Baltimore Activist Alert - November 20 - 21, 2015

44] Okinawans come to the White House – Nov. 20

45] Peace vigil at White House – Nov. 20

46] Muslims demonstrate against ISIS – Nov. 20

47] Stop the Profiling – Nov. 20

48] Black Lives Matter – Nov. 20

49] Film SOFT VENGEANCE – Nov. 20

50] Transgender Day of Remembrance – Nov. 20

51] A left-ward turn – Nov. 20

52] Ballroom Dancing –Nov. 20

53] West Chester peace vigil – Nov. 21

54] Donna Edwards opens Baltimore office – Nov. 21

55] Energy, Health, & Climate Expo – Nov. 21

56] IN SHAPESHIFTERS – Nov. 21

57] MUPJ Summit – Nov. 21

58] Many Languages, One Voice – Nov. 21

59] Human Rights Celebration -- Nov. 21

60] "From Uncle Tom's Cabin to Uncle Sam's Prisons” – Nov. 21

61] Sign up with Washington Peace Center

62] Donate books, videos, DVDs and records

63] Do you need any book shelves?

64] Join the Global Zero campaign

65] Join the Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil

44] – The All Okinawa Council, a civil society organization, consisting of embers of civil society organizations/groups, local assemblies, local communities, and business establishments, will be at the White House, Pennsylvania Ave. on Fri., Nov. 20 from noon  to 1 PM.  Join the 26 member All Okinawa Council delegation to challenge the construction of a U.S. Marine base runway on the pristine waters of Oura Bay, Okinawa. The delegation is concerned about the environmental impact of the new facilities, including a runway to be built into the coral areas and natural habitat of the marine mammal, the dugong and the continued militarization of their island. Over 90% of all U.S. military bases in Japan are located in Okinawa. Delegation organizer Suzuyo Takazoto can be reached at suzuyo@mxi.mesh.ne.jp.

45] – On Fri., Nov. 20 from noon to 1 PM, join the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in a vigil urging the powers that be to abolish war and torture, to disarm all weapons, to end indefinite detention, to close Guantanamo, to establish justice for all and help create the Beloved Community! This vigil will take place at the White House on Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Contract Art @ artlaffin@hotmail.com or at 202-360-6416.  

46] – American Muslims to Demonstrate Against ISIS and Terrorism on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Fri., Nov. 20 from 3 to 4:30 PM. Contact Mike Ghouse at (214) 325-1916 or Mike@AmericanMuslimInstitution.org.  Go to http://www.AmericanMuslimInstitution.org.

47] – Congregate at the Department of Homeland Security, 300 7th St. SW, WDC 20024, on Fri., Nov. 20 at 4 PM to join NQAPIA: National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance and Muslim American Women’s Policy Forum at a rally to demand an end to the legalized profiling of immigrants, Muslims and people of color. Rally at DHS headquarters and then march to the DOJ. 950 Pennsylvania Ave., WDC 20530. STOP THE PROFILING.

Today is the anniversary of President Obama’s Executive Action on immigration. While DACA+ and DAPA are being fought in the courts, the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) is being implemented. With priorities around “national security,” “gang affiliation,” and “terrorism,” we know that South Asians, Southeast Asians, Muslims, people of color, Trans* people, and so many more of us will get profiled into this system and tracked into deportation. As it stands, PEP is legalized profiling, and profiling needs to be illegal. #StopProfilingUs or #PEPisProfiling or #NotYourPuppet.

48] – There is usually a silent peace vigil on Fridays, from 5 to 6 PM, sponsored by Homewood Friends and Stony Run Meetings, outside the Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St.  The next scheduled vigil is on Nov. 20. Black Lives Matter. 

49] – Come to the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, WDC on Fri., Nov. 20 from  6 to 8:30 PM, as Albie Sachs, the honorable judge, returns for a special screening of SOFT VENGEANCE, a film about his life, attempted assassination and the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa. The screening is dedicated to Robert Kennedy on his 90th birthday. Kennedy was an inspiration to Sachs and others when he visited South Africa where he gave a seminal speech known as the “ripple of hope” speech. Delivered during South Africa’s bleakest moments, the speech encouraged freedom fighters to continue their fight at a time when Mandela and all the leaders were imprisoned or banned from attending the speech of RFK. Members of the Kennedy family will be in attendance as well as US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and other special guests. Following the screening, there will be a conversation led by Albie Sachs and director, Abby Ginzberg, with Jeffrey Herbst, President and CEO of the Newseum. RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soft-vengeance-special-newseum-screening-nov-20th-tickets-18420026796.

