Thursday, March 1, 2018

Baltimore Activist Alert - March 2 - May 6, 2018

51] Sheldon Laskin for State Senate -- Mar. 2
52] Peace vigil at White House – Mar. 2
53] WIB peace vigils – Mar. 2
54] Progressive Maryland Baltimore Chapter Office Opening -- Mar. 2
55] Black Lives Matter vigil – Mar. 2
56] Movement Politics Team Interest Meeting – Mar. 2
57] Peace Youth Art exhibition opening -- Mar. 2
58] Sanctuary Streets Court Support Training – Mar. 2
59] Film ARRIVAL – Mar. 2
60] Film EYE IN THE SKY -- Mar. 2
62] Ballroom Dancing – Mar. 2
63] Look for beavers – Mar. 2
64] Movement Politics Spring 2018 Training – Mar. 2
65] West Chester peace vigil – Mar. 3
66] Frederick Solar Celebration – Mar. 3
67] Why Palestinians Matter? – Mar. 3
68] Death Watch/Vigil – Mar. 3
69] Stop AIPAC/Free Ahed Tamimi – Mar. 3 & 4
70] Gun Violence Talk -- Mar. 3
71] Storming the Wall, -- Mar. 3
72] Catonsville Nine Commemoration – May 4 – 6
73] JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
74] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records
75] Do you need any bookshelves?
76] Join the Global Zero campaign
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51] – On Fri., Mar. 2 at 9:30 AM, Sheldon Laskin will announce his Senate Campaign Launch at the Pikesville Branch Library.  Pikesville litigator, activist, and Democrat Sheldon H. Laskin will officially launch his campaign for State Senate representing Maryland’s 11th District, challenging incumbent Senator Robert “Bobby” Zirkin in the June 26th Democratic primary. In addition to Laskin, speakers will include Maryland Working Families Executive Director Charly Carter, Campaign Chair Dana Vickers Shelley, and other prominent supporters from District 11. All District 11 residents are encouraged to be at the event and to tell Bobby Zirkin that his retrograde policies on immigration, bail, voting rights, women’s' rights, and so many other issues are out of step with our values. This is NOT who were are, and for the first time in 12 years, we have an alternative who will stand up for justice and fairness, someone we can be PROUD to send to Annapolis to represent us. To learn more about Laskin and his policy priorities, please visit sheldonlaskin.com.

52] – On Fri., Mar. 2 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! This vigil will take place at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416. 

53] – On Fri., Mar. 2 from noon to 1 PM, join a Women in Black peace vigil. A vigil will take place in McKeldin Square at the corner of Light and Pratt Sts.  STAY FOR LUNCH.  Warm-up, dry off, and enjoy a vegetarian chili lunch and lots of good conversation. Bring a side or topping for the chili.  There are still places at the table; invite a friend to come along with you.

  Another vigil is at Roland Park Place, 830 W. 40th St, Baltimore. 21211. However, if weather is iffy, contact Anne at awyattbr@gmail.com.  Lunch will take place at 1 PM at the RPP Café, 830 W. 40th St., Baltimore 21211.

A third vigil will be in Chestertown, Kent County at Memorial Park at Cross Street and Park Row.  This vigil is looking for more peace bodies on the Eastern Shore.  Welcome to the network, Chestertown Women in Black.

Wear black. Dress for who knows what kind of weather.  Peace signs will be available. When there are others to stand with, you don't need to carry the burden alone. Do this to be in solidarity with others....when everything around us says “Be afraid of the stranger.” Carpool and parking available. Just send an email that you need a ride to: wibbaltimore@peacepath911.org.

54] – The Progressive Maryland Baltimore Chapter Office Opening and Community Meeting will happen on Fri., Mar. 2 from 1:30 to 4:30 PM at the Start Up Nest.  CONTACT Brittany Oliver at brittany@progressivemaryland.org.

55] – There is usually a silent vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends Meeting, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Mar. 2. Black Lives Matter.  

56] –  The Progressive Maryland Movement Politics Team Interest Meeting is on Fri., Mar. 2 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM at the Clout Workspace, 9221 Hampton Overlook, Capitol Heights 20743.  We are in a dangerous time politically where this administration is threatening all of our rights. There is good news. The people are waking up and fighting. Progressive Maryland is looking for people to help with both issue and electoral campaigns to win victories in Maryland.  CONTACT Alexiss Kurtz at alexiss@progressivemaryland.org.

57] –  On Fri., Mar. 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, come to the opening of the Pacem in Terris Traveling Peace Youth Art exhibition at The Grand Opera House, Market St., Wilmington. Visit http://depaceminterris.org/project/youth-peace-art/.

58] – On Fri., Mar. 2 at 6 PM get over to Sanctuary Streets Court Support Training organized  a collective of volunteers who have come together to provide support for community members in danger of being detained and placed in deportation proceedings by ICE. The goals are to provide care to people as they navigate a dehumanizing, isolating, and violent system AND to prevent, bear witness to, and document the actions of ICE and police. With these goals in mind, come to this training to empower a broader network of volunteers to support community members at risk by accompanying them to civil and criminal court dates and ICE check-ins, as well as connecting them with resources as they need. This training will include an intro to Court Support and a brief immigration law 101/ know your rights session, but the bulk of the training will be an in-depth practical training on what it looks like to accompany an undocumented person to a court date or an ICE check in. RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfVn7fswypMrtHR1xe7USDwGK-rKNYUt1NDox3pq1IIH9fHkg/viewform. On Fri., Mar. 2 from 6:30 to 10:30 PM, get over to the Silent Auction & Art Event to benefit Meet Me At The Well, a faith-based organization whose goal is to rescue, educate, counsel, and give a fresh start to women who are held in the bondage of trafficking in DE and surrounding areas.  It is happening at the Concord Country Club, 1691 Wilmington Pike, West Chester, PA 19382. See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/silent-auction-art-event-for-meet-me-at-the-well-tickets-41751515908.

59] – The Pacem Winter Film Series continues with ARRIVAL on Fri., Mar 2 at 7 PM.   Communicating with immigrants: How do you communicate with someone different than you? A mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe. An elite team, led by linguist Louise Banks are brought together to investigate these "illegal immigrants." As humankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers— and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.  The film will be shown at St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, 1301 N. Broom St., Wilmington, DE at 7 PM.  Go to http://depaceminterris.org/fw-event-slug/arrival/.

60] – On Fri., Mar. 2 at 7 PM, come to the Free First-Friday Film @ the Peace Center of Delaware County, 1001 Old Sproul Rd., Springfield, PA to see EYE IN THE SKY, directed by Gavin Hood and written by Guy Hibbert. Eye in the Sky is an intense dramatic-thriller that wraps you in the ethical dilemma at the heart of drone warfare. The bulk of the film's ensemble scenes unfolds in two drone attack command centers, one in England, the other in the U.S., where drone computer "pilots" guide war drones by remote control, attacking suspected terrorists and related targets thousands of miles away.

The scene is set. A long-sought terrorist is in the cross-hairs of drone computer screens when a young girl wanders into the kill zone. An international dispute develops over what to do next. Oscar winner, Helen Mirren, and Alan Rickman are British military officers stationed in England whose priority is to eliminate the terrorist, plain and simple, before he steps outside. Aaron Paul plays the U.S. drone pilot in the continental U.S. assigned to carry out the heart wrenching mission which would kill the child and maybe other civilians as well as the terrorist.

Doors open at 6:30 PM for light refreshments.  A group discussion about the film follows its screening. Go to www.brandywinepeace.com. The screening is co-sponsored by the Brandywine Peace Community. For directions to the Peace Center of Delaware County, visit www.delcopeacecenter.org or call 484-574-1148.

61] – On Fri., Mar. 2 at 7:30 PM at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore 21201, turn out for BORDER AND PRISON EMPIRE WITH TODD MILLER AND NASIM CHATHA.  The US government has a substantial role in building prison and border walls internationally. With more people on the move as a result of global warming and displacement, the business of containing them—border fortification—is booming. Not only that, ever more people are being criminalized and incarcerated around the world. Todd Miller, shows us how the world is preparing for mass displacement by fortifying borders, as he demonstrates in his new book “Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security.” Nasim Chatha of Alliance for Global Justice will discuss the US role in managing or advising the prison systems of 38 different countries. Call 443-602-7585. RSVP at http://www.redemmas.org

62] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at  8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be on Mar. 2. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

63] – On Sat., Mar. 3 from 10 to 11 AM, go on the Guided Hike: Looking for Beavers in Herring Run Park, 3400 Eastwood Drive, Baltimore, hosted by The Natural History Society of Maryland.  The cost is $10. Can you believe that Beavers, an important keystone species in North America, live in the city of Baltimore? They do. Join Bill Curtis to look for beaver activity in the Herring Run!  Not only will Bill show how to read the signs of beaver activity, but he will also talk about the important role that beavers have in creating the American landscape as we enjoy it today, and how other species (including us humans!) depend on their work. Hopefully we will be able to see a beaver or two! All ages are welcome to join us and we really encourage our young naturalists to join us!

