Baltimore Activist Alert -- September 16 - 18, 2021

46] Write a letter to a voter in Virginia– through Sept. 18

47] Multilateral Nuclear Arms Control – Sept. 15

48] Phone bank For the Peoples Act – Sept. 16 - 18

49] Joan's Democracy Café Phone-Bank – Sept. 16

50] Environmental Justice in South America – Sept. 16

51] Throw Down Thursday – Sept. 16

52] Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue – Sept. 15

53] 50th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising – Sept. 16

54] Ongoing Struggle for Puerto Rican Liberation -- Sept. 16

55] Want to text with Fair Fight? – Sept. 16 - 17

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46] – Zach VanHouten, People for the American Way [alerts@pfaw.org] has the perfect volunteer opportunity you can do from your couch. Help Get out the Vote in Virginia this year by signing up to write letters to voters! The upcoming statewide election in Virginia is likely to have major implications for the national midterms that are right around the corner. Often viewed as a bellwether to the national political climate, Virginia has been crucial in proving the popularity of progressive policies and the national shift towards a more progressive electorate.  This year, the Republican candidate for governor is a Trump idolizer, who despite his seemingly moderate campaign pledges, has proven to be really nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Someone who would advocate for a far-right and regressive agenda if elected - such as his opposition to gun safety reforms, opposition to common-sense COVID safety measures, and more.

  Voter turnout is going to be crucial in the Virginia election and People For is proud to once again be partnering with our friends at Vote Forward for a unique letter-writing Get Out the Vote campaign.  Sign up now at https://votefwd.org/pfaw to participate in the campaign through September 18! Send a personal letter encouraging them to vote in the election! 

47] – On Thurs., Sept. 16 at 12:15 PM, catch Veto Players, Treaty Effectiveness, and Multilateral Nuclear Arms Control, sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Hear from Stephen Herzog, Project on Managing the Atom. See https://www.belfercenter.org/event/veto-players-treaty-effectiveness-and-multilateral-nuclear-arms-control. Why do some treaties face difficult entry-into-force prospects after negotiators agree on their legal provisions? Multilateral nuclear arms control treaties, for example, often face far more contentious journeys to enter into force than their bilateral counterparts. These treaties usually indicate the number of states that must deposit ratification instruments, or may even require participation by specific states. To better understand such delays, Stephen Herzog presents a theory of treaty entry-into-force. Register for this seminar: https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkd-mhqjsvHdH15Dg8RHMId9xyGBgKSpQB. 

48] – Join activists around the country at a virtual phonebank to urge voters in key states to demand their senators’ support of the For the People Act! Our democracy is in crisis: with redistricting around the corner and hundreds of voter suppression laws being introduced in states across the country, we do not have time to wait. Every day we’re getting closer to a very real deadline to take action to pass the For the People Act (S.1): If the Senate does not overcome the filibuster and pass S. 1, states may not have enough time to implement the legislation’s regulations before the 2022 midterm elections! Join activists around the country at a virtual phonebank to urge voters in key states to demand their senators’ support of S. 1! RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/pfaw/event/376178/?utm_source=PFAW to call on Thurs., Sept. 16 from 3 to 6 PM and 6 to 8 PM ET, Fri., Sept. 17 from 4 to 6 PM ET or Sat., Sept. 18 from noon to 2 PM or 4 to 6 PM ET and 6 to 8 PM ET.

49] – Joan's Democracy Café Phone-Bank -- For the People Act (S1) in Partnership with Common Cause takes place on Thursdays. The next phone bank will be on Thursdays, Sept. 16, 23 and 30 from 3 to 6 PM ET. Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/vopropros/event/385866/?followup_modal_context=newsletter&timeslot=2880640.

50] -- The National Museum of the American Indian <nmai-news@smithsonianonline.org> will host on Thurs., Sept. 16 from 4 to 5 PM ET Youth in Action: Environmental Justice in South America.  How do you make environmental development more just and equitable? Join the museum’s cultural interpreters in a conversation with young Indigenous activists from South America who are combating overexploitation of natural resources and developing more sustainable solutions. This conversation will take place in Spanish. Simultaneous English interpretation and closed captioning in Spanish and English will be available. Register at https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/6016250781109/WN_POaJcUjARTW4vLZ1UyEy3Q.

