WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - FEBRUARY 18, 2019

​Sunday, February 24 • 2:00 – 4:30 pm
Catalyst Project: Visionaries Panel & Discussion
From Hawaii to New York and beyond, Indigenous people are leading and winning fights to protect people, the planet and what is sacred. Come to this Catalyst Project event featuring visionaries who have been organizing at the forefront of these movements, from Ohlone territories in Oakland, to Standing Rock to Bayou Bridge. Panelists include Corrina Gould (Chochenyo-Ohlone) and Mark Tilsen (Oglala Lakota), among others. Sliding scale donation of $0 - $15 suggested. More info.
Location: Oakstop, 1721 Broadway, Oakland
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Sunday February 24 • 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Workshop: Pursuing Racial Justice: Uprooting White Supremacy Culture
SURJ Contra Costa County invites you to free workshop led by longtime anti-racism educator and SURJ co-founder Paul Kivel. Paul is the author of Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. Drawing on the frameworks of interpersonal, institutional, structural and cultural racism, Paul will present practical tools and advice on how people can work for racial justice, directly engaging participants through questions, exercises, and suggestions for action.
Location: Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Rd. Walnut Creek

Tuesday February 26 • 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Urban Shield is Gone - Let's Keep it That Way
Since a strong coalition of community organizations ended Urban Shield last September, an Alameda County Ad-Hoc Committee has developed a report of powerful recommendations for what disaster preparedness in the Bay Area can and should look like without Urban Shield. Show up at the vote to help get these approved and call your supervisor beforehand with this script and call information.
Location: 1221 Oak St, 5th Floor, Oakland

Saturday, March 9 • 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
International Working Women's Day March & Festival
Members of GABRIELA Oakland and our allies invite you to join us for a Rally, March & Festival to commemorate the 111th International Working Women's Day anniversary in honor of the first women strikers in 1908. Join us as we RISE, RESIST, and UNITE to build our collective Resistance here and abroad! This will be a family friendly march and celebration that will be accessible for children, elders, and people with disabilities.
Location: Fruitvale Village, Oakland

Sunday, March 10 • 2:00 – 4:30 pm
From Family Separation to Solidarity: What We Need to Know (and Do)
This workshop will address the history of family separation in the U.S, the core reasons families migrant from Central America to the U.S. and the many ways white people can be effective and accountable in supporting organizing for migrant justice. The central focus is to provide an understanding of how white supremacy impacts immigration historically and today. This workshop was designed specifically for white people who want to understand how white supremacy impacts current immigration policies separating families and the ways to take effective and accountable action.  Sliding scale donation of $5 - $25 suggested. More info.
Location: Berkeley Public Library Main Branch, 2090 Kittredge St, Berkeley

Thursday, March 14 • 6:45 – 9:00 pm
Intro to SURJ Meeting
SURJ moves white people to act for justice, with passion and accountability, as part of a multi-racial majority. Want to get involved? Come learn about our current work and activities. You'll hear about SURJ's pathways for entering the work, including committee work, workshops, and events. Please RSVP - space is limited.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. Suite 1300, Oakland

Saturday, March 16 • 7:00 – 9:00 pm
SAVE THE DATE!! Building Sanctuary and Defending Asylum
Join SURJ Bay Area & SF, Reverend Deborah Lee, Interfaith Movement 4 Human Integrity, First Congregational Church of Oakland, Kehilla Community Synagogue and the Santa Fe Dreamers Project for an evening of sharing, solidarity, and action as we learn from asylum seekers, migrants and activists about their experiences at the border; engage in questioning how white supremacy has enabled and perpetuates the current crisis at the border and the increasingly militarized response; and learn direct, concrete ways to support those seeking asylum. RSVP/ticket info to come soon.
Location: Kehilla Community Synagogue, 1300 Grand Ave, Piedmont

Saturday, March 30 • 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Racial Justice Book Club - White Fragility
Join SURJ Marin for a discussion of the book White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo; explore the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
Location: South Novato Library, 931 C Street, Novato

Sunday March 31, 2019 • 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
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? Click here to get tickets; Sliding Scale: $15-$65. No one turned away for lack of funds.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. Suite 1300, Oakland

Save the Hampton House
In 1969 Fred Hampton Sr, the 21-year-old charismatic chairman of the Chicago Black Panther Party, was targeted and killed by the FBI in a raid organized by the Cook County State Attorney in his own home. Following Fred Hampton Sr.'s assassination, his son, Fred Hampton Jr., was born and raised in that house. With his mother - who survived the raid while pregnant - he has continued the work of his father ever since. Today, the home of these freedom fighters is being targeted for foreclosure. You can help to support Chairman Fred and his mother, Mama Akua, by making a contribution today to the #SaveTheHamptonHouse fund - every dollar counts.

