SURJ Boston

Public Ed

March 27th - Final School Committee hearing on this year's BPS Budgets

Our partner BEJA (Boston Education Justice Alliance) has asked for support from SURJ by showing up at this hearing to stand with parents, students, and teachers that again face devastating budget cuts. Please come to the Bolling Building at 5:30 pm on the 27th. If interested in getting more involved in supporting the school communities - email tonyatedesco@gmail.com. Download the rally flyer for posting here and for more information on this year's cuts see schoolyardnews.com.

Askwith Forums – Black Educators and the Struggle for Justice in Schools

Thursday March 28, 4-5:30 PM at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "Black educators were essential to the legal victory that was Brown vs. Board of Education, but over time, they saw the promise of greater access and greater equity grow dimmer, undermined by the way this now-iconic legal milestone was actually implemented." Read more about the forum here.

Housing Justice

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! BOSTON PEOPLE'S PLAN: BUILD THE FUTURE OF HOUSING IN OUR CITY!

Saturday, March 23, 2019, 12pm - 4pm
First Church in Roxbury, 10 Putnam St, Boston MA, 02119

Sign up here to volunteer at the Homes for All People's Assembly on Saturday March 23rd! There will be a variety of volunteer tasks throughout the day and any assistance is welcome. This is a great opportunity to support individuals in the city of Boston that are directly impacted by the housing and displacement crisis and are coming together to build a people’s plan for equitable development, affordable housing, and an end to displacement. Watch this video from the first Boston People’s Plan Assembly last September, and check out the Facebook event for next weekend's assembly. And don't forget to sign up to volunteer!

Immigration Justice

Responding To Racist Violence

In sadness and solidarity with the Muslim community in New Zealand and everywhere, we share this fundraiser to support victims' immediate financial needs. And share this statement from our friends at the Muslim Justice League:

"We urge all people, as they process and respond to this violence, to give critical attention to the ways white supremacist violence is not merely the result of individuals' 'extremism,' but is seeded and encouraged by state structural violence, including policies that signal that some communities -- e.g. Muslim, Black, immigrant, and others -- are 'threats.' It is especially crucial to acknowledge this context, as often in the wake of violence, proposed responses include expanding the very programs that surveil, criminalize and re-traumatize our communities."

Read the full post here, which also includes a link to this petition to sign and share.

End Southeast Asian Deportations

Support the Asian American Resource Workshop in protesting the deportation of Saray Im and other members of the Southeast Asian community! ICE is currently targeting Cambodian Americans for deportation, including Saray Im, a father, husband, and community leader facing deportation to a country he fled from due to war and genocide. He will be going to check-in with ICE at the Burlington ICE facility on Wednesday at 9:00 am. In response, the community is coming together to organize a rally to show up for Saray, his family, and the Cambodian community. Here is what you can do:

1. Sign & share this petition to Keep Saray Home
2. Come to the solidarity gathering on Wednesday, March 20 at 8 a.m. in Burlington, MA (1000 District Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803) and use this form to get a ride
3. Use this form to offer a ride to the solidarity gathering if you have a car

I f you are going and want to meet up with other SURJ Folks, text or call Annie at 309-310-2341.

CALL-IN TO SUPPORT ICE DETAINEE HUNGER STRIKE

Last month, approximately 70 I.C.E. detainees at the Suffolk County House of Correction launched a hunger strike calling for an end of abuse and for more humane conditions. Four people were held in solitary confinement in direct retaliation for participating in this hunger strike.

While the hunger strike has ended, we must continue the pressure for better conditions at the facility and for all detainees to be immediately released. Please read the full list of grievances sent from the detainees at http://thefangcollective.org/suffolkletter and call Sheriff Tompkins @ (617-704-6655), Suffolk County DA Rollins (617-619-4000), and Governor Baker (617-725-4005) to demand humane conditions and the shutdown of the ICE facility.

Funding Calls from Folks in Detention

The FANG Collective has supported the hunger strike with the cost of calls from organizers detained by ICE. The cost of calls from an ICE facility (or any facility of imprisonment) is another way the injustice system extorts our communities. It can cost $15 or more just to make a brief phone call out of detention. To help the FANG Collective cover the costs of the calls they've received, and help those detained stay connected to them, please contribute here: http://bit.ly/FANG-Collective

AARW 40th Anniversary Kick-off Celebration

March 24th, 5-8pm, Homestead Bakery, 1448 Dorchester Ave., Fields Corner, Dorchester

Join us to kick off the Asian American Resource Workshop’s 40th Anniversary year -- Rising Together: 40 Years in Community! We will share about the powerful work that AARW is currently leading, unveil our upcoming events and programs, and discuss ways that folks can plug in and support us in the work ahead! RSVP @ https://40thkickoff.brownpapertickets.com.

Please send questions to rising.together@aarw.org.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/366051767581830/

Jobs with Justice Sip and Stitch Fundraiser

March 29, 2019, 6:30-9:30pm
375 Centre St, JP

Join Jobs with Justice for a "Stitch and Sip": we'll teach you the basics of cross stitch, then show you how to use it to create a radical work of art. All materials provided; no experience necessary. Please sign up via our ticket link so that we can be sure to have supplies and snacks ready: https://actionnetwork.org/events/sip-and-stitch-nite-with-esther.

Boston Immigrant Justice Accompaniment Network

Join our network of members fighting the injustice of our racist immigration system of detention and deportation through rides, donations, letters, advocacy, home hospitality, and much more.

Join: bit.ly/joinBIJAN | Donate: beyondbondboston.org
Share: bit.ly/BIJANflyer | Host: bit.ly/BIJANhousing

Prison Abolition

SUPPORT PARTICIPATORY DEFENSE

SURJB is working to partially fund meals for Families for Justice as Healing's Participatory Defense weekly sessions. At these sessions, court-involved community members work together to defend themselves against the racist court system! Please note your donation is for Participatory Defense in the "additional info" line. Ongoing need is $75 per week, and any amount helps! Donate here.

BLACK & PINK VOLUNTEER DROP IN

Times are drop in/drop out, so come for as long or little as you'd like. You will need a laptop. Come read LGBTQ/HIV+ prisoners' letters, learn about their struggles, and help out the Black and Pink family!

• Saturdays in Lower Allston: from 12 -3pm at Swissbäkers. Contact Eli at eli@newgreyhair.com or Facebook page; wheelchair accessible. Note: this drop in's last day will be May 25.
• Wednesdays in JP: 7-9pm at First Baptist Church, 633 Centre Street Jamaica Plain, MA.  Contact Annie at annieatwater@gmail.com; wheelchair accessible.
• Sundays in Cambridge: 3-6pm at Democracy Center, 45 Mount Auburn St in Cambridge; partially wheelchair accessible, no accessible bathroom.

Movement for Black Lives

BLM Boston Campaign 21

At the end of 2018 BLM Boston, SURJ Boston, and other local organizations raised $2,500 to support a Black woman and child fleeing domestic violence getting settled in a safe situation. Become a monthly donor to BLMB to help them create a pool of resources for urgent needs! PAYPAL for one-time donations is m4blmboston@gmail.com.

Vigil in Support of Black Lives Matter

4/2 at 5:30 PM in front of First Baptist Church 633 Centre St in JP. The vigil is a space to come together to take a stand against white supremacy, the rise of white nationalism, and to stand up for racial justice. Tina Chery from Louis D Brown Peace Institute will speak.