Center for Political Education
Contents
- 1 CPE Staff
- 2 "What We Do"
- 3 Marxist philosophy
- 4 Communist Party origins
- 5 Communist Party roots
- 6 "People Get Ready"
- 7 UNRAVELING THE RIGHT: A Class for Organizers and Activists in the Trump Era
- 8 Eric Quezada PRESENTE!
- 9 "Claim No Easy Victories"
- 10 Political Regeneration and Hope in Mexico
- 11 External links
- 12 References
The Center for Political Education (CPE) was created to fill a "void" with space and tools necessary for leftist organizers to analyze current political, economic and social trends for revolutionary change. It was founded in 1998 and has conducted over 200 classes, educational forums, study groups, and dialogues.
CPE is fiscally sponsored by the Kendra Alexander Foundation and is supported by grants from KAF, Rainbow Grocery Cooperative in San Francisco and many individual supporters.[1]
CPE Staff
Center for Political Education, 2018 Co-Directors: Isaac Ontiveros and Rachel Herzing. [2]
- Isaac comes to the CPE with experience that spans media and communications, publishing, anti-violence, labor, and anti-prison industrial complex organizing and advocacy. He also facilitated CPE’s recent assessment process. Rachel was a CPE collective member from 2002-2007 and brings experience working in movements against the prison industrial complex, the anti-violence movement, and for youth development.
"What We Do"
The CPE is one of the main focal points for the San Francisco left[3];
- The Center for Political Education is a resource for political organizations on the left, progressive social movements, the working class and people of color.
- It is anchored by a collective of individuals active in day-to-day struggles in the Bay Area. Our political approach is non-sectarian, democratic, and committed to a critical analysis of local, regional and global politics. We believe that the current political conditions call for organizing and movement building, and that theory and ideas are important tools for movement building.
- We are committed to providing a left space and perspective for organizers and activists. We often co-sponsor events relating to left theory and strategy with other organizations.
Marxist philosophy
CPE is openly Marxist[4];
We are a resource for political organizations on the left, progressive movements, the working class and people of color. We believe that the current political conditions call for organizing and movement building, and that theory and ideas are important tools for movement building. We are committed to providing a left space and perspective. Our collective thought is diverse and comes from a variety of political schools. We look to various revolutionary thinkers and organizers, including Marx, for inspiration and critical review. The Center for Political Education is internationalist, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist. We believe in international solidarity and use our educational forums as one way to build support for liberation, labor, racial justice, environmental and political struggles throughout the world. We view the struggles for gender equality and against racism, sexism, homophobia, and heterosexism as integral to all forms of political struggle. The Center for Political Education is a collective whose members are active in day-to-day struggles in the Bay Area and bring their perspective to the vision of the Center for Political Education.
Communist Party origins
CPE was initiated by activists from the Communist Party USA spin-off Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, particualy Bill Sorro and his wife Giuliana Milanese[5].
- The Center for Political Education began with discussions around the Sorro-Milanese kitchen table, in 1997, which included a broad range of activists from the Bay Area Left. This grouping of established community activists, organizers, cultural workers, writers and educators engaged in a series of dialogues to analyze the left movement and the future of movement-building in the U.S. and particularly the Bay Area. The need was clear: organizers did not have a consistent left space to analyze current political, economic and social trends. This affected our ability to articulate and create strong, clear organizing and political strategies that would result in revolutionary change.
- From these dialogues emerged a vision: to develop a center dedicated to building strong movements and the left through education, analysis, theory, dialogue, and activism.
Communist Party roots
Committees of Correspondence members founded CPE out of the assets of "522 Valencia", which was formerly headquarters of the local Communist Party USA. The assets were taken by the Kendra Alexander Foundation-named in honor of the late Communist Party USA turned Committees of Correspondence leader Kendra Alexander[6].
- 522 Valencia became a movement resource in the early 1970s, commonly associated with the Communist Party USA. The CPUSA published the national newspaper People’s World out of 522 Valencia. In 1994, a broad spectrum of left activists, most of whom were no longer in the CPUSA, took on the responsibility of the building and the associated assets. They formed the Kendra Alexander Foundation, in honor of Kendra Alexander, long-time organizer and agitator who passed away in May, 1993, to oversee this invaluable movement resource.
"People Get Ready"
People Get Ready: A One-Day Convening on Beating the Right, Strengthening the Left, and Building Power.
Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 1 PM EST – 7 PM EST Hosted by Center for Political Education and Haymarket Books.
