by Robert Rockwell, National Secretary
Refuse & Resist! National Council Meeting, New York, June 19, 1999
The State of the Opposition
Several weeks after the U.S. Senate ended its trial of President Clinton, I wrote an analysis that I called "In the wake of the Starr Inquisition: Now more than ever we need Refuse & Resist!" By this, I meant to point out that the effects of that inquisition were much wider than the potential cost to the Clinton presidency, that this process would make an already oppressive politics of cruelty even worse. Those who rejoiced at the acquittal of Clinton do not realize the effect this process has had on the country. While their quest for actual political power was temporarily thwarted, the political agenda of the religious right and its backers and allies has gained even more credence and has moved traditional politics even more to the Right.
The Inquisition has resulted in new lows for the status of defendants' rights. It has set dangerous new precedents for repressive prosecution in its sanction of wiretaps and threats to Monica Lewinsky and her family. It gutted the traditional attorney-client privilege, made public "secret" Grand Jury testimony and set precedents that could lead to the legal destruction of the right to privacy. Onto a legal system already skewed against the defendant, these new precedents can now be used against the people.
In addition, a new wave of reactionary Biblical morality was unleashed across the country under the specter of sex-police enforcement that assaulted personal privacy between consenting adults. William Bennett in his recent book, "The Death of Outrage," mourns what he sees as a lack of morality in this country. He and others have been calling for a Moral Crusade similar to the Great Awakening (an evangelical movement in the early 1700s that stressed a return to "traditional morality") to alert Americans of the dangers of this immorality. They plan to focus mainly on abortion and homosexuality. For the people of this country a new moral crusade can only be more disastrous. Since the last R&R! National Council meeting in December 1998, the climate created by this moral crusade has resulted in the brutal murder of another gay man and another abortion clinic bombing. The religious Right was not able to achieve all of their goals through this Inquisition. They truly wanted to get rid of Clinton. But through this process, they brought their political agenda to the fore and are now seen as equal partners in the political debate. The Inquisition is over. The politics of cruelty are even worse.
The State of Resistance
As usual, R&R! accomplished quite a lot since our last meeting: The R&R! National Office has an increased number of people dedicated to serving the national movement. We have been working with an accountant about several financial matters. (Annie will present a financial report later in the meeting.) The Youth Network and the NY Chapter now not only share the office space but also share part of the rent. By no means are we free from financial worry, but the time we spent on emergency fundraising can be put to more effective work. After April 24th, the NO received about six or seven inquiries about internships. Three students will be interning with the office this summer. This is particularly impressive given that there was no formal advertising for internships. Imagine the potential if we actually searched for interns. The major advance in the National Office is that Janet Yip has courageously quit her job and is now working full time at the R&R! office. This will enable us to fully manage the potential of the interns and is a major step toward where we need to be in order to meet the needs of and further build the movement of resistance. Janet's example inspires all of us to take the whole movement to a higher level. All of us need to find ways of raising money for her salary and for the movement's needs.
The NO at the present time occupies four rooms which house the National Office, the NY chapter and the Youth Network, the Artists' Network/Mumia 911 and the Mumia Working Group. In addition, there are two large meeting rooms available as needed. Although still too small for our needs, we have taken a major step towards unleashing the potential of the working groups and networks.
Mumia Working Group
The Mumia Working Group over the past year has made many advances:
A. 11,000 copies of our resource book have been sold and we are about to print more. The book is widely promoted by International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal and was given out by Rage Against the Machine at their press conference before their concert for Mumia in January.
B. R&R! took the lead in convening a conference that brought together for the first time virtually all of the major organizations working to stop Mumia's execution, and R&R! is represented on the national coordinating committee that resulted from that meeting.
C. Clark Kissinger from the working group has taken a leading role nationally in replying to attacks on Mumia in the media and has been a featured speaker at all the Mumia conferences around the country in the past year.
D. R&R! has taken the lead in winning the movement to a good position on where to draw the dividing line on the case. We want to include everyone who is opposed to the execution and we have promoted the slogan "Stop the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal!"
E. We have made increased ties to the anti-death penalty forces involved in the movement and with other organizations such as Amnesty International.
