Baltimore Activist Alert - February 2 - March 30, 2016

26] Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Exhibition - through Mar. 30

27] Telephone for Bernie – Feb. 2

28] North Korea’s nuclear test – Feb. 3

29] Flush the TPP – Feb. 3

30] Fire Graziano – Feb. 3

31] Environmental Legislative Summit – Feb. 3

32] Workshop on gender – Feb. 3

33] Protect public and environmental health – Feb. 3

34] The new majority – Feb. 3

35] Lobby for the animals – Feb. 4

36] Cancer and TPP – Feb. 4

37] NPT regime – Feb. 4

38] Film LICENSE TO OPERATE – Feb. 4

39] State of Health in Maryland – Feb. 4

40] Syrian Refugee Placement – Feb. 4

41] Women’s movements – Feb. 4

42] Lobby like a Pro - – Feb. 4

43] Vigil Black Lives Matter – Feb. 5

44] Film BEYOND HATRED – Feb. 5

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26] – Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Exhibition is a project that began as a call from Beau Beausoleil in 2007 for writers which quickly moved on to incorporate artists, artist books and now includes printmakers all who are responding to bear witness to a tragic loss of a center of literacy and humanity in Iraq. One of the purposes of this project is to let those in the Iraqi Arts Community know that we will not let them endure the destruction of Iraqi culture in silence,  that we have a collective voice and we will use it. This was a street of booksellers, printers, and readers. A street where people still felt "safe" among all the words and books. How can we not see the commonality between al- Mutanabbi Street and any street in the world that holds a bookshop or cultural institution? This is the starting point: where language, thought, and reality reside; where memory, ideas, and even dreams wait patiently in their black ink.

A diverse coalition of DC-area universities and arts and literary organizations will present Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here DC 2016, a book arts and cultural festival through Sat., Mar. 5 throughout the Washington, D.C., area. Major exhibitions, programs, and events will commemorate the 2007 bombing of Baghdad’s historic bookselling street, celebrate the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, and stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq. Exhibitions of artwork created in response to the bombing will be featured at multiple venues, including the George Mason University School of Art Gallery, Atrium, Fenwick Library and the Workhouse Art Center, Gelman Library and the Corcoran School of Art and Design at The George Washington University, the Brentwood Arts Exchange, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, McLean Project for the Arts, Northern Virginia Community College, Olly Olly Gallery, and the Smithsonian American Art/Portrait Gallery Library.

 The exhibitions that are featured at the School of Art Gallery, the Fenwick Library, the Mason Atrium Gallery, and the Workhouse Art Center (plus partners) include three components: Letterpress Printed Broadsides; Artist Books; and Absence and Presence (a call to printmakers). Additionally, each gallery provides new interpretive documentary materials, hands-on workshops, and panels and conversations that will be built around the exhibitions. For a complete list of sites and dates and times go to http://www.amsshdc2016.org/contact-us.html. 

This is a list of some of the sites.  You can see the exhibit, for example, at the Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St., WDC, through Wed., Mar. 30.  It is entitled “Night and the Desert Know Me,” and the curators are Shanti Norris and Spencer Dormitzer.  The exhibit at the Brentwood Arts Exchange, 3901 Rhode Island Ave., Brentwood, MD 20722, runs through Sat., Mar. 12 -- “Selections from Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here.” The curator of the exhibit is Phil Davis.  Also see the exhibit at the Tyler Gallery, Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, 500 17th St. NW, WDC, through Sun., Mar. 20--“Al-Mutanabbi Street in Books, Prints & Poetry.” Enjoy a reception on Fri., Mar. 4 from 1 to 2:30 PM.  Also you can see this exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art/Portrait Gallery, 750 9th St. NW, Room 2100, WDC 20001-4505 through Wed., Mar. 30 -- “Come Together: American Artists Respond to Al-Mutanabbi Street.” The curator is Anne Evenhaugen.

27] – Can you attend this volunteer-led phone bank in Baltimore to talk to voters in early voting states about Bernie Sanders?  It will take place at 100 Rochester Place on Tues., Feb. 2 at 5 PM.  RSVP at https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/phonebankevent/4rvzc?source=moveon.

28] – On Wed., Feb. 3 from 10 to 11:30 AM, Jonathan Pollack, Brookings Institution; Katharine Moon, Brookings Institution; and Sheila Smith, Council on Foreign Relations, will discuss "North Korea’s Fourth Nuclear Test: How Will Pyongyang’s Neighbors and the U.S. Respond?" This discussion will occur at the Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC. RSVP at http://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-attend-north-korea-nuclear-test.

29] –Come to the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Wed., Feb. 3 at noon.  Obama is scheduled to sign the TPP on Feb. 4 in New Zealand, which will be Feb. 3 in the afternoon in the US.  Start the news cycle off with images of protest and jumpstart the nationwide day of action. There will be lots of banners to hold! Bring your noisemakers and protest this betrayal. Flush the TPP.  Visit here https://www.facebook.com/events/102599070123349/.

