Baltimore Activist Alert - November 12 -15, 2015

39] FCNL annual meeting – Nov. 12 - 15

40] Race and Justice in America – Nov. 12

41] Cost of food – Nov. 12

42] Nuclear Weapons and International Stability – Nov. 12

43] Million Student March is coming – Nov. 12

44] Conversation with environmental journalist – Nov. 12

45] Energy, Health, & Climate Expo – Nov. 12

46] Middle East Institute's 69th Annual Awards Banquet – Nov. 12

47] Baltimore Rising – Nov. 12 & 14

48] Syrian Refugee Crisis – Nov. 12

49] Harvard’s hidden history – Nov. 12

50] Pledge meeting – Nov. 12

51] We too sing – Nov. 12

52] GMOM conference call –Nov. 12

53] Stifled Verse – Nov. 12

54] Middle East Institute's annual conference – Nov. 13

55] Peace vigil at White House – Nov. 13

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39] – From Thurs., Nov. 12 through Sun., Nov. 15, the Friend Committee on National Legislation (Quakers), will hold its annual meeting at the Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Ave. NW, WDC. For Building Pathways to Peace go to http://fcnl.org/events/annual_meeting/2015/.  Each day begins with breakfast at 7 AM. On Thursday, the day ends at 7 PM with the opening plenary --"From War Is Not the Answer to Peacebuilding."  On Friday, the day’s conclusion is a panel at 7 PM -- "Creating the Structures to Support Peacebuilding."  On Saturday, the evening concludes at 7 PM with a plenary: "The World We Seek: Now Is the Time."  The annual meeting will close at noon on Sunday.

40] – Race and Justice in America: An Atlantic Summit is happening at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U St. NW, WDC on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 10 AM to 4 PM. In his October 2015 cover story, "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the devastating impact decades of mass incarceration has had on African-American families.  A breakthrough event pegged to this landmark piece will provide a definitive exploration and razor-edged analysis of the complicated history of the nation’s justice system and the future of prison reform. RSVP at http://www.theatlantic.com/live/events/race-and-justice-in-america-an-atlantic-summit/2015/.

41] – Come to the Founders Room, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 10:30 AM to noon to hear about the cost of food.  Imagine if the price you paid for a hamburger included factors such as heart disease, the number one cause of death worldwide; or the runoff of manure spread on fields from concentrated animal feeding operations; or injuries to workers in slaughterhouses and processing plants; or the poor animal welfare practices in livestock operations. It would certainly be more than US$.99 and would not be part of the value menu.  True Cost Accounting assigns value to the social, environmental, and health impacts of producing food. This fall, Food Tank is hosting a special event on True Cost Accounting with the Union of Concerned Scientists and GRACE Communications Foundation.

“It’s not an accident that we grow so much corn and soybean commodity crops. It’s not an accident that we only use two percent of land for fruits and vegetables,” said Jenn Yates of the Union of Concerned Scientists. This special event will spotlight the external costs of producing food and prove there is no such thing as cheap food. In fact, True Cost Accounting has the potential to make industrial food production seem extremely harmful and overly expensive, while sustainable food production is not only necessary, but more affordable. Go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-real-cost-of-food-tickets-18056258756

42] – On Thurs., Nov. 12 from 12:30 to 1:30 PM., Elbridge Colby, Center for a New American Security, and Ward Wilson, British American Security Council, are participating in a "Stimson Debate: Nuclear Weapons and International Stability" at the Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, Eighth Floor, WDC. RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1dl6uXf_5DIyJZiZHMfm-4uckfyrjCfnlbn8UKuw1vP0/viewform.

43] – Join a meeting of UDC's Million Student March and demand an end to oppressive student debt, high tuitions, and financial reform on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 2 to 4 PM at 4200 Connecticut Ave., Building 39, 2nd Floor Windows Lounge, WDC.  The march is calling for the following demands: a. National Student Debt Cancellation, b. Free Tuition at Public Universities, c. 15 dollar living wage for campus workers and d. UDC Financial Aid Reform. Email Gary.saucedo@UDC.edu.

44] – Jeff Goodell is a contributing editor with Rolling Stone Magazine writing on energy and climate change. He most recently interviewed President Obama in Alaska about the role United States can play in combating climate change. In the Abramson Family Founders Room, SIS Building, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 2:30 to 4 PM, enjoy a conversation with the journalist, moderated by Professor Paul Wapner of the Global Environmental Politics Program in the School of International Service. Professor Wapner researches global environmental politics, environmental thought, transnational environmental activism, and environmental ethics. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/986008898129769/.

45] – Meet the Maryland Climate Coalition at the Energy, Health, & Climate Expo: Renewing Maryland Together on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 5 to 8 PM at the Boys and Girls Club, 2002 Cedar Drive, Edgewood, MD 21040.  RSVP at! https://environmentmaryland.webaction.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=9476.   Hear what your local legislators are doing to respond to climate change and shift Maryland to cleaner renewable energy.

