Dear friends and supporters,
We are very excited about an opportunity that will allow us to greatly expand our organizing and activist base, and strengthen the position of ANSWER as a vital progressive organization in the years to come.
For nearly 7 years, our Koreatown office has been located at 137 N. Virgil Ave. The office has served us well, but we’re excited to bring this organizing hub to the heart of Los Angeles in a dynamic new space in Downtown LA.
We have taken a long-term lease on a wonderful location. It is an attractive storefront by 3rd St. and Main St., just blocks away from City Hall, Ronald Reagan State Building and other key locations for action. Our new office is ADA accessible, and walking distance from the Red Line, Gold Line, Silver Line and many bus routes.
Our immediate challenge is to raise $10,000 in the next month for necessary construction, carpeting, electrical, plumbing and other materials to transform the building into the great asset for the progressive movement that it can be.
We are also hosting an Office Farewell Party at our Virgil Ave location on Saturday, February 9, starting at 8pm, featuring DJs, musical performances and spoken word!
Most of you reading this have generously supported the activities of the ANSWER Coalition. With a volunteer staff and a shoestring budget, we have rarely had to appeal for funding a specific organizational purpose.
As the ANSWER Coalition has been fighting in the streets for more than 11 years, it is worth reviewing the accomplishments over the years to illustrate the importance of your contribution to our building fund.
Founded in the days immediately following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the ANSWER Coalition organized protests on both coasts to counter the growing U.S. drive towards war, the xenophobic targeting of Arab and South Asian people, and the attacks on civil rights and liberties.
- As the Bush/Cheney administration stepped up the march to war against Iraq, the ANSWER Coalition emerged as a major force in the U.S., able to mobilize in this country and to become part of the global movement opposing this war based on lies and deception. Across the country, millions joined in protests initiated or actively supported by ANSWER.
- A hallmark of ANSWER’s organizing has been a principled position opposing racism and supporting self-determination for those fighting occupation and colonialism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere.
ANSWER has supported the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own future, including the right of return. We have opposed the U.S.-funded Israeli occupation and relentless brutality against the Palestinian people.
- The ANSWER Coalition has opposed all attempts by the Pentagon to expand their wars and threats against the people of many nations, including Iran, Cuba, Pakistan, Venezuela, Lebanon, Syria, Korea and more.
- A key factor in the building of a new anti-war movement has been the participation by active duty service members, their families and veterans. ANSWER has helped to bolster this, including an affiliation with March Forward!, which operates out of the ANSWER LA office.
Some of the most significant efforts by the Los Angeles chapter over the last year have been mobilizing against police brutality in Long Beach, Anaheim, Downey and beyond; organizing multiple emergency protests against the Israeli attack on Gaza; mobilizing thousands against the racist murder of Trayvon Martin; and keeping the anti-war movement alive in the streets . In one of many similar actions, on the 11th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans joined by military families, high school and college students shut down the major Army recruitment center in Hollywood.
- The ANSWER Coalition has significantly expanded in recent years. New ANSWER chapters have been organized across the country, from New England to New Mexico, South Dakota to South Florida, and more.
Peace will never be possible without justice. ANSWER is engaged in opposing racism, discrimination, bigotry and exploitation. We fight for the rights of labor, immigrants, for a healthful and sustainable environment, and the realization of all the necessities of life, including the right to a job, housing, education, health care and nutritious food.
The majority of humanity shares these aims. But the aspirations of the people here and around the world are in direct conflict with corporate globalization and the military-industrial complex, for whom profit and domination are all that matters.
As the history of the last century has clearly demonstrated, real progressive change can only be achieved by a powerful and organized people’s movement. Building such a movement is the goal of the ANSWER Coalition.
Please consider how you can help make our new location a success for the struggle.
Yours for peace with justice,
Richard Becker
West Coast Coordinator,
ANSWER Coalition
P.S. Your donation to Progress Unity Fund/ANSWER is tax-deductible. Let’s keep as many anti-war dollars as possible out of the hands of the Pentagon.
