In the spring of 2003, in the time of the run-up to the Iraq war, a small group of community people and UA faculty and students started meeting. The group agreed to call themselves “Voices of Opposition to War, Racism, and Oppression” and to focus on bringing alternative information about US imperialism to the UA campus. Their first four events, speakers on the Iraq war, the Patriot Act, and the situation in the Middle East, were well-attended, encouraging them to continue their educational efforts.
Over the last seven years, the group has presented the Monday Night Film/Lecture Series at the UA AME Auditorium. Open to the public, the free series of socially-conscious films and lectures occur eight to ten times per semester.
Attendance each Monday night has ranged from 60 to 300 people. Speakers have included UA professors, as well as Norman Finkelstein (“Israel and Palestine: Roots of Conflict, Prospects for Peace”), Ali Abunimah (“Do Borders Make Peace?”), and Dahr Jamail (“Iraq and Beyond: The Real Story”). Films have addressed the effects of US imperialism at home and all over the world.
This group continues to meet as “Voices of Opposition.” Upcoming and past events can be viewed at VoicesOfOpposition.com. They continue to put together programs that, as their website states, “address the issues that all of us face from day to day, but which our ‘leaders’ can’t seem to solve, our media just doesn’t seem to cover, and no one seems to analyze as a symptom of a larger problem.”
Upcoming Voices of Opposition Programs:
UA Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Auditorium,
1130 N. Mountain Ave., 622-6419,
VoicesOfOpposition.com
Feb 15: abUSed: The Postville Raid, 7pm.
Feb 22: Aristide and the Endless Revolution, 7pm.