PREPARE FOR THE COLD!!! Dress in warm layers with non-cotton articles of clothing, gloves, mittens, hats, scarves, etc. And don’t forget good walking shoes/boots. Bring water, and a good sense of humor! Meet at the top of the Eastwood Sledding Hill, 3600 block of Eastwood Drive. Visit http://marylandnature.org/events/

   Bill Curtis is a National Park Ranger currently stationed at Hampton National Historic Site and Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. While a history major at Gettysburg College, he began his career as a Licensed Battlefield Guide. His NPS career has included full time duty as an interpreter, law enforcement officer, and he now works in the Resource Management Division, splitting his time between museum work and helping to care for the historic landscape. He is a Maryland Master Naturalist, and he is happily married and the proud father of two.

As always this time of year, snow is a possibility! Please check back on Meetup or our Facebook page in the case of cancellation or postponement if snow is a possibility. See www.marylandnature.org

64] – Attend a Movement Politics Spring 2018 Training on Sat, Mar. 3 from 10 AM to 6 PM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1101 Bay Ridge Ave., Annapolis 21403. Do you want our policies to reflect your vision and your values? Do you want public leaders who are accountable to you and your communities? Do you want to make a difference in the 2018 elections? Then you want Movement Politics.

Learn how electoral politics can become a vehicle for truly transforming our communities -- not merely changing our elected leaders. You'll build your skills in areas like canvassing and fundraising, but you'll also find out how we use those activities to shift who we believe should have a voice in politics and what we believe is possible for our communities. Talk about how we move from a government shaped by big money and special interests to a democracy powered by everyday people -- powered by us.

The training is $15 for Progressive Maryland members; $20 for non-members; and $10 for students or attendees with low incomes. Lunch will be provided.  CONTACT Brandy Brooks at brandy@progressivemaryland.org or 301-478-4554.

65] – Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com.

66] – Attend a Frederick Solar Celebration on Sat., Mar. 3 from noon to 2 PM at Atta Boy Brewing Co., 400 Sagner Ave., Suite 400, Frederick 21701. See www.solarunitedneighbors.org.

67] – A conference "Why Palestinians Matter" is taking place on Sat., Mar. 3 from 12:30 to 5 PM. Doors open with a checkpoint simulation exercise at the First Trinity Lutheran Church/New Hope Baptist Church, 501 4th St. NW, the corner of 4th and E Sts. NW, half a block from Judiciary Square Metro Station (Red Line)There will be a special emphasis on how communities of faith can advocate for human rights.

To register, send an email with your name, email address, state, zip code, church or other affiliation to Paul Verduin at phverduin@gmail.com and to Monica Burnett at monica70x7@yahoo.com.

68] –  Join the CENTER CITY DEATH WALK/VIGIL at the PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW on Sat., Mar. 3 from 11:30 AM to 1PM at 12th and Arch St. to greet opening day visitors  Pennsylvania Convention Center.  The wars continue, in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen…..and DRONES are being used for attacks you DON’T even hear about.  Please wear BLACK, as you will be given plain white masks. Call Marge Van Cleef at 203-804-3013. Hold signs opposing U.S. DRONE WARFARE and TERRORISM, which is the killing of civilians. This is a SILENT VIGIL representing the DEATHS of those killed by DRONES.

69] – Rally to Free Ahed and Stop AIPAC,  hosted by CODEPINK: Women For Peace on Sat., Mar. 3 from 1 to 2 PM in front of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW, WDC 20001.  RSVP on Facebook! Join the call for Ahed Tamimi to be set free and demand an end to AIPAC's influence on congress. Stop AIPAC! #FreeAhed! Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1621807881234543/.

Join CODEPINK on Sun., Mar, 4 from 12 to 5 PM in front of the White House for the mass rally to stop AIPAC. Look for the CODEPINK contingent to the rally.  The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is once again hosting their annual policy conference in D.C. AIPAC lobbies the US government for billions of dollars and unquestioned support for Israel and its occupation of Palestine. Meanwhile, 17 year-old Ahed Tamimi is still imprisoned for using her bare hands to defending herself, her family, and her home against an Israeli solider.  Ahed's unfair treatment is just one of the many examples of Israel's denial of Palestinians rights and freedoms.  Contact www.codepink.org.

70] – On Sat., Mar. 3 at 1:30 PM, catch Gun Violence Talk by Mike Weisser at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 10 W. Pleasant Grove Rd., West Chester PA 19382. See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mike-the-gun-guy-exploring-common-ground-gun-violence-in-the-us-tickets-42210912977.

71] – In his new book “Storming the Wall, Todd Miller travels around the world to connect the dots between climate-ravaged communities, the corporations cashing in on border militarization, and emerging movements for environmental justice and sustainability. Reporting from the flashpoints of climate clashes, and from likely sites of futures battles, Miller chronicles a growing system of militarized divisions between the rich and the poor, the environmentally secure and the environmentally exposed. Stories of crisis, greed and violence are juxtaposed with powerful examples of solidarity and hope in this urgent and timely message from the frontlines of the post-Paris Agreement era.

He will speak on Sat., Mar. 3 at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center, 7246 Cradlerock Way, Columbia21045. From 6:30 to 7 PM, enjoy light refreshments, followed by the talk, the Q&A and a book signing. Donations are welcome to defray expenses.  Contact Leslie Salgado at <cuba_is_hope@comcast.net> or 410-718-0630.

72] – Save the Dates.  The fiftieth anniversary of the Catonsville Nine draft board raid will be commemorated  There will be a CATONSVILLE NINE SYMPOSIUM on FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018 from 4 to 10 PM at the Shriver Center, University of Maryland – Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Cir, Catonsville, MD 21250. Enjoy Films, Lectures, Discussion Panels and Dramatic Readings.  There will be more CATONSVILLE NINE COMMEMORATION ACTIVITIES on SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2018 from 9 AM to 2 PM at the Baltimore County Public Library Catonsville Branch, 1100 Frederick Rd., Catonsville, MD 21228.  Enjoy more Films, Lectures, Discussion Panels and Dramatic Readings.  On Sun., May 6 there will be an opportunity to engage in direct action and later participate in a prayer service.  Go to http://www.catonsville9.org/50th-anniversary-commemoration/.

73] – JONAH HOUSE NEEDS WORKERS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE

After 44 years of resisting weapons and war, Jonah House is Baltimore is in danger of shutting down. Two of the three core members have announced their intention to leave the community as of May 2018. That leaves one core member, Joe Byrne, who will remain to recruit and re-form intentional community. But if no one steps forward, Jonah House will have to close.

Jonah House was founded by Phil Berrigan, Liz McAlister, and others, in 1973, during the Vietnam War. It was a center of resistance to that war. When the war ended, the focus of resistance became the nuclear arms race. This resistance blossomed into the Plowshares movement. Jonah House members have spent years in jail for Plowshares disarmament actions. Other members have spent years supporting them, and doing the work of the community in their absence. Resistance to weapons and war continues at Jonah House. More recently, Jonah House has also become involved in racial justice efforts in Baltimore, and the environmental justice movement.

Jonah House is planted in the middle of a 22-acre, mostly-wooded cemetery in West Baltimore called St. Peter’s. Maintaining and slowly restoring St. Peter’s Cemetery is the work that pays the bills for the community. Jonah House also uses the property to serve the living as well as honor the dead. Our gardens and orchards feed the Jonah House community, and the surrounding neighborhood community, via a food pantry and weekly food distribution to low-income neighbors. We envision the cemetery—particularly the 11-acre forest patch—as a haven for the people of the neighborhood, international peace activists, and numberless living beings.

Jonah House is also an interfaith spiritual community. We pray or meditate together daily, and our spiritual practice informs and empowers everything we do, whether in the fields or in the streets.

To continue the vision, Jonah House is looking for a few new core members willing to commit to a two-year stint. We are also open to short- and long-term interns (3 months to a year). The work of radical peacemaking, direct service to the poor, and stewarding the land requires workers. We pray that God will send laborers to the vineyard (yes, we have that too) and that Jonah House will continue to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable for another 44 years!  For more information, call 443-804-3410, or email us at engage@jonahhouse.org.

74] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs, records, tarps and table cloths, contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at comcast.net.

75] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

76] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan


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