Why?

The Militant’s coverage was written from inside the resistance. The bourgeois newspaper coverage was written from inside the camp of those warring on abortion and women’s rights.

The Militant presented the facts about the march in an objective manner. It reported the speeches accurately—while interpreting them from a working-class point of view.

It reported on the composition of the march and the political significance of the presence of more female youth, the large numbers of college women, the span of generations present, and the increase in participation by Blacks as well as the absence of organized labor union contingents.

One of the most important components of the Militant’s coverage of the event was its response to the big political lie promoted by Democratic Party elected officials—that the Democrats defended abortion rights during the Carter and Clinton administrations.

James Kendrick
Miami, Florida
 
 
Inglés Barrio Adentro
Inglés Barrio Adentro is a program being developed in Venezuela which brings together local governments and grassroots organizations to provide the impoverished people of Venezuela the opportunity to learn English with the help of tutors (college students) from the United States. The program is being developed at the city level in three cities in Venezuela: Caracas, Barcelona, and Maracaibo. The idea is to bring volunteers who are willing to live among the people they are teaching, most probably in impoverished areas, and to provide the volunteers with the materials necessary to teach, as well as housing, food, and medical attention (if necessary).

The work to provide these things would be coordinated between neighborhood grassroots organizations and the local city governments. The volunteers would only have to contribute their knowledge and their transportation to and from Venezuela. Some two-way airplane tickets to Venezuela can be as low as $250 (from Miami), but, of course, these prices fluctuate. This is the only major monetary cost that the volunteer is expected to incur during the trip. Another responsibility of the student volunteers would be to develop a curriculum for different levels.

Student-volunteers would benefit from being totally immersed in a foreign culture, language, and country. The volunteer is not required to sympathize with any political ideology and all students are welcomed. The volunteer’s physical safety is guaranteed by the local governments, and the sectors can be considered relatively safe as there are thousands of Cuban doctors already safely volunteering in all of these impoverished places for months.

Juan Blandón
Gainesville, Florida

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people.

Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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