SOIL in the New York Times

Nick Kristof of the New York Times visited Haiti last week and interviewed our friends in Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL). Please take a few minutes to check out their amazing work through Kristof's eyes:
The Video
The Article

Tom Hayden

Thanks to Tom Hayden and approximately 200 people who attended.

SDS presents: Tom Hayden

On Thursday, March 12, Tom Hayden will be speaking at 7pm at the UWM Zelazo Center (2400 E. Kenwood). This event is free and open to the public.

Tom Hayden has been an activist and author since the early 1960s. He was active in Students for a Democratic Society, and is the principal author of "The Port Huron Statement." He was also one of the "Chicago 8" (along with Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale, and Dave Dellinger) tried for conspiracy following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Since the 1960s, Hayden has authored several books, including The Love of Possession is a Disease with Them, Ending the War in Iraq, The Zapatista Reader and Writings for a Democratic Society. He also served as a California state legislator from 1982 to 2000.

His speech at the 1999 WTO Protests in Seattle is featured in the documentary This Is What Democracy Looks Like. He is currently a national co-director of No More Sweatshops! and regularly writes for The Nation and The Huffington Post.

SDS presents: Stephen Duncombe

On Friday, March 6, activist, author, and professor Stephen Duncombe will be speaking in the UWM Fireside Lounge at 7pm. The talk is entitled, "Re-Imagining Radicalism for the 21st Century, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Las Vegas."

Duncombe is a professor of the history and politics of media and culture at the Gallatin School of New York University. His books include Notes From Underground, The Cultural Resistance Reader, and Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy.

This event is sponsored by Milwaukee SDS, the Student Labor Action Coalition, the MGAA Solidarity Committee, the Alliance of History Graduate Students, and the Center for 21st Century Studies at UWM.

Free and open to the public.

Saul Williams + Rosemond Jolissaint

Thanks to the approximately 800 people that came to see Rosemond Jolissaint and Saul Williams.

Which Side Are You On?

Exhibition featuring work from the Justseeds Radical Artists’ Cooperative
From March 5 through April 3 the UWM Union Art Gallery will present Which Side Are You On?, featuring the work of 20 plus artists who are part of the Justseeds Radical Artists’ Cooperative. The exhibition reception is on Thursday, March 5 from 5-8pm. An exhibition preview will take place on March 3 at 5pm. All events are free and open to the public.

Justseeds is a decentralized radical art cooperative consisting of 20 plus artists who live in Brooklyn, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Portland, Milwaukee, and other cities across North America. Together they work on a myriad of projects where art is used as a tool to serve social justice movements. Justseeds is best known for their political prints, a blog that serves as a home for socially engaged street art and news, their group installations, and a recent portfolio project in honor of the 10-year Anniversary of Critical Resistance (a grass roots organization committed to opposing the prison-industrial complex.)

In early March, the Justseeds Radical Artists’ Cooperative will create a massive floor-to-ceiling, all encompassing installation that combines elements of street art, sculpture, video, and other mediums. Which Side Are You On? examines the use of walls as physical and mental barriers that create de-facto segregation, whether it is the walls that divide nation states, the streets that separate one side of town from the other, or the barriers that separate humans from the environment. Which Side Are You On? challenges these barriers while envisioning a more just and sustainable future.

At 5pm on Tuesday, March 3, an exhibition preview will take place at the Union Art Gallery. Stop by for a chance to see the Justseeds installation in progress. During the walk through, meet and talk with the artists involved in the installation.

In conjunction with this exhibition, Union Programming is hosting an evening with Justseeds founder, Josh MacPhee, on Monday, March 2 at 7pm in the Union Fireside Lounge. In his talk, The Walls Are Talking: Street Art and Social Movements, MacPhee will present an in-depth discussion about street art and graffiti and their role at four historical times, between 1968 and 2003. The lecture is free and open to the public. Josh will also lead a printmaking workshop in the Union Studio Arts and Craft Centre on Saturday, March 7 from 12:30-3:30pm. Call 229-5535 for information on the fee and to register.

