Check Out Our New Speakers Bureau!

Now is Your Opportunity to Work with Our Network of Local, National, and International Organizers and Educators 

Over the last forty two years, the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) has worked with hundreds of community organizations and public policy groups - providing technical assistance, training organizers, making and administering grants, and using our global network of grassroots organizers, clergy, and other professionals to advance the struggles of oppressed people for justice and self-determination. 

We have built a network of strong, dynamic and powerful people. They all have unique perspectives and experience. But they have one thing in common, a strong record of community organizing and working for Peace with Justice. 

Through the IFCO Speakers’ Bureau we can connect you with individuals who will educate and inspire people to think critically and engage their communities in the struggle for social and economic justice. 

Contact us to schedule an event with your campus or community and find out about costs and availability: 212-926-5757, ifco@igc.org  

Our Speakers: 

Below you will find a selection of available speakers. Next to their names and biographies, you will find a listing of the topics they are most skilled in speaking about, as well as any books or publications they have written.

Please feel free to suggest to us other topics you are interested in. We will be pleased to work with you to best fit our talented roster into your classroom and community program plans.  

Every speaker has his/her own area of knowledge and experience. From organizing and participating in acts of civil disobedience, to fighting for basic rights in their own communities, authoring books that change the way we think about the world, you are sure to find a speaker to enrich your curriculum and add to your community. 

Films are also available to be presented with or without a speaker. The films that are currently available are also listed below. Possible topics include:

- Art and Social Change-

- Black Liberation and Civil Rights

- Central America

- Chiapas-

Cuba, including, but not limited to: US/Cuba Relations       Latin American School of Medicine Scholarship Opportunity for US Students, Healthcare and Education, Afro-Cuban Culture, Sustainable Development,The Cuban Five (see below: ‘Mission Against Terror’ for more information)

- Haiti

- Non-Violent Organizing: Strategy and Action

- Race Relations and Racism

- Theology and Social Justice

- Youth Empowerment

- War Resistance 

As we begin to build our website to reflect the launching of the IFCO Speakers Bureau you will notice many exciting changes! For now, while we are under construction, please contact us for a full biography for any of the speakers you are interested in learning more about.  

Rev. Lucius Walker: Cuba,  Latin American School of Medicine Scholarship Opportunity for US Students, Non-Violent Organizing: Strategy and Action, Theology and Social Justice  

Ellen Bernstein:  Cuba, Healthcare in Cuba, Latin American School of Medicine Scholarship Opportunity for US Students, The Cuban Five Author: Healthcare in Cuba: Dedicated to Health and Healing in Cuba and Throughout the World 

Rev. Thomas Smith: Cuba, Non-Violent Organizing: Strategy and Action, Theology and Social Justice 

Claudia De Le Cruz: Theology and Social Justice, Youth Empowerment  

Rev Joseph Barndt, Ph.D: Race Relations and Racism, Theology and Social JusticeAuthor: Understanding and Dismantling Racism: The Twenty-First Century Challenge to White America (2007, Fortress Press), Dismantling Racism (1991, Augsburg Fortress Publishers), Why Black Power? (1968), Liberating Our White Ghetto (1972, Augsburg Publishing House), Beyond Brokenness (1980, Friendship Press) 

Fr. Luis Barrios, Ph.D: Cuba, Theology and Social Justice, Youth and the Criminal Justice SystemAuthor: Josconiando: Dimensiones Sociales y políticas de la espiritualidad (2000, Editorial Aguiar), Pitirreando: De la desesperanza a la esperanza (2004, Editorial Edil).Co-editor: Gangs and Society: Alternative Perspective (2003, Columbia University) Co-author: Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation: Street Politics and the Transformation of a New York City Gang (2004, Columbia University) 

Alicia Jrapko: Cuba, The Cuban Five 

William Sales, Ph.D:  Black Liberation and Civil Rights, Latin American School of Medicine Scholarship Opportunity for US Students, Race Relations and Racism Author: From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (1994, South End Press), Southern Africa/Black America: Same Struggle, Same Fight (1977, Black Liberation Press). 

Carol Cross: Cuba, Latin American School of Medicine Scholarship Opportunity for US Students 

Bill Hackwell: Art and Social Change, Chiapas, CubaPresentation Includes Photo Exhibit Photos appear: Combat Photographer (1984, Time Life Education), Reflexes and Reflections (1998, Abrams), The Impact of Sanctions on Iraq: The Children are Dying (1996, Plough Publishing House) 

Bill Hill: Cuba, War Resistance 

Manolo de los Santos:  Cuba, Youth Empowerment  

Films These films are available as part of a presentation with a speaker from our bureau, or available for purchase through IFCO/Pastors for Peace. For more information, and clips from the films, please see our website:www.ifconews.org 

Bloqueo (VHS and DVD) - Filmed during the 2001 Cuba caravan, this film has Caravanistas (participants in the Caravan) and Cubans explaining how the US blockade works, its impact on Cubans, and the achievements of their society.  This is a good educational film for people new to the issues. 45 minutes.  

Who’s afraid of A Little Yellow School Bus?(DVD) - During the 2nd US/Cuba Friendshipment in 1993, US Treasury officials seized a yellow school bus at the Texas border. The 13 Caravanistas on board decided to stay on the bus and to fast until it was released.  Their hunger strike lasted 23 days, while an international campaign of pressure on Washington was mounted to get the bus released and delivered to Cuba. They won. 30 minutes. 

Mission Against Terror (DVD) - By Bernie Dwyer (Ireland) and Roberto Ruiz (Cuba). A superb 2005 documentary about the Cuban Five patriots imprisoned in the US for life sentences on charges of conspiracy to commit espionage. It shows their actual role in infiltrating ultra right wing terrorist organizations in South Florida to prevent attacks against the Cuban people. 48 minutes. 

The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (DVD) - When Cuba lost all of its trade with the Soviet Union in 1991 it faced the kinds of shortages of oil that one day the rest of the world will face. This film by Community Solutions shows all the imaginative ways that Cuba coped with the crisis and offers inspiring lessons for the rest of the world in community growth and sustainability. This film is a project of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions 55 minutes. 

UNDER the Radar (DVD) - A documentary film that introduces viewers to the history of Afro-Cuban music and samples Cuba's current music scene. The film's producer/director, jazz saxophonist J. Plunky Branch, documents and highlights the musical collaborations of Afro-Cuban musicians and rappers with noted African-American jazz musicians and hip-hop producer Sir Fire. Branch, Sir Fire, and executive producer Alvin Bailey traveled to Havana, Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba to record a variety of Afro-Cuban artists performing and sharing music, history, and culture; and interacting “Under the Radar.” 85 minutes. 

VENEZUELA RISING (DVD) - This movie was shot in 2004 during the recall referendum which resulted in the continuation of Hugo Chavez’ presidency. It gives a people’s perspective on the programs pursued by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that are having a historic impact on improving the lives of that nation’s poor, including the health, education and service missions. This film was produced by Alvin Bailey and filmed by Jennifer Wager. 60 minutes.