The Mission of World Can't Wait

World Can't Wait is organizing people living in the United States to take responsibility to stop the whole disastrous course led by the Bush administration. We seek to create a political situation where the Bush administration's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking U.S. society is reversed.

We seek to mobilize millions to express their outrage, to speak the truth, to act with urgency and form an organized political resistance. We welcome any individuals and groups who agree that the Bush Regime should be driven out, whatever their political party affiliation or lack thereof. We reach out to people who have been fooled by Bush, and to those who have been most seriously affected by the outrages inflicted by the Bush Regime.

We drew our inspiration from...

The Not In Our Name Statement of Conscience which we encourage you to read, add your name to, and distribute broadly.

Excerpts:
"No election, whether fair or fraudulent, can legitimize criminal wars on foreign countries, torture, the wholesale violation of human rights, and the end of science and reason."

"It is our responsibility to stop the Bush regime from carrying out this disastrous course. We believe history will judge us sharply should we fail to act decisively."

Advisory Board:

Rosemary Candelario, pro-choice activist
Boots Riley, hip hop performer
Gore Vidal, writer
Warren Hern MD, physician and pro-choice activist
Sunsara Taylor, writer
Mark Crispin Miller, professor, writer
TomÃs Olmos, attorney
Mark Leno, CA State Assembly
Howard Zinn, historian

National Steering  Committee:

Father Luis Barrios, New York City
The Rev. Luis Barrios is an associate professor in psychology and ethnic studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York and also an associate priest at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Manhattan. In addition, since 1997 he is a weekly columnist for El Diario La Prensa, one of the oldest Spanish speaking newspapers in the Nation. Most of his research is with street organizations, juvenile criminal justice system, and immigrants rights. Luis is an academic activist, an activist priest and a community activist. He was born in Puerto Rico.

Mark James, Los Angeles
"I was raised on the east coast and came of age during the Vietnam War. Youthful yearnings for a better world drew me to the protest movements of the time. As the the power of that period waned, so did my hope of creating a better world. I spent the 80's devoting time to the development of my business (home renovations). After moving to San Francisco in the early 80's my friends began to die. Within a few years our community had been devastated by the loss of lives and the fear surrounding AIDS. The Reagan administration ignored the problem, forcing us into the streets and taking matters into our own hands. During this period I volunteered my services to grass roots AIDS service organizations. In September 2001 my outrage at the US Government needed an avenue of expression; the anti war movement that followed allowed for some of that expression. However, it has been during this most recent period with the development of The World Can't Wait movement and my role in building it that I have recaptured my youthful yearnings for a better world."

Rev. Deborah Elandus Lake, Chicago
Rev. Deborah Elandus Lake is Executive Director of Sankofa Way Spiritual Services and Co-founder of the Chicago Chapter of The Interfaith Alliance. Since relocating from Massachusetts to Chicago in 2002, she has worked with local organizations and programs such as: Rush University Medical Center, the CORE Center, and the John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County. Before moving to Chicago, she served congregations in New York and Massachusetts. Rev. Lake is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary in NY, and an ordained non-denominational minister.

"I am involved with World Can't Wait because this is the only other organization I can find where people are not afraid to publicly take a stand against the actions of Bush and those who keep him in office. I am very concerned about the direction our country is being taken, and I am determined to be able to look my daughters and grand children in the eye and tell them that I did everything possible to preserve their heritage."

Allen Lang, New York City
Allen Lang is the National Student and Youth Coordinator for The World Can't Wait! Drive Out The Bush Regime. Allen got his start as a political organizer after witnessing the horrors that suffocate millions of sweatshop workers in the 3rd World and being inspired by the anti-Globalization movement that burst on to the scene during the 1999 Seattle WTO and IMF protests. As a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, he led student walkouts and demonstrations protesting the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and was part of shutting down a military recruitment center during the March 5th 2003 Moratorium to Stop the War. After visiting the West Bank of Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement in 2002, he organized an East Coast Speaking Tour. He leads workshops to stop military recruitment in high schools and has organized progressive film festivals in Utah and Philadelphia.

Prachi Noor, New York City
Prachi Noor was born and brought up in the midst of peasant struggles and women's movements in rural India. Inspired by the dedication of freedom fighter grandparents of India's independence movement, she grew up believing that change doesn't come without a fight. In the United States, she has been active with the anti-police brutality movement and has been at the forefront of the movement to stop the repression of Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities. She has been part of organizations like the Blue Triangle Network and Youth Solidarity Summer.

Debra Sweet, New York City
Debra Sweet is the National Co-ordinator of World Can't Wait. Richard Nixon refused to speak to the press for six months after the US invasion of Cambodia. When he finally appeared before the White House press corps, it was to make awards for service and bravery to Young Americans, whom he said were "not out protesting". I was 19. When he handed me the award, I told him that he was responsible for killing millions of people in southeast Asia. He got angry, turned and left the room, making a front page story and international news. Antiwar sentiment had seeped into the Blue Room and was pervading every part of US society - not to mention the world. The Emperor had no clothes, and when someone says that; an Eartha Kitt, a Debra Sweet, a Cindy Sheehan, it can galvanize others to speak and act on the truth. There are millions out there who can take inspiration, and act. The end of the story isn't written yet . . .