Turning the Tide Towards Freedom: Building the Youth and Student Movement for Justice was a resounding success (and graciously co-sponsored by the Columbia University Working Families Party chapter).

 
Organizations wishing to table should contact the YDS office at with the name of the organization and your contact info.

POLITICAL CONTEXT
Hurricane Katrina exposed the realities of injustice in America, and a movement is growing to challenge not only the Bush administration, but the entire systems of inequality and oppression that led to the disaster. The US government's use of torture, secret detentions and illegal spying has fanned the flames of already growing popular discontent with the war. The recent appointment of the reactionary judge Alito to the Supreme Court has further galvanized activists to focus energy on the upcoming mid-term elections. Right wing attempts to slash billions from vital programs like student aid and food stamps are starting to provoke a backlash from communities that refuse to take it anymore.

In this context, it is time to renew our energies, build community, and remember to keep our eyes on the prize: a world of genuine democracy, liberty, and equality. Join us in NYC from February 17-19 to debate, learn from each other and strengthen the youth and student movement. Young people can and must turn the tide towards freedom, for in the timeless words of Frederick Douglass, "power concedes nothing without a demand!"

FEATURED SPEAKERS
Conference workshops and panels will feature organizers and trainers from the anti-racist, feminist, youth, queer, trade union, and anti-war movements, as well as noted activist scholars from the democratic left, including:   

Bill Fletcher Jr.
President of TransAfrica Forum, former co-chair of United for Peace and Justice, founder of the Black Radical Congress, as well as longtime trade union activist, and former Education Director of the AFL-CIO;

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University, author of Can the Subaltern Speak?, noted post-colonial theorist, and longtime activist in the international women's movement;

Frances Fox Piven
Distinguished sociologist at the Graduate School of the City University of New York, author of The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush's Militarism, Poor People's Movements, Why Americans Don't Vote, and The New Class War, and Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America;

Liza Featherstone
Co-author of Students Against Sweatshops and author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Worker's Rights at Wal-Mart, noted journalist for The Nation, Ms. and other publications;

Anya Kamenetz
Author of Generation Debt: Why Now is a Terrible Time to be Young, noted writer for The Nation, Salon and other publications, and nominated by the Village Voice in 2004 her for a Pulitzer Prize for her series "Generation Debt: The New Economics of Being Young;"

Damu Smith
Co-chair and founder of Black Voices for Peace, executive director of the National Black Environmental Justice Network;

Adrienne Maree Brown
Director of Communications at the League of Young Voters and a board member of the Ruckus Society, writer, activist, singer, and co-editor of How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office;

Christian Parenti
His articles and ground-breaking reporting regularly appear in The Nation magazine. Author of The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq, The Soft Cage and Lockdown America;

Stephen Eric Bronner
Professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University and author of the new book: Blood in the Sand: Imperial Fantasies, Right-Wing Ambitions, and the Erosion of American Democracy, and Socialism Unbound;

Celeste Faison
National Hip-Hop Organizer, League of Young Voters Education Fund;

Marilyn Clement
Head of the Campaign For A National Healthcare Program Now!, formerly the Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom;

Joseph Schwartz
Chair, Department of Political Science, Temple University and Chair, author of The Permanence of the Political, and The Future of Democratic Equality, also a member of the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America;

Hector Soto
Director of Policy and Advocacy, Children's Defense Fund;

Corey D. B. Walker
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and African American Studies at the University of Virginia, author of the forthcoming study, The Freemasonry of the Race, now working on a book project entitled Between Transcendence and History, and also a member of the National Political Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America;

Komozi Woodard
Professor of American history at Sarah Lawrence College, activist, journalist, and author of A Nation within a Nation Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) and Black Power Politics;

Jay Woodson
Black Radical Congress Coordinating Committee and Youth Caucus Member, organizer with the National Hip Hop Convention;

Chino Hardin
Trainer for the Prison Moratorium Project;

Clark Herndon and Tessa Garcia
Campus anti-oppression activists, Program Director and Associate Program Director of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue;

Clemens Kaupa
Former General Secretary of the Austrian Socialist Student Union, Vienna;

Mike Rabinowitz
Political Director of New York Jobs With Justice;

Marjona Jones
Organizer with New York Jobs with Justice;

Geoff Kurtz
Frequent contributor to Logos: A Journal of Modern Culture and Society;

Mike Phelan
Organizing Director, CIR/Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Jasbir Singh and Bilal Karriem
Friends of The Island Academy, a non-profit organization that works with incarcerated, newly released, sentenced and high-risk youth.

Jeff Goodwin – Associate Professor of Sociology at New York University and co-editor of Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements

...as well as an amazing hip hop and spoken word performance by The Movement in Motion Collective.