30] – It is suspected that Baltimore housing commissioner Paul Graziano knew that his employees were forcing women to have sex in exchange for crucial home repairs for years--yet he still has a job. It's shocking that Graziano hasn't been fired yet, but momentum is growing to get him out of office. Last week, over 3,000 UltraViolet members called the mayor's office and billboard trucks highlighting the controversy blanketed Baltimore and garnered headlines. Now, the organization will deliver over 35,000 signatures to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Can you join them? On Wed., Feb. 3 from 12:30 to 1 PM, come to City Hall, 100 Holliday St, Baltimore.  Look for the people holding purple signs! RSVP http://act.weareultraviolet.org/survey/baltimore_delivery/?t=1&akid=2701.609822.sXOA2k

31] –  Come to the Environmental Legislative Summit on Wed., Feb. 3 from 4 to 6 in the Miller Conference Room, Miller Senate Building, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, 21401. Register at https://act.myngp.com/forms/8105617981039511552?midqs=8011059312161980416.

The Pollinator Protection Act will be a high priority at this year's Environmental Legislative Summit, an annual event that brings together activists, legislators, environmental organizations and leaders.  Join Smart on Pesticides Maryland, beekeepers and others to show your support and learn about strategies for success. Come hear from top legislative leaders and advocates about all the 2016 environmental priorities in this year's General Assembly Session.  RSVP https://act.myngp.com/forms/8105617981039511552.

32] – Be at the Washington Peace Center, 1525 Newton St. NW (inside St. Stephen's Church), WDC on Wed., Feb. 3 from 7 to 9 PM for a workshop for people who are looking to engage in conversations about what trans solidarity looks like. The goal of this workshop is to give a broad introduction on how we learned and understand sex and gender. Then, talk about why those ideas aren’t enough to hold the lived experience of many people, including transgender, gender-fluid, and gender non-conforming people.  While everyone is welcome to attend, this training specifically engages cisgender or non-trans people looking to learn about solidarity. The facilitators will be Jessie Sheffield and Malcolm Shanks. All participants are asked to refrain from wearing any scented products or washing with them.  Email Darakshan at Darakshan@Washingtonpeacecenter.org or call her at 202-234-2000.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/582935965192496/.

33] – At 1102 South Campus Commons, Building One, College Park on Wed., Feb. 3 from 7 to 9 PM, come watch the 2014 Sundance Film Festival award winner for cinematography—THE E TEAM.  This event is part of the Spring 2016 Seminar Series on "Rethinking Human Security: Beyond the Immigration and Refugee Crises." "Anna, Ole, Fed and Peter are four members of the Emergencies Team — or E-Team — the most intrepid division of a respected, international human rights group (Human Rights Watch). Trained to deal with unfolding crises, the E-Team flies to hotspots all over the world as soon as allegations of human rights abuse surface. Then they get to work — gathering crucial evidence to determine if further investigation is warranted and, if so, to investigate, document, and capture the world's attention. They also immediately challenge the responsible decision makers, holding them accountable. Human rights abuses thrive on secrecy and silence, and the work of the E-Team, backed by their international human rights organization, has shone light in dark places and given voice to thousands whose stories would never otherwise have been told.” Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1682163772068786/.

34] – On Wed., Feb. 3 at 7:30 PM come to Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, Steve Phillips presents "Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority." A searing indictment of the Democratic Party and a compelling call to action for the entire progressive movement, the book is an unvarnished look at the history of whites and people of color in America and reveals how the past has created current conditions that have revolutionary implications for U.S. politics in 2016 and beyond. Despite the abundant evidence from Obama’s victories proving that the U.S. population has fundamentally changed, many progressives and Democrats continue to waste millions of dollars chasing white swing voters. Explosive population growth of people of color in America over the past fifty years has laid the foundation for a New American Majority consisting of progressive people of color (23 percent of all eligible voters) and progressive whites (28 percent of all eligible voters).

A leader in national politics for thirty years, Steve Phillips has had a front-row seat to these extraordinary political changes. A civil rights lawyer and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Phillips draws on his extensive political experience to unveil exactly how people of color and progressive whites add up to a new majority, and what this means for U.S. politics and policy.  Following the presentation will be a panel discussion featuring Delegate Cory McCray, 45th District, Baltimore City, Dr. Julie Martinez Ortega, Founder, American Majority Policy Research Institute, Miranda Spivack, Former Washington Post Reporter, and Valerie Ervin and Charly Carter, Working Families. Call 443-602-7585.  Go to http://www.redemmas.org.

35] – Join the ASPCA and Maryland Votes for Animals at the annual lobbying event on Thurs., Feb. 4 from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Maryland State Capitol, Lowe House Office Building, 6 Bladen St., Annapolis 21401. Network with fellow animal advocates and speak directly with your state legislators about passing strong animal welfare laws, including laws to address animal fighting and puppy mill cruelty in Maryland. RSVP at https://www.aspca.org/take-action/advocacy-center/maryland-youre-invited-voices-animals-day-2016. Email chloe.waterman@aspca.org for more information.

36] – Go to the Intersection of F and G Sts. NW, WDC on Thurs., Feb. 4 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM, Cancer Thriver will be rallying for access to medicine on World Cancer Day, expressing concern about the effects of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) on access to cancer meds.  Check the Facebook event for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1720323931532541/.

37] – On Thurs., Feb. 4 from noon to 1:30 PM, Thomas Countryman, Assistant Secretary of State, will tackle "After the Iran Deal: The Future of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime" at Fort McNair, Lincoln Hall, Room 1119, 300 5^th Ave., Fort McNair, WDC. RSVP to Mitchell Armbruster at Mitchell.Armbruster@ndu.edu.

38] – On Thurs., Feb. 4 at 5:30 PM in JHU’s Homewood Campus for a screening of “License to Operate,” a critically acclaimed film about former Los Angeles rival gang members on a shared mission to stop the cycle of violence in their communities. This screening is sponsored by The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences,The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, and The Johns Hopkins Institute for the 21st Century and will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Hollis Robbins (JHU Center for Africana Studies), Aquil Basheer, (Professional Community Intervention Training Institute), Dedra Lane (Safe Streets Baltimore), and Daniel Webster (JHU Center for Gun Policy and Research). RSVP to 866-628-9892 or rsvp@jhu.edu.

39] – The Future of Public Health in Maryland, presented by the Public Health Committee of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, will be held on Thurs., Feb. 4 in Osler Hall, 1211 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201. Go to https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153963889832590&id=50121097589.  Dinner is at 6 PM with the talk at 6:30 PM by Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City Health Commissioner, who will be presenting updates on public health program. Email shanfield@medchi.org or 410-539-0872, ext. 3341.

40] –Takoma Park Councilperson Rizzy Qureshi has scheduled a "Syrian Refugee Placement Coordinating Meeting" on Thurs., Feb 4 from 7 to 9 PM in the "Azalea Room" of the Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Ave., Takoma Park. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/229578687379640/.

41] – Visit The Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Feb. 4 from 7 to 9 PM for a discussion with Sharon Smith which takes up issues of women’s oppression from a Marxist perspective — focusing on the centrality of race and class — amid the stirrings of a new movement today. This event is sponsored by Potter's House and DC Jacobin. More than forty years after the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s, women remain without equal rights. If anything, each decade that has passed without a fighting women’s movement has seen a rise in blatant sexism and the further erosion of the gains that were won in the 1960s and 1970s.  Smith is the author of “Subterranean Fire: A History of Working-Class Radicalism in the United States,” published by Haymarket books, as well as many articles on women's liberation and the U.S. working class. Her writings appear regularly in Socialist Worker newspaper and the International Socialist Review. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/986884554706114/.

42] – Lobby Like a Pro 2016 continues on Thurs., Feb. 4 &18, Mar. 3, 17 and 31, and then ending on Apr. 14.  These classes will be in the form of a webinar by phone. Do you feel that the legislative session is a mysterious process in which you have little meaningful access? Have you come to town for a rally or a lobby day, but left feeling you would like to do more you just don’t know how? Then “Lobby Like a Pro” is for you!

This course will give you a deeper understanding of how the session works, and how to influence legislation through the process. The training will cover every aspect of how a bill becomes a law, demystifying the process and giving you the tools and confidence to really make a difference. The course is free and open to anyone whether you have never been to Annapolis before or have done some lobbying work but want to know more. Participants who are not a member of Common Cause Maryland are encouraged to make a donation to support our work. The course will include seven trainings. Notes will be sent out after each training, so if you miss one do not despair! The classes will start at 7:15 PM for questions and discussion, and the training will begin at 7:30 PM and last until 8:45 PM.  Register at http://act-md.commoncause.org/site/Calendar/1862034735.

43] –There is usually a silent peace vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Feb. 5. Black Lives Matter.  Since this is a First Friday, there will be a potluck dinner afterwards, followed by a DVD showing.

44] – The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES.  The DVDs will be shown at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, usually on the First Friday. At 7:15 PM, from January through June, a DVD will be shown with a discussion to follow.  There is no charge, and refreshments will be available. The series theme is CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.

On Fri., Feb. 5 see BEYOND HATRED [France, 2007]. In September 2002, three skinheads were roaming a park in Rheims, France, looking to "do an Arab," when they settled for a gay man instead. Twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu fought back fiercely, but he was beaten unconscious and thrown into a river, where he drowned. The acclaimed French vérité documentary is the story of the crime's aftermath; above all, of the Chenu family's brave and heartrending struggle to seek justice while trying to make sense of such pointless violence and unbearable loss. With remarkable dignity, they fight to transcend hatred and the inevitable desire for revenge. Call 410-323-1607 or email mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

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