Reflections from the Peoples Freedom Caravan 2 and the US Social Forum

Well the time has come to say good by to all those we love, hate, learned and had fun with. The People's Freedom Caravan is on its way back home with filled with happy and full hearts (some might say overwhelmed with information.) The USSF has been over for a day and was a great experience that will say in the souls of the caravanistas for years to come. Here are their experiences and reflections:


Day 3 Haiku

Danielle Lacoutu
Florida

First pool adventure

Today off to Louisville

No music on bus

Arrive EST

Meet Project South & ATL

No subs, more pizza

This morning we left St. Louis, MO after epically protesting outside of Peabody Coal and made a five-hour drive to Louisville, KY full of repose time. When first arriving in Louisville, we ultimately assembled with Project South and another caravan from Atlanta, GA. For dinner, we made our way to the antiquated Yearlings Club Inc. where there was a super sub-making buffet, but we came to a food dilemma and ran out of sub supplies. We were forced to relocate to another building where we were to receive bountiful amounts of Pizza Hut pizza filled with toppings galore. Once and for all, we landed back at Spring Hill Suites Marriott prepared to take on the next hotel pool.

Snapshot of the U.S. Social Forum: Workshops

You may be wondering, what actually goes on at the U.S. Social Forum? Sure it’s a convergence of community organizations and social movements, but what do you actually do once you’re together?

The Social Forum offers thousands of opportunities to learn through workshops, People’s Movement Assemblies, local tours, performances, film screenings and actions, among other activities. Workshops, which make up the largest portion of the forum, offer a large variety of self-organized topics that facilitate discussion and sharing strategies to make change happen.

The workshops range from 2 to 4 and a half hours and follow 14 tracks, which include topics such as Capitalism in Crisis, Climate Justice, Organizing a Labor Movement for the 21^st century, and Misplacement, Migration, and Immigration, among others.

Delegates from the South by Southwest People’s Freedom Caravan attended workshops that covered a variety of topics. George Lujan of the Southwest Organizing Project said his favorite workshop was Cultural Organizing for a Just Society, which focused on involving art and culture in the social justice organizing and movement building processes. Mass Transportation for the Massess, another highly attended and well-received workshop, opened a discussion on mass transit’s role not only in climate justice, but also in economic and social justice. Several SWU delegates also attended Lideres Campesinas: Farmworker Women’s Movement, Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Campaign, and The Zapatista’s Other Campaign Breaking Down Borders. My personal favorite was Borders, Buildings, & Bounding: Cross Cutting Solutions to Displacement and Devaluation of Communities of Color, which discussed how our community spaces, from a household to national level, continue to oppress and marginalize certain groups and must be contested. We hope that we can incorporate the new points of view, ideas, and strategies we've learned in the workshops into our work in our own communities and keep the knowledge sharing and the movement going.

While there are too many individual workshops to name, this snapshot of the workshop component of the U.S. Social Forum already reveals how SWU’s 6 areas of work are interrelated to these global movements and struggles. We hope to share more of what we have taken away from our workshop and overall forum experience as we wrap it up here in Detroit!

Back on the road to San Antonio tomorrow morning!

Photos of the USSF Opening March

Reaching the U.S. Social Forum

After 5 days on the road, the People's Freedom Caravan made its way into Detroit for the opening march and ceremony of the U.S. Social Forum. And the caravanistas did not arrive empty handed. The 5 days on the bus stopping from community to community, meeting our brothers and sisters in the struggle had left its mark. As we winded our way up from one U.S. border to the other, we had gained a sense of freedom - freedom from silence, freedom from hopelessness, and freedom from isolation. We heard the stories of the indigenous Ponca people, who stressed that our ancestors had made the way for our current path and purpose, and the stories from the Kentucky Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression who carry the torch for a long line of freedom fighters, and stories of ongoing struggles in St. Louis, Chicago, Toledo, and the communities we could not reach but word had gotten out. Once we finally reached Detroit, a city that was once one of largest stopping points on the Underground Railroad, we felt invigorated with a sense of purpose and history. We hope to keep reinvesting this energy into Detroit, now known as the most segregated city of the U.S. metro areas. We also hope to reinvest this energy on the journey home to each and every one of our own communities and beyond, reinforcing the fabric of shared community and shared hope for the possibility of better world and better United States.

