WIND CHILL FACTOR 9.3 March 1994 electronic version Wind Chill Factor is a zine for ideas, action, news, anger, creativity, and more. The project is anarchist/autonomist/anti-authoritarian in content, process, and organization. Contributions, letters, hate mail, etc, are all welcome. We can especially use $donations$! For further info on WCF, contact us at: WCF, PO Box 81961, Chicago, IL 60681, U$A (312) 384-2991, email: thak@midway.uchicago.edu Use those addresses to also contact: Collective Chaos, Anarchist Black Cross--Chicago, Food Not Bombs--Chicago, and the Baklava Autonomist Collective. Those of you familiar with previous issues of Wind Chill Factor will find this unusual. Well, while we would love to be able to publish on a regular monthly schedule, the reality is that we are far too busy with our other projects, and the cost of printing 5000+ copies per issue on newsprint is prohibitive. So we did some brainstorming, fretted and wrung our hands, and then stole some ideas and decided on this: In between our regular newsprint issues (the next of which will be #10) which we hope to put out every 3 months or so, we will be putting out WCF Info-Bulletins, such as this one which you are now reading. These info-bulletins will be numbered as decimals (ergo, WCF 9.3), and will be available in 3 formats: as a page in the local radical monthly rag Lumpen Times, as a streetsheet distributed separately around the city, and as this electronic newsletter for Internet & BBS distribution (request it from thak@midway.uchicago.edu). (MAL)CONTENTS , issue 9.3 1) Dedication: Oscar Collazo 2) Paint Panthers Strike! 3) Glass House Squat Evicted 4) Cleveland Clobbers KKK 5) Combat 18 -- Back to Basics 6) Treason To Whiteness Is Loyalty To Humanity 7) Anarchist Black Cross -- Support Anti-Fascist Activists -- Justice for Danny Cahill -- Minnesota 8 Emergency 8) Women in the EZLN 9) Calendar of Events 10) Special Notice: Conference on Counter-Institutions & Networking in Detroit 1) DEDICATION: OSCAR COLLAZO This issue of WCF is dedicated to Oscar Collazo, one of the heroes of the Puerto Rican independence movement, who died on the island Feb. 20 of a stroke. He was 80 years old. On Nov. 1, 1950, Collazo and Griserio Torresola staged a daring armed attack on the Blair House, President Harry Truman's temporary residence. In the attempt, Torresola was killed and Collazo was wounded and captured. Originally sentenced to death, Collazo won a commutation to life in prison. After serving 29 years behind bars--and never once renouncing his commitment to his country's freedom struggle--Collazo was freed in 1979 along with Lolita Lebron, Irving Flores and Rafael Cancel Miranda, the other Puerto Rican political prisoners incarcerated in U.S. jails for a quarter of a century. Collazo, Lebron, Miranda, Flores and Andres Figueroa Cordero--who was released years earlier because of terminal cancer--were known as the Five Puerto Rican Nationalists. The struggle to get them out of prison was a major rallying point for the Puerto Rican independence movement and their supporters. Torresola and Collazo's action was part of the insurrection in Puerto Rico known as the Jayuya Uprising, which began on Oct. 26. The insurrection was directed against U.S. colonialist control of the Puerto Rican nation. The struggle on the island was then led by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party under the leadership of Pedro Albizu Campos. The Nationalists were being targeted for severe repression by Washington. Collazo was the head of the party's New York branch. Collazo will be truly missed, but his example of struggle will live on forever. He is survived by two daughters and several grandchildren. 2) PAINT PANTHERS STRIKE! >From People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (310.770.PETA): A person identified as a member of a radical anti-fur group called the "Paint Panthers" called early the morning of Feb. 10 notifying PETA of vandalism of two fur stores in Chicago: Chicago Fur Outlet, 777 W. Diversey and American Fur Mart, 3131 N. Broadway. The group claims to have left the messages "Blood Money", "Fur Scum", and the "PP" initials in giant letters in red paint on the front of the fur salons. The Paint Panthers is a direct action league with members across the country. They "don't believe in physical violence but feel that spraying fur shops is the best way to combat those who profit from animal agony for the sake of a luxury item." Attacks began last winter and have continued in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York, Montreal, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. 