US Social Forum 2015
By: Heidy
Day one of the Social Forum 2015 there were a lot of revolutionaries there all supporting the social forum. The Social Forum is a movement, a space to come with solutions to the economic and ecological crisis. This is the third Social Forum in 10 years. Its an important step in our struggle to build a power multi-racial, multi-sectoral, inter-generational, diverse, inclusive movement. Thats the plan of the Social Forum.
When we arrived there were a lot of organizations. For example there were Zapatistas supporters selling their merchandise. One of the organizations we had the chance to interview was Cham Deliverance Ministry. Their purpose was to be able to network around the bay area and work together with other different organizations.
I thought that a lot of what he said was very wise it made sense. I got a deeper understanding of The Jungle in San Jose and what's going on there. I could understand his work and what he was talking about.
We then interviewed William Copeland from the East Michigan Environmental Council. His organization played an important role in the 2010 US Social Forum. Their purpose was to show support for the Social Forum. Make the Oakland to Detroit connections stronger.
One of the powerful moments at the Social Forum was when Council member Ash Kalra. He said many conscious things. “We didn’t need a flag to tell us the history of racism and oppression in our country.” This is very true we don’t need a flag to tell us just how racist people are in this country. We should already know this. It’s in our history. Another thing he said that’s very true is that “None of us are going to create change on our own” We need support to create change one single person is not going to do it all alone. That’s why big organizations with alot of members is important. As he mentioned 50% of the black population in Oakland has been displaced and in San Francisco 30%.
Authors Note: Poor Magazine youth and, poverty skolas, and reporters are reporting and supporting the social forum in San Jose.