Etcetera
etcetera
Attica Rebellion Remembered
September 9-13 marks the 20th anniversary of the prison uprising at Attica, New York, in which 43 people were killed. Politicized inmates of all races, primarily led by Blacks who had been inspired by the teachings of Malcolm X, took over part of the prison and demanded basic dignity and far-reaching social change.
Governor Nelson Rockefeller sent in a handpicked all-White state police force that shot rebellious prisoners and hostage guards alike. False rumors that prisoners had castrated and killed guards were reported as fact in The New York Times and other mainstream media, and were used to "justify" the tortures or murders of several of the most eloquent inmate leaders. The Nixon-Agnew administration led most of white America in applauding the massacre. To prevent new rebellions of this sort, special "maxi-maxi" units were created for Black Panthers and other political prisoners.
There will be a week of events remembering the 1971 uprising and massacre and addressing the prison issues of today, There will be video shows at both EMU and the U-M. On September 11 at Guild House in Ann Arbor and September 12 at Goodison Hall at EMU there will be speakers' nights with former Attica inmate leader Frank "Big Black" Srnith, and by telephone link, Michigan political prisoner and former Black Panther Ahmad Abdur-Rahman, and others. On September 13 there will be a candlelight vigil at the Federal Building in Ann Arbor. For more details see the CALENDAR
Greenfair Coming to Ann Arbor
"Building an Ecological Economy" is the theme of the second annual Greenfair, to be held September 8 on Fourth Avenue and Catherine Street in downtown Ann Arbor. The street fair will highlight products and services that promote environmental health and contribute to community vitality.
The theme for the fair is "Energy Alternatives for the 90s," and merchants and promoters of solar energy, wind energy, and alternative fuels will display their latest technologies and provide information. .
Along with booths and displays of businesses and organizations representing recycling, non-toxic yard care, pest control, organic foods, and more, there will be musical entertainment featuring Frank Allison, Wings of the Morning, Etch-a-Sketch, and others. Greenfair is sponsored by the Sweetwater Foundation, Inc. and the Huron Valley Greens. For more information contact Edward Delhagen or Jennifer Guarino at 663-3555.
Sexual Assault Defense Sanctioned by Michigan Supreme Court
Sex-related murders of women increased 160% between 1976 and 1984. Thirty-three percent of those murders were committed by husbands or boyfriends. And in the U.S., a woman is more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped, or killed by a male partner than by any other type of assailant.
According to the July 8 edition of the National Law Journal, the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Michigan v. Barker determined that, upon request, and where there is sufficient evidence, a court must instruct the jury that force, including deadly force, may be used to repel an imminent forcible sexual penetration. According to the August issue of Off Our Backs, "Stacey Barker was convicted of first-degree murder for killing a man who attempted to rape her. In her appeal she argued that the court erred in refusing her request to modify the standard self-defense instruction given to juries so that it specified that deadly force may be used to resist sexual assault. The court held that the trial judge had indeed erred; however, Barker's conviction stands."
The Domestic Violence Project/SAFE House, Washtenaw County's agency for survivors of domestic violence and their children, provides counseling, immediate assistance to survivors of domestic violence after an arrest has been made, and more. For more information or to schedule an interview to become a volunteer, call 995-5444.
It Pays to be Straight
The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is opening soon. If you like chicken-n-dumplings, grits, fried okra, and service from straight men and women, then the latest of the store's franchise operations in Belleville is just for you. The company's management apparently issued a memo earlier this year stating lesbians and gay men could not be employed with the company. Protests abounded, but at least 12 gay employees have lost their jobs with the company. Bon apetit!
Ya Don't Say?
U.S. aircraft dropped 88,500 tons of bombs on Iraq and Occupied Kuwait in 43 days of the Persian Gulf War. Seventy-percent of those bombs missed their targets, and yet the number of gun-camera videos released by the Pentagon that showed bombs missing their targets was zero. (Common Cause, May/June 1991)
People's Food Co-op Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Between noon and 5 pm on Sunday September 15 the People's Food Cooperative will celebrate its 20th anniversary in West Park. Music starts at 1 pm with the King Brothers, who will be followed by the blues-based Big Dave and the Ultrasonics. Natural foods and beverages will be available during the afternoon, along with free samples from the co-op's wholesale suppliers. Ice cream making and eating, volleyball and games for children will also be part of the celebration of "20 years of sharing the gift of good food."
The first local food store to place a primary emphasis on natural foods, the store is owned and ultimately controlled by a membership consisting of some 2,800 area shoppers. For more information contact Rod Hunt at 769-0095 or drop by one of the two locations: 212 N. Fourth Avenue and 740 Packard.
Great Lakes Conference in Hell
The U-M's Fresh Air Camp (near Hell, Michigan) will be the site of this year's Great Lakes Bioregional Congress, taking place October 4-6. The fourth of its kind, the congress is an attempt to articulate a new vision of the future, a peaceful revolution based in non-adversarial politics, ecological wisdom and a deep love for the Great Lakes.
One of four bioregional congresses taking place in North America this year, the congress will feature workshops and "zones of discussion" on sustainable agriculture, green cities, empowerment of communities, social justice, and more. There will be multi-cultural music, dancing, singing and drumming and a bioregional bazaar of information, books and hardware. The congress, open to anyone, offers lodging in cabins and tent camping at a discount rate. Scholarships are also available. For more information call Vicki Vance at (616) 347-8919.
Will They Really Put it in Writing?
You may be familiar with AT&T's "Put It In Writing" campaign which urges consumers not to be fooled by the telephone rate claims of other companies. AT&T says they will put their rates in writing, but the National Environmental Law Center (NELC), along with its East Lansing office, wants more than that in writing.
According to NELC, a nonprofit organization that takes action against the nation's leading pollutors, AT&T's air emissions of toxic substances in the U.S. in 1988 placed it in the top 50 manufacturers reporting under the federal Right-to-Know law. The company also ranked 23rd among corporations in its releases of chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer.
On July 12, NELC representatives presented AT&T officials with 30,000 postcards signed by consumers (including 800 from the East Lansing office) challenging AT&T to "Put It In Writing" to reconcile the company 's own favorable literature with less flattering information on the company.
"Consumers here in Michigan and across the country should not have to rely on companies' selective pronouncements (known as ''green wishing": using slick public relations efforts to misrepresent their environmental records to the public) to obtain accurate information on their environmental records," said Hillel Gray, NELC policy analyst.
NELC has called on AT&T to set environmental deterioration prevention goals and sign the Valdez Principles, an environmental code of conduct for corporations which require a standard, independently audited public report on a company 's record each year.
NELC 's East Lansing office will continue to collect postcards to send to AT&T. For more information call Kiki Dunton at (517) 332-2330 or Hillel Gray at (617) 422-0880.
What About the Nurses?
A study sponsored by Nurses of America analyzed 423 health-care articles that appeared the first three months of 1990 in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, and found that nurses as a group are the least quoted of all heath-care groups in newspaper health-care coverage. This is despite the fact that nurses are the largest professional group in the U.S. health-care system and the group with the most hands-on contact with hospital and clinic patients, particularly in major areas of health care such as AIDS, aging, drug addiction, and disease prevention.
Columbia Journalism Review, which published the results of the study in its July/August 1991 edition, suggests that "reporters would do well to spend more time with the people who actually deliver the most health care and thus may know best how and where the system does and doesn't work." For a copy of the study send $3 to Women, Press & Politics Project, P.O. Box 1018, Cambridge, Mass. 02140.
Sending the Very Best, the Censorship Way
According to gay and lesbian advocate magazine, Ten Percent, Hallmark Cards has banned the word "lesbian" from its new "Personalize It" program that lets customers select certain generic cards and use an in-shop computer to print their own message. Apparently the company finds "lesbian" unacceptable because it might be used in a derogatory or insulting way. So, what if someone wants to use it in a positive or complimenting way?
HomeShare Helps
The HomeShare program is helping many seniors who, if not for the program, would be forced to leave their homes due to high property taxes, inability to maintain their homes, or because of loneliness or fear of living alone. The program matches a senior with a younger adult (usually a young professional or college student) who wishes to share the a senior's home and help with household chores in exchange for free or low rent.
Created by the Housing Bureau for Seniors over seven years ago, HomeShare covers all of Washtenaw County. The program includes housing option counseling, interviewing and screening of prospective sharers, supervised introductions, follow-up counseling and more. Normally there are more "providers" who want young adult homesharers, but because of student demand the program is in need of more senior providers. For more information contact