1. Dave Dellinger speaks at a rally protesting weapons production at Alliant Techsystems - Hopkins, Minnesota, May 7, 1997.

A renowned pacifist and activist for non-violent social change, Dave, at the turn of the millenium, remains one of the most influential American radicals. He was the "elder" of the Chicago Seven, a group of protesters whose disruption of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago led to charges of conspiracy and crossing state lines with the intention of inciting a riot. The ensuing court case was turned by Dellinger and his co-defendants into a nationally-publicized platform for putting the Vietnam War and US foreign policy on trial. On February 18, 1970, they were found guilty of conspiring to incite riots but the charges were eventually dismissed by an appeals court due to errors by US District Judge Julius Hoffman.

Considered by many to be the most consistent advocate of revolutionary nonviolence in America, Dave sees the capitalist economic system as instrumental in causing poverty, violence and war: "How can you decide to have making money the object of your life when so many lack the basic necessities of life?" he asks. "I'm against a money society," he says. "The object should be to share things."

In July 2002, Dave was interviewed by Frida Berrigan of In These Times magazine. When asked what is the most important thing he has learned over his long life of resistance to war and commitment to peace, Dave responded: "Love. At the core of it all, there needs to be love. We need one another. We all benefit from the existence of a beloved community. My wife and I have struggled all these years to purge ourselves of hatred, to forgive our enemies, and to love. Love is a strong inner force, and from it powerful witnesses for peace and justice will flow."

To read the entire July 2002 In These Times interview with Dave Dellinger, click here.

Postscript: Dave Dellinger died on May 25, 2004. For Z Magazine's obituary for Dave, click here. For The Guardian of London's obituary for Dave, click here.

2-3. Marv Davidov - August 1999 and February 2000. Marv, a justice and peace activist from the time of the Mississippi Freedom Rides, was a co-founder of the Honeywell Project in 1968. For twenty years the Honeywell Project ensured the gathering of thousands at Honeywell's corporate headquarters in Minneapolis to protest the company's manufacture of weapons ranging from cluster bombs to guidance systems for Cruise and Pershing nuclear missiles.

Ed Felien, editor of the alternative newspaper Pulse recalls that each demonstration was unique and important: "Sometimes we would share bread in a secular communion. Sometimes we would camp out in the hallways overnight to block entryways. When Honeywell built fences, we climbed over them. Erica Bouza trespassed and was arrested by her husband, Tony Bouza, then Minneapolis Chief of Police . . . There was always music and national speakers like Noam Chomsky or Dave Dellinger the night before."

Since Honeywell sold off its defense contracts to Alliant Techsystems, Marv and others have kept the tradition of Honeywell protests alive outside of Alliant Techsystems' corporate headquarters in Hopkins.

In March 1999 I invited Marv to speak to a class I was teaching at the College of St. Catherine-Minneapolis. Following are comments by students in response to the insights and experiences shared by Marv:

"Marv approaches his work with an 'in your face' attitude. He spoke with authority on big corporations' control over our society. He stresses the importance of non-violence, peaceful demonstration, and taking action in what you believe in . . . Marv is brutally honest in working to right today's wrongs."

"Marv's life experiences were compelling and sometimes shocking to me. For example, he said he has been arrested forty times and has been held in maximum security at a state penitentiary . . ."

"It makes me sick to think such a nice man was put in prison for standing up to the system . . . I commend Marv for his bravery and the sacrifice of his own freedom and dignity to ensure the freedom and dignity of others."

"Marv was a very energized speaker describing his thoughts and beliefs in how our country is deeply, deeply dysfunctional. When he said that people are irrelevant compared to big business and money, I think he hit the nail right on the head . . . He brought a lot of new insights to me that made me question what is really going on around us. A lot of times I caught myself nodding my head in agreement to his points. Marv lives his life resisting [and] fighting for what he believes in. I found him very selfless. He resists not for himself, but for his community."

Off-site Link: Midwest Institute for Social Transformation (MIST).

4. Marianne Hamilton, Polly Mann and Lu Cossins on the occasion of their joint 80th birthday celebration - February 27, 2000. All three women have played significant roles in Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) - a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling systems of militarism and global oppression, and one of the most active and influential justice and peace groups in the Midwest region.

Lu Cossins came into the justice and peace movement following her marriage to an activist. After her husband's death, Lu sought to honor his memory by actively supporting WAMM with her volunteer efforts. For many years, Lu contributed her time and energy toward WAMM's financial management. Her somewhat less visible activism served as a powerful reminder of all the behind-the-scenes contributions of office volunteers - contributions that are critical for the survival of any type of movement.