3) GLASS HOUSE EVICTED Lower East Side, Manhattan, NYC--After a protracted struggle against evictions, the Glass House squat was finally assaulted by fire fighters and cops. The eviction was apparently sparked (so to speak) by a report of smoke by a neighbor. When the person who answered the door refused to let the fire fighters in to check out the cause of the smoke, they broke down the door. Panic apparently ensued and many objects were thrown out of windows at fire fighters and the truck, including a joist which caused quite a bit of damage. One fire fighter was hurt. Cops arrived on the scene almost immediately and cleared the house (whose door was now broken down). Several people were arrested and at least one person is rumored to be charged with attempted murder (for throwing the joist at the cop). Glass House arose to prominance last fall when it was the location of a planned AIDS hospice, a political project of slimy city council member Antonio Pagan. ACT-UP denounced the plan as poverty pimping and the then-residents of the house kept their space, but Pagan vowed to evict them. Residents report that firefighters had come to the house at least twice before after receiving smoke calls from neighbors and that each time they were shown the wood burning stoves that caused the smoke. Why they would return only days after they had investigated the same situation and break down the door is unknown. In a possibly related situation, three other squats have lost their (unofficial) connections to ConEd electricity. ConED trucks are currently parked in front of at least one other squat and may be monitoring electric usage. Rudolph Guliani, the mayor of new york, has repeatedly invoked harsh language to describe how the city intends to deal with its homeless population. it would not be suprising if these attacks on the LES squats were part of that anti-homeless effort. [note: this report was typed hurriedly and although it looks like an official report, most of the facts are not checked as thoroughly as they should be . i was at glass house after the eviction, but only briefly, and have only talked to about 3 of the people involved.] 4) CLEVELAND CLOBBERS KKKLAN On Saturday, March 5th at least a thousand anti-racist demonstrators gave the white-power movement a beating it will never forget. This is not an embellishment. This witness saw some individuals get bent-up for life. That, however, is not the most important point. The unity and passionate determination of the various groups involved was without question the most hopeful development that the Midwest has seen thus far in the anti-racist movement. Militant demonstrators took to the streets in the midst of a "peaceful protest" organized by an ad-hoc committee of anti-racist activists. When the locals who were involved in the initial protest realized that large numbers of people were ready for radical action, most of them put down the peace signs and got busy. Without question, this gave the local youth the momentum to confront the racists--and shit hit the fan. Proving that the only way to depose a physical threat is to oppose it physically, racists were addressed, chased, and beaten silly. Finally, others got the picture and left on their own accord. SMARTEST THING THEY'VE EVER DONE IN THEIR LIVES I'LL BET!! The local youth were joined by various groups from around the Midwest in shouting down the klan, throwing ice and mudballs, and generally intimidating the knuckleheads. One protestor was heard shouting "If I see your ugly head in my neighborhood I'm going to put a fucking bullet in it," after taking pictures of a white-power supporter, who didn't know how to react to another "white" man speaking to him this way. The demonstration took place in Plainesville, OH, about 20 minutes outside of Cleveland, near a gazebo reserved for the klan. Cops stood between the klan and the demonstrators but did not interfere with the thrashings. With metal detectors at the entrance, and only two exits, the militant anti-racists made it clear who controlled the area. It seems that, though cliche, the slogan "You cannot hide behind free speech, when genocide is what you preach" is the fitting theme to be attributed to the events of March 5th in Cleveland. 5) COMBAT 18 -- BACK TO BASICS As Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) predicted, the fascist Blood and Honour concert organized as a tribute to dead fascist Ian Stewart and planned for January 15/94 ended as a replay of The Battle of Waterloo (a major rout for Blood and Honour in September 1992), this time between fascist stewards and the riot police. After their first choice venue in Beckontree had been rumbled by AFA, Combat 18 (the militant fascist group organizing the show) directed their supporters to the Wellington (an old British Movement pub from the 80s), near Waterloo Station. Earlier in the day at around 4.30 pm. one hundred and fifty AFA militants took advantage of the confusion caused by other anti-fascist groups (the Anti-Nazi League and Youth Against Racism in Europe) and the concentration of police at Beckontree and Barking, and descended unexpectedly on the Little Driver pub in Bow Road, the nerve centre of the fascist operation on the day. Police managed to stop the AFA advance just yards from the pub, when the fascists scattered as a flare fired from the advance hit a nearby bridge. After Waterloo, C18 took over security for Blood