- Opening plenary featuring Alicia Garza, with a special performance by Kiwi Illafonte
- Session 1: What’s Left?: Building Power after the Elections, speakers include Ash-Lee Henderson, Justin Charles, Ollie Vargas and Ejeris Dixon
- Session 2: If the Kids Are United: Building Power against the Far Right, with Tarso Ramos
- Session 3: Build it on up: Tools for the Fight, speakers include The Red Nation and Marisol Ocampo of LeftRoots
UNRAVELING THE RIGHT: A Class for Organizers and Activists in the Trump Era
In June 2019, the Center for Political Education sent an invitation to sign up for organizing to fight the "far-right":[7]
- "Does the rise of white nationalism keep you awake at night? Are you troubled by the ascent to power of so many authoritarian leaders across the globe? Do you want to understand today’s right wing better and strengthen your organizing strategies to help drive it back?
- "If so, join CPE this summer for this four-session class. The class will meet Thursday evenings from 7-9pm on July 18, July 25, August 1 and August 8 at 518 Valencia Street in San Francisco. The sessions will cover:
- "The right’s ideas and goals, the particular forms authoritarianism takes in the U.S., the left’s conceptual and practical tool-box for understanding and defeating the far right;
- "Historical lessons from past experience fighting fascism and the right;
- "The international picture: contemporary fights against racist nationalist projects across the globe;
- "The current U.S. landscape, strategies for building a winning anti-right coalition and the particular responsibilities of activists in the Bay Area.
- "This class will be led by CPE co-director Rachel Herzing and Revolution in the Air author Max Elbaum, and will feature guest speakers with expertise on some of the issues highlighted above.
Apply Today!
- "Space in Unraveling the Right will be limited. If you’re interested in participating, please take a moment to fill out this application form thoroughly by July 1, so we can get a sense of who you are and why you are interested in taking this class. While everyone should feel free to apply for this class, preference will be given to members of people of color-led organizations and working class and people of color communities."
Attendees
According to a Facebook invitation,[8] the following were interested or invited to the class.
Interested
- Logan Eliot
- Aleta Toure
- Victoria Robertson
- Aaron John Brown
- Indigo Madrone Maxwell Cochran
- MJ McClure
- Ellen Brotsky
- Alyssa Kang
- Utuma Belfrey
- Ellen Stone
- Eileen Sltmn
- Marisela Esparza
- Smadar Lavie
- Dylan Cooke
- Nikki Neverever
- Daryn Copeland
- Amelia Bunch
- Win-Mon Kyi
- Walter Riley
- Sunita Shrestha
- Donna Willmott
- Rebecca Crump
- John Levin
- Dan Rodis
- Sha Ri
- Max Elbaum
- Carlos Manuel Martinez
- Beja Toran Ailisheva
- Lisa Moore
- Jason Chipsnguac
- Milli Stein
- Nichola Torbett
- Kate Jessica Raphael
- Arihanna Clementine
- Yu-Hui Lin-Truong
- Amy Kay
- Rosa Pergams
- Roman Rimer
- Saad Hayes Sodaye
- Oughten Thought
- Robbie Pgs
- Chika Okoye
- Lee Gargagliano
- Miriam Zouzounis
- Pete Woiwode
Invited
- Angelique Marie Gonzales
- Cjjc Volunteer
- Annie Morgan
- Claire Urbanski
- Lindsey Queue
- Catalyst Staff
- Annie Danger
- Kelly Hayes
- Abyss Cloven
- Koralie Hill
- Linda Evans
- Pike On A Bike
- Ally Noyes
- Brenda Salgado
- Michelle Mascarenhas-Swan
- Steve Williams
- Dixie Pauline
- Adele Elele
- Matthew Leber
- NTanya Lee
- Nisha Anand
- Marko Muir
- Jeff Larson
- Kusum Crimmel
- Sam Page Rampage
- James Tracy
- Rahula Janowski
- Alicia Garza
- Rob Mcb
- Candy Wright
- Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
- Iris Brilliant
- Jaron Browne
- Sarah Leadem Castro
- Sharon Lungo
- Mei-ying Williams
- Kate Sorensen
- Hannah Strange
- Kara Brod
- Savannah Jane
- Amanda Ream
- Robbie Clark
- Dana Perls
- Sarah Norr
- Mateo Nube
- Jeff Giaquinto
- Nick Estes
- Brooke Anderson
- Shawn McDougal
- Sanyika Bryant
- Sasha Wright
- Sarah Jarmon
- Gopal Dayaneni
- Dunya Alwan
- Greg Hom
- Irma Shauf-Bajar
- Michelle Foy
- Adam Gold
- Mickey Ellinger
- Caitlin Miller
- Tina Bartolome
- Maria Poblet
- Kiran Nigam
- Siri Margerin
- Lian Alan
- Malachi Garza
- Paulina Mcfarland
- Lara Kiswani
- Vivian Yi Huang
- Diana Block
- Ariel Luckey
- Zak Sinclair
- Chela Delgado
- Erik Schnabel
- Boots Riley
- Chelsea Boilard
- David Barbosa-Taylor
- Will Dominie
- Smith Koy Smith
- Lily AH
- Beth Reichmuth
- Molly Jane
- Kamau Walton
- Nathaniel Moore
- Huy Ong
- Asa Clemenzi
- Josh Healey
- Beatriz Herrera
- Ritika Aggarwal
- Bill Hogan
- KellyLou Densmore
- Vay Miko Hoang
- Meg Sho-Mo
- Isaac Leviathon
- Reem Assil
- Bart Admonius
- James Burch
- Kate Raven
- Leigh Davenport-deBoer
- Noa Grayevsky
- Katie Loncke
Eric Quezada PRESENTE!
