BY BUSTER SOUTHERLY
Former Rio Rancho High School humanities and poetry teacher/coach Bill Nevins of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was given a 2004 Courageous Resister Award by the Artists Network of Refuse and Resist, a national organisation, in a well-attended public ceremony on August 26 at New York University in Manhattan.
Controversial country star Steve Earle presented Nevins with his award. Nevins was joined by more than a dozen other "resisters", each cited in the Unconventional Heroes program notes for "their acts of defiance, at times in the face of grave consequences for both them and their loved ones".
Nevins was praised for his work with at-risk and other students engaged in creative writing and poetry performances in the Rio Rancho high schools, and for his active protest of censorship of "controversial" opinions at the school in the time leading up to the start of the 2003 Iraq War.
Other recipients of the 2004 Courageous Resister Award included Michael Berg, father of independent civilian contractor Nick Berg who was beheaded in Iraq; Rachel Corrie, a human rights volunteer killed in Palestine; Concientious objector Camilo Mejia, who is currently serving a one-year prison sentence for desertion after going AWOl to avoid fighting in Iraq; Juanita Young, mother of Malcolm Ferguson who was killed in controversial circumstances by NY police in 2000; Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder; the Californian librarians who defied the USAPATRIOT Act by shredding library patrons' records and posting warning signs about FBI powers to subpoena library records; and Dave Meserve, a Arcata, California city council member who initiated a successful city ordinance making voluntary cooperation with the USAPATRIOT Act a crime punishable by a US$57 fine.
Nevins commented, "It was humbling to be in the presence of these fine people, my fellow award recipients, many of whom have suffered so gravely, yet achieved so much. At the same time it was a deep honour and a true thrill to receive this award on behalf of the creative, hard-working students of the Rio Rancho poetry team and all joyful, outspoken youth.
"It was a very encouraging experience for me personally to receive this award, and I hope that this will encourage creativity and freedom of expression in our schools and among our youth. That's the American way, as I see it, isn't it?"
Nevins has offered to provide funds to re-start the disbanded Slam Poetry Team at Rio Rancho high school's . He is working to establish a Poetic Justice Institute to encourage creativity and freedom of expression in New Mexico and nationally.
A video of the Courageous Resisters Unconventional Heroes 2004 Award ceremony is available via Bill Nevins. A film documentary of the Nevins case is in preparation.
Information on the Courageous Resister Awards and the Unconventional Heroes event is available online at the Refuse and Resist website
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, September 29, 2004.
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