Thursday, February 26, 2015

Poster of the Week & 2 Mysteries

I Believe That There Will Ultimately be a Clash
Northern Sun Merchandising
Offset, 1980s
Minneapolis, MN
4216

Text:
I believe that there will ultimately be a clash between the oppressed and those who do the oppressing.  I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think it will be based on the colour of the skin... Malcolm X

CSPG’s Poster of the Week commemorates the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X.  On February 21, 1965, he was murdered at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, while giving a talk before 400 people.  The Nation of Islam and the FBI’s Counter Intelligence Program (Cointelpro), are generally held as responsible.  Cointelpro infiltrated many oppositional movements, including the Civil Rights Movement, Black Panther Party, American Indian Movement, and the Nation of Islam to which Malcolm X belonged for 12 years.  Malcolm X rejected the separation of blacks and whites preached by the Nation of Islam after taking a pilgrimage to Mecca in April 1964, where he saw Muslims of "all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans" interacting as equals.  The statement on this poster came after that transformative experience.

Over the years this poster has been reproduced by different groups.  It was first produced in the 1970s as a black and white litho by the Poster-Film Collective in London (thus the poster has the British spelling of colour), and then by the Black Liberation Press.  In the 1980s, it was produced by Northland Sun Merchandising, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

2 MYSTERY QUESTIONS

1.  When did Malcolm X say this?  In Malcolm x Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. Edited by George Breitman, Merit Publishers, NY, 1965, pg 232, it states that Malcolm said this during an interview on Pierre Berton’s radio show, “The Front Page Challenge,” January 19, 1965, recorded in Toronto, Canada.  At least part of this interview can be seen on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOQzvrgYgCE.  During the interview, Malcolm X talks about similar things, and says “By Any Means Necessary,” but the statement on the poster is not included. A transcript of the same interview can be found on http://www.malcolm-x.org/docs/int_pbert.htm  but it contains things not on the youtube interview—and some things in the interview are not in the transcript.  Malcolm X was assassinated one month after the interview.

Thank you to Walter Lippmann for finding the Youtube interview and transcripts.

2.  We are looking for any information about Black Liberation Press.  CSPG has just two posters by them, a version of the Malcolm X poster featured above, and “From Sharpeville to Soweto” circa 1980s. We have no idea who started it, when, where they were located, how long they lasted or if they produced other posters.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Alexandra Kollontai
Red Pepper Posters
Silkscreen, 1985
San Francisco, CA
27684

Poster Text:  “For it is not her specific feminine virtue that gives woman a place of honor in human society, but the worth of her useful work accomplished for society, the worth of her personality as human being, as creative worker, as citizen, thinker, or fighter.”
Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952) Russian revolutionary, feminist writer
© Red Pepper Posters, P.O. Box 11308, San Francisco, CA 94101

Poster of the Week:  The Valentine Weekend blockbuster, “50 Shades of Grey,” is raising many questions about identity, sexuality, liberation and exploitation.  CSPG’s Poster-of-the-Week offers an alternative view of a sexually liberated woman, along with a couple of feminist critiques of the film.

Alexandra Mikhaylovna Kollontai 1872 - 1952) was a Russian Communist revolutionary who became People's Commissar for Social Welfare, after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. She was the most prominent woman in the Soviet administration and was best known for founding the Zhenotdel or "Women's Department" in 1919 . This organization worked to improve the conditions of women's lives in the Soviet Union, fighting illiteracy and educating women about the new marriage, education, and working laws put in place by the Revolution. She was well recognized later for socialist feminism. The Zhenotdel was eventually closed in 1930.

Alexandra Kollontai is a profoundly unusual figure in the history of the Soviet Union, as she was an "Old Bolshevik" and a major public critic of the Communist Party who was neither purged nor executed by the Stalin regime, though as a diplomat serving abroad, she had little or no influence in government policy or operations and so was effectively exiled.

Kollontai's views on the role of marriage and the family under Communism were arguably more subversive and more influential on today's society than her advocacy of "free love." Kollontai believed that, like the state, the family unit would wither away once the second stage of communism became a reality. She viewed marriage and traditional families as legacies of the oppressive, property-rights-based, egoist past. Under Communism, both men and women would work for, and be supported by, society, not their families. Similarly, their children would be wards of, and reared basically by society. Kollontai admonished men and women to discard their nostalgia for traditional family life.

