Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Baltimore Activist Alert -- June 11 - 12, 2020


57] Our Wages Are Essential -- June 11
58] Webinar with the State Board of Elections – June 11
59] Progressive Maryland meeting – June 11
60] Progressive Maryland meeting – June 11
61] Voters' Voices Virtual Town Hall Meeting – June 11
63] Coming to the Table June 11
64] Film IN OUR HANDS – June 11
65] Baltimore Peace Action – June 11
66] Black Lives Matter: Virtual Town Hall – June 11
67] Mass training on what defunding the police means June 11
68] END The Mini Pig Experiments!  June 12
69] Food rescue – June 12
70] White House vigil – June 12
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57] – On Thurs., June 11 from 11 AM to noon, get with Our Wages Are Essential - Virtual press conference, hosted by Maryland Center on Economic Policy and Fight for $15 Maryland. See http://facebook.com/mdeconomicpolicy or https://www.facebook.com/events/2618745285048014/. As policymakers respond to the growing economic crisis, they must recognize the need to support the essential workers who support the rest of us -- keeping our families fed, caring for aging adults, and maintaining other essential services like trash collection. New analysis from the Maryland Center on Economic Policy (MDCEP) shows that freezing Maryland’s minimum wage at its current, inadequate level would harm the very people now keeping our communities running and ultimately weaken Maryland’s economy and slow our recovery.

58] Baltimore Votes is hosting a webinar with the State Board of Elections, and collecting your stories through a short survey. Your voice is vital in this moment.  On Thurs., June 11 at 4 PM, check out a ZOOM & FACEBOOK LIVE conversation with the State Board of Elections about the Maryland Primary Election.  Nikki Charlson from the State Board of Elections will discuss the challenges and successes of the most recent election. Talk about lessons learned and what we can do to plan for--and pull off--a successful General Election in November. Check out https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vote-by-mail-101-election-debrief-with-the-state-board-of-elections-tickets-108143584372?aff=newsletter&emci=f4cbbca7-2cab-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&emdi=e2a997c6-2cab-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&ceid=578562.

59] – Progressive Maryland will be holding its very first virtual chapter meeting in Montgomery County on Thurs., June 11 at 5:30 PM. In this time of crisis, it is incredibly important for all to come together to organize and fight for what we know is right. There are so many important issues that COVID-19 is shining a light on-- education inequality, the housing crisis, mass incarceration, and racial inequity.  Look at https://secure.everyaction.com/x1uHv5U-dkqXLwnLW1K2Tg2?emci=526349fd-d1a1-ea11-86e9-00155d03b5dd&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=.  Email Josh Raznick josh@progressivemaryland.org.

60] -- On Thurs., June 11 from 6 to 7:30 PM, attend a Progressive Maryland Baltimore Chapter meeting. Get together to talk and share our thoughts about recent events, actions, and victories. Talk about some of the starting ideas to better equip all of us for the struggles ahead. Use this link https://secure.everyaction.com/FM2s-q4r9UGygUVpIPJLNw2 to RSVP for the meeting. Email malcolm@progressivemaryland.org.

61] - You’re invited to the Voters' Voices Virtual Town Hall Meeting on Thurs., June 11 at 6 PM. In order to learn how Maryland LCV and other voting rights advocates can work to ensure every eligible voter is ready to vote in the General Election, the groups want to hear from YOU about your experience voting in the June 2nd primary - whether by mail, drop-box or at a vote center in person.  Register today at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScqPohWHi1fNrei09-APs5m2ukZnV9CHt5v9ovVCt06yp1VWw/viewform.

62] -- Integrating Refugees into the American Economy will happen on Thurs., June 11 from 6 to 7 PM as a Zoom Webinar. Economic integration is essential in order for refugees to become self-sufficient and successfully integrate in the United States. HIAS assists refugees with integration through three specific programs that emphasize financial literacy, rapid employment, and asset building. In these unprecedented times, the challenges of being economically insecure are more present than ever. Go to https://www.hias.org/get-involved/events/integrating-refugees-american-economy.

63] – On Thurs., June 11 from 7 to 9 PM, Coming to the Table is hosted by Stony Run Friends Meeting, 5116 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21210.  The group will meet via Zoom.  CTTT groups provide a forum for the transformative work of undoing racism by meeting regularly for truth-telling, deep dialogue, building relationships, healing, and taking action to dismantle inequitable systems and structures based on “race.” The Baltimore group meets on the second Thursday evening of each month. For more information and/or to get on the Baltimore group's email list, visit https://comingtothetable.org/organizer/md-baltimore/.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/176050317164613/.

64] – IN OUR HANDS was produced by Robert Richter and Stan Warnow, filmed by 43 volunteer camera teams and edited by 6 volunteer editors.  Doctors and nurses are wearing garbage bags while police don riot gear. Teachers drain their savings to buy pencils for students while police roll through family neighborhoods in tanks. People sleep on cold streets over toxic subway vents for warmth while police spend millions in misconduct lawsuits protecting their own.  When its power was threatened by protests, the government mobilized its forces to shut down dissent in DAYS — yet SIX MONTHS into a pandemic, officials are still waffling on solutions to provide protection equipment to hospitals, resources for 40 million unemployed people, and nation-wide testing to halt the spread of a virus that has killed over 100,000 people and counting. 

  To underscore the power of protest, see a film on Thurs., June 11 at 7 PM ET to commemorate the day one million people marched for nuclear disarmament. Robert Richter’s film, “In Our Hands,” is a masterpiece!  The film is about a magical day, June 12, 1982, when one million people took to the streets of New York to peacefully protest for an end to the nuclear arms race. It remains the largest single peace demonstration in US history. Interweaving performers, individual marchers and down-to-earth scenes of the massive gathering when one million people with one voice called for an end to the nuclear arms race.

The film features well-known performers and activists including: Rita Marley, Meryl Streep, Orson Welles, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Holly Near, Pete Seeger, Dr. Benjamin Spock, Peter, Paul and Mary, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Hear from Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors who share their memories of living through the atom bombings that pulverized their cities 75 years ago. See ordinary/extraordinary people from all over the US and from around the world who marched and spoke out, demanding action for nuclear disarmament. Nearly 40 years later, under the Trump Administration, nuclear weapons are being modernized and funded by the public purse during a global pandemic and a national reckoning on racism and police brutality across America. IN OUR HANDS reminds us of how people responded then, and can offer an example for those of us today who take a stand and work for peace and social justice. Here’s the link <https://vimeo.com/event/78444> to tune in for a special screening of IN OUR HANDS. If you can’t see it then, click on this link<https://vimeo.com/event/78444> any time, day or night, through June 24, 2020.

65] – Baltimore Peace Action meets every second Thursday of the month, and you can connect by Zoom and or by phone meeting for the next meeting on June 10 at 7 PM. Register at Bmore4peace@gmail.com. The AGENDA is as follows: What does it mean to “defund police”? Be at City Hall Friday, June 12 at 9 AM to oppose $13 million increase for police. March & caravan starting 2 PM at 20th & Charles on Saturday, June 13 for racial justice (nationwide). Embargoes during pandemic are illegal biological warfare. Hear updates on Venezuela, Iran, Gaza, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.

Join Zoom Meeting at https://zoom.us/j/99195904904?pwd=bmtRb1lhVXhWNzNvL2dvdDJMeU1NZz09.  The meeting ID is 991 9590 4904, while the password is 589588.  Or use One tap mobile: +13017158592,,99195904904#,,1#,589588# or dial in +1 301 715 8592, meeting ID: 991 9590 4904 and the password is 589588.

66] – On Thurs., June 11 from 7 to 8:30 PM, be with Black Lives Matter: Virtual Town Hall, hosted by Hearts of Empowerment. See https://heartsofempowerment.org/blm. Have YOUR voice heard, as a way to stimulate dialogue on the death of George Floyd and the reactionary protests that his death has motivated across the nation. The purpose of this Town Hall is to allow members of the DC Metropolitan community to voice their thoughts and opinions alongside local community leaders of the DC area.  A panel of these leaders will answer questions, concerns, and voice their own thoughts on the best ways that positive, productive change can be implemented in our communities.  Sign up to participate at http://www.heartsofempowerment.org/blm.  Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/893479297797975/.

67] – Join SUNRISE on Thurs., June 11 at 8 PM EDT for a mass training on what defunding the police means, why we must do it, and how we get there. Sign on https://secure.everyaction.com/rw4Y3cyzw06gYCEcSFfugQ2?ms=email-2020-6-10-defundpolice-text&emci=7938d0e5-34ab-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&emdi=4ab8f196-44ab-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&ceid=177631.

68] – Tell Charles River to END The Mini Pig Experiments!  This is organized by The Franny Project on Fri., June 12 through Fri., June 24. Start helping out by signing the change.org petition. http://chng.it/Hqb5K6XJ.  Look at https://www.facebook.com/events/697732707711466/?event_time_id=697732791044791.

69] –  On Fri., June 12 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, come to the Grace Baptist Church, 3201 The Alameda., Baltimore 21218, for a Food Rescue. Bring a bag, bring a friend, and take delicious, nutritious, free rescued food. This will continue every Friday through Sept. 4.  See https://www.facebook.com/events/479389629278759/?event_time_id=479389689278753.

70] – The Dorothy Day Catholic Worker will host a peace vigil at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC, on Fri., June 12 at noon.  Contact the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker: 202-882-9649 or artlaffin@hotmail.com.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Baltimore, MD 21212.  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

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