Written by Lauren Traugott-Campbell, Organizing Intern

My Friday morning began about 10 blocks from Detroit's JP Morgan Chase headquarters. Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and Moratorium NOW called for a march and rally and were met with the enthusiasm of hundreds of activists chanting "Bail out the people, not the banks!" and waving red flags that read "Hasta la Victoria!" Energized by the presence of local percussion band, Cakalak Thunder, we descended upon Chase's skyscraper.

Members of FLOC condemned Chase's investments in Reynolds American, one of the US' biggest tobacco corporations which profits from the exploitation of tobacco field workers', and threatened them with a boycott set to begin in the fall. Moratorium NOW also spoke to their demand that Chase Bank immediately stops all foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs in Detroit.

Looking around at the empty homes throughout the city coupled with hearing testimonies about the working conditions in the NC tobacco fields, the reality of Chase's priorities became painfully clear and the reason for the union of these two groups' seemingly different demands was evident.

I then spent my afternoon at Oakland Sister Circle's workshop entitled "Addressing Misogyny and Counter-Organizing in the Movement." This was space for activists to share and react to the ways in which patriarchy manifests in the social justice sphere, even despite men's & queers' good intentions and feminist labels. Discussion centered on the reality that the personal is political and the need for restorative justice infrastructure within organizations. I left with a copy of their powerful magazine entitled "Undefeated" and a better understanding of the way patriarchy and other forms of oppression can manifest, even in the movement.

After the workshops were over, I had the opportunity to see some of Detroit's artwork. We headed out to see the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art project that spans across vacant lots and foreclosed homes in Detroit's East Side. Tyree Guyton started the project 24 years ago and has since filled it with discarded objects ranging from stuffed animals to shopping carts. The withstanding presence of ovens filled with shoes instead of food and the plethora of junk that inhabits these homes instead of people emphasized the priority that capitalism places on things instead of people.

Our art sightings continued as we visited the Detroit Institute of Art Museum and marveled at Diego Rivera's mural that sprawled across all four walls of the room. The piece, funded by Henry Ford, depicts the dichotomy of the auto-industry with its images of workers and bosses along with other themes that plague the city of Detroit and the US at large.

I left Detroit with new skills, new visions, new connections and a rejuvenated commitment to fighting for social justice in the South.

With the blessing of the state NAACP, around 20 people protested tonight at N.C. State University about what they called conservative businessman Art Pope's "privatization of public schools."

The protesters painted Pope as an enemy of public education. They bashed the Pope and his Pope Family Foundation as having put the new school board majority in power and for criticizing university programs such as multicultural studies.

"Pope, hands off our public education," chanted the protesters, consisting of N.C. State students, high school students and others who've joined the efforts to back Wake's diversity policy. "We don't want his resegregation."

Elena Everett, an N.C. state alum and the protest organizer, said she had gotten a call of encouragement this afternoon from the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP. Everett is community media director for the left-wing Southern Coalition for Social Justice, based in Durham.

The official impetus for tonight's event was a speech at N.C. State given by former Bush speechwriter David Frum, who was brought in by a Pope funded student group.
The protesters initially marched into the speech before being told to leave.

Outside, the protesters were talking to the media and giving this flier and a copy of this e-mail message that had been sent by Wake GOP official Marc Scruggs to school board chairman Ron Margiotta saying they had implemented Art Pope's plan.

That e-mail message was reported about in December. At the time, Pope said the message gave him too much credit for the school board election results.

Today, Pope said he would have normally liked to have been at Frum's speech so he could chat personally with the protesters. But he said he had a prior commitment in the form of an Eric Clapton concert.

Pope dismissed the idea that his financial support for various public university programs means he's trying to privatize education. He also took exception to the claim made in the press release for tonight's event that members of the board majority are his "misguided puppets."

"It's very insulting to any elected board member to say that, not to mention the majority of voters who supported them," Pope said of the puppets remark.