Baltimore Activist Alert February 24 - 25, 2019

Baltimore Activist Alert February 24 - 25, 2019

"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 mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Get involved with NCNR   

4] Buy an Anti-War Veteran hat  

5] Redlining – through Feb. 28

6] “Learning from Frederick Douglass” -- Feb. 24

7] "Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments" – Feb. 24

8] Prince George's Sierra Club Potluck – Feb. 24

9] Jamming for Justice – Feb. 24

10] Support the Green New Deal -- Feb. 24 - 25

11] Pentagon Protest – Feb. 25

12] “Raising Voices for Yemen” defendants in criminal court – Feb. 25

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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 U.S. wars.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

4] – Get a good-looking black hat which says Anti-War Veteran in the front and Viva House 50^th in the back.  The cost is $10. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

5] – At 10 AM through February 28, check out Undesign the Redline exhibit, hosted by Choose Civility, HCLS Central Branch. Look for tickets at choosecivility.org.  This interactive exhibit explores the history of structural racism and classism, how these designs compounded each other from redlining maps until today, and how we can come together to undesign these systems with intentionality.  Tours, reading lists, events, and more details are at http://choosecivility.org/events/undesign-the-redline-exhibit. See https://www.facebook.com/events/444200232763081/.

6] –  Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion at 10:30 AM.  On Sun., Feb.24, the platform address is “Learning from Frederick Douglass.”  There are few historical figures that better epitomize resiliency, integrity, and strength of personality than Frederick Douglass. Few can match how he maintained his sense of self-worth against all odds and rose to the pinnacle of prestige. If it is true that, as Douglass said, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future,” what how can we make his life useful to us today?  Hugh Taft-Morales honors Black History Month by exploring how Frederick Douglass can teach humanists principles and habits to enrich our lives today and contribute to a better world.  Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader.  Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org. 

7] – On Sun., Feb. 24 from 1 to 3 PM, Saidiya Hartman presents "Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments" at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201. Call (443) 602 7611 or go to https://www.redemmas.org/. 

Hartman examines the revolution of black intimate life that unfolded in Philadelphia and New York at the beginning of the twentieth century. Free love, common-law and transient marriages, serial partners, cohabitation outside of wedlock, queer relations, and single motherhood were among the sweeping changes that altered the character of everyday life and challenged traditional Victorian beliefs about courtship, love, and marriage. Hartman narrates the story of this radical social transformation against the grain of the prevailing century-old argument about the crisis of the black family. See https://www.facebook.com/events/305615636726751/.

8] – There is a Prince George's Sierra Club Potluck & Climate Change Speaker on Sun., Feb. 24 from 5 to 7 PM at the Watkins Regional Park Nature Center, 301 Watkins Park Drive, Kettering 20774. The guest speaker is Dr. Astrid Caldas, Senior Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.  She will provide an update on climate change and its impacts, in light of recent high-profile reports. Meet other Sierra Club members, celebrate local victories, and share your ideas about the coming year. Contact Janis Oppelt at janis.oppelt@mdsierra.org or 301-474-5358.

9] – On Sun., Feb. 24 from 6 to 8 PM, the DC Poor People's Campaign will be Jamming For Justice at the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, 5301 N. Capitol St. NE, WDC 20011.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/2223969094334264/.

10] – On Mon., Feb. 25, descend on D.C. to challenge Mitch McConnell and put all Senators on notice. The Green New Deal is the best hope at preventing climate catastrophe within our lifetimes. If they stand with Mitch McConnell and his billionaire friends instead of backing our generation, remember this catastrophe. Mitch rushed the Green New Deal vote because he’s trying to kill the momentum. This shameful, cynical ploy is exactly what happens when our politicians are in the pocket of the fossil fuel CEOs. With our future in peril, Mitch McConnell is spending his time trying to score a few political points for his donors. It's disgraceful.

Join Sunrise members from Kentucky who are going to Congress to ask Mitch McConnell to look them in the eyes and tell them that the $1.9 million he's received from oil and gas CEOs is more important than our future. The next day, thousands of Sunrise members will visit Senate offices across the country to ask all Senators: Will you support our generation’s best and last hope at avoiding climate catastrophe in our lifetimes, or will you cave to Mitch McConnell and the fossil fuel lobbyists? Sunrise is a movement to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process.  On Sun., Feb. 24 come to an Action Training from 7to 10 PM at 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC.  Mon., Feb, 25 is ACTION DAY, which begins at Union Station at 9 AM.

Young people from Kentucky – McConnell's home state – are planning to confront him in D.C. Join them to ask Mitch McConnell to look them in the eyes and tell them why he’s putting his oil and gas donors above our survival. Email julia@sunrisemovement.org.

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 Feb. 25, 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] – “Raising Voices for Yemen” Defendants to Appear in New York City Criminal Court on Mon., Feb. 25. On January 2nd, 2019, eleven people from New York, New Jersey, Maine, Illinois and Iowa protested the Saudi-led, U.S.-supported bombardment and siege of Yemen by nonviolently blocking the doors of the United States Permanent Mission to the United Nations at 799 United Nations Plaza in New York. Far outnumbered by officers of the New York City Police, the protestors were arrested and later released pending court appearances. The eleven defendants, Kathy Kelly, Joan Pleune, Alice Sutter, Manijeh Saba, Trudy Silver, Jules Orkin, Brian Terrell, Bud Courtney and Al Pereira, will appear in Criminal Court of the City of New York, 100 Center St., at 9:30 AM on Monday, February 25, to answer to charges of disorderly conduct. Carolyn Coe and Ed Kinane will be represented by an attorney. The public is encouraged to attend this hearing to show solidarity with the defendants and with the people of Yemen. After Court, from 4 to 7 PM, the defendants and their friends invite the public to an event, The Fierce Urgency of Now: YEMEN at the 5C Cafe and Cultural Center at 68 Avenue C, on the corner of E. 5th Street. This will be an afternoon to raise awareness and also raise funds for legal and other expenses. A $10 donation is requested. Call 212-477-5993.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.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