Rosa Clemente, Green Party vice-presidential candidate, speaks at New York University on Friday, October 10, part of the ongoing Radical Film and Lecture Series and co-sponsored by Earth Matters.

6:30PM – 10:00PM
Silver Building, 100 Washington Square East, Room 207

The event will be free and open to the public.

Clemente will address issues including:

1) Why is it important to put our efforts into third party politics? Are there limitations to this approach?

2) What is the Green Party's vision for building a progressive movement?

3) What is the relationship between electoral tactics and organizing at the grassroots level? What are the tensions, if any, involved in these tactics?

4) What is the campaign's relationship to different organized (and non-organized) social sectors: labor, immigrants, poor urban/rural communities of color, queer folks, environmental justice, anti-war, etc.?

5) What does the Green Party offer to young activists?

With the passage of the Wall Street bailout bill, it's finally clear: Our elected officials, Democrats and Republicans alike, are working for corporate America, not for us. As Cynthia McKinney has said, "This represents a unique moment in U.S. history and we must now seize the time for self-determination." We are having public meetings every Wednesday night at 7PM. If you would like to find out more, please call 718-231-7887, or email info@nypeoplepower.org.

We will be on the ballot in New York! We've secured ballot lines so far in 25 states, including a recent court victory in Ohio, and expect to reach 32 states soon. Write-in status is set in 7 states and in process in 8 other states and U.S. territories.

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard all summer long to get us on the ballot. Now we have to hit the ground running to make the most of the 8 weeks left until Election Day.

We're having a celebration of our ballot status and organizing meeting:

Wednesday, September 10 - 7 p.m. - Brecht Forum, West Village
451 West Street (that's the West Side Highway) between Bank & Bethune Street
A/C/ E/L to 14th Street & 8th Ave, or 1/2/3/9 to 14th Street & 7th Ave

We'll have pizza and drinks, and watch some kick-ass videos of Cynthia and Rosa.

Then we'll get to planning. Come and get hooked up with leaders in different volunteer areas. We need people to work on:

- Literature, online presence, and local press outreach

- Alliance building and outreach to other progressive groups, including people of color and women

- Speakers bureau – WE NEED PEOPLE to speak at debates, community forums, and schools on behalf of Cynthia and Rosa

- Fundraising – for the campaign and the party

- Developing new Green activists and future candidates for local office. There are city elections coming up in 2009 and statewide elections in 2010

- Demand that Cynthia and Rosa be in the debates

- Get out the vote!

Please RSVP to 718-231-PTTP (7887) if you plan to come. See you there!!

Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate for president, appeared Friday night at a press conference at the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, public access television. A former 6-term congresswoman from Georgia and longtime champion of progressive causes, she told a story to explain how she felt the black community should relate to her candidacy.

While on a long drive into New York, she heard James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” on the radio. Lyrics such as “Do me wrong/do me right/Tell me lies, but hold me tight,” reminded her of the way blacks have stood by the Democrats even when they don’t deliver on their promises. She said, “No longer will I be involved in a one-sided dysfunctional relationship.” Noting that the Democrats “did not even protect the right to vote in 2000,” she urged blacks to “Step out on your own, and bear the consequences of being alone.”

McKinney charged the Democratic Party with being “complicit in the crimes of the Bush Administration.” She also spoke of her agreement with the key Green Party values of ecological wisdom, social justice, peace, and grassroots democracy.

McKinney was in New York to help kick off the Green Party’s drive to put her on the ballot in New York City. The Green Party needs to collect 30,000 valid signatures from registered voters before August 19 to be placed on the November ballot. The Green Party is seeking volunteers to help gather signatures and spread the word about the McKinney campaign.

Also speaking at the press conference was Evergreen Chou, a Green Party candidate for Congress. Chou is a co-founder of the Flushing (Queens) Greens, and is running for US House of Representatives in District 5. Among other things, Chou spoke of the need for affordable housing, noting that many people in his area are living 10 to an apartment because rents are so high.