51] – Christianne Marguerite [christianne@progressivemaryland.org] needs you on Throw Down Thursday, Sept. 16 from 6 to 7:30 PM ET.  You can get involved in texting or phone banking. Phone bank to make calls to voters in Prince George's County in support of Medicare for All. Sign up at https://secure.everyaction.com/tkkmiiomTEyP_yGXojmSlA2. Every Thursday from now on, there will be virtually reaching out to voters across the state for a variety of issues.

52] – The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue <kdeignan@iona.edu> is hosting a webinar on Thurs., Sept. 16 at 7 PM ET – Year of Destiny The Great Work 2021. This is AN INVITATION TO SHARE AN HOUR OF ECOLOGICAL REFLECTION IN A BERRIAN COMMUNITY.   THIS SEASON, there A DEEP AND CONTINUOUS READING OF Thomas Berry's THE GREAT WORK ETHICS AND ECOLOGY, Chapter 9.  PLEASE READ THE CHAPTER AND SIMPLY CONSIDER WHAT INFORMS YOU MOST, INSPIRES AND AWAKENS YOU MOST. 

 The Berry Forum Conveners are inviting you to this monthly scheduled Zoom meeting.  Join at https://iona.zoom.us/j/98186001006?pwd=QWtxR1E3WjhCRitxYzIySE00bEhNdz09, Password: 019663.

53] – Policing and prisons is the topic of discussion on Thurs., Sept. 16 at 8 PM ET.  It is the 50th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, so it is a time to reflect on the ways that policing exists within prisons—and how incarcerated people and allies are working to change those conditions. This event is part of a monthly webinar series “Community Safety Beyond Policing.” Register at https://www.afsc.org/action/policing-and-prisons?contactdata=z4jq47nNeEUDI79%2b9Kc3NE8NW1fraHCNSj6FYTAoaa%2fBzEPHhVIgOvn%2fMpYEzyqfrHPc8UILz9xQd5QybgJZB67vuoAqlK2H%2b1EJVI8%2brajBCtqGvnO%2b9jWxEIedPskgRz%2fjNXyXrqQEy280zdaZNzQGmQl6NrCxt8GLhzEH2IGoop8obGKtiP0LBoiFXzj3Ure5W9gCzJrdQbVqqplJiGKaBCfo%2b6ZUMrvTMi8%2fZAvFD2NVPESw%2b2bYjhJayjQIs%2bzkH2%2fuNWkw2mkXrNYuLw%3d%3d&ms=EMA21AA0909&emci=4616da23-ac10-ec11-981f-501ac57ba3ed&emdi=f6844a31-8b11-ec11-981f-501ac57ba3ed&ceid=764241.

54] – Workers World Party [wwp@workers.org] is urging you to attend on Thurs., Sept. 16 at 8 PM ET The Ongoing Struggle for Puerto Rican Liberation.  Four years after Hurricane Maria, Workers World Party and allies reflect on the ongoing struggle for Puerto Rican liberation.  The U.S.-imposed Fiscal Control Board continues to try to impose all possible neoliberal policies of privatization on the people and island of Puerto Rico. The people have continued to fight back, most recently against LUMA Energy, the private contractor that took over operation of Puerto Rico's electrical grid on June 1.  Meanwhile the people of Culebra and Vieques Islands have taken to the streets to protest the malfunctioning maritime transportation system. Their outcry for justice echoes with the chants: "We want transportation with dignity and efficiency," "The waterway is our road — it is not luxury" and "We denounce inhumanity and unite our hands."  Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZOXYKhcrQ_23Dv9iAp9X5Q.

55] –Want to text with Fair Fight? Join a texting training to see what texting with Fair Fight looks like, the texting platform, how to set up your account on it and get you all the information you need to text with Fair Fight in the future!  This is a training, NOT a text bank. No texting during this training.  To text with Fair Fight you will need either a smartphone OR a computer (you can set up the texting system on either or both). The next texting training is on Thurs., Sept. 16 from 8:30 to 9:15 PM ET, and Fri., Sept. 17 from 1:30 to 2:15 PM ET.  Sign up at https://www.mobilize.us/fairfight/event/380601/?emci=1ec65536-76f5-eb11-b563-501ac57b8fa7&emdi=9099f5e0-77f5-eb11-b563-501ac57b8fa7&ceid=1234726.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206, 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