Off-site Link: Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

5. Polly Mann, cofounder of Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) - May 1999.

"For many years I thought militarism itself was responsible for war," noted Polly in October 1999. "But slowly, very slowly, I have come to realize that militarism is itself not responsible for war. It is the mechanism, the servant, of a larger force - a force that is the dominant religion of American society. This religion is touted in every possible way. Half of Sunday's newspaper is devoted to it . . . It's most obvious churches are the shopping malls. This force, this god, goes by many names - the most obvious is money. Another is consumerism . . . Another term often applied is the American lifestyle - a term which implies the ability to buy anything you have the money or the credit card capital for. The doctrines of this religion go by many names: 'free trade,' meaning unrestricted trade, 'the market economy,' and 'corporate globalization.'"

In April 1999 I invited Polly to speak to a class I was teaching at the College of St. Catherine-Minneapolis, entitled Spirituality and Social Justice. Following are some of the students' responses to Polly's visit:

"War is something Polly is familiar with. She is originally from Arkansas where she worked in an Army camp [during World War II]. She expressed sadness while telling us about the activities of the camp. She said it was very emotional to see the trains leave with the soldiers. They had to say goodbye to their loved ones. She said the worst [part] was when they returned home. Many [of the soldiers] were dead and the rest wounded. It did not seem to matter that they were heroes. [Polly] also told of the fighting techniques the men were taught. Bayonet practice was hard for her to watch because of its brutality. During this time she decided that she would speak out against war, but living in a small town [made it] difficult . . ."

"[In questioning and challenging militarism] Polly has had some negative experiences. She has been arrested because of protesting and [has been] put into jail. The WAMM office has received hate mail and threats. The positive side is how [her activism] effects the people around her. Personally, I think seeing her stand up makes me think I can do something like that with an issue I strongly believe in . . ."

"Polly was a wonderful speaker and I really admire her . . . I left class feeling very uplifted and charged. She has inspired me to speak out against topics like war and to fight for what is right. I have always wondered what difference will it make if I argue for this or that? I am only one person and nobody will listen to me. Polly proved to me that I am not the only one out there. All it takes is for one person to start the ball rolling."

"[Polly is] concerned that long distance fighting is blinding people to the aftermath of war. Before, people used to see their victims almost face to face. Now through technology, most military officials can avoid seeing their victims. I think this has led military people to be less sympathetic to the people they are attacking. It seems that technology has helped to dehumanize people."

"At times it is hard for me to hold my head high and be proud to be an American. It's hard to know that I'm the bully; I'm the biggest polluter of the world; I'm starving the children in [Iraq and] Third World countries; I'm covering up the military's scandals. I'm doing all of these things because I'm not speaking out against them. My silence is my support, and it is wrong."

For another photograph of Polly Mann see Image 9 in Gallery 10.

Off-site Link: Women Against Military Madness (WAMM).

6-7. Marianne Hamilton - February 2000. Marianne's activism began after World War II when she became president of the Minnesota chapter of the World Federalists. Her activism continued through the Vietnam War era, when she was an outspoken critic of the conflict. In the 1970s she was invited to the Paris Peace Talks as part of an antiwar delegation. In 1982, Marianne joined with Polly Mann and others to form WAMM. Marianne is particularly well known for her international activism, and received the 1999 International Citizen Award, granted jointly by Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

"When WAMM started we thought it would be a global organization that would get people to stop war," noted Marianne in 2002. "But WAMM has changed with the times. Lately, it has been asking questions such as: 'Why is the U.S. keeping its military all over the world? Is it for the sole purpose of protecting corporate globalization and privatization? What are we doing about fiscal development and poverty in developing nations?' More and more people are now saying that social, military, and globalization issues are all one . . . My upbringing in Catholic schools taught me about the interconnectedness of humanity--that we can't separate one from another. That's my personal motivation. And it seems to motivate a lot of people."

Off-site Links: Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) and The World Federalist Association USA.

8. Mahmoud El-Kati speaks at a rally denoucing U.S. military aid to Columbia - March 11, 2000. A historian of the Justice and Freedom Movement and a community justice and peace activist for over thirty years, Mahmoud has mentored countless young people of color and educated across racial and cultural lines through his teaching at Macalester College.

9. Daniel Berrigan (right), Jesuit priest, poet, teacher, co-founder of the Ploughshare Movement and longtime justice and peace activist, with his nephew, Jerry Berrigan - St. Paul, Minnesota, October 1999.

