Why Librarians (and Others Who Fight for Free Speech) Will Save Us

The rising threat to free speech, Muslim-Christian dialogue, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. John Shuck’s guests include Jeremy Rothe-Kushel. Nicole Correri, and Brett Webb-Mitchel. **I will also be speaking with Lyn Neeley about the action Saturday in Portland Against U.S. Wars at Home and Abroad.** Saturday, April 14, 1 PM, Rally: Waterfront Park, Battleship Memorial (Naito pkwy, Oak & Pine). March to Saturday Market. Jeremy Rothe-Kushel talks about being arrested in a library for simply exercising his free speech rights. Charges against him eventually were dropped. The librarian who defended him also was arrested, injured, and ultimately, acquitted.  We will discuss free speech and public spaces. Nicole Correri is the pre-eminent Shia speaker in North America. She will be talking about the legacy of Imam Husayn and her work in Muslim-Christian relations. Brett Webb-Mitchell is an openly gay Presbyterian minister and pastor of Community of the Pilgrims Presbyterian Church in Portland. He has just been named the LBGTQ+ Advocacy Coordinator for the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church. — Bios: Jeremy Rothe-Kushel has a background in politics – from local to international, officeholder to activist – with experience in community organizing, mediajamming, documentary journalism and consensus-building in deep politics, economics and ecologics. Jeremy aims to coalesce a partisan-transcendent and permaculturally-informed #FullSpectrumPopulist #IntegralPolitics from the #RadicalMiddle with a #WeThePeoplePlatform and #CoalitionCabinet. He is working on a documentary project titled “September Eleventh Uncoverage” based on a decade of his investigative research, activism and experience of covering and uncovering the 9/11 cover-up. Rothe-Kushel has put public figures across the political spectrum “on the record” about vital issues that are often controversial and always emancipatory. Some of his journalistic encounters include Michael Hayden, John Yoo, Joe Biden, Eric Holder, Mike Pompeo, Kris Kobach, Ron Paul, Alex Jones, Jay Rockefeller, Ted Turner, Jill Stein and Amy Goodman. Jeremy has a working background in permaculture design and implementation, and future-roots music production, performance and education.  While at Williams College completing his B.A. in Religion, he founded and over the next decade taught an original approach to musical education called “HipHop Empowerment”, with students of diverse ages and backgrounds from the Bronx to Boston, Southern Vermont to South Los Angeles. Although he believes that well mineralized and microbialized, high-carbon humus might help solve most humanity’s problems, Jeremy currently sees that the “invisible domain” of politics, culture, multimedia, law, deliberative deep democracy and cooperative startup economics contains key elements to assemble and strategic means necessary to that ‘soilutionary’ end. You can hear Jeremy on No Lies Radio and on the Pacifica Radio Network: False Flag Weekly News and Antedote. — Nicole Correri, the preeminent female Shia speaker in North America, considers herself a student of Islam and a follower of the Ahl al-Bayt (as). Before graduating with Honors in M. Ed. in Counseling from George Mason University, she received her B.A. in Psychology, Minor in Early Childhood Education from George Washington University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She is a member of numerous academic honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa. Nicole is a powerful public speaker who motivates her audience to embody Islam in practical, relevant, and meaningful ways.  With her solid academic background and passion for the religion, she brings a unique perspective to her audience with the goals of inspiration, education, and transformation.  Her work stems out of the gap she felt and observed for the English speaking Muslims in the West to make sense of religion in their context and  lived realities.  She is interested in an intellectual and inspirational approach to faith and articulates a practical theology with a sensibility for social, gender, and ethical justice.  Nicole is also committed to inter and intra-faith work, cultivating our shared humanity and bringing people together for the common good.  She continues to study Arabic with the Fawakih Institute since 2012 and as of Spring 2016 will be finishing up her Master’s degree in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary and has been accepted into the Ph.D. program in the Religion Department at Boston University. — Brett Webb-Mitchell , LGBTQ+ Advocacy Coordinator for the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church He was an assistant professor of Christian nurture at United Methodist founded Duke Divinity School and now serves as an ordained pastor serving Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Church in Portland. In addition to this, he’s written several books on the topics of human sexuality, Christian growth and what it means to be a gay parent. Book titles include: “Practicing Pilgrimage: Beyond Accessibility” and “Follow Me: Christian Growth on the Pilgrim’s Way.” Webb-Mitchell and his partner, Dan, have been together for 22 years, have two adult children and one grandchild on the way.