Activist eyes on Shoreline jam Activist eyes on Shoreline jam (August 19, 2005)

Peace protesters decry Navy's role in KMEL concert

By Jon Wiener

Local peace groups are taking on the military again, and this time the backdrop is hip-hop.

Activists from throughout the Bay Area are planning to descend on Shoreline Amphitheater this Sunday for a counter-recruiting demonstration at local radio station KMEL's annual Summer Jam concert.

A coalition of more than 40 organizations has asked the Clear Channel-owned station to cut its ties with recruiters from the U.S. Navy. The Navy is co-sponsoring Sunday's sold out show -- which features several socially-conscious local artists -- and will reportedly have a "heavy recruiting presence," including a booth and videos on the venue's screens.

Jennifer Low, an organizer with the San Francisco-based women's peace group Code Pink, said that neither Clear Channel nor KMEL has responded to their request.

The Navy's sponsorship of the event comes at a time when military recruiters are increasingly targeting urban youth and hip-hop culture in order to reverse a trend of declining enlistment.

Low referred to this as a "poverty draft," and said the goal of the counter-recruitment demonstration is "to provide alternatives for youth so they don't have to turn to the military to get money."

The protesters will be demonstrating outside the amphitheater, which is owned by the city but operated by Texas-based Clear Channel, and are seeking to purchase tickets so they can distribute information to concertgoers.

Shoreline general manager Matt Prieshoff declined to comment on the demonstration, and a spokesperson for the company did not return a phone call.

As of Voice press time a number of anti-war demonstrations were also scheduled for Wednesday evening, including one at Mountain View's City Hall. Peace activists were planning to hold vigils in support of Cindy Sheehan, the Vacaville woman who has camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch in an effort to speak to him about her son's death in Iraq.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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