April 29 - Staying Strong: Organizing in the Face of FBI Harassment
Please join CISPES for an important event on April 29th in Washington DC.
Staying Strong: Organizing in the Face of FBI Harassment
WHEN: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 -- 6:45-8:45pm
WHERE: SALSA (Social Action and Leadership School for Activists) of the Institute for Policy Studies
1112 16th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005.
Directions: Take the Metro to McPherson Square or Farragut North, or the S4 or S2 bus. The entrance is on 16th St., between L and M Streets.
In 1908 a nephew of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Joseph Bonaparte created the predecessor of the FBI, initially called the Bureau of Investigation. Although often glamorized by Hollywood, the history of this agency has been exposed for executing some of the most insidious practices as component to US domestic policy. You are invited to a panel of US-based Central America Solidarity and Black Power activists for a discussion about the history and scope of FBI infiltration and harassment of social movements in the US, and strategies for how to stay strong, maintain trust amidst our movement, and turn it into organizing opportunities. Hosted by CISPES (Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). All activists who intend to stand up to power with truth should to attend this forum.
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), illegally targeted in the 1980's by the largest FBI Internal Security investigation of the Reagan era, has in recent months again received threatening communications from the U.S. Department of Justice. Citing the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, a letter sent to CISPES in January questions the organization's relationship with the leftist Salvadoran political party known as the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation, or FMLN. CISPES received similar inquiries in the 1980s which eventually led to an illegal FBI investigation into its activities.
It seems clear that the US is afraid of losing footing in Latin America and the FBI is stepping up their harassment of people in the US supporting independence in Latin America, especially since just one month before CISPES received this letter, the FBI targeted three Puerto Rican cultural workers and community activists in New York as part of an investigation of the Puerto Rican independence movement. During this climate of fear, CISPES believes it is important to call out these threats and make them public.
This panel will provide a historical context for FBI harassment, as well as know-your-rights information about what to do in the face of FBI harassment.
We look forward to seeing you there!
"I am a CISPES supporter because continuing to fight for social justice and a more people-centered country means continuing the dream and sacrifice of thousands of my fellow Salvadorans who died for that vision.” - Padre Carlos, New York City