Feel free to keep sharing your stories and positive thoughts with us!

People's Freedom Caravan Day 3- Get on the Bus- Project South

David Ortega
Youth Leadership Organization
San Antonio, TX

“ We awoke on the day one less than a fortnight and one week into the month of June, which was the sabbath, in the year of two-thousand and ten, anno domini. A digital time keeping device with the ability to emit sound at a predetermined hour blared us from the world of sleep and thrust us into the world of consciousness at 4 hourglasses before the time that the sun was directly above us in the sky. My brethren and I prepared for the day's activities with a ceremonial brushing of the teeth. At the first meal of the day, we were given the option to choose from potato, bacon, fruit, bacon, cereal, bacon, and orange juice. I feasted, not sure when we would eat again.
After getting on the bus, an finding everyone that was supposed to be there, we departed slightly late. After an indefinite amount of time, we arrived at our first destination in St. Louis, an intersection in front of the Peabody Coal building. A blond lady with a ponytail and megaphone greeted us. After we got our banners set up, she told us to fill the intersection in the middle of the street. At this point, we were nearly 150 people, so her plight was definitely possible. so we walk into the street, and right away, a little grey car pulls up, thinking that we were just crossing the street en mass. When he realized our wishes to stay he seemed irked, he was just trying to get to where he was going, after all. One of the people on our bus started a chant. “Hey hey, ho ho. Peabody coal has got to go.” When the driver of the grey car heard the rest of us chant, he started backing up, in preparation to circumvent our human blockade. He cut across a corner that was

slightly lacking in fleshy wall. His actions inspired other drivers to do the same, and the two streets leading into the intersection slowly began to empty. The blond lady told us to spread out, an walk in a circle. With the beat and the relaxed pace, I almost felt at home, almost broke out in dance for this psuedo-quinceañera. After a few minutes of this circle of shouting, a police car showed up, and the officer driving it talked to the blond lady. After their interchange of words, she got on the megaphone and reluctantly told us to go to the sidewalk in from of the Peabody Coal building. We continued our task of raising awareness for what must've been at least 45 minutes, with each chant getting louder. We retreated to our bus for food, where we enjoyed chicken wings and macaroni on our drive to Louisville, KY.

After what seemed like a day on the bus, we exited at a rather impromptu location, a grassy empty lot with dozens of people from Project South waving us down with smiling faces and banners in hand. In foresight, I decided to ask Diana for a camera, so I can document this event for the very reason of writing this blog post. Because of that, I wasn't really able to connect with people on an individual level, but I gained a rather interesting perspective, that of the observer. It was breathtaking, seeing how people opened up without really knowing people, but trusting them, because they were both here, both looking forward to the USSF. After our meet up with Project South, we entered the bus once more, and instead of tired, sleeping faces, everyone was buzzing about the people they met, and the struggles that they've gone through. After a few minutes, we arrived at our destination a massive house where we were to eat. As the photographer, I arrived first, and saw the dormant house at an empty state. Once I got set up and started taking pictures, I was sucked in a time vortex, before I knew it, the house was full to the brim, peoples talk lightened the humid air. After people relaxed and talked for half an hour, we realized that food wasn't being served. There was a shortage of food. But that was fine, the organizers had a backup plan. We went to a community youth hangout spot that was nearly as big as the first house. Pizza was ordered, and we feasted over the stories that make us who we are. When the food was gone, a representative talked about the struggles of racism in this part of the city.

We loaded up onto the bus, and headed towards our next destination, the hotel. We were given most of the night to enjoy ourselves. And so, we relaxed. The youth took the pool and turned it into a volleyball court, where we played for hours. The elders took a seat in the lobby, and talked about the trip, I suppose. After the pool, the SWU youth retreated to the boys' room, where we watched TV and after awhile came up with the idea to go to McDonalds. We took a shuttle, which was an experience within itself. After talking over chicken nuggets, I felt the need to work some of them off, so Monica and I went to the gym room, where we walked on the treadmill, having a friendly competition. Afterwards, we retreated to our individual rooms and went to sleep, ready for a happy morning, relaxing morning... or so we thought!"




