It’s that time of year again … time to drink some eggnog, make your New Year’s resolution and then promptly break that New Year’s resolution, and, of course, rock the vote — the ITF vote, that is.

There are two parts to this year’s vote: (1) your picks for the Top Ten U.S. social justice organizations (choose from eighteen), and (2) your favorite ITF articles of 2003 (pick one article for each of the four channels of the magazine). We’ll publish the results in the January “BEST OF InTheFray 2003” issue.

Please email your votes to vote@inthefray.com NO LATER THAN MONDAY, JANUARY 5. Feel free to cut and paste the list below in the text of your message.

READERS’ CHOICE: TOP TEN SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS

Now that you’ve helped us choose our top ten activists in America, we need your help again. Choose ten picks from the following list of eighteen. The question is: “Which ten organizations working on social justice issues in the United States have had the most influence over the past three decades?”

[ ] ACORN

[ ] ACT UP

[ ] The American Lung Association

[ ] Amnesty International

[ ] Center for Community Change

[ ] Center for Third World Organizing

[ ] Environmental Justice Fund

[ ] Green Party

[ ] Human Rights Campaign

[ ] Jobs with Justice

[ ] MoveOn.org

[ ] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

[ ] The National Organization for Women (NOW)

[ ] Public Citizen

[ ] Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

[ ] Reform Party/Independent Party

[ ] Schools of the Americas (SOA) Watch

[ ] Third World Majority

Optional: We’d love to hear why you chose the ten organizations that you did. Make your case for your picks in the Forum or email them with your votes. We’ll publish your comments (without your name if you prefer) in the next issue of the magazine.

BEST OF InTheFray 2003

Choose your favorite article in each of the four channels below:

IDENTIFY

[ ] Genocide is not a spectator sport
Exploring the roots of ethnic violence in Gujarat. By Anustup Nayak.
February 12, 2003

[ ] Bollywood ending? Not yet.
What digital video could mean in the world’s largest democracy. By Nicole Leistikow.
April 10, 2003

[ ] Driving us into the ground
The debate over the true cost of cars. By Nick Hoff.
June 9, 2003        

[ ] Southern hospitality
Mourning a lost home, refugees from Vietnam start over in North Carolina. By Krista Mahr and Lissa Gotwals.
September 29, 2003

[ ] The end of old-school organizing
How United for a Fair Economy is reaching across lines of class and race in the fight for economic justice. By Victor Tan Chen.
October 27, 2003

[ ] The revolution will be emailed
Can a widespread, loosely knit organization — connected only through email — make the American mainstream media take notice of the Palestinian perspective? By Tamam Mango.
November 13, 2003

[ ] The battle after Seattle
Four years after the landmark 1999 protests in Seattle, times are tougher for the global justice movement. But activists are adapting by broadening their ranks, shifting their tactics, and envisioning an alternative world. By Victor Tan Chen.
December 26, 2003
        
IMAGINE
    
[ ] A is for ambivalent
The rise, fall, and pending resurrection of an Asian American magazine. By William S. Lin.
February 10, 2003

[ ] From sparks to full blaze
Reporting Civil Rights traces the evolution of a movement and its coverage. By Andrew Curry.
April 9, 2003        

[ ] Breaking the celluloid ceiling
Asian Americans embrace the bad-boy characters of Better Luck Tomorrow. By Gavin Tachibana.
April 10, 2003

[ ] The painted ladies of Queens
When Matisse and Picasso visit Long Island City, it’s their mistresses who take center stage. By Maureen Farrell.
June 9, 2003

[ ] Not on my watch
Can A Problem From Hell make stopping genocide a priority? By Jal Mehta.
September 29, 2003

[ ] Elisabeth Leonard, Raging Granny
Faith, righteousness, and the march to stamp out war. By Henry P. Belanger.
October 27, 2003

[ ] Where give meets take
Sharing a house, a shower, and a meal at the Catholic Worker. By Maureen Farrell.
November 13, 2003

[ ] Burning Man lights a fire
The Nevada desert art event doesn’t just produce art, it produces citizens. By Katherine K. Chen.
December 22, 2003

INTERACT
        
[ ] Crying wolf
A television journalist decries bias in media coverage after 9/11. By Hari Sreenivasan.
February 12, 2003

[ ] ‘Mother-guilt’
The unscientific progress of a psychiatric resident. By C.T. Kurien.
April 10, 2003

[ ] Free at last
Saying goodbye to that nettlesome question: Is it the French Quarter, or the Freedom Quarter? By Judith Malveaux.
June 9, 2003

[ ] The other side of Lawrence
A Supreme Court victory may turn out to be the gay community’s death knell. By Adam Lovingood.
September 29, 2003

[ ] The new ‘crisis’ of democracy
The world today is witnessing an unprecedented level of popular protest — but watch out, the Empire is striking back. A conversation with Noam Chomsky.
October 27, 2003

[ ] ‘Assault on the very basis of life’
In an age of unprecedented corporate power, social movements offer the greatest hope for humanity’s survival, says Vandana Shiva. A conversation with Vandana Shiva.
November 13, 2003

[ ] It’s lonely at the top
Every generation likes to think it stands at the end of time. But there are good reasons for activists to remember their history — and remember their humility. By Larry Yates.
December 24, 2003

IMAGE

[ ] Kids in color
Nurturing the adults of tomorrow. By Lia Chang.
February 10, 2003

[ ] The peace series
Because no one wants to shoot a teddy bear. Illustrations by Genevieve Gauckler.
April 8, 2003

[ ] The propaganda remix project
Somewhere, Norman Rockwell is rolling over in his grave. Posters by Micah Wright.
April 8, 2003

[ ] The oxymoron
A war that the whole family can enjoy. Posters by John Carr.
April 8, 2003

[ ] On the front lines
Images of anti-war. By multiple contributors.
April 8, 2003

[ ] Guerilla banner drop
5:30 a.m.: We drop the flag on Union Theological Seminary. Photos by Dustin Ross.
April 8, 2003

[ ] 911: State of Emergence
Ride the Saturation Engine. Multimedia immersion courtesy of 47.
April 8, 2003

[ ] I love war!
Print them out and share the love. Stickers by DesignBum.
April 8, 2003

[ ] Por los ojos
Down a road in Central America, eyeing each other. By Alejandro Durán.
June 12, 2003

[ ] A walk in the dark
Photographs and notes from a long walk home during the Blackout of 2003. By Dustin Ross.
September 29, 2003

[ ] World trade barricade
Puppets and protests galore at the World Trade Organization’s Cancún ministerial. By Dustin Ross and Victor Tan Chen.
October 27, 2003

[ ] Fear totalitarianism
Dodging rubber bullets at the Miami FTAA ministerial. By Tom Hayden, Diane Lent, Toussaint Losier, Andy Stern, and Victor Tan Chen.
December 26, 2003

Optional: Please tell us what you think about any or all of the articles you voted for. You can post your comments in the Forum or email them with your votes. We’d love to hear what you think about the magazine in general, too — constructive criticism is always welcome.

The articles that receive the most votes will be featured in the “BEST OF InTheFray 2003” on Monday, January 12. We’ll publish readers’ comments along with the winning articles. If you don’t want your comments or name published, please let us know.

Finally, please submit your vote NO LATER THAN MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 2004 to vote@inthefray.com.

It really is that easy … no hanging chads, no confusion about whether Jewish Floridians actually voted for Pat Buchanan — just your voice and your vote.

Happy holidays, happy voting — and don’t forget to check your lists twice!

Laura Nathan
Managing Editor, InTheFray Magazine
Austin, Texas

In The Fray Contributor