Baltimore Activist Alert -- January 17 - 18, 2022

21] Join the King family and march for voting rights – Jan. 17 

22] Make calls for the Freedom to Vote Act. – Jan. 17 & 18

23] Emergency Election Protection Coalition -- Jan. 17

24] See a film about the Coup in Burma – Jan. 17

25] MD Poor Peoples Campaign Monthly Meeting – Jan. 17  

26] For the People-MD Teleconference -- Jan. 17

27] Deliver certificates of appreciation to 59 embassies in D.C. – Jan. 18

28] Beyond Missile Defense [sic] & Space Weapons – Jan. 18

29] An attack on Palestinian human rights -- Jan. 18  

30] Protest JHU’s weapons research – Jan. 18

31] Forum for candidates for governor – Jan. 18

32] Make calls for Brooke – Jan. 18 and 20

33] Black Alliance for Peace: Human Rights – Jan. 18 

34] “Orientalism and Settler Colonialism in Palestine" – Jan. 18

35] Montgomery County Council public hearing -- Jan. 18

36] Review of 2021 – Jan. 18

37] Skills-Building Training on Protecting Voting Rights – Jan. 18

38] Sunrise National Movement Call – Jan. 18

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21] –   On Mon., Jan. 17 at 10 AM, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family will lead a march across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C. to honor Dr. King and demand action on federal voting rights legislation. People will start gathering for the march at 9 AM on Potomac Ave. SE near First St. SE, just south of Nationals Park. If you're in the D.C. area, please consider joining civil rights leaders and activists for this important march for peace and justice. Visit https://www.washingtonian.com/2022/01/14/dr-martin-luther-king-holiday-peace-walk-heres-what-you-need-to-know/?emci=7ae13022-fb76-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&emdi=8f213d44-0f77-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&ceid=136680.

22] – Join the Freedom to Vote Act Phonebank with Common Cause. Work together to demand bold changes to our alleged democracy to create a government that represents all of us, not big corporations or special interests. Call voters in targeted states and connect them to their Senators to support the Freedom to Vote Act and eliminate the filibuster. These phone banks are subject to change based on variables outside of our control (i.e. a Senator's mailbox is full). On Mon., Jan. 17 from 4 to 6 PM and 6 to 8 PM EST, connect AZ voters to Sen. Sinema to ask that she does everything possible to pass the Freedom to Vote Act including fixing the filibuster. On Tues., Jan. 18 from 4 to 6 PM ET, connect WV voters to Sen. Manchin to ask that he does everything possible to pass the Freedom to Vote Act including fixing the filibuster.  Register at https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/?followup_modal_context=newsletter.

23] – The Emergency Election Protection Coalition is hosting Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General, on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights at 5 PM ET on Mon., Jan. 17. Sign up at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYldumtrjIiH9L7_KfcFV1n8ynuO3anTGwp. Please submit any questions to: Solartopia@gmail.com. Progressive Democrats of America are part of the coalition.

24] – Susan Barnett [reelandmealatnewdealcafe@gmail.com] is inviting you on Mon., Jan. 17 at 7 PM ET to see The Purple Thanaka of the Angels.  Come to the New Deal Café at 113 Centerway (Roosevelt Center) in Greenbelt. Masks are required, and proof of Covid vaccination is required. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ReelnMealJan17. A Vegan Meal is available for $7.99 at the COOP. Call 301 474 0522 by 1PM with pick up from 4 to 7 PM at the deli.  The meal is Shanghai dumplings and sesame noodles with steamed broccoli.

  The Purple Thanaka of the Angels is a gripping documentary about military abuses in Myanmar and the resistance of the population, especially the younger generation. The film, by French director Borit Yannick, is an all-too-common story of sectarian hatred igniting a divided society to war with itself. This film begins with the coup in early 2021 that put the popularly elected leader of Myanmar, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, in prison, along with Myanmar's Prime Minister. Protests over the coup led to mass demonstrations and brutal repression by the military rulers. The so-called “Z” generation in Myanmar responds to the bullets of the regime with artistic ideas and unwavering determination. 

The Reel and Meal at the New Deal is a monthly film series focused on environmental, social justice and animal rights issues, presented by the Utopia Film Festival and the Prince George's County Peace and Justice Coalition and Beaverdam Creek Watershed Watch Group. Email frankrgervasi@gmail.com.