Mike Brennan
San Antonio,TX

“As we move along on this long road to Detroit, we have been learning more about each other's struggles. This collective knowledge seems to constantly grow as time marches on. Our stay in Louisville last night was enlightening to say the least. I met an organizer from Mississippi by the name of Courtney and I really value the conversations we had. The first thing that she told me about that got me fired up would not compare to what I would later hear from her.

When their bus pulled up to the Spring Hill Suites airport location, the group of predominately African American delegates were asked to sign a document promising many things, including but not limited to: no more that five people in the pool, they would not be in the halls, they would not be in the lobby, they would not play loud music, they would not take the towels out of the room, etc. I will also add that they were the only bus asked to sign this “agreement”, which they rightfully so declined. Throughout the night, Courtney told me of her experiences and encounters with racism in her home-state [Mississippi] as well. Not only do African Americans deal with racism on the level of name-calling, but they also deal with more extreme forms of hate. What I am talking about is physical harm being done right now in the year 2010.
Courtney told me about a teacher from when she was in high school dragging her across a row of lockers for the simple reason that she “made the teacher sick”. She told me of clansmen terrorizing her mother, a strong woman born into the movement, with death-threats and breaking out all of the windows in her house. I was told of the bedsheet-wearing buffoons being able to have a march down the street shouting out the most ignorant racist trash, all with the protection of local police. What I'm learning though is that what is happening in Mississippi can be directly linked to what is happening in other places. What is happening in Juarez with the women is also happening in Guatemala and in many other places. Everyone is starting to realize that all of these struggles are one in the same. Our neoliberal masters should be shaking in their boots because a sleeping giant that has been dormant for 518 years is waking up.

When we were checking out of the hotel, a group of us approached the manager and told him of the Mississippi caravan's experience with the front desk the night before. He seemed mostly indifferent to the whole situation and even had the cojones to smirk at us and accuse us of “playing the race card”. Seeing that we were getting nowhere with this cretin, we all left the hotel and returned with banners and ganas. “Boycott Boycott Springhill Suites!!” was heard ringing throughout the halls of the obviously discriminatory business and Joyce, one of the obvious backbones of the Mississippi caravan, proceeded to describe what had taken place and why we were not going to stand by and let it happen. The man behind the counter, who I might add was seen on the telephone most likely talking to the boys in blue as we were walking in, disappeared sometime between when we marched in and Joyce finished talking. Proving his cowardice and saying what we wanted to say, we marched back out chanting “We're fired up! Can't take it no more!” and proceeded to board the bus to join our Boricua brothers in Chicago.

It is no longer the time of sitting back and hoping. It is a time of bravery, action, education and solidarity. Mother earth and her peoples are in distress and every able body needs to answer the call and join the fight.”

PFC Hits Chicago!

Today the People's Freedom Caravan reached the Cabrini Green Housing Projects in Chicago, whose residents are being evicted as their neighborhood becomes more gentrified. Today we marched in solidarity to say that housing is a human right!!! And we will not tolerate the privatization of our human rights!

Thank you for hosting us Chicago, and inviting us to share in this momentous event!!

People’s Freedom Caravan Day 2 – Garbage in the hills on Tribal Lands

Written by:
Ashely Terrazas
Youth Leadership Organization

“We left Oklahoma early, everyone woke up gathered their belongings and was on the bus by eight. After leaving the hotel, the folks from Oklahoma took us on a toxic tour of Ponca City - the stolen land of the Native Tribes. It was incredible to see land-fields and other parts of the city with toxic materials being disguised as parks. The toxic tour ended, we said goodbye to our friends from Oklahoma, and took off on the road again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri. We arrived in St Louis after a long day on the road and we met up with our friends from Southern Echo, and once everyone was settled in settled in, people from Missouri showed their hospitality by cooking a nice wonderful dinner for us. After dinner we arrived at the hotel and all the youth from every state and organization came together and hung out by the pool. It was great seeing a lot of our old friends and getting to hang out with them. I can tell that this will be a wonderful journey, not only because of why we are here, but also because of the people that will be walking besides us.”

