HUDSON
VALLEY ACTIVIST CALENDAR
March 13, 2013, Issue #666
———————————————————————
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our March
7 rally in Defense of Women’s Rights at SUNY New Paltz was a success, despite
the snowstorm. An article is in the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter that is
also being posted today at http://activistnewsletter.blogspot.com/.
SAVE THE DATE Saturday, April
13, for our “U.S. DRONES OUT OF MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA, & EVERYWHERE” protest
in New Paltz, coinciding with nationwide demonstrations. Join our picket line
with signs visible to busy traffic at 10:30 a.m. in front of the Elting Library
(Main St. across from Starbucks). At 12 noon we will march with signs and leaflets
through the business district (about a half hour). Organized by the Hudson
Valley Activist Newsletter. Information, jacdon@earthlink.net. There are two
nearby public parking lots on Plattekill Ave., including at Village Hall.
———————————————————————
Thursday, March 14, NEW
PALTZ (SUNY campus): The important documentary “40 Years Later: Now Can We Talk?” will be screened free at 5 p.m. in Lecture
Center 104. Barnard College Professor Lee Anne Bell, who worked with filmmaker
Markie Hancock to produce the film, will speak at the showing. The film tells
the story of the first African Americans to integrate the white high school in
Batesville, Miss., in 1967-69. In 2005, black alumni were invited to their
class reunion for the first time in 40 years. “By interspersing separate group
discussions among black and white former students with a dialogue between both
groups the film provides a moving story of the impact of desegregation then and
now.” Sponsors include the Educational Studies Dept., Elementary Education
Dept., Humanistic/Multicultural Education Program, Women, Gender and Sexuality
Studies Program, English Dept., and Progressive Academic Network. Campus map: http://www.newpaltz.edu/map/.
Thursday, March 14-15, 17, 22, HUDSON: Time & Space Limited,
434 Columbia St. is the venue for four showings of the new environmental
documentary “A Fierce Green Fire: The
Battle for a Living Planet.” The 88-minute film spans 50 years of
grassroots and global activism. Information, (518) 822-8100,
fyi@timeandspace.org.
Friday, March 15, TROY:
A talk on “Politics, Protest and Music,” followed by a Q&A, will start at 7
p.m. at Oakwood
Community Center, 313 10th St. The speaker is John Halle, Director of Studies
in Music Theory and Practice at Bard College. A donation of $5 requested, $2 unemployed and students. Sponsors
include Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. Information,
(518) 505-0948, jonathan.flanders@verizon.net.
Friday, March 15, NEW
PALTZ: There will be a free screening of the 77-minute documentary: “The Sacred
Science,” concerning eight people with serious illnesses who embark on a
healing journey for 30 days, into the Peruvian Amazon jungle. The event begins
at 8:15 p.m. at the Elting Library, 93 Main St. Sponsored by New Paltz
Neighbors for Peace. Information, tellall45@yhoo.com.
Saturday, March 16,
KINGSTON: A demonstration against the Keystone XL Tar Sands project, which would
bring super greenhouse causing oil into the U.S. from Canada, will be held 11
a.m.-1 p.m. in front of the TD Bank, 411 Washington Ave.
This bank is pipeline corporation TransCanada’s top shareholder. Participants are encouraged to wear black. We’re
told, “Call Morganne Montana if interested in a peaceful demonstration to
reject Canada’s Tar Sands and demand clean energy.” Information (503) 704-3635.
Saturday, March 16,
MIDDLETOWN: American democracy is thoroughly subverted when millionaires,
billionaires, powerful corporations and Wall St. determine electoral outcomes
on the basis of their huge campaign contributions. A 1 p.m. meeting at the Thrall
Library, 11-19 Depot St., will discuss the rational alternative to such a
system — public financing. Speakers include
Citizen Action of New York Director Karen Scharff; Middletown NAACP
President James Rollins; Assembly members James Skoufis and Aileen Gunter; and
Sparrow Tobin, Democratic Minority Leader of the Orange County
Legislature and president of the Catskill-Hudson Central Labor
Council. “Already in place in several states and in NYC, this system has begun
to change the game,” says Citizen Action, the sponsor. All are welcome.
