Georgia Youth Forced Into Military Testing

Some of you may know that there has been an ongoing effort by AFSC to address the unjust disproportionate recruitment of low income Georgia youth into the military industrial complex. For several decades struggling Georgia youth have been the target of fairly aggressive recruitment tactics that include the promise of well paid post military jobs, the promise of avoiding a combat zone, the promise of a great education, and more. We know that statistically speaking these promises are rarely kept, leaving the majority of young recruits hurt, not helped by their military service.


We have an opportunity to provide safeguards in Georgia, but we need to act
fast, and we need to act now.


Every year tens of thousands of Georgia youth take the ASVAB(Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test), many don't even know what it stands for. There are two lies that perpetuated in regards to this test.


1. It's a test designed to help you decide what career paths might be good for you.


2. It's a mandatory test.



The truth is the test is most certainly designed to see what kind of soldier
you would be, and all of the results are turned over to the local military
recruiter often without your knowledge or consent for one reason, so he can
better recruit you. The test is absolutely not required.


John Barge, Georgia's Superintendent, has been delivered a letter,
 http://www.acluga.org/files/2413/4573/1160/ASVAB_GA_Superintendent_Letter.pdf,to address some of the concerns with the ASVAB test.

To learn more about the privacy concerns around ASVAB, check out this op-ed:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azadeh-shahshahani/georgia-secret-test-scores_
b_1872306.html 

We believe we can win this important fight if we put real pressure on the
decision makers here.


CAN YOU JOIN US WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH AT 7PM AT AFSC (60 Walton St.,
Atlanta 30303)
Coffee and treats will be provided.  


Our goal is not only to discuss next steps, but also to begin writing
letters to John Barge encouraging him to do the right thing.  The
write-a-thon is co-sponsored by the Student Career Alternatives Program, ACLU Foundation of Georgia, and the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition-Atlanta.


Together we can win!


Tim Franzen
Georgia Peace and Conflict Resolution Program
American Friends Service Committee

THOUSANDS March To Resist HB87

Today Thousands of Georgians filled the streets of Atlanta to unite their voices against HB87, the anti-immigration bill that went into effect yesterday.

I've done organizing work in Georgia for ten years. I've been a part of small actions and big ones in every pocket of the state. Today was by far the largest mobilization I've seen anywhere in Georgia, ever. There was over twenty blocks of people marching, some say over 20,000 people, despite the blazing heat. I could be wrong but I believe that today was the largest political mobilization in Georgia in the last few decades.

The number of folks, and the energy they brought(which was palpable), should send a clear message to Georgia politicians. Not only can Georgia's economy not afford HB87 or bills like it, Georgia's people will not tolerate legislated racism and xenophobia.

With references to Martin Luther King throughout the march, and many civil rights leaders on hand to lend their strong support to the movement, it's also clear that many view bills like HB87 as a sad step back towards the darker parts of Georgia's history.

While parts of HB87 have been temporarily block by a federal Judge(as a result of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Georgia and the National Immigration Law Center), it's clear that the fight against HB87 is not over.

One silver lining that some see as a result of bills like HB87 is the galvanization of immigrants across the country. One result that blatantly racist bill's like HB87 could bring is real immigration reform on a national level. I believe a train has begun rolling through communities all over America and it's inevitably won't stop until we have fair and just pathways to citizenship for everyone that call the United States home. We all have a right to exist.

AFSC Atlanta and our Migrant Youth Voice project was proud to be there and support The Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Right's(GLAHR) mobilizing efforts. We gave out hundreds of our new immigration reform placards.


Photo Credits:
Caitie Elle
Josie Figueroa


Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee