This morning a Wake County judge issued an injunction to stop two impending executions until the state of NC can come up with a new protocol for carrying out the death penalty without physicians.  This comes after a new policy from the NC Medical Board prohibiting doctors from assisting in executions, because of their pledge to do no harm.

The judge’s decision this morning has brought to center stage the conflict between the oath taken by doctors and their role in executions.  Go to the WRAL site and check out this story on whether or not we should stop executions that don’t have a doctor present. Then be sure to see the poll (on the right side) and vote on the issue!

Join Traction again this Tuesday to hear from local civil rights heroes & sheroes and watch another episode of the amazing Eyes on the Prize. This week, the prize is EDUCATION.

When: Tues 1/23, 7pm.
Where: Durham Food Co-op, 1101 W. Chapel Hill St. (at Buchanan).
Cost: FREE, but donations are appreciated!
Contact: eyes@getTraction.org

This week, we’ll hear from
- Irv Joyner, legendary civil rights attorney and co-chair of the NAACP-NC Legal Redress Committee
- Floyd McKissick, Jr., whose family led the fight to integrate Durham’s public schools
- Tractivist Torrey Dixon, fellow at the UNC Center for Civil Rights who’s monitoring the Leandro decision and the state of NC education today

Then we’ll watch Episode 2:
Fighting Back (1957-62), on the legal and street showdowns to desegregate the public schools. (Afterwards, some of us will watch the State of the Union address either at the Co-op or somewhere else nearby where we can get a stiff drink…)

By popular demand, we’re making this a weekly series, as we learn from our elders, watch the most critically acclaimed documentary on civil rights in America, and ground ourselves in the ongoing progressive and civil rights movement. Until…

On Feb 10th, Tractivists will join the NAACP and many other progressive organizations for a movement-building event in Raleigh called Historic Thousands on Jones Street, or H K on J!

You won’t want to miss H K on J, so mark your calendar and sign up now!

Note: Episode Information: Fighting Back (1957-1962)
States’ rights loyalists and federal authorities collide in the 1957 battle to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School, and again in James Meredith’s 1962 challenge to segregation at the University of Mississippi. Both times, a Southern governor squares off with a U.S. president, violence erupts — and integration is carried out.

Today on The State of Things the focus is youth activism, and we’re delighted that they’ve chosen to feature Traction! Tune in to North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC 91.5 to hear Lanya and other guests LIVE at noon, or the rebroadcast at 9pm, or listen to the archive later.

We’re already getting lots of new visitors. Welcome to our humble website!

May we recommend three steps?
1) Read about Traction here (there’s more here, and press clips here).
2) Make a contribution to Traction. (There’s lots of work to do and more money to raise!) Also, don’t miss our wish list. Gracias!
3) Join Traction’s mailing list. To be in the loop, email tractivist@getTraction.org
– Please let us know where you live (what city), how you heard about Traction, and your Presidential Zodiac. You know, who was in the White House when you were born?

Then mark your calendar for our upcoming events, including our Eyes on the Prize series starting tonight, where we’ll honor and appreciate our elders, and learn from history.

Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon! Hasta pronto…

“… and that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.”
—Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This year, Traction and the Durham Food Co-op add our collective voices to the chorus celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

Join us on Tuesday 1/16 to learn from our elders as we watch an episode of Eyes on the Prize, and talk with local civil rights leaders. We’ll watch Episode 10: The Promised Land (1967-68), wherein Dr. King speaks out against the war in Vietnam and embarks on a Poor People’s Campaign, calling for a radical redistribution of economic power.

Before the film, we’ll hear from some LOCAL civil rights heroes and sheroes, including R. Kelly Bryant, Jr. (pictured), who led a large-scale 1968 boycott calling for changes in welfare, housing, and employment practices in Durham.

And we’ll learn about ongoing civil rights work, including the VERY exciting NC NAACP-led People’s Assembly known as H K on J (Historic Thousands on Jones St.), coming up on Feb 10th in Raleigh.

“… We are dealing with issues that cannot be solved without the nation spending billions of dollars and undergoing a radical redistribution of economic power.”
—Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

When: Tues 1/16, 7pm
Where: Durham Food Co-op, 1101 W. Chapel Hill St. (at Buchanan)
Cost: FREE, but donations are appreciated
Questions & RSVPs: eyes-AT-getTraction-DOT-org

The Rainbow ReSisters Radical Cheerleading Troupe is looking for new members! We are a group of energetic, progressive, loud, dancing women. In 2006 you may have seen us cheering for peace in Carrboro, Durham and Fayetteville, NC and Atlanta, GA.

Now we need you! We’re going up to Washington, DC on Saturday, January 27 (J27) for a national anti-war rally organized by United for Peace and Justice.

Anyone who is interested in joining the ReSisters to march on Washington should plan on attending a preparatory meeting this Saturday, January 7th from 1-3:30 PM at Pacifica in Carrboro. If you’re interested in joining us for this or other events, please email us at grabowATemail.unc.edu.

Also, as we prepare for DC, weekly practices will be held on Tuesday nights at 8 pm in Southern Village, Chapel Hill (Jan 9, 16, 23).

If you want to go up to DC without picking up any radical pom poms, you can buy bus tickets from the Internationalist or Regulator bookstores while they last! ($35– sliding scale)

Please forward this along to anyone you know who likes yelling and dancing!

Onward,

The ReSisters