2nd ANNUAL ANTI-IMPERIALIST PICNIC

All are welcome!

Don't let 4th of July jingoism get you down! Join us in a rousing celebration of "Global Interdependence Day." Bring some food to share. We will provide the charcoal, Burgers (veggie and otherwise), Frisbees, and Wobbly song books.

Sunday, July 2, noon-4 p.m.

Mill River Recreation Area, Montague Road (Route 63), North Amherst
(take right fork at set of lights, go past North Amherst post office and strip of shops, turn right into park)

NO STARS AND STRIPES PLEASE.

Download our flyer here (Must have Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Sponsored by the Tom Mooney local of the Socialist Party USA. Info: Susan, susandor@crocker.com or 413-367-9356.

FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMEMORATES THE STONEWALL REBELLION OF 1969

JOIN US TO COMMEMORATE THE STONEWALL REBELLION
JUNE 28TH 4:30PM ON THE GREENFIELD TOWN COMMON

Late Friday evening, June 27, 1969, the New York City tactical police force conducted one of its regular raids on a Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. This time, the patrons of the bar and people from the community fought back. The four nights of protest now known as the Stonewall Rebellion are considered to be the inauguration of the gay liberation movement in the United States.

In commemoration of these historic "Days of Resistance", to honor the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer community in Franklin County, and to protest the homophobic violence and oppression that persists in our area and worldwide, a "Remember Stonewall: Out and Proud!" rally and speak-out will be held on Wednesday, June 28, at 4:30 p.m. on the Greenfield Town Common.

According to Diane Lincoln, owner of Bruce's Browser in Athol, "Hatred, intolerance, and ignorance of the reality of GLBT lives leads to violence, as it did at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, and as it continues today. Just ask Kevin Aviance, a gay New York musician who was savagely beaten and hospitalized by four young men earlier this month. We need to be visible and vocal, to show our faces and our lives to the world until everyone discovers that someone they know, love, and respect is gay, that we are in fact an integral part of the fabric of society."

"Remember Stonewall" is being sponsored by the Connecticut Valley Coalition for Women's Lives, a network of local activists concerned with making links between their various issues and projects. "Queer rights are essential to any social justice movement." says Leverett resident and Coalition participant Ann Ferguson. "Without them, no group will truly be free, because there are queers of all genders, races, classes, ethnicities, and nations. Marriage rights alone will not make us free: only our strong communities that refuse to stigmatize any consensual life style, and our solidarity with other social justice movements, will do that."

For more information about "Remember Stonewall," contact Susan Dorazio at susandor@crocker.com.

6/22 Hal Draper's The Two Souls of Socialism (Thurs)

The Tom Mooney Local will be hosting a discussion based on The Two Souls of Socialism by Hal Draper, 7pm on Thursday, June 22nd (see link below). We will meet in the UMass Campus Center room 804-808, courtesy of the UMass Antiwar Coalition.

Hal Draper originally wrote The Two Souls of Socialism in 1966 and it remains one of the best essays highlighting two distinct traditions within the socialist movement and the debate over socialism from above or below. Draper argues that Marx's greatest contribution to politics was to link the struggle for socialism with the autonomous activity of the working class. Either the working class is a tool for a new 'enlightened' elite to take power, or else workers themselves must lead the way to a classless society.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1966/twosouls/index.htm

If you need transportation, please let us know!
SPMass@gmail.com

6/14 Tom Mooney Local Meeting (Wed)

The Tom Mooney Local of the Socialist Party USA Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, June 14th, at 7:00PM
Bangs Center, Amherst
Parking Map: http://people.umass.edu/a87m000/folkdance/parking.htm

All are welcome!


On the agenda:

Local comrades Matthew Andrews and Susan Dorazio are back from the Socialist Party National Committee meeting in Milwaukee and will report on our national campaigns and other developments.

The SPUSA is coordinating a national day of action on June 20th in solidarity with the Fair Foods Campaign. Farmworkers and allies are demanding another penny per pound of tomatoes picked for McDonalds.

The Young People’s Socialist League, youth affiliates of the SPUSA, is organizing youth across New England to visit Amherst Sunday, June 25th, to help collect signatures to get Eric Chester on the ballot for Congress. We will also meet for dinner and discuss regional organizing and car-pooling out to our National Convention this summer in Detroit, Michigan.

Remember Stone Wall! The SP be at the Greenfield town vigil on June 28th to remember this important moment in the Gay Liberation movement.

Pick up flyers and help us advertise our 4th of July anti-jingoism picnic (Saturday, July 1st). Last year was a great success, with lots of food, playing catch, and singing old-time radical hymes.

Please come and feel free to bring your own proposals for the agenda.

Let us know if you need transportation to attend our meeting. A car pool can be arranged.
SPMass@gmail.com