RU Ready 4 R2K?
Activities already planned include: Unity 2000 Rally and March: This multi-issue, multi-constituency rally is being planned by a still growing coalition. Labor, environmentalists, feminists, LGBTQ groups, anti-racism activists and others will be joining in to call for a different direction for the country. It will take place on Sunday, July 30. March for Economic Justice: Called by the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, this event will follow up on the themes of its ongoing Campaign for Economic Human Rights. It will coincide with the first day of the Convention — Monday, July 31. Many other events, both connected to and outside of the R2K’s Unity 2000 umbrella, are sure to take place during the week. To get the news out as these events happen, and to coordinate information beforehand, the coalition has formed the Independent Media Center of Philadelphia, a non-profit organization that will create an actual media center similar to that in Seattle, with its comprehensive website, a centralized production and distribution operation, daily newspaper (Blind Spot), and video facilities. The Center will facilitate exchange between activists and journalists, and provide media training for activists in press release preparation, interviewing and speaking skills, media production techniques. In addition, the IMC will engage in media criticism and advocate for democratic media. Ideally, the IMC will continue as a progressive media hub after the Republican Convention. One hurdle that organizers of all the marches face is the city of Philadelphia’s offer to Republicans first right of refusal over the use of every public space of any consequence in Philadelphia. The city’s position was unacceptable to the R2K Network. So various organizations, assisted by the Philadelphia ACLU, took the city to court and have now reached an accommodation with the City so that we can demonstrate and dissent in public. The list of endorsers for the Unity 2000 March already includes organizations from many states, international organizations, and a number of national groups including DSA. The DSA National Steering Committee recently voted to endorse both the Unity 2000 March and the March for Universal Healthcare.
The Republicans coming to Philadelphia this summer for their National Convention (July 31-August 4) are expecting all the spotlights to be on them as they “pick” their next presidential contender. But if the R2K network has its way, the Convention won’t be the only Philadelphia event in the media limelight. Since last summer, representatives of various groups, convened by the Pennsylvania Consumer Action Network (PCAN), have been meeting to plan a progressive response to the arrival of the Republicans. Known as the R2K Network, the group has been elaborating plans to take advantage of the media presence surrounding the Convention to get progressive messages out to the country.
March for Universal Health Care: This is being coordinated by the Philadelphia Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Health Care and will take place on Saturday, July 29.
For R2K general info and action alerts, send an email to:
philly2000-subscribe@listbot.com
For discussion of July 30, send an email to:
july30-subscribe@listbot.com
For info about the media center, send an email to:
R2K_Media-subscribe@listbot.com
There is also a website at http://www.unity2000.com.
Another group is beginning to plan actions around the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles in August. For further information about these activities, contact (323) 660-3249 (voice); (323) 292-7405 (fax); or fithiani@igc.org.