Celebrate Eric Quezada and 15 Years of the Center for Political Education Thursday, December 12 2013, at Mission Neighborhood Center
Friends of Eric Quezada and the Center for Political Education invite you to a community celebration of Eric’s life on the occasion of his 48th birthday and the 15th anniversary of the Center for Political Education.
Celebrate Eric’s contributions to SF-based struggles for social and economic justice, which continue to resonate long after his passing in 2011.
Featuring:
- MC Holly Fincke
- Music w/ Francisco Herrera and friends
- DJ “Lucha Grande”
In 1998, Eric Quezada and others founded the CPE at a kitchen table meeting in Bernal Heights. Fifteen years later, the CPE continues to serve as a resource for the San Francisco left, by organizing workshops, talks and community events on topics essential to building strong, conscious social movements.
Proceeds benefit The Center for Political Education)
Host committee: Jason Ferreira, Oscar Grande, Fernando Marti, Huli Milanese, Wendy Phillips, Francisco Ugarte and the CPE Collective.[9]
"Claim No Easy Victories"
The Center for Political Education April 17, 2014.
APRIL 28th! Join the The Center for Political Education, LeftRoots, and SFSU's Race and Resistance Studies for "Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral" Book Talk w/ Bill Fletcher, Jr., Maria Poblet, Walter Turner and N'Tanya Lee.
At 518 Valencia: The Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics! — with Michelle Foy, Fernando Marti, Jason Ferreira, Carolina Morales, Camilo Sol Zamora, Kalexa Hella Zapantista, Walter Turner, N'Tanya Lee, Bill Fletcher, Jr., La More Rivas, Mari Posa, Jason Chipsnguac, Steve Williams, Maria Poblet and Yeiber Cano.
Political Regeneration and Hope in Mexico
Political Regeneration and Hope in Mexico, Public · Hosted by Sarah Jarmon and Isaac Ontiveros, Bruce Hobson, Doug Monica, Michelle Foy.
Saturday, July 21 (2018) at 4 PM PDT.
Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California (ICCNC).
Sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Center for Political Education.
Javier Bravo, professor of history at the University of Guanajuato, México and representative for México’s left party, MORENA (National Regeneration Movement -- Movimiento Regeneración Nacional) will speak on the post election situation and political crisis in México.
In a landslide, Andres Manuel López Obrador, won México’s July 1 presidential election. As the dominant political parties flood the country with lies and fearmongering about México’s ruin under an AMLO administration, the United States is freaking out about the prospect losing a critical neoliberal partner in Latin America.
