Weekly Newsletter - February 4, 2019

Tuesday, February 5 • 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Towards an Abolitionist Practice of Public Health
What does the fact that the American Public Health Association, a network of over 25,000 public health professionals, overwhelmingly adopted a policy statement that identifies the violence of policing as a public health issue? How can we use this statement and its recommendations for decriminalization, divestment from law enforcement, and alternatives to policing to strengthen our campaigns? Join Critical Resistanceand Public Health Justice Collective at this learning and strategy session for ending the violence of policing in our communities.
Location: Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), 426 17th St. #500, Oakland
Wednesday, February 6 • 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. There will also be speakers from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) - Executive Director, Lara Kiswani, and Sharif, lead organizer. AROC is a grassroots organization working to empower and organize justice and self-determination for all. AROC fights for a world where Arabs can live in dignity from here to their homelands, and understands their liberation as inextricably tied to the liberation of all oppressed people. Please RSVP - space is limited.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. Suite 1300, Oakland

Wednesday, February 6 • 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Initiate Justice Mail Night
Join Initiate Justice to help respond to prison mail and send newsletters to their new inside members. Initiate Justice, created by and for incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and people with incarcerated loved ones, builds the power of people directly impacted by mass incarceration to be leaders in the movement to end it. Please bring a computer, if you can. This event is open to everyone and dinner will be served. Please RSVP.
Location: Movement Strategy Center, 436 14th St. Oakland

Monday, February 11 & Tuesday February 12 • 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Tenants' Rights Volunteer Training
Do you want to be a part of the fight for housing justice? Tenants Together, a statewide organization for renters' rights, is looking for new volunteers to support tenants across the state in rising up against real estate speculation, greed and injustice. Join their crew of volunteers as a hotline counselor, researcher, outreach, or organizing volunteer and get trained on tenants’ rights! Now more than ever, they need volunteers to support the fight against federal and state policies that put our elderly, LGBTQIA, Black and Brown, undocumented, disabled, and working class communities at risk of displacement. To volunteer, fill out this form.
Location: 474 Valencia St #156, San Francisco

Tuesday, February 12 • 5:30 pm
Demand the Dixie School District Change the Name
The Dixie School District in San Rafael was named after the confederacy by the Marin County Board of Supervisors during the Civil War, in 1863, when six million human beings were enslaved in this country. Since 1997, residents have been fighting to change the name for equity and inclusion. Come to this critical Dixie School Board meeting where they will be hearing public comments and voting on the name change. Add your name to the growing list of supporters here. More info on actions you can take here.
Location: Miller Creek Middle School gymnasium, 2256 Las Gallinas Ave. San Rafael

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

Sunday February 24 • 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Workshop: Pursuing Racial Justice:Uprooting White Supremacy Culture
SURJ Contra Costa Countyinvites 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

Are you a Photograph Who Wants to Show Up for Racial Justice?
Are you an amateur or professional photographer in the Bay Area looking for a way to get involved with SURJ? Can't always attend meetings but want to help out? Do you enjoy taking photos of people in action, on the move for racial justice? We'd love to talk to you about our photography needs. Email info@surjbayarea.org for more information.

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.

Demand L.A. City Attorney Drop All Charges Against Dr. Melina Abdullah
SURJ and anti-racism organizers in Southern California are joining with other individuals and organizations statewide to demand that Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer drop all charges against Dr. Melina Abdullah, a professor, parent, and founding member of Black Lives Matter. This criminalization of a leading Black activist is an attempt to silence Black protest. White and non-Black allies who engage in similar actions have not been prosecuted. Learn more here and please add your name to the petition and help spread the word.

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.
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