Sources:
Thank you Sarah Mason and Joan Sekler for sending the following Feminist Critiques:

http://laurie-penny.com/fifty-shades-of-socialist-feminism/

http://www.sabinabecker.com/2015/02/fifty-shades-of-shit-a-german-feminists-heretical-thoughts.html

When will we ever learn?

Sunday, February 15, 2015

OFF/ON
Leon Kuhn
Digital Print
London, UK, 2008
31376

President Obama has sent Congress a formal request to authorize military force against the Islamic State six months after the U.S. began bombing Iraq and Syria. The resolution imposes a three-year limit on U.S. operations, but does not put any geographic constraints. It also opens the door for ground combat operations in limited circumstances. The resolution’s broad language covers military action against the Islamic State as well as "individuals and organizations fighting for, on behalf of, or alongside [ISIS] or any closely-related successor entity in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners." The resolution also leaves in place the open-ended Authorization for Use of Military Force Congress enacted one week after the Sept. 11, 2001, which has been used to justify U.S. action in Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen and beyond, and which Obama had previously called for repealing.

When will we ever learn?

Source:
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/2/12/endless_war_obama_sends_congress_expansive?autostart=true

This Democracynow.org link also contains an interview with Norman Solomon, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and author of many books, including "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death."

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Poster of the Week

 
San Romero De America
ETPAV
Offset, 1980s
Nicaragua
42220

CSPG’s Poster of the week celebrates Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the declaration this week by Pope Francis that Romero was a martyr.  This moves him closer to being declared a Saint, something many throughout the Americas already believe.

Romero was a conservative priest, and his appointment as Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977 was welcomed by the right wing Salvadoran government.    It was simultaneously a big disappointment to many progressive priests who supported liberation theology, a religious movement which seeks to end economic and political injustice.

His change of consciousness perhaps began the same year, when Rutilio Grande, a progressive Jesuit priest and personal friend of Romero’s was assassinated for organizing the poor.  The Salvadoran government ignored Romero’s requests to investigate the murder—probably because government supported death squads were behind it.

Romero began speaking out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture. Violence and repression continued to escalate, and led to the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992) which was fueled by U.S. aid to the Salvadoran military. Romero criticized U.S. for giving military aid to the right-wing government, and in February 1980, Romero wrote to President Jimmy Carter, warning that increased US military aid would "undoubtedly sharpen the injustice and the political repression inflicted on the organized people, whose struggle has often been for their most basic human rights." Carter, concerned that El Salvador would become "another Nicaragua", ignored Romero's pleas and continued military aid to the Salvadoran government. U.S. aid to the Salvadoran government and death squads was increased under President Ronald Reagan.

On March 23, 1980, Romero delivered a now famous homily in which he urged soldiers to turn to their consciences and disregard orders to kill fellow Salvadorans.

"Brothers, you are all killing your fellow countrymen. No soldier has to obey an order to kill," he said. "It is time to regain your conscience. In the name of God and in the name of the suffering people I implore you, I beg you, I order you, stop the repression."

That sermon drew sharp rebuke from government officials, who said Romero was committing a crime in inciting rebellion. A day later, a gunman shot Romero through the heart as he celebrated Mass.

Romero’s Funeral Mass in San Salvador on March 30, 1980 was attended by more than 250,000 mourners from all over the world. During the ceremony, smoke bombs exploded on the streets near the cathedral and subsequently there were rifle shots that came from surrounding buildings, including the National Palace. Many people were killed by gunfire and in the stampede of people running away from the explosions and gunfire; between 30-50 died. Some witnesses claimed it was government security forces that threw bombs into the crowd, and army sharpshooters, dressed as civilians, that fired into the chaos from the balcony or roof of the National Palace.

Years later, a U.N. Truth Commission said the assassination was planned by Roberto D'Abuisson, notorious founder of the ARENA party and paramilitary death squads.  D’Abuisson and the ARENA party had close ties with U.S.


