October 18, 2020
⭐ New or updated content | ☎️ Phone calls | 📋 Petition | 🍎 Education | ✊ In-person or remote action | 💵 Donations | 🚗 Driving
Please feel welcome to forward this email to others!
Every Wednesday 12 to 1 PM
Want to host your own?
Register here for action hours and invite friends to action hours on Facebook. Now with extended dates through December!
Overwhelmed by the number of actions you see each week? SURJB Active Members guide participants through calls, emails, petitions, fundraisers and more as we build the movement for racial justice! We provide more context on the calls to action and insight on how our actions help to advance the struggles we are working on.
This year SURJB has a cohort of five leaders attending four months of Relational Uprising trainings in an effort to expand upon and deepen our chapter's culture and practice of relationship-based organizing. We are hosting a fundraiser to help cover the costs of the training, and to match what we spend on our own leadership development with investment in BIPOC-led organizations that also work to bring up the next generation of leaders.
Of that amount, $1,600 will help cover training costs, and $5,400 will be split evenly between Community Change Inc, Sisters Unchained, Student Immigrant Movement, and Dorchester Not For Sale. You can donate here.
This week we want to share with you the work of Dorchester Not for Sale (DN4S), a resident-led community alliance that’s committed to centering the needs and voices of families most-at-risk of displacement throughout Dorchester. DN4S has been doing critical community work during the COVID-19 pandemic:
With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, DN4S has expanded our work into feeding our community and being an information and organizing hub for housing justice while continuing our work in City wide campaigns. We've been distributing grocery bags to 180 families per week throughout Dorchester, with our home base at the VietAid community center in Fields Corner. We've pushed for legal protections from eviction as our community survives and recovers from the pandemic. We're participating in the Coalition for a Truly Affordable Boston, and Homes For All's Week of Action to pass the Housing Stability Act, because we know that the crisis of displacement and gentrification is affecting all communities in Boston and across the state. We anticipate that the funds will go to ongoing food efforts and possibly used for a fridge at VietAid.
Saturday, October 24th, 1:00 - 4:30 PM and every other following Saturday
SURJ National is organizing us to repeatedly call a set of 100,000 white voters in Georgia between now and the November election. These are voters who are not receiving calls from the Democrats or others, and we will be engaging them in deep conversation, with the goal to help them realize their common stake with people of color in making transformative change in our country.
You can sign up for any of the upcoming phone banks on SURJ National's website. You can also sign up to make calls to recruit phone bankers on Thursdays, or support these efforts by making a donation to both SURJ National and the New
Georgia Project.
We’re nearly a quarter of the way to our goal! As Indigenous organizing ramps up in October and November for Indigenous Peoples Day and the National Day of Mourning, and the continued push for the Indigenous legislative agenda, please join SURJ Boston in raising $1000 for the United American Indians of New England (UAINE). Donate at this link and email us at SURJBindigenousSolidarity@googlegroups.com to let us know how much you gave.
The House of Representatives has not yet voted for a review of the racist Massachusetts state flag and seal. Call and email your reps TODAY during this extended legislative session and urge them to vote to change the flag and seal, and to ban Native mascots! Follow the link for an easy way to send messages to your elected officials.
We appreciate and acknowledge that we live (and are guests) on Indigenous land. We want to be mindful and respectful of this, treating the land (and our environment in general) like any place we would be as a guest. To get informed about the land you live on: native-land.ca and usdac.us/nativeland
Join our Confronting White Supremacists Announcement List to hear from us about opportunities to learn more and take action against non-state white supremacists and fascists in New England.
PRA is a “social justice think tank” doing key research and political education work on the full spectrum of far-right activity and ideology in the US. Their fall webinar series is packed full of learning opportunities.
Read more about each topic and register for webinars here.
Our mutual aid partners (Cape Verdean Association of Boston, 12th Baptist Church, and VietAID) continue to remind us that critical supplies like food and sanitary products are in high demand. PLEASE DONATE EACH WEEK YOU ARE ABLE to help our neighbors stay afloat in a crisis that disproportionately affects those already most targeted by racism and white supremacy.
This week we’re asking folks to focus on the following items for 12th Baptist and CVAB:
For VietAID they are accepting the following donations:
We have drop off sites in Allston, Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, Roxbury, Somerville, and West Roxbury. Please email surjbmutualaid@gmail.com for more information.
We are still working to ensure that the BPS (Boston Public Schools) School Committee acts swiftly in adopting the recommendation of the BPS Opportunity Gap Task Force and suspend the exam based admissions policy for Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, and the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Sciences, and we further call on the School Committee to direct the BPS to design an alternative selection process that does not use an exam for SY 20-21.
We need YOUR help & the help of everyone in your networks to ensure that the recommendation NOT to have entrance exams is approved by Boston’s School Committee NEXT WEDNESDAY, October 21st at 5 PM.
Let the MAYOR, SCHOOL COMMITTEE & CITY COUNCIL know that you support the working group recommendation because:
Take action by:
See an update about this work and other ways to advocate for more equitable schools by banning this exam practice by clicking here.
Please consider donating to the Unafraid Educators COVID-19 Relief Fund for students and families in Boston Public Schools who need financial support during this time. Also, please share the form with those who might need it.
