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Current NAP Activities In May of 1985 the New Alliance Party held a national founding convention in Chicago. The sig- nificance of the event is blurred by the fact that its own history dates the-briginal founding of the New Alliance Party as 1979. The chairperson elected at - the 1985 Chieago-meeting was Emily Carter, an organizer from Jackson, Mississippi who joined the New Alliance Party in New York in 1981. She ; calls herself a “former organizer, now therapist.” When the New Alliance Party moved its nation- al headquaiters to Chicago, it came with a related “medical and therapeutic center.” In fact, wherever the New Alliance Party has a major or- ganizing effort underway, there is a related “therapy” group reaching out to persons with al or psychological counseling. The therapy groups use a technique they call “Social Therapy” or “Crisis Normalization” designed to provide “immediate help for the everyday crisis situations that happen to everyone.” Both the political or- ganization and the therapy institutes make a point to involve persons of color, gay men and lesbians, and political radicals. Closely allied with the New Alliance Party is That the slogans of the New Alliance Party, Rain- reflect a progressive political framework is not questioned. Here for example are some of their slogans and issues: @ Put teeth back into Civil Rights laws @ Repeal Gramm-Rudman @ Support the Fair Elections bill intro- duced by Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) @ Seek legislation that would “protect the democratic rights of gays and all One flyer explains: 2 - Political Research Associates aid for the C._A. supported contra ter- rorists and against arming South African supported mercenaries in Angola. And the Rainbow Lobby is exp>sing the Right's misuse of federal funds for AIDS. The New Alliance Party moved its national headquarters to Chicago to be closer to Minister Louis Farrakhan, The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mayor Harold Washington, according to NAP chairwoman Emily Carter. The office is located on Chicago’s north side (in the 44th Ward), and fundraisers are already soliciting support for the “Rainbow.” The NAP-related Chicago Center for Crisis Normalization is-open and another therapy center is planned for the west side. NAP or- ganizers have been recruiting in some sectors of the Black and progressive political community for almost five years, and have a presence in several Chicago colleges. oe In New York the New Alliance Party offers a free legal clinic in Harlem, sponsors lectures, and publishes its newspaper, the National Alliance. National Alliance discusion groups are held in Chicago, Illinois; Jackson, Mississippi; Long Is- land, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C. and Boston, Massachusetts. The New Alliance Party maintains regional and state offices in: Alaska, Arizona, California (Oak- land and Los Angeles), Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (Ann Arbor and Detroit), Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York (Albany, New York City and Buffalo), North Carolina, Pen- nsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tea- nessee, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Fred Newman and the Historical Roots of NAP The history of the New Alliance Party starts with a history of its primary theoretician, Dr. Fred Newman. In 1968 Newman and several followers formed “IF...THEN”, a political collective in New York City. “IF... THEN” prided itself on its ional approach to or- a group called Centers for Change in New York LOTS 106 2