This important fundraiser sponsored by the Texas Moratorium Network

Dear Friends,

Please support this important fundraiser sponsored by the Texas Moratorium Network tomorrow. Half of the profits go to the Kenneth Foster Committee and half go to the October 27 Texas March to Stop Executions to be held in Houston this year.

Also, before the fundraiser, stop by Monkey Wrench Books for a lecture and Q & A on this must-read book on the death penalty by Houston writer and activist. Here's the info:

Author and activist L. V. Gaither lectures and signs Loss of Empire @ Monkey Wrench Books

http://www.amazon.com/Loss-Empire-Lynching-Vigilantism-Intellectualism/dp/1592214320/ref=sr_1_1/
104-9154249-9222347?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185634901&sr=1-1

Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, 2007 (Lecture/Q&A)

Location:

Monkey Wrench Books,

110 E. North Loop

Austin, TX

Drawing from his experiences as a social activist and independent historian, L. V. Gaither radically theorizes capital punishment, the massive imprisonment of African Americans, and the ominous predicament of African American intellectualism in the twenty first century.

“While some books appear before we are prepared for their contents, others come to us as pleasing or challenging afterthoughts,” writes Joyce A. Joyce, Professor, English Department, Temple University Author, Black Studies as Human Studies: Critical Essays and Interviews. And, “Passionately argued and beautifully written, L.V. Gaither has produced an enlightening and stimulating book that is essential reading for our times,” writes Gerald Horne, author, Red Seas: Ferdinand Smith & Radical Black Sailors in the U.S. and Jamaica.

His writings have appeared in several publications, including The Source Magazine, Black Scholar, Quarterly Black Book Review, Socialism & Democracy, Race & Class, and Radical Philosophy Review.

He has lectured in a variety of settings across the United States , including Rutgers University , Syracuse University , University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston , University of Houston , Alvin Community College , and University of Rhode Island , S.H.A.P.E. Community Center , and Pan-African Connection Bookstore and Cultural Center, and Northeastern University's Jacob Carruthers' Center for Inner City Studies .

As an activist, Gaither managed and worked on several political campaigns throughout the country from 1986-92. In 1993 he founded The Gaither Reporter, an independent journal of politics, literature and culture. The journal has featured interviews and writings encompassing a wide range of literary, cultural and political thought. From 1993-2000, he worked with the Gary Graham Justice Coalition, an anti death penalty organization based in Houston , TX .

AND FOR THE BENEFIT:

Benefit July 28 in Austin

WHO: Texas Moratorium Network
WHAT: "It Came From Austin!!!!" - A Benefit for Texas Moratorium Network and the Save Kenneth Foster Campaign
WHEN: Saturday July 28, 2007 - 8:00 PM
WHERE: The Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th, Austin TX 78702 www.eastinns.com
ADMISSION: $5-$10 sliding scale, 21+

TEXAS MORATORIUM NETWORK PRESENTS "IT CAME FROM AUSTIN", A LIVE MUSIC/PERFORMANCE BENEFIT SHOWCASE TO RAISE AWARENESS OF TEXAS DEATH PENALTY ISSUES

AUSTIN, TX - Texas Moratorium Network (TMN) is holding a benefit show to help raise awareness of current death penalty issues in Texas, raise money to fight the death penalty and gain new members. The benefit is July 28 in Austin at the Scoot Inn. Doors open at 8 PM.

Fifty percent of the proceeds of the benefit will be donated to the Save Kenneth Foster Campaign. The State of Texas intends to execute Kenneth Foster on August 30, despite the fact that he did not murder anyone. Unlike any other state in this country, Texas utilizes a unique statute called the Law of Parties which allows the State to subject a person to death even though he did not kill, intend to kill, help or encourage anyone to do so.

The other fifty percent of the proceeds will be used for the 8th Annual March to Stop Executions in Houston on October 27.

Several Austin performers will participate, including the Austin Chronicle's winner of 2006 BEST NEW BAND, the Texas Sapphires. There will also be clowns, dancers, and various other performances.

The show's sponsors have donated various products and services which will be raffled to attendees. Diablo Rojo, The Boiling Pot, Antone's Records and Epoch Coffee will be donating gift certificates.

Bands and Performers:
www.thetexassapphires.com
www.invincibleczars.com
www.myspace.com/diasporic
www.laurascarborough.com
www.dampheat.com

Sponsors:
www.diablo-rojo.com
www.theboilingpot.ypguides.net
www.eastsidepies.com
www.epochcoffee.com
www.antonesrecordshop.homestead.com
www.motorblade.com