Which Side Are You On? is cosponsored by UWM Students for a Democratic Society.

Gallery hours are Monday thru Wednesday 12-5pm, Thursday 12-7pm and Friday thru Saturday 12-5pm. The Gallery is located in room W199 on the Campus Level of the Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Boulevard.

Saul Williams at UWM

An Evening with Saul Williams
Wednesday, February 25th
Opening performance by Rosemond Jolissaint
7:30PM

Union Wisconsin Room
Advance tickets: UWM Students FREE
(Pick up at the UWM Bookstore with your student ID)
$5 Non-UWM Students
$8 Staff/Faculty/Alumni
$10 General Public
Door: $8 Non-UWM Students
$10 Staff/Faculty/Alumni, $12 General Public
UWM Students may receive one complimentary ticket (while available)
at the door with their student ID
A sign language interpreter will be provided
A reception and book signing will follow the lecture

Join us for an evening of poetry with spoken word artist/actor Saul Williams. The multi-talented Williams debuted in the film SLAM and since has released several spoken word CDs–most recently The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (2007)–and has authored several books of poetry: The Seventh Octave, She, Said the Shotgun to the Head and The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip Hop. Known also for his work in film and television, the former Grand Slam Champion continues to explore social consciousness through his work. His artistry provokes deep introspective thought in hopes of bringing about positive change.

Haiti's youngest rising music star Rosemond Jolissaint opens this unique evening with his amazing voice, enchanting guitar and inspirational lyrics.

Sponsored by UWM Union Programming, UWM Union Sociocultural Programming, Third World Action, Students for a Democratic Society, Peace Action, Cultures and Communities, and Cream City Review. Tickets may be purchased at the UWM Bookstore.

SDS Sponsors Rally to End the Invasion of Gaza

Tuesday evening, Milwaukee SDS and an ad-hoc coalition of community organizations held an emergency protest in support of Gaza.

The protest was held in front of the Federal building in downtown Milwaukee, and was well attended by more than 300 Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, and community members from all backgrounds. Students took the lead in forming the coalition.

Speakers included student organizers, a Palestinian man who works in conflict resolution, a Muslim student activist, a celebrated Milwaukee activist and visitor to Gaza, and the President of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.

Various media were in attendance, and we received tv news coverage.

Here are some photos of the rally, click on thumbnails for full size:

Solidarity with UE Local 1110 Photos

SDS Milwaukee Shows Support for Working Class Heroes

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) demonstrated outside a Bank of America office in downtown Milwaukee on Dec. 9 in an afternoon show of support for the United Electrical Local 1110 Chicago workers.

The Chicago workers, largely Latino, were illegally laid off four days ago by their company Republic Window and Door after Bank of America refused to continue credit to the company, despite having just received a $25 billion taxpayer bailout. The workers have since occupied their work site, earned international attention, and called for a national week of action.

Armando Robles, President of UE Local 1110, spoke in front of the Fight Back! annual fundraising People's Thanksgiving on Saturday night, and stated, "We're not going to leave [Republic Window and Door] until we get every penny we deserve."

SDS members who attended the event visited the occupying workers at the company later that night. A 20-year company employee stated the place was his "home away from home" and that the fellow workers were "his family." Family members also accompanied the occupying workers. The occupying workers, arriving in 30-person shifts, seemed very pleased and encouraged by the local and national support of their occupation.

The National Working Committee of SDS has endorsed the worker's bold and militant occupation. Numerous student protests have since taken place all over the country to support these working class heroes.

Despite the blizzard, about 20 people attended the Milwaukee rally. SDS students who just got back from an over-night visit to the occupying workers spoke over a loud speaker. The crowd also chanted "Bank of America: you got bailed out, we got sold out!"

Natasha Morgan, an SDS organizer who visited the occupying workers and attended the rally, said, "This is the end of the Bush era!"

Learn how you can directly help the workers by donating and signing their petition here.