Saturday, October 3, 2015

Baltimore Activist Alert - October 6 - 7, 2015


19] Voting Rights Act – Oct. 6

20] New Jim Crow – Oct. 6

21] Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards – Oct. 6

22] Peace vigil – Oct. 6

23] Dreaming Radical Resistance – Oct. 6

24] Race & politics – Oct. 6

25] Black Lives Spokes Council – Oct. 6

26] Vigil against JHU’s drone research – Oct. 6

27] Peace Academy courses – Oct. 6

28] Refugees in Europe – Oct. 7

29] Larry Egbert tells his story – Oct. 7

30] Fundraising workshop – Oct. 7

31] Latino Heritage Month – Oct. 7

32] Novel: activist goes underground – Oct. 7

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19] – The Center for American Progress and the American Constitution Society will host Ari Berman, Laughlin McDonald, and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) in a panel discussion on the history of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the current state of voting rights in America at the Center for American Progress, 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor, WDC, on Tues., Oct. 6 from 9:30 AM to 11 AM.  Introductory remarks will be given by Katie O’Connor, director of policy development and programming at the American Constitution Society, and the panel will be moderated by Julie Fernandes of the Open Society Foundations. Largely seen as the one of the greatest achievements of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act, or VRA, of 1965 enfranchised voters throughout America by outlawing measures taken by states to limit African American participation in the democratic process. The legislation was widely heralded as a colossal victory for communities of color and did more to empower African Americans than perhaps any law since the Fourteenth Amendment. Yet, in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a critical provision of the law and effectively rendered a significant portion of the act toothless. Now, just months after the 50th anniversary of the VRA, renewed conservative efforts to limit voting rights demonstrate that the nation needs new laws to guarantee access for all Americans to the most fundamental pillar of U.S. democracy.  Contact Tanya S. Arditi at tarditi@americanprogress.org or 202.741.6258.



20] – For generations, the people most directly impacted by different forms of racial and economic oppression have led the movements to end those various permutations of discrimination. Today, formerly incarcerated people and people with criminal records are leading the fight to end mass criminalization and the New Jim Crow. Come and have lunch with one of these emerging leaders fighting for the restoration of the human rights of people with criminal records in the IPS Conference Room, 1112 16th St. NW, Suite 600, WDC, on Tues., Oct. 6 from 12:30 to 1:30 PM.



21] -- On Sept. 21, 1976, agents of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet detonated a car bomb that killed IPS colleagues Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean diplomat and director of the Transnational Institute, and Ronni Karpen Moffitt, an IPS development associate, in Washington, DC.  Each year in October the Institute for Policy Studies hosts​ ​the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards ​to honor these fallen colleagues​​ while celebrating new champions of the human rights movement from the United States and abroad. 2015​ marks the 39th Annual Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Awards​.​ IPS will lift up the outstanding work of Daryl Atkinson and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Almudena Bernabeu and the Center for Justice and Accountability at the Carnegie Institution for Science, 1530 P St. NW, WDC 20005, on Tues., Oct. 6 from 5:30 to 9 PM.  Go to http://act.ips-dc.org/site/Calendar?id=100461&view=Detail.te.  Call 202-787-5272.



22] – Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq gathers at the Suburban Station, 16th St. & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine.  The next vigil is Oct. 6.  Call 215-426-0364.



23] – On Tues.., Oct. 6 at to 6 PM at the Hotel Indigo, 24 W. Franklin St., be a part of Dreaming Radical Resistance: Defining Black LGBTQ Liberation.  Marriage Equality is now law of the land. Yet 40% of all homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, 17 Trans* women of color have been murdered in 2015 alone, and reports of police brutality are rising. As we continue to fight for social justice, this panel will ask how we can build a definition of freedom that truly leaves no one in our community behind.  The SpeakFire! Series is a brave space for Black LGBTQ folks and allies to reflect on our histories of great resistance and love.



The Center for Black Equity-Baltimore, STAR TRACK Adolescent Health Program at University of Maryland, GLSEN Baltimore, Black Trans*Advocacy, Sistas of the “T”, and FreeState Legal Project have partnered together to host these panels with the understanding that all black lives matter. Contact Saida at sagostini@freestatelegal.org or 410.625.5428. See www.freestatelegal.org.



24] – On Tues., Oct. 6 at 6:30 PM at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Sts. (2021 14th St. NW), WDC, join April Ryan, Washington Bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks and author of “The Presidency in Black and White,” for a discussion of race in relation to politics, the news, and American culture, past and present—with special focus on the recent rise in racial incidents, their origins, and possible solutions.


Ryan will moderate a panel of distinguished writers including: Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, author of “Let’s Get Free,” and currently a law professor at Georgetown University; Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown professor of sociology, and author of sixteen books, including Can You Hear Me Now? and April 4, 1968; and Joy-Ann Reid, National Correspondent for NBC/MSNBC, former managing editor of TheGrio.com, and author of “Fracture,” a profile of the Democratic Party in the age of the Clintons and Obama. See http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/race-america-today-panel-discussion-april-ryan-paul-butler-michael-eric-dyson-and-joy-ann.



25] – At 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC, on Tues., Oct. 6 from 6:30 to 9 PM, attend the 5th DC Movement for Black Lives SpokesCouncil. This meeting is open to solidarity groups, and organizations can send two representatives. Read the “5 Pillars of White Supremacy in DC” to gain a better understanding of the group.  This meeting will focus on debriefs from the subcommittees and planning for November's week of action.  From 6:30 to 7 PM, this is for unaffiliated individuals to get connected to organization.  The Spokes will meet from 7 to 9 PM.  Email wellexaminedlife@gmail.com.