F. People have begun to take up the case of Mumia on their own terms and in the ways that they can best serve their constituencies. The Oakland teach-ins and Mumia's Evergreen College commencement address both received national attention. In these two cases the organizers refused to back down in the wake of attacks from police, government officials and school administration (in Oakland). The concert featuring Rage Against the Machine, Bad Religion, Black Star and the Beastie Boys was also attacked and shows the fear the government has of youth and artists becoming involved.
G. 35,000 people marched on April 24th to save Mumia's life. These rallies were the largest and most diverse outpourings to date. Clark's article "What's It Gonna Take To Save Mumia" points out the importance of who actually came to the rally. Even the press remarked on the fact that Mumia has inspired a whole generation of youth. The was also a greater turnout from the Black community and Black activists like Ossie Davis, Kathleen Cleaver and Dick Gregory. Middle class organizations such as Amnesty International and American Friends Service Committee were present as well as organized labor.
H. With the growth and increased diversity of the movement, the government has begun to launch a series of campaigns to divide and defuse the movement. Despite good local coverage of the April 24th march, the major national news media -- The NY Times, Washington Post and the TV network news "whited-out" the event. There has been a major attack against the Black United Fund that has been the major financial conduit for the Mumia campaign. Pam Africa and MOVE have been the focus of political attacks from two former MOVE members. Pamela Jenkins who had come forward to expose police coercion in Mumia's original trial was arrested on a bench warrant after she appeared at the April 24th event. All of these attacks are meant to defuse the movement and to divide the more recent advocates such as Amnesty International from the rest of the movement. All of the attacks must be met with resistance and cannot be ignored. There is a tremendous potential to use the attacks to further build the movement. That is why R&R! is honoring the Oakland students and teachers, the bands, and Evergreen College with Courageous Resister Awards.
Reproductive Freedom Task Force
The Task Force has been actively bringing "It's All One Attack!" to the pro-choice movement. Since the murders of abortion provider Dr. Slepian, James Byrd (the African-American man killed in Texas), and Mathew Sheppard (who was killed for being gay), we have found the connections are really coming together for people. Our message has really made sense with people. The RFTF has grown in size and more people are actively involved in its national planning.
The National Day of Appreciation made some major advances this past March 10th. Most of the major pro-choice organizations not only sponsored the day but also took up the day as a part of their work. They promoted the day broadly among their membership and sent out the organizing packet that we wrote and made available. Many sent us financial contributions toward the day or donated services in kind. We also received a grant from OSI to place an ad in the Buffalo News on March 10. The fact that OR put out a call to the anti-abortion movement to go to Buffalo for a siege of that town 6 months after the murder of Dr. Slepian was totally outrageous! We put out a national call as well to go to Buffalo to join with others to take on OR and defend the clinics. It was important to be there and we had a strong presence, as well as several having several new people come to Buffalo to be with us. We worked well with the local people and other national organizations, and R&R! members were quoted frequently in the media, from the local press, radio and TV to the New York Times.
The Youth Network
The Youth Network shares a room with the NY Chapter in the National Office Suite and continues to grow. On the 24th, 19 new youth memberships signed up at the march in Philadelphia. They are organizing the 5th Philadelphia Freedom Summer for Mumia Abu-Jamal. The Youth Network video that was premiered at the NYU Film Festival has been edited and is ready for sale. The Network also received a donation of a much needed computer. They are increasingly being looked to in NYC to organize and speak at teach-ins. They have developed a core of planners to help make the network more national. They also recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of Act Your Rage in NYC.
The Artists' Network
The Artists' Network has been actively planning Mumia 911, the National Day of Art to Stop the Execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal. This day was initiated by R&R! and has grown nationwide. Among the plans for events are a concert in L.A., performances of one-act plays at theaters, a film festival and art shows. Spoken word artists are being asked to incorporate Mumia into their readings. Signatories of the call for the day include poets, visual artists, musicians, museum curators, playwrights and film artists. The 911 theme plans to express the emergency situation of Mumia's case. It will be a national outpouring among artists on a scale sufficient to break through the sound barrier and make Mumia's name a household word and his story known across the land.
