3rd Annual Law & Disorder Conference, Portland State University, April 6-8th 2012.....Finalized Program
From: "Law-An Disorder"
Date: Wed, March 28, 2012
*STUDENTS FOR UNITY PRESENTS*
*
The 3rd Annual Law & Disorder Conference*
*
April 6-8th 2012 Portland State University
Smith Memorial Student Union
Free, open to the public, disability affirmative & Safer Space** *
*
*
*Links: Bmedia
Trailer
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* lawandisorder.wordpress.com *
* lawandisorder@gmail.com *
* Conference
**Facebook
*
* **Direct Action Training Workshops on
Sunday
**
* *Friday night panel *"Gender and the PIC - Towards a
Queer, Trans and Feminist Abolition
Politic"
*
*
This year's event featuring:
Chairman Fred Hamton Jr.- POCC/BPPC
Dylcia Pagan-Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner
Captive Genders-Eric Stanely, Dean Spade, Ralowe Ampu, Vikki Law
Insurgent Theater- Interactive Prison Abolition Theater Collective
Paulette D'auteuil- The Jericho Movement
Lauren Regan- Civil Liberties Defense Center
Scott Crow- Common Ground Collective
Lauren Ornelas- Food Empowerment Project
Critical Resistance- Grassroots Prison Abolition Organization
PM Press
Civil Liberties Defense Center
Decolonize PDX
Rose City Copwatch
Bmedia Collective
Oregon Jericho
NW Jericho Coalition
Parasol Climate Collective
PDX Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
Portland Rising Tide
Prison Activist Resource Center
Cascadia Earth First
Portland Animal Defense League
Portland Industrial Workers of the World
Rosehip Medic Collective
Student Animal Liberation Coalition
Institute for Anarchist Studies
Students for Unity
Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee
Redbird Prison Abolition
Insurgent Theater
Portland Books to Prisoners
Committee to Connect the Dots
Program for 3rd Annual Law & Disorder Conference
April 6th-8th 2012
All Events at Portland State University in Smith Memorial Building
1825 Southwest Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
**Evening events for 7th & 8th are in Hoffman Hall*
*Friday April 6th 2012 5:30pm-9:30pm*
*5:30pm-7:30pm (Vanport Room 338) *
*Dylcia Pagan- Former Puerto Rican Political Prisoner *
*7:30pm-9:30pm (Vanport Room 338)*
*Gender and the Prison Industrial Complex: Towards a Queer, Trans and
Feminist Abolition Politic*
Eric Stanley, Dean Spade, Ralowe Ampu, Vikki Law
*Saturday April 7th 2012 9:00am-8:30pm*
*9:00am-10:30am (Vanport Room 338) *
*Doors open, Coffee, tabling, baked goods!*
*10:30am-11:45am Panels 1,2 & 3 (327, 328 & 329)*
*Panel 1 (327)*
*Decolonization Means Prison Abolition*
Decolonize PDX- Collective of radical people of color in Portland, Oregon
*Summary*
This panel will feature members of Decolonize PDX exploring the radical
implications of prison revolt, prison abolition, anti-blackness, and
colonization. We will engage in a dialogue with those present about the
necessity of and opportunities for radical
movements supporting organizing behind the walls. The existence of the
prison industrial complex is a continuation of the colonial project.
Resistance behind prison walls coupled with outside support has radical
liberatory implications for those of us
caught in the cage of a socially and ecologically collapsing world.
*Panel 2 (328)*
*OWS, Repression and New Models for Society*
Peter Bohmer- Activist scholar (The Evergreen State College)
*Summary*
What promises does the OWS movement bring? What is left to be desired?
Peter Bohmer will review the political possibilities, limitations and
opportunities resulting from OWS. These questions will be addressed within
the historical context of earlier national, and transnational movements,
given his experience as a community organizer, economic scholar, and
anti-capitalist advocate for global communities. This discussion will
reflect on what about the national and global state of affairs has sparked
the community mobilization efforts. This discussion also hopes to find
ways to show avenues for cross-movement solidarity.
