WEEKLY NEWSLETTER - MARCH 25, 2019

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

Monday, April 1 • 7:00 - 8:00 am
Action: Civil Trial, Execution of Mario Woods
Come out for the civil trial for Mario Woods whose 2015 execution-style murder at the hands of S.F. police was caught on video. The incident drew the Bay Area into the national conversation about police accountability and highlighted San Francisco's dwindling Black population due to gentrification and displacement. Support the Woods Family at this critical juncture as they seek justice for Mario Woods in the courts. Sponsored by Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community - Justice 4 Mario Woods.
Location: 450 Golden Gate Ave. San Francisco

Saturday, April 6 • 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Talking With Kids About Race: Reading Between the Lines
Parents and their children, educators, and caregivers are invited for an afternoon of storytelling and story learning. Sponsored by SF SURJ, Abundant Beginnings, and others, we will explore how stories can lead us into critical conversations about race and justice and share practices for being more concrete about about what racism is, how it works, and how we can stop it. Presenters include illustrator and animator Christian Robinson, Costanoan Ohlone and Chumash storyteller and educator Kanyon Sayers-Roods, Islander spoken word artist June Lynn Kealoha-Hall, and educators Shayna and Dylan Cureton from Abundant Beginnings.
Location: S.F. Main Public Library, 100 Larkin St. San Francisco

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 stipulates that police officers should avoid using deadly force whenever possible. 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. Learn more about AB 392 here.
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

Thursday, May 2 • 7:00 - 9:00 pm
When We Fight We Win: Building Community Power to Dismantle the Prison System
Recent years have seen important fights and wins in the struggle to dismantle the prison system in California - from repealing sentence enhancements, to shutting down jail expansion, to working to restore voting rights to folks on parole. Come hear from four frontline leaders about victories, strategies, and the importance of campaigns and coalitions in this movement: Sandra Johnson, Senior Organizer, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC)/ All of Us or None (AOUON); Eric Henderson, Policy Director, Initiate Justice; and Ivette Alé and Amber-Rose Howard, Statewide Coordinators, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB). Their stories will highlight the many ways you can also contribute to creating a more progressive vision of justice than mass incarceration. Tickets sliding scale $5 - $25 to benefit LSPC/AOUON, Initiate Justice, and CURB. More info and tickets here.
Location: First Congregational Church of Oakland, 2501 Harrison Street, Oakland

Saturday, May 11 • 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Quest For Democracy Day Lobby Visit Workshop
To prepare for Quest For Democracy Day (Q4D), the SURJ Policy Working Group is holding this workshop where participants will learn how SURJ shows up to lobby in accountability with our partner organizations and the ways that policy combined with grassroots movements can be used as a tool for collective liberation. Workshop attendees will also learn more about lobby visits and how they fit into SURJ’s larger framework, practice speaking to a legislative staffer, and hear from our Policy partner, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, on their 2019 policy priorities. Sliding scale $0 - $10 - all proceeds go to LSPC. More info and tickets.
Location: Seneca Family of Agencies, 6925 Chabot Road, Oakland

Monday, May 20 • 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
2019 Quest for Democracy Day (Q4D)
Join hundreds of formerly incarcerated people, family members with incarcerated loved ones, and allied organizations, including SURJ, at the annual statewide lobby day in Sacramento sponsored by Legal Services for Prisoners with Children/All Of Us Or None (LSPC/AOUON). The day will include a training on sponsored bills and on effective legislative advocacy followed by a rally that lifts up the voices and leadership of those most affected by the prison industrial complex. After a bagged lunch, Action Teams will visit each legislator’s office to advocate in person. Learn more, sign up, and donate to support Q4D Day here.
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.

Support Cambodian Families Impacted by Deportations
Immigrant support organizations, including the Asian Law Caucus and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, are calling on people to support the Khmer community following a series of ICE raids in early March, targeting folks with old convictions. Several community members across the country have been detained and groups are fighting to keep people from being deported back to Cambodia. But community support is needed! The affected families are largely low income, struggling to make ends meet with the loss of an income, and cannot afford phone calls, commissary, or to visit family members detained. Learn more and make a donation here.

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 26 • 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: 300 Richards Blvd. Sacramento

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 and 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