What does this victory mean for Mexican@s at home and in the USA? How must the US Left show solidarity?[10]
Invited on Facebook
- Ari Fay-Long
- Ruben Leal
- Ellen Barry
- Cbe East Oakland
- Judith Tannenbaum
- Lili Farhang
- Cyrus Armajani
- Claude Marks
- Eric Cuentos
- Danny Murillo
- Angelique Marie Gonzales
- Conny Ford
- Sharif Zakout
- Elizabeth Ramos-Jajeh
- Katherine Schoellenbach
- Karl Beitel
- Forrest Schmidt
- Mordecai Cohen Ettinger
- Theresa Flandrich
- Maria De Lourdes Richardson
- Eric See
- Annie Morgan
- Sefa Santos-Powell
- Juan Carlos Esteban
- MJ McClure
- Rob Mac
- Samir Shtha
- Somcan Sf
- Sanjay Garla
- Alyssa Giachino
- Kazu Haga
- Luis Gutierrez
- George Lerma
- Lorena Melgarejo
- Anandi Wonder
- La Colectiva de Mujeres
- Hope Lamp
- Jose Palafox
- Marta Torres-McKay
- Ellen Brotsky
- Amy Beinart
- Debbie Ng
- Arcelia Alvarez-Long
- Dan Tennery-Spalding
- Robert Liu-Trujillo
- Melissa Crisp-Cooper
- Oscar Grande
- Jane Martin
- Jill Shenker
- Matthew Furshong
- Betty Traynor
- Shannon Little
- Doug Wordell
- Steve Williams
- Dan Siegel
- Ligia Montano
- Kinneret Alexander
- Adele Elele
- Alyse Ceirante
- N’Tanya Lee
- Sonya Mehta
- Gina Rossi
- Mike Alonso
- Marko Muir
- Katha Lina
- John Urness
- Jennifer Ferrigno
- Liz Perlman
- Lupe Arreola
- Phil Hutchings
- Nick Pagoulatos
- Dylan Cooke
- Khary Moye
- Marisol Ferrante
- Julie Leadbetter
- Ken Tray
- Spenta Kandawalla
- Sascha Bittner
- Cassandra Shaylor
- Lis Goldschmidt
- Christine Selig
- Amie Ruth
- Marcus Trigueros
- David Williams
- Naomi Jelks-Glaser
- Walter Riley
- James Tracy
- Rahula Janowski
- Alicia Garza
- John Eller
- Rona Fernandez
- Ivy Climacosa
- Lisa Russ
- Jaron Browne
- Liliana JH
- Sarah Leadem
- Tia Cerone-Fancher
- Sierra Thai-Binh
- Joshua Alperin
- Lisa Rudman
- Marcus Kryshka
- William Ramirez
- Aimee Suzara
- Donna Willmott
- Rana Freedman
- Nadya Raja
- Hannah Strange
- Nadia Conrad
- Pyotr Moller
- Vanessa Moses
- Carlos Gutierrez
- Antonio Diaz
- Chloe Jhangiani
- Heba Nimr
- Malea Chavez
- Conny Ford
- Charles Weigl
- Eddy Zheng
- Rama Ali Kased
- Robert Marosi Bustamante
- Gordon Zola Edgar
- Savannah Jane
- Melissa Reyes
- Flora Zulli
- Monifa Porter
- Amanda Ream
- Kendra Froshman
- Myrna Melgar
- Catrina Joy Roallos
- Viviana Rennella
- Eric L. Waters
- Rochelle Watson
- Lorraine DeGuzman
- Cindy Wiesner
- Peter J. Weiss
- Linn Chiu
- Michelle Eskesen
- Carlos Manuel Martinez
- Danielle Marilyn West
- Azadeh Zohrabi
- Rebecca Wong
- Kimi Lee
- Francesca Fiorentini
- Viet Nam Nguyen
- Melanie Ann Tom
- Charlie Sciammas
- Andrew Wood
- Shaw San Liu
- Anita Johnson
- Sasha Magee
- Nell Beach
- Stanley Richards
- Danishta Rivero Castro
- Favianna Rodriguez
- Adrian Espinosa
- Jen Miller
- Jessica Lehman
- Matthias Mormino
- Tommi Avicolli Mecca
- Sasha Wright
- Ken Epstein
- Ian McLeod
- Jasamyn Wimmer
- Mimi Kim
- Michele Bondi
- Monica Garcia
- Felicia Gustin
- Lulu Palestina
- Brent Plater
- Ellen Barry
- Greg Hom
- Tony Robles
- Linnette Peralta Haynes
- Lisa Pagan
- Victor Chavez
- Sally Hindman
- Gordon Mar
- Amanda Nube
- Fiona Glas
- Cheryl Brown
- Alex T. Tom
- Nikki Hanggang Tagumpay
- James Q. Chan
- Caitlin Miller
- Kate Jessica Raphael
