Baltimore Activist Alert -- September 5, 2019

48] Systemic Thinking for Social Change – Sept. 5

49] Act for the Amazon – Sept. 5

50] Office of Children and Family Success – Sept. 5

51] Decarcerate DC Protest – Sept. 5

52] Baltimore Peoples Climate Movement – Sept. 5

53] In Defense of Water 2019 – Sept. 5

54] Council President's Legislative Town Hall – Sept. 5

55] Shut Down D.C. – Sept. 5

56] Epidemic of Gun Violence in Our Country – Sept. 5

57] "Baltimore Revisited" – Sept. 5

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48] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 from noon to 1 PM, hear about Systemic Thinking for Social Change: Shifting Paradigms, hosted by Impact Hub Baltimore, 10 East North Avenue, Baltimore 21202.   Systemic Thinking is an interdisciplinary approach to recognizing the structures, relationships, and behavioral patterns of individuals, organizations, and communities to create and lead effective change. During this Skill Share wrestle with how we understand, engage with, and transform the paradigms in which we work and live through the systemic lens of the Two-Loop Change Theory.

This event is FREE & open to the public. Interested in presenting a Skill Share of your own in 2019 E-mail Alanah@baltimore.impacthub.net with the subject line (Skill Share). Did you know that Impact Hub Baltimore is a community of entrepreneurs, activists, creatives, and professionals to take collaborative action and drive positive change in Baltimore and beyond! Want to become a member? Click here for more details or E-mail Joe@baltimore.impacthub.net. See the FIRST ever Impact Report: https://issuu.com/michellegeiss/docs/ihb-report-final. Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/794140350983198/.

49] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 from noon to 1:30 PM, Act for the Amazon, hosted by Brazilians for Democracy and Social Justice at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, WDC 20500.  At 12:30 PM, march three blocks north past the US Chamber of Commerce, to the Brazilian Consulate (15th & L Sts.). Rally demanding that Brazil suppress the 74,000 unprecedented fires ravaging the Amazon -- an 84% increase over last year -- and respect indigenous people's rights and territory. Oppose Trump's complicity, Congress's inaction, and US corporations' profiting from the devastation. See https://www.facebook.com/events/468217223732534/.

50] – The newly-founded Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success seeks to be an office that strengthens and supports families across the City of Baltimore. By investing in and tailoring existing city programs, as well as supporting and building an ecosystem of on-the-ground program implementers, build an office that will support every child and positions families to thrive. Show support for Baltimore residents to help shape the hopes and dreams for our children.

These sessions will be tailored to each community in partnership with the district’s councilmember. There will be activities to creatively propose, explore and uplift ideas generated by the community because no one knows Baltimore better than its residents. In addition to the meetings, there will be an open survey on the website, which will give an opportunity for all residents of Baltimore to have a voice in this process.  All ideas and considerations proposed during this exercise will help shape the vision and strategic plan of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success, which will be released by the end of 2019.

Attend a session on Thurs., Sept. 5 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at the Govans Library, 5714 Bellona Ave. Dinner will be provided. Govans Library is accessible via bus using the CityLink Red or 52 lines; it has limited bike and street parking. For any special accommodations, please contact Bill.Henry@baltimorecity.gov. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/baltimores-community-design-collaboration-session-district-4-tickets-68300642059?fbclid=IwAR2IljuhS7kTb9epVHcTz-xpzf2gHv8E0dNhy9f56kjss04RCeIy2XFcEgs.

51] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 at 6 PM, join a Decarcerate DC Protest, hosted by Black Lives Matter DC. Get tickets at actionnetwork.org.  Protest outside the Office of the US Attorney for DC during Trump appointee Jessie Liu’s anti-justice involved persons meeting on The Second Look Act. See https://www.facebook.com/events/735704770200687/.

52] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 from 6 to 8 PM, check out the General Body Meeting: What do we want to build towards next?  This is hosted by Baltimore Peoples Climate Movement at the Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, 2424 McElderry St., Baltimore 21205.  Come together with Baltimore Peoples Climate Movement to recap our past events, and brainstorm what the movement would like to build towards next! Get plugged in on how we can turn the ideas we had at the session into action! This meeting will include breakout groups from different clusters, yummy vegetarian food, and a time to network with individuals all working towards a common goal. https://www.facebook.com/events/421055088496935/.

