Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Baltimore Activist Alert - March 14 - 18, 2017

25] Save My Care rally – Mar. 14
26] Phone bank for democracy resolution -- Mar. 14 & 16
27] Clean Energy Benefits Tour – Mar. 15
28] Effects of Mass Incarceration – Mar. 15
29] Rally for the EPA – Mar. 15
30] SANCTUARY MOVEMENT 101A – Mar. 15
31] Protect Trans Women – Mar. 15
32] What Slaveholders Think – Mar. 15
33] Legal training for sanctuary folks – Mar. 15
34] Film 13TH -- Mar. 15
35] Film NEWTOWN – Mar. 15
36] Screening of ONE OF US – Mar. 15
37] Barbary prostitute tells all – Mar. 15
38] Honoring Trailblazing Women -- Mar. 16
39] Celebrate the Syrian Revolution – Mar. 16 - 18
40] Development Finance – Mar. 16
41] Fundraiser for the animals – Mar. 16
42] Regional Migration – Mar. 16
43] Economic Inequality – Mar. 16
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25] – While Republicans have scrambled to advance their half-baked health care bill, the National Save My Care Bus Tour has traveled 14,000 miles across America, holding 45 rallies in 22 states along the way. Our Revolution is proud to partner with Save My Care for the final stop of their tour on Capitol Hill, one day before the Koch brothers rally to cut 30 million off insurance rolls and cut taxes for the top 1%.  Come to a Save My Care Rally in Upper Senate Park, 200 New Jersey Ave. NW, WDC 20001, on Tues., Mar. 14 from 10 AM to 12:30 PM.  RSVP https://go.ourrevolution.com/page/s/save-my-care-rsvp?source=em170313-dc.

26] Prospects are as bright as they have ever been for passing the Democracy Amendment Resolution. Get Money Out of Maryland is getting positive feedback from members of the legislature and their staff people. Wolf PAC and GMOM are a great team! Now, your participation can advance the work we need to do to let legislators know how much support there is for the DAR. Thanks are due to all the citizens who showed their support in Annapolis. GMOM is also grateful to the NAACP Maryland Conference, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and American Promise for their strong support. Take phone bank training on Tues., Mar. 14 and Thurs., Mar. 16 at 6 PM. Call 605-475-67411, code 1136243#.

In the near future, there will be scheduling petitioning opportunities. This is an  effective way to recruit new supporters. People are very responsive to the message.  Go to http://www.getmoneyoutmd.org/events.  GMOM now has 23 senators and 62 delegates co-sponsoring the Democracy Amendment Resolution. The opportunity has never been better.  The Senate hearing for SJ 4 and the House hearing for HJ 6 were both hugely successful.

27] On Wed., Mar. 15 from 10 AM to noon, join a Clean Energy Benefits Tour of Baltimore starting at the Power Plant Live, 34 Market Place near the Inner Harbor.  RSVP at Rachel Brustein, rachel@ipldmv.org.  The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) joins nine northern states together in a regional system to cut global warming pollution and invest in energy efficiency and clean energy. Over the last decade, the program has cut global warming pollution from power plants in half while generating significant investments in Maryland towards clean energy and energy efficiency projects. By doubling the strength of the program we can cut pollution in half again by 2030 and keep the region leading the charge for a clean energy future.

You're invited to focus on what we do want: a thriving clean energy economy. Our friends at Environment Maryland and Maryland Sierra Club will be taking Maryland's State Secretary of the Environment on a walking tour of Baltimore's facilities, projects, and people that have benefited from Maryland’s participation in the nation’s best climate and clean air program, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The tour will be a chance to highlight how the proceeds have helped start businesses, careers, and the clean energy revolution. Together, we'll see with our own eyes why we should double the strength of this program to support more clean energy and energy efficiency jobs. 

28] -- On Wed., Mar. 15 at 10:30 AM, the Economic Policy Institute, 1225 Eye St. NW, Sixth Floor, WDC 20005, is presenting a new report that outlines the connections between mass incarceration and racial achievement gaps. As many as one-in-four African American students has a parent who is or has been incarcerated, and the discriminatory incarceration of African American parents has damaging consequences for children in school. Simply put, our criminal justice system makes a significant contribution to the racial achievement gap in both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. EPI research associates Richard Rothstein and Leila Morsy will discuss their new work with Glenn Loury of Brown University and Ames Grawert of the Brennan Center. The Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss will moderate the discussion.  Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mass-incarceration-contributes-significantly-to-the-racial-achievement-gap-tickets-31931730666?mc_cid=6a03f82f92&mc_eid=e80ca75913.  

29] -- Rally for the EPA at the Federal Triangle Metro Station, 302 12th St. SE, WDC 20004, on Wed., Mar. 15 from noon to 1 PM. American Federal Government Employees union will rally to defend an agency that serves and protects the health of the citizens across the country.  Come out with your AFGE shirts and gear!  Contact Appollos Baker at 202-638-5239 or Appollos.Baker@afge.org.  

