12th World Festival of Youth and Students
From KeyWiki
12th World Festival of Youth and Students
Communist youth festival
The National Preparatory Committee for the 12th World Festival of Youth and Students met in New York on March 2 and March 23 1985.
The meetings of representatives of the area preparatory committees and participating national organizations reflected the tremendous growth of the Festival movement over the month. Three hundred endorsements' have, now peen gathered by the more than 40 area' preparatory committees. The APCs have nearly tripled in number since late January.
Brenda Davenport, youth coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Greg Moore, president of the U.S Student Association; Philip Oke of the UN Office of the Christian Peace Conference, Sharon Burgess of District 65 ~ New Jersey Region, United Auto Workers; and Bernice A. King; of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Change were among those that attended the latest meeting, Ms. King is the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr..
The NPC meetings called for stepping up the pace of the festival movement and agreed that the April 20 demonstration for peace. jobs and justice in Washington D,C. was a key part of the work. Many area committees reported renting buses and signing youth up to go.
At the March 2 meeting, Ethel Lobman of Local 3882 of the American Federation of Teachers said, "It is our duty to bring together all those who suffer from Reagan's policies to protest" Ms. Lobman' was also a delegate to the New York Central Labor Council and án activist in the labor outreach committee of the New York coalition building April 20th.
- There wil be 250 delegates to the festival and 300 "special participants" who will attend the festival in Moscow for four days, then travel to other parts of the USSR for an additional ten days. It was agreed that 100 of the 250 delegates would be picked from a national "pool" in order to ensure the most representative delegation possible.
Five co-chairs were elected at the meeting including Brenda Davenport of SCLC: Julien Epstein, aide to Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.); Andy Mager, the first New York draft registration resister to be imprisoned; James Steele, national chairman of the Young Communist League; and Sue Wray, president of the Student Association of the State University of New York. Two slots were left open for representatives from the trade union and Latino communities.[1]
Partial list of endorsers
- Oscar Bartochowski, Pres.. Grad, Student Association SUNY-/Buffalo:
- John C. Brennen, Vice-Pres" Local 1357, United Food and Commercial W9rkers (UFCW);
- Harry Bridges, Pres, Emeritus, Int' Longshore and Warehouse Union;
- Gene Carroll, Labor Coordinator, Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign;
- Ramsey Clark, Former Attorney General;
- Rep, John Conyers, Jr. US Congress (MI);
- Tony Creighton, National Field Rep. Jobs with Peace;
- Tyrone Crider, Youth Director, Operation PUSH;
- Rep. George Crockett, U,S, Congress(MI);
- Ossie Davis, Singer/songwriter:
- Ruby Dee, Singer-/songwriter:
- Rep, Ronald Dellums, US Congress (CA);
- Bernard Demczuk, Nat' Political Dir" Am, Federation of Gov't Employees;
- Tess Ewing, Pres, Local 8751. United Steelworkers of America:
- Henry Foner, Pres" Local 1-FLM, UFCW;
- Saundra Graham, Cambridge City Council;
- Roger Green, New York State Assembly;
- Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, Detroit Diocese: Dir" Pax Christi USA,:
- Richie Havens, Singer/songwriter;
- Father Bill Hogan, Exec, Board, Chicago Clergy and Laity Concerned:
- Charles Hughes, Pres" Local 372, American Federation of State. County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME):
- Rev. Jesse Jackson, Presidential Candidate, 1984:
- Johnnie Jackson, Pres. Chicago Chapter, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW):
- Valinda Jackson. Pres.. Local 1108, AFSCME;
- Rubye Jones, Pres" N,Y, City Chapter, CLUW;
- Mel King, Former State Rep.. Massachussets;
- Clinton Lacy, Pres.. Herbert H, Lehman College Student Govt, Assoc,:
- Edward Lamb, Industrialist and banker:
- Rev, Joseph Lowery, Pres. Southern Christian Leadership Conference;
- Joe Madison, Dir" NAACP Voter Registration Project;
- Hilda Mason, City Council. Washington. D,C,;
- William Moody, Information Dir" Graphic Communications Intl Union;
- Gus Newport, Mayor. Berkeley, California:
- Rep. Major Owens, U,S, Congress (NY):
- Dr. Linus Pauling, Nobel Laureate;
- Wiliam Perry, Pres" Local 6, Intl Longshoremens Assoc,;
- Bobbie Rabinowitz, Vice-Pres.. Local 371, Social Service Employees Union:
- Rev. Dr. Jon L. Regier, Exec, Dir" N,Y, State Council of Churches:
- Bettye Roberts, Pres" District Council 1707, AFSCME:
- Sonia Sanchez, Poet;
- Pete Seeger, Singer/songwriter:
- James Steele, Chair, Young Communist League:
- Alan Thompson, Director, National Council for American-Soviet Friendship;
- Baldemar Velasquez, Pres" Farm Labor Organizing Committee;
- Agnes Willis, Treas" Tri.State Coalition of Black Trade Unionists:
- Sue Wray, Pres" Student Assoc, of the State University of New York;
- Zoe Zacharek, Pres" Grad, Student Employees Union (CWA Local 1188)[2]
