SURJ Boston
Actions & Updates
March 20, 2022
A โญ๏ธ indicates new or updated content.
๐ = Education, ๐ฅ = Show up, โ๏ธ = Call,
โ๏ธ = Email, ๐ฃ = Social Media, ๐ต = Donate,
๐ = Sign a petition, ๐ = Victory.
Click on any green text to follow links.
โญ๏ธ โ๏ธ โ๏ธ ๐ต ๐ฅ RALLY AT THE STATE HOUSE TO SUPPORT LICENSES FOR ALL!
In February, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed the Work & Family Mobility Act, moving Massachusetts closer to becoming the 17th state to allow undocumented community members to access driverโs licenses! Join Cosecha for a rally at the State House on Thursday, March 24th at 1pm to demand an immediate Senate vote to advance the bill.
There will be a rally outside the Statehouse, as well as folks entering the building. Please bring proof of vaccination if you wish to enter the Statehouse.
In the meantime, please:
โ๏ธ Email your State Senator
โ๏ธ Call your State Senator
๐ต Contribute to the Campaign here!
......
๐ฅ ACTION HOURS
Every Wednesday 12-1 PM, as well as every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 7 PM, SURJ Boston members will guide you through actions curated from our BIPOC-led partners' priorities for that week! We also offer training in how to host action hours for your own community from 1-1:30 PM on the last Wednesday of the month. Action hours are open to all! Bring friends! :) Register here!
Confronting White Supremacists
๐ STAY INFORMED ABOUT WHITE SUPREMACISTS IN YOUR AREA
Read and share the New England White Supremacists website.
Prison Abolition
โญ๏ธ ๐ The Role Of Gender And Poverty In Incarceration | March 28th, 2:00-3:30pm
The Womenโs Bar Association is inviting lawyers and anyone interested in the intersection of incarceration, race, and gender. Register here.
โญ๏ธ โ๏ธ ๐ฅ LETTER CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT MELISSA LUCIO
The state of texas is trying to murder Melissa Lucio for an accidental death of her child. There's a national call to write physical letters to support her. Details and instructions here. Learn more on youtube.
โ๏ธ ๐ฅ PHONE BANK AND CANVASS FOR PRISON MORATORIUM BILL
Phone bank Thursdays 5-7pm to help pass the Prison and Jail Construction Moratorium Bill and stop the new women's prison! Or join a weekend canvass to ask constituents to call their legislators. More details here.
Indigenous Solidarity
โญ๏ธ โ๏ธ โ๏ธ IMPORTANT AND EXCITING UPDATE: THE MA INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY BILL has been extended in committee until April 14!!
That means the bill is still alive and there is hope for it this legislative session. We need everyone's help! Please EMAIL and CALL the State Admin and Regulatory Oversight Committee and tell them you want the IPD bill voted out favorably.
Use this link to send an automated email to Committee members.
Also, phone calls to committee members make a huge difference! You do not need to be an expert on the bill to let them know you support it. Email us to get the script and phone numbers.
โญ๏ธ ๐ The UAINE and NAICOB 2022 Indigenous Liberation Speaker Series presents: A conversation with Indigenous Women Leaders
March 27 at 3PM ET. Featuring Melissa Harding Ferretti, Chair of Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe; Cherri Foytlin; and Noretta Miswaggon. More info and link to register.
โญ๏ธ ๐ SAVE THE PINE BARRENS
Sign the petition for a statewide moratorium on state subsidies for destructive ground mounted solar.
๐ PROTECT THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT petition
Contact us with any questions and for more info on the #FreeLeonardPeltier petition and other related actions.
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.
โญ๏ธ ๐ TUNE IN TO A STATEWIDE EVICTIONS REPORT WEBINAR, TUES. 3/22 @ 11AM
Join Homes for All Massachusetts and the MIT Department of Urban Studies + Planning this Tuesday morning as they present their findings from a recent report: โHousing Justice Beyond the Emergency: An Analysis of Racial Inequity in Eviction Filings Across Massachusetts.โ Register here!
๐ PETITION: DORCHESTER BAY CITY SHOULD BE FOR US!
Join Dot Not 4 Sale in pushing back on a multi-billion-dollar private development on public land. Sign the petition.
โ๏ธ EMAIL LEGISLATORS: PASS THE TENANT OPPORTUNITY TO PURCHASE ACT (TOPA)
TOPA would require landlords to give tenants the first notice when they plan to sell and give them time to make the first offer or designate a nonprofit on their behalf, allowing them the best chance to stay in their home. Email your legislators to pass TOPA today.
