Baltimore Activist Alert - January 19 - May 6, 2018

 36] Mobilize for the Dream Act – Jan. 19

37] MFSB meeting – Jan. 19

38] Peace vigil at White House – Jan. 19

39] WIB peace vigil – Jan. 19

40] Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions – Jan. 19

41] Black Lives Matter vigil – Jan. 19

42] Film THE STONES CRY OUT – Jan. 19

43] Afterimage Requiem – Jan. 19 – Feb. 1

44] Ballroom Dancing – Jan. 19

45] Anne Arundel County NAACP - Monthly Meeting – Jan. 20

46] Women’s March - Newark – Jan. 20

47] Women’s March – Baltimore -- Jan. 20

48] West Chester peace vigil – Jan. 20

49] Annapolis Women's March 2018 – Jan. 20

50] First Member Orientation -- Jan. 20

51] Montgomery Solar Co-op Launch Party – Jan. 20

52] SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE meeting – Jan. 20

53] Call Out Corruption – Jan. 20

54] Catonsville Nine Commemoration – May 4 – 6

55] JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

56] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

57] Do you need any book shelves?

58] Join the Global Zero campaign

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36] – On Fri., Jan. 19 at 10 AM, Time is UP! Be a part of the DC Mobilization for the DREAM Act, hosted by CASA, at Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, WDC 20002. Congress must pass a continuing resolution by January 19th to keep the government open. Join DREAMERS from CASA and across the country to demand that any funding bill includes the DREAM Act and a Fix for TPS! Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/283052828885303/.

37] – On Fri., Jan. 19 from 11 AM to noon, attend a MFSB Public Meeting, hosted by Maryland Families for Safe Birth at Tous Les Jours, 9380 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City 21042.  Join for coffee and learn more about MFSB's current legislative activities. Get answers and share your input on the direction MFSB is moving with legislative efforts. See https://www.facebook.com/events/109834653122159/.

38] – On Fri., Jan. 19 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, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416. 

39] – On Fri., Jan. 19 from noon to 1 PM, join a Women in Black peace vigil. A vigil will take place in McKeldin Square at the corner of Light and Pratt Sts.

  Another vigil is at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St, Baltimore. 21211. However, if weather is iffy, contact Anne at awyattbr@gmail.com.  Lunch will take place at 1 PM at the RPP Café, 830 W. 40th St., Baltimore 21211.

Wear black. Dress for who knows what kind of weather.  Peace signs will be available. When there are others to stand with, you don't need to carry the burden alone. Do this to be in solidarity with others....when everything around us says “Be afraid of the stranger.” Carpool and parking available. Just send an email that you need a ride to: wibbaltimore@peacepath911.org.

40] – On Fri., Jan. 19 from 1 to 4 PM participate at the FACS 2018 Community Council Kickoff,  hosted by Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions at Providence Presbyterian Church, 9019 Little River Tpke., Fairfax 22031.  Tickets available at actionnetwork.org.  Join for an afternoon of networking, fellowship, dialogue and learning, and help set the tone for a strong response from the faith community to climate justice in 2018. Hear from leaders that will bring us up-to-speed on the current status of climate advocacy at the global, state and local levels; review and discuss FACS' 2018 Strategic Plan. Participate in a workshop on climate messaging, led by George Kralovec, based on the highly rated Citizens Climate Lobby training.

41] – There is usually a silent vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends Meeting, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Jan. 19. Black Lives Matter.  

42] – On Fri., Jan. 19 from 6 to 9 PM, the Baltimore-Palestine Solidarity and First and St. Stephen's United Church of Christ present a film “The Stones Cry Out” at 6915 York Rd., Baltimore 21212.  BPS is continuing the 'Mapping Palestine.' In 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinian villagers were driven from their homes in what was officially dubbed “Operation Broom,” intended to literally sweep tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in the fertile hills and valleys of the Galilee, and make way for settlers in the newly created state of Israel. Elias Chacour, now the Archbishop of the Galilee, was just a little boy when Israeli troops ordered his family out of the Christian village of Kifr Bir’am. He left the village with a blanket on his shoulder, walking to his new home, a cave. Today Kifr Bir’am is an Israeli national park, the houses of the village are crumbling, and the church is abandoned. After the Galilee came the expropriation of the West Bank in 1967, the settlements, the wall. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, is now hemmed in by the wall, cut off from Jerusalem, and robbed of much of its agricultural land. All too often media coverage of the conflict in Palestine has framed it as a fight between Muslims and Jews, largely ignoring the fact that Palestine was the birthplace of Christianity, that Palestinians are both Muslims and Christians, and that Palestinian Christians have played a critical role in their land’s history and the struggle to maintain its identity. From 1948 up to today, through wars and uprisings, leading Palestinian Christians, including the late President of Beir Zeit University Gabi Baramki, Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi, civil society activist Ghassan Andoni, Patriarch Emeritus Michel Sabbah and others recount the unwavering and sometimes desperate struggle of all Palestinians to resist Israel’s occupation and stay on their land.  The film starts promptly at 6:30 PM.  Homemade Arabic food and pizza will be available before and after the film.  The suggested donation is $5. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/408202942971058/.

