People's Park Peace Rally 9/15

As a result of discussions a core of People's Park activists including Michael Delacouer, Terri Compost, myself, Charles Garry, Arthur, Yukon Hannibal and others have worked with other progressives opposed to the present war policies of the Bush administration, its attack on the constitution and waste of $400 billion in taxpayer dollars while key social needs like homelessness and poverty and ecological damage are far from adequately funded we have decided to hold a community peace rally in People's Park this coming Saturday September 15th from one to five pm.

We will have speakers, music, tables and at 2pm have several concurrent group discussions on pressing community topics such as one on poverty and homelessness which I will be leading. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Daniel Ellsberg(on the stopping war on Iran and on the need for impeachment), Michael Lerner, Berkeley city council members Kriss Worthington and Dona Spring, Barbara Lubin of the Middle Eastern Children's Alliance, Dave Hilliard from the Black Panthers, Bill Simpich speaking for Iraqi Moratorium, Allan Jackson on War & Katrina, Bud Hazelkorn for Impeachbush-cheney.com, Not in Our Name and the Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste will be speaking and musically the Funky Nixons, All My Pretty Ones, Beatbeat Whisper, park activist Max Ventura, Steven Strauss & Will Scarlet will be performing.

We felt strongly motivated to counter the bad anti-homeless attacks on the park, the threats to the trees/the green open space in People's Park and to lift the energy of the park from what has been a degeneration into negative behaviors such as hardcore drug use, theft and violence that occurs in the park(much like many other urban parks) by strengthening its roots in radical progressive values which though weaker than it was in earlier years such as 1969 or 1991 still continue in the park. We felt that in the face of the MK Think public process paid for by UC Berkeley to "redesign" People's Park we needed an event to reconnect People's Park to the radical progressive values on a larger level again.

This event does seem to be doing this successfully. This follows a small but spiritually positive People's Park Solidarity Day Yukon Hannibal and myself held Sat. Aug. 25th to bring up the spirits of daily park users many of them homeless. The September 15th event is also in solidarity with the Save the Oaks coalition and the Phoenix Coalition-a coalition of more radical UC Berkeley student organizations seeking to unify against the university's attempts to once again stop free speech activities on campus which has been meeting in People's Park and inviting older activists such as myself to join their discussions. -Michael Diehl, BOSS Community Organizing Team