⭐️ 💵 SUPPORT RACIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZING IN BOSTON
We are kicking off our support of the annual Celebration of Grassroots Organizing this week! Our community is committed to raising $5,000 for the Celebration, which funds crucial local organizing from Families for Justice as Healing, Muslim Justice League, and nine other community organizations. Donate to support the Celebration here!
🔥 📣 BRAVE SPACE - STATEWIDE CONVERSATIONS WITH BIPOC EDUCATORS
Monday, April 25, 6:30-7:30PM
Activate your voice in supporting the change we must see in our schools with the Coalition for Anti-Racist, Equity and Justice in Education. Register here and share with your networks!
🔥 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
🍎 WHY WE CAN’T ALLOW THE FAR-RIGHT TO HOLD PUBLIC SPACE
A new article from “It’s Going Down” analyzes recent trends in fascist organizing and anti-fascist responses in Boston. Read more about our local far-right groups on the New England White Supremacists website.
Prison Abolition
⭐️ 🔥 ☎️ THE ORGANIZING CONTINUES! TOWN HALLS, PHONE BANK, CANVASS FOR PRISON MORATORIUM BILL
ALL OUT to advance the bill to stop the new women’s prison! The deadline has been extended to June 30. That means we have 10 weeks to keep building people power to pass it! Join a town hall or phone bank to ask constituents to call their legislators. Sign up here.
💵 Tax Refund Re-distribution for Cambridge HEART!
If you got a tax refund and it is surplus for you, please consider redistributing to Cambridge HEART, the brand-new, Black-led, community-based alternative public safety program. Cambridge HEART is raising $550,000 to hire 10 community members as first responders. And the SURJB HEART support team has set a goal of raising $50,000 through our SURJ community. Use this form to pledge some (or all!) of your tax return.
💵 Corporate giving for Cambridge HEART
Does your company engage in corporate giving? Ask your Director of Corporate Giving and Director of Charitable Donations to give to Cambridge HEART and help us to pay for salaries of community responders! Unsure what to say or how to ask? Email soscia21@gmail.com and we will help you.
Indigenous Solidarity
⭐️ 💵 SUPPORT THE LINE 3 LEGAL DEFENSE FUND
The Line 3 Legal Defense Fund provides support to people facing arrest, jail time, and state repression because of their opposition to Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline project. Support the fund here!
⭐️ 💵 Fundraiser for Cree elder Tommy Monias
Tommy Monias, a Pimicikamak (Cross Lake in Manitoba) Cree elder and activist against a megadam project, has pancreatic cancer. His family asks for prayers on the morning of April 25 for what will be a lengthy surgery as well as donations to help during this difficult time. GoFundMe link here.
⭐️ 🍎 PODCAST: IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE - #FREELEONARDPELTIER
Check out this episode of “When We Fight, We Win! The Podcast” about Leonard Peltier’s wrongful conviction and the fight to free America’s longest-serving political prisoner. See the episode description for actions to #FreeLeonardPeltier.
⭐️ 🎉 Update: Big victory for Indigenous Tainos from Puerto Rico/Boriken!
From UAINE’s Mahtowin Munro: The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture will NOT hand over the Taino Indigenous ceremonial park area in Caguana to the municipality of Utuado, which planned privatization of these sacred grounds. This was stopped as a result of great Taino organizing and support from many sectors.
Contact us with any questions!
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.
☎️ ✉️ 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.
Immigration Justice
💵 Contribute to the Beyond Bond & Legal Defense Fund
The Beyond Bond & Legal Defense Fund, which helps provide legal support and pay bonds to release our immigrant neighbors from detention and incarceration, needs our financial support. Donate here to help free our neighbors from immigration jail so they can fight their cases from the outside and be with their communities.
Public Education
✉️ SUBMIT TESTIMONY FOR AN ELECTED BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
It's not too late to make sure that the Mayor and City Council hear your voice! Let them hear that restoring democracy is too important for half-measures.
⭐️ 🍎 Join the fight against receivership!
Sign up to receive updates from the Our Cities Our Schools campaign to learn how you can fight against harmful top-down interventions.
🍎 Receivership: Latinx Schools in the Crosshairs
April 27, 7:00-8:30PM
With Citizens for Public Schools. Dr. Domingo Morel describes how state policies like receivership impact historically marginalized populations.
✉️ 🔥 Take Action Now to Keep Schools Safe from COVID!
Urge Mayor Wu & BPS to keep the mask requirement and improve ventilation.
- Send emails to city officials in a few clicks
- Join BPS Families for COVID Safety meetings on Fridays - FMI & Zoom link
Mutual Aid
🔥 💵 Help us redistribute resources to our neighbors!
Our partners continue to value our support through volunteering, and food and monetary donations. Please help where you can <3
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.
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.
- Volunteers to teach English as a second language
- Volunteers to help with the food pantry on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. More information here.
💵 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!)
💵 📋 Fundraisers and Petitions
Give what you can and share with your networks:
- Marina, a worker leader in Mass Coalition of Domestic Workers, has won her pathway to citizenship after a hard fight and wage theft. We need less than $400 to fill this need! Pledge to contribute funds and a SURJB member will be in touch with details.
- Donate to Boston Youth Organizing Project (BYOP): BYOP is committed to building youth power by creating youth-led spaces, with membership made of 60% of immigrant families. Please contribute through Paypal.
- Support activist Wayland X. Coleman get safe food while in prison!
Sign your name in support:
- 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.
- Petition to terminate Harold Adams' 50 year old life sentence
🍎 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!
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 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.
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.