Son of Phil Berrigan and Liz McAllister, Jerry Berrigan grew up living in community at Jonah House in Baltimore, Maryland. While a student at Kalamazoo College, he founded two Peace Houses. He currently lives and works with the Catholic Worker community in Duluth, Minnesota.

10. Award-winning independent journalist Alan Nairn speaks at a rally to close the U.S. Army's School of the Americas - Washington, D.C., April 1998.

In August 1999, Alan was one of the last reporters to broadcast out of East Timor during the U.S.-backed Indonesian/paramilitary violence against the East Timorese people. The violence had been sparked by the East Timorese's overwhelming vote for independence from Indonesia in a U.N.-sponsored referendum.

11. Amy Goodman stands in the rain while recording speakers at the 10th annual rally and action to close the School of the Americas - November 1999. The event saw 12,000 gather at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, to demand the closure of the school and a change in U.S. foreign policy.

Considered by many as one of the nation's finest and most courageous journalists, Amy - based in New York - is host of Pacifica Radio's nationally syndicated Democracy Now! program. With Alan Nairn she barely escaped death reporting the U.S.-backed Indonesian Army's slaughter of hundreds of East Timorese during the Dili Massacre of 1991.

In her contribution to the 2001 book, "Global Uprising: Stories from a New Generation of Activists," Amy writes: "I've always felt that as journalists we're not here to cozy up to power, but to challenge it. For example, on Election Day 2000, President Clinton called the radio station [WBAI in New York] to put out a message to the people to get out and vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton and for Al Gore. Since we had him on the line, we decided to ask him a series of questions. We grilled him for 30 minutes . . . Clinton wasn't pleased. He said I was 'combative,' 'hostile,' and at times 'disrespectful.' Well, I wasn't. I was courteous. But I did ask him a series of questions [about clemency for Leonard Peltier, sanctions against Iraq, a moratorium on the death penalty, and the bombing of Viequez] that any journalist should ask . . . The next day the White House called and said I would be banned from the White House, that they would not cooperate with us. They really were angry, because they said I had broken the ground rules. Which were what? We had made no deal. But in reality, most journalists have an unspoken rule with those in power not to challenge them--a self-censorship that is commonplace and destructive."

For another photograph of Amy Goodman see Image 53 in Gallery 2.

Off-site Link: Democracy Now!

12. Sam Gale, a resident of Minneapolis and a driving force in the local chapter of the East Timor Action Network (ETAN), poses the type of question that the U.S. mainstream/corporate media consistently fails to articulate - October 1998.

Off-site Link: East Timor Action Network/US.

13-14. Rose Tillemans - January 1999 and December 1999. A sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Rose served as manager of the Free Store in Minneapolis before opening Peace House in a vacant store-front building and former laundromat at 510 East Franklin Avenue.

Peace House is described by Rose simply yet profoundly as "a gathering place where stories are heard, truths exchanged and wisdom shared." It serves as a center for prayer, meditation, and the expression of needs and concerns. It is also a house where "food and drink are shared and honored, and where life's happenings are ritualized and celebrated."

In her tireless advocacy for all who are marginalized, Rose extends her focus and activism to her own Catholic tradition: "Secretly and publicly I am envisioning a new church," she wrote in The Women's Press in 1999. "Although I participate in Mass on Sundays with a vibrant, justice-minded community and pastor, I still pray daily for the demise of the hierarchical system with its many dusty, debilitating dogmas. I believe that official ordination is not a requirement for our new church . . . [though] we surely would need strong, prophetic and compassionate leaders called from small communities. There would be connections of one community to another so unitive action could bring about societal change. The new church would be confrontative of oppressors, as was Jesus in his time. In my dream, the concept of 'being with' would take preference over rubrical minutiae. Compassion for those in pain would be a primary focus. Pomp would have no place . . ."

In April 1999 I invited Rose to speak to a class I was teaching at the College of St. Catherine-Minneapolis. Following are some of the students' responses to Rose and the insights and experiences she shared:

"I was impressed with the work Rose has done to provide a sense of community for the homeless. I thought it took a lot of courage for her to establish Peace House considering the opposition she faced. I agree with Rose that the homeless can offer us valuable insights into the social problems we face as a nation."

"Rose is a very warm and funny woman . . . [She believes that] people need a sense of community to speak their truth and to work with others for systematic change. I found her a very wise woman with a very big heart."