Sources:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/05/why-its-such-a-big-deal-that-oscar-romero-was-declared-a-martyr-by-pope-francis/

http://latinola.com/story.php?story=9393

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/02/03/us/ap-us-ap-was-there-archbishop-slain.html?_r=0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Romero

http://fusion.net/story/43362/will-romeros-road-to-sainthood-shake-up-the-vatican/

film:  Romero (1989) starring Raul Julia as Archbishop Oscar Romero and Richard Jordan as Fr. Rutilio Grande.

Saint Romero of America  March 24 Day of Peace in Central America


He was a conservative  priest.  His appointment in 1977 as Archbishop of San Salvador, was welcomed by the government, but was a disappointment to many priests, especially supporters of Liberation Theology. 
While this appointment was welcomed by the government, many priests were disappointed, especially those openly aligning with Marxism. The progressive priests feared that his conservative reputation would negatively affect liberation theology's commitment to the poor.

On 12 March 1977, Rutilio Grande, a progressive Jesuit priest and personal friend of Romero who had been creating self-reliance groups among the poor, was assassinated. His death had a profound impact on Romero, who later stated, "When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path'".[13] Romero urged the government to investigate, but they ignored his request. Furthermore, the censored press remained silent.[14]

Tension was noted by the closure of schools and the lack of Catholic priests invited to participate in government. In response to Fr. Rutilio's murder, Romero revealed a radicalism that had not been evident earlier, speaking out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture.[2]

In 1979, the Revolutionary Government Junta came to power amidst a wave of human rights abuses by paramilitary right-wing groups and the government in an escalation of violence that would become the Salvadoran Civil War. Romero criticized the United States for giving military aid to the new government and wrote to President Jimmy Carter in February 1980, warning that increased US military aid would "undoubtedly sharpen the injustice and the political repression inflicted on the organized people, whose struggle has often been for their most basic human rights." Carter, concerned that El Salvador would become "another Nicaragua", ignored Romero's pleas and continued military aid to the Salvadoran government.

As a result of his humanitarian efforts, Romero began to be noticed internationally. In February 1980, he was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Louvain. On his visit to Europe to receive this honor, he met Pope John Paul II and expressed his concerns at what was happening in his country. Romero argued that it was problematic to support the Salvadoran government because it legitimized terror and assassinations.[14]

Statements on persecution of the Church

Óscar Romero (pastel)
Archbishop Romero denounced the persecution of members of the Catholic Church who had worked on behalf of the poor:[15]

“In less than three years, more than fifty priests have been attacked, threatened, calumniated. Six are already martyrs--they were murdered. Some have been tortured and others expelled [from the country]. Nuns have also been persecuted. The archdiocesan radio station and educational institutions that are Catholic or of a Christian inspiration have been attacked, threatened, intimidated, even bombed. Several parish communities have been raided. If all this has happened to persons who are the most evident representatives of the Church, you can guess what has happened to ordinary Christians, to the campesinos, catechists, lay ministers, and to the ecclesial base communities. There have been threats, arrests, tortures, murders, numbering in the hundreds and thousands....

But it is important to note why [the Church] has been persecuted. Not any and every priest has been persecuted, not any and every institution has been attacked. That part of the church has been attacked and persecuted that put itself on the side of the people and went to the people's defense. Here again we find the same key to understanding the persecution of the church: the poor.”

—Óscar Romero, Speech at the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, Feb. 2, 1980.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero (1917 – 1980) was a bishop of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He became the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador, succeeding Luis Chávez, and spoke out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture.[2] In 1980, Romero was assassinated while offering Mass.

In 1997, Pope John Paul II bestowed upon Romero the title of Servant of God, and a cause for beatification and canonization was opened for him. As the canonization process continues, some[who?] consider Romero an unofficial patron saint of the Americas and/or El Salvador; Catholics in El Salvador often refer to him as "San Romero". Even outside of Catholicism, Romero is honored by other Christian denominations, including the Church of England and Anglican Communion through the Calendar in Common Worship, as well as in at least one Lutheran liturgical calendar. Archbishop Romero is also one of the ten 20th-century martyrs depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey in London.[3] In 2008, Europe-based magazine A Different View included Romero among its 15 Champions of World Democracy.[4]

In 1974, he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Santiago de María, a poor, rural region.[12]
Archbishop

