WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - JULY 30, 2018

Festival of Resilience | Reject Hate in the Bay 
Sunday, August 5 • 2:00 pm  
Community Demonstration Preparation & Political Education meeting
Thursday, August 2 • 7:00-9:00 pm

White supremacists, Trump supporters, and fascists will be holding a rally in downtown Berkeley on August 5, 2018 as part of a week-long, nationwide "commemoration" of the hateful acts that took place nearly a year ago in Charlottesville, in which DeAndre Harris was beaten and Heather Heyer murdered. SURJ and a coalition of Bay Area organizations are calling on all members of our community to assemble together to stop white supremacist and state violence from growing, and to reiterate our message: "No Hate in the Bay." Read a statement from the organizers of the contingent on why we are showing up. We've got to tend to the relationships and values that fuel, nourish, and inspire us to build a vision of collective liberation, to loudly and publicly reject hate, and to redouble our efforts in building a truly just and liberatory world. The Festival of Resilience will begin with a memorial in Ohlone Park, followed by a march to MLK Park. SURJ will be hosting a demonstration prep meeting open to the community at large on Thursday, August 2 from 7-9 pm. Join us to learn who the various white supremacist and fascist groups coming to Berkeley are, why it's important to show up in opposition, and how to prepare for August 5.
Location: Omni Commons, 4749 Shattuck Ave., Oakland

Monday, July 30 - Wednesday, August 1
HUNGRY4JUSTICE: Bay Area Solidarity Hunger Strike for Family Reunification
Please join Families Belong Together East Bay for a three-day hunger strike demanding the reunification of ALL separated families in safety and freedom! Join our mobilizations this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 am, 12 noon, or 6 pm at the Oakland Federal Building - or stop by anytime during the strike to show support!
Special events: Monday, 2-5pm, Kids and Families Make Solidarity Art
Wednesday, 6pm, Break the Fast Dinner and Closing Ceremony
Location: Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building, Oakland
Sign up to volunteer

Monday, August 6 • 9 am-3 pm
CURB Rally/Lobby Day in Sacramento to Drop Life Without Parole
Join CURB (Californians United for a Responsible Budget) members and California Coalition for Women Prisoners as they visit the capitol to present Governor Brown with the request for him to commute every Life Without Parole Sentence in the state of California. If you haven't registered and would like to join, please email Corri at corrifrohlich@gmail.com.

Friday, August 3rd - Sunday, August 5
Beyond Separation: Racial Equity Intensive Training
Explore the meaning of whiteness in an encouraging and supportive learning community. In this weekend intensive, you'll examine how whiteness structures our society, our relationships, and ourselves. Topics covered include: how whiteness informs our personal and professional lives, how racism manifests at individual, cultural, and systemic levels, and how our personal and collective well-being depends on the dismantling of white supremacy.
Location: Oakstop, 1721 Broadway, Oakland, CA (Friday evening only) & Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakland, CA
Friday, Aug 3, 6:30pm-9pm (at Oakstop)
Saturday, Aug 4, 10am-5pm (at Flight Deck)
Sunday, Aug 05, from 11am-4pm (at Flight Deck)

Tuesday, August 7  • 5:00-8:00 pm
Night Out for Safety and Liberation
Turn up with us for Night Out for Safety and Liberation to redefine what safety means to us to start a different conversation about public safety beyond policing; focusing on how we can build equity, power, and opportunity in our communities. Gather in San Antonio Park for an evening of food, music, poetry, face painting, games, health & wellness services, educational resources and more.
Let's continue to build a narrative that defines safety not in terms of fear, crime, and punishment, but rather as a community that has access to affordable healthcare, housing, food, education, safe and working infrastructure, and more. For more information go to www.NOSL.us.
Location: San Antonio Park, 1701 E 19th St, Oakland, CA

Friday, August 14 • 6:45 - 9:00 pm
August Introduction 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 committees, upcoming workshops, and events. We'll answer your questions and share how you can be part of the movement for racial justice. RSVP to attend today!

Location: Movement Strategy Center, 436 14th St. Suite 500, Oakland
Tuesday, August 14th • 6:50 PM
Film: The Feminist on Cellblock Y (Uncommon Law)
See this documentary about Richard Edmond Vargas, who has served a sentence in Soledad prison since he was a teen, and has taught his fellow prisoners about toxic masculinity, vulnerability, and feminism. Richie is being released from prison this month, and will join us to discuss his experience and this film. Co-presented by Initiate Justice, the organization founded by Richie and his wife Taina Vargas-Edmond.
Location: The New Parkway Theater, 474 24th St, Oakland, CA

Friday, September, 14 • Save the date
AROC 10 Year Anniversary Dinner
Save the date to join the Arab Resource & Organizing Center on September 14 to celebrate 10 years of grassroots organizing, cross-movement building and community defense as they continue to fight together for a new world.
Get tickets
Location: Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th St., Oakland

Phonebank for Racial Justice - Virtual Phonebanks with SURJ Action and Mijente
The pain of family separations, escalated detention tactics and attacks on immigrants make it all too clear we have a lot of work to do in shifting the hearts and minds of white people toward racial justice. Fundraising has always played a key role in providing resources to organize white communities and to support organizing led by people of color. Can you commit 3 hours of your time to phone bank for racial justice? This phone bank will support both SURJ Action and Mijente. Mijente is a digital and grassroots political home for the Latinx and Chicanx community that has been on the front lines of this work and is focused on connecting to the broader movements for racial, economic, climate, and gender justice.

Join the Fight to Expand Rent Control and Repeal Costa-Hawkins!
Prop 10, which would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and allow cities and towns to pass stronger rent control laws, will officially be on the ballot this November! Landlord associations are preparing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to sink this ballot initiative. Options to get involved include hosting a house party, or co-hosting a house party (we'll match you with someone else), or attending someone else's house party.  
Sign up here, or email SURJYesOnProp10@gmail.com with any questions.

Join the SURJ - Faith National Campaign
SURJ - Faith is a national effort aimed at organizing congregations and faith communities to take action for racial justice and to support the Movement for Black Lives. This campaign has a tool kit and resources that people can share with their faith communities. Learn more about the campaign 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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