"Rose really impressed me as a speaker and as a person. Her memory is so vivid . . . she stated that she learned a lot of her theology from, as she says, the 'street people.' Rose was very easy to listen to and she spoke to us without preaching. You could feel how much she cares about what she does. I think I could sit down with Rose and talk for hours. She seems like a great listener and with her experiences could probably give me plenty of advice."

Postscript: Rose Tillemans died on July 5, 2002. Click here for her obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. For Star Tribune columnist Doug Grow's piece about Rose, click here.

15-16. Inter-faith ceremony at the Committing to Peace - Generation to Generation Conference, St. Paul, Minnesota, October 29-November 1, 1999. The Committing to Peace Conference, organized by the Midwest Institute for Social Transformation (MIST), united renowned and longtime justice and peace activists with youth from around the U.S. in exploring the history and future of non-violent dissent in the struggle for justice. The conference involved a wide range of participants - labor activists, historians, writers, musicians, humorists, peace activists, environmentalists and college and high school students - and covered a range of topics and issues.

In photograph 15, Masanari Kawahara (center) imparts instructions to a bear and frog costumed pair moments prior to the inter-faith ceremony. Masanari is a staff artist with the innovative Minneapolis-based In the Heart of the Beast Mask and Puppet Theatre.

Off-site Link: Midwest Institute for Social Transformation (MIST).

17. Betty McKenzie, CSJ, took great pleasure in her role as a frog during the inter-faith ceremony at MIST's Committing to Peace - Generation to Generation Conference - October 1999.

18-20. To culminate MIST's Committing to Peace Conference, a non-violent action was held at Alliant Techsystems in Hopkins on Monday, November 1, 1999. Joining the crowd of 200 people were Colleen Engeldinger, justice and peace activist and College of St. Catherine student; Frida Berrigan, daughter of Phil Berrigan and Liz McAllister, and researcher and organizer with the arms trade monitoring body, World Policy Institute; and Christopher Mitchell, justice and peace activist and Maclaster College student.

Sixty-five people were arrested for engaging in civil disobedience at the doors of the defense contractor's corporate headquarters. For many, including Colleen and Christopher, it was their first time being arrested. The action brought to 384 the number of activists arrested at Alliant since 1996.

21. Buffy Sainte-Marie - August 1999. Although best known as a unique singer-songwriter and a tireless social activist, Buffy is also a visual artist and a teacher. As one admirer has noted: "Buffy Sainte-Marie builds bridges with her work that span the ancient and the modern, classical and flamboyant, grassroots and cyberspace."

In the sphere of music, Buffy has penned and recorded such classics as "The Universal Soldier," "Now That the Buffalo's Gone," "Soldier Blue." "Until It's Time For You To Go," "Piney Wood Hills," "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee," "Priests of the Golden Bull," and "Starwalker." She also co-wrote the Academy Award-winning song "Up Where We Belong," featured in the film An Officer and a Gentleman.

Yet Buffy's latest work is not of a musical nature. Her Cradleboard Teaching Project is an initiative that aims to "turn on the lights in public education about Native American culture--past, present and future." Backed by lesson plans and a curriculum, the Cradleboard Teaching Project is also live and interactive: children learn with and through their long-distance peers using new technology alongside standard tools as they explore Native American culture and life.

The project aims to reach both Indian and non-Indian children with positive realities: "I want to connect [young people] with the real deals that await First Nations people," Buffy says. "I want to turn them on to the real excitement of real Indian people, as opposed to the Pocahontas line. I want to encourage their interest in computers, which I think ought to be in the hands of artists, not just in the hands of the suits. And I know that people of the ages of seventeen to twenty have often been shat on by the corporate world. I guess the picture I want them to come away with is that there are alternatives to becoming a slave to the corporate mentality. And it takes courage, and knowledge, and self-esteem."

Off-site Link: Buffy Sainte-Marie's Official Website.

22. Mel Duncan converses with Marie Braun at the September 1999 Iraq Sanctions Conference at Macalaster College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

A longtime justice and peace activist, Mel Duncan has been instrumental in the ongoing efforts to establish a multinational, nonviolent Peace Force - a concept that emerged from the 1999 Hague Peace Conference. "The world needs institutions and collective activities that encourage large numbers of people to engage in peaceful actions that inspire hope and call them to higher values," Mel says. "We need to develop an international, multi-ethnic standing peace force - one not tied to national interests. This peace force will be trained in nonviolent strategies and tactics, and deployed to conflicts or potentially violent areas to act strategically to prevent or defuse violence and to create the space for peaceful resolution of conflict. We have the capacity to make it happen in our lifetimes."

