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<font size=3><br><br>
<i>The Freedom Archives, EastSide Arts Alliance, and Malcolm X Grassroots
Movement present<br><br>
</i></font><h3><b>"SELF RESPECT, SELF DEFENSE & SELF
DETERMINATION"<br>
Mabel Williams & Kathleen Cleaver Speak<br><br>
Sunday, March 14th, 2004 7:00 PM<br>
First Congregational Church (27th & Harrison) in Oakland<br>
$10.00/$5.00 students</b></h3><font size=3><b>No one turned away due to
lack of funds<br><br>
</b>The Freedom Archives, EastSide Arts Alliance, Malcolm X Grassroots
Movement, along with Hard Knock Radio (KPFA) and other community
activists are sponsoring a rare speaking appearance with Mabel Williams
and Kathleen Cleaver which focuses on the history and emergence of the
Black Power movement, self-defense as a human right, and their roles as
leading women in the Black liberation struggle. This historic event
is the first time these two women have appeared together in
conversation.<br><br>
<b>Mabel Williams</b> is the widow of the late Robert Franklin Williams,
the author of <i>Negroes with Guns</i>, a book that describes their
activities in the civil rights struggle in Monroe, NC during the 1950s
and early 1960s. They were both exiled with their two sons from 1961-69
in Cuba and the People's Republic of China. She traveled internationally
with Robert to such places as Hanoi, Moscow and Tanzania. They returned
to the US in 1969 and continued their struggle for human and civil rights
until Robert's passing in 1996. As a result of her lifelong commitment to
the human rights struggle, Mabel makes a unique contribution to this
history. Mabel participated in the creation of their newsletter - <i>The
Crusader</i>, and the radio program - <i>Radio Free Dixie</i>, which
emanated from Cuba and could be heard throughout the South in the 60s.
Mabel continues to be actively engaged in her community and is promoting
the legacy of Idlewild, Michigan, a Black resort area was the only place
where Blacks in the Midwest could go for family entertainment during the
1940s and 1950s during the segregation era.<br><br>
<b>Kathleen Cleaver</b>, a major voice in the Black liberation movements
of the 1960s and 70s, continues today, to speak out against racism,
sexism and economic inequality. In 1966, Cleaver fist became active in
the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). From 1967 to 1971,
she was the Communications Secretary of the Black Panther Party and the
first woman member of its Central Committee. After sharing years of exile
with her former husband Eldridge Cleaver, she returned to the United
States in late 1975. Since graduating from Yale Law School in 1987,
Cleaver has combined legal work, teaching and activism. She has taught at
numerous universities including Emory, Yale and Sara Lawrence. She served
on the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the
Courts and became a Board Member of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for
Human Rights. She has been active in the campaigns to free death row
prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and former Panther Geronimo Pratt (released in
1997). Her writings and essays have appeared in numerous magazines, books
and newspapers and her memoir, <i>Memories of Love and War</i>, is
forthcoming from Random House. <br><br>
<b>ADDITIONAL CONTACTS ARE</b>:<br>
</font><font face="Wingdings" size=3>ß</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>
</font>Kali Acuno - Malcolm X Grassroots Movement 510-433-0115<br>
<font face="Wingdings" size=3>ß</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size=3>
</font>Greg Morozumi / Elena Serrano - EastSide Arts Alliance 510-533-6629<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
</font><font size=3><a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">www.freedomarchives.org</a> <br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
</font><font size=3><a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">www.freedomarchives.org</a> </font></body>
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