Weekly Newsletter - February 17, 2020

Tuesday, February 18 • 4:00 – 8:00 pm
TGI-Justice Project Mail Night
The Transgender, Gender-Variant, and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP) will be holding weekly mail nights every Tuesday until July 7th. Help in corresponding with trans, gender variant, and intersex people inside prisons by responding to letters they send to TGIJP from all over the country. You'll have the chance to send out legal resource guides, policy updates, and Stiletto, TGIJP’s newsletter. Free dinner provided in an abolitionist space.
Location: TGIJP, 1349 Mission St. San Francisco

Wednesday, February 19 • 1:00 pm
Emergency Rally: Defend the Yintah, Solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en
Join Abolish ICE S.F. to support the autonomy of Indigenous communities defending their homelands and unceded territories. In the middle of the night on February 6th, several people defending the Gidimt'en Yintah checkpoint were violently arrested while defending themselves and their land from the nonconsensual Coastal GasLink project. We need to act now in solidarity, pressuring Chase Bank to withdraw support for Coastal GasLink and take on our responsibility to support those on the frontlines of this struggle in British Columbia, Canada.
Location: Chase Building, 560 Mission St. San Francisco

Wednesday, February 19 • 6:45 – 9:00 pm
Intro to SURJ Meeting
Want to get involved with SURJ Bay Area? Come learn about our current work and activities. SURJ moves white people to act for justice, with passion and accountability, as part of a multi-racial majority. You'll hear about SURJ's pathways for entering the work, including Study and Action groups as well as committee work, upcoming workshops, and events. There will also be a speaker from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), a SURJ partner and a grassroots organization that, through direct services, advocacy, and organizing, aims to equip Arab communities with tools to challenge state violence and fight for dignity and liberation.
Location: Movement Strategy Center, 436 14th St. Suite 500, Oakland

Saturday, February 22 • 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Showing Up for Racial Justice Through the Power of Public Policy: Part 2
Join SURJ Bay Area’s Policy Committee for part two of our 2020 legislative workshop series. Workshop participants can expect to learn about lobby visits and how they fit into SURJ’s larger framework, hear about new opportunities to engage in the legislative process with SURJ, practice speaking about policy to a legislative staffer, and hear from Ella Baker Center on their 2020 policy priorities. This is the second workshop of a two part series. Attendance at the first workshop is not necessary to attend. Tickets $0 - $10.
Location: YWCA, 2600 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Saturday, February 22 • 5:30 – 7:45 pm
Oscar López Rivera Two Years Later: Resistance and Resilience
Come to an evening of tribute, music, and conversation with Puerto Rican patriot and visionary, Oscar López Rivera, a political prisoner for 36 years. Since his release 2 years ago, he has been leading efforts to strengthen grassroots organizing in Puerto Rico, demanding the auditing and cancelation of the island’s debt, and advocating for sovereignty. He’ll also share current work underway in Puerto Rico post hurricanes Irma and Maria, and against a backdrop of several earthquakes that have stricken the island in recent weeks. Tickets $15 - $20 with a $40 pre-event reception from 4:00 - 5:00 pm.
Location: La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley

Sunday, February 23 • 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
SURJ Workshop: Antidotes to White Fragility
What skills, tools, and approaches are useful in encouraging white people to sustain balanced engagement with anti-racism/racial justice education and work? How can we cultivate resilience (as opposed to white fragility) in ourselves, our communities, and our movements? This SURJ workshop will explore these questions and explore the role of the body, community, spirituality, intellectual knowledge, and other themes that you bring from your experience. Sliding Scale: $15-$85. No one turned away for lack of funds. This popular workshop fills quickly so pre-registration required. Learn more and get tickets.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. Suite 1300, Oakland

Monday, February 24 • 5:00 – 6:30 pm
SURJ Faith Webinar: Rome Will Destroy Us: Resisting Anti-Judaism in John
The Lent 2020 lectionary readings from the Gospel of John are challenging for Christians trying to counter anti-Jewish/anti-Semitic interpretations of these stories. Tune in to this webinar, led by SURJ’s National Faith Coordinator Rev. Anne Dunlap, to explore alternative readings. In a time when anti-Semitic violence is on the rise, Christians have a responsibility to dismantle anti-Jewish/anti-Semitic readings of the Bible. And given the key role anti-Semitism plays in upholding white supremacy, for white Christians this responsibility is even more pressing. Register for the webinar here.

Thursday, February 27 • 5:00 – 6:30 pm
SURJ Webinar: Only Internationalism Can Save Us
Want to learn about how we make anti-imperialist internationalism concrete and relevant to your work? Lara Kiswani, Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, and Melanie K. Yazzie, co-founder of the Red Nation, will be in dialogue about why internationalism is crucial if we are to build movements that can win. On this call, we’ll talk about what we can learn from movements in the Global South, about what internationalism asks of those of us who live in the center of empire. We’ll look at some concrete examples of the ways organizers in the US link their local work with struggles in other parts of the world. Click here to register. For more information, and to invite your friends, click here.