*Panel 3 (329)*
*Know Your Rights Training*
Lauren Regan- Civil Liberties Defense Center
*Summary*
The Know Your Rights training will give you the confidence to make
decisions about how to engage your actions. Where is the line drawn
between legal and potentially illegal protesting? Armed with knowledge,
activists can make informed choices regarding their interactions with
government agents and can best protect their rights should they end up in
handcuffs and in the legal system. The training will be facilitated by
Lauren Regan, executive director from the Civil Liberties Defense
Center
protests and gives people tools
they need to invoke their rights.
*12:00pm-1:15pm Panels 4,5, 6 & 7 (327, 328, 329 & 333)*
*Panel 4 (327)*
*Political Prisoners and Cultural Memory: Resisting Repression on the
Inside and Out*
Erika Gisela Abad- Doctoral Candidate in American Studies, Center for
Social and Environmental Justice
Paulette D'Auteuil- Co-chair for the Jericho Amnesty Movement
*Summary*
Political Prisoners (PP’s) have experienced repression inside and outside
of prison. The struggle to maintain cultural memory and a sense of identity
in empire is a great challenge. This panel will discuss the history and
significance of u.s.-held PP’s, the movements that influenced
OWS/Decolonize movement and how new forms of repression and state
sanctioned terrorism propose new challenges for activists today. Given the
wide array of political protests and mobilizations that have taken place
within the past few years, the lessons we can learn from current and former
PP’s are crucial. Aspects of those lessons are Puerto Rican PP’s amnesty
and democratic struggles in the context of Puerto Rico’s colonial
relationship with the United States. This presentation will touch upon PP’s
efforts to support their communities’ disenfranchisement while speaking out
against institutional abuses and the need for continued mobilization in
colonized communities. Within the frame of this panel’s theme, we will
also discuss U.S. North American indigenous prisoners spiritual and
religious repression as such is connected to the greater question of their
communities’ continued colonial reality. Indigenous PP’s such as Leonard
Peltier and Oso Blanco are examples of Native prisoners who struggle daily
to practice their culture within the western confines of the U.S. empires
prison industrial complex. On the outside the government can now legally
detain and disappear citizens and undocumented people further indicating a
military state trampling constitutional, human, non-human and environmental
rights.
**
*Panel 5 (328)*
*Abolishing the Police*
Rose City Copwatch- Portland-based organization that seeks to disrupt
police violence and abolish police institutions through education, action
and movement building.
*Summary*
Members of Rose City Copwatch will lead a discussion around the role of
police institutions in society and the need to build a world without
police. We will look at different alternative models of safety and
accountability rooted in peoples movements and think about the lessons of
these struggles and experiments in abolishing racist state violence and
building and defending safe communities.
*Panel 6 (329)*
*Green is the New Red!: Updates on Earth and Animal Liberation Political
Prisoners*
Lauren Regan- Civil Liberties Defense Center
*Summary*
Over time activists defending the environment and non-human species have
been targeted and infiltrated by the government. Learn about their cases
and how you can help. This presentation will focus on U.S.-held Political
Prisoners from the earth and animal liberation movements.
*Panel 7 (333)*
*Striking Based Self Defense*
Anthony Patch- Local anarchist self defense instructor
*1:15pm-2:00pm Lunch (Wherever you can get it!)*
*2:00pm-3:15pm Panels 8, 9, 10 & 11 (327,328, 329 & 333)*
*Panel 8 (327)*
*What, Me Worry? The Rise Of The Surveillance State & What We Can Do About
It*
scott crow- Anarchist community organizer, writer, speaker
*Summary*
This presentation will examine the rise of the current surveillance
industrial complex and its impact for radical social movements today. Crow
will also place the current strategies and tactics of government and
corporate surveillance in the historical context of political repression in
the US; reflect on his personal experiences with surveillance,
infiltration, being labeled a domestic terrorist and repression; and offer
ideas for how activists can defend themselves and their communities to
continue creating more just and sustainable worlds.
*Panel 9 (328)*
*"Reach Out and Write!" *
Oregon Jericho Movement - Local Chapter for the Jericho Amnesty Movement
Suna Nash- International Political Prisoner activist and volunteer with
Portland Books to Prisoners
*Summary*
This panel will focus on the different areas of state repression and
discrimination that go into making a Political Prisoner (PP,) and why
communication with them is so important. We will also cover some basic
guidelines for writing and sending books in to prisoners. Writing to PP’s
helps people behind bars counter feelings of isolation. It makes state
institutions mindful of the fact that people on the outside are watching
how they treat the prisoners in their care. Portland Books to Prisoners is
an all-volunteer collective working to distribute books free of charge to
prisoners. We are dedicated to offering people behind bars the
opportunities for self-empowerment, education and enjoyment that reading
can provide. Oregon Jericho Movement is the Portland based chapter of the
National Jericho Amnesty Movement. Jericho's goal is to gain recognition
of the fact that political prisoners exist inside of the United States and
to win amnesty for them.
**
*Panel 10 (329)*
*The Forgotten Palestinian Political Prisoners*
Wael Elasady- Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights
*Summary*
The situation of Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails gets
very little coverage in the mainstream media. For 64 years Palestinian
political prisoners have endured deplorable torture, abuse, and
persecution, yet remain steadfast in their commitment to the struggle for
liberation and return. Palestinian prisoners represent a microcosm of
Israel’s brutal occupation, crippling siege, and systematic discrimination.
*Panel 11 (333) *
*Drop the Drug War Workshop*
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee
*Summary*
The Hands Off Latin America committee of the Portland Central America
Solidarity Committee (PCASC) is offering a popular education workshop
exploring the causes and impacts of the "War on Drugs." Through
participatory discussion and group exercises, we will ask who benefits from
the Drug War and who pays the costs. We will also look at grassroots
resistance to the War on Drugs. This workshop is facilitated by PCASC's
Hands Off Latin America (HOLA) committee, a group that works to fight
militarism and US intervention abroad, and to support movements for social
justice in Latin America.
**
*3:30pm-4:45pm Panels 12, 13, 14 & 15 (327,328, 329 & 333)*
*Panel 12 (327) *
*Beyond Veganism: Food Justice*
Lauren Ornelas- Food Empowerment Project
*Summary*
Everyone should have the right to choose foods they want to eat, especially
foods that are healthier for them and that meet some of their ethical
beliefs. Communities of color and low-income communities often have
difficulty accessing healthier foods when compared to higher income areas.
This presentation will address how these communities are often unable to
purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as other vegan foods that are
healthier for them and for the planet. Spotlighted will be Food Empowerment
Project's work in Santa Clara County, CA to not only help assess the issue
of access in these communities, but to also find solutions to a problem that
can be seen in communities around the world. This talk will also explore the
lives of farm workers in the fields and slavery in the chocolate industry as
every food-related industry is laced with its own corporate greed. Ways in
which every individual can make a difference will be covered.
*Panel 13 (328) *
*The Role of Writing and Research in Developing Revolutionary Movements*
Hosted by the Institute for Anarchist Studies and co-sponsored by Team
Colors
*Summary*
The Role of Writing and Research in Developing Revolutionary Movements will
explore the importance of the written word and engaged research to movement
building. When revolutionary movements incorporate research practices,
knowledge development, and self-education they strengthen their participant
members as well as intensify the effects their organizing and strategies
can have. Topics such as the importance of theory, the role of study
groups, co-research strategies, using the public library for research,
investigating organized racists, and the importance of radical media will
be discussed. Six ten-minute presentations will be followed by a two tier
discussion period: the first will explore specific questions for current
campaigns, to be followed by open discussion. Come prepared to participate
with questions from your own organizing. Panel participants include
representatives from the Institute of Anarchist Studies, Portland Occupier,
Rose City Antifa, Team Colors Collective, Parasol Climate Collective,
Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, and a local radical librarian.
*Panel 14 (329)*
*30 years of Covert Disruption of the Movement*
Keith McHenry- Artist and author
*Summary*
The history and methods used in covert disruption of the left in the U.S.
since the end of COINTELPRO to today and ways we can make sure it does not
harm our work. A review of the strategies used in coordination by local,
state, federal and corporate efforts to stop nonviolent protest including
dirty tricks which have been used against the presenter. From police
doubles, stress position cages, wiretapped and other strategies that didn't
end with COINTELPRO or start after 9/11. Plus strategies on how to protect
the movement from these programs. Materials and internal government memos
provided.
**
*Panel 15 (333) *
*Prison Divestment, Corporate Campaigning and Direct Action*
Portland Central America Solidarity Committee
*Summary *
Members of the Portland Central America Solidarity Committee (PCASC) will
speak about their campaign targeting Wells Fargo for their financial
investments in the private, for-profit prison industry. Wells Fargo is a
major shareholder in Geo Group, and is also invested in the Corrections
Corporation of America (CCA), the industry leaders in for-profit prisons
and immigrant detention centers. PCASC is employing a campaign strategy
that combines divestment, corporate campaigning, and strategic direct
action to target the financiers of the private prison industry. Come to
this panel to find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved!
**
*4:45pm-6:00pm (Multicultural Center) *
*FREE DINNER: CATERED BY ENJONI CAFE!*
*5:30pm-6:30pm *
*Bo Brown- Former George Jackson Brigade Political Prisoners, Prison
Activist Resource Center*
**
*7:00pm-8:30pm (Hoffman Hall) ***This is in a separate building from Smith
Memorial*
*Hip Hop as a Tool for Organizing*
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.-* **P*risoners *O*f *C*onscience
*C*ommittee/*B*lack
*P*anther *P*arty *C*ubs
*C*hairman *F*red *H*ampton *Jr*. is an unleashed Political Prisoner who
was incarcerated a little under nine years in various state prisons. In
the eyes of the state, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. is a three-strike
offender: *Strike One:* For simply being African. *Strike Two:* For
being the offspring of freedom fighters: assassinated Deputy Chairman of
the Illinois Chapter Black Panther Party Fred Hampton, and his
mother/comrade Akua Njeri. And…*Strike Three:* For continuing the fight
for the liberation of African people. His powerful organizing throughout
the Black community placed a target on him just as the one that took his
father’s life. He was kidnapped from the streets by the infamous Chicago
Police Department, as well as a myriad of other law enforcement agencies in
May 1992. The state claimed Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. firebombed two
Korean owned stores on the south side of Chicago, IL supposedly in response
to the Simi Valley verdict rendered in the case of the LAPD beating of
Rodney King. While imprisoned, the attacks continued: threats on his
life, denying him visitation rights, sabotage of mail, destruction of
personal property, and long stints in “segregation”…the prison within the
prison. Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. continues to expose the brutal prison
conditions and continues to fight for the release still held political
prisoners, prisoners of war, and prisoners of conscience. Chairman Fred
Jr. also continues to push for pardon based on his innocence in order to
clear his name of the dubious charges. Under his leadership POCC/BPPC has
authored and organized campaigns around the African Anti Terrorism Bill;
Harriet Tubman Code; Code of Culture; and much more. A revolutionary,
powerful speaker and spoken word artist, Chairman Fred’s poignant
presentations have captivated audiences worldwide.
**
*Sunday April 8th 2012 9:00am-8:30pm*
*9:00am-10:30am (Vanport Room 338) *
*Doors open, Coffee, tabling, baked goods!*
*10:30am-11:45am Panels 1,2,3 (327, 328, 329)*
*Panel 1 (327)*
*Dismantling Patriarchy, Dismantling Capitalism: Part I*
Portland Industrial Workers of the World
*Summary*
“Dismantling Patriarchy, Dismantling Capitalism” is based on the
experiences of female-identified fellow workers who have found commonality
in their experience of gender oppression and have developed strategies for
organizing in solidarity with people of all genders.
*Panel 2 (328) *
*Women’s Prison Resistance: Part I*
Victoria Law- Writer, photographer, zinester, mother and co-founder of
Books Through Bars (NYC)
*Summary*
In this presentation, I will use the stories and observations in *Resistance
Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women* to 1) examine the
specific issues facing women behind bars discussing ways in which
incarcerated women are resisting and organizing 2) examine the obstacles
they face when trying to organize inside 3) challenge the audience to
examine *why* these actions have not been (and are not being) recognized
and talked about in discussions about the prison-industrial complex and
prisoner activism and resistance 4) generate discussion of concrete ways
(both big and small) that outside people, especially those dedicated to
resisting and abolishing the prison-industrial complex, can provide support
to women who are struggling inside.
*Panel 3 (329)*
*The Dark Side of the Internet: A Bit About Darknets*
Kyle Terry
*Summary*
Darknets are the hidden and obscure places of the internet. They are
used by organizations, law enforcement, activists, and people who
don't want to conform to the (very) public nature of the high level
internet. What are they? This talk will touch on the history of
darknets, what types of darknets exist and how activists and
hacktivists use them.
**
*12:00pm-1:15pm Panels 4,5, 6 & 7 **(327, 328, 329 & 333)*
*Panel 4 (327)*
*Dismantling Patriarchy, Dismantling Capitalism: Part II*
Portland Industrial Workers of the World
*Summary*
“Dismantling Patriarchy, Dismantling Capitalism” is based on the
experiences of female-identified fellow workers who have found commonality
in their experience of gender oppression and have developed strategies for
organizing in solidarity with people of all genders.
*Panel 5 (328)*
*Women’s Prison Resistance: Part II*
Victoria Law- Writer, photographer, zinester, mother, co-founder of Books
Through Bars (NYC)
*Summary*
Although the dramatic increase of women in prison has led to a growing
interest in female incarceration, the voices and actions of the women
inside often remain unheard. Much of the recent literature and discussion
on the subject articulates how the needs of incarcerated women differ from
those of their male counterparts. However, it fails to examine how these
differences have affected and changed the ways in which women challenge and
organize against prison conditions and how these differences prevent
outside recognition of these acts of resistance.
*Panel 6 (329)*
*Occupation Nation: A Video Reportback From the Movement*
Bmedia Collective- Local Video Art Collective
*Summary*
An interactive analysis framed by video clips from across the national
Occupy Movement. B Media Collective will facilitate a reflective discussion
prompted by video recorded during the occupation in New York, DC,
Philadelphia, New Haven, Baltimore, Providence, Portland with an eye
towards deepening our analysis of the experience. Discussion will revolve
around the history of occupation, the experience in the camps, the process
of internal organizing, the personal transformation evident in the camps,
the role of the media, and the national similarities and localized
differences between the camps. Video clips from the national occupations
and pieces produced within Portland will frame the discussion and prompt
reflection. The goal of the workshop is to share first-hand footage and
interviews from around the country, begin to synthesize the larger reality
of the occupation, and enable space to process the experience within a
collective setting.
**
*Panel 7 (333) *
*Connect the Dots 101: White Supremacy and the Prison Industrial Complex*
Lydia Bartholow- The Committee to Connect the Dots
*Summary*
This workshop offers a framework for tackling white supremacy within
radical currents. It briefly covers the history of white supremacy, the
ways in which the prison industrial complex is central to the maintenance
of a white supremacist culture, and finish by working together to connect
the dots between multiple struggles.
*1:15pm-2:00pm FREE LUNCH: CATERED BY ENJONI CAFE!*
*2:00pm-3:15pm Panels 8, 9 & 10 (327, 328 & 329)*
*Panel 8 (327)*
*Safe and Healthy in the Streets*
Rosehip Medic Collective- Group of volunteer street medics and health care
activists active in Portland, Oregon
*Summary*
Come join the Rosehip Medic Collective as we discuss ways to prepare
yourself for the next demonstration, occupation, or whatever else may
be on the horizon. We'll be covering everything from warm layers (no
cotton!) to jail support and the proper treatment for pepperspray.
**
*Panel 9 (328)*
*Abolition 101*
Critical Resistance- National grassroots prison abolition organization
*Summary*
This will be an interactive workshop that will provide participants with
the opportunity to engage in thinking through the Prison Industrial Complex
with a focus on policing. Participants will work through working
definitions of the PIC and Abolition before tackling the topic of policing,
how it's used and what we can do about it. Through video and scenarios,
participants will walk through what community responses to the policing and
the impact of the PIC. This is all with the goal of really seeing a clear
picture of where policing fits in the PIC puzzle.
**
*Panel 10 (329)*
*Decolonizing Street Art*
Decolonize PDX- Collective of radical people of color in Portland, Oregon
*Summary*
This interactive workshop will feature Decolonize PDX’s street
actions, which have involved props and art to engage folks on issues
surrounding police brutality and prison abolition. Participants will
give a short explanation of our methods, and have time to engage with
the actual props on both of those issues. We will also have a new set
up designed to forefront issues of white privilege, and will be making
a new video during the workshop, with all those who attend as
participants.
**
*3:30pm-4:30pm (Hoffman Hall) *
*In the Belly*
Insurgent Theater
*Summary*
In the belly is where things digest, where they are broken down so their
value can be extracted. This is where things are made to rot. If our
society is a beast, its belly is the prison system. This work from
Insurgent Theatre seeks to manifest imprisonment on stage, overlays it with
critical analysis of the system, and follows up with in-depth discussion
about abolishing prison in America.
**
*4:30pm-5:30pm (Hoffman Hall) *
*The Lucasville Uprising*
Presented by RedBird Prison Abolition
*Summary*
In 1992 more than 400 prisoners protested the oppressive and racist
policies at the Southern Ohio Correction Facility (SOCF). During one of the
longest prison uprisings in U.S. history, inmates came together across gang
and racial divides to not only confront the state,* *but also negotiate a
peaceful resolution. Although the negotiations included an agreement of no
repercussions for anyone involved in the uprising, the state has since then
targeted individuals perceived as 'leaders' of the uprising. The trials
for those involved have been fraught with snitch testimony, coercion,
obstructed access to council and evidence, and biased judges and court
rooms. Today, dozens of people are serving time or are condemned to death
for their alleged involvement. The Lucasville Uprising and its aftermath
brings up important questions for those working on prison issues
everywhere. The workshop focuses on the voices of prisoners, and in the
past we have had an inmate call-in to speak about the case. We also
include written and radio pieces made by prisoners involved in the
rebellion. Although the workshop is partitioned into four general
sections, all the parts encourage participants to actively examine and
respond to some of the hard questions we ask.
More specifically, the Lucasville Uprising Workshop will...
1. summarize the uprising and the aftermath
2. compare and contrast Lucasville with present day prisoner resistance
(Pelican Bay, Georgia Prison Strike, etc)
3. explore convict unity across racial factions and
4. discover better ways to support prisoners in resistance.
****Direct Action Workshops at the 3rd Annual Law & Disorder Conference*
*Sunday April 8th 2012 10:30am-3:15pm*
Portland State University in the Smith Memorial Building
1825 Southwest Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
(Multicultural Center-2nd Floor)
*10:30am-11:45pm*
*Mass-mobilizations with Spokes Councils and Affinity Groups: The Portland
Action Lab Model*
Portland Rising Tide and Portland Action Lab
*Summary*
During the beginning of the Occupy Movement, a group of organizers in
Portland recognized the potential for days of mass direct action and began
organizing the direct action spokes council that would become the Portland
Action Lab. The Portland Action Lab organized the N17: Occupy the Banks and
the F29: Shut Down the Corporations days of action. The latter were part of
some 80 actions across the country that were called for and coordinated by
the Portland Action Lab. This panel will explore the model used by the
Portland action Lab and provide lessons learned from the experience, which
can both empower and provide tools for people interested or engaged in
planning large scale direct action.
*12:00pm-1:15pm*
*Urban Direct Action: Orchestration, Planning, & Implementation*
Portland Animal Defense League
*Summary*
Direct action amounts to a diversity of tactics that can be utilized in a
myriad of unique circumstances. Variations in an activist's surroundings
and conditions can vastly alter the options and plans for direct action.
The urban environment provides for one set of these particular
characteristics. This workshop will explore the options for direct
action in an urban setting, the circumstances that act as limitations,
the process of action planning, and the nuts and bolts of action
engagement.
*2:00pm-3:15pm*
*Renegade Blockades*
Kim Marks- Grassroots organizer, Rising Tide and Cascadia Forest Alliance
*Summary*
This is focused on back country actions: scouting, action planning
learning how to be effective with out getting arrested, how to survive in
the woods and a power point of different types blockades.
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