Weekly Newsletter - February 12, 2018

Be Ready to Mobilize if ICE Attacks Local Immigrant Communities!

We remain on alert! Donald Trump's deportation force is threatening to conduct huge raids in Northern California. This is nothing less than political repression against sanctuary cities! A coalition of local groups is calling on folks to be prepared to resist ICE and defend our communities. If large-scale raids do happen, we'll hold an emergency action in San Francisco. Sign up at Bay Resistance to receive text alerts and visit this Facebook event page where details will be posted.
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Tuesday, February 13 • 5:00 pm
SURJ Faith Webinar: Anti-Semitism and Intersections with Christian Hegemony and White Supremacy

Join leaders from Jews For Racial and Economic Justice in this SURJ Faith online webinar. The goals are: 1) to enable people to recognize anti-Jewish oppression and its connections to white supremacy and Christian hegemony; 2) develop a shared commitment to ending anti-Jewish oppression as part of left movement work; 3) discuss an affirmative future vision for fighting racism economic exploitation and anti-Jewish oppression; 4) and leave with next steps for allies. Free but must register.

Wednesday, February 14 • 4:30 - 6:30 pm
If You Love...

Oakland elected officials say they love Oakland. They say it all the time. But do they have the heart to do the things that love requires? On Valentine’s Day, join Second Acts, Communities for a Better Environment and Oakland faith leaders to deliver a “People’s Proposal for Public Land” to Oakland City Council members and ask them to adopt it, and not the pro-development, pro-corporation proposal being advanced by city staff.
Location: Frank Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza, 14th and Broadway, Oakland

Thursday, February 15 • 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Building a Movement: A Black Lives Matter Memoir

Author and Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors discusses her new book, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, with author asha bandele and Mother Jones reporter Jamilah King.
Location: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, 701 Mission St., San Francisco

Thursday, February 15 • 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Alex Nieto Memorial Fund Dinner

Come to this family event and community fundraiser for a night of delicious food, engaging performances, live auction, and raffles in support of the Alex Nieto Memorial. Organizers hope to break ground in March 2018 in commemoration of Alex's birthday. Be a part of a first memorial celebrating the life of a slain victim of police impunity!
Location: Mission Center, City College, 1125 Valencia St., San Francisco

Thursday, February 15 • 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Restore the Vote: Overturning Voter Suppression Workshop

This engaging SURJ workshop will provide the context for the Voting Restoration and Democracy Act of 2018, including essential understanding of voter suppression history in the United States and California. Learn concrete actions you can take to help restore voting rights to 162,000 incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated individuals in California. This effort is led by Initiate Justice. Free but please RSVP.
Location: Kehilla Community Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave., Piedmont

Saturday, February 17 • 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Surviving Smash & Grab

In light of the recently-released FBI report on so-called "Black Identity Extremists," Community Ready Corps (CRC) will host a political education panel on the lessons learned from the FBI and Chicago PD assassination of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in 1969. Panelists include Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and his mother, Mama Akua Njeri. Moderated by Cat Brooks & Tur-Ha Ak. Tickets $5 - $10 benefit the Chairman Fred Hampton Sr. Community Center.
Location: First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison St, Oakland

Sunday, February 18 • 1:30 - 4:00 pm
Colonization and Resistance Panel and Discussion

Puerto Rico. Palestine. Oakland and Berkeley. Three visionary community leaders will speak about the ongoing colonization of these places, and the politics and strategies of Indigenous resistance. Panelists include Puerto Rican leader and former political prisoner Alicia Rodríguez, Ohlone leader Corrina Gould, and Arab Resource and Organizing Center Director Lara Kiswani. Sponsored by Catalyst Project. Sliding scale $0 - $15.
Location: Oakstop, 1721 Broadway, Oakland

Sunday, February 18 • 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Film Screening: "The Long Shadow"

When filmmaker and investigative journalist Frances Causey, a daughter of the South, set out to explore the continuing racial divisions in the U.S., what she discovered was that the politics of slavery didn't end with the Civil War. In an astonishingly candid look at the United States' original sin, "The Long Shadow" traces slavery's history from America's founding up through its insidious ties to racism today. See trailer here.
Location: The New Parkway Theater, 474 - 24th St. Oakland

Tuesday, February 20 • 6:00 - 8:00 pm
All of Us or None FUN-raiser: Sips & Shots for Social Justice

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children/All of Us or None (AUON) will update folks on 2018 campaigns to restore voting rights to everyone in California, to allow people with felony convictions to serve jury duty, and to extend Ban the Box to housing applications statewide. 15% of all drink sales go to AUON to expand organizing of current and formerly incarcerated people and families.
Location: SomaR Bar, 1727 Telegraph Ave., Oakland

Wednesday, February 21 • 6:45 - 8:45 pm
Introduction to SURJ Meeting

Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities! You'll also hear about SURJ's new pathways for entering the work, including Study and Action groups as well as committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. We'll answer your questions and share how you can get involved in the movement for racial justice.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster, Suite 1300, Oakland