WORKSHOPS, TRAININGS & PLENARIES
Conference workshops and panel discussions will feature organizers and trainers from the anti-racist, feminist, youth, queer, trade union, and anti-war movements, as well as noted activist scholars from the democratic left.

Below is information about the 4 major plenaries during the conference. These events are open to the public with a $5 suggested donation for those not attending the whole conference. Please note that all events on Sunday are held at Barnard College and will be free for Barnard/Columbia students. The full conference schedule, with meals, workshops, trainings, a party and a performance are also listed below.

PLENARIES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Plenary Friday Evening/Feb 17 7:00 – 8:30
Beyond Katrina: Continuing the Struggle for Racial and Economic Justice
--with--
Bill Fletcher - President of TransAfrica Forum, founder of the Black Radical Congress, former AFL-CIO Education Director
Komozi Woodard - Professor of American history at Sarah Lawrence College, author of Black Power Politics
Elizabeth Rothschild - National Organizer, Young Democratic Socialists
Facilitator: Adrienne Maree Brown

Plenary Saturday/Feb 18 12:00 – 1:30
Education and Democracy: Fighting for Our Schools, Our Communities, Our Minds
--with--
Irene B. Schwoeffermann, Director of the Student of Color Campus Diversity Project of the United States Student Association Foundation in Washington, DC
Anya Kamenetz – Author of Generation Debt: Why Now is a Terrible Time to be Young and regular contributor to the Village Voice
Jay Woodson - National Hip Hop Political Convention, Black Radical Congress Youth Caucus
Facilitator: Corey D. B. Walker

Plenary Saturday/Feb 18 2:30 – 4:00
Our World is Not For Sale: Corporate Power and International Solidarity
--with--
Liza Featherstone - Author of Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights At Wal-Mart and co-author of Students Against Sweatshops: The Making of a Movement
Damu Smith – Co-chair and founder of Black Voices for Peace, exucutive director of the National Black Environmental Justice Network
Joe Schwartz - Chair, department of Political Science, Temple University, author of The Future of Democratic Equality and DSA National Political Committee member
Facilitator: Adrienne Maree Brown

Plenary 4 Sunday/Feb19 11:45 – 1:15
Confronting Imperialism in the Age of Global Capitalism
--with--
Gayatri Spivak - Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University, author of Can the Subaltern Speak?
Christian Parenti - The Nation correspondent, author of The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq, The Soft Cage, and Lockdown America
Stephen Eric Bronner - Professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University, author of Blood in the Sand: Imperial Fantasies, Right-Wing Ambitions, and the Erosion of American Democracy, and Socialism Unbound
Jeff Goodwin – Associate Professor of Sociology at New York University and co-editor of Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements
Facilitator: Jessica Shearer – Service Employees International Union, former YDS Co-Chair

FULL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17^TH - Bayard Rustin HS (see "locations & directions")
Registration opens ____ 6:00pm
Opening Plenary 7:00 – 8:30
Beyond Katrina: Continuing the Struggle for Racial and Economic Justice
(see plenary details above)

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 18^TH - Bayard Rustin HS (see "locations & directions")
Breakfast/Registration 8:30 – 9:30

Opening Welcome_____ 9:30 – 10:15

Workshop Block A 10:15 – 11:45
1) Intersecting Oppressions: Feminism, Queer Rights and the Left
Maria Svart – YDS Co-chair, former YDS feminist issues coordinator, Service Employees International Union organizer
Clemens Kaupa – Former General-Secretary of the Austrian Socialist Student Union, Vienna

2) The American Prison: Punishment...and Profit?
Hector Soto – Director of Policy and Advocacy, Children's Defense Fund
Sarah Haley – Yale Grad student involved in the campaign against Farallon

3) Bad Jobs, No Hope: Wal-Mart and the Future of the Low-Wage Economy
Joe Schwartz - Chair, department of Political Science, Temple University
Jasbir Singh and Bilal Karriem - Friends of The Island Academy
Jessica Shearer – Service Employees International Union, former YDS Co-Chair

4) Big, Bad Government? Or Healthcare, Education and the Common Good
Marilyn Clement – Head of the Campaign For A National Healthcare Program Now!, former Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Michelle Rossi - National Political Committee, Democratic Socialists of America
Katie Romich – Organizer with the Texas State Employees Union

Plenary 2 12:00 – 1:30
Education and Democracy: Fighting for Our Schools, Our Communities, Our Minds
(see plenary details above)

Lunch 1:30 – 2:30

Plenary 3 2:30 – 4:00

Our World is Not For Sale: Global Capitalism and International Solidarity
(see plenary details above)