Mel is certain that the "ingredients" needed for such a force are readily available and that now is the time for people around the world to come together and make the concept of the Peace Force a reality: "There are many veterans of nonviolent movements; thousands of citizens have demonstrated their willingness to courageously stop violence and oppression; hard lessons have been analyzed and learned; our organizational abilities have increased; highly qualified trainers are available; the World Wide Web, already used to advance the campaigns for banning land mines and establishing an International Criminal Court, is available as an organizing tool; funders are expressing an interest; and, most importantly, people are demanding an alternative to the highly militarized responses to conflict."

Mel is adament that the "Force" he and others are advocating is not one based on the kind of domination and control that current political and military leaders rely on. "The Force is not fire power but people power," Mel explains, "[It is] love power, spiritual power - the kind of force that Gandhi, King and Mandela evoked in their freedom movements."

23-24. Ka Hsaw Wa, human rights activist and founder of EarthRights International - February 3, 2000.

In 1988, a crackdown by Burma's military regime resulted in the deaths of thousands within the country's pro-democracy movement. Ka Hsaw Wa, already once arrested and tortured by the military, had little choice but to flee his homeland. While surviving in the jungles of the Thai-Burma border, Ka Hsaw Wa witnessed the massive environmental damage wrought by the military and their multi-national corporate partners -- including France-based Total Oil company in partnership with U.S.-based Unocal. In particular, Ka Hsaw Wa observed that the Burmese military dictatorship uses torture, extrajudicial killing, and forced labor to exploit resources and develop environmentally devastating projects without local consent.

In response, Ka Hsaw Wa founded EarthRights International, a group that seeks to document and address incidences from around the world that demonstrate the reality that violations of human rights and degradation of the environment often go hand in hand. The investigative work of EarthRights International has shown that poisoned or pillaged environments are a breeding ground for all kinds of human rights abuses. And when human rights are not respected, the natural environment loses its human defenders, leading to a downward spiral of human rights violations and environmental degradation.

Ka Hsaw Wa observes that "it is time to recognize how frequently protection of the environment and human rights overlap and are, in fact, interdependent. It is time for those who work only on human rights or only on the environment to join together. It is time for all of us to link the quests for social and ecological justice."

A tireless defender of human life and the earth, Ka Hsaw Wa has been awarded numerous honors, including three in 1999: the Goldman Environment Prize, the Reebok Human Rights Award, and the Conde Nast Environmental Award.

Off-site Link: EarthRights International

25. Mick Schommer - July 2000. A radical activist working on queer, anti-military, human rights, HIV/AIDS, and corporate responsibility issues, Mick has a particular interest in creating systems change across progressive venues.

Mick coordinates local support for the pro-democracy movement in Burma. Notes Mick: "Our successful campaigns include passing a binding resolution at the University of Minnesota to dump its investments in TOTAL Oil, a major human rights abuser in Burma; convincing Attorney General Hatch and Minnesota's Congressional Delegation to sponsor human rights legislation (we have been able to get the US to ban new business ventures in Burma every year since 1995); pressuring Minnesota-based companies already in Burma -- King Koil and Carlson Companies -- to pull out; and passing a landmark resolution that redirects the City of Minneapolis' business away from companies involved with the military regime (Mayor Sayles-Belton vetoed the measure, but the City Council quickly passed another measure to end its stock investments with corporate abusers in Burma)".

Off-site Link: US Campaign for Burma.

26. August Nimtz at a rally in Minneapolis to demand the U.S government's immediate return of 6-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez to his father in Cuba - February 5, 2000.

Responding to calls that Elian be protected from returning to Communist Cuba, August wrote in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that "As unpalalable as it may be to the ears of [some], the Cuban revolution and its leadership, demonized as the personal tyranny of Fidel Castro, could never have survived 40 years of Washington's unprecedented sanctions regime, military and economic pressure, and the collapse of the Soviet Union if it didn't enjoy the active support of the overwhelming majority of its citizens. The quality of life for Cubans is superior to that of working people in any other Third World country. And it compares favorably to U.S. society."

August goes on to note that "in Minneapolis the infant mortality rate, 8.7 deaths per 1,000 births, exceeds what the Cubans have been able to achieve, 6.5 . . . Cuban elementary school children, according to a 1997 study, outperformed their counterparts in the rest of Latin America in mathematics and language skills with scores that on average were 1 1/2 to two times better. What is most remarkable is that this was achieved in the context of enormous economic difficulties aggravated by Washington's 40-year embargo . . . [In Cuba] the massive unemployment, widespread illiterarcy, Jim Crow racism and police terror that marked prerevolutionary society have been wiped out. Gone is the U.S. Mafia, its brothels, casinos and drugs. A formerly destitute peasantry now owns and farms its own land, under a policy directly opposite to that which drives three family farmers a day out of business in Minnesota."

