Over a hundred years ago, Karl Marx championed the struggles of a downtrodden working class against their capitalist masters and argued that oppression and inequality were at the very heart of the profit system. His revolutionary ideas and writings remain strikingly relevant for us today.

Join Ahmed Shawki, editor of the International Socialist Review and author of Black Liberation and Socialism, and other activists for a discussion of Marx’s ideas and the fight for a socialist world.

Bay Area Tour

Oakland, 4/18
6:30pm at Laney College, 900 Fallon Street, Room E-256.

Stanford, 4/19
2pm at Cochabamba International Center (Bechtel Center International Assembly Room). Cosponsored by the Modern Thought and Literature Program.

Berkeley, 4/19
6:30pm at Wheeler 204.

Note: The 4/21 San Francisco meeting of this tour has been canceled. Instead, we will be hosting a panel discussion on the fight for justice for Trayvon Martin on that day, with Ahmed and other speakers.

2011 began with popular uprisings and revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa -- most notably in Tunisia and Egypt, where mass demonstrations forced out dictators who had held power for decades. By the summer the tide of revolt had spread to Greece and Chile; and in the Fall, the Occupy! movement took the U.S. by storm.

These developments have put a fundamental question back on the table for millions of people: is global revolution possible? If it is, what would it look like? And how can we win?

Join us for a discussion of these questions and others. Global revolution is not only possible -- it is necessary in order to win a world that puts human need ahead of profit.

Featuring:

Shimaa Helmy is a revolutionary activist from Cairo, Egypt. She participated in the January 25th revolution from the first day, and has been in the U.S. since mid October, participating in conferences and teach-ins on the Revolution. She has also been active in the Occupy movement, particularly Occupy Wall Street, building solidarity actions with the Revolution and imparting lessons from her experiences.

Sid Patel is a member of the International Socialist Organization and contributes to SocialistWorker.org. He is active with Occupy SF, and he speaks regularly about Marxism and political strategy

Facebook event

Seen around the world, John Carlos and Tommie Smith’s Black Power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Yet their show of defiance remains one of the most iconic images of Olympic history and the Black Power movement. Here is the remarkable story of one of the men behind the salute, lifelong activist, John Carlos.

Join John Carlos and his co-author, Nation sports editor Dave Zirin, for a series of events to celebrate the release of The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World.

Facebook event.

Occupy Oakland has called for a General Strike Wednesday, November 2nd. Come out for this historic day to continue building the movement of the 99% against the 1%.

The ISO will be there all day. Join us at 3pm at Oscar Grant Plaza for a speakout on Marxism! We will march at 5pm with the rest of Occupy! over to the Ports of Oakland to shut them down.

Millions of people have come to the understanding that capitalism is no longer working. And millions of people around the world—from Athens to Cairo to San Francisco—are fighting back.

Marxism provides a revolutionary understanding and strategy for ridding society of exploitation and oppression once and for all.

We want more than just resistance, we want to win. Join us!

10am: Registration

11am: Opening Plenary / 60 Evans

12pm - 6pm: Workshop Tracks

Track 1: Why the Working Class Can Change Society / 220 Wheeler

- No Power Great: Marxism and the Centrality of Class
- The Minneapolis Teamsters Strike: A Case Study in Working Class Power
- The Changing Working Class and the Future of the Labor Movement

Track 2: Marxism and Oppression / 126 Barrows

- The Roots of Racial Oppression
- Theories of Women's Oppression
- Can the Working Class Liberate the Oppressed?

Facebook event.

Download the flier.