‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Raise Your Voice: The last martyr smiled
By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Elliot Park (1000 E. 14th St.) was host on April 6 to Sudanese immigrants, friends, and families, who had come to observe a revolutionary moment. In Khartoum, a million people surrounded the armed forces. Soldiers were leaving the compound to celebrate among the people. The 30-year dictatorship of al-Bashir was about to fall”¦ and it did! It is not too soon to begin casting the vision for a new Sudan, including the reconstruction of the historic irrigation system. Naturally, the prison gates have been breached, freeing the comrades to the democratic process. What might we take home from the heart of Africa? For all time, the Sudanese people have demonstrated the possibility of implementing fundamental change by nonviolent means. (Hey, why wait for some mythical Red Army to drop from the sky?) Anything else? We are witness to a Muslim people who have taken down an “Islamic” state. How does this square with the [...]
Raise Your Voice: A worker”'s proud moment
By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Circulating within the ranks of organized labor is a sign-on statement with the caption: “Union Members Stand United with Rep. Ilhan Omar.” It reads: “Rep. Ilhan Omar is a fighter for working people who upholds her time as a union member with pride and continues to stand with unions, with working people, and with all who are oppressed. “Just a couple months into her first term as one of the first two Muslim women ever elected to Congress, Rep. Omar faces unprecedented attacks. Her statements and intentions are being purposely twisted in cynical and disingenuous ways to try to discredit and isolate her. “As union members we understand the importance of solidarity when our union siblings are under attack. The biggest enemies of working people and unions, like Donald Trump and his followers ”“ who themselves are guilty of enabling violent antisemitism and white supremacy ”“ are stoking the [...]
Raise Your Voice: Blessed community
Peter Molenaar By PETER MOLENAAR Feb. 11, 2019”¦ I would brave the slippery streets, with the ongoing sixth mass species extinction in mind, in order to participate in the public visioning phase of the HOTB Mayday Parade. This was to be the last opportunity to make a modest appearance. The chairs of the Avalon meeting room were well occupied to receive Sandy Spieler”'s guidance. As it turned out, Sandy had been entitled to choose this year”'s theme, and rightfully so. In keeping with Martin Luther King”'s intent, she chose: “Blessed Community.” To develop this theme, the gathering was tasked to a rotating series of workshops, set in the auditorium. My first stop was captioned: “Barriers to a Blessed community.” The tally of square sticker tag commentary was to reveal an old question of causality: Is the human condition a consequence of “human nature,” or is human nature a reflection of social systems? An [...]
