A Passionate United States Social Forum

e-jossour

Gustave Massiah
05-07-2010

 

The United States Social Forum (USSF) that was held in Detroit from the 22-26 June 2010 was a great success, one of the major events of the World Social Forum’s (WSF) 2010 World Action Campaign. More than 15 000 people participated in the USSF. Around 2000 associations, for the most part grass roots movements, lead 1300 self-managed workshops and initiatives.

The participants were for the most part very young. The mix was a combination of different points of view, genders, ages and origins. There was a mixture of all the elements of American society; Indigenous, Europeans, African-Americans, Latinos, Asians and in fewer numbers, Arabs.

The choice of Detroit put the economic crisis at the centre of the debates. The city has been ravaged by the crisis. Close to 40% of buildings in the city are abandoned and stand in ruins. Only the centre has been rehabilitated, elsewhere in the suburbs the houses are in tatters. A significant part of the population doesn’t have access to water and electricity. Power cuts are frequent. Public Services are in a permanent state of crisis, adrift, with the population of 2-2.8 million inhabitants. Numerous schools have been abandoned. During the forum the city council announced its intention to stop the upkeep of and to close 120 parks and gardens. The crisis started a long time ago, and first affected the American car industry. Since then it has been accelerated by the economic and property crises.

Detroit is thus an example of the capitalist model and its crisis. Detroit is also one of the cities in the US that has had its history marked by worker struggles and by urban revolts. Many of the leaders of these struggles were present at the forum and participated in the transition between the activist generations.

The impact of the forum on the city has been relatively weak, except in certain sectors. The local media made moderate mention of the forum. The population of the city is concentrating more on the problems and difficulties of everyday life. One of the participants made mention of the contradictions between ‘high tech’, a large part of the participants had their laptops and ‘low tech’, as part of the inhabitants of the city were deprived of water and electricity.

The USSF has seen the birth of the American Social Movement. The Movement is made up of, in part, grassroots movements who organise themselves around the big questions of political life, poverty, employment, women, discrimination, migrants, environment, war, US imperialism etc. They discuss the political situation and the formal political scene, but with an affirmed willingness to preserve their autonomy.

What has greatly influenced the USSF is the huge presence of these grassroots movements. This presence is accompanied by methods corresponding to the American culture; shared words, men, women, priority given to the words of the ‘minority’, no more than two speeches per person, bursting out of the discussion groups after the first speeches, a noisy manifestation of solidarity and of approval. The general atmosphere that came out was that of a large assembly, divided and very democratic.

The topics of debate raised by the movements cut across those of the other forums, and had a strong character, specifically accentuated by the experiences of the grassroots movement. What was at the centre of discussion was the referendum in Arizona, the criminalisation of migrants, all the slogans read « we are not illegal, we are human beings! » The summit on poverty had been inaugurated by the poor march through New Orleans and by the Tribunal of Women against Poverty. The women’s movements were present during all the debates. The Indigenous and African-American movements were also present. The questions of unemployment were marked by slogans such as; « jobs with justice ». The trade unions were well represented, with Unite, AFL and CIO attending. Environment was tackled from the point of view of different aspects, such as; water and climate justice. Education and health were largely discussed. The question of violence was also addressed, with the starting point being weapons violence. The anti-war movement was largely present. Palestine and Latin America was tackled by a large number of participants.

Three plenary sessions were organised. The first; « Detroit, United States » was centred on the societal struggles in Detroit under the slogans; another world is possible, another US is necessary, another Detroit is happening. The second; « the United States in the World’ gave the representatives of the movements, in fights around the world and the migrants, the chance to make speeches. A memorable moment was the declaration of a solitary African-American of the veterans’ movement against the war in Iraq, recalling the movements against the war in Vietnam. The third plenary session was centred on the alternatives surrounding the resistance and practices of emancipation. One can note a large convergence with the alternative propositions discussed in the different forums since that of Porto Alegre in 2010.

We should also mention the consolidation of the process, by means of the creation of an association of foundations and associations that wanted to support the processes of the USSF and the WSF. Close to 30 supporters (funders) decided to work together in respect of the autonomy of the USSF movements and of its processes. They affirmed their intention to support the emergence of an American Social Movement, constituted by « grassroots » movements and of diversity and affirming a necessary radical transformation of American society and the world society.

The second USSF confirmed and exceeded the hopes of the first USSF in Atlanta. It is a difficult process that has extended itself since Seattle. The organisers and participants of the USSF were in accord at the end. The renewal of the social and citizen movements of the United States would not have been possible without the process of the World Social Forum. It is verification, beyond the difficulties and the limits, the current affairs and the vigour of the WSF processes.

By Gustave Massiah
Representative of CRID to the International Council of the World Social Forum

(Translation : Emma Cundale – Intern for e-joussour)