[FlyingBrickAnnouncements] 2 IMPORTANT THINGS need responses :) Fw: Note to Endorsers of the 2012 VPA - Time to get organized!

Sun Nov 27 17:58:57 UTC 2011

Hey everyone! I hope your holiday was well. 2 things!

1. Occupy Richmond would like to use the Library this Thursday for a film
screening. It would probably be another education deal about OWS and why it
is important. I think this would be a great chance for us to show some of
the folks that have been involved what radicalism in Richmond looks like,
and show that there has been work going on in this city for a long time.
Hopefully we can get some new interest in the space this way, and get some
more help to do great stuff! If anyone has concerns or guidelines we'd like
to set up for them, lets discuss it on here as much as possible, or maybe
even meet this week? My main concern is that there have been a lot of
unaddressed problems in their space as well as the fact that they usually
try and film everything they do, so we need to get those things addressed
somehow.

2. At our last meeting, we decided to endorse the Virginia People's
Assembly this year. Part of that endorsement involves getting more groups
to endorse it, as well as to turn some people out to a meeting for planning
logistics, and getting people to come to the networking conference that
weekend. So here is the forwarded message and call, please circulate it
where you can!

*Also, our last meeting was canceled because of Thanksgiving, so do we want
to have it this Thursday? Or just wait until our next scheduled one on
December 5th?*

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nathan Stickel <usthedandylions at yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, Nov 26, 2011 at 8:44 PM
Subject: Fw: Note to Endorsers of the 2012 VPA - Time to get organized!
To: Me Me <incoherentnickle at gmail.com>

--- On *Sat, 11/26/11, Phil Wilayto <philwilayto at earthlink.net>* wrote:

From: Phil Wilayto <philwilayto at earthlink.net>
Subject: Note to Endorsers of the 2012 VPA - Time to get organized!
To: "Hermelinda Cortes" <hermelindacortes at gmail.com>, "Breanne Armbrust" <
bmarmbrust at aol.com>, "Kwame Binta" <Kwamebinta at hotmail.com>, "Lillie
Branch-Kennedy" <RIHD23075 at aol.com>, "Rain Burroughs" <rainmadeline at aol.com>,
"Mark Barbour" <marbarbou at aol.com>, "Margaret Breslau" <
homebody at home-body.net>, "Ana Edwards" <ourrosewood at comcast.net>, "Nathan
Stickle" <usthedandylions at yahoo.com>, "Ricardo Juarez" <
ricardo at mexicanossinfronteras.org>, "John Steinbach" <
johnsteinbach1 at verizon.net>, "Teresita Jacinto" <tjacinto5 at comcast.net>,
"Rev. Rodney Hunter" <rmhpreach at aol.com>, "Gary Sandman" <
garysandman at cox.net>, "Adria Scharf" <scharf at rpec.org>, "Paul Fleisher" <
pfleishe at earthlink.net>, "David Swanson" <david at davidswanson.org>, "Sister
Janet" <onerastaqueen at hotmail.com>, "Phil Wilayto" <
philwilayto at earthlink.net>, "Kenneth Yates" <causticcastle at gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, November 26, 2011, 8:25 PM

Dear friends,

This note is going out to the endorsers of the Call for the 2012 Virginia
People's Assembly.

It's time to start organizing for this 4th and possibly most important VPA.

We already have the basic structure:

*Initial Call:* See the attached file. This Call was published in the
Autumn 2011 issue of The Virginia Defender.

*16 Endorsers:* The 14 organizations and individuals who first signed the
Call, plus two more: the Plowshare Peace Center in Roanoke and the Flying
Brick Library in Richmond. (See attached list for names, organizations and
e-mail addresses.)

*General Theme:** *“Jobs, not War!” Under this general heading we will
include all the demands the VPA has been known for: prisoner rights, just
immigration reform, no layoffs or cutbacks for state workers, defend the
rights of unions, women, the LGBTQ community, students, veterans and more.

*Date:** *Saturday, Jan. 14

*Location:* Conference and rally at St. Stephen's Church, 505 N. 33rd St.,
Richmond, VA 23223. This is the African-American church where we met last
year. Pastor Benjamin Harris has been very supportive of the VPA. There is
no charge to use the space, but we should make a donation. The church
sanctuary holds about 175 people, there are several rooms for smaller
discussions, a kitchen and a meals area. But we should also look for a
back-up location in case we need a larger space.

*Program:* A networking conference, followed by a march to the Virginia
General Assembly and then an indoor rally. With the upsurge in activism
around the state, we should spend more time letting people explain what
they are doing so we can be more aware of how we can help each other and
build the overall progressive movement. Also, several people have said they
would like to see some action proposals.

*Now it's time for the collective organizing, strategizing and
decision-making.*

I'm proposing that:

   1.

   Each of the present 16 endorsing organizations and individuals *start
   circulating the attached Call *to their friends, allies, e-mail lists,
   social networks, etc, and try and get more endorsers. The more endorsers we
   get, the stronger we will be and the more people will want to be involved.
   2.

   We *set up a Facebook page* to publicize the VPA, sign up people to
   attend and collect comments and suggestions.
   3.

   All the endorsers plan to *meet in person*, at least once, to discuss
   the conference agenda, march and rally; the organizing details for the day;
   and how to reach out and involve the most number of people. *I'm
   suggesting we do this in three weeks, on Saturday, Dec. 10.*

One of the most important things we can do right now is to* take the Call
the the various Occupy Wall Street occupations around the state,* present
it to their general assemblies and ask for endorsements and commitments to
come to the conference, march and rally.

The VPA is a once-a-year event, so should not be seen an alternative or
competitor to the Occupy Wall Street movement. Rather, it can be an
important contribution. OWS has brought thousands of people into motion,
many of them with great idealism and determination. And they have made a
tremendous contribution by exposing in a mass way that we live in a class
society in which the wealthiest 1% really do run things, at the expense of
the other 99%.

However, the OWS movement is still evolving, and so far involves a
relatively narrow section of society. The first three VPAs have been
smaller – about 100 people each – but have always been outstanding for
raising a broad range of political issues, drawing leadership from the
Black, Latino and other communities of color and having strong women
leadership and a visible LGBTQ presence. Introducing OWS to the VPA can
only benefit both efforts.

OK, there it is. If we can all get involved and make our contributions, we
can move the progressive struggle forward by having a very successful VPA.
What's been done so far for the 2012 VPA has been relative easy – getting
the place, drafting the Call, gathering endorsers. Now comes the hard part,
the part that requires a collective effort. And as always, there is no
staff, no office, no resources – just our commitment, our determination and
our common experience. But for that last three years, that's been more than
enough.

*YOUR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE ESSENTIAL – PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS WHOLE
LIST.*

Thanks,

Phil Wilayto

Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality

-- 
Always with Solidarity

Nathan
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