FEBRUARY 2018
PT members, Anne Mulderry (center) and Phyllis Rodriguez, demand to Close Guantánamo at Grand Central Station together with others on February 1, 2018.
On February 1, PT members marched and spoke at the vigil organized by some of our partners at NYC’s Grand Central Station. You can view the action HERE.
Guantánamo Pretrials February 26-28:
Some family members will be watching the upcoming pretrial hearings via Closed Circuit TV at Ft. Hamilton, NY and at Ft. Devins, MA. Please contact Committee Chair, Colleen Kelly, if you plan to attend.
In Our Son’s Name was screened at the American Historical Association’s annual meeting in Washington last month with Julia Rodriguez representing PT. During a panel discussion following the screening, Jeremy Varon, Professor of History at the New School for Social Research in NYC, spoke about how the film documents “voices of conscience” in the midst of the “national appropriation of victims’ grieving ” after 9/11 and how the “national grieving” was then used to justify the invasions in Iraq, etc. Prof. Varon identified PT as a dissident voice on Guantánamo, and stressed how important it is for people to know that this type of victim voice exists. Lisa McGirr, Professor of History at Harvard University, talked about the film establishing a counter narrative focusing on the social and cultural history aspects. A social or everyday history of how 9/11 affected people, she said, is missing and Phyllis’ and Orlando’s personal story refuses to be part of the master narrative. Prof. McGirr tried to take us back to the extreme patriotism and the “before and after” rhetoric, the black-and-white thinking about the event that was very common for years afterwards and justified war and the Patriot Act, Guantánamo, etc. In this sense, she described Phyllis’ and Orlando’s story as one of individual resistance.
On January 11 Terry Rockefeller spoke in Washington, D.C. at the annual CLOSE GUANTANAMO RALLY while Terry Greene represented Peaceful Tomorrows at an INTERFAITH RALLY in Boston.
Our Partners:
PT Members’ Community Connection Call on February 8!
The first call of the year starts at 8pm EST and features Steering Committee member, Robyn B. Donati, with an outlook on 2018.
If you are a PT member and would like to participate, please contact our call facilitator, Antonio Aversano, for all call-in details.
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Anne Mulderry marching to Close Guantánamo at NYC’s Grand Central Station on February 1.
