Ward Churchill Solidarity Network

Columbus Day Protests: mixed verdict

During the first trial of the 2007 Transform Columbus Day protesters, the judge refused to allow the defenders to talk about previous Columbus Day Parades, and cut short their explanations concerning their motivations and their arguments under international law.  It was, therefore, almost impossible for them to explain to the jury why they believed it necessary to protest Denver’s annual celebration of Columbus’ legacy of slavery and genocide.

Nonetheless, the jury returned split and somewhat contradictory verdicts in the first three cases:  Glenn Morris was found guilty of one charge of disrupting a lawful assembly, and not guilty of obstructing a passage and interference. Koreena Montoya was found guilty of obstructing and resistance, not guilty of disruption and interference. Rev. Julie Todd was found guilty of obstructing, not guilty of disrupting and interference.

In sentencing, the city prosecutor asked the court to “deter” people planning to demonstrate at the DNC by imposing a $999 fine and a year in jail on each of the TCD defenders. Judge Jordan instead fined Glenn Morris and Koreena Montoya  $200 and court costs, with no jail time; Julie Todd received a $100 fine (with $50 suspended).  Glenn Morris was also ordered to pay the city $325 restitution for the hazmat response to the fake blood that was poured into the street.

About 70 other Columbus Day defenders await trial.

“A Time to Break Silence” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

As we see how Dr. King’s life and message has been sanitized for mainstream consumption, we   recall his April 4, 1967 speech at Riverside Church in NYC, “Beyond Vietnam – A Time to Break Silence,” in which he said:

Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in times of war. . .

On the “why do they hate us” question of that era, King quoted a Buddhist monk:

Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct.   The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies.  It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat.   The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.

He also quoted John F. Kennedy:  “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable,” and added that

Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.

We must not only break silence, but defend those being silenced.

Click here to hear Martin Luther King’s April 4, 1967 speech.

Transform Columbus Day Protestors on Trial in Denver

The trials of more than 80 protestors of Denver’s annual celebration of Columbus’ legacy of genocide and slavery began in Denver municipal court January 16. For updates, see http://www.tcda07.blogspot.com/

Repress U — Michael Gould-Wartofsky

Free-speech zones. Taser guns. Hidden cameras. Data mining. A new security curriculum. Private security contractors. Welcome to the homeland security campus.

From Harvard to UCLA, the ivory tower is fast becoming the latest watchtower in Fortress America. The terror warriors, having turned their attention to “violent radicalization and homegrown terrorism prevention”–as it was recently dubbed in a House of Representatives bill of the same name–have set out to reconquer that traditional hotbed of radicalization, the university.

Building a homeland security campus and bringing the university to heel is a seven-step mission . . . . keep reading.

For more on the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism” bill which passed the House and is now in a Senate committee, see Ward Churchill on Democracy Now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_snF1EDQlg

New Year’s Greetings from the WCSN

We hope 2008 finds each of you healthy and in good spirits, ready for a new round of struggles for a just and sustainable world.

At the Ward Churchill Solidarity Network, we are grateful for all the support we have received, and look forward to continuing to work with you on the many cases around the country and the globe where academic freedom and the right to political dissent are being suppressed.

A quick update:  In addition to teaching a weekly voluntary class organized by students at the University of Colorado, Ward Churchill had a full fall of speaking engagements across the U.S.  Most recently, he spoke on Zionism and Manifest Destiny to an overflow crowd at the University of California at Davis.  Despite the usual threats of disruption, the event went smoothly and was well received, illustrating, as Ward’s talks consistently do, that when people actually get to hear a “controversial” speaker, they find themselves challenged by and appreciative of new ideas. In addition to engagements in Canada, from Toronto to Vancouver, Prof. Churchill was also a featured speaker at the National Book Fair in Caracas, Venezuela, in early November.

Ward Churchill filed suit in July against the University of Colorado, charging CU with having fired him in retaliation for speech protected by the First Amendment, and having used the bogus “investigation” of his scholarship as a pretext.  That case is now in the “discovery” phase, in which each side will be taking depositions, posing/answering written interrogatories, and producing documents pertaining to the underlying facts.  It will probably get to trial before a Denver jury in late summer or fall of 2008.

In the meantime, we have many expenses.  We received generous donations from many folks, but still need to raise approximately $30,000 for court reporters, transcripts, copies, airfare and expenses of witnesses, and the hiring of experts.  All funds raised will go directly to attorney David Lane, to be used to cover these costs.

Please consider planning a fundraiser, or sending a donation to:
David Lane, Esq.
c/o WCSN
PO Box 20035
Boulder, CO 80308

Questions?  Contact us at wcsn@wardchurchill.net

MLA Condemns CU for Retaliation against Ward Churchill

At its annual meeting, the Modern Language Association passed this resolution:

RESOLUTION TO CONDEMN UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
FOR ITS RETALIATION AGAINST WARD CHURCHILL

Whereas, upon criticism of Professor Ward Churchill for his remarks concerning the 9/11 attacks, the University of Colorado initiated proceedings against him, and whereas such acts of retribution threaten free expression in the university setting, particularly against those in historically marginalized disciplines,

Be it resolved that the Modern Language Association condemns this action of the President and Regents of the University of Colorado.