social movements

When they say, "there's no alternative..."

Saturday, December 3, 2011, 6:00 p.m.  As discontent with the economic and political status quo mounts in the wake of the “great recession”, America Beyond Capitalism is a book whose time has come. Gar Alperovitz’s expert diagnosis of the long-term structural crisis of the American economic and political system is accompanied by detailed, practical answers to the problems we face as a society. Unlike many books that reserve a few pages of a concluding chapter to offer generalized, tentative solutions, Alperovitz marshals years of research into emerging “new economy” strategies to present a comprehensive picture of practical bottom-up efforts currently underway in thousands of communities across the United States.

Monday, October 17, 2011, 7:00 p.m. The historians of the late 1960s have emphasized the work of a small group of white college activists and the Black Panthers, activists who courageously took to the streets to protest the war in Vietnam and continuing racial inequality. Poor and working-class whites have tended to be painted as spectators, reactionaries, and, even, racists. Most Americans, the story goes, just watched the political movements of the sixties go by.

James Tracy and Amy Sonnie, who have been interviewing activists from the 1960s for nearly ten years, reject this old narrative. In five tightly conceived chapters, they show that poor and working-class whites, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party, started to organize significant political movements against racism and inequality during the 1960s.

Friday, June 24, 2011, 6:30 p.m. Join activist historian Mark Solomon for reflection on the racial justice battles of the 1940s and 50s - that great in-between period that provided the connective tissue between the great upsurges of the 1930s and powerful peace and justice movements of the 1960s. Going beyond mere generational analysis, this personal account integrates race, class and gender dimensions with a global perspective in an era when such transformative figures as Paul Robeson and W.E.B du Bois were still widely recognized and respected. In a period largely defined by the Cold War, other exciting processes ranging from epic national liberation struggles in the Global South to block-by-block tenant organizing in the US. Mark takes us back to that period and our discussion will help draw lessons for today's challenges. The event will be followed by a wine-and-cheese-style reception. 

Monday, November 8, 2010, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Join Uruguayan activist-intellectual and journalist, Raúl Zibechi, for a wide-ranging conversation about social movements and social change. The point of departure is his latest work, Dispersing Power: Social Movements as Anti-State Forces. It considers the largely indigenous social movements organizing in El Alto, Bolivia that both brought Evo Morales to state power and continue their challenges to the state. This event is co-sponsored with Boston Bolivarianos, the Global Economic Alternatives Network and the journal Socialism and Democracy.

Friday, September 10, 2010, 7:00 p.m. The Community and Resistance Tour seeks to communicate about current struggles for justice and liberation, from the current BP Oil Drilling Disaster devastating the Gulf Coast to nooses hung in the northern Louisiana town of Jena. From women organizing inside prisons to cultural resistance. The tour also seeks to connect communities of liberation, and to build relationships between grassroots activists and independent media. This tour is for anyone interested in issues of health care, education, criminal justice, housing, or the ways in which systems of racism, patriarchy and other forms of oppression intersect with these struggles.

Thursday, July 8, 2010, 6:00 p.m. Ana Justo has been a leader of Brazil 's Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra - MST) for 23 of its 25 years. The largest social movement in Latin America, the MST has 1.5 million members. The MST struggles for land reform, access to healthcare, schools, organic production and infrastructure by promoting ground-up sustainable development based in the needs of all Brazilians. Ana coordinates the Secretariat of the MST's Florestan Fernandes National School located in Guararema, Sao Paulo. This event is sponsored by Grassroots International.

Saturday, June 5, 2010, 1:00 p. m.  - 6:00 p.m., An open agenda gathering designed to bring technologists, organizers, and community advocates together to explore the range of options and challenges facing collective actions in the use of media and information tools. This event is sponsored by the Organizers' Collaborative, see the Tech for Social Change webpage for more information and links to the event wiki.

Every 2nd Sunday (Postponed Until Further Notice)

Celebrate the great traditions of Latin American and local radical culture through song and music in our next Opeña Folklórica, combining traditional Peñas with an Open mic. Bring your voice, history, song and spirit!

Musicians: Rafael Medina, Sergio Reyes et al. + Open Mic.

Light snacks and refreshments offered for suggested donations by MESA sin fronteras, a burgeoning worker-run social club @ e5.

Peñas take historical root in Chilean social gatherings during the 60s and early 70s that expressed the spirit of creativity and resistance in melody, poems, and artwork under a brutally repressive regime. They began to sprout all over Latin America in a time when songs resounded with a collective heart beat for a more just society and they continue to weave a fabric of solidarity through generations. Each peña at MESA sin fronteras will be dedicated to a musician from this great tradition who fought with the spirit of song that defied borders.
 
Our first Opeña (Peña + Open Mic) on May 9th was dedicated to the song and struggle of Violete Parra, who was one of the first musicians in Chile to host and perform in such Peñas. Her radiant songs are a testament to a creative and rebellious spirit who loved much too much, inspiring listeners with her bold, defiant lyrics and gentle voice, her enduring rhythms and volcanic passion for social justice.

Join us in the heart of Boston to commemorate our new series of Opeñas!

A Story of Mexico City

Thursday, April 29, 2010, 7:00 p.m. Join renowned journalist John Ross for an evening connecting the people of Latin America and the United States... Nor ordinary scribe, Ross’ writing and presentations blend beat generation poetry with magical realist prose all while rooted in concrete social struggles and real politics... Ross leaves his audiences inspired to action and craving social change...

April 20, 2010, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Join organizers and activists in Cochabamba, Bolivia and New York City for a live interactive conversation as part of the Climate and Mother Earth Rights conference (hosted by the people of Bolivia).  This global interaction is part of the Cochabamba Expanded conversation organized by May First/People Link.

Thursday, January 28, 2010, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. While Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez continues to capture headlines, a much larger story involving a wider cast of characters has gone largely ignored. Venezuela Speaks!, published by PM Press, is a collection of interviews with activists and participants from across Venezuela’s social movements. From community media to land reform, cooperatives to communal councils, from the labor movement to the Afro-Venezuelan network, Venezuela Speaks! sheds light on the complex realities within the Bolivarian Revolution.

* New community club/coffeehouse at e5 invites you for a warm gathering! *

Sunday, December 27, 7:00 p.m. Good food, music, and dynamite documentaries from around the rebellious globe. We will explore some 20th century US propaganda through cartoons and magazine advertisements and counter-images of resistance art of the time. (It was also rumoured there will be a mini chess tournament...) Relax, enjoy the evening, make new connections for the new year, and support MESA's last stretch before the opening in January. This gathering will be a mini-fundraiser, with dinner plates at a sliding scale donation of $7 - $12 and drinks at $2-$3. Come join us!  Last time at MESA's... (read more).

Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 7:00 p.m. "My name is Martha Lucia Giraldo Villano and I was born on June 22, 1978 in Cauca, Colombia. I am the daughter of José Orlando Giraldo, a small-scale farmer who was the victim of an extrajudicial killing by the National Army. In my country, there have been many extrajudicial killings that are also categorized as false positives (the killing of innocent civilians to pass them off as guerrillas killed in combat within the context of Colombia's armed conflict). The execution of my father is an example of a 'false-positive' murder."

"I am part of the Victims of State Crimes Movement. Along with other victims, we work together on organizing and training in order to demand our rights to truth, justice and reparation."