NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #20/NN_1992_20.iso/spool/misc/activism/progress/6534

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From: James I. Davis <[e-mail]>
Subject: VOICES FROM THE NATIONAL SURVIVAL SUMMIT IN DETROIT
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VOICES FROM THE SECOND NATIONAL SURVIVAL SUMMIT IN DETROIT

By Leslie Willis

DETROIT -- In the sunny days of late August, hundreds of fighters
against poverty met at the University of Detroit Mercy for the
Second National Survival Summit. Leaders from over 40
organizations: welfare and homeless rights groups, anti-hunger
groups, women's organizations and representatives from labor
unions, churches and community groups came from around the country
to map out plans.

The People's Tribune interviewed some of these leaders and will
feature their voices in this issue and ones to follow. We will,
also, be there as their plans turn into struggle. In the forecast
are national housing takeovers, a national hunger emergency day
and a mobilization to bring tents to Washington, D.C. in 1993.

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NOW'S NATIONAL SECRETARY: GOVERNMENT ASSAULTS WOMEN AT ALL LEVELS

By Laura Garcia

DETROIT -- When Ginny Montes was elected national secretary for
the National Organization for Women and its Political Action
Committees in December 1991, she became the first Latina to serve
as a national officer of NOW.

Ginny Montes attended the Second National Survival Summit held
here in August. She spoke about the issues of women and "choice."
The following are highlights of her speech to the Summit.

"Choice is the tag given to reproductive abortion rights. When I
talk to sisters like you, it's really hard for me to talk about
"choice," because in reality, for women like us, the option for
health care does not exist. It happened to some communities for
over a dozen years and is happening even more.

"In the next few months we will be working for changes and power
in this country, from the courthouse, to Congress to the White
House. The issues of women are being assaulted at all levels,
particularly from the highest form in this government. We have to
make sure that the people who are elected to office are women,
people also of color, and represent and understand the issues that
we are working on."

Later, when the People's Tribune asked her how she became involved
with the National Survival Summit, she said, "Welfare rights
issues is something I've been doing all my life. Welfare rights is
now being focused on as a priority by NOW. I plan to take the
resolution on the Kensington 6 to my board. Women of color and
children are the most affected by the lack of welfare rights."

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UNEMPLOYED AND EMPLOYED: 'PEOPLE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER'

By Leslie Willis

DETROIT -- This is an interview with Earl Tyson and Butch Pridgen
of Baltimore. These men, both originally from North Carolina,
attended the Survival Summit as representatives from the United
Electrical Workers Union.

People's Tribune: What is next after this Survival Summit?

Earl Tyson: As soon as I leave here, my plan is to get back to
Maryland, get back to our local -- get some of these people fired
up and talking about some of things that will help with this
poverty situation. Whatever is happening in Chicago, anywhere else
in the world, can happen in Baltimore, to our local, our job, our
hometown. So people have to work together on these things to
really get out of this poverty situation even before it starts. It
doesn't just effect the people who are already there, but the
people who are on there way there.


PT: Why should people who are unemployed care about what is
happening to the United Electrical Workers?

Butch Pridgen: Why should welfare rights be interested in the
union movement? Well, frankly speaking we already have
organization. We have resources. We fight the bosses on the job.
Welfare rights people are fighting a political fight. What we need
to do is bring together the financial struggle and the political
struggle. I think that if we look at ourselves as all a working
class, then we got a political front being covered and we got the
financial front being covered. It's covering the whole working
class.


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KENSINGTON 6 FIGHT FOR COMMUNITY SURVIVAL

By Leslie Willis

DETROIT -- On April 4, 1992, members of the Kensington Welfare
Rights Union and Up and Out of Poverty, Now! tore the boards from
an abandoned Department of Welfare building in Philadelphia and
took it over. They had a purpose -- to turn this unused building
into a community center for youth. They demanded a stop to state
budget cutting of welfare programs. This takeover on behalf of the
Kensington community was stopped by the police, which arrested six
women. Now five of these women will stand trial on felony charges
on September 29.

At the Survival Summit we interviewed two of these women, Sandy
Brennan and Debbie Weitzmann, from the Kensington Welfare Rights
Organization. Brennan is the vice president and Weitzmann is
treasurer of the group. They grew up in this community and now
they fight for its survival.


People's Tribune: What will be the outcome of this summit?

Sandy Brennan: I think everybody is going to start re-uniting as
groups from different states, just getting together and trying to
support other people.

Debbie Weitzmann: I think when people leave here, after the
summit's over, I think that everybody's pumped up and they want to
work harder to get bigger and better organizations.


PT: Why should someone who is not on welfare care about your
struggle?

SB: That's the problem. They don't care. That's why they want to
cut it in every city and state. They don't even care about the
people that they're hurting. And the children -- they don't even
care about them. The streets are full of young kids, because they
don't care about welfare. They claim the city is broke. The cops
now have new cop cars, but the city is broke?

DW: I would tell them they should care, because they never know
they might lose their job and have to be on welfare just like I
did. I had a job that was paying $10 an hour. I lost my job when
they closed up. Now I'm on welfare and I have two small children.
They should care, because it could be them.

SB: What scares me is that once they stop the welfare program,
then the people losing all these jobs, what kind of resources are
they going to have? They're not going to have any. The streets are
going to be loaded with people who have nowhere to go.


We urge all our readers to support the Kensington Six any way you
can. If these women are sentenced to 10 years in prison for
seeking shelter and a youth center in an old boarded up unused
welfare building -- what's next?

Send letters and donations to Justice for the Kensington Six at
2838 North Front Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19133 or call
215-483-6568.


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"THIS GOVERNMENT CANNOT JUSTIFY HUNGER!"

DETROIT -- Richard Trice is the on Board of Directors of the
National Anti-Hunger Coalition. He is co-chair of the Tri-County
Emergency Food Providers Council and Deputy Director of Operation
Get Down in Detroit.

"I've been involved in the hunger workshop [at the Survival
Summit] and basically what we're talking about doing is developing
a two-prong strategy (1) that challenges the policies in this
country and the laws that make people hungry and (2) gets people
access to food. Those who have money can eat as much as they want
to, but those who do not have the money do not have access to
quality and nutritious food.

"Hunger is a very damaging disease in this country. We don't see
people necessarily dropping dead in the streets, we don't see
people walking around with bloated bellies, but what we do see
amongst the low-income communities and the urban areas across this
nation is a large decrease in the good health of people who live
in those communities.

"In a country with the resources that this country has, this is a
sin and a crime. This country gave away enough grain to nations
across this world to feed hungry people in this country for the
next 10 years. So, it is not a question of whether or not this
country has the resources to feed people. It's a question of
whether this country has the priority to feed people. This draws
back to the whole issue of food for people and not for profit.
This government pays farmers not to grow food so that they can
control prices on the world market.

"What we are saying coming out of this Survival Summit is that
this government cannot justify hunger."


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This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition),
Vol. 19 No. 37 / September 14, 1992; P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL
60654; Email: [e-mail]. Feel free to reproduce and use unless
marked as copyrighted. Please include this message with
reproductions of this article. The PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE depends on
donations from its readers -- your generosity is appreciated.
Write to [e-mail] for an online subscription (no charge).
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