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Be Realistic, Demand the Impossible:
Locations, Dates, and Description
Let's build on the past
and fight for a better future for all!
Dates: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
(2/15-2/17)
Location: Bayard Rustin HS; 351 W. 18th
Street (btw 8th and 9th Aves.) in New York
City
The slogan ?be realistic,
demand the impossible? inspired many during the 1968 student and worker uprising
in France. At home, as they do today, young American progressives
marched for civil rights and against the war. Four decades later, young radicals
are still involved in the struggle for a peaceful and just society. Progressive
social movements are encountering newfound opportunities, creating
optimism not seen since the 1960's. The deterioration of our domestic
Right and the rise of the democratic socialist project in Latin America are tied
to a growing blowback against authoritarian corporate globalization.
While we have cause for
optimism, we cannot afford to be idle - for nothing is written in stone.
The likes of CNN?s Lou Dobbs present a potential new form of reactionary and
authoritarian capitalism, but we must remember the political and social change
from the 1950's to 1960's was hard to predict and impossible to ignore.
The role of young people and students will be just as important in the coming
period. This conference will give people the tools and knowledge to be
effective freedom fighters and movement builders in the years to come.
For us to create long
lasting radical change we must revive a youth movement that is both
democratic in foundation and socialist in orientation. Such a visionary youth
movement connected with the broader progressive movement shall make the
impossible a reality. Let?s begin the conversation today that will bring
about the victories of tomorrow. |
Fantastic Speakers, Workshops, and
Panels
Workshops and
panels will feature organizers and trainers from the anti-racist, feminist,
youth, queer rights, labor union, ecology, and anti-war movements, as well as
noted activist scholars and voices from the democratic left.
We are
still developing the full program, but the preliminary list of speakers
includes:
Manning Marable, holds the position of Professor of Public
Affairs, Political Science, and History at Columbia University, where he founded
and directed the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. His
current project is Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. He was recently
elected Chair of Movement for a Democratic Society (MDS), the incorporated
non-profit arm of Students for a Democratic Society . He sits on the
Board of Directors for the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), a non-profit
coalition of prominent public figures dedicated to utilizing hip hop as an agent
for social change.
Bill Fletcher Jr., longtime trade union activist.
Former president of TransAfrica Forum, former co-chair of United for
Peace and Justice, founder of the Black Radical Congress, and former
Education Director of the AFL-CIO. He is also co-author (with Fernando
Gapasin) of the forthcoming book on the crisis of organized labor,
Solidarity Divided. Member of Democratic Socialists of America, YDS?s parent
organization.
Frances Fox Piven, is widely recognized as one of
America's most thoughtful and provocative commentators on America's social
welfare system. In the 1960s, Piven worked with welfare-rights groups to
expand benefits; in the eighties and nineties she campaigned relentlessly
against welfare cutbacks. A veteran of the war on poverty and subsequent
welfare-rights protests both in New York City and on the national stage, she has
been instrumental in formulating the theoretical underpinnings of those
movements. She currently teaches at the Graduate School of the City
University of New York, author of The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of
Bush's Militarism, Poor People's Movements, Why Americans Don't Vote, and
The New Class War, and is a Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists
of America.
Nancy Fraser, is a professor of Political Science at the
New School University in New York. A noted socialist feminist thinker
concerned with conceptions of justice, she argues that justice is a complex
concept which must be understood from the standpoint of three separate yet
interrelated dimensions: distribution (of resources), recognition (of the
varying contributions of different groups), and representation (linguistic).
Her previous books include Unruly Practices, Justice Interruptus
and, with Judith Butler, Drucilla Cornell and Seyla Benhabib, Feminist
Contentions. In addition to her many publications and lectures,
Fraser is also the editor of Constellations, an international journal
of critical and democratic theory.
Stephen Eric Bronner, distinguished
Professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University
and author of the new book: Peace Out of Reach: Middle Eastern Travels and
the Search for Reconciliation. His other works include Blood in
the Sand: Imperial Fantasies, Right-Wing Ambitions, and the Erosion of American
Democracy and Socialism Unbound. He is the Senior Editor
of Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture. Member of
Democratic Socialists of America.
Jose LaLuz, Vice Chair of the
Democratic Socialists of America. While at AFSCME, a union for public
sector employees, Jose LaLuz led one of the largest organizing drives in the
trade union movement and is regarded as the principal strategist in the fight
for passage of public sector collective bargaining legislation in Puerto Rico,
which paved the way for the unionization of more than 120,000 public
employees.
Joseph Schwartz, Chair, Department of Political
Science, Temple University
and Chair, Steering Committee of the Democratic Socialists
of America. Schwartz is
the author of the upcoming book, The Future of Democratic
Equality.
Corey
D. B. Walker, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at
Brown University,
author of the forthcoming book, Between Transcendence
and History: Theology, Critical Theory, and the Politics of
Liberation. He is a member of the National Political Committee of the
Democratic Socialists of America.
Conference sessions will cover critical
topics, such as:
*Mobilizing
for immigrant rights
*Combating
racism, sexism, and homophobia
*Ending the
wars abroad and in our own communities
*Exposing the
realities of the low wage economy
*Understanding democratic socialist theory and
practice
*Building a
vibrant democracy
*Engaging in
anti-corporate campaigns and student-labor solidarity
*Linking
struggles through multi-issue organizing
*Understand
current religious social movements
*Challenging capitalism and corporate domination
*Learning the
nuts and bolts of grassroots activism
*Building
activist chapters and campaigns
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Registration, Fundraising/Travel Tips,
Directions, and YDS Contact Information
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION:
Conference registration will be available within the next few weeks.
There are special pre-registration rates for those who register early. On
the registration site you can indicate if you need help with housing and travel
costs. There will be travel scholarship and housing deadlines.
Priority will go to YDS members and those interested in
starting chapters.
FUNDRAISING AND TRAVEL TIPS:
DIRECTIONS TO BAYARD
RUSTIN HS:
There are many different ways
to get to the main conference location: Bayard Rustin HS. We've compiled
directions to Bayard Rustin for coming from airports, trains, subways, and
buses. If you would like more assistance, please feel free to contact us
at yds@dsausa.org.
YDS CONTACT
INFORMATION:
To learn more and sign up for YDS
e-mail updates check out: www.ydsusa.org
RSVP on our Facebook event to stay up to date and communicate with
conference attendees. You can contact our national
office at yds@dsausa.org or call
212-727-8610 ext. 4 |
PLEASE HELP US
SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BY FORWARDING THIS MESSAGE FAR AND WIDE --
THANK YOU |
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YOUNG DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS