Refuse & Resist! ("R&R!") was a human rights activist group in the United States. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled The United States of America —commonly referred to as the It was founded in New York City in 1987 by Emile de Antonio, Dore Ashton, Dennis Brutus, John Gerassi, Abbie Hoffman, William Kunstler, C. Clark Kissinger, Conrad Lynn, Sonia Sanchez, Rev. The City of New York Emile de Antonio (1919 – December 16, 1989) was a director and producer of Documentary films, usually detailing political or social events circa 1960s Dennis Vincent Brutus (born November 28, 1924, Salisbury Rhodesia) is a South African Poet. Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30 1936 &ndash April 12 1989 was a radical social and political activist in the United States who co-founded the William Moses Kunstler ( July 7, 1919 - September 4, 1995) was an American self-described "radical lawyer" and Civil rights C Clark Kissinger (born 1940 was the National Secretary of Students for a Democratic Society in 1964-65 Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. Fernando Santillana, and other activists who were concerned that the American government under U.S. President Ronald Reagan was moving in a "reactionary" direction against the rights of its people. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Reactionary (also reactionist) is a derogatory term usually used by the Left wing in regards to movements which oppose radical change in society and seeks a return Artist Keith Haring created R&R!'s logo in 1988. Keith Haring ( May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City The organization's national office was located in New York City and at various times chapters existed in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Honolulu, Hawaii; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization officially dissolved in 2006, but activists continue to maintain a website at http://www.refuseandresist.org [1].
Refuse and Resist! opposed censorship, war, and police brutality. Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Police brutality is the world wide use of excessive force usually physical but potentially also in the form verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by The organization worked to expand reproductive freedom and played an active role in the defense of abortion clinics. Reproductive rights are Rights relating to reproduction and Reproductive health. It also actively supported rights for immigrants. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term The group engaged in a range of tactics, including direct action in support of their objectives, but it did not endorse candidates for elected public office. Direct action is political action which happens outside normal political channels via indirect actions such as electing representatives.
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Governance and Methods
The organization was made up of affiliated independent organizations, individuals, local chapters, and less formal national 'networks' organized around specific initiatives or interests. The central form of the organization was a National Council which met periodically to "identify new reactionary attacks and to encourage resistance to them"[1]. Individual members and affiliated groups each held one vote at these conferences.
From September 1987 through early 2002, Refuse & Resist! published CounterAttack magazine to alert people to recent incidents and developments and upcoming events concerning their causes. They did the same by republishing relevant news articles (from various sources) online.
In 1988, R&R! organized "Resist in Concert!" at the New York Palladium, with performances by Sinéad O'Connor, Afrika Bambaataa, De La Soul, Ikey C & Easy-Ad, Karen Finley, Lenny Kaye, Shinehead, and others. Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor (ʃɪˈneɪd oʊˈkɒnɚ (born 8 December 1966 is a Grammy Award winning Irish singer and songwriter [2]
Following the Resist in Concert initiative, activists organized the Artist Network, which focused on fostering progressive art and which included many artists who were not dues-paying members. In late 2004, R&R! began to promote "Resistance Book & Film Clubs", which were also independent of the organization, with goals similar to the Artist Network.
R&R! created and presented the Courageous Resister Award to recognize significant acts of resistance and in support of civil rights and civil liberties. thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. Recipients have included obstetricians who perform abortions, less well known acts of protest, and even small towns. Obstetrics (from the Latin obstare, "to stand by" is the surgical speciality dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during Pregnancy An The first awards were presented at Resist in Concert! in 1988, by Susan Sarandon, Robbie Conal, and Philip Agee among others. Susan Sarandon (born Susan Abigail Tomalin; October 4 1946 is an American Actress. Robbie Conal is an American guerilla Poster Artist noted for his gnarled grotesque depictions of U Philip Burnett Franklin Agee ( July 19, 1935 &ndash January 7, 2008) was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA Case officer
R&R! actively organized protests, civil disobedience, and other public demonstrations in support of the legality of abortion-on-demand, to oppose alleged mistreatment of immigrants, to support political prisoners, and for other causes. Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain Laws demands and commands of a Government, or of an occupying power, without resorting to physical For example, R&R! actiivists were actively involved in the mass demonstrations against the invasion of Iraq and marched with millions in the streets in New York City to protest the 2004 Republican National Convention.
Campaigns
R&R! staunchly opposed of all forms of censorship. A member of R&R!, Shawn Eichman, famously burned a flag in public in protest of the Flag Protection Act of 1989 and then defended this violation of the law in federal courts, all of which effectively nullified the law for its supposed violations of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. When the U.S. Congress approved a law, which U. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses S. Sen. Jesse Helms sponsored, to list types of artistic expressions considered unacceptable when funded with grants from National Endowment for the Arts, R&R! organized both the "Jesse Helms Degenerate Art Show" and the "New Blasphemy Forum" in New York City as outlets for artists to express opposition to the new restrictions. Jesse Alexander Helms Jr (October 18 1921 – July 4 2008 was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman The musicians' activist alliance Rock Out Censorship consider R&R! an ally in standing for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. Freedom Constitutional or statutory protections pertaining to freedom of the press
R&R! also opposed any kind of invasion of privacy, especially surveillance. Privacy law is the area of law concerning the protection and preservation of the Privacy rights of individuals Surveillance is the monitoring of Behavior. Systems surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people objects or processes within systems for conformity When the 1990 Census was conducted, R&R! organized public demonstrations across the U. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population S. , in which census forms were burned in protest of what they saw as intrusive questions asked on the forms.
R&R!'s slogan on abortion was "Abortion on Demand & without Apology!" In their fight to defend the legality of abortion, they frequently defended obstetricians and clinics. Overview See also Ethical aspects of abortion Pro-choice advocates emphasize their beliefs that having a child is a personal choice that affects a woman's body and In response to the judicial opinions in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and Rust v. Sullivan, R&R! deliberately disrupted two sessions of the U.S. Supreme Court, which was the first time the court had ever experienced such a thing. Webster v Reproductive Health Services, 492 US 490 ( 1989) was a United States Supreme Court decision on July 3, 1989 Rust v Sullivan, 500 US 173 ( 1991) was a United States Supreme Court case decided in 1991. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. In acts related to this disruption, R&R! occupied the offices of U. S. Congressman Henry Hyde and the National Right to Life Committee, both whom opposed abortion. Henry John Hyde ( April 18, 1924 &ndash November 29, 2007) an American politician was a Republican member of the The National Right to Life Committee is the largest Right to life / Pro-life organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and over
R&R! initiated the FightBack Network in the early 1990s to coordinate themselves with others to act against violence committed against people providing and/or seeking abortions. During the 1990s, R&R! were vocal and uncompromising opponents of Operation Rescue, a group known for staging protests and civil disobedience against abortion clinics. For the national organization formerly known as Operation Rescue see Operation Rescue/Operation Save America. Refuse and Resist! activists kept Operation Rescue out of a meeting at the 1992 Democratic National Convention.
R&R! also organized the first resistance to the annual Right to Life march in Washington, D. Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a Human being has an essential Right to live particularly that a human being has the right not to be C. , in 1992 and initiated National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers in 1996, which has since become an annual occasion.
R&R!'s opposition to violence also includes opposition to warfare. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units One of their members was the first U. S. Marine to refuse orders to fight in the Persian Gulf War.
R&R! supported the defense of Mumia Abu-Jamal, an early member, who was accused and convicted of murder in 1982. Mumia Abu-Jamal (born Wesley Cook on April 24 1954 is an American who was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v Mumia Abu-Jamal was a 1982 murder trial in which Mumia Abu-Jamal was tried and convicted for the First-degree murder of Citing suppressed and falsified evidence presented against Mumia, R&R! joined with many others in exposing his trial and conviction as political persecution and a vendetta conducted by the Philadelphia Police Department. R&R! was very active in the international "Free Mumia" campaign. In 1995, R&R initiated a series of "Philly Freedom Summers" in which students and other youth converged in Philadelphia, to raise public awarenessand support for Abu-Jamal and for a new trial. It was during the first summer that they spoke out against Pennsylvanian Governor Tom Ridge, who signed a death warrant for Abu-Jamal that June. Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26 1945) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1983&ndash1995 In August, that execution order was stayed, however Abu-Jamal is still in prison pending the outcome of his appeal.
R&R! echoed Abu-Jamal's view that more needs to be done to crack down on police brutality and other types of misconduct by authorities. Police brutality is the world wide use of excessive force usually physical but potentially also in the form verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by
R&R!'s slogan on immigration was "We Are All Illegals!" They frequently protested at the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and at the United States Coast Guard base in Miami, Florida, in opposition the return of Haitian refugees back to Haiti. The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service ( INS) was a part of the United States Department of Justice and handled legal and illegal Immigration In another event, some members of R&R! were arrested after climbing over the fences of a hidden INS detention in Texas, in course of exposing it to the public.
R&R! organized the first National Conference Against the War on Drugs. They used the opportunity to exposed the public to photographs of alleged "boot camps" supposedly being used to incarcerate youths as punishment for what they felt were victimless drug crimes[3]. Illegal drugs are related to crime in multiple ways Most directly it is a crime to use possess manufacture or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse
Notes
- ^ By-Laws of Refuse & Resist! Last accessed October 5, 2007 at http://refuseandresist.org/contact/072001bylaws.html
- ^ Refuse & Resist. 1988. Resist in Concert! - Special Issue of CounterAttack, the Newsletter of Refuse & Resist!. New York.
- ^ What Refuse & Resist! Has Done. Last accesssed October 5, 2007, at http://refuseandresist.org/contact/done.html
External links
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