Experienceing the Ponca Nation

Written by:

Mike Brennan

San Antonio, TX

"So far the People's Freedom Caravan has been quite a journey, to say the least. We have only travelled as far as Indiana and my life has been changed by the different people I have met and the different struggles that they have shared with us. The first night's stop in Ponca City was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. We arrived and were given a very warm reception by the Coyote Creek Center for Environmental Justice, the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism and the American Indian Movement of Oklahoma. Our meat, corn, rice, bean and fried bread dinner was very welcome after such a long ride and the cold well-water was equally as refreshing. Mikasee honored us all with a song and the rest of the gathering consisted of the Ponca Tribe as well as all of the traveling groups sharing their struggles in front of the group.

Some folks as well as myself were invited by Mikasee to join him and his family in the sweat-lodge later on that night. This was the first time for me to do a sweat, and it was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. We met outside the lodge while the rocks were being heated in the fire nearby. When the time was right, we all gathered inside the lodge and the rocks were brought successively into the middle of the lodge. Mikasee then told us that it would be very hot but that we were allowed to leave at any time by simply uttering the phrase “all my relations”. When all of the rocks had been brought in, the entrance was closed and the ceremony began. We were told that this ceremony was designed to make us suffer and to prepare us as warriors to take the people's struggles onto our shoulders and deal with it. When the first cup of water was dropped onto the orange-glowing rocks, the hot steam licked our skin and filled our noses, mouths and lungs with a burning sensation. Songs and prayers were led by Mikasee and this lasted three times around. After the second round of songs and prayers, some of us found ourselves uttering the words “all my relations” and crawling the correct direction out of the sweat-lodge. While we were recuperating a little outside, Mikasee then told us all a story about his great-grandmother that was forced from her lands in the north to travel great distance to Oklahoma. He told us of her having to watch her family fall and die along the way as she carried on to be strong for the rest. She had to leave all of her belongings except for the clothes on her back and some of the sacred sweat-lodge stones, which she carried on her back all the way until Oklahoma. She did this so the tradition could be carried on and that the tribe and their sacred ways would not die. He told us that women are the backbone of the family and made us understand that without them as the catalyst that keeps everything together, the tribe would fall apart. She was strong for those who had no strength. After being told this story of strength, we re-entered the lodge and were present for the last round of song and prayer. It was very hot but I kept thinking of those who die everyday crossing the deserts of the south in order to try to make something for their family that has nothing. After the ceremony was over and we exited the lodge, I felt new again. I felt as if some new life and strength had been breathed into me and that I was stronger because of it. We cooled of by jumping into the nearby creek and there I contemplated what had just taken place.

This is only one experience that I have had so far being a part of the People's Freedom Caravan. I am sure that it will not be the last. I have already met new people within our bus and we have been bouncing ideas off of each other whenever we get the chance. Much good will come out of this caravan and it is our responsibility as the privileged delegates we are to bring back all of this newfound knowledge and wealth of experiences back to our homes and start putting it into action."

Roots of Change Cooperative Awarded $5,000

VERMONT & SAN FRANCISCO –Roots of Change Cooperativa has been awarded $5,000 from the Brighter Planet Project Fund, a micro-granting platform focused on fighting climate change. The grant will help fund the further development of an organic community garden in San Antonio, Texas.

The project is committed to providing healthy food choices for the community and increasing the food security of local families, 30% of whom cannot afford to purchase organic foods. Funds will go towards the expansion of the garden into an urban farm, which will turn the space into the foundation for a city-wide gardening cooperative. The plan also includes the development of the garden into the city’s first locally-grown food market, as well as a center for teaching sustainable gardening techniques.

Powered by Brighter Planet’s social website to nominate and vote on projects of merit, the Project Fund seeds the growth of the climate movement from the ground up. With six worthy projects nominated this month, members cast the most votes for the Roots of Change Cooperativa. Brighter Planet customers endow the Project Fund by using the company’s products and services.