30] – On Wed., Mar. 15 at 2 PM attend The SANCTUARY MOVEMENT 101A.  Learn how faith communities are preparing to protect immigrant families and care for those left behind in case of I.C.E. raids. It will be held at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior, 1700 Powder Mill Road, Silver Spring.  RSVP to the Neighbors in Need Working Group of the Faith Community Advisory Council at 202-437-7407 or mansfield.kaseman@montgomerycountymd.govhere.

31] -- #ProtectTransWomen Day of Action in Freedom Plaza, 14th St. NW and Pennsylvania Ave., WDC, on Wed., Mar. 15 from 6 to 8 PM.  HIPS, Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center, and Elle Hearns of M4BL are coming together for a speak out at Freedom Plaza. Trans women and femmes, particularly Black and POC Trans women and femmes, are under attack.  Come voice your support, celebration, and dedication to Trans women in DC.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1921181674835760/.

32] – What Slaveholders Think: How Contemporary Perpetrators Rationalize What They Do will be discussed at Busboys and Poets, 14th and V Sts., WDC, on Wed., Mar. 15 from 6:30 to 8 PM.  Drawing on fifteen years of work in the antislavery movement, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick examines the systematic oppression of men, women, and children in rural India and asks: How do contemporary slaveholders rationalize the subjugation of other human beings, and how do they respond when their power is threatened? More than a billion dollars have been spent on antislavery efforts, yet the practice persists. Why? Unpacking what slaveholders think about emancipation is critical for scholars and policy makers who want to understand the broader context, especially as seen by the powerful. Insight into those moments when the powerful either double down or back off provides a sobering counterbalance to scholarship on popular struggle.  Choi-Fitzpatrick is an assistant professor of political sociology at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego. All royalties from this book will be donated to Free the Slaves and Anti-Slavery International. Go to http://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780231181822.

33] – There will be a Legal Orientation For Volunteers, hosted by Sanctuary DMV, at St. Stephen's Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, WDC, on Wed., Mar. 15 from 6:45 to 9 PM.  Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfoRitY6vLxRFK6Y0AuGMGYRsrDh76XkoGGjSabcSyR1BE3g/viewform.  Do you want to know more about community deportation defense, the immigration legal system, unaccompanied minors, ICE check-ins, immigration court, asylum interviews, and Sanctuary DMV's efforts?  This orientation will be in English but the toolkits and resources will be available in both English and Spanish.

34] – For Rad Movie Night, see 13th at Love + Solidarity Collective, 439 Park Road NW, WDC, on Wed., Mar. 15 from 7 to 11 PM. Ava DuVernay, director of the Martin Luther King drama SELMA, has made a fiercely radical documentary for Netflix in sympathy with the BLACK LIVES MATTER movement. Her film argues that America’s INCARCERATION of black men is a phenomenon with its roots in SLAVERY, and that the resemblances are not minor or ironic echoes but symptoms of the same STRUCTURAL cause. Rad Movie Night provides a space to explore often troubling subjects, building a thoughtful and supportive community in the process. Enjoy snacks! Go to https://lists.riseup.net/www/subscribe/radmovienightdc & https://www.facebook.com/events/1288730171213614/.

35] – On Wed., Mar. 15 at 7:30 PM join Student's Against Gun Violence at the  University of Delaware for a screening of the documentary, “Newtown,” about the Sandy Hook School shooting at UD, Gore Hall, Room 104. Visit https://studentcentral.udel.edu/organization/StudentsAgainstGunViolence.

36] – On Wed., Mar. 15 at 7:30 PM, see a screening of ONE OF US at the Austrian Embassy, Austrian Cultural Forum, 3524 International Court NW, WDC 20008.  It tells the story of Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter (1907-1943), who as a conscientious objector refused to serve in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II and was sentenced to death and executed in 1943. The film deals with new findings on Jägerstätter, including the court room protocol and numerous original letters and notes. One of Us also builds a bridge into present day and discusses the significance of Jägerstätter for today’s generation. The screening of the film will be followed by a discussion with the author of the documentary Peter Schierl and its director Lothar Riedl.  Register at  http://acfdc.org/upcoming-events/2017/2/7/film-screening-einer-von-uns-franz-jgersttter.

