Baltimore Activist Alert December 9 -- 11, 2018

Baltimore Activist Alert December 9 -- 11, 2018

"I speak as an American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative in this war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Friends, this list and other email documents which I send out are done under the auspices of the Baltimore Nonviolence Center.  Go to www.baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com.  If you appreciate this information and would like to make a donation, send contributions to BNC, 325 East 25th Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.  Max Obuszewski can be reached at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net.

1] Books, buttons and stickers

2] Web site for info on federal legislation

3] Get involved with NCNR   

4] Buy an Anti-War Veteran hat  

5] Transcribe Dorothy Day’s diaries

6] Redlining – through Dec. 31

7] “Do You Listen to Your Conscience?”  -- Dec. 9

8] Poor People's Campaign/Carroll County meeting – Dec. 9

9] CHERRY HILL -- Dec. 9

10] ECONOMIC CAUSE OF VIOLENT CRIME – Dec. 9

11] Black Lives Matter demo – Dec. 9

12] ERA conference call – Dec. 9

13] Advent Prayer Service -- Dec. 9

14] Love Knows No Borders Vigil -- Dec. 9

15] Free Mohamed Harkat – Dec. 10

16] Protest at the Pentagon – Dec. 10

17] Training Disrupted – Dec. 10

18] Food Rescue – Dec. 10

19] Communities United’s Annual Holiday Party – Dec. 10

20] Nomi Prins speaks – Dec. 10

21] Honoring Muslim Human Rights Defenders – Dec. 10

22] America As a Refuge – Dec. 10

23] Free screening of “What Lies Upstream” – Dec. 10

24] Get the Money Out – Dec. 10

25] Vegan Drinks Holiday Party – Dec. 11

26] Stall 11 Veg Food & Animal Activist Meetup – Dec. 11

27] Food Rescue – Dec. 11

28] Nuclear Security in the Black Sea Region – Dec. 11

29] Peace Vigil – Dec. 11

30] No Drone Research DEMO – Dec. 11

31] Jews United for Justice meeting – Dec. 11

32] “Decriminalizing Domestic Violence” – Dec. 11

33] Juvenile Justice System Reforms – Dec. 11

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1] – Buttons, bumperstickers and books are available.  “God Bless the Whole World, No Exceptions” stickers are in stock. Call Max at 410-323-1607.

2] – To obtain information how your federal legislators voted on particular bills, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/.  Congressional toll-free numbers are 888-818-6641, 888-355-3588 or 800-426-8073. The White House Comment Email is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

3] – THE ORGANIZING LIST will be the primary decision-making mechanism of the National Campaign of Nonviolent Resistance [NCNR].  It will be augmented by conference calls and possibly in-person meetings as needed.  It will consist of 1 or 2 representatives from each local, regional, or national organization (not coalitions) that wishes to actively work to carry out the NCNR campaign of facilitating and organizing nonviolent resistance to U.S. wars.

To join the ORGANIZING List, please send your name, group affiliation, city and email address to mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.  Different local chapters of a national organization are encouraged to subscribe.  

4] – Get a good-looking black hat which says Anti-War Veteran in the front and Viva House 50^th in the back.  The cost is $10. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net.

5] – Want an opportunity to work with scans of Dorothy Day's diaries? The Guild for the Canonization is looking for volunteers to help them transcribe all her diaries and letters! Several Catholic Workers are already helping and you can, too!  Contact Jeff Korgen at jkorgen@korgan.associates.org or call him 862-485-5807.

6] – At 10 AM through December 31, check out Undesign the Redline exhibit, hosted by Choose Civility, HCLS Central Branch. Look for tickets at choosecivility.org.  This interactive exhibit explores the history of structural racism and classism, how these designs compounded each other from redlining maps until today, and how we can come together to undesign these systems with intentionality.  Tours, reading lists, events, and more details are at http://choosecivility.org/events/undesign-the-redline-exhibit. See https://www.facebook.com/events/444200232763081/.

7] –  Usually, the Baltimore Ethical Society, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore 21218, meets on Sundays, and generally there is a speaker and discussion at 10:30 AM.  On Sun., Dec. 9, the platform address is “Do You Listen to Your Conscience?”  As children we often experience an inner voice – messages from our psyche reminding us to act ethically toward others. Most of our lives we try to have a clean conscience. Politicians talk of “voting their conscience.” What is this thing we call conscience? Although it is clearly aroused when we witness injustice, can we nurture it so that it more consistently and smoothly guides our behavior? Can conscience be as effective at nurturing goodness as it is in identifying evil? In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?”  Hugh Taft-Morales who joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader, will lead the discussion. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. Call 410-581-2322 or email ask@bmorethical.org.

8] – The Maryland Poor People's Campaign Carroll County will have a meeting on Sun., Dec. 9 from 2 to 3:30 PM at St. Paul's United Church of Christ, 17 Bond St., Westminster 21157. Discuss how the Maryland Poor People's Campaign will grow in Carroll County. Steven Merrick, activist and organizer with SEIU 1199, will speak about Fair Wages and the Fight for $15 in Maryland. Visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/carroll-county-meeting-tickets-52601786359.

9] – On Sun., Dec. 9 at 2 PM, hear LINDA MORRIS PRESENT "CHERRY HILL: RAISING SUCCESSFUL BLACK CHILDREN IN JIM CROW BALTIMORE" at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201. Call (443) 602 7611 or go to https://www.redemmas.org/. Thousands of Black children grew up in Cherry Hill, a post WWII planned suburban community containing a public housing project on a southeastern peninsula of Baltimore City. In an era of public investment in quality housing, these children had a sense of being loved, being free, being safe, and above all, having the space they needed to stretch out and enjoy small town living. They could play all day with their friends, skate and ride their bikes all over town, and chase the ice cream man’s truck, with the admonishment to be home by the time the streetlights came on. The author was one of those children, and she rallied sixty or so of her Cherry Hill contemporaries to share what life was like for them in what they know to be a special place and time.

10] – On Sun., Dec. 9 from 3 to 5 PM, get over to ECONOMIC CAUSE OF VIOLENT CRIME in Wilmington, which is a talk by Dr. Yassar Payne, at Congregation Beth Shalom, 1901 BAYNARD BLVD. WILMINGTON, DE. This event is hosted by the Delaware Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow.  Visit https://endnewjimcrowde.org/meetings/monthly-meetings/.

11] – On Sun., Dec. 9 from 4 to 5 PM, attend a Black Lives Matter monthly vigil at Governor Warfield Parkway and Windstream Drive in Howard County. This vigil is the last one of the hear9. Join a public witness to remind the community that all lives will matter when black lives matter. Show up to tell the world that injustice will not be ignored in Howard County or anywhere else. Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/408704056256085/.

12] – On Sun., Dec. 9 at 4 PM, join The CALL - ERA Education Program, hosted by One Rural Woman at Katrina's Dream, PO Box 32003, WDC 20007.  Get tickets at www.katrinasdream.org.  Help build the groundswell. The collaboration of grassroots organizers, lobbyists, and professionals is dedicated to promoting and educating folks across the United States of America to empowering women around the world.  PASS THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT.

There is a NATIONAL WEEKLY SUNDAY CALL at 4 PM with E.R.A. ADVOCATES -- CALL IN NO: 563.999.2090 CONFERENCE NO: 898879#.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1710130249022424/.

13] – On Sun., Dec. 9 from 5 to 6 PM, the Advent Prayer Service starts at St Vincent DePaul Church, 120 N. Front St., Baltimore.  There will be a short reception following the service.  The theme is: “Inner Peace In Violent Times,” and the speaker is Audrey Rogers, a compelling speaker.  Call 443-846-5207 (cell).

14] – On Sun., Dec. 9 and Mon., Dec. 10, The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Kairos Center and Repairers of the Breach will join the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego and hold an interfaith service, calling on faith leaders, poor people and all people of conscience to take action together. With December 10 being International Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we will demand the demilitarization of border communities and the absolute protection of migrants seeking refuge.

There is a Love Knows No Borders Vigil on Sun., Dec. 9 at 6:30 PM hosted by Wesley United Methodist Church, 15 E. North St., Dover, DE 19901.  You are invited to lift up prayers and strategies for response. The vigil will kick off a week when communities across the U.S. will be calling for an end to border militarization and for humane immigration policies that respect the rights and dignity of all people. https://migrantjustice.afsc.org/events/love-knows-no-borders-vigil.

15] -- December 10th is International Human Rights Day. Ironically, it was also on this day, in 2002, that Ottawa refugee Mohamed "Moe" Harkat was arrested. He continues to be persecuted by the Canadian state, and has never been charged with, let alone convicted of, a crime. Now, 16 years later, he faces deportation to torture in Algeria.  On Monday, December 10 (or anytime leading up to that date if you cannot do this on Monday), please take two minutes to make a call and send a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end the illegal and immoral deportation to torture proceedings against Ottawa refugee Mohamed Harkat.

