Baltimore Activist Alert - March 21 -25, 2016

20] Pentagon Vigil – Mar. 21

21] Marc Steiner on WEAA – Mar. 21 – Mar. 25

22] Salvadoran union organizing – Mar. 21

23] Protest Trump & AIPAC – Mar. 21

24] Pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act – Mar. 21

25] Film 1971 – Mar. 21

26] Film “Dear President Obama!” – Mar. 21

27] History of Sparrows Point – Mar. 21

28] Dr. Larry Egbert on TV – Mar. 21

29] U.S. & Cuba Cooperatives – Mar. 22

30] Philadelphia Peace Vigil – Mar. 22

31] Protest JHU drone research – Mar. 22

32] Building a Human Rights Movement – Mar. 22

33] AMERICA’S ORIGINAL SIN – Mar. 22

34] Mayoral debate – Mar. 22

35] The COMMUNE – Mar. 22

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20] -- There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  The next vigil is Mon., Mar. 14, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649.  The vigil will be outside the Pentagon's south Metro entrance and in the designated "protest zone" behind bicycle fences across from the entrance to the Metro.  By Metro, take Yellow Line and get out at the "Pentagon" stop. Do not go to the Pentagon City stop! Go up south escalators and turn left and walk across to protest area. By car from D.C. area, take 395 South and get off at Exit 8A-Pentagon South Parking. Take slight right onto S. Rotary Rd. at end of ramp and right on S. Fern St. Then take left onto Army Navy Dr. You can "pay to park" on Army Navy Dr.,  and there is meter parking one block on right on Eads St. Payment for both of these spots begin at 8 AM.  No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. Restrooms are located inside Marriott Residence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr. 

21] – The Marc Steiner Show airs Monday through Friday fr6m 10 AM to noon on WEAA 88.9 FM, The Voice of the Community, or online at www.weaa.org.   The call-in number is 410-319-8888, and comments can also be sent by email to steinershow@gmail.com. All shows are also available as podcasts at www.steinershow.org.

22] –   CISPES hosts Magdalena Hernández, Organizing Secretary for the national Airport Workers Union of El Salvador, at AFL-CIO, 815 16th St. NW, WDC, on Mon., Mar.  21 at noon.  CISPES is proud to be hosting Hernández on the DC leg of a labor solidarity tour. Starting in 2001, the ARENA government privatized many sectors of the national airport, plunging thousands of workers into precarious situations. Today, these subcontracted works suffer from systematic labor abuses, including mass firings for attempting to organize. RSVP to cfanning@aflcio.org.

23] – There is a Disarm the American Israel Public Affairs Committee event at the Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW, WDC, on Mon., Mar. 21 at 4 PM.   Join CODEPINK, Jewish Voice for Peace - DC and others during the gala part of their annual policy conference! The Israel lobby AIPAC promotes: Israeli settlements in violation of international law; Israel’s horrific invasions and siege of Gaza; and Unconditional support for Israel.  AIPAC boasts about having Congress in its pocket. Israel’s current $3 billion annual military aid package is set to expire will in 2017, and Israel is asking for an extension and increase to $5 billion annually for the next 10 years. Rather than allowing AIPAC to demand more and more money for Israeli systems of apartheid, oppression, military occupation, and massacres, it is time to disarm AIPAC! Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/732419866895460/.

Jews Against Fascism are hosting #DumpTrump at AIPAC at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW, WDC 20001, on Mon., Mar. 21 at 4 PM.  Join If Not Now – an emerging Jewish movement to end the Jewish community’s support for occupation – as the group will call on the American Jewish community to walk out on Donald Trump at AIPAC. No Jew – or anyone – should ever condone fascism, anti-Semitism and open racism. 

Donald Trump has terrified Americans across the political spectrum who recognize he is a threat to democracy. He’s been condemned for his refusal to disavow white supremacists, his willingness to threaten violence against the press and political opponents, his open racism towards Mexicans and Muslims, and his admiration for authoritarians abroad. He has even repeatedly made anti-Semitic remarks—going so far as to compare Jewish Federations to white supremacist groups. Across his many scary statements, a certain theme emerges: Trump is a neo-fascist who all decent people must oppose. 

But, on the eve of Purim, a holiday whose moral is to remind us to stand up to this type of hatred and discrimination, he is being welcomed to speak at AIPAC (The American Israel Public Affairs Committee) – one of the most powerful organizations of our community and country. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/188138268232957/.

24] – Chesapeake Climate Action Network says the MD legislature stood side-by-side with solar workers and climate activists declaring that 2016 is THE year to pass the Clean Energy Jobs Act. The bill will speed Maryland’s transition to solar and wind power, helping to keep fossil fuels in the ground while investing millions into job training. There will be a regional lobby night for Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore on Mon., Mar. 21 at 5 PM for this bill in the Neall Conference room, 2nd Floor of James Senate Building, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis 21401.

Meet with fellow climate activists in your district and receive the latest political updates on where your legislators stand on the priority climate bills. Following a training and orientation, you’ll meet face-to-face with your legislators. By raising Maryland’s clean energy standard to 25 percent by 2020, our legislators have a chance to slash greenhouse gas emissions, create thousands of good green jobs, and clean up the air we breathe.  Go to http://org.salsalabs.com/o/423/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=85238.

25] – On Mon., Mar. 21 from 7 to 9 PM, join Beyond the Classroom at the University of Maryland, College Park, 1104 South Campus Commons, Building 1, for another installment of their Spring 2016 Series on "People Power: Activism for Social Change." This installment will feature the award-winning documentary 1971. This film tells the story of eight ordinary citizens who broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania on March 8, 1971 and took hundreds of secret files. These individuals shared their findings with the public and were able to uncover the FBI's vast and illegal regime of spying and intimidation of Americans exercising their First Amendment rights. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/528612253978577/.

26] – Join Food & Water Watch and allies for the Baltimore premiere of Jon Bowermaster's new film “Dear President Obama!” Stay after for a conversation with the director and hear about the campaign to ban fracking in Maryland. Narrated by Mark Ruffalo, this powerful film takes us on a cross-country look at the impacts of drilling and fracking, as well as the grassroots movement fighting back. The film is their chance to directly address the president, show him the results of his disastrous energy policy and call on him to change course to a renewable future. See it on Mon., Mar. 21 from 7 to 8:55 PM at Johns Hopkins University, Hodson Hall, Room 110, 3400 N. Charles St. Baltimore 20742.  Tickets are $10, and can be purchased at https://secure.foodandwaterwatch.org/site/Ticketing;jsessionid=BA916D7CF0355D9EDA7C6346FED13667.app328a?view=Tickets&id=120452.

27] – Bill Barry [mailto:billbarry21214@gmail.com]  will do a slide show on the history of Sparrows Point, as well as a discussion of what we could have done to keep it open on Mon., Mar. 21 at 7 PM at the Dundalk Historical Society.

28] – Dr. Lawrence Egbert, on Mon., Mar. 21 at 9 PM, will appear on Vanity Fair Confidential, a television series affiliated with the magazine Vanity Fair. The series uses videos and interviews in a similar manner to the acclaimed television show "60 Minutes" to explore events of human interest.  The show will appear on the Investigation Discovery Channel.  Larry will be featured in the episode "Angel of Death." Here is a channel finder to locate Discovery ID in your area: http://www.investigationdiscovery.com/channel-finder/. Email Ellen Barfield [mailto:ellene4pj@yahoo.com].

29] –Catch Cultivating Dialogue: US and Cuba Agricultural Cooperatives at American University, Abramson Family Founders Room, SIS Building, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, WDC, on Tues., Mar. 22 from 9 to 11 AM.  This forum launches a bilateral comparative, participatory dialogue about what U.S. and Cuban agrarian cooperatives have to learn from each other.  RSVP to Jacquelyn Dolezal at dolezal@american.edu or call 202-885-6178.

30] – 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 Mar. 22.  Call 215-426-0364.

31] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. join this ongoing vigil on Mar. 22  from 5:30 to 6:30  PM. Call Max at 410-323-1607.

32] –   Get involved in Building a Local Human Rights Movement in D.C. at George Washington University, Duques Hall, 2201 G St. NW, Room 360, WDC 20037, on Tues., Mar. 22 at 6 PM.  Join Amnesty International USA, students, and DC organizers in brainstorming ways to best support the grassroots social justice movements in the city that do amazing and important work. This meeting will serve as a strategizing and brainstorming session. Recognize that human rights violations happen in D.C. Use the Foggy Bottom Metro on the Orange and Blue lines.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1750664161829362/.

33] –  Get over to the Book Talk with Jim Wallis, author of "America's Original Sin," at 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, on Tues., Mar. 22 at 7 PM.  America's problem with race has deep roots, with the country's foundation tied to the near extermination of one race of people and the enslavement of another. Racism is truly our nation's original sin.  "It's time we right this unacceptable wrong," says leading Christian activist Jim Wallis. Fifty years ago, Wallis was driven away from his faith by a white church that considered dealing with racism to be taboo. His participation in the civil rights movement brought him back when he discovered a faith that commands racial justice.

In his book, Wallis offers a prophetic and deeply personal call to action in overcoming the racism so ingrained in American society. He speaks candidly to Christians--particularly white Christians--urging them to cross a new bridge toward racial justice and healing. Wallis is the founder and leader of Sojourners, a publishing platform, organization, and global network whose mission is to put faith into action for social justice. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1742875045927067/.

34] – There is a mayoral debate on Tues., Mar. 22 at noon at the University of Baltimore, 1415 Maryland Ave. The Baltimore City League of Women Voters, in partnership with the University of Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun, and WJZ TV will hold a live debate featuring the top candidates for Mayor of Baltimore City. The debate will be broadcast in its entirety that evening at 7 PM on WJZ TV. 

35] – On Tues., Mar. 22 at 7:30 PM come to Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, to attend COMMUNE EDITIONS POETRY READING AND DISCUSSION ON MILITANT POETRY AND RADICAL PUBLISHING. Commune Editions began with Bay Area friendships formed in struggle: the occupations in resistance to UC tuition hikes in 2009-11; the anti-police uprisings after the shooting of Oscar Grant that continued with the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner; and the local version of Occupy, referred to by some as the Oakland Commune. In these moments, the people committed to poetry and the people committed to militant political antagonism came to be more and more entangled, turned out to be the same people. 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