and Honour events, talking of a "back to basics" return to secret gigs organized on a word of mouth basis. The events of January 15/94 were a disaster in turn for C18 and the "back to basics" strategy. The arrival of AFA at the centre of operations caused total panic and confusion with one of C18's leading activists seeking refuge in the back of a police car. AFA militants were forced by the police into a sealed train and taken from Bow Road to Earls Court, throwing the rail network into chaos. Later in the evening, about 8.00 pm., the ANL were attacked by the police at Earls Court. In the confusion AFA regrouped and re-emerged at 9.30 pm., at Waterloo where the fascists were attempting to hold their gig. Police later described the ability of AFA to find the opposition as "uncanny". News of the arrival of over one hundred AFA militants in the immediate vicinity caused C18 organisation at the Wellington to internally combust. Initially the fascists wanted to get out, seconds later the riot police smashed their way in. Badly beaten fascists, covered in blood, were dragged face down from the pub and laid on the pavement. The pub smashed, the gig was cancelled. Fascists attempting to flee the Wellington met a similar fate, at the hands of AFA militants in the area. For C18 and Blood and Honour this has to be seen as a major disaster. For AFA, with all the players - ANL, YRE, C18, Blood and Honour and the Met in the arena - it is a triumph. It was AFA's intelligence gathering capacity which revealed the redirection points and the planned venues. On the day AFA controlled the play, were ahead of the game and made all the decisive moves. info from an AFA Press Release, via Arm The Spirit Contact: Anti-Fascist Action, BM Box 1734, London, WC1N 3XX, England 6) TREASON TO WHITENESS IS LOYALTY TO HUMANITY The following is an excerpt from an editorial in the journal Race Traitor: Treason to Whiteness Is Loyalty To Humanity. We felt it raised several interesting points and was a good follow-up piece to the article in WCF 9.2 about the KKK rally in Springfield. Race Traitor is available for $6 postpaid from PO Box 603, Cambridge, MA 02140. "Two points define the position of Race Traitor: first, that the "white race" is not a natural but a historical category; second, that what was historically constructed can be undone... The white race is like a private club, which grants privileges to certain people in return for obedience to its rules. It is based on one huge assumption: that all those who look white are, whatever their complaints or reservations, fundamentally loyal to it. What happened to Rodney King was not exceptional. All over the world, cops beat poor people; that is their job. What is unusual is that they do not routinely beat some people for whom every mark save one--their color--would indicate a beating. For those in power, the privileges granted to whites are a small price to pay for the stability of an unjust social system. What if the white skin lost its usefulness as a badge of loyalty? What if the cop, the judge, the social worker, the schoolteacher, and the other representatives of official society could no longer recognize a loyal person merely by looking, how would it affect their behavior? And if color no longer served as a handy guide to the dispensing of favors, so that ordinary whites began experiencing the sort of treatment to which they are normally immune, how would this affect their outlook?... The need to maintain racial solidarity imposes a stifling conformity on whites, on any subject even remotely touching on race. The way to abolish the white race is to disrupt that conformity. If enough people who look white violate the rules of whiteness, so flagrantly that they jeopardize their white standing, their existence cannot be ignored. If it becomes impossible for the upholders of white rules to speak in the name of all who look white, the white race will cease to exist... How many will it take? No one can say for sure. It is a bit like the problem of currency: how much counterfeit money has to circulate in order to destroy the value of the official currency? The answer is, nowhere near a majority--just enough to undermine public confidence in the official stuff. When it comes to abolishing the white race, the task is not to win over more whites to oppose "racism"; there are "anti-racists" enough already to do the job... We know how devilishly difficult it is for individuals to escape whiteness. The white race does not voluntarily surrender a single, member, so that even those who step outside of it in one situation find it virtually impossible not to step back in later, if for no other reason than the assumptions of others. But we also know that when there comes into being a critical mass of people who, though they look white, have ceased to act white, the white race will explode, and former whites will be able to take part, together with others, in building a new human community. The December issue of the anarchist paper Love & Rage carries several