Tacoma SDS

Please join us in a celebration of the life and works of Dr. Howard Zinn. We will remember and honor the work Zinn has accomplished and begin to organize in ways we can further and continue his contributions to society.

Kings Books
218 Saint Helens Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98402

Wed. April 14
7pm

Howard Zinn, historian and author of A People's History of the United States, has died of a heart attack. He was 87.

Zinn was born in New York and worked in the Brooklyn Navy Yards and served as a bombardier in World War II. He attended school on the GI bill, was active in the civil rights movement, and protested Vietnam.

On his last day at BU, Dr. Zinn ended class 30 minutes early so he could join a picket line and urged the 500 students attending his lecture to come along. A hundred did so.

Zinn is survived by his daughter, his son, and five grandchildren.

The end of WWI -- The Germans wanted to surrender on November 9, 1918 -- the Kaiser had abdicated and it was obvious they had lost the war. But a French general suggested they wait two more days and have the guns fall silent on the Western Front at exactly 11 AM, 11th hour, 11th day, 11th month -- very poetic, and certainly memorable. After all, this was called the "War to End All Wars," the world had learned its lesson and would never be stupid enough to do this again. Of course twenty years later the world was that stupid and we started numbering big ones.

The South was not the only place where Americans were denied equal rights. Right here in Washington, people could not get jobs or housing because of their color. The national civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s helped, but local leaders fought for equal rights in their own way. Learn how in Tacoma's Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way. The exhibit will features a rich collection of artifacts, including photographs and newspaper articles, many not seen in half a century. Organized by the Washington State Historical Society and the Tacoma Civil Rights Project.

MLK/Historic K Street Walking Tour

Historic Tacoma and the Tacoma Historical Society are collaborating to give a free guided walking tour of MLK and K Streets. Guides will discuss the past, present, and future of the district, concentrating on the historic neighborhood identity and community preservation initiatives. Highlights of the tour will include the Historic K Street Business District, Johnson Candy Company, historic churches and meeting halls, and Tacoma Medical Center.

Mmmm … We do like our Johnson Candy.

Details
July 19, 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

I don't know too much about Rev. Lawson but listening to one of his talks a few things stood out and he may be inspiring to go to this month.
A few lines are:
"Neither political party has a vision that is sufficient to see the dangers and complexities of the times in which we live and try to apply to them the larger values of our history. Only we the people can become the vehicle and the channel for changing the peril"
"We no longer have a democracy"

Mark Rudd, an activist from Students for a Democratic Society of the 60's and former Weatherman, spoke to and with new SDS members in Tacoma in February 2007. Audio of the two hours of the discussion is now available.

http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=21747