25] – On Mon., Jan. 17 at 7 PM ET, join the MD Poor Peoples Campaign Monthly Meeting on MLK Day to build on the New Year's Resolution sharing information about the "Resolution To End Poverty in Maryland," the actions taken to reach elected officials, and the need for a moral battle campaign to keep this on the legislative agenda through April. Bring your ideas for a plan on how we can make “End Poverty” a major rallying cry in the state and secure funding to lift all poor and low-wealth people in MD. Register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtdOiqqTkqHNejMtPaHiNwpZSq5_hTlkfL

26] – Get on the For the People-MD Teleconference on Mon., Jan. 17 at 7:30 PM ET.  There are two ways to join the conference. You can dial 1 301 715 8592, with a meeting ID: 931 3066 2622. The password is 173976. Or you can click on your device if you have downloaded the app from Zoom. Follow the events as they unfold in the Senate. Check out https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AtUdP1WXohSj2VZH0uHnUr4qt9-XAZ4NO-seg-psvoo/edit.

27] – Join Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland on Tues., Jan. 18 at 10 AM and help deliver certificates to many of the  embassies of ratifying nations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Peru embassy may even have the ambassador greet the group! Contact Dr. Gwen Dubois - - BIKENOTBOMB@GMAIL.COM - - 410-615-0717 to get involved. Meet at Robert Emmet Park, Embassy Row, 2400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE. NW, WDC.  As 22 January 2022 nears, peace organizations are preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of the entry into force of the U. N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Ratified by 59 nations, the treaty unequivocally bans all nuclear weapons and related research and testing for all time.

28] – Tune in to Beyond Missile Defense [sic] & Space Weapons on Tues., Jan. 18 at 11 AM ET.  In July 2002, the US unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and since then, the world has experienced a global proliferation of missiles and missile defense [sic] systems. In 2016, the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) organized an international working group to study new developments in missile defense [sic] and space weapons and their adverse impact on strategic stability, updating the “Beyond Missile Defense” [sic] report from 2002 produced by INESAP. This webinar will examine the recommendations of that report and feature a Q & A session with some of the authors. Visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAodemtqT0uGNdje3YppktDvNJeAlafK5zA.

29] – Massachusetts Peace Action is asking this question, An attack on Palestinian human rights - how should we respond? Hear an answer on Tues., Jan. 18 at 2 PM ET during a conversation with Sahar Francis and Ubai Aboudi, directors of two of the six Palestinian NGO’s that the Israeli government outlawed.  Since 2006, Francis has been the General Director of Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO providing legal and advocacy support to Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli and Palestinian prisons. An attorney by training, she joined the association in 1998, first as a human rights lawyer, then as head of the Legal Unit.

Aboudi is a father of three, husband to Journalist Hind Shraydeh, and Executive Director of Bisan Center for Research and Development, Editor in Chief of Altaqadomi (The Progressive) a peer reviewed journal on Development in Arabic. Human Rights Defender and former Political Prisoner by Israel and the P.A. Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUvceutrDIrE9NnzPGhdrdQwgKs6pJB8IEc.

30] – On Tues., Jan. 18 join a demonstration outside Johns Hopkins University at 33rd and N. Charles Sts. from 4 to 5 PM to protest its weapons contracts. Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607.  You may consider contacting President Ron Daniels and telling him that the university should reject all military contracts, including those for killer drone and nuclear weapons research.  The president’s mailing address is Office of the President, 242 Garland Hall, The Johns Hopkins University, and 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland 21218.  You can also reach his office by Phone: (410) 516-8068, Fax: (410) 516-6097 or email: president@jhu.edu. 

31] – Kali Schumitz Maryland Fair Funding Coalition [kschumitz@mdeconomy.org] needs your help on Tues., Jan. 18 at 6:30 PM ET. Attend a candidate forum and hear directly from candidates for Maryland governor about the issues you care about as a supporter of the Maryland Fair Funding Coalition. Will the candidate approach decisions about how to invest in Maryland families and communities?  Will the candidate support raising resources through our tax system.  Sign up here to receive the Zoom link for this virtual event:  https://actionnetwork.org/events/maryland-fair-funding-coalition-gubernatorial-candidate-forum?link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-fair-funding-coalition-candidate-forum-jan-18&email_referrer=email_1408366&email_subject=fair-funding-coalition-candidate-forum-jan-18.