August observes that though "poor in natural resources, Cuba is rich in the human values produced by the revolution - values taught by an educational system that those who detain Elian misrepresent as 'Communist indoctrination.' The spread of these values is what Washington fears most - that Cuba's road will be taken by those who are increasingly impoverished and oppressed elsewhere. I make no claim that Cuba is a paradise and that every Cuban wants to remain on the island. The mother of Elian apparently believed that her life would be better if she left; that's also the case with the approximately half-million who've applied to leave to come to the United States, according to some estimates. They seek relief from the constant pressure Washington applies. But this is a fraction of Cuban society. The huge mobilizations in the streets of Cuba that demand Elian's return show the real face of Cuba, that of the other 10 million."

August insists that the "real losers" from the revolution are the ones leading the charge to detain Elian: "It was their side that lost its privileges. And the biggest losers are in the White House and Congress, who ceased to govern Cuba in 1959. Washington has never forgiven the Cuban people for taking their country back and showing the world that this was possible, 90 miles from its shores. Its unceasing attempts to somehow, someway, divide, cripple and overthrow the revolutionary regime, i.e. 'Castro,' means that anything related to the government is fair game, even a 6-year-old child. Thus, the Clinton administration's foot-dragging on returning Elian to his family in Cuba. His continued detention is also a message to those everywhere who are inspired by and contemplate following Cuba's revolutionary example that they can expect similar punishment for doing so . . ."

27. Jessica Sundin of the Minneapolis-based Anti-War Committee - February 5, 2000.

Off-site Link: The Anti-War Committee.

28. Esther Lone - April 2000. An internationally-recognized human rights, feminist and indigenous rights activist, Esther Lone is a survivor of Burma's malicious dictators and a leading exile and coordinator of the pro-democracy and human rights movement for Burma.

Esther is a speaker for Amnesty International and EarthRights International and chairs several Burmese women's empowerment projects. She visited Minnesota in the spring of 2000 on a worldwide outreach tour, raising awareness of the specific plight of women who suffer rape, torture, and slave labor conditions under Burma's military regime or who live in destitute poverty in insecure refugee camps in Thailand.

29. Emmanuel Ortiz protests in front of the Minneapolis Federal Building against the U.S. bombing of Sudan and Afghanistan - August 21, 1998.

"Resisting the 'U.S. War Machine' is something we as activists, community organizers, and concerned citizens find ourselves doing quite often," noted Emmanuel in May 2000. "In this way we each contribute to fighting our own little battle against the machine. It is impossible and impractical to think that each of us can take on all the issues at once. Each of us through our own magical and intriguing process, finds a niche, an area or focus that we work on impacting. In short, we learn to wear hats. Yet at the same time we cannot afford to box ourselves into very specific issues without recognizing how these issues are intricately linked. For example, the 'War on Drugs' policy of the U.S. in Latin America, and the explosion of the prison population here in the U.S. are both deadly claws of the U.S. War Machine. This connection is what brings activists such as myself to support the work of other activists. Therefore, the ability of the message 'Stop the U.S. War Machine' to be broad in its scope while simultaneously being specfic in its aim, reflects the consciousness of a people who realize that we are all in this together - no matter what particular hat we wear."

Commenting on the range of his activism, Emmanuel notes: "While most of my activism and organizing is directed toward issues such as the Zapatista struggle, Puerto Rican independence and identity, police brutality, and the local Latino community, I find it equally crucial tp participate in the efforts to end sanctions and bombings in Iraq, NATO aggression in Yugoslavia, U.S. intervention in Columbia, local radio station KQRS's racism against the Hmong community, and all of the other issues which confront and oppress us."

30. Ben Grosscup - March 21, 2000.

31. Two protesters - one Asian American, the other gay, unite to protest the racist and homophobic messages delivered in the songs of the band Bloodhound Gang - Minneapolis, April 2000.

The alternative newspaper, Siren noted that the protest "was part of a national campaign that has helped spark collaboration between the GLBT and Asian American communities. 'Many people don't see the connections of oppressions, but that's our commonality,' said protester Ryan Schlief."