A mural of Óscar Romero

On 23 February 1977, Romero was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador. While this appointment was welcomed by the government, many priests were disappointed, especially those openly aligning with Marxism. The progressive priests feared that his conservative reputation would negatively affect liberation theology's commitment to the poor.
On 12 March 1977, Rutilio Grande, a progressive Jesuit priest and personal friend of Romero who had been creating self-reliance groups among the poor, was assassinated. His death had a profound impact on Romero, who later stated, "When I looked at Rutilio lying there dead I thought, 'If they have killed him for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path'".[13] Romero urged the government to investigate, but they ignored his request. Furthermore, the censored press remained silent.[14]
Tension was noted by the closure of schools and the lack of Catholic priests invited to participate in government. In response to Fr. Rutilio's murder, Romero revealed a radicalism that had not been evident earlier, speaking out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture.[2]
In 1979, the Revolutionary Government Junta came to power amidst a wave of human rights abuses by paramilitary right-wing groups and the government in an escalation of violence that would become the Salvadoran Civil War. Romero criticized the United States for giving military aid to the new government and wrote to President Jimmy Carter in February 1980, warning that increased US military aid would "undoubtedly sharpen the injustice and the political repression inflicted on the organized people, whose struggle has often been for their most basic human rights." Carter, concerned that El Salvador would become "another Nicaragua", ignored Romero's pleas and continued military aid to the Salvadoran government.
As a result of his humanitarian efforts, Romero began to be noticed internationally. In February 1980, he was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Louvain. On his visit to Europe to receive this honor, he met Pope John Paul II and expressed his concerns at what was happening in his c

Assassination

Romero spent the day of 24 March 1980 in a recollection organized by Opus Dei,[25] a monthly gathering of priest friends led by Msgr. Fernando Sáenz Lacalle. On that day they reflected on the priesthood.[26] That evening, Romero was fatally shot while celebrating Mass.[27][28] at a small chapel located in a hospital called "La Divina Providencia",[29] one day after a sermon in which he had called on Salvadoran soldiers, as Christians, to obey God's higher order and to stop carrying out the government's repression and violations of basic human rights. As soon as he finished his sermon, Romero proceeded to the middle of the altar and at that moment was shot.[30]

Funeral

Romero was buried in the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador (Catedral Metropolitana de San Salvador). The Funeral Mass on 30 March 1980 in San Salvador was attended by more than 250,000 mourners from all over the world. Viewing this attendance as a protest, Jesuit priest John Dear has said, "Romero's funeral was the largest demonstration in Salvadoran history, some say in the history of Latin America."

At the funeral, Cardinal Corripio Ahumada, speaking as the personal delegate of Pope John Paul II, eulogized Romero as a "beloved, peacemaking man of God", and stated that "his blood will give fruit to brotherhood, love and peace."[31]

During the ceremony, smoke bombs exploded on the streets near the cathedral and subsequently there were rifle shots that came from surrounding buildings, including the National Palace. Many people were killed by gunfire and in the stampede of people running away from the explosions and gunfire; official sources talk of 31 overall casualties, while journalists indicated between 30 and 50 died.[32] Some witnesses claimed it was government security forces that threw bombs into the crowd, and army sharpshooters, dressed as civilians, that fired into the chaos from the balcony or roof of the National Palace. However, there are contradictory accounts as to the course of the events and "probably, one will never know the truth about the interrupted funeral."[32]

As the gunfire continued, Romero's body was buried in a crypt beneath the sanctuary. Even after the burial, people continued to line up to pay homage to their martyred prelate.[1][33][34][35][36]

International reaction

Archbishop Romero's assassination received considerable attention across the world.

Ireland

All sections of Irish political and religious life condemned his assassination, with the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Lenihan 'expressing shock and revulsion at the murder of Dr Romero',[37] while the leader of the Trócaire charity, Eamon Casey, revealing that he had received a letter from Romero that very day.[38] The previous October parliamentarians had given their support to the nomination that Archbishop Romero receive the Nobel Prize for Peace.[38] In March each year since the 1980s, the Irish-El Salvador Support Committee holds a mass in honour of Archbishop Romero.[39]

United Kingdom

In October 1978, 119 British parliamentarians nominated Romero for the Nobel Prize for Peace. In this they were supported by 26 members of the United States Congress.[16] When news of his assassination was reported, the new head of the Church of England, Robert Runcie, was about to be enthroned in Canterbury Cathedral. On hearing of Romero's death, one writer observed that Runcie "departed from the ancient traditions to decry the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador".[40]