- Tina Bartolome
- George Galvis
- Ayoka Turner
- Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi
- Fernando Marti
- Nile Malloy
- Jessica Tiahui
- Sheila Hernandez
- Siri Margerin
- Metzi Quetzal
- Olive Loew
- Lian Alan
- Lisa Reyes
- Celi Tamayo-Lee
- Carolyn Bowden
- Christopher Cook
- Jennifer Blakeslee
- Micah Bennett-Cauchon
- Steve Shada
- Erica Marcus
- Josh Warren-White
- Mychi Nguyen
- Margot Goldstein
- Paola Ondina
- Anna Costa Rowan
- Jorge Portillo
- Paul Blasenheim
- SunHyung Lee
- Analilia Garcia
- Seema Newton Patel
- Kimberly Miyoshi
- Vivian Yi Huang
- Diana Block
- Joel Ontiveros
- Rachel Brahinsky
- Alisa Messer
- Poonam Whabi
- Alysabeth Alexander Tut
- Nihar Kirtidev Bhatt
- Mia Birdsong
- Amie Fishman
- Lauren Holtzman
- Sasha Vodnik
- Tiffany Eng
- Angie Junck
- Brian Edwards-Tiekert
- Lariza Dugan Cuadra
- Nikki Cerone-Fancher
- Erin Gray
- Cat Brooks
- Chela Delgado
- Chelsea Boilard
- Francisco Javier Herrera Brambila
- Paul Bolick
- Stacy Trager-Carls
- Jesus Barraza
- Armael Bulawin Malinis
- Lacey Hunter
- Stacey Milbern
- Mari Posa
- Sari Bilick
- Rebecca Ming-Yoke Hom
- Eli Isaacs
- Jessica Choy
- Eric Mar
- Layidua Salazar
- Sagnicthe Salazar
- Thi Huynh
- KS Peters
- KellyLou Densmore
- AJ Pluss*Elana R. Jacobs
- Lee Gargagliano
- Sophia Simon-Ortiz
- Lucas Guilkey
- Jen Prather Ontiveros
- Toby Kramer
- Mashael Majid
- Izzy Alvaran
- Juan Garcia
- Solis Whelan
- Jesse Stout
- Meggie Woods
- Marie B. Choi
- Tony Marks-Block
- Nicole Wires
- Julia Wong
Interested
- Emma Lee
- Scott Kimball
- Suhagey Sandoval
- Linda Nguyen
- Leunamme Aivap
- Indigo Cochran
- Vida Alegría Corona
- Daniel Robelo
- Syd Knee Jl
- Paul Quinlan
- Jess Flores
- Alberto Perez-Rendon
- Maria Teresa Reyes
- Tareq Samman
- Kalexa Hella Zapantista
- Momii Palapaz
- Ciara Crowley
- Terri Kay
- Alma Noriega
- Veronica Ramirez
- Suzanne Taviansky
- Colin Bikespoke
- Mona Trevino
- Megan Prier
- Leslie Vianey
- Tristen Schmidt
- Simon Ma
- Catie Cain
- Sadieh AbdalJawwad
- Camille Taiara
- Marcie Beaucoup
- Linda Silver
- Linda Post
- Marcia Peterzell
- Ara Celi
- Jamie Sarfeh
- Araceli Vazquez Ulloa
- Lisa Sy
- Lucina Parada
- Claudia von Vacano
- Victor Ray Valdiviezo
- Amreen Akhtar
- Pablo Benavente
- Lisabeth Luar
- Maria Guillen
- K.A. KC
- De Mi Alma
- Colleen VJ
- Ramses Sin Fronteras
- Brooke Anderson
- Ali Murat Gali
- Laura Marina Perez
- Adam Gold
- Christina Olague
- Ben Hadley
- Sarah Wilson
- Raneem TA
- Adrienne Fong
- Lara Kiswani
- Tania Flores
- Scott Chilberg
- Laura Kemp
- Sima Savdharia
- Tash Nguyen
- Lily AH
- Tom Gabriel
- Shina Riane
- Kamau Walton
- Beatriz Herrera
- Pedro Hernandez
- Pete Woiwode
- Diana Wu
Went
External links
References
- ↑ About
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ http://www.politicaleducation.org/about/#whoweare
- ↑ http://www.politicaleducation.org/about/#whoweare
- ↑ http://www.politicaleducation.org/about/#whoweare
- ↑ http://www.politicaleducation.org/about/#whoweare
- ↑ Unraveling the Right Application accessed June 24 2019
- ↑ accessed June 24 2019
- ↑ [http://www.politicaleducation.org/programs/upcoming-events/ CPE Upcoming events, UPCOMING EVENTS + CLASSES Eric Quezada PRESENTE!]
- ↑ [2]