St. Louis Activist Events for March 29 - April 5

There are a lot of amazing events coming up this week, include a bunch that are a part of Saint Louis University's "Atlas Week." I list a few of the Atlas week events below, but you should really check out the whole schedule here.

This week's events:

Monday March 30, One of the aforementioned Atlas Week events is "Voices and Music of Israel". The event will be from 11 AM to noon at the Busch Student Center at SLU, and you can RSVP here. 

Also Monday, and also at SLU, the newly-formed InterFaith Alliance is hosting an InterFaith Prayer Service from 4 to 5 PM in the Knights Room of the St. Louis Library.

Also Monday, you should probably just hang out at SLU all day, because there's going to be a great talk at the Bare Fuller Lecture Hall on "Social Justice and the Limits of Democracy" by Dr. Peter McLaren. The talk will focus on the expectations and the realities of social justice in the age of neoliberal capitalism. To find out more, go to this link. 

Also Monday, if you haven't made up your mind about the St. Louis mayoral election, or even if you have, you might be interested in the debate between all four candidates being sponsored by the League of Women Voters. The debate is from 7 to 8:30 PM at the Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library (1301 Olive Avenue), and you can find a little more info here.

Also Monday, SLU Atlas week screens the movie "War Child" about Emmanual Jal, a former child soldier in Sudan's civil war who is now an international hip hop start with a message of peace. The movies in in the Busch Student Center, in the St. Louis Room, and goes from 8 to 10 PM. You can RSVP at this link. Jal is also going to be speaking on campus on Wednesday (see below).

Tuesday, March 31, from 8 AM to 5 PM there will be a clinical conference on war zone trauma titled "When the War Comes Home" at the Kohler Auditorium on the 2nd floor of St. Mary's Health Center, 6420 Clayton Rd. The workshop is free but can provide continuing education credits for $10. It looks really interesting, so get the full information at the IOW calendar.

Also Tuesday, from noon to 8 PM, the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum is sponsoring a visit by the traveling art exhibit "It is what it is: Conversations about Iraq." The exhibit is a collaboration of an artist, a Iraq war veteran, and an Iraqi refugee that has been touring the country. It will be at Leland and Melville Ave in the Loop from noon to 5 PM, and then at the Contemporary Art Museum at 3750 Washington from 6 to 8 PM. You can find out more and RSVP at the facebook page.

Also Tuesday, STAND at SLU is hosting a discussion of the crisis in Darfur at the Busch Student Center room 256. The presentation includes historical contexts, current situation, and political ramifications and concludes with suggestions on how concerned citizens can help alleviate the dire situation. The talk is from 5:30 to 7 PM and you can RSVP here .

Also Tuesday, Danielle Mackey has been working with the SHARE Foundation in Nueva San Salvador-El Salvador, as their Grassroots Delegations Coordinator after graduating from SLU last year.  She's meeting with people to share her experiences and get feedback at 1077 S. Newstead Ave. at 7 PM.

Wednesday, April 1, Emmanuel Jal, the former child soldier mentioned and star of the documentary mentioned above, will be speaking at SLU in the Wool Grand Ballroom of the Busch Student Center, from 5:30 to 7 PM. Get the full details at this google calendar page.

Also, Wednesday, S.A.G.E. at Fontbonne University is screening the MTV movie "Pedro", about Pedro Zamora, the first openly gay, HIV-positive person on American television. The movie will be from 7 to 9:30 PM in the DSAC Cafe, and you can find out more here. 

Thursday, April 2, WashU's Green Action is screening the documentary "Black Diamonds" at 5 PM in Siegle Hall Rm L006.  The documentary discussed the harmful effects of mountaintop removal coal mining on the communities of Appalachia.  The screening will be followed by a discussion led by a local coal activist and two Washington University students who recently traveled to Tennessee for Mountain Justice Spring Break.

Also Thursday, WashU's Amnesty International chapter is hosting their annual "Jam for Justice" at the WashU Co-op at 6021 Pershing. This event has gained quite a reputation on campus for being consistently awesome, so you really should check it out. The event runs from 8 to 11 PM, and you can find the lineup at AI's event page. All proceeds go to the St. Louis Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma.

Friday, April 3, James Yee, a former US Army Chaplain who ministered prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, and later arrested after speaking out against the cruel and degrading abuse prisoners endured (all charges were later dropped), will be speaking at the ACLU of Eastern Missouri (454 Whittier St.) at 6:30 PM. It should be an amazing talk. If you would like to attend, the organizers have asked for people to RSVP by calling 314-652-3114 ext. 26 or emailing john@aclu-em.org.

Also Friday, the Landmark's Association of St. Louis is hosting Jesse Irwin, the Red-Headed Strangers, and the Monads in a fundraiser to benefit the Alliance to Save Cleveland High. The event goes from 9 PM to 1 AM at the Wedge (442 Bates Street). Find out more here.

Saturday, April 4, the Missouri History Museum is hosting Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Congressman William Lacy Clay, Jr. for a discussion of the question "Has the Dream been Realized?" The event goes from 3 to 5 PM and you can find out more at this link. 

Also Saturday is the first performance of Staging Old Master's at the Pulizter Foundation of the Arts. The play was written and performed by former prisoners in conjunction with the Prison Performing Arts program. The play starts at :6:30 at the Pulitzer (3716 Washington), and you can RSVP and find the full schedule of performances here.

Sunday, April 5, from 9 AM to noon, is the Roffman Family Day of Service, an event put on by Gesher City St. Louis, St. Louis Hillel at WashU. and the YPD of the Jewish Federation. There are a lot of possible service opportunities, so go to this page to find out more.

Also Sunday, Sarah Miller will be hosting "Yoga for a Cure" from 2 PM to 3:15 PM at the Unity Point School (Boskydell Road Entrance) in Carbondale, IL. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, and you can find out more here. 

Also Sunday, Faith Leaders for a Compassionate Missouri Budget will be holding a rally from 2 to 4 PM outside the Old St. Louis Courthouse at 11 N. 4th Street. This rally is in response to the hundreds of millions of dollars being cut from critical services to help children, the elderly and the disabled by the Missouri House of Representatives. RSVP right away to get involved in this critically important issue.

Also Sunday, the Royale is hosting a discussion on Transportation, moderated by Bob Duffy of the St. Louis Beacon. The Royal is located at 3132 S. Kingshighway and the discussion starts at 5 PM. RSVP here.

Finally, I wanted to give a bit of advanced notice for an important event taking place on Monday, April 6. Several organizations at. Louis University are hosting a Roundtable Discussion on Healthcare Reform. The event will be from 6 to 8 PM at the IL Monastero and features speakers from several important local progressive groups. You can check out the flier here .

Have a fun and meaningful week,

Adam