Retreat Tackles Mission Control
In July, the Toward Freedom Board of Directors held a one-day retreat to redefine the organization’s mission and priorities for the coming years. Among the key topics were the relationship between TF’s primary publication and its various projects, as well as increasing the involvement of members and supporters. Led by consultant Rosi Gowdey, the board also covered fundraising, long-term strategic planning, and how to reach new constituencies. New vision and mission statements, currently being reviewed, are slated for adoption at the annual meeting later this year.
Making Waves
TF Board Member Gerard Colby went to Washington, DC in July to accept a National Press Club award for his work in Into the Buzzsaw, an anthology on the obstacles faced by authors whose work challenges conventional thinking. Winners were selected in 22 categories, ranging from consumer and environmental reporting to freedom of the press. "At a time when our profession is under some criticism, it’s important to remember that many journalists are working incredibly hard to serve their readers and listeners," said National Press Club President Tammy Lytle. "These award winners have unearthed and illustrated the truth to protect the public, educate citizens about their government, and lend perspective to world events and other important topics."
The Limits of Love, a second collection of short stories by regular TF contributor Elayne Clift, will be released through Xlibris in September.
TF Publisher Robin Lloyd is currently completing work on Haiti Rising, a DVD that will include two of her previous films on the first independent Black republic, as well as extras such as an interview with actor Danny Glover. Release will coincide with the 200-year anniversary of the Haitian revolution.
Contributor Aziz Choudry has released a new report Cancun and Beyond: The WTO and Neoliberal Globalization through Action for Social and Ecological Justice (ASEJ). His writing may also appear in an upcoming TF special report on biotechnology being edited by Brian Tokar.
Sasha Abramsky, a frequent TF contributor over the past decade, exposes the failure of the US "war on Drugs" in the August 18 edition of The Nation. The Bush administration "may want to devote resources to shutting down medical-marijuana buyers’ clubs set up legal under new state laws," Abramsky concludes, "but states are no longer so enthusiastic. They are realizing that their budgets, buffeted by declining tax revenues, simply can’t support major domestic-security spending and, at the same time, continued high expenditures on drug-war policing and mass incarceration."