The Baltimore Green Forum is an enthusiastic partner in this Expo. The Expo will feature dozens of organizations and green businesses that can help you save energy and money by going green at home, including: The Empowers: energy-saving superheroes! * Mom’s Clean Air Force * Groundswell clean energy purchasing groups * Ranger Rick & The National Wildlife Federation * Breathe Easy Home * ZeroDraft Energy Efficiency * Blue Water Baltimore * Baltimore Green Forum * Physicians for Social Responsibility * Gunpowder Valley Conservancy * Interfaith Power & Light * Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake * Maryland Sierra Club * Pearlstone Center’s Community Sustainability Program * Baltimore Metropolitan Council’s Air Quality and Bike Safety Program * Maryland Working Families * Institute for Policy Studies * and more!

46] – Register for the Middle East Institute's 69th Annual Awards Banquet on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 6 to 8 PM at the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1101 16th St. NW,  WDC.  The banquet will honor Egyptian-American global financial thought-leader Mohamed A. El-Erian with the MEI Visionary Award and Emirati curator and arts educator Sheikha Hoor al Qasimi with the Issam M. Fares Award for Excellence. General admission tickets are $200, with discounted rates for Patron, Sustaining, and Contributing Members of MEI.

El-Erian is the chief economic advisor at Allianz, a global financial services company, and former CEO of PIMCO. The chairman of President Barack Obama's Global Development Council, El-Erian has been named to Foreign Policy's list of "Top 100 Global Thinkers" for four consecutive years. His 2008 book, “When Markets Collide,” is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

 Al Qasimi is president of the Sharjah Art Foundation, which supports arts in the Gulf by nurturing artistic opportunities and promoting cultural exchange. She is the director of the Sharjah Biennial, one of the most celebrated cultural events in the region, which showcases the work of local and international artists. See http://www.mei.edu/Banquet.

47] – April’s uprising revealed deep injustices in Baltimore: prevailing structural racism and economic inequality. We also saw a growing movement demanding to be heard. United Workers took action with the labor union UNITE HERE, talking with over one thousand residents in East and West Baltimore. There were repeated demands for sustainable communities, affordable housing, and local jobs. So committees were formed in East and West Baltimore to build on this program. It is time to launch a grassroots campaign to demand a Fair Development Future that meets the needs for housing, jobs and sustainable, safe communities.

Come together for the "Baltimore Rising" Platform Launch events--West Baltimore District 9 on Thurs., Nov. 12  for dinner and a community program at the Metropolitan UMC, 1121 Lanvale St. from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.  RSVP at http://www.unitedworkers.org/baltimore_rising_platform_launch?utm_campaign=platform_launch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=unitedworkers.

The East Baltimore District 13 Platform Launch takes place on Sat., Nov. 14 from 11 AM to 1 PM at St. Wenceslaus Church, 2100 East Madison St., Baltimore 21205.  RSVP at Risinhttp://www.unitedworkers.org/baltimore_rising_district_13_platform_launch?utm_campaign=platform_launch&utm_medium=email&utm_source=unitedworkers.  Go to www.unitedworkers.org.

48] – Come to a forum The Syrian Refugee Crisis & the U.S.:  What is Our Responsibility? Three experts on the Syrian crisis will address the issues faced by refugees, the role of the U.S. in creating and solving this crisis, and what the U.S. can do to assist and welcome Syrian refugees. Speakers include Pam Bailey, human rights activist and journalist; Phyllis Bennis, author of numerous books and articles on U.S. policy in the Middle East; and Rafif Jouejati, Syrian activist and director of FREE-Syria. The forum will be moderated by Andy Shallal, activist and owner of Busboys and Poets.  The forum starts at 7 PM on Thurs., Nov. 12 at the Takoma Park Busboys and Poets, 235 Carroll St. NW, WDC 20012.  Go to http://www.peaceactionmc.org/?utm_campaign=call_re_syria&utm_medium=email&utm_source=fundourcommunities.

49] – On Thurs., Nov. 12 from 7 to 9 PM @ Potter’s House,1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, hear from contributors George Katsiaficas and John Trumpbour on the newly published book “Vertia$: Harvard’s Hidden History” by Shin Eun-jung. Verita$ is a critical examination and hidden history of Harvard’s monumental but disconcerting global influence and power, such as the school's involvement in the Salem witch trials, eugenics in the early twentieth century and Nazi Germany, its massive endowment, restrictive labor policies, ties to U.S. foreign policy and neoliberalism, and more. Harvard’s motto is “Veritas,” which means “truth” in Latin. As the author reviews Harvard’s history, she questions the real meaning of truth and changes the letter “s” to by Shin Eun-jung. A critical examination of Harvard’s monumental but disconcerting global influence and power, this book examines aspects of Harvard’s history not generally known. The “hidden history” announced in the book’s title begins with analysis of Harvard’s involvement in the Salem witch trials and the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti. Similarly disquieting, Harvard provided students as strikebreakers in both the 1912 Bread and Roses textile workers strike and the 1919 Boston police strike. Harvard administrators and scientists promoted eugenics in the early twentieth century and had a deep impact on Nazi Germany’s race theories. Its contemporary ties to U.S. foreign policy and neoliberalism are also profound. Harvard’s management of Russian economic reform left nightmarish memories, and the university was compelled to pay more than $26 million after the U.S. government sued it. The book also examines Harvard’s investment policy for its massive endowment, its restrictive labor polices, and its devastation of the adjoining Allston-Brighton neighborhood into which it is expanding. 

 Katsiaficas is author or editor of eleven books, including “The Imagination of the New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968,” the first book to place sixties movements in their worldwide context. Born in North Carolina, Trumpbour earned a BA in history at Stanford University and later received a PhD in history at Harvard. He edited  ”How Harvard Rules: Reason in the Service of Empire” (South End Press) and is the author of “Selling Hollywood to the World: U.S. and European Struggles for Mastery of the Global Film Industry, 1920–1950” (Cambridge University Press), which won the Allan Nevins Prize from the Society of American Historians. He is currently Research Director for the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. Go to http://pottershousedc.org/event-blog/2015/11/12/verita-havards-hidden-history-book-event.  

50] – The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore now meets on Thursdays at 7:30 PM, and the meetings take place at Max’s residence.  There will be a meeting on Thurs., Nov. 12 at 7:30 PM.  The agenda will include Freddie Gray & local organizing, killer drones and Obama, the Drone Report, the Green Party, the $2.7 billion blimps and the unending wars. Call 410-366-1637 or email mobuszewski at verizon.net.

51] – On Thurs., Nov. 12 at 7:30 PM @ Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, Deepa Iyer presents “We Too Sing America.”  Fourteen years after 9/11, our country continues to contend with public policies and misleading media narratives that have scapegoated South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh immigrant communities. We have "yet to fully confront the scope and effects of racial anxiety, Islamophobia and xenophobia," writes Iyer in her new book, “We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future” (The New Press).

Iyer’s book weaves stories of young activists who work across intersections of race, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, and faith in order to push back against the issues that are making news headlines today. Iyer’s book also places post 9/11 America in a larger context - that of America’s changing racial demographics. As communities of color grow in population size, how will they gain economic, political and cultural power and equity? What are the roles of South Asian, Arab and Muslim immigrants in fostering multiracial unity by centralizing Black liberation? Iyer’s book examines these questions in light of post 9/11 America, the changing racial landscape, and today’s people-centered movements for social change.  Go to www.deepaiyer.com. She tweets at @dviyer.  Call 443-602-7585.  Go to http://www.redemmas.org. 

52] –   Members of Get Money Out of Maryland will attend League of Women Voters meetings throughout the State to explain why the Article V resolution is a great way to build a movement for the 28th Amendment.  Contact GMOM for a schedule of meetings -- http://www.getmoneyoutmd.org/. The Weekly GMOM Conference Call will take place on Thurs., Nov. 12 at 8 PM.  Call 302-202-1092, code 1136243#. The agenda has two items: 1) ongoing actions regarding SB 340/HB 980 and the League of Women Voters meetings; and 2) planning for GMOM events this fall, including petitioning in Annapolis on Black Friday.

53] – Come to Busboys & Poets, 5th & K Sts. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Nov. 12 from 8 to 10 PM for Stifled Verse, Free Verse: An Evening of Poetry and Solidarity.  Join Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and Split This Rock for a night of poetry in protest of restrictions on free and artistic expression in the Middle East and North Africa. The evening honors the imprisoned Qatari poet Mohammed al-Ajami, who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for the contents of his poetry. Attendees will have an opportunity to sign a petition for his release. Featured poets include Rasha Abdulhadi, Sarah Browning, Zein El-Amine, Amin Drew Law, and Joseph Ross.

ADHRB is a non-profit organization that seeks to foster awareness of and support for democracy and human rights in Bahrain and the Middle East. Split This Rock cultivates, teaches, and celebrates poetry that bears witness to injustice and provokes social change. It calls poets to a greater role in public life and fosters a national network of socially engaged poets. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/953749478018064/.

54] – At the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1101 16th St. NW, WDC, on Fri., Nov. 13 from 9 AM to 5 PM for the Middle East Institute’s 69th Annual Conference. The event will bring together prominent Middle Eastern and U.S. experts and foreign policy practitioners to delve into the many questions and challenges that face the region during this period of unprecedented change. Experts from across the region and the U.S. will examine Middle Eastern states’ pursuit of security out of the current disorder, the policy imperatives that will confront the next U.S. president, strategies for empowerment, inclusion, and equity in Arab societies, and the trends and channels in which youth are challenging the societal and political order. Register at http://www.mei.edu/events/2015-annual-conference.

From 10:45 to 12:15 PM, hear a panel dealing with the violent conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen which have drawn regional rivals Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia deeper into their struggle for power and influence. How will the nuclear agreement with Iran impact the balance of power? Can the region's main actors work together toward stability, or will their competition make heightened sectarianism and conflict unavoidable?

55] – On Fri., Nov. 13 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! This vigil will take place at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416. 

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