Invest into Cooperative Alternatives to Gentrification
The East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative facilitates Black, Indigenous, other POC, and allied communities to cooperatively organize, finance, purchase, occupy, and steward properties, taking them permanently off the speculative market. This creates community controlled assets and empowers historically underserved communities to cooperatively lead a just transition from an extractive capitalist system into one where communities are ecologically, emotionally, spiritually, culturally, and economically restorative and regenerative. Becoming an Investor Owner, Community Owner, or making a donation to EB PREC is your chance to recognize and balance current and historical economic disparities. Investor Owners buy a share for $1,000, which receives a 1.5% dividend, while also supporting this platform for wealth redistribution.

Support the Upcoming Oakland Teachers Strike
Oakland teachers are preparing for a strike to fight for the schools their students deserve: for a new contract with smaller class sizes, more student support, and a living wage for teachers. In preparation for the strike, Bread for Ed is organizing meal donations and distribution to the 3,000 OEA members and 37,000 students, many of whom are low income students of color who rely on free or reduced lunches that won't be available during the strike. Sign up to support and volunteer here.

Show Up for Native Sovereignty and Against Settler Colonialism
The harassment that Omaha elder Nathan Phillips faced at the Indigenous People’s March in Washington DC on January 18 highlights the need for white people to do the work of addressing settler colonialism and working for native sovereignty. SURJ’s Indigenous Solidarity Working Group has been compiling resources to support this work. Here are some highlights on the most recent incident with the mostly young white men from Covington Catholic High School: more background and videos of the event, pieces that highlight Phillips’ voice are here and here. Donate to the Native Youth Alliance via PayPal at NativeYouthAlliance@gmail.com.

Support Immigrant Families Affected by Recent Fires
People who have suffered due to the most recent California fires still need our support, especially our most vulnerable neighbors - particularly immigrant community members, day laborers, and domestic workers. While others may be able to receive FEMA aid, undocumented status prevents many immigrants from getting the help they need when they're forced from their homes. Support immigrant families by making a donation to 805 UndocuFund Fire Relief.

Help Pass Key Legislation - Sign Up for Our Legislative Action List
One of the key ways that we support our People of Color-led partner organizations and the pieces of legislation they are working on is by getting SURJ members to flood their representatives with calls at key moments in the legislative cycle. Please sign up at this link to join our list to make phone calls during the most important weeks of the legislative year. By signing on to this list, you will get periodic action alerts asking you to make calls to your local legislators. We'll provide all the information--we just need your commitment and energy.

Upcoming SURJ National Webinars

Tuesday, February 26 • 5pm Understanding Anti-Semitism and its Intersections with White Supremacy and White Nationalism
This webinar with Sonia Alexander and Talia Cooper is aimed at strengthening our collective movements for liberation. Our goals are to enable people to recognize anti-semitism, learn how antisemitism intersects with white supremacy and white nationalism, and develop a shared commitment to ending anti-semitism alongside all oppressions. Register here.

Wednesday, March 13 • 5pm Understanding and Organizing to End Racial Capitalism
SURJ works to undermine white support for racism and broaden the base of white folks showing up for racial justice as part of a powerful multi-racial movement for transformative change. But what about this unjust economic system? How does racism help keep capitalism in place? What examples do we have of poor and working class white people and people of color joining together to challenge an unjust system? Join a conversation with leading activist scholar Robin DG Kelley on what racislized capitalism means for our work and how class impacts white people's role in the fight to end oppression. Register here.

Boycott 24-Hour Fitness
Join Black Lives Matter Los Angeles in pursuit of justice for Albert Ramon Dorsey & Dennis Todd Rogers, killed by police who were called by 24-Hour Fitness employees. On December 23, 2018 more than 500 community members voiced their outrage at 24-Hour Fitness' practice of calling police on Black members. Join the boycott of 24-Hour Fitness until they meet demands to work in partnership with BLMLA to: issue a statement affirming the value of Black lives; conduct cultural competency training for all managers, workers, and franchises; and develop new protocols and alternatives to calling the police. For full details read the letter here.

Solidarity with the Unist'ot'en Camp in British Columbia
International solidarity continues to grow for the Unist'ot'en Camp, north of Vancouver, British Columbia, where Coastal Gas Link/TransCanada hopes to construct a 670-kilometer fracked gas pipeline pipeline - without the permission of the Wet'suwet'en peoples. The courts are siding with big oil, going against Canada’s commitment to honor the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People. The Camp and their allies are asking supporters of Indigenous rights and climate justice to contact the political leaders of Canada and the province of British Columbia right now here. Get updates here.

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.
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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