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news
Racism
helps give globalization bad name
By Adrienne Figueroa
On-line Forty-Niner
Racism, trade,
corporate and governmental control were the topics of discussion
at the "Globalizing Humanity" conference Tuesday at the University
Student Union, presented by the Campus Progressives.
Workshops highlighting
issues involving how globalization affects people around the
world began at 1 p.m. The seminars consisted of a collaboration
of guest speakers from the Campus Progressives, as well as
Cal State Long Beach professors and other local activists.
One of the purposes
of the conference was to educate students and members of the
community about globalization of trade and its link with human
rights abuses, said senior history major Jim Araby, Campus
Progressives member and guest speaker. The way to convey this
idea is to hold workshops which cover a variety of issues
across the globalization spectrum, including racism, sexism
and economical displacement.
"That's what is
being ignored with the free market idea," Araby said. "[Corporations]
don't think about this stuff."
Senior political
science major David Murray, one of the main orchestrators
of the Campus Progressives, hopes that this will inform students
about
The aim of the
event is not to promote anti-globalization and anti-capital
messages in every circumstance, but only when human rights
abuses are involved, Araby added.
For example, one
seminar addressed the concept of environmental racism, which
entails toxic dumping in areas occupied by people of color.
Freshman computer
engineering major James Henry initially attended the conference
to earn extra credit for a class, but found that the discussion
peaked his interest.
"I just wanted
to sit in and see what people were talking about," Henry said.
Henry added that
many people try to pretend that racism does not exist, but
it is a problem that continues to plague society.
In addition to
the various speaker presentations and a vegan cuisine provided
by local feeding organization Food Not Bombs, the event also
included the showing of "Life and Debt," a documentary on
a case study in Jamaica about the effects of capitalism on
the country. '
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