Next Meeting Sunday, November 23rd

Hey everyone,

We won't have a Wednesday meeting this week, but our next general meeting is this Sunday, November 23rd at 5pm in the Heritage Room of the Union. Check out the latest Urgent Action at
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa31608.pdf and bring your letter to the meeting.

Please find some new info on the Corporate Accountability section of our wiki. http://sites.google.com/site/ouaiwiki/ (Extra special thanks to Jace for all the info on living wage). If you would like to contribute to the research on this wiki, all you need is a google account. Send your google account info to this address and we will authorize you.

As far as Corporate Accountability goes, for the rest of the semester we will be screening documentaries on this subject to watch as a group and planning for the film series on this campaign, that will happen in the two weeks leading into the Statewide Conference.

Good luck with classes and see you soon

Sarah

2008 Southern Regional Conference in Memphis

We dressed up for halloween on the drive to Memphis

Jaribu Hill and William Lucy were two of the panelists in the opening session, both labor leaders from the south.  

Jaribu Hill led us in song to open the panel discussion.  She is the founder and director of the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights, and also founded the Southern Human Rights Organizers' Conference.  Check out this article she wrote about Human Rights organizing in the south that touches on some of the things she talked about last weekend.  If you want to hear some of her powerful singing in front of crowds, check out this video I found of her singing at the Million Worker March in D.C. in 2004.  

 

Here's some info I found about Bill Lucy on his bio on AFSMSE website:  "For more than three decades, Lucy has been involved in international affairs; he is the highest-ranking African American in the Labor movement. He was one of the founders of the Free South Africa Movement that launched the successful anti-apartheid campaign in the United States in the mid 1980s. He led an AFL-CIO delegation to South Africa to monitor the first democratic election. Lucy serves as vice-president of Public Services International, the world's largest union federation. He also serves on the boards of directors for the International Rescue Committee, Americans for Democratic Action and the Center for Policy Alternatives.

He is a founder and the president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), an organization of union leaders and rank-and-file members dedicated to the unique needs of African Americans and minority group workers."

This is the Southern Regional Director, Jared Feuer, keeping us updated on Amnesty's membership drive.

Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty USA, speaks to us at lunch on Saturday about the new direction of AmnestyWe sat next to him on the bus to the Civil Rights Museum and he was really interested in coming to visit us in Oklahoma!The motel where Dr. King was assassinated has been turned into the National Civil Rights Museum.  They have a cool website with a lot of photos and information.  

We had a great time and can't wait for the 2009 conference in Atlanta!!