comments on a recent attempt to stop a group of self- proclaimed nazis from holding a "gay-bashing" fest in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The entire story is too long to recount here (we advise readers to obtain a copy of this excellent publication by sending $1 to PO Box 853, Stuyvesant Stn., NY, NY 10009), but, briefly, what happened is this: on learning that the nazis planned to march and rally, a group of their opponents called a counter- rally. The nazis, fearful for their safety, called off their march, but proceeded with the rally, which took place as scheduled behind a wall of police, who protected them from the hostile crowd. The report states, "Residents of New Hope and anti-fascist organizers alike claimed the cancellation of the march as a victory for anti-fascist organizers. By creating the possibility of hundreds or thousands of counter-protestors willing to physically confront the nazis, we made it impossible for them to march. This strategy, of organizing for the possibility of physical confrontation, and bringing hundreds of people willing to carry it out, is clearly a successful one and needs to be pursued in the future." We are not so sure. That the cancellation of the march was a defeat for the nazis we have no doubt; but it seems to us it was more a victory for the state than for the anti-fascist organizers, because the state was able to emerge as the defender of both free speech and law-and-order, marginalizing the "extremists" on both sides--those who want to build death camps and those who want to prevent their construction. We are inclined to agree with another commentator who called the counter-demonstration "ineffective." We favor beating nazis off the street wherever they appear; and confronting "racists" or other reactionaries of the right (or left). But we ask, what is the purpose of this "strategy"? If it is to do material damage to the fascists, then it takes no genius to point out that such damage can be done to them more effectively on virtually any day of the year other than when they appear in public surrounded by an army of cops and television cameras. If it is to win people out of the nazi ranks, we have no way of knowing how effective such actions are. If the aim is to expose the state as defender of the nazis, that is only a very partial truth; the state is the defender of public order, and has shown itself quite willing to repress nazis and other white supremacist groups who threaten that order. And if the purpose is to win people to a vision of a world without race barriers, then we must say that any action which aims to crush the nazis physically and fails to do so because of state intervention has the effect of reinforcing the authority of the state, which, as we said, is the most important agency maintaining race barriers." 7) ANARCHIST BLACK CROSS The ABC is an international network of autonomous groups dedicated to supporting political, class war, and social prisoners and involved in other prison issues. Contact Chicago ABC c/o WCF. SUPPORT MINNEAPOLIS ANTI-FASCIST ACTIVIST Longtime anti-racist/anti-fascist activist and Love and Rage Federation member Kieran Frazier Knutson is facing up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines for allegedly hitting a neo-nazi Northern Hammer skinhead with a flashlight. There are two trumped-up assault charges, both felonies, that Kieran is facing. On January 19th the state offered a plea bargain of six months in the workhouse and probably years of probation. Kieran turned it down and pleaded not guilty to both charges. We need to make sure Kieran doesn't get sent to prison, and that the state can't limit anti-fascist protest. The Anti-Fascist Defense Committee, a politically diverse group, has been initiated by Minneapolis ABC and is beginning to meet regularly to focus on political action for Kieran's defense. We are planning a demonstration for Monday, April 11th at 12:00 noon and Tuesday, April 12th at noon as well. The trial starts on April 12th at 9:00 AM and will probably last two or three days. We want to make sure that the courtroom is filled with people who refuse to see Kieran railroaded into prison, so we are asking for regional assistance to anyone who can come up. We can provide places to stay. If in need of transportation contact us and we'll see if we can hook you up. Contact Emma Center at 612-729-5498. We are also calling for a phone zap on April 1st. Call County Attorney Mike Freeman between 9am and 4pm at 612-348-5550 and demand that the case against Kieran be dropped! We are also asking for any donations people can make to the defense campaign. Checks can be made out to Love and Rage Supporters and sent to the ABC PO Box listed below. Minneapolis ABC, c/o Agitator Index / PO Box 7075 / Minneapolis, MN 55407. email to: jolson@polisci.umn.edu JUSTICE FOR DANNY CAHILL! Danny Cahill, a prisoner in Lebanon, Ohio, was thrown in segregation and has now gone on a hunger strike due to prisoncrats locking him up for being involved in "gang