LIVE from Las Vegas: Advancing the cause of civil rights in the twenty first century
It's lunchtime here at Netroots Nation 2010 in Las Vegas, and we're midway through our program on civil rights in the modern era, featuring Eliseo Medina, Kate Kendell, Tim Wise, and Rev. Lennox Yearwood, with Mike Lux as moderator.
The lunch program actually began with speeches from the podium by each of the panelists, who addressed us one by one. We're into the panel part of the program now, with the folks mentioned above seated in easy chairs around a coffee table on the main stage. My appetite for the panel was whetted by the speeches delivered from the podium by Eliseo, Kate, Tim, Lennox, and Mike. Each of them brings a different perspective to this topic — a perspective that is valuable and important.
Eliseo (who serves as Executive Vice President for SEIU) honed in on the challenges facing immigrants, observing that people who are new to this country are not going to be able to stand up to intolerance and bigotry by themselves. "The only way we're going to win is to build our power, and our power is our votes," he declared.
Kate reviewed some of the LGBT community's recent court victories (like Doe v. Reed, a case which originated in Washington State) and shared her own life's story with attendees. She made a strong case for bridge-building, arguing that the civil rights movement will be stronger through collaboration. (For instance, the organization she leads has been reaching out to help LGBT migrant farm workers).
Tim Wise used his speaking time to eloquently connect the dots between racism and the decline in popular support for public services that help the unemployed or disadvantaged. He didn't mention Majora Carter's presentation from last night, but he (perhaps unintentionally) drew a parallel with it, noting that our present economic woes began with banks preying on low-income minorities. "If the predatory lending/subprime mortgage crisis had been addressed when it started in communities of color, we'd all be better off," he said to applause.
The Rev. Lennox Yearwood, who serves as President of the National Hip Hop Caucus, echoed Kendell's call for unity. "We will not be successful in the progressive movement segregated," he asserted. He urged the convention to spend its time organizing and mobilizing for change, doing real advocacy and outreach, and not merely monitoring and responding to the likes of Glenn Beck. He's got a point. Media response is defense. Infrastructure building and organizing is offense. And we need more offense.
The lunch program actually began with speeches from the podium by each of the panelists, who addressed us one by one. We're into the panel part of the program now, with the folks mentioned above seated in easy chairs around a coffee table on the main stage. My appetite for the panel was whetted by the speeches delivered from the podium by Eliseo, Kate, Tim, Lennox, and Mike. Each of them brings a different perspective to this topic — a perspective that is valuable and important.
Eliseo (who serves as Executive Vice President for SEIU) honed in on the challenges facing immigrants, observing that people who are new to this country are not going to be able to stand up to intolerance and bigotry by themselves. "The only way we're going to win is to build our power, and our power is our votes," he declared.
Kate reviewed some of the LGBT community's recent court victories (like Doe v. Reed, a case which originated in Washington State) and shared her own life's story with attendees. She made a strong case for bridge-building, arguing that the civil rights movement will be stronger through collaboration. (For instance, the organization she leads has been reaching out to help LGBT migrant farm workers).
Tim Wise used his speaking time to eloquently connect the dots between racism and the decline in popular support for public services that help the unemployed or disadvantaged. He didn't mention Majora Carter's presentation from last night, but he (perhaps unintentionally) drew a parallel with it, noting that our present economic woes began with banks preying on low-income minorities. "If the predatory lending/subprime mortgage crisis had been addressed when it started in communities of color, we'd all be better off," he said to applause.
The Rev. Lennox Yearwood, who serves as President of the National Hip Hop Caucus, echoed Kendell's call for unity. "We will not be successful in the progressive movement segregated," he asserted. He urged the convention to spend its time organizing and mobilizing for change, doing real advocacy and outreach, and not merely monitoring and responding to the likes of Glenn Beck. He's got a point. Media response is defense. Infrastructure building and organizing is offense. And we need more offense.
# Posted by Andrew : 12:31 PM
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