Brighter Planet community members vote for the next grant recipient starting August 1st. Submissions are now open for August’s Project Fund grant of up to $5,000.

About Brighter Planet

Brighter Planet provides technology-driven climate change solutions that help people and businesses manage their environmental impact. Its suite of innovative tools range from debit and credit cards that build renewable energy to crowd-powered community climate projects to a technology platform that integrates carbon emissions modeling with business operations. Brighter Planet has engaged over 150,000 customers to date. www.brighterplanet.com.

Snapshot of Ponca City, Oklahoma

As the bus left Ponca City and the generous people of the Ponca nation, there were many stories to reflect upon. The Ponca people shared their history, which dates back to the High Plains prior to their forced removal to more southern lands. This environmental racism, which has been in practice for hundreds of years, continues today as we witnessed on a Ponca City “toxic tour.” On this tour our bus followed a path dotted with coal plants, oil refineries, and toxic runoff on former tribal lands, cumulating with the city dump that sits across from the Ponca Tribal cemetery. It is stories and histories of survival in the face of such disrespect and disempowerment that we hope to share with friends across the nation at the U.S. Social Forum.

Que viva La Ponca!

SWU Words - The Launch of the Peoples Freedom Caravan

June 18, 2010
by jocelyn terrazas

Today was the first day of the peoples freedom caravan and my first time out of Texas.
The Peoples Freedom Caravan is when all these organizers from all over the US come together
to form this huge caravan to go to Detroit. We are going on a caravan to the USSF which stands for United States Social Forum, it happens every four years and its verry important to all of us.
The whole thing lasts about 11 days, because since where going on buses it takes a long time to get there.The main point of the U.S.S.F is for new organizations to come together for the future of the US. There's going to be alot of people so we are going to meet people from all types of backgrounds. Today we had to wake up very early so we wouldn't waste anytime, lukly we all got to sleep in the bus. Once we got to oklahoma, we meet people from SWOP (Southwest Organizing Progect) and then we all went with our friends from Oklahoma, where then they cooked this amazing food and they showed us a little part of their culture and sang some songs for us, they also told these crazy stories about what has happened to them due to racism.
As the days go on it gets even more exiting for me because every day we get closer and closer to the USSF.

And they’re off!

The People’s Freedom Caravan riders gathered in San Antonio in the early dawn hours this morning to embark on their 11-day epic journey to the U.S. Social Forum in Detroit. The “social forum on wheels” has begun, and on the bus together are both new and seasoned organizers, school workers, immigrant rights and environmental justice advocates, independent media-makers, youth and grandmothers.

“We’re on the road again, because there is still so much to fight for,” says Tanya Garduño, who recently returned from the historic immigrant rights marches in Phoenix, AZ.

Along their journey, caravanistas will connect with over 100 grassroots organizations, sharing culture, comida, history, and struggles through shared action. They will arrive in Detroit with new relationships and understanding of the work of fellow organizers struggling for indigenous, worker, immigrant, and environmental justice all across the Midwest.

“I hope to get knowledge about social issues that are going on in the world. It’s the sort of knowledge should be in schools, but it’s not,” said Juan Atilano, 17-year old caravanista and summer intern with SWU.

Next stop: Ponca City, Oklahoma!

People's Freedom Caravan II

People’s Freedom Caravan II

Thousands participate in caravan to Detroit, bringing a new grassroots vision for overcoming the democracy divide

06.16.2010 – Albuquerque, NM ♦ San Antonio, TX ♦ Jackson, MS ♦ Ponca City, OK ♦ St. Louis, MO ♦ Louisville, KT ♦ Chicago, IL ♦ Toledo, OH ♦ Detroit, MI



Some folks are walking. Some are biking. Some are taking buses and cars. And, yes, a few of us will be flying. But all are headed to Detroit this summer for the US Social Forum.



