WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - APRIL 23, 2018

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Wednesday April 25, 2018 • 6:45 - 9:00 pm
Introduction to SURJ Meeting

Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities with new pathways for entering the work, including Study and Action groups as well as committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. Featured Speaker: Sandra Johnson from All of Us or None, an organization fighting for the rights of formerly- and currently-incarcerated people and their families, and a project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. Please RSVP.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. 13th Floor, Oakland

Thursday, April 26, 2018 • 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Winning Digital Sanctuary in the Trump Era
How are communities of color engaging and resisting tech companies in a digital age? Join local movement and tech leaders for drinks, dancing, and a keynote dialogue between thought leaders Catherine Bracy of Techquity and Lateefah Simon of Akonadi Foundation and the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board. Tickets $20 and up, to benefit the Center for Media Justice.
Location: Complex Oakland, 420 - 14th St. Oakland

Saturday, April 28 • 9:00 pm - 12:00 am
Fundraiser and Social for Mario Woods Remembrance Day
Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community - Justice 4 Mario Woods is sponsoring this event featuring spoken word, live music, art, poetry, raffle prizes, DJ’s and more to raise funds for the 3rd Annual Mario Woods Remembrance Day. Mario Woods was a young black man killed on December 2, 2015, by five SFPD officers in an execution style shooting. Donate here if you cannot attend.
Location: El Rio, 3158 Mission St. San Francisco

Saturday, April 28 • 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Talking with Kids about Race and Gender:The Middle School Years
SURJ San Francisco, in conjunction with the San Francisco Public Library, is sponsoring this event for parents, educators, and caregivers of middle schoolers on the intersections of race and gender in tweens, inclusive puberty education, and FAIR education: LGBTQ history in schools. Learn how to talk with middle schoolers about these often challenging topics and review the latest in children's literature, lesson plans, films and media used in schools today. Free but please RSVP.
Location: Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin St, San Francisco

Sunday, April 29 • 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Race Matters Spring Workshop Series: Healing Into Action
SURJ Marin and United Marin Rising are sponsoring this three workshop series that will explore and begin to address the complex nature and dynamics of race and racism that are deeply embedded in many parts of Marin County’s daily life. Healing Into Action will be a deep dive into how racism has served to divide and maintain systems of inequities. Participants will engage in personal and collective healing that will build towards taking concrete action together in cross-racial alliances to address racial disparities and create change in the county. Other dates in the series are Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, June 10. Donation $20-$40. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Location: First United Methodist Church, 199 Greenfield Ave. San Rafael

Monday, April 30 • 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Join us in Sacramento for Quest For Democracy Day 2018

Every Spring, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children/All of Us or None organizes a large-scale statewide lobby day for formerly-incarcerated people, family members with incarcerated loved ones, and allied community activists. Quest for Democracy Day supports pending legislation that affects people impacted by incarceration.
SURJ is mobilizing too and we're being asked to lobby alongside LSPC/AUON members coming from all over California. The day will include a training workshop on sponsored bills and effective legislative advocacy, visits to  legislators’ offices, followed by a rally on the Capitol steps that lifts up the voices and leadership of those most affected by the prison industrial complex.
Join us! More details here where you can also RSVP.  
If you can't attend, you can make a DONATION here to support this massive mobilization.
Location: State Capitol, N Street at 12th, Sacramento

Tuesday, May 1 • 3:00 - 6:00 pm
Oakland May Day: March for Immigrant and Worker Rights
Join with SURJ Bay Area in this year's May Day as we rally and march for migrant and worker justice! This annual march for International Workers’ Day is sponsored by Oakland Sin Fronteras and endorsed by Anakbayan East Bay, Anti-Police Terror Project, California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance, Critical Resistance, Mujeres Unidas Y Activas, VietUnity East Bay, Xicano Moratorium Coalition, and SURJ, among others. The SURJ contingent will gather at 2:30 pm - RSVP here and march with us!
Location: Oscar Grant/Frank Ogawa Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakland

Friday May 4 • 5:00 - 9:00 pm
Stop Urban Shield Victory Party
After years of committed actions and struggles against the militarized and racialized weapons expo and SWAT team training Urban Shield, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to end Urban Shield in 2019. Come celebrate at Reem's with the Stop Urban Shield Coalition! There will be food, drinks, and dancing.
Location: Reem’s, 3301 E 12th St Suite 133, Oakland

Thursday May 10, 2018 • 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Displacement & Gentrification: How did we get here and how do we stop it?
Gentrification comes up constantly in the Bay Area, but few of us feel equipped to take action against it. Is it inevitable? What can we do now to prevent displacement? Berkeley City Councilmember Cheryl Davila is hosting this SURJ workshop which will put gentrification and displacement in a historical context so we understand the racialized political and economic drivers. You'll hear about past and current struggles led by communities of color to preserve their homes and communities. Donation $5 - $20 to benefit Causa Justa::Just Cause.
Location: Neyborly, The Poet’s Corner, 2043 San Pablo Ave. Berkeley

Spring Internships Available at Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB)
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) is a statewide coalition of 70 grassroots organizations, including SURJ, working to reduce the number of people in prisons and jails, shrinking the imprisonment system, and shifting public spending from corrections and policing to human services. CURB is seeking interns who'll gain experience in research, outreach, grassroots organizing, media campaigns, coalition and movement building, public education, policy advocacy and social justice work. Learn more here.

New Film about Initiate Justice Co-Founder: The Feminist on Cellblock Y
The Feminist on Cellblock Y, a new documentary showcasing the anti-patriarchy work being led from inside by Initiate Justice co-founder Richie Reseda, has been released by CNN. Initiate Justice works to build the power of currently and formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones. Check out the film and learn about the intersectional movement-building taking place from inside prison walls! Watch it here.

Support the 2018 National Black Mama’s National Bail Out
National Black Mama’s Bail Out is a coordinated effort by more than a dozen organizations to reunite families on Mother's Day and bring attention to the true costs of money bail and mass incarceration. In dozens of cities across the country, the campaign will bail out as many mothers as possible who otherwise would spend Mother’s Day in a cell simply because they cannot afford bail. Make a donation to help bring mothers home!

Join the SURJ - Faith National Campaign
Invitation to Prophetic Imagination: Community Safety for All
SURJ - Faith is organizing a national campaign that asks faith/spiritual communities to examine their relationship to policing and police violence. This campaign is an act of accountability to people of color who are asking white people to join them in imagining and taking action toward a world without policing. It's also aligned with the Vision for Black Lives. Learn more about the campaign. There are also resources and information that people can share with their faith communities.

SURJ Bay Area Chapter - Join us! Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. Learn more at www.surjbayarea.org. SURJ Bay Area is one of 150 chapters and affiliates nationwide. Learn about SURJ National and our mission, vision, and values HERE.
Want to support our work? You can make a donation for SURJ's organizing and educational efforts with over half of what we raise going to Black and people of color-led partner organizations. Make a one-time donation or become a monthly sustainer HERE. Contributions are tax-deductible.
Follow SURJ Bay Area on Social Media: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Bay Area c/o PO Box 22748, Oakland CA 94609
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