Friday, February 28 • 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Puzzles for Justice Returns!
Love jigsaw puzzles? Love social justice? Join Community Ready Corps Allies and Accomplices (CRCAA) for three hours of solving puzzles in a fundraiser for CRC’s Safety, Survival, and Self Determination Program. CRC is a Black grassroots organization working to organize and empower disenfranchised communities towards self determination and equity. Tea and snacks provided plus the chance to put your puzzle-solving skills to work for a great cause in a fun, multi-racial, anti-racist, sober, and kid-friendly space.
Location: 2501 International Blvd. Oakland
Sunday, March 8 • 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sogorea Te Land Trust Volunteer Day

Sogorea Te Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led community organization that facilitates the return of Chochenyo and Karkin Ohlone lands to Indigenous stewardship. Support their efforts by coming out for a volunteer work day. There will be a variety of jobs and ways for folks to help out. Please bring water, and weather-appropriate wear.
Location: Gill Tract Farm Coalition, 1050 San Pablo Ave. Albany

Sunday, March 15 • 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
SURJ Workshop: What White People Don't See: Applying the Lens of Privilege
You believe in making a difference, but when it comes to racial justice, are your actions aligned with your beliefs? The work begins with looking in the mirror. Without intentional learning and reflection, white people may uphold beliefs and systems that perpetuate injustice. Join SURJ for an intimate and interactive workshop in which we will unpack how whiteness has shaped our lives and discuss how white people who care can take action for racial justice. Sliding Scale $15 - $65. No one turned away for lack of funds. ASL will be provided if requested by 9:00 pm on Thursday, March 12. Learn more and get tickets.
Location: East Bay Community Space, 507 55th Street, Oakland

Support Arab Youth: Save Ethnic Studies
California is about to make an extremely consequential decision about what kind of state we are. Will it institute an ethnic studies curriculum that uplifts the stories of all communities of color or reject one that includes Arab Americans — bending to the desires of pro-Israel groups who simply don't agree? Under tremendous pressure, the fate of Arab Americans in our textbooks is currently being decided upon by our state electeds. But if we act now — making our demands for inclusion and justice clear — we can still save ethnic studies in our state and set a historic precedent for the country. Learn more and send a letter to your representative here.

End U.S. War and Militarism in Iran!
How we can prevent the Trump regime from launching full-scale overt war against Iran? SURJ Affiliate Catalyst Project has provided a great frame to better understand what’s happening in this moment, and Organizing Upgrade is providing analysis and strategy framing. National SURJ is making the links between war and white supremacy, noting that police departments across the country are using this act of aggression to further justify violence, surveillance, and profiling towards Iranians, Iraqis, Palestinians, and people who appear to be Arab, Middle Eastern, and/or Muslim. We must be vigilant and prepare to act: Here are some helpful resources:
• Catalyst Project’s study guide: “No War-No Sanctions”
• Statement from Justice Before Peace, a Black and POC-led anti-militarist organization  
• MPower Change petition to Congress against war with Iran (please sign and share)

Show Your Solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation
On February 6th, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raided Wet’suwet'en territories to push forward the unwanted Coastal GasLink pipeline. Six Indigenous peoples and their allies were arrested. The Wet’suwet’en have been very clear that they do not want the $6.6 billion, 416-mile-long CGL pipeline going through their unceded and sovereign lands. RCMP officers with night vision and automatic weapons raided the camp in the dead of night. Much like at Standing Rock, the raid was highly militarized: dogs were used, media was banned from filming arrests, RCMP smashed the windows of the camp’s communications van. Show your support for this struggle by donating to their legal fund and downloading and sharing the Wet’suwet’en Supporter Toolkit.

Boycott 24-Hour Fitness and Affirm the Value of Black Lives
Black Lives Matter Los Angeles (BLMLA) is marking the one year anniversary of the police killing of Albert Ramon Dorsey at a Hollywood 24-Hour Fitness after a gym employee called the police on him. We’re lifting up BLMLA's #Boycott24 campaign which demands accountability, cultural competency trainings for employees, and developing alternatives to calling the police. The company responded with complete dismissal and disregard to two lives lost (Dennis Todd Rogers was also killed at a 24-Hour Fitness), to their grieving families, and to community concerns. BLMLA is asking people to cancel your membership at 24-Hour Fitness in the name of #AlbertRamonDorsey and call the gym’s corporate headquarters - 925-543-3100 - and tell them you support Black Lives Matter’s demands.

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.

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