43] – Afterimage Requiem is a large-scale visual and sound installation by Kei Ito and Andrew Paul Keiper that probes the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and their intertwined family histories. The public opening reception for the exhibition will be held on Fri., Jan. 19 at 6 PM at the Baltimore War Memorial, 101 N. Gay St. # D, Baltimore 21202.  The exhibition includes 108 human-scale photograms made using sunlight, light sensitive paper and Ito’s body, evoking those lost in the bombing, and a 4-channel sound work that portrays the places and processes of the bomb’s production, and includes field recordings made at atomic heritage sites in New Mexico and Chicago.  Ito’s grandfather witnessed the explosion of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that killed his family, while Keiper’s grandfather was an engineer who contributed to the effort to develop the bomb. Their collaboration grapples with this history while asserting its pertinence to a contemporary audience living in an increasingly unstable political landscape. Ito and Keiper seek mutual understanding while contemplating the roots, sorrow and scope of the bombing. In an era of overt nuclear crisis unlike any seen in decades, Afterimage Requiem asks the audience to reflect on the ramifications of our current course, and to learn from the past.

In 2016, Ito and Keiper received the Rubys Artist Project Grant through the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance to create Afterimage Requiem. Creation of this work was made possible by the Rubys Artist Project grant. The Rubys were conceived and initiated with start-up funding from the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation and are a program of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. Further support for this project comes from Full Circle Fine Art Services.

The exhibit will be on view from Jan. 19 through Feb. 1.  The War Memorial hours are Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 8 PM.  There will be an artist talk on Fri., Jan. 19 at 7:30 PM.  Enjoy a concert and panel discussion on Fri., Jan. 26. Visit https://www.facebook.com/afterimagerequiem/.

44] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at  8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be on Jan. 19. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

45] –    The Anne Arundel County NAACP - Monthly Meeting is on Sat., Jan. 20 from 10 AM to noon at the Kingdom Celebration Center, 1350 Blair Dr., Odenton 21113. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1494981287205350/.

46] – On Sat., Jan. 20 at 9 AM, get over to the Women's March, Marching for a Just and Compassionate World. This will be people of all genders, many colors, faiths and traditions, young, old, differently-abled, each of us with our own story. It is taking place at Newark UU, 420 Willa Rd., Newark, DE 19711.  March at 10 AM with an 11 AM rally. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1870604143159033/.

47] – On Sat., Jan. 20 from 11 AM to 2 PM, be a part of the Women's March Baltimore 2018 at the War Memorial Plaza, 100 Holliday St., Baltimore 21202. Celebrate the anniversary of the inaugural Women's March, honoring the victories of 2017 and looking ahead to harness our collective power to MOVE FORWARD!  March eight blocks to McKeldin Square. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-march-baltimore-2018-tickets-41592084043.  Sign up to volunteer here http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0b4bafaa2daa8-baltimore. See www.baltimorewomensmarch.org.

48] – Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

49] – On Sat., Jan. 20 at 11 AM, attend the Annapolis Women's March 2018 - Mobilize Maryland. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/136570970211321/.March On the Polls, hosted by WISE, at Lawyers Mall, Annapolis 21401.  Go to actionnetwork.org.  Join the first anniversary Women's March and help highlight grassroots and social justice groups that have been doing so much great work over the last year and are continuing to do so, especially the communities who may not have been represented in last events. At noon, participants will march from Lawyer's Mall through downtown Annapolis to Susan Campbell Park at City Dock.

Supporting organizations and speaker sources are Action Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Indivisible, Anne Arundel Huddle Network, Connecting The Dots, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, Flip The County, Get Money Out – Maryland, March On, Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women, PFLAG Anne Arundel County, Planned Parenthood of Maryland, Progressive Maryland, Take Action AAC, Together We Will, and WISE.

50] – On Sat., Jan. 20 from 11 AM to 4:30 PM, 2018’s First Member Orientation will happen at Urbana Regional Library, 9020 Amelung St., Frederick 21074.  There will be a 45-minute break for lunch. Please plan to bring or buy your lunch; there are restaurants available in the shopping center adjacent to the library.   RSVP at http://www.progressivemaryland.org/jan2018_orientation?utm_campaign=wkmemjan162018&utm_medium=email&utm_source=progressivemaryland.  Get energized and engaged in the New Year by joining us for the first Progressive Maryland member orientation of 2018!  Progressive Maryland's member orientation is a great way to connect you with other members of your community who want to make positive change. You'll learn about what Progressive Maryland does, how we build power to influence issues and elections, and how you can get more involved in local organizing work. Contact Brandy Brooks, Leadership Development Organizer, at brandy@progressivemaryland.org.

