politics
Seth Tobocman: Why Keep Publishing "World War 3 Illustrated"?
Seth Tobocman, a renowned artist and activist and founding member of the World War 3 Illustrated collective, sent us these thoughtful words about why the collective is still creating and publishing its magazine.
Why is this political comic book, which started in 1980, still publishing?
The oil slick off the gulf coast, the collapse of a speculative housing bubble, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina, the bombing and siege of Gaza, the massive anti-globalization protests in Seattle and other cities, the election of America’s first Black president. All of this proves us right.
We started this magazine in 1980 because we believed that Ronald Reagan was taking this country in the wrong direction. We believed that a new, radical movement would emerge to challenge these right wing policies.This was not a popular position at the time and even many who agreed with us cautioned us that it was unwise to be so bold and upfront about our politics.
"Black Panther Robert Hillary King tells his story"
By Tom Keyser
Robert Hillary King spent nearly three decades in solitary confinement at the notorious Angola state prison in Louisiana. As a member of the Black Panther Party, he and two party members became nationally known as the Angola 3 — political prisoners who spent decades in solitary confinement for, they contend, organizing prisoners to improve conditions.
King, 66, will speak Friday at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy in support of his book, "From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King" (PM Press, 224 pages, $24.95).
After becoming a Black Panther in prison and organizing inmates, according to the book's dust jacket, "prison authorities beat him, starved him and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a 6-by-9-foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, the state grudgingly acknowledged his innocence and set him free."
Somebody Blew Up America w/ Amiri Baraka and Rob Brown
The poet icon and political activist Amiri Baraka performs with Rob Brown, one of the New York City downtown music scene’s most in-demand saxophonists, in a reading of his new book Somebody Blew Up America & Other Poems.
This event in the “Free Jazz from the Sanctuary” series is co-sponsored by
the Arts Department at RPI and the Albany Sonic Arts Collective, with support
from the NY State Council on the Arts and the NY State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Our press release:
The Great Virtual Jihad Controversy
The Sanctuary gives refuge to artist Wafaa Bilal after he is banned from the RPI Campus.
http://tinyurl.com/56hw9u
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