[Peace] The talk "Whiteness, Misery, and Management in the U.S." was quite good and well attended.

[Karen Medina]

The talk "Whiteness, Misery, and Management in the U.S." was quite
good and well attended.
Some creepy things I learned:
* There is quite extensive literature on the "management" of slaves as
property. Evidently journals had articles on the topic, or it would
also be thrown in with information on fertilizing.
* Reproduction of slaves was as lucrative or more so than farming.
* Mine work in places like Colorado was miserable for all people, and
the workers were from all over the place (Poland, Ireland, China, and
Blacks). The mine managers kept the races hating each other as best
they could.
David Roediger's book may be very worth reading: "The Wages of
Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class"

Earlier in the day, I attended some of the events celebrating the 1
year anniversary of the triumph of the Graduate Employee's
Organization. Several very valid points were made including: * A
strike takes a lot of pre-strike work organizing (maybe even years of
building). So even though it is a last resort, a union has to be
prepared and willing to do this. * The GEO's success gave many other
groups the courage and a model. They did not mention this, but I see
strong evidence in the community of Champaign-Urbana of the confidence
that was gained by the GEO community building, including the CU
community coming out in droves when Kiwane Carrington was killed by
Champaign police.

[In case you were wondering, yes I was also extremely productive at
work today too. It is all about balance -- too much work and no
activism and I am not productive at all. -karen medina]