Workshop Block B 4:15 – 5:45
1) What "Workers of the World Unite" Really Means: An Advanced Introduction to Democratic Socialism (Beginner Introduction offered Sunday)
Joseph Schwartz - member of the National Political Committee of DSA
Corey D. B. Walker - member of the National Political Committee of DSA

2) Building Campus Activism: Nuts and Bolts of Effective Organizing
Maria Svart - YDS Co-Chair, Service Employees International Union organizer
Clark Herndon and Tessa Garcia – Program Directors, International Institute for Sustained Dialogue

3) War and Repression at Home and Abroad
Peter Frase – CUNY Graduate School, Young Democratic Socialists
Jay Woodson - National Hip Hop Political Convention, Black Radical Congress Youth Caucus
Michael Harmon- Iraq Veterans Against the War

4) Coffee Tawk – I'll Give You a Word: Democratic Socialism. Democratic? Socialism? Discuss! (Beginners Introduction)
David Duhalde and Nichole Shippen - YDS Coordinating Committee members

Closing 5:45 – 6:00

Performance 6:00 – 6:45
Hip hop and spoken word performance by The Movement in Motion Collective.

Dinner & Party! 7:00 – 12:00
(directions and details available at the conference)

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19^TH - Barnard College (see "location & directions)

Breakfast 9:30 – 10:00

Workshop C 10:00 – 11:30
1) Confronting University Expansion and Gentrification in Harlem
Bill Perkins - NYC Council member representing Harlem 1998-2005, described in The Nation magazine as one of the most progressive local politicians in the U.S.
Nellie Bailey - Harlem Tenants Council and Coalition to Preserve Community
Nell Geiser - Columbia-Barnard Student Coalition on Expansion and Gentrification

2) Working Within or Outside the System?: Making Change Through Electoral Politics
Mike Phelan – Organizing Director, Committee of Interns and Residents/Service Employees International Union
Celeste Faison – National Hip-Hop Organizer, League of Young Voters Education Fund;

3) Power to the People: Unions and Workplace Democracy
Marjona Jones – Organizer, New York Jobs With Justice
Katie Romich – Organizer, Texas State Employees Union

4) Sustainability in Organizing: Building Strong Activist Groups
Adrienne Maree Brown – Director of Communications at the League of Young Voters and a board member of the Ruckus Society. Writer, activist, singer, and co-editor of How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office)

Plenary 4 11:45 – 1:15

Confronting Imperialism in the Age of Global Capitalism
(see plenary details above)

Lunch 1:15 – 2:15

Workshop Block D 2:30 – 4:00
1) How Capitalism Works: Why We Have Recessions
Steve Max - Former leader of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), longtime activist in civil rights, labor and community movements and Midwest Academy trainer and designer of its economic education program

2) Building Campus Activism: Nuts and Bolts of Effective Organizing
Clark Herndon and Tessa Garcia - International Institute for Sustained Dialogue

3) Popular Education: Empowering the Grassroots
Maria Svart - YDS Co-chair, Service Employees International Union organizer
Geoff Kurtz - Frequent contributor to Logos: A Journal of Modern Culture and Society

CLOSING 4:00 – 4:30

LOCATIONS & DIRECTIONS
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
H.S. 440 Bayard Rustin High School for The Humanities
351 West 18th Street NEW YORK, NY 10011
(between 8th and 9th avenue)
Subway: 1/2 to 14th and 7th avenue OR A/C to 14th and 8th - [map]
Phone: (212) 675-5350

SUNDAY
Barnard College, Barnard Hall 117th Street (btwn Claremont Ave & Broadway)
Subway: 1 train to 116th street. The Barnard campus is on the left (west) at about 117th street, and Barnard Hall is the building that is directly within the gates - [map]

PLANNING YOUR TRIP / FUNDRASING / GETTING TO NEW YORK CITY:
People come to YDS conferences from all over the country. If you are coming from out of town, it is important to plan your trip as early as possible. We're committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to come to "Turning the Tide Towards Freedom" is able to attend. We're offering limited travel scholarships for those coming to NYC by plane, bus, car, or train (more info below). However, we highly recommend that you fundraise to help cover costs. Click here for great tips on travel planning, economizing and fundraising, from getting cheap plane tickets, hosting events to raise money, to hitting up your student government for funds. Please remember that plane tickets are typically cheaper the further in advance you purchase them and that Student Government Associations often require plenty of advance notice if you are requesting special funds from them. Do plan ahead!


CARPOOLING - NEED / OFFER RIDES TO NYC?
If you are within driving distance of New York City and are in need of a ride, let us know and we can check to see if others planning to attend in your area can offer you one. If you have extra space in your vehicle, please let us know. We encourage you to carpool to the conference with other friends and activists. There is a space on the on-line registration form to offer or request rides.