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Springfield, MA, March 10, 2006--Rev. Lennox Yearwood, a Washington, DC-based social and anti-war activist, will be the keynote speaker at a Town Hall Meeting here on Saturday, March 18, that is part of a series of events to mark the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq War.
Rev. Yearwood is the head of the Hip-Hop Caucus, a coalition of national groups doing youth outreach, and has received national recognition for his efforts on behalf of those left homeless by the Gulf Coast disaster. On Feb. 6, he presented testimony outside the Capitol in Washington from still-homeless victims who were being evicted from hotels in the New Orleans area. The event, dubbed "The Katrina Summit," led to a postponement of some evictions.
At the March 18 town meeting, Yearwood will address the economic costs of the war as well as the drain on human resources that hampers the recovery in the Gulf region and urban communities like Springfield. The National Priorities Project, based in Northampton, estimates that the Iraq war has cost Massachusetts taxpayers $8.9 billion since 2003. The cost to Springfield is estimated at $128 million.
"We are excited Rev. Yearwood will be joining us for this Town Hall meeting," said Tim Carpenter, executive director of the PDA. "He has been down to the Gulf Coast many times since the hurricane and can speak firsthand of the challenges facing the residents there and the dispersed victims of the Katerina tragedy and the need for the federal government to increase its efforts to rebuild the region."
Following Rev. Yearwood's remarks the floor will be opened for discussion among those attending.
The town meeting is part of a week-long series of activities leading up to the anniversary date of March 20 that also includes a rally downtown at noon prior to the town meeting.
The Town Hall Meeting will be held at the First Spiritualist Church of Springfield, 33-37 Bliss Street, one block south of State Street between Main and Columbus in the city of Springfield. It will begin at 2 p.m.
Sponsors of the Town Hall Meeting include: Progressive Democrats of America ARISE for Social Justice, Interfaith Coalition for Justice and Peace, Mass. American Civil Liberties Union, Middle East Peace Coalition, Military Recruitment Education Network, Northampton Committee to Stop the War in Iraq, The Raging Grannies SAGE, The Tim Mooney Local of the Socialist Party USA, Traprock Peace Center, Western Mass. American Friends Service Committee Western Mass. IAC/Troops Out Now Coalition, Western Mass. Labor Against the War
