WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - MARCH 18, 2019

TONIGHT! Monday, March 18 • 6:30 - 8:00 pm 
Bay Area Vigil Against Islamophobia
As we mourn the loss of life in New Zealand, let’s honor their lives by expanding, connecting and defending our movements. Join the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and allied organizations and communities for a vigil against Islamophobia and to express solidarity with our sisters and brothers in New Zealand, and all those targeted by white nationalism. Read AROC's statement, On the Violence in New Zealand: Our Collective Defense is Solidarity. Donate to a fund for families of the victims here.
Location: Lake Merritt Amphitheater, Lake Merritt Blvd. between 12th St. and 1st Ave. Oakland (close to Lake Merritt BART station)

Wednesday, March 20 • 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Presentation: On Ohlone Land
Join Friends of Sausal Creek for a presentation from Indian People Organizing for Change (IPOC) to learn about Ohlone history and how their members created the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, the first urban indigenous women-led land trust in the country that is working to regain access to their land and preserve their traditions and cultural heritage. This is free and open to the public.
Location: Dimond Library, 3565 Fruitvale Ave. Oakland

Thursday, March 21 • 6:00 - 9:00 pm
5th Year Alex Nieto Angelversary
Support this community gathering to honor Alex Nieto, murdered on this day in 2014 by San Francisco police. Meet at the makeshift memorial site on the north side of the hill and share food, music, poetry, and more. Then we will walk over to the site where a permanent memorial will be erected. After a moment of silence at 7:18 pm, the moment when Alex was killed, hear speeches from the family and community with important updates on how to support the memorial installation.
Location: Bernal Heights Park, Bernal Heights Blvd. San Francisco

Friday, March 29 • 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Red Power, Internationalism, and National Liberation
Come out for this Center for Political Education event to celebrate the release of Nick Estes' new book Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance. Estes (Lower Brule) will be joined in conversation by Roxanne Dunbar-Oritz, historian and author of An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. The authors will discuss the internationalist history of Red Power and struggles for national liberation today.
Location: Eastside Arts Alliance, 544 International Blvd. Suite 9, Oakland

Saturday, March 30 • 12:00 - 3:00 pm
Gaza's Great March of Return 1 Year Anniversary
Despite being trapped inside the largest open-air prison in the world and confronting one of world’s most powerful militaries, the Palestinians in Gaza have continued their heroic resistance. March and rally in solidarity with Gaza and the Palestinian struggle as a whole on the first anniversary of the Great March of Return in Gaza and the 43rd anniversary of Land Day in Palestine.
Location: 24th St. BART Station, 2800 Mission St. San Francisco

Saturday, March 30 • 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Racial Justice Book Club - White Fragility
SURJ Marin invites you to this discussion of the book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism, by Robin DiAngelo. Participants will 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 St. 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? This SURJ workshop will explore these questions and explore the role of the body, community, spirituality, intellectual knowledge and other themes that you bring from your experience. Sliding Scale: $15-$65. No one turned away for lack of funds. Click here to learn more and get tickets.
Location: Sierra Club, 2101 Webster St. Suite 1300, Oakland

Saturday April 6, 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Poor People’s Campaign Hearing for the Bay Area
This hearing, part of a statewide Poor People’s Bus Tour, will focus on homelessness, mass incarceration, and the criminalization of poverty in the Bay Area. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing tens of thousands of people across the country to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation that are perpetuated by a distorted moral narrative that must be challenged.
Location: Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church, 1188 12th St. Oakland

Tuesday, April 9 • 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Hearing on AB 392 - Police Use of Force
Join the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) mobilization to Sacramento for the first hearing on AB 392, a bill that states police officers should only use deadly force when they don’t have other options. A common-sense bill modeled after best practices already in place in some departments, this legislation will reduce police killings and save lives. There will a free bus going to the state capital from Oakland.
Location: California State Capitol, 12th and N Streets, Sacramento

Tuesday, April 16 • 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. Featured Speaker: Sandra Johnson, a Community Organizer for All of Us or None, an organization fighting for the rights of formerly- and currently-incarcerated people and their families, and a project of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. Please RSVP - space is limited.
Location: Freedom & Movement Center, 888 44th St. Oakland

Friday, April 26 & Saturday, April 27, 2019 • 8:00 pm
9-1-1 What’s Your Emergency? The Verdict
The play, 9-1-1 What’s Your Emergency?, premiered 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 the 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

Saturday April 27 • 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Disarm, Divest, Dismantle: Needed Conversations for Racial Transformation
This workshop is intended to hold space primarily for white folks in the community who are grappling with a gut-wrenching feeling that racist aggressions directed towards the Black community is an attack to their own community and humanity. Workshop participants will: (1) Gain insight into the framework of mutual liberation, (2) Understand the distinction between the two identities of whiteness, (3) Recognize, name, and disrupt the "everyday tools" of white supremacy. Facilitated by Red Lotus Consulting, tickets are $21.
Location: Hive, 2139 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland

SAVE THE DATE! • Monday, May 20 • 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
2019 Quest for Democracy Advocacy Day
Join hundreds of formerly incarcerated and convicted people, family members, and allies, including SURJ, at the California capitol for a day of legislative visits, urging lawmakers to pass a platform of bills to improve access to employment, housing, and education, and to restore civil and human rights for formerly incarcerated people. More information coming soon.
Location: California State Capitol, 12th and N Streets, Sacramento

Save the Hampton House
In 1969, Fred Hampton, the 21-year-old charismatic chairman of the Chicago Black Panther Party, was targeted and killed by the FBI in a raid on his home organized by the Cook County State Attorney . Following Fred Hampton'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. 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.

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.

Tuesday, March 19 • 3:00 - 6:00 pm
Occupy the Sacramento Police Station: Justice for Stephon Clark
Protests continue in Sacramento in the wake of District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s decision to not prosecute the two police officers who shot and killed 22-year-old Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man and father of two. This mobilization, called by Black Lives Matter Sacramento and allied organizations, is demanding the firing of the two policemen, Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet.  
Location: Sacramento Police Dept. 5770 Freeport Blvd Ste 100, Sacramento

New on the SURJ Blog: "Desegregation: Where Were the Women?"
Many of us have heard of white Civil Rights organizer and anti-racist activist Ann Braden, but do you know about Lillian Smith? As we celebrate Women's History Month, read about the roles of white women during the Civil Rights era - those who resisted desegregation and racial equality and those who fought for racial justice - in this post by SURJ Bay Area member Micki Luckey.

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.

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