Ward Churchill Solidarity Network

“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.

Here come the thought police

By Ralph E. Shaffer and R. William Robinson

With overwhelming bipartisan support, Rep. Jane Harman’s “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act” passed the House 404-6 late last month and now rests in Sen. Joe Lieberman’s Homeland Security Committee. Swift Senate passage appears certain.

Not since the “Patriot Act” of 2001 has any bill so threatened our constitutionally guaranteed rights.

The historian Henry Steele Commager, denouncing President John Adams’ suppression of free speech in the 1790s, argued that the Bill of Rights was not written to protect government from dissenters but to provide a legal means for citizens to oppose a government they didn’t trust. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence not only proclaimed the right to dissent but declared it a people’s duty, under certain conditions, to alter or abolish their government.

In that vein, diverse groups vigorously oppose Ms. Harman’s effort to stifle dissent. Unfortunately, the mainstream press and leading presidential candidates remain silent … keep reading.

“I Will Not Sit Quietly By While State Forces Terrorise My People.”

On November 8, 2007, Hone Harawira, Mâori Minister of Parliament, denounced recent attacks by the New Zealand “security” forces on Indigenous activists, revealing the systemic nature of the silencing of dissent around the world:

I will not sit quietly by, while State forces terrorize my people. . . . .

So let’s look at what this whole Terrorism thing means. What exactly is terrorism and who are we talking about when we call people terrorists? . . . .

Mr Speaker, when a member of this House characterizes terrorism as the importation of deadly diseases, the murder of innocent civilians, and the wholesale theft of a people’s lands and territories, is he referring to the terrorism of the colonial invasion of Aotearoa, because you’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to see those very terrorist activities in our own history? . . . .

The Mâori Party is no apologist for the regimes of either the Taliban or Saddam Hussein Mr Speaker, but neither are we so blind as to vote for a Bill clearly designed to punish those who would challenge injustice in Aotearoa. . . . .

This country is faced by the terror of silence; those who would silence the voice of radical protest, of vocal dissent and of genuine opposition; those who would tell us “wait, just wait, the police know what they’re doing.”. . .

Do you really think it’s acceptable behaviour for the state to use armed and masked gunmen to blockade communities, smash into people’s homes, hold innocent people at gun point, frighten children with guns, arrest and hold people without bail, and suppress all information on those cases? . . . .

We are not dumb; we are not blind; we are not deaf; and we will not be silenced. . . . .

The Mâori Party will oppose terrorism in all its forms, be it international terrorism or state terrorism, and we will stand alongside our people whenever our lands, our communities, and our people are threatened.

Click here to read entire statement.

Ward Churchill speaks to CU Journalism Class

I like Ward Churchill.

When he walked into my journalism class on Wednesday I could smell fire from a mile away.

Churchill’s crisp white shirt matched the white stripes in his hair, just as everything I knew about him up until meeting him was perfectly matched by his swagger.

Ward came to talk about his rather abusive relationship with the media throughout the past three years. Needless to say, he had a lot to articulate.

Enhanced by his mischievous smile and the witty banter to back it up, listening to Churchill talk was like taking part in a duel, except you forgot your arsenal. Every word from his clearly well equipped artillery is sharpened like a knife.

My mother would call him a smartass–a tall, highly publicized and irrefutable smartass. But isn’t that why we love him? That’s certainly part of it.

Ward Churchill is a man who, if nothing else, has seized our attention and caused us to think . . . the rest.

DePaul: Tenure Process Violated Professor Mehrene Larudee’s Rights

In addition to denying tenure to Professor Norman Finkelstein (a case that was recently settled), DePaul University also denied tenure to Professor Mehrene Larudee. According to a Review Board decision issued October 26, her rights were violated by DePaul during her tenure process.Unanimously approved for tenure by her department, the International Studies Program, as well as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LA&S), Prof. Larudee was turned down by the University Board on Promotion and Tenure (UBPT) in May, and the president denied her tenure in June. It is widely thought that she was denied for supporting Prof. Norman Finkelstein during his controversial tenure case last spring.