26] – On Tues., Oct. 6 there will not be a protest against JHU's drone research, as the Pledge of Resistance intends to gather outside the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St, Baltimore 21201.  An alleged war criminal is part of the Baltimore Speakers Series: Leon Panetta. Panetta is scheduled to speak at 8 PM.  After serving in the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years, President Clinton selected Panetta as Director of the Office of Management and Budget in 1993, and then in 1994 appointed him White House Chief of Staff. President Obama selected Panetta to run the CIA in 2009, and later he was Secretary of War from 2011–2013.  We will protest Panetta from 7 to 8 PM to condemn war, killer drone strikes and income inequality. RSVP to Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.



27] – The Peace Academy has four course offerings ranging from family peace-keeping strategies to nonviolent communication tactics. Each is to be conducted at The Perry School, 128 M St. NW, WDC, or interested parties can arrange a course at their particular sites. Registration can be completed online at www.lffp.org or by contacting MJ Park at mjpeace@gmail.com or 240-838-4549. Details for the first course is listed below.
 

Course I: Live Teach, Peace Teach has three sessions: 1] Growing peace from within on Tues., Oct. 6 from 7 to 8:30 PM; 2] Using multi-sensory tools to teach peacemaking on Tues., Oct. 13 from 7 to 8:30 PM; and 3] Disarming one's heart and resolving a conflict on Tues., Oct. 20 from  7 to 8:30 PM.  The cost is $45 per session or $120 for all three.



28] – Come to American University, Kay Lounge, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC, on Wed., Oct. 7 at noon, as the Kay Spiritual Life Center strives to provide forums for students to explore contemporary issues of ethical concern. Their signature lunch-time lecture series, Table Talks, brings together the University and wider D.C. communities several times each semester to reflect upon the pressing issues of the twenty-first century.  Their next upcoming series about refugees in Europe will be moderated by SIS Professor Hrach and sponsored by the Office of University Chaplain, with the following speakers: Ali E. Erol, professor in the School of International Service at American University, Susan Fratzke, a Policy Analyst and Program Coordinator with MPI's International Program, where she primarily works with the Transatlantic Council on Migration, and Nancy Iris, the Deputy Director of the Office of Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, U.S. Department of State. Lunch will be provided.  RSVP at kslu@american.edu or 202-885-3321.



29] – On Wed., Oct. 7 starting at 7 PM, hear Beginnings and Endings: Stories about birth and death, creation and destruction, sparks and flame-outs at the Senator Theatre, 5904 York Rd., Baltimore 21212. Dr. Larry Egbert will be one of the participants, telling a seven minute story. The Creative Alliance kicks off its 10th Anniversary Season with a night of true, personal tales at the Art Deco gem that is the Senator. Start with drinks and live music from chamber rock band Community Center.  At 8 PM, hear the Stoop Stories.   A Stoop 3-show Season Pass is $55, and it can be purchased at http://brownpapertickets.com/event/2220417. Buy a single ticket for $20 at http://brownpapertickets.com/event/2220399All seats are general admission.  You can buy tickets at 1-800-838-3006.  Got a true, personal tale to tell for this -- or any -- Stoop show? Email three sentences summarizing your story to info@stoopstorytelling.com. Give a beginning, middle and end. 



30] – Come to the Washington Peace Center, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC, on Wed., Oct. 7 from 7 to 9 PM for a fundraising workshop.  This interactive workshop will discuss why grassroots fundraising matters, dispel myths about who gives, and help us get over our fears in fundraising.  It will focus on strategies for end-of-the-year fundraising and components of an annual grassroots fundraising plan.  



This training is part of the DC Trainers’ Network's monthly program, which is a structured, interactive space where people can share skills and gain confidence in their training abilities and everybody is both a teacher and a learner. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/622578941217326/.



31] – On Wed., Oct. 7 from 7 to 10 PM, on behalf of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission, celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and recognize the important contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.  GHRC will be hosting an evening of great music and food at Haydee’s Restaurant, 3102 Mt. Pleasant St. NW, WDC, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet other supporters and learn more about the work of GHRC. The restaurant is generously donating a portion of sales from the night to GHRC. Contact GHRC Board Member Janet Hernandez at janet.hdez@gmail.com



32] – On Wed., Oct. 7 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201,  Diana Block presents her book “Clandestine Occupations - An Imaginary History” on  Wednesday October 7, 7:30PM @ Red Emma's. When San Francisco activist Luba Gold goes underground in 1984 to support the Puerto Rican Independence movement, a far-flung network of women is confronted with the risks of prison, the terrible costs of betrayal, and the exhilarating possibilities of love through struggle. Based on lived experience, Diana Block's bold new novel spans two generations of radical women, their lovers, children and friends. This is revolutionary feminism in epic form, from the passions of Solidarity to the awakenings of Occupy and even beyond--to a beautifully imagined insurgency of the Future. Block has been an activist since the 1970s and a founding member of San Francisco Women Against Rape, Prairie Fire Organizing Committee, and California Coalition for Women Prisoners. She is the author of the memoir “Arm the Spirit: A Woman’s Journey Underground and Back.” Call 443-602-7585.  Go to http://www.redemmas.org



To be continued.



Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.



"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs 

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