Baltimore Activist Alert -- May 21 - 22, 2026

53] Candidate forum – May 21

54] No to data centers – May 21

55] Phone bank for healthcare – May 21

56] DSA social – May 21

57] Red Lives – May 21

58] Uncovering oppression – May 21

59] Exploring queer & Trans identities – May 21

60] Phone bank for Randy Villegas – May 21

61] Campaign to Victory Call – May 21

62] Peace in Taiwan – May 22

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53] – The Nurses' Campaign to Win Medicare for All [info@medicare4all.org] on Thurs., May 21 at 5 PM ET is requesting that you attend a Baltimore County Candidate Forum, 10302 Grand Central Ave., Owings Mills on Thurs., May 21 at 5 PM ET. The 2026 primaries are in full swing, and now is the best time for getting candidates to sign the Patients over Profits pledge, and commit to rejecting campaign donations from the corporate health care industry. RSVP at https://act.medicare4all.org/event/pop_attend/5189/signup/?akid=317041.162593.if9NZZ&c0=pop_attend.SFzUTC&c1=5189.ZDi6Mn&rd=1&source=em20260513-317041&t=1

54] – CCAN Action Fund [info@chesapeakeclimate.org] on Thurs., May 21 at 5 PM wants you to attend the planning board meeting and say no to data centers in Baltimore County.  SIGN UP to testify in person or virtually: https://act.ccanactionfund.org/page/98184/action/1?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=mdce&utm_content=MD-CE-Bmore+Data+Center+Hearing-0526-c4+B&ea.url.id=5510828

‌ The Baltimore County Planning Board is holding a data center hearing at 105 West Chesapeake Ave., Hearing Room 104, Towson. If you attend in person, come early for a rally outside the building at 4:15 PM!  The County passed a data center moratorium earlier this year, which put a pause on any new data centers being built. Now, the county is completing a “data center study,” and there is an opportunity for residents like you to make your voice heard! 

55] – Progressive Maryland is also making calls to voters across the state to make sure they know that health care is at stake in the June 23rd Primary. Throwdown Thursdays, including May 21, from 6 to 8 PM for a high-energy phone bank to support endorsed progressive candidates across the state. Whether you’re brand new or have phone banked with us before, you’re welcome here. Get a quick training so you feel confident and ready to go. The next phone bank will be on May 28, and this event will continue through June 18https://www.mobilize.us/progressivemaryland/event/936457/?emci=b71a938c-fa47-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&emdi=58700cba-0548-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&ceid=136680

56] – On Thurs., May 21 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Quincy Beer Hall, 4001 Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA 22203, the Northern Virginia DSA is doing a social meetup on the Third Thursday. Email novabranch@mdcdsa.org. The hall is one BLOCK from BALLSTON-MU METRO stop or four BLOCKS FROM VIRGINIA SQUARE-GMU METRO stop. Covid-19 Vaccine+latest booster is required for attendance. You do not need to be a DSA member to attend. RSVP at https://actionnetwork.org/events/nova-social-meetup-nova-branch-dsa-may-21st-630pm?link_id=97&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-may-8-2026&email_referrer=email_3240349&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-may-15-2026&&

57] – Two of the authors of Red Lives: Our Years in the Communist Party, 1950-2000 will be speaking on Thurs., May 21 from 6:30 to 9 PM at Busboys and Poets in Takoma Park. 235 Carroll St. NW, WDC 20012.  Individuals active in the Communist Party during that time write about their engagement in the labor, civil rights, anti-war, and other movements of that era — and discuss the victories won, the defeats suffered, and the relevance of that experience for the socialist movement today. This event is endorsed by Metro DC DSA and is co-sponsored by the Labor Heritage Foundation. Find more information at https://laborheritage.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=533040&item_id=2957573&link_id=44&can_id=4b9d4061aec5469758759317ac0f5285&source=email-metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-may-8-2026&email_referrer=email_3240349&email_subject=metro-dc-dsa-weekly-newsletter-for-may-15-2026&&

58] – William Barry [billbarry21214@gmail.com] has posted the Baltimore History Evenings schedule for 2026.  The line-up this year offers a stimulating variety of talks about our city’s rich past, from environmental history and labor history to McCarthyism, the fight for Black equality, and public arts activism. This free lecture-and-discussion series is held on the third Thursday of the month through June at The Village Learning Place, 2521 St. Paul St., with a reception at 7 PM and a program start time at 7:30 PM.  On Thurs., May 21 / From FOIA Lawsuits to Reparative Actions: An Archival Process of Uncovering and Confronting Legacies of Oppression / Andrea Conte, Baltimore-based filmmaker, writer, and public records researcher/Thursday, June 18 / The Graffiti Squad: From the Baltimore Mural Program to Graffiti Alley, 1975–Present / Menika Dirkson, associate professor of African American History, Morgan State University. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1691755188488643

59] – On Thurs., May 21 at 7:30 PM get over to In the Stacks at 17 E. Mt. Vernon Place, Baltimore 21202 for an exploration of queer and trans identities across history through historic postcards that offer powerful evidence of queer presence in the past. Though small in scale, these objects carry rich stories about how queer people expressed identity, resistance, desire, humor, and liberation across time. In dialogue with these archival materials, flutist Willie Santiago, pianist Ben Shaver, and drag artists Lula Lioness, DIV0ID, Bratz LaVey, and Oberon the Demon will bring the past into conversation with the present through performance, storytelling, and fashion.  RSVP at https://www.facebook.com/events/821725940431294/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22your_upcoming_events_unit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

60] – On Thurs., May 21 at 8:30 PM ET, phone bank for Indivisible’s endorsed candidate Randy Villegas.  Randy’s primary is on June 2, and AIPAC is spending heavily against him, while the Dem establishment has put its thumb on the scale to support his status-quo opponent. A short phone banking training will be included at the beginning of each session, so both first-time dialers and phone bank pros are welcome to join. Be sure to have both a computer and a phone so that you can make calls to voters.  The other opportunities to phone bank are at 8:30 PM ET on May 27 & 28 and June 1. RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/949938/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=_20260518

61] -- Progressive Democrats of America [info@pdamerica.org] on Thurs., May 21 at 9 PM ET are inviting you to get involved with More Good News on the Campaign to Victory Call. Join in for good news and inspiration about recent wins and more on the horizon. Get a debrief of the results of the primaries, lay out how we continue to build the progressive Blue Wave, note where the next victories will be coming from, and discuss ways we can all make a real difference at the polls and in the streets, nationwide. RSVP and the machine will email you your secure link/codes: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrcuGgrDItHdeYV7F9QQsruFMypvcMt5Fc?emci=68c57304-1b53-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&emdi=7b402cd3-af53-f111-8ef3-000d3a14b6d6&ceid=2907617#/registration

62] -- On Fri., May 22 from 8:30 to 9:30 AM ET, join a virtual PEACE in TAIWAN: A Conversation on the Current Situation of Taiwan and How People Can Contribute to Achieving Peace. Email asia@worldbeyondwar.org. A link will be communicated before the event: https://actionnetwork.org/events/webinar-peace-in-taiwan?clear_id=true

Taiwan faces a critical resilience gap, having limited stockpiles of essential medicines and medical resources, a need for hardened communications systems, weakened information integrity with media organizations lacking resources for fact-checking; all this as tensions in the Taiwan Strait remain high and unstable. There is a need to amplify calls for neutrality as militarization in the region continues and rivalry between the U.S. and China persists. The speaker Brian Hioe is a writer, editor, translator, activist, and DJ based out of Taipei.

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