We are still collecting signatures. The lawsuit has not been dropped. Boston residents-- sign the petition and send an email to demand Monty Gold to drop the lawsuit against the Pine Street Inn's project - one of the largest affordable and supportive housing projects in Boston. Help us reach our goal of 1900 signatures by Monday!
Help City Life/Vida Urbana and SURJ flyer (socially distant) tenant association buildings the last Saturday of the month to provide residents with important information. If you're interested, please sign up using this form.
Learn about upcoming events and actions happening in real-time and how to get connected with SURJ B’s Housing Justice group and support the Boston area housing justice movement. Sign up here.
Monday, October 19, 7-9PM OR Sunday, October 25, 1-3PM (Two dates to accommodate as many people as possible, please RSVP for one)
Join us for an online symposium led by formerly incarcerated women from Building Up People Not Prisons (BUPNP), a multiracial coalition that advocates for the decarceration of women and girls and investment in community-led alternatives. We will be discussing Black-led organizing by women in the fight for decarceration, defunding systems of harm and punishment, and reimagining communities where everyone can live in health and safety.
Last week, officials from MCI Shirley took everything Wayland “X” Coleman owns in retaliation for his ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of his fellow prisoners. Wayland has been organizing for mutual aid during COVID19, on top of decades of work fighting for people behind the wall.
💵 DONATE TO HELP A YOUNG FATHER
$7000/$9000 needed! Let’s help Jordan during his reentry as he works and supports his family.
Kimya's House is a re-entry home run by and for formerly incarcerated Black women -- open on time in spite of setbacks from the pandemic. Sustain their work with a monthly donation to support daily operational expenses and help serve the community! You can set up a monthly donation here.
Support the Families for Justice as Healing demands for the new Boston Police Department contract with the city by signing this petition!
Please give what you an to support Irma, an activist leader who is part of Movimiento Cosecha and the BIJAN community in a time of loss.
The Department of Homeland Security has just announced the grant awards for their 2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) program. This program is the latest version of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), a government surveillance program that exploits community need by deputizing social service providers to police the politics, religious practice, and other behaviors of community members. Since its inception, CVE has consistently targeted Muslim communities across the US. Learn more today with this toolkit put together by MJL and the #StopCVE Coalition and share on social media.
On November 6, Student Immigrant Movement will be virtually celebrating their Quinceañera of Rebellion. Join them to honor the stories of resistance and persistence of undocumented youth. Every week leading up to the gala they will be highlighting a SIMmer! Get your tickets here.
In honor of their 15th anniversary, a donor has stepped forward to match all donations made in September, up to $4,000. Help them reach this donation goal by becoming a Dream Sustainer here.
Massachusetts Jobs with Justice is continuing to celebrate their month of movement-building and movement-giving. Follow them on Facebook to learn more about their ongoing work and campaigns. You can donate or become a monthly sustainer here!
BIJAN is a be part of the National Bail Fund Network, a coalition of abolitionist organizations that raise funds to pay bail for people in pretrial detention and immigration
bond for people in ICE detention. These intertwined systems are harmful and racist, disproportionately depriving Black and Brown people of their freedom in a system of mass incarceration that exists to reinforce white supremacy and create
profit. We hope that you will continue to support the many important bail and bond funds, including Beyond Bond and Legal Defense!
Friday, November 13, 6:30-8pm
Celebrate a year of uprising and resilience with our anti-racist community! This annual celebration and fundraiser is a highlight of the year. There will be interactive activity rooms and a short speaking program!
Contribute to SURJB's Annual Fundraiser for CCI
Every year, SURJB works to support our parent organization - in recognition of the ways they are laying the infrastructure for anti racist organizing against the white problem of racism in New England.
SURJ Boston is a project of Community Change Inc (CCI), a Boston-based organization promoting racial justice and equity by challenging systemic racism and acting as a catalyst for anti-racist learning and action.
In 1968, as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and in response to the Kerner Commission which named racism as "a white problem”, CCI was birthed. CCI promotes racial justice and equity by challenging systemic racism and acting as a catalyst for anti-racist learning and action. CCI accomplishes its mission through education, advocacy and working in solidarity with others to organize for change.
Sunday, November 8, 12:30-2:30PM
SURJ Boston's monthly brunches are a time to build community and deepen our understanding. Each month has a topic and featured presenters in an area related to racial justice organizing.
Register here: tinyurl.com/2020surjbrunch. An email with a Zoom Link will be sent to you.
Knapsack is a multiracial/cross-class group of folks dedicated to the struggle for shared liberation. We engage in a variety of group discussions to build community and awareness, and take action to disrupt the systems of racism in the U.S.
and beyond. We support the efforts of racial justice leaders and organizations.
Join us in Knapsack meetings (all on Zoom for now):
See all upcoming meetings on our Meetup page, and please RSVP here if you can attend. More options are regularly added.
Join the Facebook discussions. This is an alternative to the Meetup group; it is not required to join this FB group to join/attend the Meetup group. All are welcome in both.
Moving From Talk to Action: Find classes and sign up on the WPCR website.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Commit to doing just one thing this week.
We can do this.
Click on green text to follow links for more info!