32. A young man stresses the fundamental reason why he and close to one hundred others have come together outside The Quest night club in downtown Minneapolis to protest the appearance of Bloodhound Gang - April 2000.

33. Delphine Djiraibe, a citizen of Chad, a lawyer by training and a fellow at the Center of International Environmental Law (CIEL) in Washington, DC. Delphine is also the founder and president of the Chadian Association for Promotion and Defense of Human Rights and a coordinator of the Civil Society Advocacy Network - a coalition of human rights and development non-governmental organizations (NGOs), women and farmers organizations and trade unions, seeking a sustainable development for Chad.

On April 26, 2000, Delphine Djiraibe spoke at the University of Minnesota on the proposed Exxon oil pipeline through her homeland and neighboring Cameroon. This pipeline threatens to destroy Cameroon's Atlantic Littoral Forest, devastate much of Chad's most fertile land, and increase road access to crucial forests - increasing illegal logging. Construction of the pipeline will also displace thousands of indigenous people. Preparations for the project have already led to several hundred deaths and numerous more human rights abuses.

Off-site Link: Center of International Environmental Law (CIEL).

34. Sue Ann Martinson - Minneapolis, March 2001. In June 2000, Sue Ann attended the Z Media Institute - a ten day intensive study of media and radical politics attended by 65 people from around the country. Upon her return, Sue Ann shared her experience of and insights from the institute with Twin Cities activists: "I started to form an idea of a conference about Envisioning Peace, perhaps as a follow-up to the Committing to Peace: Generation to Generation Conference of 1999.

"Thinking in terms of analysis, vision, and action, how would peace look? What would we need to do to achieve it? How do we create peace? Defining the issues is the first step, and I think would be a part of the conference. Such large topics might include economics, ecology, alternative energy, transportation, the justice system, spirituality/religious structures, agriculture and the food supply, the arts, and the military/industrial/media complex.

"Corporate America has its own agenda, which is imposed upon us through many forms, a primary form being the media. Not only are they manufacturing consent, which Noam Chomsky talks about, they are manufacturing 'us.' We are the product.

"Again and again we react to and are driven by the corporate agenda, whether it's in the military realm or the economic realm, which are, of course, connected. It's time that we establish our own vision for the future. 'The best way to predict the future is to help create it.'"

35. Carol Masters - Minneapolis, August 2000. Described by Marv Davidov as "one of the most faithful justice and peace activists in Minnesota," Carol has been a writer of poetry and fiction for fifty years. Her first work was written in fourth grade when she wrote a poem lauding her family's St Bernard, Frosty Dawn. A collection of short stories entitled The Peace Terrorist was a Minnesota Voices winner and nominee for the Minnesota Book Award in 1994.

According to Marv, Carol's writing "manifests astute observations and bare bones reality [serving as an] ode to the heart of the underdog who struggles relentlessly for dignity against great odds." Indeed, The Peace Terrorist and much of Carol's writing reflect the experiences of a community of peace and social change activists.

The focus of Carol's own activism has been the arms trade and its connections to worldwide violence and poverty - and she has served a number of sentences in jail for her participation in nonviolent protests.

For more photographs of Carol Masters see Image 10 in Part 1 of Gallery 10 and Image 57 in Part 4 of Gallery 10.

36. Renowned consumer and citizen advocate Ralph Nader in Washington, D.C. for the A16 series of events aimed at protesting the structure and policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - April 16, 2000.

Of his Green Party 2000 presidential candidacy, Ralph Nader declared: "I'm running for President because concentrated corporate power is on a collision course with American democracy, and the voice of everyday citizens has been shut out of the political process. The democratic and Republican parties have become Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee - one party with two heads, wearing different make-up - and taking their marching orders from the same corporate paymasters."

37-38. Winona LaDuke, Green Party vice presidential candidate - September 22, 2000.

"My goal in the campaign is to change the content of American democracy and to transform American democracy so it's actually functional," said LaDuke in an August 16 Women's Press interview. "[Achieving such a goal] will require building a multi-party system that allows broader participation and a wider range of ideas . . . The U.S. is lagging behind in its democracy. Almost every other so-called developed country has a multi-party system . . . I went to the Beijing Conference [in 1995]. You saw the women there from all over the world, and they said 'get control of your country.' The U.S. is a rogue nation. This country has immense potential that's totally squandered . . ."

39. Doris Haddock, popularly known as Granny D, with Mary Jo Iverson backstage at Minneapolis' Target Cener - September 22, 2000. Granny D had traveled to Minneapolis to join Ralph Nader, Winona LaDuke and Michael Moore for a Green Party rally and fundraiser--one of several held across the country in the lead up to the November 2000 federal election.