51] – The Montgomery Solar Co-op Launch Party is on Sat., Jan. 20 from noon to 2 PM at
Denizens Brewing Company, 1115 East West Highway, Silver Spring 20910.RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/TTVwnE7p4EWzmoRHuqnxWQ2.

52] – On Sat., Jan. 20 at 1 PM, the SURJ Legislative Day will be at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, University Parkway and N. Charles St., Baltimore.  You must RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUjXvYwnitbZzoCzjLkS1C1rbAqQ6MEgsi4MgumoUsZHs3dg/viewform?usp=sf_link.  This is a day of education, training, and planning for the Maryland legislative session. The agenda will include presentations from accountability partners including Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, Out for Justice, and CASA. SURJ Baltimore is a chapter of the national organization Showing Up for Racial Justice (showingupforracialjustice.org).  The goal as part of a multi-racial movement is to undermine white support for white supremacy and to help build a racially just society.

53] – These democrats love NSA spying.  We need to vote out these pro-surveillance, Orwellian politicians. Just a few days ago, the House voted in favor of Trump’s expansion of our authoritarian and Orwellian mass-surveillance program. 65 Democrats voted for the bill. But here's the good news. Out of our 51 Justice Democrat candidates, 31 of them are challenging members of Congress who betrayed the American people and voted for more domestic spying. Together, if we put in the work, hit the pavement, and knock on doors, I know we can win these races all over the country.

Call Out Corruption - Phone Bank House Party for Justice Democrats is happening at Drue’s place, 5063 Executive Park Drive, Ellicott City, on Sat., Jan. 20 at 2 PM.  YOU are the backbone of the Justice Democrats movement.  Take back Congress. Bring a fully charged phone and laptop. If you have a headset to speak into, bring that as well. Go to https://now.justicedemocrats.com/call.  RSVP at https://go.justicedemocrats.com/event/signup/473/signup/?source=em20180118&t=4&akid=146%2E167946%2EUx1VId.  Email us@justicedemocrats.com.

54] – Save the Dates.  The fiftieth anniversary of the Catonsville Nine draft board raid will be commemorated  There will be a CATONSVILLE NINE SYMPOSIUM on FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018 from 4 to 10 PM at the Shriver Center, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Catonsville, MD 21250. Enjoy Films, Lectures, Discussion Panels and Dramatic Readings.  There will be more CATONSVILLE NINE COMMEMORATION ACTIVITIES on SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2018 from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Baltimore County Public Library Catonsville Branch, 1100 Frederick Rd., Catonsville, MD 21228.  Enjoy more Films, Lectures, Discussion Panels and Dramatic Readings.  On Sun., May 6 there will be an opportunity to engage in direct action and later participate in a prayer service.  Go to http://www.catonsville9.org/50th-anniversary-commemoration/.

55] – JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

After 44 years of resisting weapons and war, Jonah House is Baltimore is in danger of shutting down. Two of the three core members have announced their intention to leave the community as of May 2018. That leaves one core member, Joe Byrne, who will remain to recruit and re-form intentional community. But if no one steps forward, Jonah House will have to close.

Jonah House was founded by Phil Berrigan, Liz McAlister, and others, in 1973, during the Vietnam War. It was a center of resistance to that war. When the war ended, the focus of resistance became the nuclear arms race. This resistance blossomed into the Plowshares movement. Jonah House members have spent years in jail for Plowshares disarmament actions. Other members have spent years supporting them, and doing the work of the community in their absence. Resistance to weapons and war continues at Jonah House. More recently, Jonah House has also become involved in racial justice efforts in Baltimore, and the environmental justice movement.

Jonah House is planted in the middle of a 22-acre, mostly-wooded cemetery in West Baltimore called St. Peter’s. Maintaining and slowly restoring St. Peter’s Cemetery is the work that pays the bills for the community. Jonah House also uses the property to serve the living as well as honor the dead. Our gardens and orchards feed the Jonah House community, and the surrounding neighborhood community, via a food pantry and weekly food distribution to low-income neighbors. We envision the cemetery—particularly the 11-acre forest patch—as a haven for the people of the neighborhood, international peace activists, and numberless living beings.

Jonah House is also an interfaith spiritual community. We pray or meditate together daily, and our spiritual practice informs and empowers everything we do, whether in the fields or in the streets.

To continue the vision, Jonah House is looking for a few new core members willing to commit to a two-year stint. We are also open to short- and long-term interns (3 months to a year). The work of radical peacemaking, direct service to the poor, and stewarding the land requires workers. We pray that God will send laborers to the vineyard (yes, we have that too) and that Jonah House will continue to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable for another 44 years!  For more information, call 443-804-3410, or email us at engage@jonahhouse.org

56] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs, records, tarps and table cloths, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

57] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

58] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan