The 48th Annual Eugene V. Debs - Norman Thomas - Michael Harrington Dinner was held on Friday evening, April 28, at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, just across the Chicago River from the Loop. It was held on the eve of a major anti-war demonstration in New York City that drew some 350,000 participants. A few days later, on May 1st, there were demonstrations across the nation in support of immigrant rights. The march and rally in Chicago was estimated to have drawn nearly a half-million participants.

The honorees at the 2006 Dinner were particularly appropriate. Henry Tamarin was the President of UNITE HERE Local 1. Representing workers in the hospitality industry, particularly hotels, immigrants made up much of his membership, and in fact Local 1 had a sizable delegation in the May 1st march. For the first time, the Dinner honored an organization: U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW). USLAW was one of the initiators of the April 29th anti-war march in New York City. And the Rev. Dr. Calvin Morris was the Executive Director of the Community Renewal Society, a civil rights organization with roots going back to the 19th Century in Chicago, and was a co-chair of Chicago Jobs with Justice, a Labor-Community organization active in supporting the organization of low-wage workers and in support of peace.

The featured speaker was John Nichols, a radical journalist whose work appeared regularly in The Nation and Wisconsin's Capitol Times. He turned out to be a really fine speaker as well. To see the advertising flyer, click here. The Dinner Program Book is below. For an article describing the event, see New Ground 106.

Photos by Tom Broderick.