Friday, August 25, 6-7:30pm
Denney Hall Room 311, 164 Annie and John Glenn Ave, Ohio State University campus
Facebook event
The Trump administration’s war on working people has emboldened the far right, leading to a rise in violent attacks by extremists and open rallies by the alt-right and the KKK in Berkeley, Portland, and Charlotte. Democratic politicians have failed to pose a real alternative to Trump and the right, instead saying we need to hold back on demands that would alleviate the immiseration facing working people, like taxing the rich, single payer healthcare, and a living wage.

At the same time, the opportunities to build the left and socialist organization are the best they’ve been in decades. We need to mobilize a mass movement to defeat the far right on the streets. And we must construct a left political alternative that raises people's hopes and builds solidarity against the right’s attempts to scapegoat the poor, minorities, women, immigrants, and people of color for rising inequality and social despair.

Racism is not a new phenomenon and while it is an ongoing daily reality for vast numbers of people, it also often bursts from the shadows to remind us that just because we can keep ignoring the endless sequence of ‘minor’ racist incidents, racism has not gone away despite supposedly significant efforts to eliminate it. I say ‘supposedly’ because these past efforts, whatever personnel, resources and strategies have been devoted to them, have done nothing to address the underlying cause of racism and so their impact must be superficial and temporary. As the record demonstrates.

I say this not to denounce the effort made and, in limited contexts, the progress achieved, but if we want to eliminate racism, rather than confine it to the shadows for it to burst out periodically, then we must have the courage to understand what drives racism and design responses that address this cause.

1. Let’s start with the obvious. Charlottesville, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, are actually two completely different places in the world. The flood of concern and good wishes for those of us here in Charlottesville is wonderful and much appreciated. That people can watch TV news about Charlottesville, remember that I live in Charlottesville, and send me their kind greetings addressed to the people of Charlotte is an indication of how common the confusion is. It’s not badly taken; I have nothing against Charlotte. It’s just a different place, seventeen times the size. Charlottesville is a small town with the University of Virginia, a pedestrian downtown street, and very few monuments. The three located right downtown are for Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Confederacy. Neither Lee nor Jackson had anything to do with Charlottesville, and their statues were put up in whites-only parks in the 1920s.

Is silence on racism still racism? Does it matter?

hite supremacy survives on violence, but the President of the United States can’t, or won’t, bring himself to condemn either. Most Americans, it seems, don’t have that difficulty, judging by the outpouring of disgust with the President and the hail of statues coming down around the country.

That’s the encouraging early public response to President Trump’s reactionary news conference in Trump Tower in New York on August 15. The news conference was supposed to be about the nation’s highways and other physical infrastructure. Even though the actual remedy was limited to an executive order that’s supposed to reduce regulatory delays, Trump summarized his accomplishment by saying: “We are literally like a third-world country. Our infrastructure will again be the best. And we will restore the pride in our communities, our nation. And all over the United States will be proud again.”

Wednesday, August 23, 4pm
823 E. Long St.
Facebook event 
At a press conference today, Everyday People for Positive Change announces its finding of "no confidence" in Columbus city council, illustrating the "pay to play" nature of our city council at an apparent site of 'pay to play" politics, while presents our plan to build public confidence in our city council by reforming local campaign finance laws -- despite city council's unlawful objection.

Recent press reports have announced a city developer for the former McNabb Funeral Home site. A review of campaign finance documents show over $25,000 in contributions to Columbus elected officials by the development team, including a $5,000 contribution from an out-of-city and first-time-contributor to Mayor Ginther just two weeks before that contributor was named a co-developer.