SURJ Boston

Indigenous Solidarity

⭐️ 📋 Save Cape Cod Bay & Other Ocean Sanctuaries

Holtec, Pilgrim’s owner, says it has two options to “dispose of” (1) million gallons of Pilgrim’s radioactive water - dump it directly into Cape Cod Bay or send it out-of-state to an existing radioactive waste site. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says that Holtec can dump whenever it wants to, even in protected ocean sanctuaries such as Cape Cod Bay. Dumping this radioactive water into them is not safe. It would cause incalculable economic damage, and would harm both the environment and public health. Read more and sign this petition with us.

🍎 🔥 WATCH: RECORDING OF MA INDIGENOUS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA (MILA) VIRTUAL ACTION HOUR AND TEACH-IN

Watch this powerful video of Indigenous testimony about the need to support Indigenous-centered bills in Massachusetts.

🔥 THEN TAKE ACTION STEPS FOR MILA:

• ✉️ Go to https://bit.ly/SupportIndigenousBills and send an automated letter to the members of the legislative committees where the bills are currently sitting, asking that the bills be reported out of committee favorably. You can customize the letter if you want. Please share and get your friends and organizations to write, too!
• 🍎 Learn more and get updates via http://maindigenousagenda.org/.
• 🔥 Join our advocacy efforts.

Contact us with any questions for our group. See our document for more info and further ways to take action.

Immigration Justice

⭐️ 🔥 Marcha para Conducir! March to Drive: Licenses for All

Join Never Again Action and Cosecha on January 31st at 3:30 PM at the Massachusetts State House to demand that the committee vote and pass An Act Relative to Work and Family Mobility (H.3456 & S.2289) to guarantee licenses for all regardles of immigration status!

Prison Abolition

🔥 Get involved – fight to pause prison construction!

Take action in support of the moratorium bill! Canvass, phone bank, or text bank! Dates and more info via google form!

🍎 WANT A CAMPAIGN UPDATE FOR THE PRISON AND JAIL MORATORIUM?

Register online: weekly town hall on Mondays at 6pm, learn about events and actions to stop the new women’s prison and other new jails or prisons.

Mutual Aid

🔥 💵 Help us redistribute resources to our neighbors!

While many of us have had our lives return to “normal,” this pandemic is still negatively impacting our neighbors, particularly those of color, more than ever. Please lend support where you can!

We have porches set up as donation drop-off sites please email us to get the address for a drop-off site of your choice: Belmont, Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, Medford, Somerville, and West Roxbury.

Donations have been extremely low as of late. Please help us pick it up if you can!

Urgent needs:

• The Cape Verdean Association of Boston (CVAB): Food & essential supplies are still GREATLY needed, please give what you can: See the full updated list of needs here. Food and supplies to stay safe from COVID-19 are in the greatest demand.
• Cambridge Mutual Aid/Community For Us, By Us: Request for N95s to be dropped off at The Democracy Center, or monetary donations for masks at paypal.me/communityfubu

If you would like to donate funds to our partners as well/instead: (We’d appreciate an email at surjbmutualaid@gmail.com to let us know you donated!)

• Cape Verdean Association of Boston
• Community For Us By Us
• VietAID

Confronting White Supremacists

⭐️ 📣 🍎 News and Resources

Take some time this week to educate yourself and others and re-commit to combating organized white supremacists.

• Latest news: “Natick Woman Charged in Capitol Riot May Not Be on 2022 Ballot”, Patch
• Start here: "Takeaways for well-meaning white people", Community Change Inc.
• For reference: "Confronting White Supremacy New England"
• For a local focus: “Did a Boston cop participate in the Jan. 6 attack?”, Boston Globe
• For a look at demographics: "January 6 Arrestees Aren't More Likely to Be from Rural Areas", The Daily Yonder

🍎 SURJ NATIONAL: UNITED VISION PROJECT

Kickoff Call: Wednesday, January 26, 8:00PM
The United Vision project will organize SURJ members across the country to do text outreach to white people vulnerable to right-wing recruitment.

Housing Justice

No fault evictions should never happen, especially during a pandemic. Mutual aid is standing with neighbors facing evictions — join us to stand in solidarity with neighbors across the city.

⭐️ 🍎 VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR RENT CONTROL!

Use this link to read up on rent control, view coverage of the Housing Committee hearing on January 11, and record a video talking about why rent control matters to you.

🎉 🍎 VICTORY FOR 6 HUMPHREY’S PLACE!

After 4 years of organizing, the residents of 6 Humphrey’s Place in Dorchester won a huge victory: their building was bought by the Boston Neighborhood Community Land Trust, ensuring permanent affordability and community control. Read City Life/Vida Urbana’s year end recap to learn about other updates.

☎️ ✉️ CALL, EMAIL, AND RECORD TESTIMONY FOR THE COVID HOUSING EQUITY BILL

Over 24,000 eviction cases and counting have been filed in our state during the pandemic. Read a summary of the bill here, and let your legislators know how urgently we need protections from evictions and foreclosures in this continuing pandemic and economic crisis!

📋 🔥 ✉️ SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR SENIORS #DrainTurtleSwamp #DropItMonty

Take action here to defend affordable housing for working-class seniors and El Embajador Restaurant! → 1. Sign the petition 2. Sign up to flyer 3. Write a letter.