Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Baltimore Activist Alert -- April 23 -- May 9, 2025

32] Muskville – through May 9

33] Pray with Sojourners – April 23 & 30

34] Native Organizers Alliance healing April 23

35] Close military bases April 23

36] Power Half-Hour for Gaza – April 23, 24, 28 & 29

37] Baltimore Sign Waves – April 23 & 30

38] The Lost Trees – April 23

39] Baltimore Peacebuilder – April 23

40] Join DSA – April 23

41] Local Peace Economy – April 23

42] Film Critical Minerals – April 23

43] Disabilities Issue Organizing Team call April 23

44] Can Christianity Save Democracy – April 24

45] Support immigrants – April 24

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32] – Welcome to Muskville, a Solidarity City at Columbus Circle NE (Union Station), WDC running through May 9 from 9 AM to 8:30 PM. This in-person organizing space started on April 20 and provides support for displaced workers and demonstrate mutual aid, as well as provide political education and organizing for collective action. We'll offer daily programming from large event tents, launch collective actions, host art and cultural events, and build the networks that our movements need to challenge the actions of the Trump/Musk administration. Programming will include supportive services for fired federal workers and other community members, trainings, political education, performances, and more. For the daily schedule go to https://www.solidaritycity.org/schedule-1. Visit  https://www.solidaritycity.org/

33] – Sojourners [sojourners@sojo.net] on Wed., April 23 and Wed., April 30 will bring together near the Capitol faith leaders to pray and act, calling on Congress to have moral courage to end the abuse of executive power.  Meetup at 11:30 AM outside the United Methodist Building at 100 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, D.C. and then walk over together to the nearby vigil site. Vigil from noon until 12:45 PM: Upper Senate Park, Area 2 (bounded by Constitution Ave NE; First St NE; Northeast Dr and the East Front Plaza), Washington, D.C. You are encouraged to urge your faith community to attend the final vigil on April 30, marking the end of the first 100 days in office, where Sojourners will be taking the concerns directly to members of Congress after the public Witness program. Diverse faith traditions teach all to care for the common good, stand up for justice, and protect the most vulnerable. And right now, that means standing up to prevent unchecked executive power. 

 This witness—and that of millions of people across the country demonstrating, attending town halls, and calling their elected representatives—is having an impact. Over the last nearly 100 days of the Trump Administration, our nation has seen alarming acts of executive overreach—actions that attempt to sideline Congress and threaten the constitutional balance our democracy was built to uphold. RSVP for April 23 at https://act.sojo.net/page/79871/survey/1?ea.tracking.id=email and for April 30 RSVP at https://act.sojo.net/page/82039/survey/1?ea.tracking.id=email

34] – The Native Organizers Alliance [info@nativeorganizing.org] on Wed., April 23 at 1 PM ET is discussing “100 Years of Silence and Reclamation of History (Part 2): Healing Next Generations.”  In telling truths and histories, “100 Years of Silence” seeks to empower Native communities to reclaim agency and promote self-determination. Join Native Organizers Alliance and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe for an important webinar about a project spearheaded by Ute community leaders, storytellers, and artists that aims to enhance cultural understanding and encourage community dialogue by breaking the silence around the “Allen Canyon Ute Incarceration of 1923” where members of the Ute tribe -- men, women, and children -- were incarcerated in barbed wire cages and removed from their traditional Ute land in the Bears Ears area of southeastern Utah. RSVP at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3117434424214/WN_YcwP8VlDRg6xw0wyoaa2xg#/registration?link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-join-us-wednesday-for-100-years-of-silence-and-reclamation-of-history-part-2-healing-next-generations-2&email_referrer=email_2704892&email_subject=join-us-wednesday-for-100-years-of-silence-and-reclamation-of-history-part-2-healing-next-generations&&

35] – Detention Watch Network [program@detentionwatchnetwork.org] on Wed., April 24 from 1 to 2:30 PM ET is looking at Dismantling Detention: Military Bases.  Join Detention Watch Network (DWN) for the first in our Communities Not Cages political education series. RSVP at https://detentionwatchnetwork.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/detentionwatchnetwork/event.jsp?event=394&

36] – Jewish Voice for Peace is doing a Power Half-Hour for Gaza: Channel grief & outrage into action to stop a genocide.  A year into the genocide in Gaza, we are overwhelmed with sorrow and rage. There are no words to describe the devastating pain of the past year in which the Israeli military has killed over 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 17,000 children. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have both declared that Israel must stop the genocidal acts being committed on the Palestinian people. And the U.S. government is actively supporting the Israeli military as it wreaks devastation on the over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza. JVP continues to come together as a political community in its daily half-hour to take action, Monday through Friday, for the past year. Join in and take collective action to demand an arms embargo to Israel, immediate end to the genocide, a lasting ceasefire and an end to Israeli siege, apartheid, occupation, and oppression of Palestinians and Lebanon. All are welcome. All are needed. Get involved at 3 PM ET on Wed., April 23, Thurs., April 24, Mon., April 28 & Tues., April 29. Visit https://jvp-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Un0Lupy1SFObVVXJaZO5UQ?_x_zm_rtaid=8L0JUS3pQkenMGtx9ha3mQ.1732760660364.03949df73aedc7035fc618f76c52fc75&_x_zm_rhtaid=249#/registration

