PLEASE FORWARD OR REPOST
The Brecht Forum
presents
** Communist Manifestivity **
Friday, October 30 and
Saturday, October 31
Schedule of Events
150th Anniversary of the Communist Manifesto
to be held at Cooper Union's Great Hall
Third Avenue and East Seventh Street
New York City
For more information call
(212) 802-9276
or access
** Karl Marx and Frederick Engels to Haunt Cooper Union
on the 150th Anniversary of the Communist Manifesto **
** Amiri Baraka, Wallace Shawn, Tony Kushner,
Vinie Burrows, Sandra Maria Esteves and
Louis Reyes Rivera in cultural performance **
** Cornel West, Stephen Jay Gould, Maria Helena Alves,
Ellen Meiksins Wood, Barbara Fields, Richard Levins and
Sam Gindin in special roundtable **
** Bread and Puppet Theater performance, day-long
poetry jam, marathon film showings, economics panels,
small-group discussions and workshops...and more! **
"In place of the old bourgeois society." wrote the two young German revolutionists in 1848, "there will be an association in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all."
On Friday and Saturday, October 30 and 31, the Great Hall at Cooper Union, 3rd Avenue and 7th Street in New York City, will be the site of a MANIFESTIVITY in which artists, scientists, activists, scholars, trade unionists and social justice activists will revisit the Communist Manifesto on its 150th Anniversary.
In a special opening program on Friday evening at 7:30 pm, poets, writers and performers including Amiri Baraka, Wallace Shawn, Tony Kushner, Vinie Burrows, Sandra Maria Esteves and Louis Reyes Rivera will combine music and poetry with dramatic readings from the Manifesto itself. The event will culminate in a Saturday evening roundtable in which theologian Cornel West, scientists Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Levins, Brazilian Workers Party founder Maria Helena Moreira Alves, _Monthly Review_ editor Ellen Meiksins Woods, historian Barbara Fields, and Sam Gindin of the Canadian Auto Workers discuss our society's dilemmas on the eve of the 21st century and the epochal challenge presented by the Manifesto to go where we've never gone before.
The Manifestivity is one of many events taking place in over 60 countries this year and several anniversary editions of the persistent best-seller have drawn wide attention. Event organizer Eric Canepa notes that economic turbulence from Wall Street to East Asia seems to heighten interest in the book. "There is an eerie resonance in their treatment of what would now be called globalization." Even some staunch conservatives begin to wonder if Marx and Engels might have been right about capitalism after all, he said.
Throughout the day on Saturday, beginning at 10:00 am, an array of activities and discussions of culture and politics are planned: a performance by the Bread and Puppet Theater; a panel of economists looking at how the Manifesto's diagnosis of capitalism and it's crisis stands up today; a day-long poetry jam and film showing; and small-group discussions on the Manifesto in the light of New York City's labor conflicts and battles over public education, medical services, workfare and housing.
This will not be the first time that the spirit of Karl Marx has been present at Cooper Union. At the time of his death in 1883, overflow crowds filled the Great Hall in what was at the time the largest memorial meeting in the world. The organizers of the meeting, the Central Labor Union of Greater New York and Vicinity, used the proceeds to publish an edition of the Communist Manifesto. Each union that had helped organize the event received 300 free copies for distribution to their members.
The Manifestivity is organized by the Brecht Forum in cooperation with numerous other New York area organizations and individuals. The Brecht Forum, home of the New York Marxist School since 1975, offers a regular program of political and cultural events and study groups, including long-term study of the writings of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. For tickets and further information call 212-802-9276 or check the Brecht Forum's web site at <http://www.brechtforum.org>
Tickets are $20 (advance purchase) for both days, or $25 at the door. One day tickets are $10 for either day (advance purchase), or $10 for Friday and $15 for Saturday at the door. For credit card orders (Visa and MasterCard) call (212) 802-9276.
The Brecht Forum offers lectures, workshops, and classes, film showings and cultural events. It is a place for people who are working for fundamental social change and a new culture that puts human needs first. To be placed on the Brecht Forum's mailing list write to the Brecht Forum, 122 West 27 Street, 10 floor, New York, New York 10001-6281.
**********
*** Manifestivity Schedule ***
Friday, October 30, 1998
Opening cultural program: 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm
** Multimedia presentation of "If You Want to Know Who We Are", a poem by Carlos Bulosa; Readers: Jodi Barias, Regie Cabico, Erna Hernandez, & Julman Tolentino, with musicians Willie Everich & Kali Ramirez
** Presentations/performances including a dramatic reading from the _Communist Manifesto_ by Amiri Baraka, Vinie Burrows, Sandra Maria Esteves, Tony Kushner, Louis Reyes Rivera and Wallace Shawn
** Music by Hot Pstromi
** Friday, October 30, from 10:00 pm on ... The Manifestivities continue with a party at 137 Avenue B (between 8 and 9 streets). $5.00 admission includes music, snacks, and your own Marx mask. Very cheap drinks. Very much fun. Call: (212) 420-7893 for more information or the Brecht Forum at (212) 802-9276.
