Martha Orianna Baskin, "The civil rights struggle goes Cuban", Sojourners, September-October 1994
Unwilling to abandon the bus, 13 "caravanistas," including Rev. Lucius Walker Jr., executive director of Pastors for Peace, initiated a hunger strike in the tradition of other acts of civil disobedience. After 23 days, the White House gave in to enormous grassroots and international pressure and allowed the bus to be taken to Cuba.
On January 31, Pastors for Peace attempted to take 325 used computers across the Mexican border from San Diego to be donated to Cuban hospitals, in intentional violation of the U.S. economic embargo. . .Rev. Lucius Walker, Lisa Valenti, and Jim Clifford ended their fast when the remaining computers were released on May 24.
Ping.
President Fidel Castro of Cuba may have obediently observed the 7-minute limitation during his speech at the UN Millennium Summit last week, but he made up for it last Friday at Riverside Church in Harlem when he spoke for almost four hours. . .Rosemari Mealy, a longtime Cuban supporter and a broadcaster at WBAI-FM was the evening’s moderator, and she introduced the church’s pastor, Rev. James Forbes. Forbes, whose church was the location of a forum for the grandmothers of Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban youth at the center of the tug of war between the U.S. and the Cuban government, brought a great response when he referred to the handshake between Castro and President Clinton at the UN Summit. . .Congresswoman Maxine Waters (California-D) also demanded an end to the embargo. . .Representative Jose Serrano of the Bronx, who followed Waters to the podium. . .Luis Miranda of the Casa de las Americas, Rev. Lucius Walker of Pastors for Peace and the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, and the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, the former head of the National Council of Churches, were among the dignitaries who collectively introduced President Castro.