The Patriot Act takes me back to where I don't want to go. So last August when Peter Goldberg solicited proposals for his Dossier Project, I had to respond. I asked my daughter, Sarah, if I could use her poem, "From Day to Day." Then I invited poet Harvey Taylor, who had written about the Patriot Act, and Julie Enslow, an activist who has personally come up against the Act's provisions, to work with me. And I drew from my own experience growing up in the 40's and 50's.
Our performance piece has expanded to include a skit by Mary Jo Walters, and, for one performance, music by an experimental hip rock group, Occasional Detroit.
All events take place in the Turner Hall Ballroom, 1034 N. 4th St,Milwaukee, WI
Phone: 414/272-1733
SUZANNE: The feeling's always with me, left over from childhood, that it's safer to keep quiet, though I don't, safer to avoid discussing politics, especially my parents' politics. Politics was their religion, a religion of peaceful protest, non-violent change, of equality in every sense of the word. They worked for desegregation, women's rights, workers' rights, a fairer distribution of wealth. A fairer distribution, that's what they wanted, and that's why they considered themselves socialists. Were they card-carrying Communists? I don't know. What I do know is that I couldn't share, even with my closest friends, a major aspect of my life. This was the McCarthy era. We lived in fear. The FBI interviewed people we knew, trying to find out about us.
HARVEY: This just in. (WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Bush Administration is preparing a bold, comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed in the wake of September 11, 2001, entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, AKA Patriot Act II, which will give the government broad, sweeping new powers to increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and ....
JULIE:
Lists
Black lists
Red lists
Activist lists
Terrorists lists
Traitor lists
Police lists
FBI lists
CIA lists
Library book lists
Terrorist Information Awareness lists
Total Information Awareness lists...
...Milwaukee Airport
April 19, 2002
20 out of 37 Peace Action activists
appear on a No Fly list
on their way to Washington DC
to lobby Congress...
SARAH:
Everything came and flowed,
And went away and returned...
Suzanne Rosenblatt, 8 January 2004
Full announcement from Peter Goldberg
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) in conjunction with Turner Hall is sponsoring an art exhibition and performance night, exploring the impact of the post-9/11 security state and the surveillance culture on our liberty and privacy. In addition there will be a series of related forums dealing with subjects related to homeland security and civil liberties. All events take place at the Historic Turner Hall, 1034 N. 4th St., Milwaukee, WI.
The show opens Wednesday evening, January 14 at 7:00 p.m. with an ACLU reception, featuring former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr and National President Nadine Strossen. It continues with a 4th Street Forum on Thursday noon, January 15; a Gallery Night program to include a combined MARN Destination and Turner Hall Aftermath Party, January 16; a National Lawyers Guild public speakout,Saturday afternoon, January 17; a performance night, Saturday evening; and an ACLU-sponsored youth program, Sunday afternoon, January 18. All events are free and open to the public, except the Destination/ Aftermath party after 9 Friday night, which has a $5 cover. The art exhibit will be open during all events.
The schedule of events is as follows:
-- Wednesday, January 14, 7:00 p.m.:
Opening reception organized by the ACLU of Wisconsin and featuring former Congressman Bob Barr and Nadine Strossen, National President of the ACLU, plus entertainment.
-- Thursday, January 15, 12:00 noon :
Turner Halls 4th Street Forum, a panel on Security and Liberty, featuring Bob Barr, Nadine Strossen, U.S. Attorney Stephen Biskupic, and FBI Special Agent David Mitchell.
-- Friday, January 16,
6:00 -9:00 p.m. Gallery Night
9:00 - Midnight, Destination/Aftermath Party, featuring the Deblin Sevet Quintet, ($ 5 cover)
-- Saturday, January 17, 2004,
Open for Gallery Day
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. : Public Speak-out, organized by the National Lawyers Guild on the Security State
7:30 - 9:00 p.m. : A Night of Performance with Marya Bradley; Chris Flieller; Rogers Keene in Home, Sweet, Homeland Security; Julie Enslow, Guido Leplae,Suzanne and Sarah Rosenblatt, Harvey Taylor, Thidapha Thongsvanh, Mary Jo Walters and Occasionally Detroit, in You Say DossieA. I Say DossiER, dancers Cindy Severt and Technotrance Belly Dance; Theatre X
-- Sunday, Jan. 18, 2: 00 -5:00 p.m.;
ACLU Youth Program (Free to Youth): 2:00 - 3:00, youth art show and accoustic music performance; 3:00 - 4:00, Youth Artist Talk-Back and awards; Theatrical presentation by area youth: Spying on Dr. King:PATRIOTism Unplugged
Exhibit Open to the Public at this time.
The participating artists include:
Scott Alberti, Nic Behrends, Susan Simensky Bietila, Dan Bishop, James Carlson, Jay Castle, Warrington Colescott, Cindy Crigler, Lydia Crumbley, Tracy Doreen, Judy Hasselhoef, Rogers Keene, Melanie Kehoss, Joel Koch,Tea Krulos, Alan Linquist, Mary Ann Onorato, Josie Osborne, Max Samson, Chris Sanger, Andy Singer, David Thomas, Charles Wickler, Greg Williard, Tracy Wymelenberg and members of Public Allies.
Web site: http://www.dossierproject.com/
Peter Goldberg, 6 January 2004