Call the Prime Minister at 613-992-4211: "Hello Prime Minister Trudeau. My name is ______________ and I'm calling from ______________.  I'm calling about the case of Mohamed Harkat. He is a refugee in Canada facing deportation to torture in Algeria. Mr. Trudeau, you have said no one should ever be tortured. That should be true for Moe, too. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has the power today to allow Moe to stay in Canada. Please speak with Minister Goodale, live up to your word, and make the right decision: let Moe Harkat stay in Canada. Thank you."

Once you have made your call, please visit http://iclmg.ca/stop-harkat-deportation to send a letter to a MP, the PM and federal ministers, asking them to act now. Sign this petition: https://www.change.org/p/help-stop-my-husband-s-deportation-to-torture.

16] – There is a weekly Pentagon Peace Vigil from 7 to 8 AM on Mondays, since 1987, outside the Pentagon Metro stop.  The next vigil is Dec. 10, and it is sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  Email artlaffin@hotmail.com or call 202-882-9649.  The vigil will be outside the Pentagon's south Metro entrance and in the designated "protest zone" behind bicycle fences across from the entrance to the Metro.  By Metro, take Yellow Line and get out at the "Pentagon" stop. Do not go to the Pentagon City stop! Go up south escalators and turn left and walk across to protest area. By car from D.C. area, take 395 South and get off at Exit 8A-Pentagon South Parking. Take slight right onto S. Rotary Rd. at end of ramp and right on S. Fern St. Then take left onto Army Navy Dr. You can "pay to park" on Army Navy Dr.,  and there is meter parking one block on right on Eads St. Payment for both of these spots begin at 8 AM.  No cameras are allowed on Pentagon grounds. Restrooms are located inside Marriott Residence Inn on corner of S. Fern and Army Navy Dr.

17] – On Mon., Dec. 10 from 11:45 AM to 1:30 PM, learn about Training Disrupted—The Future of Workplace Credentials, hosted by Third Way at 421 7th St. NW, WDC 20004.  Disruption isn’t just happening in our politics—it’s happening across our economy. And millions of Americans wonder whether they will have the opportunity to earn a good life in the decade ahead. One key to ensure they do? Expanding access to modern and high-quality credentials and training.

Luckily for US workers, healthy disruption is also creeping into the skills and education arena. Join us for a conversation over lunch focused on the future of workforce credentials—specifically, innovative opportunities to train workers in the decades ahead. Leading innovators who are working to expand training opportunities to new sectors, using new technology, and reaching more diverse communities will be there. Lunch will be available starting at 11:45 AM with a discussion to start at noon.  Check out https://www.facebook.com/events/2200372366852593/.

18] – On Mon., Dec. 10, and every Monday until Feb. 4, 2019, at noon, there will be a Food Rescue at Land of Kush, 840 N. Eutaw St., Baltimore 21201. Food Rescue Baltimore is honored to partner with The Land of Kush each and every Monday to bring access to free vegan/plant-based food in the community. Bring a bag. Take what you want from noon to 1PM or while supplies last. No purchase is necessary to take advantage of the Food Rescue Baltimore give away. Items from The Land of Kush's menu are not included in the give-away but will be available for sale. See https://www.facebook.com/events/415842178868197/.

19] – Communities United’s Annual Holiday Party is on Mon., Dec. 10 from 6 to 9 PM at the Douglas Memorial Community Church, 1325 W. Madison Ave., Baltimore (enter from Madison Ave., street level). This is a Communities United tradition! Join for food, friendship and fun, including toys for the kids.  Contact Jane Henderson [mailto:jane@communitiesunite.org].

