Baltimore Activist Alert - August 18, 2018

8] Clear the Shelters – Aug. 18

9] Voices of Maryland Women Listening Tour – Aug. 18

10] Make Art for a Just, Clean Energy & Economic Future – Aug. 18

11] Chester County Peace Vigil – Aug. 18

12] Nature's Creative Project – Aug. 18

13] Our Revolution meeting and canvas – Aug. 18

14] Military Occupation of U.S. Black Communities – Aug. 18

15] The Black Church and Interfaith Traditions – Aug. 18

16] Commemorate Black August! – Aug. 18

17] The labor chorus is ACTIVELY RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS

18] War Resisters League's 95th Anniversary Program Journal seeks ads

19] Do you want to join a peace caravan?

20] Emergency Demonstration against an attack on Iran or North Korea  

21] JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

22] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records  

23] Do you need any book shelves?

24] Join the Global Zero campaign

25] Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

8] – On Sat., Aug. 18 from 10 AM to 4 PM, help Clear the Shelters: Free Adoption Event, hosted by BARCS Animal Shelter, 301 Stockholm St., Baltimore 21230.  This event is sponsored by NBC Universal and Petco!  All adoption fees will be waived for all animals at BARCS! The goal is to find a home for every single animal available for adoption at the shelter. Extra staff and volunteers will be on hand to help with the fun and life-saving.

All adopters will get goody bags, free food and other exciting giveaways--as well as the joy of bringing home a new member of the family.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/594034324323889/.

9] – On Sat., Aug. 18 from 10 AM to 2:30 PM, get involved with Voices of Maryland Women Listening Tour Briefing, hosted by Maryland Commission for Women, 51 Monroe St., Suite 1034, Rockville 20850.  Members of Commissions for Women, advocates, public policy makers and legislators are invited to hear the report of this two-year project and to strategize next steps on the top five concerns voiced by the women of Maryland. Meet with advocates, policy makers and legislators to discuss strategies for addressing these issues locally and state-wide. See https://www.facebook.com/events/2071676956383640/.

10] – On Sat., Aug. 18 from noon to 4 PM, Make Art for a Just, Clean Energy & Economic Future, hosted by Baltimore Peoples Climate Movement and Black Cherry Puppet Theater, 1115 Hollins St., Baltimore 21223.  What does climate justice mean to you? Do you have asthma? Rely on public transit? Are there vacants in your neighborhood? Develop your creative skills and build community at this art build while deepening your knowledge about local efforts for climate justice in Baltimore. All materials will be provided. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1193238370816512/.

11] – 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.

12] –  On Sat., Aug. 18 from 1 to 2 PM, get involved with Nature's Creative Project at The Rock Lot, 305 W. 8th St., Wilmington. See https://www.creativedistrictwilm.com/events-1/nest-bird-outreach-w-dupont-environmental-education-center.

13] – Our Revolution Maryland will hold a monthly membership meeting on Sat., Aug. 18 from 12:30 to 2:30 PM [on the 3rd Saturday each month]. It is at 1800 N. Charles St., Baltimore (Unite Here Local 7 offices).  Bring your favorite dish to share, and come help organize for the political revolution in Baltimore! Candidate Johnny O will answer questions.

After the meeting, those interested will be canvassing in District 42, for some of the candidates facing tough elections this fall-- Ben Jealous, Robbie Leonard, Johnny O', and Sachin Hebbar in district 42B! So come canvass for 4 candidates at once and quadruple your impact from 3 to 5 PM. Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lEOxkWSL_X6KWhauf_iMC1IFmDeIlPltBgP8WdBzCO8/edit?usp=sharing.

14] – Hear about the Military Occupation of U.S. Black Communities and the Age of AFRICOM on Sat., Aug. 18 from 2 to 4 PM at the Walbrook Branch Library, 3203 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21216, from a panel endorsed by Not Without Black Women, Friends of the Congo, Coalition Against U.S. Foreign Military Bases and United National Antiwar Coalition.  Visit https://blackallianceforpeace.com/events/.

15] – On Sat., Aug. 18 at 2 PM, hear about The Black Church and Interfaith Traditions with  Sylvia Chan-Malik, Dept. of American Studies, Rutgers; Christopher Driscoll,  Lehigh University; Monica R. Miller, Lewis R. Gordon, Univ. of CT. in the Copeland Room, Delaware History Museum, 504 N. Market St., Wilmington. See http://dehistory.org/main-calendar/details/233-august-quarterly-panel-discussion-the-black-church-and-interfaith-traditions.

16] -- The ANSWER Coalition encourages you to attend this Party for Socialism and Liberation forum: Black August AND D.C. Defeats Fascism on Sat., Aug. 18 @ 4 PM at the Justice Center, 617 Florida Ave. NW, WDC.  Use the Shaw/Howard Metro (Yellow/Green lines).  Celebrate last weekend's overwhelming community victory over the forces of white supremacy and fascism alongside organizers of the Lafayette Square Park demonstration from the ANSWER Coalition.

Commemorate Black August! Learn about the ongoing struggle against police terror, the prison system, environmental racism, the capitalist roots of these issues and more. Hear a presentation by PSL member and Stop Police Terror Project DC co-founder Sean Blackmon and look over art by community partner Dawda Oliver (@earthsandart). Refreshments and snacks are available. Email DC@PSLweb.org. RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/244434866208481/.

17] -- The labor chorus is ACTIVELY RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS as it begins preparing its 10-Year Anniversary Spring 2019 show. All are welcome (no experience needed), but the chorus is especially interested in augmenting the TENOR, BARITONE, BASS sections. Rehearsals are each Tuesday, 7-9 PM, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cathedral at Read in Mt. Vernon. Please help spread the word to anyone you know who likes to sing and is committed to social justice! Check out the web page: charmcitylaborchorus.org. The ability to read music is strongly encouraged but not necessary.

18] – Have you reserved space in the War Resisters League's 95th Anniversary Program Journal yet? This October 11th, WRL is celebrating 95 years of resistance. The WRL's Peace Award will be given to indigenous activist Corrina Gould along with the Peace Poets.  Mandy Carter will be given the Grace Paley Lifetime Achievement Award. Reserve space in WRL's 95th Anniversary Program Journal today! Email ad files to 95thanniversary@warresisters.org with "Ad for Program Journal" in the subject line. All ads should be grayscale or black and white and submitted as a JPEG or PNG file. If you are not able to submit the ad in this format, your ad will cost an additional $50. Deadline to submit ads is Monday, August 20th. Use that email address to get costs of ads. 

19] – Do you have any interest in challenging the Trump administration for reneging on the Iran Deal? If yes, would you be interested in joining a Peace Caravan to the Iranian embassy in Washington, D.C.? Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.  

20] – It is a violation of U.S. law for us to attack a country that has not attacked us, as only Congress can declare war. The Trump administration is nevertheless beating the war drums for war against Iran and North Korea. The Mueller investigation is tightening the vise, and could cause Trump to attack those countries in order to divert attention from Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Such a military strike would demand an immediate and unequivocal response from us to show that we will not tolerate his abuse of power.

Let's mobilize to show that we the people will not tolerate another military adventure, which would be bound to have profound negative consequences. If a preemptive military strike against Iran or North Korea takes place, then meet outside the War Memorial, 101 N. Gay St., Baltimore, MD 21202. If the attack is before 2 PM local time, then events will begin at 5 PM, local time. If the attack occurs after 2 PM local time, then events will begin at noon, local time, the following day. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

21] – 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.

22] -- 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.

23] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-323-1637 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

24] -- 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.

25] – A Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

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