Legal Activists of Color: Fwd Sat, Oct 21 * NLG Austin Convention * Rise Up! Organizing and Coalition Building in Communities of Color

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Fwd Sat, Oct 21 * NLG Austin Convention * Rise Up! Organizing and Coalition Building in Communities of Color

PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY

The United People of Color Caucus

of the National Lawyers Guild Invites you to Attend a Skills-Building and Unity Workshop

for Legal Activists of Color

. . . And Justice for All.

Organizing and Coalition Building in Communities of Color:

Confronting the Criminal (In)Justice System

Saturday, October 21, 2006 * Law for the People Convention * Austin, Texas

Rise Up! The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) mandate is clear, "To eliminate racism." As TUPOCC presses this mission forward, your participation is crucial. Be there for The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC) Unity and Skills workshop on Saturday, October 21 at 12:45 p.m. at the NLG Law for the People convention in Austin, Texas. http://www.nlg.org/members/convention2006/index.html.

THE OBJECTIVES

Participants will learn methods and practices activists of color can use towards anti-racist, anti-oppression coalition-building in communities of color. The session will focus on ways to connect with, sustain, and deepen a base of support for campaigns and coalition work in communities of color, with a particular emphasis on acting in solidarity with our people who are most impacted by the criminal justice system. Together, we will learn how to continue to galvanize change in our communities around the country! The session will provide legal activists of color with the tools to address the following questions:

What do you want?
What are the obstacles?
Who do you need? What do you need?
What do folks you need care about?
How will you reach them?
How will you be visible? Unavoidable?
What's your long-term commitment to the movement?
How does your work build movement?
What's your vision? How is it global? How is it based in history?
When will you know you're there?

THE TRAINERS

David Arizmendi hails from Hidalgo County, Texas and has served since 1999 as the Executive Director of Proyecto Azteca, a nationally-known community housing development corporation that operates a unique self-help model for colonia residents on the Texas-Mexico border. Through Proyecto Azteca, extremely low-income colonia families gain the opportunity to build their own homes. www.proyectoazteca.org.

Matt Nelson is a TUPOCC co-chair and lives and works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he founded the Milwaukee Police Accountability Coalition. Serving as the Executive Director of Education For The People! and on the Boards of Justice 2000 and the Southside Community Justice Center, he continues to organize to stop racist police programs and create alternatives to incarceration based in restorative justice. www.educationforthepeople.org