32] – Madison [madison@brookelierman.com] is alerting you to an opportunity on Tues., Jan. 18 from 6 to 7 PM ET and Thurs., Jan. 20 from 6 to 7 PM ET for a Phone Banking Power Hour! Gather on zoom and help make over 2,000 calls for Brooke Lierman, the candidate for comptroller. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/brookeliermanforcomptroller/event/397560/.

33] – Massachusetts Peace Action is hosting a discussion on The Black Alliance for Peace: Human Rights from an Anti-war and Anti-imperialist Perspective on Tues., Jan. 18 at 7 PM ET. Leading the webinar discussion will be Ajamu Baraka, the National Organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace (BAP). BAP was founded on April 4, 2017, 50 years after Martin Luther King, Jr's historic Riverside Church anti-war speech. Baraka stated then that BAP's purpose is “to recapture and redevelop the historic anti-war, anti-imperialist, and pro-peace positions of the radical black movement." Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwscOCprzkvH9TBdgotV92ZdCAbdmrSMH3B

34] – Cleveland Peace Action is sponsoring a program on "Recognizing Settler Colonialism." Settler colonialism was a crucial part of US history, interwoven as it is with racism, violence, militarism, and economic injustice. And it is happening in Palestine.  On Tues., Jan. 18 at 7 PM ET, Mazin Qumsiyeh, LIVE from Palestine, will speak about “Orientalism and Settler Colonialism in Palestine."  Get with https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tcOiorzMvHNfuXddfu0lP7pO7ALv-Bz0L.

35] –  The Montgomery County Council public hearing to get feedback on the police accountability bill that was introduced in December without meaningful community input (Bill 49-21) will take place on Tues., Jan. 18 at 7  PM. Sign up to join a watch party for the hearing at https://jufj.org/event/49-21-hearing/?emci=c5f103b3-6072-ec11-94f6-c896650d923c&emdi=ea000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&ceid=.

36] – On Tues., Jan. 18 at 7 PM ET, join the AFSC policy team to review what happened with COVID-19 relief packages, migration policy, voting rights, police reform legislation, federal spending, the Selective Service, and more. Celebrate wins and discuss what’s next in advocating for a just and more humane society. Sign up at https://www.afsc.org/action/policy-time-pandemic-what-happened-2021?contactdata=tQpvcTTI%2fEO%2fcmeSwEmnOo4lrBnN1EaiVWya6SfI7lAklfyfIhWq4yzIhxKOB5frod%2bL06BblRHCeixViTV5jPMfc1TSHPSuRGtE1iSb2eQ9bTO%2bN1%2b0E7GcRlywbyUIdXBrSLlfU0P3YsVGvdb56%2bQA1r5%2bd85uPCIiuXifrfR71nN6X2h4saBXbbNK9HRqfeBRssD1KtK%2bPFEaWAaRUHdmdyazA0Nix4RFy72L9P73AMVY8%2fx2cUMySUObGhqHUjzRR2xUan98KywKPe8RGQ%3d%3d&utm_campaign=weekendreading&utm_source=weekendreading0115&utm_medium=email&ms=EMA22WR0115&emci=83402729-8674-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&emdi=9408913c-0776-ec11-94f6-c896650d4442&ceid=764241.

37] – The Union of Concerned Scientists [action@ucsusa.org] is holding a Skills-Building Training on Protecting Voting Rights on Tues., Jan. 18 from 8 to 9 PM ET. With less than a year until the 2022 midterm election and redistricting happening right now, we must pull out all the stops to hold seditionists accountable and proactively work to protect the voting rights of people like you, your family members, and communities throughout the country. Build your skills to fight for fair representation and election integrity. Register at 2bxaUFtUl3AJPw0BdVcl%2fqfqLavfhUGIKQYXg3RezcqfslOa%2by4q9GOeBP5INrymgzYBvWRotMkOAA%3d%3d&utm_campaign=email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email&emci=7ba9b27b-696e-ec11-94f6-c896650d923c&emdi=0e3fb2fe-186f-ec11-94f6-c896650d923c&ceid=1507036.

38] – Join a Sunrise Movement National Call on Tues., Jan. 18 and 25 from 8:30 to 9:30 PM ET. Register at https://www.mobilize.us/sunrisemovement/event/354486/?emci=bc673957-9e6d-ec11-94f6-c896650d923c&emdi=74bfe862-a06d-ec11-94f6-c896650d923c&ceid=177631.

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