37] – On Wed., April 23 from 4:30 to 5 PM join Baltimore Sign Waves at West 40th St. & Roland Ave., Baltimore 21211. The sign waves will continue on April 30. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/763996/?followup_modal_context=nonexclusive_newsletter_closest

  The Wednesday Movement launched on March 12, 2025 when disgruntled seniors took to the streets in Baltimore to make their feelings known. The Movement, a weekly Pro-Democracy, Anti-Trump, Anti-Putin vigil, gathers on a heavily trafficked Baltimore street corner. We invite others who feel the same way to join the Movement. You do not need to be old to join this movement.

38] – Mike Tidwell, CCAN [info@chesapeakeclimate.org] on Wed., April 23 at 7 PM at Red Emma's, 3128 Greenmount Ave., Baltimore 21218 will discuss his book The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street. RSVP at https://withfriends.co/event/22749888/mike_tidwell_presents_the_lost_trees_of_willow_avenue_a_story_of_climate_and_hope_on_one_american_streetBookstore. On 6 PM on Thurs., May 1 at The Ivy Bookshop - Back Patio, 5928 Falls Road, Baltimore 21209. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mike-tidwell-the-lost-trees-of-willow-avenue-with-tom-pelton-tickets-1277770147909?aff=oddtdtcreator

In his new book, Mike will tell his story along with many other tales of climate change across the Mid-Atlantic and on his one urban block in Takoma Park, Maryland. He writes about widespread flooding and Lyme disease and young people not wanting to have kids because of climate doom. I also write of hope: The spread of solar power, the widespread replanting of trees, the first gas station in America to switch to charging only EVs in his neighborhood. 

39] – Baltimore Peacebuilders [baltimorepeacebuilders@gmail.com] on Wed., April 23 at 7 PM ET presents Kazu Haga, author of Fierce Vulnerability, Healing from Trauma, Emerging through Collapse. Check out a conversation with the author at Homewood Friends Meeting, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218 or via Zoom. REGISTER (for both in-person and Zoom participation) at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DZ2uqpJBQvC_SbTLN5M3qA?_x_zm_rtaid=bKlNtwhESmiAhow2FJPRAA.1745373961405.eecbe72017b1d3be48c0684bfa725c78&_x_zm_rhtaid=813#/registration

In times of collapse, we need a movement that recognizes injustice as a reflection of collective trauma and embraces its role as a catalyst for collective healing through transformative action. We are living in a world where the depths of division, violence, and destruction can no longer be ignored. From political polarization leading to the erosion of the democratic process to the climate crisis continuing to perpetuate racial inequity, we need changes that heal harms at the personal and systemic levels. Escalated forms of harm require an equally escalated response. Yet social movements often use tactics that have a tendency to escalate an “us vs. them,” “right vs. wrong” worldview not conducive to healing.

40] – Learn more about the local MDC DSA chapter — structure, campaigns and working groups, Night Schools, and reading groups. On Wed., April 23 from 8 to 9 PM ET, check out Why You Should Join DSA: New Member Orientation (with Q&A). Want to fight fascism from the heart of the empire? Join DSA and fight to build socialism! RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/why-you-should-join-dsa-new-member-orientation-145?link_id=49&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-april-11-2025&email_referrer=email_2702227&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-april-18-2025&&

A link to attend this virtual event will be emailed upon RSVP. Curious about DSA? Thinking about joining but want to hear more info first? Already a member and want to get more involved? You'll learn about DSA, and how you can get involved in the fight for a brighter future. Get an outline of the chapter's structure and campaigns, working groups, and branches. This chapter covers the DMV area, including the district, Northern Virginia, and Montgomery County and Prince George's County in Maryland. This event is open to both DSA Members and supporters.

