Ending Corporate Personhood
Submitted by janedwards@mcn.org on March 12, 2007 - 7:04pm.
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This session will be on: June 29, 2007 - 10:30am It will be held at: Fellowship Hall room at the Trinity United Methodist Church View scheduleOrganization DescriptionThe Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (POCLAD) is a group of eleven people contesting the illegitimate "rights" of corporations and those who sit in corporate boardrooms to be in charge of our lives and work, communities and environments, our economy, political life and future. Our analysis evolves through historical and legal research, writing, public speaking, and working with organizations to develop new strategies that assert people's rights over property interests. We assert the need to shift from protesting corporate assault after corporate assault to changing the law and claiming our promised rights of self-governance. POCLAD engages activist organizations, community groups and student audiences in conversations addressing the fundamental question: Is democracy possible when corporations wield constitutional "rights" and so much wealth and power are concentrated in so few hands?
More information can be found at our website www.POCLAD.org.
The California Center for Community Democracy (CCCD)was conceived on September 11th 2001, at a week long gathering of California democracy activists. As we camped out in a pear orchard near Placerville and listened to Amy Goodman describe the twin towers falling, we knew that democracy would be threatened by the “war on terror” our government would surely undertake. We bonded deeply during those dark days and from our commitment to each other and our concern for our communities, a non-profit organization eventually was formed to support actions in California toward genuine democracy. The CCCD believes that democracy starts locally. We educate, write and promote grassroots efforts to create democratic change. We also fiscally sponsor groups like Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, which share our vision.
The California Center for Community Democracy website is www.CaliforniaDemocracy.org
Proposal Demographicsidentify as women are artists/cultural workers Session DescriptionEnding Corporate Personhood Is a Corporation a Person? The Supreme Court says yes. When corporations wield legal rights in the U.S. Constitution, it undermines our democracy and actually allows corporations to rule. Corporate rule effects all aspects of our lives and every social justice and environmental issue. The Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy and the California Center for Community Democracy propose a 2 hour Workshop on Ending Corporate Personhood. Presenters David Cobb and Jan Edwards have given workshops on this subject all over the country. They have created an edge-of-your-seat presentation that is high energy, deeply informative, and results in consciousness-shifting strategies for changing the corporate power structure and putting us on the road to real democracy. An important strength of this workshop: it is presented by activists for activists, not by intellectuals for a passive audience. The presenters encourage engagement by workshop participants. The workshop features the 18 foot Timeline of Personhood Rights and Powers. This large chart helps us to visualize the changes in U.S. law from the viewpoint of human persons struggling for rights and the corporate elite as they grab those hard won rights with the aid of the courts. History, law, activism, victories and defeats are all part of the dramatic narrative, which is currently unfolding in new legislation by local citizens demanding democracy instead of corporate rule. Topics the workshop will cover include: how our Constitution is structured, the concept of personhood, what corporations gain from personhood and rights in the Constitution, how the Supreme Court inserted the corporation into the Constitution, the major law cases leading to corporate personhood, the people’s struggle throughout US history to obtain personhood rights, how corporations having personhood rights diminishes the rights of human beings, where things stand legally today, and current strategies for ending corporate personhood. This may sound dry and daunting, but its all depends on the telling. History is dramatic. Law cases have stories rooted in real human concerns. If you scratch any issue activists are working on today, you will find corporate personhood beneath. This workshop is designed to give participants the knowledge and tools they need to challenge corporate power and win. This workshop will require an 20 foot wall on which to hang a paper timeline (with tape or push pins). It will be conducted in English and we will provide English language handouts. We have a video of a similar workshop by Cobb and Edwards which we could send if wanted. David Cobb is an attorney, a principal with the Program on Corporations Law & Democracy and a Fellow with Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. First NameJan Last NameEdwards Contact E-mailjanedwards@mcn.org Proposing OrganizationCalifornia Center for Community Democracy Organization Websitewww.California Democracy.org Position or TitleBoard member CCCD, and presenter Contact Telephone707-882-1818 Event DayFriday, June 29th (Visioning / Envisioning Another World) Contact AddressPO Box 1581, Gualala, CA 95445
or 27770 Ten Mile Rd. FormatLarge 18ft Timeline on wall, 2 speakers, Q&A Contact CityPoint Arena KeywordsAnti-corporate power Democracy and politics Movement building Audience Number50-100 people Contact StateCA Contact ZIP95468- 846 Person ReviewingEmily |