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Pacifica Radio Archives’ “From the Vault”
Each week the Pacifica Radio Archives chooses a program "From the Vault" of broadcasts in a half-hour program.
In July of 1969, the Black Panther Party invited a broad coalition of groups to participate in a three day conference called The United Front Against Fascism.
They invited famed attorney William Kunstler, Oakland mayor and future 13 term Congressman Ron Dellums and other luminaries of the day. But what sets this conference apart from mainstream events of the time, were the inclusion of people who worked EVERY DAY to help end oppression in their community.
Today we focus on the panel Women Speak Out Against Fascism. The term FASCISM was never clearly defined in this panel discussion in the same way Naomi Wolf, for example, outlined 10 easy steps to change a Democratic Nation into a Fascist State.
But this was an opportunity for women from different perspectives to illuminate areas in our society where inequalities ran along class, gender and often times racial lines.
Event organizers invited Marlene Dixon a PhD of Sociology from UCLA as the keynote speaker, but she deferred a majority of her time to the women who had first person experience with injustice in their community.
Keep in mind that this panel was recorded in 1969, at a time when the FBI’s CoIntelPro program were infiltrating and disrupting groups like The Black Panther Party, who were providing valuable services such as Breakfast programs, Health Services and education classes to the under served community.
We Begin with Black Panther Chairwoman Elaine Brown reading a letter written by recently imprisoned Black Panther leader Ericka Huggins, now a professor of Women’s Studies at California State University East Bay.
Additional speakers:
First we hear from panelist are Penny Nakatsu, who speaks about the thousands of innocent Japanese Americans who’s lives were changed forever when laws were suspended and they were placed in Internment camps during World War II.
Penny Nakatsu became an attorney and board Member of the Asian American Bar Association in San Francisco a few years after this address.
Black Panther Member Roberta Alexander from the 1969 panel Women Speak Out Against Fascism.
Chair of the Welfare Rights Organization Evelyn Harris.
Black Panther Party Member Carol Henry.
Dr. Marlene Dixon, who received her PhD in sociology from UCLA and taught at the University of Chicago. Because of her activism on campus, her contract was not renewed.
