Weekly Newsletter - March 11, 2019

Tuesday, March 12 • 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
Stop the Sheriff from Torpedoing Decision to End Urban Shield
On Tuesday, Alameda County Supervisors will decide whether or not to take the next steps in implementing a community-led vision for safety and disaster response without Urban Shield. Sheriff Ahern is fighting hard to sabotage this and keep Urban Shield. Show up and help us make demilitarized emergency response a reality!
Location: 1221 Oak Street, 5th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612

Thursday, March 14 • 12:45 pm
Press Conference - Coalition for Police Accountability
A year ago, Oakland police officers shot and killed a homeless man sleeping on the ground with a gun nearby. Last week, Police Chief Kirkpatrick sanctioned a flawed investigation and reduced discipline for the supervisor on the scene. The federal monitor has identified a series of troubling actions, including the chief’s management of this tragedy. The Coalition for Police Accountability and others are calling for the federal monitor to fire the police chief and for the mayor and city administration to stop obstructing the work of the independent Police Commission.
Location: Oakland City Hall, Oscar Grant Plaza

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. ASL interpretation provided if requested by 4pm on Tuesday, March 12. Please RSVP - space is limited.
Location: Sierra Club,

Thursday, March 14 • 7:00 – 10:00 pm
Naila and the Uprising Screening in Celebration of International Women's Day
Come see this film chronicling the journey of Naila Ayesh and a fierce community of women on the front lines, whose stories weave through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history – the First Intifada in the late 1980s. We see how women-led civil resistance can stir the masses, put pressure on power-holders, and affect real structural change. A local Palestinian activist panel will speak briefly after the film. Wheelchair accessible. Tickets $15 -$50, sales benefit Middle East Children's Alliance. Trailer here.
Location: Berkeley City College Auditorium, 2050 Center Street, Berkeley

Saturday, March 16 • 7:00 – 9:00 pm
Where All are Welcome: Building Sanctuary for Migrants Arriving in the Bay Area
Join SURJ Bay Area & SF, Interfaith Movement 4 Human Integrity, and Kehilla Community Synagogue for an evening of solidarity and action as we learn about the experiences of asylum seekers who traveled as part of a caravan, explore how white supremacy perpetuates the current humanitarian crisis and the increasingly militarized response at the border by the US government; and learn direct, concrete ways to support those seeking asylum. ASL interpretation provided if requested by 2pm on Thursday, March 14th. Please RSVP here. Financial donations are encouraged and will be taken at the event.
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

Friday, April 26 & Saturday, April 27, 2019 • 8:00 pm
9-1-1 What’s Your Emergency? The Verdict
9-1-1 What’s Your Emergency? premiered as a one-act play in 2018 as an artistic response to the local 9-1-1 calls that made BBQ Becky and Permit Patty infamous on a national level. Act one examined how the 9-1-1 call is rooted in “micro-aggression,” yet can have irreparable consequences to communities of color. Now comes a groundbreaking second act, “The Verdict,” which further examines the intersection of structural racism and personal psychological narratives that propel the calls. Written and directed by Jovelyn Richards, the play uplifts the stories of the victims and the defendants against the backdrop of gentrification, stereotypes, systemic racism, and the personal narratives of humanity. Buy tickets here for April 26, or here for April 27. Cost is $25, or $20 for students and seniors.
Location: La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley

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.

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.

New on the SURJ Blog:
Many of us have heard of Ann Braden, but do you know about Lillian Smith? As we kick off Women's History Month, read about the roles of white women in desegregation movements in a new post by SURJ Bay Area member Micki Luckey. Desegregation: Where were the women?

Upcoming SURJ National Webinar
Wednesday, March 13 • 5:00 pm 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 racialized 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.
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