NACLA Turns 30 In a series of meetings held in the fall of 1966, representatives of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Student Non- violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the University Christian Movement joined with a group of returned Peace Corps vol- unteers to found the North Ameri- can Congress on Latin America. A few months later, in February, 1967, the first issue of the NACLA News- letter-later to become NACLA's Latin America and Empire Report and then NACLA Report on the Americas-appeared. NACLA's young founders, immersed in a movement which proclaimed its independence of "anyone over thir- ty," probably never imagined that the organization they founded would some day cross the thresh- hold between youth and middle age. But it's official, friends-NACLA is 30 years old this year. We are celebrating our birthday in a number of ways. A series of "anniversary essays," inaugurated in the September/October 1996 issue, looks back at some of the key ideas and events that played a role in shaping our views of the world over these past 30 years. Our spe- cial thirtieth anniversary issue-- July/August 1997-will offer a wide-ranging set of interviews with progressive activists and political leaders across the hemisphere. In addition, we are planning at least one big benefit concert to be held in New York sometime this fall, as well as an anniversary conference, in which the broader NACLA com- munity can grapple with the issues raised every two months in the Report. As usual, given the current fund- ing climate, we rely more than ever on you, the NACLA community, to make this all happen. There are a few things you can do right now to help celebrate our landmark anniversary, and to help support our future development. For starters, you can take out an ad in our com- memorative thirtieth anniversary issue. (See the bind-in card inside the front cover.) Your ads-from one-line greetings to full pagers-- will provide us with needed revenue and, together with a collection of commemorative interviews and essays, help create a truly special collector's item. The bigger and bet- ter this special issue, of course, the more funds we can raise through its distribution. In addition, you have, or will soon receive, a special thirtieth anniversary request to support NACLA's work with a tax-deductible contribution by joining or renewing your membership to our donor pro- gram, NACLA Associates. If you haven't made a donation to NACLA before, or if it's been a while, we hope that this thirtieth anniversary will provide the perfect incentive and opportunity. If you are already a member of our donor program, you might con- sider renewing at a higher level this year in honor of the occasion. As always, with a contribution of $100 or more, we will automatically extend your subscription for a full year. And, as is our custom, we will be offering valuable premiums in acknowledgment of each and every gift. To further express our thanks, all anniversary donations will be recognized (separately from the ad greetings) in the anniversary issue. As we celebrate our anniversary in this "post-Cold-War" era, NACLA is still committed to uncovering the truth about the impact of U.S. and transnational institutions on the peoples of the Americas. We are equally commit- ted to investigating the economic, political and cultural forces at work within Latin America itself. There are few other places to turn for a comprehensive progressive analysis of the rise of civil society, the impact of neoliberal policies, con- tinued impunity and human rights violations, or the strength of the region's indigenous movements. And we are presenting this analysis to an increasingly diverse audience interested in the fate of progressive movements and forces throughout the region. ew other alternative publica- tions have a readership of such loyalty, longevity and diversity as NACLA's. Our unique journalistic-scholarly format is reflected in our unusually eclectic subscriber list, consisting of activists, researchers, policymakers, students, journalists and many oth- ers. Indeed, while many like-minded publications from the 1960s have vanished, NACLA's readers have kept its project alive through their subscriptions and contributions. So when you read NACLA Report on the Americas, and support NACLA with your contributions, you are reaffirming the vital com- mitment of NACLA's founders "to encourage, produce and distribute information designed to identify and explain those elements and relationships of forces in the United States and Latin America which inhibit and frustrate urgently needed profound social change." Even if we're over 30, you can still trust us to bring you the most accurate, complete and revealing coverage of the difficult new era now unfolding throughout the Americas.
