The CMC, the Gainesville General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, Students for a Democratic Society, and other local progressive organizations invite you to join us from 2-8pm on the Downtown Community Plaza for our local celebration of International Workers’ Solidarity Day, aka May Day. May Day is “the original Labor Day,” created to honor the memory of the Haymarket Martyrs and all those killed in the struggle for workers’ rights the world over. “International Working People’s Day,” as it was originally called, was first celebrated in 1886 with strikes and marches throughout the U.S. during the struggle for the 8-hour work day.

Join us as we celebrate the proud history of struggles for labor, civil and human rights in our community and around the world. Events include a “Really Really Free Market” organized by SDS from 2-5pm, and music and speakers from 5-8pm.

Featured performers will inlcude: Lars Din, Gainesville Liberation Orchestra, DirtyFist, Kiiks, Cassette, and The Horror. Invited speakers include members of the Industrial Workers of the World, Alachua County Labor Party, Gainesville Women’s Liberation, and UF Distinguised Professor of History Bob Zieger.

WHEN: Thursday May 1st, 2-8pm

WHERE: Downtown Community Plaza

COST: Free! (but come on by the CMC table to renew your membership or get a t-shirt or bumpersticker)

This event features a talk and Q&A presented by Irish Anarchist Andrew Flood as part of his US speaking tour.

A decade ago the active anarchist movement in Ireland consisted of little more than a dozen people in two small organizations. Today hundreds of people are active and one banned libertarian demonstration in 2004 saw 5,000 people take part. Anarchists are increasingly replacing Irish republicans as the bogeyman of the mainstream media. This talk explains how this breakthrough happened and details the various struggles anarchists have been involved in.

This talk doesn’t presume any prior knowledge of anarchism or Ireland, and should be of interest to anyone interested in radical politics. Whether you’re an honest-to-goodness anarchist organizer yourself, or someone who still thinks “anarchist organizer” must somehow be an oxymoron, there’s something to learn for everyone.

Andrew Flood is a longtime anarchist organizer and member of the Workers Solidarity Movement. He has edited and written for a number of anarchist journals, in print and online, including Red and Black Revolution, Spunk Press, and A-Infos.

WHEN: 6pm Tuesday April 8th

WHERE: Civic Media Center, 1021 W. University Ave.

COST: Donations appreciated

Students for a Democratic Society is a student activist organization. It proved essential in demonstrating against the Vietnam war and is back up and running, after a decade hiatus, in response to the war in Iraq. Join if you believe this war is continuing to take lives on the basis of, well, basically there is no basis. Let’s do something at UF

WHEN: Mondays @ 6:00 PM
WHERE: Civic Media Center, 1021 W. University

The Civic Media Center’s annual “SpringBoard” fundraiser is set for Friday April 11th from 6pm to 10 pm. The location will be different this year—we will be moving the event to the Matheson Museum at 513 E. University Ave.

In addition to the usual vast spread of fine food from area restaurants, the art and services available for silent auction, and door prizes, we will have a very special guest speaker, Otton Solis, speaking on the topic of “Corporate Media and Resisting the Washington Consensus,” followed by Q & A.

Otton Solis is a visiting scholar at the University of Florida from his native Costa Rica. An outspoken critic of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and US-driven “neoliberal” policies of rampant privatization, Mr. Solis, an economist, is the founder, president and two-time presidential candidate of Costa Rica’s Citizen Action Party, which narrowly lost to President Oscar Arias in 2006 (by 1%). Mr. Solis is also a strong advocate for ethics in government. He is the author of two books on the subject, as well as many articles and opinion pieces.

WHEN: Friday, April 11 @ 6pm
WHERE: The Matheson Museum, 513 E. University Ave.
COST: $10 advance (tickets available at Omni Books and Wild Iris Books), $15 at the door

The CMC will play host to the Impossible Shoelace, a band that makes music that is fiddle driven, electro-acoustic folk-funk. This is a must see show!

WHEN:Saturday, April 19 @ 8pm

WHERE: Civic Media Center, 1021 W. University Ave

COST: $5

Please join us for this night of powerful, political, feminist spoken word. Nitche Ward, aka The Original Woman, is a nationally-known, touring Spoken Word artist who refers to herself as an Afrikan Revolutionary Warrior. She says of her work: “I have to confess. I’m not really a poet. I’m a people’s soldier. I only use poetry as a tool to mobilize the people.”

