WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - JUNE 18, 2018

Monday, June 18, 2018 • 2:30 - 5:00 pm
Berkeley Residents: Withdraw Berkeley Police from Urban Shield
We need your support to withdraw the Berkeley Police Department from Urban Shield, the SWAT team training and weapons expo that brings together local, regional, and international police-military units. The Berkeley subcommittee meeting on Urban Shield has been rescheduled for today, with the public comment period at the beginning. The police are continuing to organize against the subcommittee's decision to withdraw the city from Urban Shield and we need to pack the room and hold the City accountable to withdrawing despite police pressure. Please come to the meeting (talking points provided) and send an email to Council if you haven't already (see template here).
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Tuesday, June 19, 2018 • 5:45 am - 5:00 pm
Get on the Bus Against Police Murder - Support AB 931
The Police Accountability and Community Protection Act, AB 931, will be heard in committee for the first time so people are mobilizing to Sacramento to let the Legislature know that higher standards for police use of force is critical to save lives. Show up to pack the room and deliver a short 'me too' statement to voice your support! Need a lift to Sacramento? The bus leaves at 5:45 am from Fruitvale BART and 6:00 am from West Oakland BART. Please register here so organizers know how many people are coming.
Location: California State Capitol, 1315 10th St, Sacramento

Thursday, June 21 • 6:00 - 8:00 pm
All of Us or None Bay Area Member & Ally Appreciation Shindig
All of Us or None Bay Area, a project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, is celebrating its members and allies with the fine folk at Arthur Mac's in Oakland (just steps away from MacArthur BART). Come join them for food and drinks, get caught up on all their campaigns, and enjoy community!
Location: Arthur Mac's Tap & Snack, 4006 Martin Luther King, Oakland

Thursday, June 21 • 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Resisting Attacks on Labor, Migrant Workers, and their Communities
Come out for this conversation linking the defense of unions and worker organizing to the defense of organizing in migrant communities. Sponsored by the Center for Political Education and the National Lawyers Guild S.F. Bay Area Chapter, panelists include Kung Feng with Jobs with Justice San Francisco and Bay Resistance, labor lawyer Kristina Hillman, and justin king with Bay Area Black Worker Center. Tickets $5 - 20 sliding scale donation.
Location: 2940 16th St. #217, San Francisco

Friday, June 22 • 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Families Belong Together Action Planning Meeting
People around the country are rising up to demand an end to the Trump Administration's cruel policy of family separation at the border. We've turned out for rallies - what's the next step? Join Bay Resistance, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Faith in Action, California Nurses Association, and other Bay Area social justice groups to learn about the background of human rights abuses at the border and the ongoing work of immigrant-led organizations. And brainstorm powerful actions we can take in the Bay Area and beyond.
Location: National Nurses United, 155 Grand Ave. Oakland

Friday, June 22 • 7:30 - 10:00 pm
Poets for Puerto Rico: ¡El Grito de la Bahia!
Support the Puerto Rican artist community in San Juan at this fundraiser featuring poetry and music. Performing poets include #PoetsforPuertoRico founder Willie Perdomo, Aya de Leon, Rico Pabon, Berkeley Poet Laureate Rafael Jesús González, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Paul S. Flores, among others. There will also be live music by CaliGente, a Bay Area group blending hip-hop and island rhythms, and DJ GLO, throwing down tropical tunes. Tickets $15 advance, $20 at the door. More details here.
Location: La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Berkeley

Saturday, June 23 • 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Racial Justice Story Time
At this SURJ Bay Area Youth and Families Committee Racial Justice Story Time, Melissa Reyes will read her book, I Am Sausal Creek, a bilingual English - Spanish picture book about the history of Oakland told through the voice of a local waterway. Racial Justice Story Time engages the whole family with stories and activities to help start conversations about race and social justice issues. The event is best suited for kids ages 2 - 8, but all are welcome. Our two summer story times feature local authors reading their books along with activities and discussions.
Location: Oakland Library Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Ave. Oakland

Thursday, July 12 • 7:30 - 9:00 pm
Reviving Our Democracy: With Rev. William J Barber
Join the country’s preeminent civil rights leader Reverend William J. Barber, architect of North Carolina’s Moral Monday movement and co-chair of the national Poor People's Campaign, and Mother Jones' senior reporter Ari Berman for an in-depth discussion about the current state of civil rights and democracy, and how we can energize both. More details here.
Location: First Church Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley

Saturday, July 14 • 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
A Day in Court Training with Silicon Valley Debug
Everyday, in county courts across the state, decisions are made that dictate the size, scope, and demographic make-up of incarceration in California. It's at first court appearances where one of the most important decisions is rendered — whether someone will be released while going through the court process or asked to pay bail for their freedom. Come get trained by Silicon Valley Debug and learn about the bail system in California, how to provide court support, and concrete ways that you can help expose how exploitative money bail is in our state.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. Suite 1300, Oakland

Tuesday, August 14 • 6:45 - 9:00 pm
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 will 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. Spread the word!
Location: Movement Strategy Center, 436 14th St. Suite 500, Oakland

Father's Day Letter Writing Campaign: Family Beyond Bars and Borders
A letter-writing campaign kicked off yesterday, Father’s Day, asking people to write a letter to a community member in immigration detention, who was unable to celebrate Father’s Day with their kids or loved ones. Help break the debilitating isolation our community members endure and uplift the resilience of those facing detention and deportation. Let’s extend ourselves as a family - we are not whole as a community until they are released! Sponsored by Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Immigrant Liberation Movement, Bay Resistance and Sanctuary Neighborhood Coalition. Learn more here.

What You Can Do Right Now to Help Fight Trump’s Family-Separation Policy
People across the country are horrified by the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy which entails ripping immigrant children from the parents. “The practice of separating families amounts to arbitrary and unlawful interference in family life, and is a serious violation of the rights of the child,” said a spokesperson for the U.N. human-rights office. Read more about what actions you can do to bring this horrific policy to a halt.

Sign the Pledge to Build a World Without Police
National SURJ is inviting white folks across the country to examine our relationship to policing, especially given the increasing numbers of incidents of white people calling the police to report Black people for doing all manner of things, including sitting in a Starbucks, having a barbecue, sleeping in their own dorm room, renting an AirBnB, eating at Waffle House, golfing, walking through their own neighborhood, driving with leaves on their car, and much more. We invite white folks to take action — whether that's educating yourself more deeply about the history of policing in the U.S., examining alternatives to policing, or pledging to not call the police. Learn more here.

Join the Fght to Expand Rent Control and Repeal Costa-Hawkins!
The Affordable Housing Act, 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. Join the grassroots campaign organized by our partners at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) to speak to voters about the ballot initiative and advocate for stronger rent control legislation. Learn more about the campaign here. To get involved, please email SURJcanvassing@gmail.com

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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