activities" via possession of an Anarchist Black Cross draft proposal and fliers regarding the construction of the Supermax prison in Ohio. Danny's comrades at Lucasville prison are asking for help protesting this treatment and to demand that he be released from segregation by contacting the warden and governor of Ohio. Addresses: William H. Dallman, warden, Lebanon Prison State Route 38 Lebanon, OH 45036 George V. Voinovich, governor of Ohio State House Columbus, OH 43215 Send your support to Danny. Don't let the screws break him down! Danny Cahill # 251641 PO Box 56 Lebanon, OH 45036 --Minneapolis ABC c/o Agitator Index PO Box 7075 Mpls, MN 55407 MINNESOTA EIGHT EMERGENCY! Date: Thursday 23 February 1994 A.C. Ford, one of the eight African-American men railroaded after the shooting of a Minneapolis cop, has been thrown into segregation -- "the hole" -- at Oak Park Heights state prison. So have 12 other prisoners. The prisoncrats claim he and 12 other prisoners in his complex "rioted" by refusing to take their short recreation time outside in sub-zero weather. The riot squad roughed up A.C. and others; A.C. is charged with riot, inciting to riot, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct, and disobeying a direct order. The hearing officer, the prosecutor, the witnesses, and the "social worker" in this hearing are all prison bosses. If the prison finds him guilty, A.C. will be sentenced to 200 days to a year in the hole. No books are allowed in the hole. Call: Warden Holbeck - 612-779-1400. Ms. Freer, P.R. - 612-779-1400. Dick Hagelberger, prosecutor in this hearing - 612-779-1407 Michael Green, social worker in complex 5 - 612-779-1400 Frank Woods, MN state komisar of corrections- 612-642-0200 Demand: 1. An outside investigation into the riot squad's brutality in Complex 4; 2. Dropping of charges against 13 inmates accused of rioting, etc.; 3. Immediate release of the 13 from "the hole;" 4. The provision of proper legal representation for the 13, and outside observers allowed to witness the hearings; 5. A guarantee of the safety prisoners, and a guarantee that no one will be targeted for reprisals For more info contact Minneapolis ABC. 8) WOMEN IN THE EZLN The following is an excerpt from the article "THE CHIAPAS UPRISING AND THE FUTURE OF CLASS STRUGGLE IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER" by Harry Cleaver, University of Texas at Austin, Full text of this article, as well as tons of other EZLN-related information is available from us at WCF. The struggle for the "survival" of Indian culture has also involved the struggle for its transformation from within the well-known patriarchal character of Mexican society. In traditional Indian society, before Indians were pushed into poor forest lands often far away from good water sources, life was not so hard. Indian agricultural practices were often land intensive rather than labor intensive and Indians were able to reap an abundant and diverse harvest. But as Indian land was stolen it became harder and harder to survive on fewer and fewer resources; life became increasingly difficult, especially for women. It is generally Indian women who must be up at the crack of dawn to grind corn for the day's tortillas. It is generally Indian women who haul water for cooking, drinking cleaning and bathing. It is generally Indian women who cut firewood and haul it home for cooking. It is generally Indian women who cook, and care for the children and the sick. But hard work makes strong women--if it doesn't kill them--and such women have challenged their traditional roles. Their challenge found support in the EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) and acceptance from its leaders. Not only were women encouraged to join the EZLN but they have been, according to all accounts, treated as equals. Many women have officer status and men and women are expected to carry the burdens of work and fighting equally. When Indian women organized in dozens of communities to produce a code of women's rights, the EZLN leadership composed of Mayan leaders adopted the code unanimously. The "Women's Law" included the rights of all women, including pay equity, health and nutrition rights, choice marriage and number of children, and freedom from violence from relatives and strangers. The Women's Law claims severe punishment for rape and attempted rape, and was translated into all the Mayan languages. The passage of this Bill of Rights reflects both the problems and ongoing struggles of women within the diverse Indian cultures of Chiapas. What is unusual and exciting about these developments is how those struggles are not marginalized or subordinated to "class interests" but are accepted as integral parts of the revolutionary project. 