RSVP here or come at the last minute:
Sunday, March 17,
RHINEBECK: The Mid-Hudson Vegetarian Society is hosting a free screening of the
78-minute 2004 documentary "Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, 1:30 p.m.
at UpState Films. This film “explores the ethical awakening of several people
who grew up in traditional farming culture and have now come to question the
basic assumptions of their way of life.” There will be a reception and talk by
filmmakers Jenny Stein and James LaVeck at nearby Rhinebeck Town Hall following
the film. Information (and reception reservations), (845) 876-2626,
revp@mbhs.org.
Friday-Sunday, March
22-24, TROY: A three-day “Ecosocialist Convergence” will take place at the Sanctuary for Independent
Media, 3361 6th Ave., in north Troy (just below 101 St.). The weekend is sponsored
by Ecosocialist Horizons and it is “devoted to organizing to bring about an
ecologically sustainable and politically equitable society.” Full information
is at http://www/ecosocialisthorizons.com/.
Directions, http://www.mediasanctuary.org/directions.
Saturday, March 23, NEW
ROCHELLE: Women in Black Westchester will conduct a vigil in solidarity with
the Palestinian people 2-3 p.m. at Main St. and Memorial Highway. It is
sponsored by WESPAC and local CodePink. Information, ceilie@aol.com, (914)
654-8990.
Saturday, March 23,
ALBANY: The great documentary about the 1973 Brookside coal mine strike,
“Harlan County,” will start at 7 p.m. at First Unitarian Universalist Society, 405 Washington
Ave. Doug Bullock, First Vice President of the Albany County Central Federation
of Labor (AFL-CIO) will lead a discussion after the film. It’s public and free. Sponsors are the
Solidarity Committee of the Capital District, Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace,
and Upper Hudson Peace Action. Information, dbull34@verizon.net, http://www.jflan.net/solidarity.
Sunday, March 24, ELLENVILLE: Liana Hoodes, executive
director of the National Organic Coalition, will discuss "The Politics of Food & Farming...
and Why You Should Care," beginning at 4 p.m. This free public event will
be held at Empowering Ellenville, 159 Canal St. It is
sponsored by Occupy South Ulster. Information, (845) 699-3051, querckwooda@yahoo.com.
Wednesday, March 27,
WHITE PLAINS: A Call to Action for Women’s Equality will be featured during the
annual meeting of the Lower Hudson Valley NYCLU, starting at 7 p.m. at the
Westchester Ethical Culture Society, 7 Saxon Woods Rd. The meeting will focus
on the Women‘s Equality Agenda — Gov. Cuomo’s 10-point legislative plan. There
will be speakers from the NYCLU and Planned Parenthood. Information, (914)
997-7479, lowerhudsonvalley@nyclu.org.
Wednesday, March 27,
NYACK: Local activists are invited to
the kick-off meeting of Rockland Peace Action, a new chapter of Peace Action
New York. The 7-8:15 p.m. event will be held in the Nyack Library Community
Meeting Room, 59 South Broadway. The guest speaker is the Executive Director of
Peace Action N.Y. Information, (845) 358-3420, rocklandpeaceaction@yahoo.com.
Friday, March 29, NEW
PALTZ: A discussion and sale of a newly published book by political prisoner
Russell Maroon Shoatz will begin at 7 p.m. at Inquiring Minds Bookstore, 6 Church St.
Shoatz, a former member of the Philadelphia Black Panther Party who was associated
with the New African Liberation Army, has been imprisoned for about 40 years,
much of it in solitary confinement. The book is titled "Maroon the Implacable: The Life and Writings of Political
Prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz." The free event will be presented
by editor Quincy Saul and Theresa Shoatz (the author's daughter). Information, (845) 255-8300, inquiringmindsevents@gmail.com.