41] – The Local Peace Economy [peaceeconomy@codepink.org] is holding a gathering on Wed., April 23 at 8 PM ET. ‌ ‌ The Local Peace Economy is amplified by small acts of connection enacted and witnessed between community members. Community grows with these gifts of connection and abundance; interdependencies and relationship is woven into a net of support and care. How do we, individually, embody the knowledge of the need for community, a knowledge erased by the War Economy's siren song? How do we become a lighthouse for peace, a beacon that others might recognize as the way-finder through the Scylla and Charybdis of our political and ecological crises? This gathering will center on this idea of being a lighthouse among the waves of turmoil and darkness of political climate. The Peace Economy movement is like building an ark to weather the tidal wave of change at the door. But what does it mean to become a beacon of peace? RSVP at https://www.codepink.org/lpe0423?utm_campaign=email_blast_for_4_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=codepink

42] – Trade Justice [hillary@tradejusticeedfund.org] on Wed., April 23 at 8:30 PM ET is inviting you to an Online Documentary Premiere: “CRITICAL MINERALS: Creating a Just & Sustainable Energy Transition.” RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vXWnnt5aSwyQOG3m_WNs-Q#/registration?link_id=2&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-climate-the-usmca-review-using-trade-to-protect-the-climate-3&email_referrer=email_2704623&email_subject=online-premiere-critical-minerals-creating-a-just-sustainable-energy-transition&&

 This is a 12-minute documentary about how to prioritize labor, environmental and human rights in critical minerals supply chains. The U.S. government is currently considering a number of new trade agreements designed to help secure access to so-called “critical minerals” — raw materials like nickel, cobalt, lithium and others that are used in clean-energy transition technologies like electric vehicles, long-storage batteries, microchips and solar panels. Depending on how they’re written, these critical minerals trade agreements can help countries meet shared climate, job creation and sustainable development goals or they can end up accelerating exploitative models of resource extraction harmful to workers, communities and the environment. During this exclusive online screening, you will be joined for comments and Q&A by producer Mira Rubio of the California Trade Justice Coalition and other experts. 

43] – Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Wed., April 23 at 9 PM is holding a Disabilities Issue Organizing Team call: Disaster Preparedness plus Medicare for All Bills Rollout. Each month the Disabilities Issue Organizing Team discusses issues important to the community, and legislation and candidates for office who can help make the world a better place for anyone facing challenges. The featured guest speakers this month are Shaylin Sluzalis (she/her) and Germán Parodi (he/him): the Co-Executive Directors of The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies - the U.S. Disability and Disaster Hub, led by and for Disabled people throughout disasters. They both come from independent living and disability rights backgrounds, and are both persons with disabilities. Both their experiences led them to be powerful advocates and activists. Shaylin and Germán's journey responding to disasters and emergencies began in 2017 when they were deployed to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria as disabled first responders meeting the needs of disaster-impacted people with disabilities. This experience now fuels their dedicated and focused work in inclusive emergency management and community resilience nationwide.  RSVP at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpdumvqDwoGNx6xKMg-liSlwcpK1dJ0jzb?emci=b3ebdab8-1e1f-f011-8b3d-0022482a9fb7&emdi=1bc12f2b-8a1f-f011-8b3d-0022482a9fb7&ceid=2907617#/registration

The next team call will be on Wed., May 28 at 9 PM, and this event will continue through October 22.

44] – The Berkley Center <berkleycenter@georgetown.edu> on Thurs., April 24 from 10 to 11:30 AM ET is asking the question Can Christianity Save Democracy—and Itself? This is a conversation with Tom Gjelten and Jonathan Rauch.  In his new book Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy, Jonathan Rauch contends that all Americans have a stake in a healthier Christianity. The conversation will take place at McShain Large Lounge, Georgetown University, 37th & O Streets NW, WDC.  The founders did not establish Christianity as the nation's faith; in fact, they explicitly prohibited any official establishment of religion. They nevertheless made clear that democracy in the United States depends on the promotion of certain civic virtues, including respect for the law, tolerance, and a willingness to compromise.  Rauch contends that all Americans therefore have a stake in a healthier Christianity. In a conversation with Sakka Family Religion and International Journalism Fellow Tom Gjelten, Rauch—himself atheist and Jewish—will explore how he has reached that conclusion and why he thinks the country's civic life is endangered. RSVP at https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/events/can-christianity-save-democracy-and-itself?utm_source=Berkley+Center+Master+List&utm_campaign=4e3cac5155-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_04_14_09_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4e3cac5155-263757#rsvp

45] – Faith in Public Life [commongood@faithinpubliclife.org] on Thurs., April 24 at 2 PM ET need you to demonstrate support for immigrant families and individuals. RSVP at https://secure.everyaction.com/qsLHyPPMhUKIUn5ScqIw-w2?emci=6034ab3a-251a-f011-8b3d-0022482a9fb7&emdi=c1293557-411a-f011-8b3d-0022482a9fb7&ceid=741284

We are called to stand courageously for justice, compassion, and the dignity of all people. In response to this administration’s unprecedented attacks on the immigrant members of our communities, faith leaders have been steadily rising up and building a network through Faith in Public Life across the country to resist.  Refuse to comply in advance with injustice, offer spiritual and material support, and rise in solidarity to protect the dignity of all at 500 12th St. SW #5600, WDC 20024.

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

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