9) CALENDAR OF EVENTS All events subject to constant change. March 4-26: The Resistance Theater presents Spike Heels, a comedy by Theresa Rebeck. Thurs-Sat, 8pm, $10 (pay what u can on Thur), Eclipse Theatre, 2072 N. Leavitt, 862-9700. March 4-26: SisterSerpents Demolishing Domesticity show at Woman Made Gallery, 4646 N. Rockwell. March 16 (Wed): Freedom of Information Day forum on "Opening the Information Superhighway to Everyone", with several panelists and the video "Staking Our Claim in Cyberspace", at Harold Washington Library, 400 S. state, 5:30-8:30. Free. March 18 (Fri): "For Those Of Us Who Dare", a Celebration of Women Political Prisoners, 2747 W. Lemoyne. Dinner at 7, Program at 8. $5. March 18 (Fri): Hip Hop Party at the A-Zone. The JAM crew invites CBS down for a birthday battle of breakin' & rap. 9pm-2am, $4, good food & drink, with DJ's Kew-1, 2D, and 33 & 1/3. At the Autonomous Zone, 1726 W. Division. March 19 (Sat): Oppose the SS Action Group's yearly march in Ann arbor, MI. Call (312)384-2991 for info on this and other upcoming anti-fascist activities. March 21 (Mon): Phone Blitz! Call Attorney General Janet Reno (202)616-6070 and demand amnesty for all Puerto Rican Prisoners Of War and Political Prisoners. March 24-May 14: The Making Of Frued, a new play by Theater Ooobleck. Thurs-Sats, 8pm, at Chicago Filmmakers, 1543 W. Division. $6, more if ya got it, free if broke. 784-8983 for info. March 25 (Fri): Lorenzo Ervin will speak on his history with SNCC, the Black Panthers, and as a political prisoner, and on his book Anarchism & The Black Revolution. At the Autonomous Zone, 1726 W. Division. We will possibly be showing a video about the case of Fred Hampton Jr. as well. Call 384-2991 for info. March 26 (Sat): Lorenzo Ervin speaking, first at Triple XXX, corner of North, Damen, & Milwaukee, 2-4pm, then again at New World Resource Center 1476 W. Irving Park Rd., 5-7pm. There will likely be other events with Lorenzo as well, call 384-2991 for info. March 26 (Sat): SisterSerpents Last Supper, women only 3-course vegan dinner and performance. 7:30pm, by reservation, 588-4317. March 31 (Thur): Stop Apache Genocide! Protest the Vatican's Mt. Graham "Columbus" telescope project with Women of All Red Nations. 4pm, at the Chicago Archdiocese, 155 E. Superior. March 31-May 7: Boy Basement Battles the Demons of Sleep, Curious Theater Branch, 1836 W. North. Thurs-Sat, 8pm, $7 or pay what you can. 276-1147. April 1 (Sun): Phone Zap for anti-fascist activist Kieran Frazier. See article. April 2 (Sat): Oppose the KKK rally in Crawfordsville, IN. Call (312) 384-2991 for info on this & other anti-fascist activities. April 11 & 12: Demonstrate in Minneapolis for anti-fascist activist Kieran Frazier. See article. April 14 (Thur): Stop the Genocide & Eco-cide! International Day of Protest against Hydro-Quebec's flooding of Cree & Innu homelands and Endangered Wildlife Habitat of the James Bay Watershed. Noon- 2pm, Canadian Consulate, 310 S. Michigan. April 21-24: Western Shoshone Defense Project Spring Gathering, call (702)468-0230 for details. April 21-27: World Animal Liberation Week... April 22 (Fri): Earth Day/Earth Night. Go out and do something good for the Earth... April 25 (Mon): Phone Blitz! Call President Clinton (202)456-1111 and demand amnesty for all Puerto Rican Prisoners Of War and Political Prisoners. May 1 (Sun): Curious Theater Anniversary Benefit, theater workers of the world unite! 10) SPECIAL NOTICE: COUNTER-INSTITUTIONAL & NETWORKING CONFERENCE May 26-May 30, Detroit The Trumbull Theater and 404 Willis folks will be hosting a conference for those who participate in the many antiauthoritarian community building spaces and projects. The conference is not limited to people who have a space, but is also open to those who are planning a similar project or who want to discuss the dynamics of this approach to community building. *This is NOT an anarchist gathering,* but is a focused weekend of dialogue and networking. Last December, the Chicago A-Zone folks hosted a spontaneous "Autonomous Zone 'Show and Tell.'" It was a much needed night of dialogue on things like gender tensions, community building strategy, and more. This helped all of us to see our projects not as "lifestylism," but as a growing number of people using this method to create stronger communities. In May, we hope to further this and expand our network of those active on this level, so that others will be able to see that there is a growing grassroots movement of community centers. We hope and expect that people from other spaces will facilitate workshops and discussions, and participate by giving us their ideas and opinions. The event is free, of course, but the Trumbull folks do ask that people who are attending give us a rough idea of how many people from each group will come (as soon as possible, please, as we're trying to arrange housing), and provide some vegetarian food for the rest of the gathering (if it's possible to let us know what you will be bringing, that would also be helpful, as we are trying to plan meals). For more information, contact WCF, or contact the Trumbull Theater at 4202 Trumbull, Detroit, MI 48208, or phone us at (313) 832-3251 or (313) 832-0114. You can reach us via email at cstunt@nova.eng.wayne.edu :) END WIND CHILL FACTOR 9.3