Welcome to AimeeAllison.org
Aimee Allison knows first-hand how to make a difference - in schools, conference rooms, communities, the ballot box, and studios. If you are a fellow traveler - doing your part to make the world better and willing to work with creativity and style to make it happen - you’re in the right place. Welcome.
Photos
Aimee Allison and co-host Aaron Glantz interviewing journalist Dahr Jamail at the historic March 2008 Winter Soldier hearings. More info at the WarComesHome website.
Focus Area
ROTC Near Gone in San Francisco’s Schools
ROTC is an effective military recruitment tool - in large part because it is often institutionalized as a physical education class and students across the country are often assigned to ROTC involuntarily. But ROTC is much more than physical fitness. The uniforms, wooden rifles and study of war are part and parcel of this program that promotes military and war in the curriculum. It’s been an issue in the San Francisco public schools, and this story gives the latest. The school board divorced PE credits from the ROTC program, which is fitting. Read on: http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5818#more School Board Removes P.E. Credit for JROTC Students can no longer get physical education credit for service in JROTC – after a vote last night at the San Francisco School Board last night. More than 18 months after the Board voted to phase out the military program from public schools, and under duress of a lawsuit that cited a clear conflict in state law, the action upset cadets in the audience – but satisfied others who say it is long overdue. The Board had deadlocked 3-3 on this action at last week’s meeting, but with Commissioner Jane Kim back in town had the votes last night to get it through. But while progressives celebrated last night’s victory, pro-JROTC forces are gathering signatures for a November proposition – keeping this issue in the spotlight. For progressives to sustain this victory and keep their majority on the School Board, the District must make sure that alternatives to JROTC are available – or else suffer political consequences at the ballot box. More
Featured
Craigslist Nonprofit Bootcamp Keynote
Aimee Allison, Craigslist Foundation Bootcamp Keynote Speech 2007 where she muses about "retooling" for the long haul and the importance of people who work for change. Download this episode (right click and save)
Winter Soldier Coverage Wins Project Censored Award
I'm so honored to receive a Project Censored Award along with Aaron Glantz for our coverage of Winter Soldier 2008. We'll be in the annual publication and may have some local speaking events in the Fall. Here's part of the letter they sent: Your hosting of the live broadcast “Winter Soldier 2008: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations” on War Comes Home, by KPFA, March 14-16, 2008, ...
Upcoming Events
Evening with Barbara Ehrenreich - July 15th, 2008
One Brilliant Evening with BARBARA EHRENREICH Hosted by Aimee Allison, Producer/Host of the KPFA Morning Show Tuesday, July 15, 7:30 pm in Oakland ...
KPFA Morning Show
Weekdays Mondays through Friday from 7am - 9am pacific time. Politics and culture from around the Bay and around the world. 94.1 FM in the SF Bay Area. On-line live and archived at www.kpfa.org.
The Book
An activist’s guide to combating military recruitment.
http://myspace.com/armyofnonebook
Uniformed U.S. Army Officers lunch with students in elementary school cafeterias. Army training programs including rifle and pistol instruction replace physical education in middle schools. Like never before, military recruiters are entering the halls of U.S. schools with unchecked access in an attempt to bolster a military in crisis.
However, even as these destructive efforts to militarize youth accelerate, so do the creative and powerful efforts of students, community members, and veterans to challenge them. Today, the counter recruitment movement—from counseling to poetry slams to citywide lobbying efforts—has become one of the most practical ways to tangibly resist U.S. policy that cuts funding for education and social programs while promoting war and occupation. Without enough soldiers, the U.S. cannot sustain its empire.
Army of None exposes the real story behind the military-recruitment complex, and offers guides, tools, and resources for education and action, and people power strategies to win.