By Francisco Romero, RPMA Media Team
“We understand clearly that we (as activists, artists, community organizers, media makers) are the change agents we have been waiting for.” (USSF 2010)
(Detroit, MI) For this year’s U.S. Social Forum, the Raza Press and Media Association (RPMA) , along with our allies at the Xicano Development Center’s (XDC) program Radio Free Aztlan , embarked on a tireless five day joint collaborative media project. With over 15,000 in attendance and 1,086 workshops, the U.S. Social Forum served as an organizing space for sharing of ideas, strategies, tactics and overall plans of action to build and enhance the grassroots social movements confronting “deeper and more pervasive poverty world-wide, unsustainable industrial and developmental practices that accelerate global warming, massive displacement of communities due to trade and economic development, and and rampant speculation in speculation in financial markets” that have led the the economic crisis that exist today.
With so many participants, it could be very easy for a voice to be lost in the abyss of the global intertwined network of resistance. So, to that end, the RPMA and the XDC prepared and coordinated an organized effort to document and share the unique lessons voiced by those in rebellion, in resistance, in struggle, be it the fight against wars of aggression and militarization, the struggle for self-determination and liberation, the on-going battle for “work, land, housing, food, health care, education, independence, freedom, democracy, justice and peace.”
THE PEOPLE’S MEDIA CENTER
Hundreds of media workers gathered and set up working stations at the People’s Media Center (PMC) on the second floor of the COBO Exhibition Hall and Conference Center, the central U.S. Social Forum 2010 meeting space. The USSF 2010 stated. “The People’s Media Center (PMC) at this year’s US Social Forum in Detroit seeks to keep up with this evolving media landscape and once again break new ground in changing the relationships between media, cultural workers and the movements they cover. The People’s Media Center will serve not only as a hub for traditional, new and people’s journalists in this new media world to connect and share, but also a space for many story-telling, cultural and artistic activities to take place continuously and throughout the forum.” The Raza Press and Media Association, shared a working space alongside, TeleSur, Democracy Now, Real News Network, IndyMedia, Free Speech TV, among dozens of others.
The role of grassroots, independent media was extremely important at this year’s USSF 2010, having that the mass corporate media seen the forum as “disregarded marginal and irrelevant — that is, if they’re regarded at all?” (AlterNet) Where else was there such a mass convergence taking place? The FIFA World Cup 2010 spectacle overshadowed the U.S. Social Forum and the protests of the G-20 in Canada.
In short, if it were not for the humble efforts of a handful of committed media activist/organizers, the U.S. Social Forum 2010 could have easily been forgotten. The reality is that we exist and resist, with innovative “Up-to-the-minute radio, print and video reports produced through the center and broadcasting on partnering networks; fed to local and national media outlets; and published on social networks, blogs, websites and portals all across the US and the world. With daily press briefings and a diverse speakers’ bureau, the center will also seek to connect grassroots organizers and leaders with mainstream journalists to generate widespread coverage of the ideas, events and people of the USSF.” (http://www.ussf2010.org/pmc)
THE DETROIT PAPERS
It was nearly seven years ago on September 20, 2003, where a handful of media activists convened at the RPMA’s Summit entitled, “Develop the Means to Wake Up the Masses-Become Part of History-Help Build an Independent Raza Media Association”, in the small community just outside of Detroit, in the town of Ypsilanti, MI, at Eastern Michigan University. At this summit, participants discussed, debated and adopted a resolution of four sections that would lead the then Raza Press Association (now Raza Press and Media Association) into the next period of struggle on the media front.
Section 1 of the Detroit Papers was entitled, “A: Only Responsibility and Accountability Will Enable Us To Build and Consolidate the RPA.” The next section was entitled, “B: Only Active, Systematic, Tactical and Consistent Dissemination of Progressive News and Information In the Community Will Allow Us to Wake Up the Masses.” The third section was entitled, “C: Building a Raza Press and Media to Defend the Rights and Interests of Our People.” The final section was entitled, “D: Journalism Is Inseperable from the Liberation Struggle.”
It is important to highlight, that the major sections, goals and objectives of the Detroit Papers have been worked on consistently for the past seven years. Countless organizing meetings, dozens and dozens of writings, events, forums and book fests, as well as the on-going developing of technical skills (audio, video, print, etc.) have been expanded.
For the first time, in one concentrated event, the RPMA had a “Media Team”, with about six media workers, utilizing sound recording, video, and photography to document and immediately report about the interviews, forums, actions and workshops. At the the U.S. Social Forum’s People’s Media Center, RPMA media activists sat, edited, wrote, and produced articles, audio and video podcasts at the about the nearly 50 interviews that were conducted throughout the week.
TODOS SOMOS LOS MEDIOS (WE ARE THE MEDIA)
As media activists, as organizers, and ultimately as Mexicano Indigenous freedom fighters, we will have to take a stand on the side of our people. This means, that we must learn the skills necessary to create media, in the form of writings, videos, audio recordings and beyond, including cultural and artistic forms of expression (paintings, creative writings, music, etc.). If we fail to write our own history, than we will have to read about our advancements and defeats from the perspective of the oppressor.
With the technological tools at our disposal, such as computers, printers, copy machines, access to the Internet and the various social web-based networking platforms (FaceBook, ListServes, etc.), there really is no excuse whatsoever to not have a weekly, if not daily, news reporting effort coming from the Chicano/ Mexicano working class perspective. There is no excuse whatsoever for not having a short written summary, a blog, a poem, an article, a song, or an audio or video piece that immediately brings attention to, analyzes or current conditions, and offers an alternative reporting to that of the corporate media.
We need a People’s Media, one that is willing and able to combat the onslaught of commercial and profit-driven news and information being spewed on a daily basis. We need a People’s Media that can and will expose the brutal realities of the capitalist economic crisis and its impact on workers, on education, on healthcare, and on society as a whole. We need a People’s Media that will report about the “deep pervasive poverty world-wide, unsustainable industrial and development practices that accelerate global warming, massive displacement of communities due to trade and economic competition, and rampant speculation in the financial markets” and other pressing issues that impact us today.
So, the time is now, to be part of the solution. Pick up your pen, brush, or camera, and join our struggle to build a People’s Media to Defend the Rights and Interests of the Working Class. Join the Raza Press and Media Association!
Por una Prensa Libre y Popular en Defensa del Pueblo!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.