[Imc-newsroom] Speakers on Benton Harbor Uprising (fwd)

[peterm at shout.net]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 11:58:31 -0500
From: speakers <speakers at covad.net>
To: speakers at covad.net
Subject: Speakers on Benton Harbor Uprising


SPEAKERS FOR A NEW AMERICA
800-691-6888 * speakers at lrna.org * http://www.lrna.org/speakers

__________________

Speakers are Available on the Benton Harbor Uprising

The death of a young man in a police chase touched off days of 
protests in Benton Harbor, Michigan where 70% percent of the 
residents in this once thriving Lake Michigan resort city now live in 
poverty.

REVEREND EDWARD PINCKNEY discusses his work to reform the court 
system in Benton Harbor, a largely African American city, where more 
people are in prison per capita than anywhere in the nation. 
Reverend Pinckney says, "There have been at least 20 documented 
severe beatings at the hands of the police in Benton Township since 
January, 2003. There is a Justice Department investigation going on 
right now of this whole situation and I am participating in it."

JOHN WILLIAMS, one of many activists in the 1960s Detroit rebellion, 
and a member of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America, 
discusses why Benton Harbor is a harbinger of a new wave of uprisings 
triggered by poverty. Williams says,  "The social response to poverty 
in Benton Harbor, like the recent Cincinnati uprising, takes on a 
color form. But the basis for it is class. The new economy based on 
electronics and robotics is throwing people across class lines out of 
work. The police become the storm troopers and people respond. But 
the underlying factor is the capitalist system and the permanent 
displacement of people. Consequently, we need new ideas for new 
situations. A new world is possible where today's world of plenty is 
distributed to people based on their needs."

Call Speakers for a New America at 800-691-6888 or email 
speakers at lrna.org to book speakers for radio or campus activities. 
Visit our website at http://www.lrna.org/speakers