The Battle Against Police Brutality
Plans are underway for the 4th annual October 22nd National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. The growing size of the movement is at least partially responsible for the guilty plea of Justin Volpe for the brutalization of Abner Louima. Abner Louima has continued strong in his fight against police brutality. National attention was focused on NYC once again after the police murder of Amadou Diallo. The police officers might have escaped a criminal trial if it wasn't for the loud cries of protest. Hundreds of people were arrested over the period of a few weeks demanding police indictments. Those arrested included nationally known people like Susan Sarandon and Ossie Davis. In the wake of the Diallo, The New Yorker magazine published a cover created by Art Spiegelman, known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Maus. The cover depicted a cop at a carnival shooting gallery taking aim at targets shaped like civilians. Spiegelman and New Yorker editor David Remnick were attacked, their offices picketed by hundreds of cops. They refused to back down. Spiegelman said in the New York Times that people should be outraged by the conditions that have led to police being perceived as thugs. The combination of activism and concern expressed in a mainstream magazine like The New Yorker led to the indictment of the cops for murder.
The Inquisition Committee
The Inquisition Committee led by At-Large R&R! National Council member Mary Lou Greenberg organized a major forum on the Inquisition in NYC at New York University in February, a video of which is available. At the last meeting, I quoted a summary of this experience that is very important. Mary Lou said:
"We are in a new relationship with a number of prominent people and organizations because of this work, and R&R! is increasingly being looked to, to give direction and leadership in building resistance. Through this work we developed new ties or strengthened existing ones with several prominent people, as well as a number of progressive lawyers and law professors, women's movement activists, cultural figures, and others. Not only was the February 8th panel notable for its breadth and level of prominence of participants, but we actively strategized with several of the speakers, as well as the president of NOW-NYC and others, in planning it and work around the statement [against the inquisition] more generally.
"Not only around the Inquisition but also through the Mumia work, RFTF and the Artists' Network, we are in a new relationship with a number of prominent individuals and organizations. R&R! is more and more coming to be known as 'the people/the place' to call when people want to respond to some outrage. This also came out at the NYU forum where there was quite a bit of sentiment from people in the audience that we needed to 'do something.' It was clear that people were really looking to R&R! to give some guidance here. All of our experience with the Inquisition points to the great need as well as openings for R&R! to develop ways for people to get involved and to build resistance. And to do this there has to be a leap in the level of organization (especially nationally) in order to give voice and leadership to the increasing numbers who are looking to it.
"In sum, increasing numbers of people are looking to R&R! to provide leadership and working with us on new levels. While this does not automatically translate into an increase in membership or greater funding for National Office staff, it does represent the basis to seriously strategize and get down with people around the need for R&R! and the need for them to be part of figuring out how to enable it to make the organizational leaps (funding a staff for the NO, regular publication of CounterAttack, etc.) necessary to meet the needs of these times, to build powerful resistance to the politics of cruelty."
The Courageous Resister Awards
The Ccourageous Resister (CR) awards are the "heart and soul" of Refuse and Resist!, important to both the recipients and to the organization. The recipients come to realize that they are not alone in their struggles for a better world and that they are role models for everyone who wants to make this country a better place. The importance of the CR awards became even clearer the closer we came to the event. Recently, 64 Methodist ministers in an act of protest performed a commitment ceremony for two men despite prohibition by church law. They acted in the wake of the conviction of CR Award recipient Rev. Gregory Dell in Chicago who was defrocked by the Church this year. Then on another front, Evergreen College received national press attention for the controversy over the commencement address by Mumia. The college and students refused to back down despite possible risk of losing funding as a state school. Another CR recipient, Abner Louima, was also recently in the news when he received partial justice at the trial of the police officers who tortured him. Abner remained steadfast in his fight for justice and opposition to police brutality. It is not only the courage of these recipients -- along with all the others -- but also bringing together such a combination of people that makes the awards so special.
This is a crucial time in our history.