37] – On Wed., Mar. 15 at 7:30 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, hear about ALICE: MEMOIRS OF A BARBARY COAST PROSTITUTE.  In 1913 the San Francisco Bulletin published a serialized, ghostwritten memoir of a prostitute who went by the moniker Alice Smith. "A Voice from the Underworld" detailed Alice's humble Midwestern upbringing and her struggle to find aboveboard work, and candidly related the harrowing events she endured after entering "the life." While prostitute narratives had been published before, never had they been as frank in their discussion of the underworld, including topics such as abortion, police corruption, and the unwritten laws of the brothel. Throughout the series, Alice strongly criticized the society that failed her and so many other women, but, just as acutely, she longed to be welcomed back from the margins. Please join us in welcoming editors Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus as they present a new publication of this eye-opening work. Call 443-602-7585.  RSVP at http://www.redemmas.org.

38] – Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business at 7400 Greenway Center Dr., Greenbelt, on Thurs., Mar. 16 (all day). Prince George’s County will hold its 32nd Annual Women’s History Month Luncheon to celebrate the dynamic accomplishments of women who serve in and partner with government and their impact on people and communities. The national theme, “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business” celebrates an important segment of women’s contributions to the workforce.  ​ The highlight of the event are the awards presentations: the naming of the highly coveted and prestigious Gladys Noon Spellman Public Service Award, which is named in honor of the late Congresswoman who climbed the ranks of service from the County classroom to Capitol Hill, the Gladys Noon Spellman Scholarship Award, which recognizes a graduating senior with both academic and civic excellence, and the Women in Government “WING” Award that recognizes accomplishments that are inspirational, innovative, informative, and/or influential to the work of government. Go to http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/1126/Womens-History-Month.

39] – Celebrate the Syrian Revolution 6th Anniversary: The Revolution Unites Us! The celebration goes from Thurs., Mar. 16 (all day) to Sat., Mar. 18 (all day).  Join Syrian refugees, immigrants and long-established Syrian-American community members from across the country, along with friends from the Syrian solidarity movement for a 3-day celebration of the courageous Syrian uprising against the brutal Assad regime to demand democracy, freedom and dignity for all in a united Syria!  Go to https://www.facebook.com/pg/Mar15th/events/.   

40] -- Amazon Watch, Accountability Counsel, Center for International Environmental Law, Bank Information Center, the International Accountability Project, and the Coalition for Human Rights in Development invite you to a "Green Bag" presentation: Challenges and Opportunities in Development Finance.  How do we get it right? It is happening on Thurs., Mar. 16 from 12:30 to 2 PM at Amazon Watch / CIEL Conference Room, 1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, #1100, (above Cosi, Dupont Circle South), WDC.  If you had the chance to design a major development project today, what would you do to ensure it delivered its promised results? In the current political climate, what challenges and opportunities would you face? How do you overcome obstacles and mitigate risks along the way? How do you ultimately deliver real, sustainable benefits to people on the ground?  This "Green Bag" lunch brings together experts in development finance to lead a roundtable discussion on current challenges and opportunities and share what it takes to get it right.

41] -- There is an Urbanites "March for the Animals" Happy Hour on Wed., Mar. 15 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Five and Dime Ale House, 901 West 36th St., Baltimore 21211. Come hear from Michael-Anne "Mickey" Gomez,  a 20 year industry professional, on top tips and tools to help leverage your fundraising capabilities to help homeless animals and support the Maryland SPCA make the best March for the Animals yet. Tickets are $20 for Urbanites members and $25 for non-members and include 2 drink tickets and light refreshments. Call 410-235-8826.

42] – On Thurs., Mar. 16 from 6 to 8:30 PM catch Regional Migration, hosted by AIABaltimore at the MICA Brown Center, 1300 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore 21217. Go to www.eventbrite.com.  This year’s Spring Lecture Series theme is Migration. Migration is essential to human survival. Whether driven by the spirit of discovery or hope for a better life, whether forced by conflict or required for access to resources – massive change alters us in small ways and large. How do we adapt to these uncertainties in a mindful way? What are the predominant patterns we can learn from and look towards? Our four lectures explore conflict-driven migration, climate change migration, regional migration that crosses state lines and interplanetary migration to Mars. We hope that this assembled group of experts can help us appreciate how migration can be a uniting force. See https://www.facebook.com/events/466456387078106/?active_tab=about.

43] – Ganesh Sitaraman will tackle The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution: Why Economic Inequality Threatens Our Republic at 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, WDC, on Thurs., Mar. 16 from 7 to 8:30 PM.  As America’s economic disparity has grown, political power has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of wealthier Americans. When the U.S. Constitution was framed, Sitaraman shows, it grew from a society of economic equality with a solid middle class, and so made few provisions to prevent the richest from taking control. Sitaraman, a long-time advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren, an associate professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School, and author of The Counterinsurgent’s Constitution, argues that citizens today need to decide whether to change the Constitution to reflect the loss of a viable middle class or, as we’ve done before, find ways to restore a more equable society. Go to http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/ganesh-sitaraman-crisis-of-middle-class-constitution-why-economic-inequality-threatens.

To be continued.

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