In the spirit of the freedom rides launched a half century ago, progressive grassroots organizations from across the country are embarking this week on the “People’s Freedom Caravan” to the United States Social Forum June 22-27, 2010, in Detroit, Michigan. Hundreds of activists and ordinary people from over 25 cities are packing their bags to take part in the historic “social movements on wheels,” made up of dozens of buses, vans, cars and even bikes. The Caravan builds on a similar effort in 2007, when over 80 grassroots organizations joined forces en route to the first U.S. Social Forum – a gathering of progressive movements modeled after the World Social Forums – in Atlanta, GA.



In response to the financial collapse, growing economic and social inequality, the recent resurgence of thinly veiled racism across the country and attacks on immigrant communities, caravan organizers are coming together with a clear message: “Another world is possible and another U.S. is necessary!” 



"We are facing crises on all fronts – social, economic, and environmental. This movement is an effort to bridge the democracy divide from Arizona to the Gulf Coast to Detroit," says Diana Lopez, one of Hispanic Magazine's top 15 Latin@s under 30 and recipient of this year's Brower Youth Award, who will be jumping on a bus leaving San Antonio, TX on Friday.

"We will be meeting and taking action with local social justice organizations at every stop in order to show the reality of hardship and inequity in this country – to lift up the voices of those struggling in the face of the oil spill, foreclosures, the greed of Wall Street and racist immigration policies."



Route and stops:


Albuquerque, NM – Friday June 18th – SWOP office (211 10th St NW) – 5am 



Communities will launch the People’s Freedom Caravan. Indigenous, immigrant and youth participants will share the vision and intent of this traveling forum for social change. 



San Antonio, TX – Friday June 18th – SWU complex (1416 E. Commerce) – 5am


In this low-wage, NAFTA city hundreds of people will call for just immigration policy that respects the human rights of all workers. The caravan will bring ideas for climate justice, food sovereignty, living wages and a non-militarized cooperative border region. A strong delegation of youth will bring the S. Texas failed education system reality to Detroit.



Ponca City, OK – Friday June 18th – Marland, OK – 7pm


Oklahoma is the home of forty different nations of indigenous people that come from all over the United States. A cultural event with local food will welcome the caravan. An Environmental Justice “toxic tour” will expose the effects of same polluting industries that have devastated our Gulf Coast on local communities. 



Jackson, MS – Saturday June 19th – Southern Echo (2009 N. Simmons) – 5:45 pm 


Local civil rights leaders, workers and migrants will join the caravan to demand equal education, a fair count in the census and redistricting with strong models of accountable governance where communities are encouraged to participate and have a voice.



St. Louis, MO – Saturday June 19h – St. Mark's Church – 1pm


In St. Louis we will converge with the caravan from the Gulf Coast and learn about historical and present day workers rights struggles 



Louisville, KT – Sunday June 20th – St. Genevieve Catholic Church (58203 Highway 433) – 4:20pm


The caravan from Atlanta and Alabama will connect in Louisville for a rally at the gates of Rubbertown industrial complex, where 11 chemical plants tower over a local school and poison the community with 43% of emissions in the county. The rally calls for strong air pollution control, strict and effective monitoring, good energy policy and more communication with residents.



Chicago, IL – Monday June 21st – Cabrini Green Housing – 1:30pm

Cabrini Green housing residents will welcome the caravan on the same day their evictions notice says they need leave. These residents are fighting a wave of gentrification that is driving them out of their neighborhoods. A march to city hall will follow with a focus on the need for jobs, followed by a rally at Humbolt park to call for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners.



Toledo, OH – Tuesday June 22nd – Rally at One Government Center – 7pm 


One hour outside of “ The D”, we gather in an action for immigration rights in Toledo, Ohio. The Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign Caravan and caravan-ers from the Northeast will join the Peoples Freedom Caravan in solidarity with the people of Toledo and immigrants across the US.



Detroit, MI – Tuesday June 22nd – Cobo Hall – 2:00pm


The caravan, over 1000 strong, will arrive in Detroit for the US Social Forum opening march, bringing inspiration and seeking to deepen relationships with the progressive movements of the Midwest in order to bring about national change. 



