Veterans for Peace and Rock Valley FOR March Forward!

Loved seeing this video of the Veterans for Peace and Rock Valley Fellowship of Reconciliation entry, along with the Forward! Marching Band in the July 4 parade in Milton, Wisconsin.  Progressive people reside everywhere!

"The Flower" video by Michael Franti addresses gun violence in the US

Check out this moving new video featuring a duet by Victoria Canal and Michael Franti: "We could be the flower in the gun."

Michael Franti, Power to the Peaceful

We're adding a couple more names to our Peace Wheel of Fortune for this semester, including Michael Franti, who has been touring the country this summer with his band on a "Love Out Loud" tour.  He's got some great videos out there, too.  Here is one of his from last year, "Good to be Alive Today."

Talking careers and fairness at the Reagan HS career fair

Yesterday, Hart, Regina, Tami and I had a full and inspiring day tabling at the annual Reagan HS career fair.  Representatives from a number of colleges, businesses and community organizations were set up in the gym.  We were there to provide a different view of military life and militarism than the military recruiters who also were present.  Reagan HS has a JROTC program, and JROTC students were dressed in uniform.  A number of them came by our table to participate in the t-shirt challenge and talk with us about their plans for the future.  Hart and Regina as military veterans spoke with students from their own experience.  Regina had brought two jacket art pieces from her Fatigues Clothesline Project to display at our table.  The jackets were covered in statements by veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST), one of the serious issues we raise in our materials.

About 75 students completed the t-shirt challenge over the course of the career fair, and it was good to talk with students about their hopes and plans.  Two students told us about having participated in the historic Women's March on Austin last Saturday (Regina and her daughter and I had also participated), as did a Reagan teacher who stopped by the table, and they all spoke about how empowering and encouraging the huge march and rally were, and we agreed!  We in SOY are very much opposed to the Trump agenda that is already increasing anxiety among families in our community.  Life is challenging enough for our young adults who are working hard and hoping to further their education.  Adding more worry and hardship by threatening to separate families, cut financial aid for college and create more division between people is cruel and damaging to our social fabric.
The Penny Poll results showed the Health Care category as the biggest priority with 28% of the penny vote, closely followed by Education with 27%, then 22% for the Environment, 13% for Humanitarian Aid and 10% for the Military.  As always, if our high school students could decide on our national priorities, we would have a much healthier, better educated society and a more protected planet.
There were 75 written responses to our reflection question, and the majority of students cited racism as the primary supervillain that requires resistance.    Following is a sampling of their responses that are indicative of what was written over all.  Thank you to all Reagan Raiders for engaging with the questions we raised in the t-shirt challenge and for expressing your thoughts on these crucial issues.

A sampling of the student responses to the question:

"Of the Supervillains: Racism, Sexism, Poverty, Militarism and Ecocide, which will you resist?  How?"

Racism – I will resist racism because I am an immigrant that has also been discriminated against and now more than ever I will stand up to racism because “our president” thinks it’s okay to discriminate against people, and as a “citizen” if this country, I WILL NOT let racism happen in my community or around me.

I will resist all the above issues, including Trump’s immigration policy, racism and discrimination.  I will do this by marching, calling my representatives, speaking out on daily discrimination and write and document.

Racism because I believe that we’re all the same regardless so we need to stand up to that!

Sexism because there are still a lot of things that society says women can’t do.

As a rising female, I’m against gender norms.  I don’t believe a woman should only be in the house and only the men should work.  How about we flip the table and let them do this.  Women should be treated equally.  Women overcome so much and I’ll try my best to end it.  I want to make a better world where your gender doesn’t affect anything.

Racism affects me because I am judged because I wasn’t born here, and I want to change this because it’s not about race, it’s about culture, and I am proud to be Mexican.

Poverty, I would try to eliminate all currency in the world.

Of these supervillains, I will resist all.  Just resisting one will make no change.  We have to resist all and come together.

In my opinion, racism would be what I would resist because racism is an every day thing.  And no one is different, everyone is equal to one another and you being a different race does not make you any different from them.

Racism – I would speak publicly about it.

Racism, because no matter your race, you’re still a human being.

I believe that I can resist all of them with understanding and treat everyone with respect because we are all human.

Racism, because it’s all over and people should work on getting along with each other.  What I would do to address it is help people if I see racism around.

I plan to resist ALL, but I will resist racism because people may be prejudiced against me, but it’s all about love at the end of the day.

I would protest against sexism.  I would gather up friends who feel the same and we would protest together.

Racism – because it’s been a constant problem in my people’s history.