Thursday, February 22 • 7:00 - 9:00 pm
The FBI's Black Identity Extremist Designation and Black Liberation

Join the Center for Political Education and the National Lawyers Guild for a panel discussion with local activists, organizers, and lawyers on what the BIE designation means for movements for Black liberation and self-determination in the Bay Area.
Location: Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Room D200, Oakland

Saturday, February 24 • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Abolition of Policing Workshop

This Critical Resistance workshop explores the role and history of policing in the U.S., the way it has impacted different communities, and how people have resisted and challenged its inherent violence. This workshop also goes over how we can reduce our reliance on policing by highlighting the various ways that building up community strength and practices lead to true safety that does not depend on law enforcement. Tickets $5 - $20 to benefit Critical Resistance. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St, Suite 1300, Oakland

Saturday, February 24 • 10:15 am - 12:30 pm
Train the Trainers - Know Your Immigrant Rights

This training, led by the SF Bay Area Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, is for anyone who wants to get involved in empowering immigrant communities. You’ll lear the tools that immigrants can use to protect themselves against raids, abuse, exploitation and the Trump administration. Free but space is limited, so please RSVP.
Location: UC Hastings, 198 McAllister St, San Francisco

Saturday, February 24 • 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Muslim and Immigrant Solidarity Community Canvass in San Leandro

Are you concerned about the ongoing anti-Muslim & anti-immigrant edicts from Washington, deportations, and increasing hate crimes? Join Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) for a Muslim solidarity/pro-immigrant community canvass in San Leandro. We’ll visit San Leandro shops (in pairs) and ask them to post signs that read "We Stand With Our Muslim, Arab & Immigrant Neighbors.”
Location: Meet across from the San Leandro BART Station at 2 pm sharp.

Sunday, February 25 • 2:00 - 4:30 pm
Uprooting Racism Workshop with Author Paul Kivel

SURJ Marin is sponsoring this free workshop with SURJ co-founder and author Paul Kivel, who will be presenting material from his book Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Social Justice. The workshop will provide practical tools and advice on how white people can work as allies for racial justice, directly engaging the participants through questions, exercises and suggestions for action.
Location: YWCA, 4380 Redwood Highway, Suite A-1, San Rafael

Sunday, February 25 • 2:00 - 6:00 pm
Challenging White Male Supremacy Workshop

Hosted by STAND: White Men for Racial, Gender, and Economic Justice, this workshop will explore how white men can show up with integrity, imagination, and their whole selves and leverage their position as a white man to help create a world that’s more equitable and less oppressive.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St, Suite 1300, Oakland

Campaign to Restore Voting Rights to People in State Prisons and On Parole
Sign up for a shift with SURJ to gather signatures to get the Voting Restoration and Democracy Act (VRDA) on the California ballot in November 2018. The VRDA, spearheaded by Initiate Justice, would restore the right to vote to approximately 160,000 people in state prisons and on parole in California. Once you sign up for a shift, we'll email you a few days beforehand with the name and contact info for your team lead, as well as an exact meet-up location. We'll provide a brief on-the-spot training, but you can also read the 2-page talking points and instructions here. Feel free to bring friends.

Sign the Petition to End Berkeley's Participation in Urban Shield

The Berkeley City Council will vote on whether or not to pull out of Urban Shield in February or March. Help us increase the pressure on the Mayor and City Council to hold them accountable to pulling out and voting against police militarization, racism and xenophobia. Sign the petition and share widely with Berkeley residents!
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Defend Community Leader Aunti Frances from Eviction!

Aunti Frances is a beloved Black disabled activist, elder, former Black Panther, and community leader in the North Oakland/South Berkeley community who is facing a no-fault eviction. The community is mobilizing to show the landlords, the Morphy family, that this isn't just a personal issue, but a larger community crisis that we won't allow to happen quietly. Defend Aunti Frances is also using her case to connect to and mobilize support to wider struggles against gentrification and evictions. Follow the campaign here and sign the petition here.

Help Win a Net Neutrality Victory in Congress

Though Trump’s FCC voted to repeal net neutrality protections, there is still an opportunity to block the FCC’s decision through Congress. Tell your members of Congress to save the open internet and overturn the FCC decision. These protections are critical to people of color, low-income families, and allies as we tell stories left out of mainstream media and organize for our rights. Sign on here.

Drop the Charges Against the #BlackPride4!

The trial began last week for the #BlackPride4, four activists arrested while peacefully protesting during the Columbus OH Pride Parade last June. They were part of a group of Black trans and queer activists attempting to hold 7 minutes of silence to represent the seven shots that killed Philando Castile. While the #BlackPride4 were being maced and arrested, white folks in the crowd laughed and cheered on the police. SURJ Columbus is asking for support to demand all charges be dropped. Learn more about the campaign and donate.

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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