Ráday Salon

Roma and African American Oppression - Similarities and Differences

Over the years, for both Linda and Michael, a major focus of our human rights work in Europe has been on Roma rights and fighting discrimination against Roma. Michael in particular is often asked about drawing connections between the struggle for Roma rights and his experiences with the African American Civil Rights movement.

On February 21, 2018, we started our Salon year off with a Salon featuring Michael and the young Spanish Romani activist, Vicente Rodriguez Fernandez. Vicente is a close friend of ours, and, more importantly, a committed, energetic, creative, and innovative organizer for Romani rights and human rights, who is as passionate about truly grassroots work as we are, and whose out-of-the-box ideas challenge the direction of existing human rights work in Europe. He is the founder of RomaPop, an organization devoted to challenging racist images of Roma in pop culture and was named by Forbes as one of the 2016 "30 under 30" in the policy field. He is currently Co-director of the Legacies of Empires program for the University of Washington.  Of course, most of you already know Michael, who has had a lifelong career in human rights, as part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which played a central role in the African American Civil Rights movement, and later as Director for European Programs of the American Friends Service Committee.

In their conversation, Vicente and Michael began by recounting their personal and family histories, illustrating some of the commonalities between the challenges faced by Roma and African American communities, and discussed what drew each of them to connect with the history of the other's community. Moving into the current day, their presentations emphasized the need to question stereotypes and stock narratives about marginalized communities, and, in our European context, about Roma in particular. The presentation sparked intense conversation that continued in deep discussions long after the formal program ended.

Slutwalk Philadelphia

On August 6, Michael and Linda joined Aishah Shahidah Simmons at the Philadelphia Slutwalk march and rally.  "Slutwalk" is the name taken by a movement that began in Toronto, Canada, in April 2011, sparked by comments made by a Toronto constable in a crime prevention class that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized."  In response, a group of women organized the protest to challenge the notion that women's dress or behavior is the "cause" of sexual assault -- a victim-blaming mentality which the constable's comments demonstrate stubbornly persists today. 

While many women who participated have struggled with the notion of marching under a banner that elevates a weighted word like "slut", the Slutwalk phenomenon gained supporters around the world, with walks occuring in cities from Kuala Lumpur, Rio, Mexico City, London, and Delhi. 

In advance of the Philadelphia Slutwalk, Aishah participated in a discussion on the National Public Radio show Radio Times, which can be heard online:  'Slut Walk': Feminists Fight Back Against Rape. 

Aishah gave a rousing speech at the rally after the march, which can be read in its entirety on Aishah's Tumblr page: No One Is Free While Others Are Oppressed ~ August 6, 2011 SlutWalk Philadelphia Speech.

Follow Aishah Shahidah Simmons

• on Twitter: @AfroLez
• on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AfroLezCulturalWorker

 

 

 

SNCC book publication and symposium -- Little Rock, Arkansas

From July 9 to 11, 2011, Michael and Linda were in Little Rock, Arkansas to attend a symposium focusing on the civil rights activism of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Arkansas.   The symposium was the official launching event for a new book on SNCC activism in Arkansas, Arsnick: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Arkansas. The book includes a chapter authored by Michael about his experiences in Arkansas, which is where he began his work with SNCC.

Michael addresses the symposium on SNCC in Arkansas

The C-SPAN network filmed most of the symposium, so to see Michael's speech, see the video of the second panel discussion. (The link to the video should take you directly to Michael's segment. If you are viewing the full video of the panel, Michael's segment begins at about 2:35 minutes into the recording, and lasts about 12 minutes.)

In additon to the symposium, we attended a wonderful public commemoration event of the first Freedom Riders bus to arrive in Little Rock, Arkansas, 50 years earlier, to the day, on July 10, 1961.  There is excellent coverage of both the symposium and the anniversary events on a website dedicated to the events at http://www.lrfreedomriders.org/.

Panel Discussion: Activism in Philadelphia in the 1970s

A long time ago, when the Ráday Salon was just getting started, we had a visit from Dan Berger, friend, activist, and author of Letters from Young Activists. This month, Michael joined Dan in a panel discussion at the Moonstone Arts Center (also formerly known as the Philadelphia institution, Robin's Bookstore) connected with the release of Dan's latest book, The Hidden 1970s: Histories of Radicalism.

The panelists discussed the history of activism in Philadelphia, with a particular focus on the 1970s.

Budapest Pride 2009

Yesterday, Linda marched in the Budapest Pride parade with Amnesty International Hungary -- see more photos.

Whoopi Goldberg's message to Hungary in support of Budapest Pride 2009

This week is Pride week in Budapest. The festival hosts film screenings and discussions during the week and will culminate in a march this Saturday. For more information on events, check out the Budapest Pride 2009 website. (Link goes to English version, but a Hungarian version is also available - just look for the Hungarian flag.)

Although the Budapest Pride march was once a fun-filled event, in the last two years it has become the focus of violent extremists, and will be carried on this year (as last year) under heavy police protection. To learn more about the history of the Pride march, and to see videos of attacks on last year's pride march, click the "continue reading" link below.

Supporting Iranian demonstrators in Budapest

On Friday, June 19, Linda and Michael joined some of our friends in a demonstration organized by Iranian students in Budapest to show support for those protesting the recent election in Iran.  The Budapest demonstration took place at Heroes' Square -- a quiet gathering with photos and signs and folk songs.

Click for more photos.

Amnesty International Hungary calls for an end to the death penalty and justice for Troy Davis

On Tuesday, May 19, Amnesty International Hungary activists joined in a Global Day of Action in support of Troy Davis, an African-American man who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of a police officer in the United States, despite strong evidence suggesting he is innocent. Carrying signs and wearing pictures of Troy Davis on their white t-shirts, the AI-HU activists led a “Solidarity Walk” through downtown Budapest, from Vorosmarty Square to the US Embassy. They handed out flyers (Eng - Hun) information sheets (Eng - Hun) to passers-by, and paused near the Godor Klub at Deak ter, and in Szent Istvan ter in front of Szent Istvan Basilica, to reach out to as many people as possible. In Szabadsag ter, as the activists assembled in view of the US Embassy, representatives from several news outlets, including Duna TV, Magyar Nemzet, and Hungarian news agency MTI, were on hand to report the story. Duna TV report on Budapest Troy Davis Solidarity Walk

The Global Day of Action mobilized worldwide opposition to the death penalty in support of Davis, whose case is a particularly egregious example of the inherent injustice of the death penalty. There are several serious and fundamental flaws in his case. No murder weapon or direct evidence was ever found connecting Davis to the murder. Many of the “witnesses” at the original trial have since recanted, saying that police pressured them to implicate Davis. Several witnesses have also implicated another man. Nevertheless, throughout Troy Davis’ long battle to fight his conviction, the courts have focused mainly on procedural issues, while important evidence that he is actually innocent of the crime has not been examined.

With their action, the AI-HU activists added their voices to those of thousands of others, from Argentina to Uganda, as well as all 50 US states, united in their opposition to the death penalty, and calling on the US to deliver justice for Troy Davis.

View more photos of the event (click any photo for a slide show).

To learn more about Troy Davis’ case, visit some of the links below:

• Amnesty International US Global Day of Action press release
• “Where Is The Justice For Me”: Amnesty International report
• Amnesty International death penalty issue page

Also check out the Amnesty International Hungary activism blog (Hungarian – English)

Special thanks to JD for the excellent photos!