Chicago Coalition Against War & Racism (CCAWR) was formed in September 2001 to protest the imminent United States invasion of Afghanistan. CCAWR gained a foothold in Chicago street politics and rose to prominence when it organized a rally at Federal Plaza the day after the U.S. invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003. During that protest, 15,000 Chicagoans marched and took over Lake Shore Drive in a direct action that led to national news on the major networks, and 900 arrests by the Chicago police. Since then, CCAWR has organized and collaborated on projects ranging from conferences, to street protests, to national mobilizations, to counter-recruitment against the military.
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“He was ... a degenerate gambler. That is, a man who gambled simply to gamble and must lose. As a hero who goes to war must die. Show me a gambler and I’ll show you a loser, show me a hero and I’ll show you a corpse.”
—Mario Puzo (b. 1920)
“Few white citizens are acquainted with blacks other than those projected by the media and the so—called educational system, which is nothing more than a system of rewards and punishments based upon one’s ability to pledge loyalty oaths to Anglo culture. The media and the “educational system” are the prime sources of racism in the United States.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)