20] – Hosted by The Committee for the Republic, on Mon., Dec. 10 at 6:30 PM at the Metropolitan Club, 1700 H St. NW, WDC 20006 [in the Empire Salon], hear from Nomi Prins, former Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns executive, author, journalist, public speaker, TV and radio commentator. She is one of the leading critics of too-big-to-fail banks and the Federal Reserve. In “All The Presidents’ Bankers,” she unearths the backroom deals that make the big banks America’s greatest practitioners of crony capitalism. In her latest book, “COLLUSION”, Prins exposes how the 2007-2008 financial crisis turbo-boosted the influence of central bankers in the global economy. She addresses the elephant in the living room: the Federal Reserve’s underwriting of our warfare state by printing money in lieu of taxes. To RSVP or if you have questions, email James@committeefortherepublic.org, 

21] – Get over to the Honoring Muslim Human Rights Defenders in the DMV: A Benefit Dinner. Email Dr. Maha Hilal <innocentuntilprovenmuslim@gmail.com>.  This is organized by the Justice for Muslims Collective on Mon., Dec. 10 on the UN Human Rights day at 6:30 PM at the Thurgood Marshall Center, 1816 12th St. NW, WDC 20009.  At this inaugural event, a Muslim human rights defender who exemplifies the spirit of Islam in the form of resisting and challenging oppression and injustice and working for the inclusion of all marginalized communities will be honored. Moreover, this award will be given to a Muslim human rights defender who has faced challenges because of his/her identity as Muslim and a rising climate of Islamophobia, but perseveres nonetheless.  RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/honoring-muslim-human-rights-defenders-in-the-dmv-a-benefit-dinner-tickets-52339027440.

22] – On Mon., Dec. 10 from 7 to 10 PM, ne a part of America As A Refuge, hosted by We Are All America in Lafayette Park, Pennsylvania Ave. NW & 16th St. NW, WDC 20001. U.S. forces fired tear gas on women and children seeking asylum at the border. It was a sad attempt to criminalize refugees fleeing some of the most violent conditions around the world. Simply put, it was a complete betrayal of U.S. values. Remind this administration that we are a country built by refugees and immigrants fleeing poverty and persecution, coming to a place once seen around the world as a beacon of hope and liberty. See https://www.facebook.com/events/2177830565766181/.

23] – See a free screening of “What Lies Upstream” on Mon., Dec. 10 at 7PM, hosted by the Maryland Sierra Club & Howard County Sierra Club. The documentary tells incredible stories of how a vast array of toxic chemicals got into the drinking water of thousands of people in West Virginia, how the drinking water in Flint, Michigan became contaminated with lead, and how the disposal of wastewater residuals such as bio-solids on agricultural land is introducing thousands of chemicals into our water supply through run-off.

See it at the Elkridge Branch Library, 6540 Washington Blvd, Elkridge 21075. RSVP to Zack Gerdes at zack.gerdes@mdsierra.org or 240-764-5402. “What Lies Upstream” premiered on PBS’s Independent Lens series in April 2018. Produced by investigative journalist Cullen Hoback, the documentary tells incredible stories of how a vast array of toxic chemicals got into the drinking water. It shines a light into the swamp of factors that the Sierra Club is facing daily in its work – how money, governmental negligence, regulatory failures, bureaucratic malpractice, general scientific illiteracy, and industry promotion of “fake science,” shape outcomes that harm the environment and threaten human health. Go to http://www.rocoeducational.com/what_lies_upstream.

24] – Join the Get Money Out of Maryland Teleconference on Monday, Dec. 10 from 8:30 to 9:30 PM.  Call 605-475-6711, code 1136243#.  Work only on brainstorming ideas for participation in the upcoming General Election.

25] -- On Tues., Dec. 11 from 11:45 AM to 1:30 PM, enjoy a Vegan Drinks Holiday Party with the Animals Returns, hosted by Burleigh Manor Animal Sanctuary and Eco-Retreat (BMASER) and Baltimore Vegan Drinks, 3950 White Rose Way, Ellicott City 21042. Tickets include a hot meal (caterer TBA); hot cider/water/tea to drink; a moonlight tour of the grounds/meet the animals; door prizes. There is the usual CASH BAR - and all cash goes to the animals winter care as a donation. Get in the vegan cookie swap and vegan white elephant gift exchange. NO REFUNDS, ALL SALES FINAL. If you buy a ticket and can't make it, you can likely find someone on the event page who wants it, as long as it's soon enough before the event. Due to the nature of paying for catering and all the other event expenses, we cannot offer a child's rate for this event, so sorry!  Friends, only 50 tickets will be sold, as that is the legal capacity. Sign up at https://www.facebook.com/events/1077307999085163/.

26] – On Tues., Dec. 11 from noon to 1:30 PM, get over to Stall 11 Veg Food & Animal Activist Meetup,  hosted by The Humane League - DC at 301 W. 29th St., Baltimore 21211-2910.  Enjoy vegan food & meet animal activists in Baltimore to help millions of animals on factory farms through the ImNotLovinIt.com campaign! Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/289100521838765/.

