuss how farmers around the world have united to build 
people's power in the face of corporate-driven globalization and how 
some farmers have completely turned the status quo on its head by owning 
their own brands. Primary sponsor: Global Exchange

*Local Democracy: Changing National & International Policy at the Local 
Level*
/Local Democracy/
Conversation Pit room at the Central Library

The workshop will consist of a short panel, laying out existing 
frameworks and examples of municipal foreign policy, at home and abroad. 
We will then quickly become a roundtable with brainstorming around: 1. 
your experiences with locally-based national and international 
policy-making 2. vehicles for change 3. engaging existing efforts 4. 
possibilities for new avenues. Primary sponsor: Institute for Policy Studies

*Does one corporation own all the black radio stations in your town?*
/Media Democracy/
Auditorium - Fourth Floor
at the Auburn Avenue Research Library

Participants will learn how institutionalized racism and the corporate 
takeover of the media has harmed us all, having done the most harm to 
Black urban communities across the country. Primary sponsor: National 
Black Coalition for Media Justice

*Hip-Hop: From Exploiting to Liberating?***
/Movement// Building/
Front Area room at the Atlanta Civic Center

Presentation of a workshop that will train young people from the hip hop 
generation on organizing through the use of Hip Hop Culture as a tool of 
resistance against injustice and oppression. The workshop will include 
shared successes and failures in hopes that attendees can and will learn 
from one another. Primary sponsor: National Hip Hop Political Convention

*A Democracy Movement for the U.S.A.*
/Movement// Building/
Centennial Ballroom B room
at the Atlanta Marriott Downtown

A survey of the Democracy Track, featuring Rep. Cynthia McKinney, John 
Nichols, Sergio Sanchez, Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, Rev. Lenox Yearwood, 
moderated by Ben Manski.  Campaigns to democratize elections, education, 
communities, work, law, media, culture, and many other areas of society 
are well underway. And a good thing too: We might survive by demanding 
table scraps, but we'll only thrive once we run the kitchen. Primary 
sponsor: Liberty Tree

-- 

Ben Manski

LIBERTY TREE
Foundation for the
Democratic Revolution

http://www.LibertyTreeFDR.org/

"If ye love wealth better than liberty . . . may your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."  ~ Samuel Adams 

-- 

Ben Manski

Co-Secretary, Four Lakes Green Party of Dane County
http://www.FourLakesGreenParty.org

"We, the generation that faces the next century, can add the solemn injunction 'If we don't do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable'."  ~ Petra Kelly