โ๏ธ CALL LEGISLATORS: SAVE SUBSIDIZED HOUSING IN BOSTON LONG TERM WITH H.4229
Help save affordable housing at the Forbes building in JP, the Babcock Towers, and other subsidized housing in Boston long term. Ask legislators to co-sponsor State House bill H.4229.
โ๏ธ โ๏ธ PUSH A HOUSING JUSTICE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
Three important bills—which if passed could be major wins for housing justice—are still on the table at the state house. Call and email your legislators today to voice your support for 1) The COVID Housing Equity Bill 2) lifting the ban on rent control and 3) the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA) Act.
Public Education
โ๏ธ ๐ฅ Take Action Now to Keep Schools Safe from COVID!
Urge Mayor Wu & BPS to keep the mask requirement and improve ventilation. Here are 3 steps you can take:
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Send emails to city officials in a few clicks here
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Testify at the School Committee hearing on Wed. March 23rd - sign up here by 4:30pm on March 23
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Join BPS Families for COVID Safety - we meet weekly on Fridays. For more info & Zoom link, go to: https://bit.ly/FamCOSaSignup
โ๏ธ ๐ฅ BPS superintendent search
The next BPS leader will shape our schools for years. Help the School Committee hear your voice by…
- Speaking up at a listening session | 3/24 students, 4/12 general (w/translation & ASL)
- Emailing written input at superintendentsearch@bostonpublicschools.org
The School Committee wants to know:
- What are the three most important qualities or experiences our next Superintendent should have?
- What questions would you like the candidates to answer?
- How can the next Superintendent partner with the community to be successful?
JOIN THE PUBLIC ED RAPID RESPONSE TEAM!
Canโt make meetings, but still want to hear about just-in-time actions you can take to support public education? Fill out our interest survey!
Immigration Justice
โ๏ธ BECOME A PEN PAL FOR BIJAN MEMBER IN ICE JAIL
The Boston Immigration Accompaniment Network is looking for pen pals to serve as a form of emotional support, outreach, and connection to the outside world to their members in ICE detention. Sign up to become a pen pal hereโthey are particularly looking for folks who speak Spanish.
Mutual Aid
๐ฅ ๐ต Help us redistribute resources to our neighbors!
While many of us have had our lives return to โnormal,โ 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.
- Volunteers to help with the food pantry on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. More information here.
๐ต If you would like to donate funds to our partners as well/instead: (weโd appreciate an email at surjbmutualaid@gmail.com to let us know you donated!)
๐ต ๐ Fundraisers and Petitions
Give what you can and share with your networks:
- MassUndocuFund is a fund that works to provide direct financial support to undocumented immigrants during the COVID-19 crisis. As families continue to be impacted by the Omicron wave, support our community members with limited access to relief during this crisis!
- Support activist Wayland X. Coleman get safe food while in prison!
Sign your name in support:
๐ Dig Deeper
SOLIDARITY FOR RACIAL JUSTICE: STUDY GROUP AND ACTION CIRCLE
Join community members from across Massachusetts at Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council's Racial Justice solidarity study group Tuesdays at 6pm followed by action circle at 7pm, both virtual. We will push for reparations for slavery and racial equity from the War on Drugs municipality by municipality across Massachusetts Learn and apply with community standing in solidarity for racial justice for cities across Massachusetts today. Change can't wait. Register today!
COMMUNITY READ OF "HOW THE WORD IS PASSED"
On Saturday, March 26 from 1-2:30, the New Democracy Coalition and Massachusetts Peace Action are hosting a discussion of "How the Word is Passed" by Clint Smith and what actions anti-racist activists can take in response.
Boston KNAPSACK ANTI-RACISM GROUP
Engage with us as we discuss: Whiteness Hurts (study group), books, and more. See our upcoming Zoom discussions / meetings; RSVP if you can attend.
Knapsack Facebook discussions are an
alternative to the Knapsack Meetup group; it is not required to join this FB group to join/attend the Meetup group.
WHITE PEOPLE CHALLENGING RACISM
Moving From Talk to Action: Find workshops and sign up on the WPCR website.
sign up for updates on specific issue areas
Sign up to receive communications directly from SURJ Boston groups around political education opportunities and ways to take action.
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 problemโ, 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.
Feeling overwhelmed?
Commit to doing just one thing this week.
We can do this.
Read more about SURJ Boston and ways to get involved on our website.