Join Open University of the Left on Saturday June 13th at 2:30 pm

 A presentation by Andy Thayer

“How Can We Stop the Violence?”

The Black Lives Matter protests are among the most dynamic protest movements of the current century. But, with police seemingly acting with impunity in murder after murder, and U.S. violence rates much higher than those of any other wealthy nation, it is not enough for us to simply protest the violence. We need to propose and advocate for specific programs and policies that will no longer allow business as usual. In a world with economic austerity and a near-bankrupt city and state, our advocacy will require specific proposals, and also a power to overcome wealthy opposition that we’ve not seen in this country in generations.

Open University of the Left welcomes back Andy Thayer who is a co-founder of the multi-issue Gay Liberation Network. As a long-time anti war and anti-police misconduct activist, despite police interference, he has helped organize many large protests, including the largest march on the NATO summit and a march of 15,000 on Lake Shore Drive when the U.S. invaded Iraq. Described as “a gigantic pain in the butt for law enforcement” by a retired Chicago Police Commander, Andy has been arrested numerous times in various protests, including twice in Moscow, Russia for protesting against that government’s bans on gay rights demonstrations. Among his recent writings is a piece for In These Times, titled “All the Chicago Mayoral Candidates Are getting It Wrong: We Don’t Need More Cops.”