53] –  On Thurs., Sept. 5 from 6:30 to 9 PM, get with In Defense of Water 2019, hosted by Waterkeepers Chesapeake at the Audubon Naturalist Society, 8940 Jones Mill Rd., Chevy Chase 20815.  Tickets are at connect.clickandpledge.com.  Celebrate the hard work of Waterkeepers, toast to our clean water successes and raise much needed funds to keep up the fight for clean water for all! Sponsors and guests will enjoy fresh, local food from La Prima Catering, mingle with Waterkeepers, and bid on exciting silent auction items.  Special guest speakers are Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08).

Honor Potomac Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks and James Riverkeeper Jamie Brunkow with the Waterkeeper Outstanding Win (WOW!) Award. They worked for years in local communities and the courts, with other advocates, legislators and citizens, to find a common sense solution to a legacy of toxic coal ash stored on the banks of Virginia’s rivers. In 2019, this hard fought campaign resulted in the bipartisan Virginia Safe Disposal of Coal Ash bill (SB 1355) that mandates the safe disposal of 28 million tons of toxic coal ash Dominion Energy now has stored in leaking ponds on the banks of the Potomac, James and Elizabeth Rivers. This bill sets a national precedent for how to safely remove a legacy of toxic coal ash stored along our waterways in our region and across the nation.

 Earthjustice is awarded the Water Warrior Award. Several Earthjustice attorneys have represented Waterkeepers Chesapeake and many Riverkeepers and Coastkeepers in the region. Shine a spotlight on the new campaign: Clear Choices Clean Water - Chesapeake Bay! The campaign inspires people to pledge to implement water friendly practices to reduce polluted storm water runoff and to volunteer with their local Waterkeeper. Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/716310972104674/.

54] – On Tues., Sept. 5 from 6:30 to 8 PM, come to the Council President Brandon M. Scott's Legislative Town Hall at the Jewish Community Center (JCC Park Heights), 5700 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore 21215. RSVP at https://forms.gle/K5GGuRni7bLTR4VGA*.  On July 31, Council President Scott released a legislative and policy proposal for the Baltimore City Council to clean up city government, build safer and stronger neighborhoods, invest in youth, and bring an equity framework to governance. The Council President is taking that proposal out of City Hall and into neighborhoods across Baltimore.

The Council President wants your feedback on the City Council's priorities through 2020 and to hear your ideas. Your input will shape the policy proposal moving forward. You may also email CouncilPolicy@baltimorecity.gov with your feedback and ideas. You can view the Legislative & Policy Proposal at bit.ly/councilpolicy.  To view the other scheduled Legislative Town Hall events, visit https://www.facebook.com/CouncilPresBMS/events.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/491395771671724/.

55] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM, go to the Shut Down DC Affinity Group  Training at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC 20010.  This September, take bold action to Shut Down DC and confront the Climate Crisis! Join us for an affinity group training to learn how we can all operate in these smaller groups, how we can make decisions and move (physically) together in the streets, coordinate with other groups and stay healthy and safe in the streets. We’ll also provide some background on the action framework for the ShutDownDC Climate Strike action and ways to get involved! Sign the pledge of resistance at https://www.strikedc.org/.  Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/511382326284517/.

56] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 at 7 PM, get over to the Progressive Cheverly Forum: What We Need to Know … and Do About the Epidemic of Gun Violence in Our Country which will be at the Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School, 3324 64^th Avenue, Cheverly.  Come hear Dist. 4 Rep. Anthony Brown (invited), Jennifer Stapleton of Moms’ Demand Action Maryland and Dr. Woodie Kessel, UMCP School of Public Health, for information on state and local gun legislation and on gun violence as a public health issue. The forum will be held in the multipurpose room, and access to the room is from the 63^rd Avenue entrance. Refreshments will be served. Location is mobility-accessible and ASL interpretation will be provided.  Visit https://www.progressivecheverly.org/.

57] – On Thurs., Sept. 5 from 7 to 10 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201, check out the release party: "Baltimore Revisited." Tickets are at withfriends.co. Celebrate the release of an essential new anthology on the political and racial economy of urban life in Baltimore! Nicknamed both “Mobtown” and “Charm City” and located on the border of the North and South, Baltimore is a city of contradictions.

To help untangle these apparent paradoxes, the editors of Baltimore Revisited: Stories of Inequality and Resistance in a US City have assembled a collection of over thirty experts from inside and outside academia. Together, they reveal that Baltimore has been ground zero for a slew of neoliberal policies, a place where inequality has increased as corporate interests have eagerly privatized public goods and services to maximize profits. But they also uncover how community members resist and reveal a long tradition of Baltimoreans who have fought for social justice.

The book is edited by P. Nicole King, Kate Drabinski, and Joshua Clark Davis.  See http://redemmas.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/2082171412087407/.

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