Baltimore Activist Alert May 7 - 9, 2017

Baltimore Activist Alert May 7 - 9, 2017

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours.

The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center.  Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com.  If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.  Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski [at] verizon.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Join Nonviolent Resistance lists  

4] Two friends are looking to buy a house in Baltimore

5] Electoral Politics 101 Teach-In – May 7

6] Community-Police relations in Baltimore – May 7

7] “We Were Feminists Once” – May 7

8] MAJR General Meeting – May 7

9] Little Friends for Peace 4th Annual Talent Show Fundraiser – May 7

10] Talk on immigration – May 7

11] Pentagon Vigil – May 8

12] Marc Steiner on WEAA – May 8 – May 12

13] Oral arguments on Muslim Ban – May 8

14] Film “Landfill Harmonic” – May 8

15] Philly peace vigil - May 9

16] Stop JHU’s drone research – May 9

17] SURJ meeting -- May 9

18] Protect Yourself, a digital security workshop -- May 9

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-323-1607.

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/.  Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].  It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed.  It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to the war in Iraq.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski at Verizon.net.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

THE NOTICES LIST will include only notices of NCNR actions and related information and is open to any interested person to subscribe.  It will be moderated to maintain focus & will include periodic notices about getting involved in NCNR national organizing.  To join the NOTICES List, send an email message to ncnrnotices-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You will get a confirmation message once subscribed.  If you have problems, please write to the list manager at ncnrnotices-admin@lists.riseup.net.

4] – Janice and Max are looking to buy a house in Baltimore.  Let Max know if you have any leads—410-323-1607 or mobuszewski at Verizon dot net.

5] – Friends, is there any interest in hosting Electoral Politics 101 Teach-In for Progressives in Baltimore?  If interested, let Max know – 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski at verizon dot net.

Electoral Politics 101 Teach-In for Progressives takes place at Montgomery County MD Council, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, on Sun., May 7 from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1307583849348913/, hosted by Montgomery County Green Democrats.  A one-day conference of, by and for progressives in Montgomery County and across Maryland. Panels will look at the basics of how politics works in Maryland, at each level from local boards, to County Government, and the State Government. Long-time progressive activists will discuss challenges that progressives have faced in their activism, with lessons from both successes and failures. Elected officials will give their experiences and talk about how to win elections as progressives. And, first-time candidates will discuss how they hope to change politics in Montgomery County, at the local and state levels. Hear plenary addresses from progressive leaders in Maryland including Marc Elrich, Ben Jealous and Rep. Jamie Raskin. Lunch will be provided, if you pre-order it (additional $8 cover).

6] –  Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 102, Baltimore 21201-4661, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion from 10:30 AM to noon.  On Sun., May 7, the Sunday Platform Address is “A Path for Rebuilding Police-Community Relations in Baltimore" by Michael Greenberger, professor, University of Maryland School of Law.  Over the last three years, police community relations nationwide have deteriorated to a seeming point of no return. Police shootings and other police malpractices have led to the deaths of unarmed inner city minority civilians across the country. In Baltimore, the death of Freddie Gray, resulting from a so-called “rough ride” in a Baltimore Police Department van, led to rioting in West Baltimore that went on for days in May 2015.

The serious economic and psychological damage to the citizens of Baltimore continues to this day. Soon after the Baltimore Freddie Gray riots were quelled, the then Baltimore Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, called upon the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to begin a “pattern-or-practice” investigation of the Baltimore Police Department. Following the investigation, the DOJ released a scathing report detailing long standing patterns of civil rights violations by the Baltimore Police Department.

As a result of the report, the DOJ and City of Baltimore signed a consent decree to create systemic, across-the-board police reforms. The consent decree model has been used successfully in other cities to restore police community relations, and despite the resulting hopelessness and outrage over the findings of the DOJ report, the implementation of the consent decree gives us reason to be optimistic about the future here in Baltimore. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org. 

7] –  “We Were Feminists Once” is being read by a Book Group with Positive Force at St. Stephen's Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC 20010, on Sun., May 7 from noon to 1:30 PM.  Discuss Andi Zeisler's book. Here is a link to a review of the book in the NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/books/review/we-were-feminists-once-by-andi-zeisler.html?_r=0. 

8] – There is a MAJR General Meeting on Sun.,  May 7 from 2 to 4 PM at Stony Run Friends Meetinghouse, 5116 N. Charles St, Baltimore. Go to http://www.ma4jr.org. MAJR is a nonpartisan association of over forty community organizations and churches with members in every part of the state, formed to support justice reinvestment. Individual supporters include judges, attorneys, corrections professionals, as well as returning citizens, victims, and service providers.

9] – Little Friends for Peace is holding its 4th Annual Talent Show Fundraiser on Sun., May 7 with a reception at 4 PM and the show at 5 PM.  It takes place at Joe's Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Road, Mt. Rainier, MD 20712.  Visit http://www.lffp.org/donate.html to save your seat or to donate.  Send a Kid to Camp.

10] -- Aviva Chomsky will speak on Sun., May 7 from 7 to 9 PM at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, 9601 Cedar Lane, Bethesda 20814, as part of the church’s annual Kiplinger Lecture. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1828418937184059/. The title for her talk is "A Nation of Immigrants, A Nation of Deportation: Race, Citizenship, and Belonging in the United States."  CHOMSKY is a professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Salem State University. Her academic work focuses on immigration, the Cuban Revolution and Central American labor movements. Professor Chomsky is well known nationwide as an advocate of immigration reform and workers’ rights. She has published widely in both academic and popular contexts. Her most recent book, “Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal,” received praise from The New York Times as an “impassioned and well-reported case for change.” The suggested donation is $5.

11] – 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 May 8, 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. 

12] – 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.

13] – On Mon., May 8 at 2:30 PM, the legal battle against President Trump's Muslim ban executive order continues. The ACLU of Maryland will be there in support of lead counsel National ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center for oral argument before the full Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., United States Courthouse, 1000 East Main St., Richmond 23219.  

In March, a federal trial court in Greenbelt temporarily blocked key provisions of the executive order from taking effect. The hearing on Monday will be the first challenge to the revised Muslim ban in front of a court of appeals. Visit https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/world-will-be-watching-muslim-ban-20-goes-court

14] –  Beyond the Classroom presents “Landfill Harmonic” at 4250 Leigh Rd., 1102 South Campus Commons, Building 1, College Park on Mon., May 8 from 7 to 9 PM.  This documentary is part of Spring 2017 Series on "People Power: Activism for Social Change!"  It follows the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a Paraguayan musical group that plays instruments made entirely out of garbage. When their story goes viral, the orchestra is catapulted into the global spotlight. Under the guidance of idealistic music director Favio Chavez, the orchestra must navigate a strange new world of arenas and sold-out concerts. However, when a natural disaster strikes their community, Favio must find a way to keep the orchestra intact and provide a source of hope for their town. The film is a testimony to the transformative power of music and the resilience of the human spirit. RSPV at https://www.facebook.com/events/152032375301071/.

15] –  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 May 9.  Call 215-426-0364.

16] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. join this ongoing vigil on May 9 from 5:30  to 6:30 PM. Call Max at 410-323-1607. 

17] – SURJ DC is holding a Resilience Events about Power at All Souls Unitarian, 1500 Harvard St. NW, WDC, on Tues., May 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.  SURJ DC is a local chapter of Showing up for Racial Justice - a national network of white people organizing to stand up for racial justice and combat white supremacy. Resilience Events are monthly gatherings that allow white-identified people to caucus with one another and build emotional capacity for engagement, activism, and resilience.  Power - between individuals, communities and institutions - exists. Exploring what accountable, non-coercive power and leadership looks like is a process. Come talk about collective stake in transforming power in the service of work towards dismantling white supremacy and building collective liberation. See https://www.facebook.com/events/184871095356765/.

18] – On Tues., May 9 from 7 to 9 PM at the Nora School, 955 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, attend a Protect Yourself, a digital security workshop, The facilitator is Jeff Lansdale (X-Lab, Penn State). You don't have to be a computer wizard to stay safe online. Come learn digital hygiene -- tools and techniques that take as much effort as washing your hands before you eat, and will protect you from common digital threats that activists and everyday people face. Don’t miss your chance to speak with technology experts about the newest threats to your digital privacy and learn practical steps to protect yourself.

Bring your fully-charged laptop and your phone.  The workshop will be facilitated by cyber activist Jeff Landale, a privacy researcher and organizer at X-Lab at Penn State University. He believes that you should have privacy and online security without having to change your lifestyle, learn how to code, or wear a tin foil hat.Sign up here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/protect-yourself-digital-security-workshop-tickets-33635136599.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; 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