***
Saturday, October 31
10:00 am to 11:30 am
** What Are Revolutionary Politics Today? with Nancy Holmstrom, Peter Kwong, Tony Monteiro, Leo Panitch, Daniel Singer, Brenda Stokely and Carmen Vazquez. Moderator: Sam Anderson
** All Day **
Film room
Poetry room
***
11:45 am to 1:15 pm
** Can We Go from Cultural Imperialism to World Culture? with Amiri Baraka, Aijaz Ahmad, Joseph Buttigieg, Annette Rubinstein, Sonia Sanchez and N'Gugi Wa Thiongo. Moderator: Colleen Roach
** Women's Liberation: Seneca Falls to the Present; with Anannya Bhattacharjee, Leslie Cagan, Dawn Crandell, Rosalind Petchesky, and Sofia Quintero. Moderator: Diane Greene Lent
** Problems of the 21st Century Color Line, part 1: Challenging White Supremacy; with Roger Dennis, John Garvey, Joan Gibbs, Joe Kaye, Louis Reyes Rivera, Suzanne Ross. Moderator: Merle Ratner
** Radical Organizing, Then and Now; with Cherrene Horazuk, Steve Duncombe (Lower East Side Collective), August Nimtz, Maisha Perez, Victor Wallis, Monique Washington and Michael X. Moderator: Ron Hayduk
** Strikes: Signals of New Struggles; with Bairavi Desai, Dan Georgakas and Jose Matta
***
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm: Lunch Break
***
2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
** Today's Capitalist Crisis; with Dennis Brutus, Judy Claude, Sylvia Federici, Neftali Garcia, Joan Greenbaum, Doug Henwood and Boris Kagarlitsky. Moderator: Harry Magdoff
** Popular Culture vs. Class Culture; with St. Claire Bourne, Paul Buhle, Steve Duncombe, Tony Medina, Tricia Rose, Brooke Webster. Moderator: Yusuf Nuruddin
** The Communist Manifesto--Now; with Mary Boger, Lynne Chancer, Bogdan Denitch, August Nimtz, Vijay Prashad, Marshall Berman. Moderator: Randy Martin
** The Problem of the 21st Century Color Line, Part 2: People of Color and the Struggle for Unity; with Daniel Avila, Jan Carew, Esperanza Martell, Louis Reyes Rivera and Sybil Wong. Moderator: Paul Washington
** Trade Unions: New Times, New Struggles; with Hector Figueroa, Lian Hurst Mann, Pricilla Murolo and Brenda Stokely. Moderator Maureen La Mar
** Reclaiming Knowledge: Science for the People; with Richard Levins, Marilyn Frankenstein, Sam Anderson, Bertell Ollman and Ethel Tobach. Moderator Sean Sweeney
***
4:15 pm to 5:45 pm
** Performances with the Bread and Puppet Circus, Changing Times Tap, Ngo Thanh Nhan and Stephen Smith
** Health, Environment and Human Survival; with Neftali Garcia, Joel Kovel, Rosemari Mealy and Suzanne Ross. Moderator: Eli Messinger
** The Ruling Ideas: Media and Ideology; with Ellen Braune, Alexander Cockburn, Janine Jackson, Dred Scott Keyes, Samori Marksman, Andrea Lockett and Dee Dee Hallek. Moderator: Steve Brier
** Globalization, Labor and International Solidarity; with Radhika Lal, Biju Mathew, Maria Helena Moreira Alves, Peter Kwong, Michael Simmons and Manuel Villanueva. Moderator: Lisa Maya Knauer
** Labor and Unemployment: How Capitalism Works to make You Not Work; with Helen Lachs Ginsburg, Myra Diaz, Berta Gaitan and Jim Haughton. Moderator: Sylvia Aron
** Prisons: Repression and Class War; with Pam Africa, Vicente "Panama" Alba, Bruce Franklin, Bob Lederer and Cleo Silver
***
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm: Dinner Break
***
Closing Program -- 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm
** Reading of excerpt from Bertolt Brecht's _The Life of Galileo_ with Wallace Shawn
** A Conversation with Maria Helena Alves, Barbara Fields, Sam Gindin, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Levins, Cornel West and Ellen Meiksins Wood
***
The Manifestivity is sponsored by The Brecht Forum.