After the defeat of Senator McCain and Senator Feingold's first attempt to remove unregulated "soft" money from campaigns in 1995, Granny D, a widow with two grown children and fifteen grandchildren, became interested in campaign reform.

In 1998, after leading a petition movement, Granny D decided to walk across the U.S. to demonstrate her concern for the issue of campaign reform. She walked around her hometown of Dublin, New Hampshire for most of 1998 to get in shape for her planned walk.

On January 1, 1999, she began her walk in Pasadena, California. She walked 10 miles per day for 14 months, arriving in Washington, D.C. on February 29, 2000, having walked 3,200 miles. She was hospitalized once, in Arizona, with dehydration and pneumonia.

Pro-reform Capitol Hill staffers and elected officials credit her with demonstrating that Americans care about campaign finance reform. She connected the issue with patriotic values in a way that provided wider popular support for such reform and as a result, was instrumental in moving the issue forward. When presidential candidate Al Gore adopted a campaign finance reform plank, his speech credited John McCain, Bill Bradley, and Doris Haddock.

Off-site Link: Granny D's Official Website.

40. Phyllis Cohen and Elmer Zoff protest the NATO bombing of the civilian infrastructure of Yugoslavia - March 1999.

"We got involved in justice and peace work years and years and years ago," says Phyllis, whose life in activism dates back to the 1930s when she protested the fascist Franco regime of Spain. "[Elmer and I] were both Unitarians and we were both opposed to the Korean War, the Vietnam War, all wars." When connecting the terror of war to economics, Phyllis notes, "Wars are inevitable under capitalism."

41. Lydia Howell, anchor and commentator with KFAI community radio and reporter for Pulse of the Twin Cities - Minneapolis, April 2001.

42. Emily, a member of the Radical Cheerleaders, participates in the Minneapolis May Day Parade - May 7, 2000.

The Radical Cheerleaders were first formed in Florida by two sisters who decided that "protests were too boring". Accordingly, they thought up some clever, humorous, and politically-charged cheers and and started making noise at local rallies and protests.

Radical Cheerleading groups are now found all across North America, and the first Radical Cheerleading Convention was held in Ottawa in March 2001. The Radical Cheerleaders are adamant that "radical cheerleading is protest and performance. It is activism with pom-poms and combat boots. It is non-violent direct action in the form of street theater. And it's fun!"

Off-site Link: The Radical Cheerleaders

43. Maryknoll priest Roy Bourgeois, founder of SOA Watch--a network of citizen activists dedicated to documenting the numerous atrocities committed by graduates of the Us Army School of the Americas (SOA) - Minneapolis, October 9, 2000.

Since opening in 1946, the camp has trained about 1,500 soldiers a year from 18 different Latin American countries, dictatorships allied with the U.S. government. The soldiers are trained in commando tactics, psychological warfare and torture methods, most often used against the union leaders, human rights advocates and religious leaders who oppose those dictatorships. Many of the graduates have been involved with incidents of massacres, torture and rape.

After a firefight left six Jesuit priests and their co-workers massacred in El Salvador on November 16, 1989, Bourgeois formed the School of the America's Watch (SOA Watch) to publicize and protest the SOA, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work.

Roy is quick to make the connection between the SOA and the flourishing, corporate-led global economy: "In the 1500s you had the Conquistadors from Spain and Portugal [who] came to exploit the indigenous people of Latin America, to enrich themselves from cheap labor and vast resources. Today the new Conquistadors are those coming with sweatshops. They're the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, economic giants coming for the same reasons - to enrich themselves. What the new Conquistadors get away with simply couldn't be done without the men with guns. The SOA provides the muscle for that economic system."

One month after his visit to Minneapolis, Father Roy Bourgeois was joined by 20,000 people at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia - home of the SOA - for the 11th annual action to call for the abolishment of the "School of Assassins." "What I'm finding is many people living out the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero," says Roy. "Before being killed by SOA graduates, he said, 'Let those who have a voice speak for the voiceless.' This movement [to close the SOA] is about people learning about the School of Assassins, using their voices for those killed. The truth cannot be silenced."

Off-site Link: SOA Watch.

44. Walden Bello, executive director of one of the leading centers against corporate-driven globalization, Focus on the Global South, a research, analysis, and advocacy institute based in Bangkok, Thailand -- April 15, 2000.

Off-site Link: Focus on the Global South