On the Road to Detroit: How to Get to the U.S. Social Forum 2010

Register

The USSF will take place June 22-26, 2010 at Cobo Hall and Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Register online at www.ussf2010.org/register

Organize a workshop

Attend a People's Movement Assembly

In cities around  the country, local organizers and activists will be joining in People’s Movement Assemblies in preparation for the U.S. Social Forum. Assemblies are a chance for organizations to meet locally to make logistic decisions like how to get to the forum and to both reflect and act on larger world issues such as climate change and social justice.  

You can set up your own PMA at www.ussf2010.org/pma

How to Get Yourself There: In Bike Caravans, Bus Caravans, and Even on Foot …

Via Bicycle Caravan
BikeIt! is on the lookout for organizers to recruit both cyclists and biofuel-powered vehicles for an alternative transportation adventure to Detroit, Michigan. Their website provides a map of already-organized rides and applications for those willing to lead a ride of their own. Search your zip code to find the starting point nearest you. Find groups coming from San Francisco, California, New York, New York, Madison, Wisconsin, and other locations.

Here is a first list of rides, but be sure check the BikeIt Map for up-to-date information at bikeit.org

• NORTHEAST
  Albany, New York, BikeIt Caravan—Carole Furman—octagon [@] hvc.rr.com, 518/461-5168 (cell), 845/246-4668
  
  Buffalo, New York, BikeIt Caravan—Claire Stoscheck—bikeit2010 [@] gmail.com
  
  Ithaca, New York, BikeIt Caravan—Claire Stoscheck—bikeit2010 [@] gmail.com, 607/351-3831, bikeit.org/?page_id=279
  
  Binghamton, New York, BikeIt Caravan–Mari Pfingston-Bigelow—marjoypb [@] gmail.com, 516/238-5801
  
  New York, New York, BikeIt Caravan—Mark Stonehill—mark.stonehill [@] gmail.com, 516/851-6824
  
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, BikeIt Caravan—Sergio Armani—cyclist.sergio [@] gmail.com, 484/347-6429
  
  
• MIDWEST
  Madison, Wisconsin, BikeIt Caravan—Kelty Carew—keltycarew [@] gmail.com, 608/358-2806
  
  The Grassroutes Caravan will travel 300 miles from Madison, Wisconsin, to Detroit, Michigan, by bike. www.grassroutescaravan.org
  
  Chicago, Illinois, BikeIt Caravan—Zahra Alabanza—zmala1515 [@] gmail.com, 850/445-0040, bikeit.org/?page_id=282
  
  Chicago’s BikeIt Delegation: roadtodetroit.blogspot.com/2010/01/chicagoans-are-biking-to-detroit.html
  
  
• WEST
  San Francisco, California, BikeIt Caravan–June Brashares—june [@] globalexchange.org, 415/255-7296 ext. 253

Via Bus Caravan
Bus caravans are modeled on the 2007 Freedom Caravan that brought people from Albuquerque, New Mexico, across the southwest and the deep south to the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007. You can help organize this year's Freedom Caravan by attending a PMA in your area. Below is a first list of dates, but be sure to check the map on the USSF website for up-t0-date information.

Brownsville, Texas, PMA,  February 20, 2010.

Houston, Texas, PMA, February 27, 2010.

Detroit, Michigan, PMA, March 13, 2010.

San Francisco, California, PMA March 13, 2010. www.pma.ussf2010.org/node/12

Portland, Oregon, PMA, May 9, 2010. www.pma.ussf2010.org/node/16

Progressive Action for the Common Good is working on organizing a bus or two from Iowa. Find more info at www.blogforiowa.com.

Via Foot

The Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign is leading a "March to Fulfill the Dream" from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the Detroit, Michigan, forum starting on April 4, 2010, which is both Easter Sunday and the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The group, organizing a movement to end poverty, is demanding guaranteed healthcare and housing for everyone in the United States.

See the route, find out how to join, and support the march at old.economichumanrights.org/USSF2010.

Get There Early and Attend the Allied Media Conference

The Allied Media Conference, which is taking place immediately before the USSF, and has much of the same spirit, is offering a ride share board for people attending at alliedmediaconference.org/attend/getting_to_detroit.

Check www.ussf2010.org for updates

on caravans and other logistics for attending the conference.

YES! Magazine encourages you to make free use of this article by taking these easy steps. lotto. (2010, February 10). On the Road to Detroit: How to Get to the U.S. Social Forum 2010. Retrieved February 08, 2012, from YES! Magazine Web site: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/america-the-remix/on-the-road-to-detroit-how-to-get-to-the-us-social-forum-2010. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License