By Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney – Country Activist, March 1990
It’s going to be a long hard summer in Northern California. The public is outraged over the timber companies’ policy of exterminating the forest for short-term profit, and the corporados know they’re not going to get away with this much longer. Whether it’s Forests Forever (initiative) or some-thing weaker, it seems inevitable that some restrictions will soon be passed.
This summer will be a race by L-P, G-P, and Maxxam to take every tree they can as fast as they can before any regulations can take effect. It looks like a total blitz—over 2,500 acres of timber harvest plans have been filed here in the last two weeks alone. And it doesn’t seem like we can stop them by ourselves.
Back in the early 60’s, the Civil Rights Movement found themselves in a similar situation in Mississippi, unable to break the stranglehold of the powers-that-be, but backed by substantial public support both locally and nationally. What they did was to put out a nationwide call for people to come ride the buses to Mississippi and help challenge the rule of racism. We need to do the same thing here now to save the forest. We are putting out a call for Freedom Riders for the Forest to come to Northern California this summer and defend the last of the redwoods with nonviolent civil disobedience. This will be a major project, and will require the support of local people to help feed, house, and guide out-of-town demonstrators...