[Lowdown] An attack on an MF/PL member

[Alfredo Lopez]

Hi everyone,

Hope your Summer's going well!

One of our MF/PL members is under attack by people whose real target, it
appears, is an Arabic-English bi-lingual public school scheduled to open
next month.

MF/PL member Arab Women Active in Arts and Media are now speaking out to
address reports about a t-shirt they produced bearing the slogan,
"Intifada NYC", displayed at an Arab heritage festival last month. As
you can imagine, the media has done a typical hack job on the story in
virtually every way:

distorting the meaning of the term "Intifada" (which means "breaking
away" or "reclaiming freedom");

lumping AWAAM together with the Kahlil Gibran school, scheduled to open
in September (AWAAM is not involved in the school except, of course, as
supporters);

and horribly distorting what AWAAM and the Gibran school are about.

The media attacks have been horrible. There have been several totally
distorting statements by public figures and many threats from racist
organizations seeking to keep the school from opening.

The Principal of the school has already been forced to resign this week,
a month before this fully chartered and City-supported school opens: a
blow to one of the first attempts to address the educational needs of
this already large and constantly growing community.

As for AWAAM...

Founded four years ago, the organization runs programs and campaigns for
and by young women and girls in media production, campaign building,
public speaking and collective decision-making: the skills these young
women of color need to take leadership in their communities.

We're asking all members to go to the AWAAM site where they explain what
happened and their perspective on it (you can and should evaluate things
for yourselves), participate in a survey they've put together and send
them an email expressing your thinking.

As an organization, MF/PL exists to build and protect an environment
where expression and organizing can go on without the fear of repression
and purposeful media distortion. That's what is involved here and
stepping up is another way to make our MF/PL membership count.

The AWAAM url:

http://awaam.org/

Thanks, as always, for keeping strong.

Abrazos,

Alfredo

-- 
Alfredo Lopez, Co-Director
May First/People Link
Growing Networks to Build a Just World!
http://www.mayfirst.org
718-303-3204 -- (ext. 106)
Members Local 1180, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO