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<P>Dear Friends:</P>
<P>December 1 has been designated as a National Day of Absence against war,
racism and economic injustice to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks'
refusal to give up her seat on the bus. </P>
<P>Students, workers and all activists are being encouraged to stop working,
skip school, stop shopping or in other ways participate in the system, and
instead to join activities to protest the wars in Iraq and Afganistan and their
impact on the growing poverty at home. The Day of Absence has been endorsed by
the Detroit City Council, and City Councils in Baltimore, New York City,
Cleveland and Oakland, CA among others. </P>
<P>More information on the December 1 Day of Absence can be obtained at
</FONT><A href="outbind://5/www.troopsoutnow.org"><U><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2>www.troopsoutnow.org</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2> <</FONT><A
href="http://www.troopsoutnow.org/"><U><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2>http://www.troopsoutnow.org</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2>>.</P>
<P>In Detroit the Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice
(MECAWI) will be having an all day teach in at Central United Methodist Church
from 1:00 pm to 8:00pm. Videos on Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights Movements will
be shown, and there will be workshops on anti-war and social justice struggles
locally from 1 to 6 PM.</P>
<P>That evening from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm there will be a rally at Central United
Methodist Church- 2nd Floor, 23 E. Adams at Grand Circus Park to demand an
immediate end to the War in Iraq and immediate withdrawal of US troops, and that
the war budget be directed instead to funding human needs at home, such as
health care, aid against utility shut-offs, jobs, education, etc.</P>
<P>The leaflet for Dec. 1 in Detroit will soon be available at </FONT><A
href="outbind://5/www.mecawi.org"><U><FONT color=#0000ff
size=2>www.mecawi.org</U></FONT></A><FONT size=2> along with the Detroit City
Council resolution. Call</P>
<P>313-680-5508 for more information or arrange to get leaflets.</P>
<P>In addition on Tuesday, November 22, at 5:00 pm, there is a Detroit school
board meeting at the Detroit School of the Arts at 123 Selden. </P>
<P>Join us at the meeting to demand that the Detroit School Board authorize
activities to commemorate December 1 at all schools or that students be allowed
to skip school to participate in local activities. </P>
<P>Feel free to raise similar resolutions in your school districts and to
organize Dec. 1 "No Business As Usual - Day of Absence" actions in your
locality. ---David for MECAWI</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>