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I am a seventeen year old Black Girl
My skin is brown and smooth
Born in Oakland California
I go to Oakland High
The first high school in Oakland.

In my neighborhood there are people
Of all kinds of races,
All of them passing by with those
Mean looking faces.

They say I can't go forward if I don't know where I been
But folks act like its an evil sin to ask what happened
To all my kin
The ones whose blood sweat and tears built this
Land we find ourselves living in
Every time I ask it seems to get left out
That I come from a proud, long history
Of freedom-fighters and visionaries,
Only they tell me they were
Trouble-makers and big mouths

In 1943, as World War II was raging in Europe, the Young Communist League was dissolved because of the influence of Earl Browder, then Chairman of the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA), who advocated a rejection of Marxism-Leninism. Based on Browder\'s theories, many believed the wartime unity of the Soviet Union and the United States would continue and that the class struggle had ended. They failed to analyze the reality of capitalist society, and its aggressive, imperialist nature. Browder dissolved the Communist Party a year later, founding the Communist Political Association in 1944.

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is truly one of the great working class heroes of the last century, a woman who touched thousands of workers' lives, who was a spirited radical speaker and champion of civil liberties. As a young woman, Flynn was a renown labor orator and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and became nationally recognized for labor organizing and agitation. Later in her life, she was a leader of the Communist Party, USA, eventually becoming its National Chairperson, the only woman to have held that post.

The STARC Alliance (Students Transforming and Resisting Corporations) is a two-year-old grassroots network of student and youth activist groups. We build power to challenge a social and economic system that exploits resources while reinforcing privilege and oppression. By organizing training and skills workshops, we help develop leadership and confidence among youth. By talking about the issues our corporate-sponsored education system often chooses to leave out, we are laying the foundation for a multiracial, youth-led resistance movement. We strive to focus on struggles where we can fight alongside those most affected by systems of oppression such as racism, homophobia and ableism.

The specter that Marx poetically described as haunting Europe is still creeping over the world. This specter is a growing international movement, struggling against global capitalist exploitation. This movement is historically distinct because its activists cross class, race, gender, and most importantly, borders.

"It's not, and never has been, our intention to offend anyone. These graphic T-shirts were designed with the sole purpose of adding humor and levity to our fashion line," said Thomas Lennox, Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F) public relations official.

In the aftermath of September 11, United States foreign policy shifted radically to the right. President Bush has declared an unending "War on Terror," with no clearly defined guidelines or objectives save for those that Bush declares. In an attempt to establish U.S. unilateralism, the U.S. has set about to target any nation that has dared to oppose U.S. policy, both economic and regarding the "War on Terror." The latest target of this campaign has been Cuba.

What if there was a war and no one showed up? Imagine that working class Americans refused to fight to advance President Bush\'s imperialist objectives. Imagine that those who keep America running refused to make or ship the implements of war. Imagine workers stopping business as usual to halt the US war machine. Imagine if a coalition of left and center forces could be organized into a mass peace movement. Bringing organized labor into the movement can help make this a reality.

Dynamic: Can you tell us how the idea came about to visit Ramallah?

Keren: I was in the Palestine Solidarity Society at Sussex University. We are part of a network of Palestine solidarity campaigns all around Britain, and we decided to actually go to Palestine. We were going to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, which have experienced brutal repression since the beginning of this uprising.

In November 2001, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 50, started contract negotiations with the Contract Cleaners Association (CCA), an association of eight cleaning companies who control the market on janitorial and custodial work in St. Louis. Ever since then, it has been an up hill battle for the more than 3,000 St. Louis janitors represented by SEIU Local 50, who have been struggling for a living wage and a new contract.

Dynamic: What are the main problems facing the Palestinian people, and what are the solutions?

Wail: The occupation is the main problem for both the Palestinian and Israeli people. Israel must completely end the occupation and Israel must implement all UN resolutions related to the issue of occupation, especially #242, #338 and #194

Take me away to the river
So I can flow with the stream of clarity
I want to fly into the clouds
So I can get lost in the mist of spirituality

In a time when civil liberties are under attack, Minority Report tries to make a statement on ethical implications of how far "authorities", in this case, the "PreCrime Unit" should go in order to attain security. This movie introduces a troubling moral ambiguity, considering PreCrime's success rate (no murder has been committed in it's six year existence). It asks what we should be willing to sacrifice in the name of security, and how much faith should be placed in a "flawless system".

Lauryn Hill's new album Lauryn Hill Unplugged 2.0 is exactly what it claims to be. It is "unplugged," meaning that it's not dubbed, digitally mastered, or studio produced. This is just Lauryn, the true woman, without the standard industry packaging.

Because of the various media misrepresentations, the general public doesn't really understand the anti-globalization movement. The methods of activists, such as civil disobedience, can be confusing and frightening. And then there are the acronyms and terminology that activists use, like "diversity of tactics" or the "Global South."

May 11th, was Black 47's last show at Connolly's before embarking on a national summer tour. Connolly's is about as crowded as it usually is on Saturdays; I see some faces from previous shows as well as some newcomers to the scene. My friend and I immediately rush to the front to get a good view of the performance.

What would you say if you were given the opportunity to enjoy a fun-filled weekend hanging-out and talking with some of the coolest people you'll ever meet? Where, you might ask, would you ever get an opportunity like that? The answer is simple, at the Young Communist League 7th National Convention in Chicago next November on the weekend of 22-24 to be exact.