Investigations into the assassination

To date, no one has ever been prosecuted for the assassination, or confessed to it, or took credit for it. In 2010, Alvaro Saravia named Roberto D'Aubuisson as giving the assassination order to him over the phone. Saravia said that he drove the assassin to the cathedral and paid him 1,000 Salvadoran colons after the event. The assassin has not been identified.[41]

It is widely believed that the assassins were members of a death squad led by former Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. This view was supported by ex-US ambassador Robert White, who in 1986 reported to the United States Congress that "there was sufficient evidence" to convict D'Aubuisson of planning and ordering Archbishop Romero's assassination.[42] It was also supported in 1993 by an official United Nations report which identified D'Aubuisson as the man who ordered the killing.[32] It is believed that D'aubisson had strong connections to the Nicaraguan National Guard and to its offshoot the Fifteenth of September Legion[43] and had also planned to overthrow the government in a coup. Later he founded the political party Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), and organized death squads that systematically carried out politically motivated assassinations and other human rights abuses in El Salvador. Álvaro Rafael Saravia, a former captain in the Salvadoran Air Force, was chief of security for D'Aubuisson and an active member of these death squads. In 2003, a United States human rights organization, the Center for Justice and Accountability, filed a civil action against Saravia. In 2004, he was found liable by a US District Court under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) (28 U.S.C. § 1350) for aiding, conspiring, and participating in the assassination of Romero. Saravia was ordered to pay $10 million for extrajudicial killing and crimes against humanity pursuant to the ATCA.[44] On 24 March 2010—the thirtieth anniversary of Romero's death—Salvadoran president Mauricio Funes offered an official state apology for Romero's assassination. Speaking before Romero's family, representatives of the Catholic Church, diplomats, and government officials, Funes said those involved in the assassination "…unfortunately acted with the protection, collaboration or participation of state agents."[45]

Wikipedia 


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Poster of the Week

Pro Choice
Medusa
Offset, 1989
United States
3910

The new GOP-controlled Congress is trying to pass a national abortion bill so extreme that even some Republican congresswomen oppose it, out of concern that it will alienate young voters and women.

On Thursday, January 22, 2015—the 42nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion across the country—the House Republicans will vote on a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks.  The bill will also narrow the definition of rape.
To read more:

http://wwww.alternet.org/civil-liberties/republican-abortion-bill-so-extreme-even-gop-congresswomen-balk

Friday, January 16, 2015

Poster of the Week

Living the Dream
Earl Newman
Silkscreen, circa 1974
Summit, Oregon
12148

Text:
"Sooner Or Later, All The People Of The World Will Have To Discover A Way To Live Together In Peace."  Living the Dream  Martin Luther King, Jr. 1929-1968

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Poster of the Week

Break one, thousand will rise
Lucille Clerc
London
2015

Artists around the world have responded to the tragic murder this week of 12 people at the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical magazine, with powerful graphics expressing grief and renewed commitment to defend free speech.  Four of the magazine's well-known cartoonists, including its editor, were among those killed, as well as two police officers.

Charlie Hebdo is a publication that has always courted controversy with satirical attacks on political and religious leaders. It published cartoons of Muhammad in 2012, forcing France to temporarily close embassies and schools in more than 20 countries amid fears of reprisals. Its offices were also firebombed in November 2011 after publishing a caricature of Muhammad on its cover.

CSPG’s Poster of the Week features a powerful graphic by Lucille Clerc, a freelance graphic designer and illustrator living in London.  To see more graphics and more information, please visit the sites below.
 
Sources (including many graphics):

http://www.lucilleclerc.com/

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/heartbreaking-cartoons-from-artists-in-response-to-the-ch?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpfp#.et5qbYQgb

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/8/scholar_tariq_ramadan_harpers_rick_macarthur

http://www.democracynow.org/topics/charlie_hebdo_attack

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2015/1/8/cartoonists_lives_matter_art_spiegelman_responds

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/paris-magazine-attack/charlie-hebdo-shooting-12-killed-muhammad-cartoons-magazine-paris-n281266

http://abcnews.go.com/International/cartoonists-react-charlie-hebdo-shooting/story?id=28065848

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30710883