Individual Endorsers: Maria Helena Alves; Samir Amin; Sam Anderson, NY Metro Black Radical Congress; Sylvia Aron, Adelphi University School of Social Work; Amiri Baraka; Rosalyn Baxandall; Annanya Bhattacharjee; Betsy Blackmar; Carl Bloice; Augusto Boal; Robert and Frances Boehm; Mary Boger; Ellen Braune; Stephen Brier; Dennis Brutus; Paul Buhle; Vinie Burrows; Joseph Buttigieg; Leslie Cagan; Eric Canepa; Luciana Castellina; Noam Chomsky; Julie Christie; Andrew Comer; Angela Davis; Ossie Davis; Ruby Dee; Martin Duberman; Mary Dugan; Ann Druyan; Terry Eagleton; Ghassan Fawzi; Rabbi Michael Feinberg, New York Labor-Religion Coalition; Hector Figueroa; Eric Foner; Mike Fuller, Prensa Latina & Jose Marti International Institute of Journalism, Havana, Cuba; Eduardo Galeano; Neftali Garcia; Dan Georgakas; Sam Gindin; Norman K. Gottwald; Stephen Jay Gould; Joan Greenbaum; John Hanlon; Sandra Harding; David Harvey; Ron Hayduk; Bill Henning, CWA Local 1180; Cherrene Horazuk; Boris Kagarlitsky; Lisa Maya Knauer; Bill Koehnlein; Karen Kurenski; Tony Kushner; Maureen La Mar; Peter Laarman, Judson Memorial Church; David Laibman, _Science and Society_; Francette Lazard, EspacesMarx, Paris; Roger Leisner, Radio Free Maine; Jerry Lembcke; Diane Greene Lent; Hanna and Les Lessinger; Richard Levins; Susan Lowes; Michael Lowy, EspacesMarx, Paris; Elizabeth Macklin; Harry Magdoff; Victoria Maldonado; Manning Marable; Peter and Frances Marcuse; Samori Marksman, WBAI Radio; Esperanza Martell; Biju Mathew, Forum of Indian Leftists; David McReynolds; Alice Meaker, Lower East Side Collective; Eli Messinger; Liz Mestres; Gerald Meyer; Jakob Moneta; Vicente Navarro; Manny Ness; Ngo Thanh Nhan; Yusuf Nuruddin; Shivaun O'Casey; Bertell Ollman; John Pierre Page, Confederation Generale de Travail, France; Grace Paley; Leo Panitch, _The Socialist Register_; William A. Pelz, Ph.D., Institute of Working Class History; Renee Pendergrass; Charles Post; Victor Quintana; Sofia Quintero; Tajudeen Abdul Raheem, Global Pan African Movement; Merle Ratner; Jeremy Raw; Colin Robinson; Mimi Rosenberg; Frank Rosengarten; Sheila Rowbotham; Nan Rubin, Community Media Services; Annette T. Rubinstein; Sungur Savran, Party of Peace and Solidarity, Turkey; Hermann Scheer, member, Bundestag, Social Democratic Party, Germany; Pete Seeger; Anwar Shaikh; Joel Shufro; Daniel Singer; Greg Smith; Hobart Spalding; Bill Tabb; Studs Terkel; Sheila Thimba; Rene Toback; Carmen Vazquez; Lise Vogel; Michael Wallace; Victor Wallis; Joel Washington; Paul Washington; Cornel West; Michael Yates; Ethan Young; Mike Zielinski (Organizations for Identification Only).
Organizational Endorsers: Action for Community Empowerment; Catholic Worker; City College of New York SLAM (Student Liberation Action Movement); Coalition for a District Alternative (CODA); Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence (CAAAV); Committee for Humanitarian Assistance to Iranian Refugees; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES); Committees of Correspondence; Communist Party of the Philippines; Democratic Socialists of America (DSA); El Centro Salvadoreno; Freedom Road; Freedom Socialist Party; Guyanese-American Workers United; Haiti Anti-Intervention Committee; Immigrant Workers Association; International Federation of Iranian Refugees; Jews for Racial and Economic Justice; _Left Business Observer_; Lower East Side Community Labor Coalition; Monthly Review Press; National Lawyers Guild; National Nicaragua Network; New York Metro Black Radical Congress; North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA); Philippine Forum; Radical Women; _Rethinking Marxism_; _Samar_ Magazine; _Science and Society_; _Socialism and Democracy_; The Socialist Party USA; _The Socialist Register_; Solidarity; The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory; Verso Press; War Resisters League; Workers Communist Party of Iran
Manifesto Commemoration Committee: Eric Canepa, coordinator; Sam Anderson, Sylvia Aron, Steve Brier, Mary Boger, Kira Brunner, Andrew Comer, Peggy Crane, Steve Duncombe, Peter Filardo, Rosa Garcia, Dan Georgakas, Joan Greenbaum, Ron Hayduk, Bill Henning, Diane Greene Lent, Danny Luce, Bill Koehnlein, Biju Mathew, Eli Messinger, Liz Mestres, Yusuf Nuruddin, Adele Oltman, Ed Ott, Leo Panitch, Renee Pendergrass, Merle Ratner, Colin Robinson, Rosina Rodriguez, Frank Rosengarten, Rob Saute, S. Shankar, Sean Sweeney, Kit Wainer, Paul Washington, Juanita Webster, Ethan Young
Very Special Thanks To: Larry Geddes and Ermena Vinluan for producing the opening cultural program; Sheena Calvert and Parlour Graphics for design services; and the many volunteers who worked behind the scenes to make this event possible.
Louis Proyect
(http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)