an account from one person who attended the counter-demonstration in Collinsville to the anti-illegal immigrant rally.

A guerrilla performance troupe descended upon Venus Envy in the St. Louis Center on 4-15-2006 to highlight the event organizers' lack of a fair transgender policy. The performers staged a tongue-in-cheek freak/fashion show, complete with barker wearing top-hat and tails, highlighting the gender ambiguity of each “freak.”

Today, St. Louis joined the national outcry against HR4437. Demonstrators assembled downtown in Kiener Plaza earlier this evening, carrying flags and banners with messages like “Ningun ser humano es ilegal: No human being is illegal.” A wide array of speakers, including Archbishop Raymond Burke, addressed a packed arena sharing a message of determination for immigrant families.

More Info: April 10 Mobilization | New America Opportunity Campaign | US Indymedia | No HR4437 Network

St. Louis IMC will be covering the 2006 National Summit for Community Wireless Networks, taking place March 31-April 2 in Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. CAMP and STLIMC will be participating in and covering the conference, and we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for all sorts of neat stuff this summit promises to offer. In particular, CAMP is interested in building a community wireless net right here on Cherokee St., and we hope to find lots of useful pointers at this summit.

More info: summit schedule of events, registration to participate

4-20 UPDATE: Wrap-up of the Wifi Conference

On Sunday March 19, 2-4p, St. Louis Instead of War is hosting an assembly in the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park on the 3rd Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq. There will be food provided by Food Not Bombs, panel speakers, art, poetry, music and other displays highlighting the human costs of the war. Download the flyer in color or in black & white.

Update 3-15: There is now contact info for artists contributing to the assembly. Read on for more.

Billboard modified in response to anti-GLBT conference...

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Food not Bombs is currently active in St. Louis again and is serving in Lucas Park on Fridays at noon. Lucas Park is located on 14th and Locust, in an increasingly gentrified part of downtown in which the homeless population are under constant assault by the police and the arbitrary power of the capitalist housing market.

[St. Louis Food not Bombs website | Food Not Bombs Needs Donations]

Several hundred people gathered Monday morning on January 16th in front of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis to honor Dr. King's life and work for racial and economic justice. The diverse crowd not only wished to remember King's work but also promote the fact that much of what he fought for still must be resolved in this racially and economically divided military state.

Earlier in the week, several hundred people attended an event at Harris Stowe State University to hear Civil Rights Activist Andrew Young. Multi-cultural dancers, musicians, and singers were also included in the ceremony.

Read the St. Louis American [St. Louis's 36th Annual MLK Day | All in the name of MLK]

Pictures [1 | 2 | 3]

The Communities Arts and Media Project (CAMP) won a months-long struggle to operate a community center in their location at 3022 Cherokee when the St. Louis Board of Adjustment issued an occupancy permit at a hearing on December 14. Though there are still some issues to be resolved--such as the occupancy limit for the first floor--the CAMP community will open the first-floor community space in Spring 2006.

Article originally written for the Confluence. Click here to read.

January 3, 2006. St. Louis, Missouri. Several St. Louis community organizations say that the City of St. Louis is rebuffing their invitations to discuss problems with its lead programs. "The City says that it wants to discuss lead with citizens; but it will not give us an answer," charges Barbara Chicherio, Co-Coordinator of the Gateway Green Alliance. "We've sent Ron Smith an invitation by mail; we invited him by e-mail; and he has not returned any of my calls."

St. Louis has a lead epidemic, with poisoning rates 7 to 10 times that of the US average. Why has City Government failed to make progress in lead removal?

How does one organize in an anti-racist way? How do we illustrate the systemic racism and classism that exist within our society? These questions were several of many questions addressed this weekend at three events organized by Jobs with Justice, The Organization for Black Struggle, and the St. Louis Instead of War Coalition.