La Caravana de la Libertad del Pueblo II

Miles de personas participan en caravanas a Detroit, que se trae una visión nueva de base para vencer la brecha de democracia

Albuquerque, NM ♦ San Antonio, TX ♦ Jackson, MS ♦ Ponca City, OK ♦ St. Louis, MO ♦ Louisville, KT ♦ Chicago, IL ♦ Toledo, OH ♦ Detroit, MI

Algunas personas están caminando. Algunos están andando en bicicleta. Algunos están tomando autobuses y coches. Todos están haciendo su camino a Detroit esta semana para el segundo Foro Social de los EE.UU.

En el espíritu de los viajes por la libertad lanzado hace un medio siglo, las organizaciones de base progresistas de todo el país están embarcando esta semana en "La Caravana de la Libertad del Pueblo" al Foro Social Estadounidense el 22 al 27 de junio 2010, en Detroit, Michigan. Cientos de activistas y gente común de más de 25 ciudades están haciéndose las maletas para participar en la histórica "movimiento social sobre ruedas", compuesto por decenas de autobuses, camionetas, coches y hasta bicicletas. La Caravana es una continuación del esfuerzo similar de 2007, cuando más de 80 organizaciones de base se unieron en el camino al primer Foro Social de los EE.UU. – un encuentro de movimientos progresistas siguiendo el modelo del Foro Social Mundial – en Atlanta, Georgia.

En respuesta al desplome financiero, la creciente desigualdad económica y social, el reciente resurgimiento del racismo apenas disfrazado a través del país y los ataques en las comunidades inmigrantes, los organizadores de la caravana se están uniendo con un mensaje claro: “Otro mundo es posible y otro EE.UU. es necesario!"

"Estamos enfrentando a crisis en todos los frentes - sociales, económicos y medioambientales. Este movimiento es un esfuerzo por cerrar la brecha de democracia desde Arizona a la costa del Golfo hasta Detroit", dice Diana López, uno de los 15 mejores Latin@s menores de 30 de Hispanic Magazine y ganador del Premio Juventud Brower de este año, que se va a montar en el autobús que parte de San Antonio, Texas el viernes.

"Vamos a reunirnos y tomar medidas con las organizaciones locales de justicia social en todas las paradas para mostrar la realidad del apuro y desigualdad en este país – para levantar las voces de aquellos que luchan en el frente del derrame petrolero, las ejecuciones hipotecarias, la codicia de Wall Street y las políticas de inmigración racistas. " Ella agregó.

Ruta y paradas:

Albuquerque, NM – viernes 18 de Junio – SWOP oficina (211 10^th St NW) – 5am

Comunidades se van a embarcar en la Caravana de la Libertad del Pueblo. Indígenas, inmigrantes y participantes jóvenes compartirán la visión y la intención de este foro ambulante para el cambio social.

San Antonio, TX – viernes 18 de Junio – SWU complejo (1416 E. Commerce) – 5am

En esta ciudad TLCAN de bajos salarios, cientos de personas se van a declarar para una política migratoria justa que respete los derechos humanos de todos los trabajadores. La caravana traerá ideas por la justicia climática, la soberanía alimentaria, salarios dignos y una frontera cooperativa y no militarizada. Una delegación fuerte de jóvenes se va a traer la realidad del sistema educativo fallido del sur de Tejas a Detroit.

Ponca City, OK – viernes 18 de Junio – Marland, OK – 7pm

Oklahoma es el hogar de cuarenta países diferentes de pueblos indígenas que vienen de todas partes de los Estados Unidos. Un evento cultural con comida típica se va a dar una bienvenida a la caravana. Un Justicia Ambiental "gira tóxica" se exponen los efectos de las mismas industrias contaminantes que han devastado la costa del Golfo en las comunidades locales.

Jackson, MS – sabado, 19 de Junio – Southern Echo (2009 N. Simmons) – 5:45 pm

Líderes locales de los derechos civiles, los trabajadores y los inmigrantes se unirán con la caravana para exigir igualdad en la educación, un recuento censo justo y la redistribución de distritos con modelos fuertes de la gestión pública responsable, donde las comunidades se les anima a participar y tener una voz.