Mine is racism – one of the reasons it bothers me is because my family is Mexican and I don’t like it when they get treated bad or called names.  A way that I would change this is by doing my best and show that they are wrong about us.

Racism -- more activity involved with diversity culture.  Sexism -- nothing I can do to change people’s beliefs, just hoping people will open more to the transgender community.

I would make everyone see all the ways we can treat everyone with the same respect and how if all the world united and treated everyone with the same respect, the city would be much better and accomplish more goals in the world.

Ecocide—We need to take care of our environment b/c we live in it.  Racism – We need to respect everyone the way they are.

Racism – because I will let people know how I feel and I will let them know my rights.

I think racism is still a big problem around the world.  Like now w/ Donald Trump as our president, it’s going to be a bigger problem.  How can I stand for this?  I would always be equal to anyone I meet.

Racism – and I’ll try to teach people about history and why what’s happening is happening.  I won’t let history repeat itself.

Sexism – by proving I can be independent and successful before marriage and never relying on a husband.  I will also fight racism by proving immigrants can have a bright future.

Sexism and Racism – We should not be divided in any way such as the color of one’s skin: the only time colors should be separated is on laundry day.  We need to unite.

   

"Selma" a must-see

"Selma" is one of the best films about the US Civil Rights Movement.  The lyrics of Common and John Legend's song, "Glory" are well-deserving of their Golden Globe award.  See the film!

Goodbye to an American hero

“I’ve often thought, standing onstage with 1,000 people in front of me, that somebody over on my right had a great-great grandfather who was trying to kill the great-great grandfather of somebody off to my left. And here we are all singing together. And wouldn’t it surprise all those great-grandfathers if they could see their great-grandchildren singing together? They’d probably say, ‘Why did we fight so hard?’ Good question!

We all go to different churches or no churches, we have different favorite foods, different ways of making love, different ways of doing all sorts of things, but there we’re all singing together. Gives you hope.”

-- Pete Seeger

Dolores Huerta's birthday at McCallum HS

Tami and I made a spring semester visit to McCallum HS and really enjoyed talking with students, faculty, one of the police officers and school staff persons who stopped by the table.  Many told us that they were glad to see us because Navy recruiters had been tabling in the same spot yesterday.  As always, students were very imaginative with the art materials and helped prove our point:  peace is creative!

One of our stickers features Dolores Huerta holding a "Huelga!" sign and the words, "La Paz Requiere Coraje"  (Peace Takes Courage).  It was good to learn that today happens to be Dolores Huerta's 83rd birthday.  It's also a national day of action for immigration reform.  Si se puede! 


Tami at the SOY table

We were set up across the hall from a table where students were selling tickets for this coffeehouse event, which is a fundraiser for the student literary journal, Excalibur.  Nice!

It was good to learn about the Excalibur journal

The talented student who did this carried her art supplies -- brushes and water colors -- with her.

 

Student art in display case

Student art in display case

Student display about Dante's Inferno

Student display on Dante's Inferno

Student display on Dante's Inferno

Student display on Dante's Inferno

One of our posters was taped next to this Marines display in the library as allowed by AISD policy

Student fabric art in display case

Spring visit to Lanier High School

Tami and I made a spring semester visit to Lanier HS yesterday and had a great time at the table with students who stopped by and hung out to do the stencil art, spin the peace wheel and mull over the literature.  We also restocked our literature in the library and in the career center and put up one of our fliers next to an Army recruiting flier, which the AISD policy allows us to do.
Thanks to the Vikings for checking out our materials and talking with us about their plans after high school.

New Cesar Chavez stencil

Students at SOY table

Mural at Lanier, done by a Lanier alum, I think

Lanier Viking with graduation attire in main office

SOY brochure next to Army brochure in career center

SOY brochure next to Army brochure in career center

part of SOY display

SOY poster in window

SOY flier next to Army flier on bulletin board, as permitted by AISD policy

student art

student art with student's personal symbol

student art

student art

student folder art

students at SOY table

Tami putting up posters

student folder art

SOY table at Austin HS, Loyal Forever

Thanks to Maroons for making us welcome at Austin HS today!  We enjoyed talking with students who came by our table, and several teachers gave us the high sign, too.  Students were creative and imaginative -- as always.  We had a new military realities display which incorporated pages from an article about rape in the military that was published just this week in the Rolling Stone Magazine.  It's a very serious issue that only seems to be getting worse instead of better.
It was good to see anti-bullying posters up in the hallways.  Several shown in the photos below were produced by the Smithsonian Institute.

Our new display

Tami talking with students at our table

student art

nice idea to stencil the inside of the folder

student art

student art

student art

student art

student art

hall poster