27] – On Tues., Dec. 11 at noon, join Food Rescue at YO! Baltimore West, 1510 W Lafayette Ave., Baltimore 21217-2131.  This will occur every Tuesday, until Jan. 1, 2019.  Get fresh, delicious, and free food. Bring a bag. Bring a friend! Take what you want. See https://www.facebook.com/events/1994272347506100/.

28] –  On Tues., Dec. 11 at 4 PM, take in Nuclear Security in the Black Sea Region at George Washington University, Room 602, Lindner Commons, WDC. George Washington University's Institute for International Science and Technology Policy is hosting Ian Anthony, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, and Vitaly Fedchenko, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Go to https://npt.elliott.gwu.edu/.

The Nuclear Policy Talks (NPT) is a conversation about the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and appropriate responses for the 21st Century. Previous talks in the past have been co-hosted with other institutes at the university, the Elliott School, and other nuclear policy-centered organizations. This facilitates and inspires collaboration among scientists, policy experts, government and industry leaders on science and technology related issues. The Center collaborates with international governmental research institutes and agencies on advances in scientific and technological policy making. The Institute conducts cutting-edge research on the policy issues that affect science and technology around the world.

29] –  Each Tuesday from 4:30 - 5:30 PM, the Catholic Peace Fellowship-Philadelphia for peace in Afghanistan and Iraq gathers at the Suburban Station, 16th St. & JFK Blvd., at the entrance to Tracks 3 and 4 on the mezzanine.  The next vigil is Dec. 11.  Call 215-426-0364.

30] – Vigil to say "No Drone Research at JHU" each Tuesday at 33rd & North Charles Sts. Join this ongoing vigil on Dec. 11 from 5 to 6 PM. Contact Max at mobuszewski2001 at Comcast dot net or 410-323-1607. 

31] – On Tues., Dec. 11 from 7 to 9 PM, there is a Strategic Plan Release Party! - a monthly community convening hosted by Jews United for Justice - Baltimore at the Bolton St. Synagogue, 212 W. Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore.  See jufj.org.  Keep the light going into the New Year and the upcoming legislative season. Honor the community's social and economic justice work in the past year, engage in fun activities, and celebrate the release of JUFJ's new strategic plan. Bring your friends and family, to share in live music, fun, nosh, and reflective engagement. This is an all-ages kid-, tween-, and teen-friendly event with music and games in which children are welcome to participate. There will be a kids’ corner set up for younger children.  RSVP at https://jufj.org/event/baltimore-convening-december/.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/290147844963873/.

32] – On Tues., Dec. 11 at 7 PM, hear Leigh Goodmark talk about “Decriminalizing Domestic Violence” at Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral St., Baltimore 21201. Call (443) 602 7611 or go to https://www.redemmas.org/.

The book asks the crucial, yet often overlooked, question of why and how the criminal legal system became the primary response to intimate partner violence in the United States. It introduces readers, both new and well versed in the subject, to the ways in which the criminal legal system harms rather than helps those who are subjected to abuse and violence in their homes and communities, and shares how it drives, rather than deters, intimate partner violence. The book examines how social, legal, and financial resources are diverted into a criminal legal apparatus that is often unable to deliver justice or safety to victims or to prevent intimate partner violence in the first place. Envisioned for both courses and research topics in domestic violence, family violence, gender and law, and sociology of law, the book challenges readers to understand intimate partner violence not solely, or even primarily, as a criminal law concern but as an economic, public health, community, and human rights problem. It also argues that only by viewing intimate partner violence through these lenses can we develop a balanced policy agenda for addressing it.

Goodmark is Professor of Law and Director of the Gender Violence Clinic at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law and the author of A Troubled Marriage: Domestic Violence and the Legal System. See https://www.facebook.com/events/597960157303891/.

33] – On Tues., Dec. 11 from 7 to 8 PM, get caught up with Juvenile Justice System Reforms, hosted by SBNA - South Baltimore Neighborhood Association, 1439 S. Charles St., Baltimore 21230-4401.  The Juvenile Justice System, unlike the adult system, is designed to help at risk and troubled youth become functioning adults. State Delegate Luke Clippinger will provide an overview of the juvenile justice system and the legislation that was introduced in the 2018 session to improve its ability to help at risk and troubled youth. The discussion will also cover new legislation expected to be introduced in the upcoming 2019 legislative session. Focus on https://www.facebook.com/events/2240119542896749/.

To be continued.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  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