St. Louis, MO – sabado 19 de Junio – Congo Square (718 N Rampart St) – 1pm

En St. Louis vamos a reunirnos con la caravana de la costa del Golfo y aprender sobre las luchas históricas y actuales de los derechos de los trabajadores.

Louisville, KT – domingo 20 de Junio – St. Genevieve Catholic Church (58203 Highway 433) – 4:20pm

La caravana de Atlanta y Alabama se va a conectar en Louisville para una manifestación a las puertas del Rubbertown complejo industrial, donde más de 11 plantas químicas alzan sobre una escuela local y contaminan la comunidad con el 43% de las emisiones en el condado. La manifestación exige un fuerte control de la contaminación del aire, un estricto y eficaz control, la buena política de energía y mas comunicación con los residentes.

Chicago, IL – lunes 21 de Junio – Cabrini Green Housing – 1:30pm

Los residentes de las viviendas Cabrini Green dará una bienvenida a la caravana en el mismo día que su notificación de desalojo dice que necesitan salir. Estos residentes están combatiendo una ola de aburguesamiento que les está expulsando de sus barrios. Una marcha al ayuntamiento seguirá con un foco en la necesidad de empleo, seguido por una manifestación en el parque Humboldt para pedir la liberación de los prisioneros políticos puertorriqueños.

Toledo, OH – martes 22 de Junio – 21^st Rally at One Government Center – 7pm

Una hora fuera de Detroit, nos uniremos en una protesta para derechos inmigrantes en Toledo, Ohio. La Caravana de la Campana de Gente Pobre para Derechos Humanos y la Caravana de Libertad del Noreste se juntarán con nosotros en solidaridad con la gente de Toledo y los inmigrantes de todo los EE.UU.

Detroit, MI – martes 22 de Junio – Cobo Hall – 2:00pm

La caravana, con más de 1000 personas, llegará a Detroit para la marcha inicial del Foro Social de los EE.UU., que se trae inspiración y busca profundizar las relaciones con los movimientos progresistas de la región norcentral para lograr un cambio nacional.

Last Change - VOTE NOW for SWU's Roots of Change Garden

ALERT: Vote up SA urban gardens

Greg Harman, San Antonio Express News
gharman@sacurrent.com

Before you break out of your cubicle and pop in your Twilight caps or whatever, donate a helpful mouse click or two to San Antonio's Southwest Workers Union to help them grab some competitive grant funds from Brighter Planet.



From SWU's application, we read that Bexar County was "recently ranked 211 out of 221 Texas counties for accessibility to healthy food and green spaces. The creation of an urban garden network can both revitalize unused land as well as provide healthy food choices and increase the food security of local families."



As much fun as cabbage bowling was a few weeks back, we would love to see some zucchini pins added and multiple lanes lined in lettuces. Help dismantle San Antonio’s “food deserts” with this simplest of gestures. They’re down by like 60 votes now, gente, and voting ends next Tuesday. So, hit it now. And remember, this is one contest where you really can vote twice, so make ‘em count.

Please Support our Project with Your Votes!!

Help SWU's Roots of Change Cooperative WIN a grant for expansion into an urban farm.

We are in the running for a grant from Brighter Planet -- but the project needs the most votes to win. Voting is open until Tuesday, June 15th.

Please go to http://projectfund.brighterplanet.com/projects/roots_of_change_cooperativa and choose VOTE FOR PROJECT. Create an account (if you don't have one) and you will receive an email confirming your address. Then you can vote 3 TIMES!! (just choose roots of change coop and hit vote again) It takes less than 5 minutes.

To put this project into context, Bexar County was recently ranked 211 out of 221 Texas counties for accessibility to healthy food and green spaces. In San Antonio, close to 20% of individuals live in poverty, and 31.1% of adults are obese. Some of the lowest income communities are also home to the majority of polluting industries in the city, including 4 coal-fired power plants, 22 fuel storage tanks, toxic landfills, crisscrossing railroad tracks with a deadly legacy of toxic spills and one of the largest shallow groundwater plumes of chlorinated solvents in the country. In other words, San Antonio needs this opportunity!!

Thank you all for your support!