People are hungry for Refuse & Resist!. It is not just our stand on individual issues that wins people's hearts but our honest appraisal of the current political situation and providing the vision and the hope that we can really create a different future. Let us remember what is unique about Refuse & Resist!, our mission and reason for existence. Focusing on "It's All One Attack" and addressing individual issues as a part of a wider repressive agenda is what has brought our growth that we have seen over the past years. "It's All One Attack!" is the message that explains the current political situation and inspires resistance. We no longer allow "It's All one Attack!" to be reduced to a collection of individual issues under a single tent.
Summation
What are the elements that R&R! provides for the movement of resistance?
1. Analysis of issues and their relation to the whole repressive political agenda
People look for and need our analysis of the political situation. This has become evident with our Mumia literature. Our resource book has become the basic literature for the whole movement. This is not because we watered down R&R! politics but because of R&R! politics. Our literature attempts to reach out to the widest possible audience. This is also the case with our analysis of police brutality and of the Inquisition. It seeks to reach beyond the activist audience to draw in new people. Seeing how things relate to the larger picture inspires people to act.
2. Providing resources for people to use
Both the Mumia Resource Guide and the Organizing Kit for the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers allow people to use the information in many different ways. The Organizing Kit was an important influence on the stronger participation of pro-choice groups this year.
3. Persistence in getting our ideas out
In the five years that I have been National Secretary, R&R! has made changes in the way we address issues, we have learned from mistakes and grown but our basic message has remained the same. When we have a correct idea of how or why -- we do not back down. Our way is a new way of doing things and it sometimes takes a while for our idea to catch on. One example is our persistence in arguing for unity in the Mumia movement. This eventually resulted in the conference of Mumia activists that allowed for the growth of the movement.
4. Unity
Our analysis of particular issues as a part of the whole repressive agenda allows a wide variety of people to take them up. This was evident in the panels discussing the Inquisition in NY and L.A. as well as the Mumia movement where we have worked to draw anti-death penalty organizations to the fight. We are able to unite people with varying opinions on an issue. That is why someone who may be personally opposed to abortion can come to the support of abortion providers and why people who are undecided on Mumia's innocence can call to stop his execution. This can happen only by placing things in a larger context.
5. Diversity
We make a special attempt to draw people from different parts of society into the movement of resistance because we understand that is what it is going to take to defeat the politics of cruelty. We have gotten much better at this, improved by trial and error. We understand the powerful combination there is when artists, celebrities, and mainstream organizations take a stand with the victims under attack. We highlight this at the CR Awards when regular people are presented awards by prominent people.
Over the next few months our major goal as an organization is to do all that we can to help save the life of Mumia Abu-Jamal. We are at a crucial time in history when the government is pressing forth with the criminalization and imprisonment of a generation and the gutting of defendants' rights. It is also the most crucial year for Mumia. Mumia's certiorari petition is before the U.S. Supreme Court. If it is refused, then, by the end of October, Mumia's lawyers must file their habeas corpus appeal in the federal courts. This will set in motion the final and crucial rounds of his legal battle. The gathering of the diverse forces in the movement to stop the execution and international movement forced the government to back off the planned execution of Mumia in 1995. The movement has grown since then but is still not in a position to prevent the execution of Mumia. The other side is intent on speeding up executions. The Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act makes it unlikely for any decision to be overturned in federal court. In the past, most death penalty cases that were overturned happened in federal court. Clark has said repeatedly that we can win this case only if we make the social and political cost of killing Mumia too high. This can happen if we continue to remember the mantra: "Broadness, Diversity and Determination." The reason why I stress the importance of R&R! to the movement of resistance is because we need to bring to bear our analysis and approach to every cause we take up. It is because of who we are as R&R! that we can make a difference. It IS all one attack!
That is also why we have to remember the national organization in the midst of the battle we are going to undertake for Mumia. We have to increase the communication between the chapters and the National Office. We also have to remember Janet's dedication in quitting her job in order to serve the movement. We have to figure out ways to raise money for her salary and for the office the national movement so needs. We always have to remember that having a National Office is one reason for our successes over the past year.
The politics of cruelty are still getting worse, but we are fighting back.
We still do not have the capacity to fight commensurate to the attacks, but we are on the right track.
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[posted 8/22/99]
Contact Refuse
& Resist!
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Phone: 212-713-5657
email: info@refuseandresist.org