Following her philosophy of “for 1 or 100,” she has shared stages with artists and poets as diverse as Wanda Sykes Hall, MC Lyte, Ani Difranco, and Nikki Giovanni, in venues large and small, and before crowds of dozens and crowds of many thousands. We are lucky to have her join us here at the CMC for an intimate performance in our “smoke-free listening room” atmosphere. Check out Nitche’s website at www.theoriginalwoman.com.

This show will feature opening readings by local poets and CMC Poetry Jam regulars Jimmy nil Fishhawk and Johnny Rocket.

WHEN: 8pm Sunday, March 2

WHERE: Civic Media Center, 1021 W. University Ave.

ADMISSION: $5 suggested donation

David Barsamian is the founder and director of Alternative Radio, an independent, award-winning, weekly radio program produced in Boulder, Colorado. AR presents information and perspectives that are ignored or distorted in the corporate-controlled media. David regularly published interviews and articles in The Progressive, The Nation, Z and other journals and magazines. He is also the author of numerous books, the most recent of which are Propaganda & the Public Mind: Conversations with Noam Chomsky and The Decline & Fall of Public Broadcasting.

WHEN: Thursday, January 17 @ 7:30 PM

WHERE: The Civic Media Center,1021 W. University Ave.

COST: Donations Appreciated

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL (352) 373-0010

On Wednesday, October 17th, the CMC invites all of it’s members to gather in support to celebrate fourteen years of history and activism. Again, this year, the event will be held in the Spanish Court of the Historic Thomas Center. This event centers around dinner and wine catered by local businesses and our volunteers. Our honored speaker, Jennifer Van Bergen, a local activist and author will speak on “Informed Citizenry-The Foundations of Democracy.”
The Dinner will be at 7:00 PM, and the speaker at 8:00 PM. Tickets are available in advance for $15 each from the CMC, Omni Books, and Wild Iris or at the door that evening for $20. We hope to see you all there and help us honor 14 years making history.

For more information come by or call: (352) 373-0010.

The Civic Media Center is proud to welcome our newest Coordinator Samantha Acosta. Sam will be working with Sylvia Arnold once current Coordinator Jen Bame steps down. Sam, a previous CMC volunteer, is a first-year student at the University of Florida where she is studying Linguistics. In high school, Sam was President of her Amnesty International School Chapter and Vice President of the Young Democrats Chapter. She has helped to organize benefits for organizations such as Books Not Bombs and for Hurricane Relief.

Sam has already made a place for herself here at the CMC amongst volunteers and members, helping to staff and organize various events, like the hit summer fundraiser “Marx in Soho.” Sam exudes a warmth and intelligence sure to enhance community and student interest in the CMC . We can’t wait to see what life and ideas Samantha Acosta brings to the role of Co-coordinator. Congrats, Sam and good luck!

CIVIC MEDIA CENTER PRESENTS THE PLAY “MARX IN SOHO” BY HOWARD ZINN AT THE MATHESON MUSEUM

- WHEN: Saturday, July 28th at 8pm
- WHERE: Matheson Museum (513 E. University Ave)
- TICKETS: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

The Civic Media Center is proud to present the one-act play, “Marx in Soho,” written by famed historian Howard Zinn. The CMC is flying in actor Bob Weick from Philadelphia for one night only. The premise of the play is this: Marx has returned from the grave for one night to defend his ideas in modern Soho (or Gainesville!). While working on his paper, “Capital,” he sees the application of his ideas all around him–and so does the audience.

“Marx in Soho” has received tremendous critical praise. The author, Howard Zinn, has said, “(Weick)captured Marx and his ideas with the proper strength and subtlety, moving very effectively through a range of moods: humorous,angry, poignant.” In addition to being humorous and a great performance, the play has allowed people of all ages to view Marx in a new light. Douglas Keating of the Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Though Marx has been demonized by some as the father of communism, Robert Weick portrays him as a personable man devoted to his wife and family.” Other praise includes Steven Walker of The Chronicle, who says, “Actor Bob Weick[…] succeeded in showing how relevant Marx’s ideas are to modern times by speaking to the world’s current international unrest and addressing local issues.”

Tickets are now available, and can be purchased in advance at Wild Iris Books, Omni Books, Hyde N Zeek Records, and the Civic Media Center for $15. Tickets will be $20 at the door. Visit the CMC’s website for more information: www.civicmediacenter.org.