50] – On Fri., Nov. 20 from 6 to 8 PM, join The DC Center for the 15th annual observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which commemorates all trans and gender non-conforming people who have been lost.  The 1998 brutal murder of Goddess Rita Hester, a Boston Black Trans woman, sparked the Remembering Our Dead web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester's murder, like most Trans murder cases, has yet to be solved. As of this date, there have been 75 reported murders of transgender people across the world in 2014, including 20 in the United States. Now is the time for our communities to engage in healing and restoration. At the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, DC, 474 Ridge St. NW, WDC, come together with The DC Center to celebrate, honor and lift up the legacy.  Go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1621026371499142/.

51] – On Fri., Nov. 20 at 7 PM, talk about the victories of left-wing parties and politicians in Spain, Portugal and England and a leftward political shift in Europe. It signals the end of the long period of political reaction that began in the late 1970s and greatly accelerated under Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Ronald Reagan in the United States that is drawing to a close. A new period of resistance to monopoly capitalism is opening up, potentially leading to a revival of not only the trade unions but the revolutionary workers’ movement throughout the world.  The emergence of a new generation of leftist and radical politics is a natural consequence of the offensive launched by the capitalist ruling classes against working people. Oppression breeds resistance. That this initial revival of anti-capitalism and socialism is being frequently, although not exclusively, expressed through the vehicle of electoral politics is to be expected in the first stage. It is not isolated either from the revival of left-wing forces in Latin America over the last 15 years.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) Community Forum at 617 Florida Ave. NW, WDC, will feature a presentation by Marcel Cartier, a television and radio journalist who worked in Europe from 2011-2015 and is now a member of the PSL in D.C., who will discuss the significance of Jeremy Corbyn’s rise to leadership in the Labor Party (UK) and the victories of the Socialist Parties of Portugal and Spain in the last elections, how revolutionaries should approach these electoral victories, and what these developments mean in terms of the EU and global capitalism. Contact PSL at 202-234-2828 or dc@pslweb.org.

52] – There is an opportunity to participate in ballroom dancing, usually every Friday of the month, in the JHU ROTC Bldg. at  8 PM.  Turn south on San Martin Dr. from the intersection of Univ. Parkway and 39th St.  Drive on campus by taking the third left turn. The next dance will be Nov. 20. Call Dave Greene at 410-599-3725.

53] –  Each Saturday, 11 AM – 1 PM, Chester County Peace Movement holds a peace vigil in West Chester in front of the Chester County Courthouse, High & Market Sts. Go to www.ccpeace.org. Email ccpeacemovement@aol.com. 

54] – Join Donna Edwards for her senatorial campaign office opening on Sat., Nov. 21 at 11 AM  at 11 East Mount Royal Ave., Suite 103, Baltimore 21202. Free and ample off-street parking is available. Kids are welcome and food will be provided! RSVP by responding to Donna Edwards Team volunteer@donnaedwardsforsenate.com with "I'm in." 

55] – Meet the Maryland Climate Coalition at the Energy, Health, & Climate Expo: Renewing Maryland Together on Nov. 21 from 1 to 4 PM at Baltimore City Community College, 2901 Liberty Heights Ave., Baltimore, 21215. RSVP at https://environmentmaryland.webaction.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/content?content_item_KEY=9476!  Hear what your local legislators are doing to respond to climate change and shift Maryland to cleaner renewable energy.

The Baltimore Green Forum is an enthusiastic partner in this Expo. The Expo will feature dozens of organizations and green businesses that can help you save energy and money by going green at home, including Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility!

56] – Come to Potter’s House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, on Sat., Nov. 21 from 1  to 3 PM for a book talk about “In Shapeshifters” with Aimee Meredith Cox.  She explores how young Black women in a Detroit homeless shelter contest stereotypes, critique their status as partial citizens, and negotiate poverty, racism, and gender violence to create and imagine lives for themselves. Based on eight years of fieldwork at the Fresh Start shelter, Cox shows how the shelter's residents—who range in age from fifteen to twenty-two—employ strategic methods she characterizes as choreography to disrupt the social hierarchies and prescriptive narratives that work to marginalize them. Cox gives a voice to young Black women who find creative and non-normative solutions to the problems that come with being young, Black, and female in America.  Cox is Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at Fordham University. Visit http://pottershousedc.org/event-blog/2015/11/21/shapeshifters-book-event-author-talk-with-aimee-meredith-cox.

57] -- You are invited to the next Maryland United for Peace and Justice Summit Facing Challenges to Working Together for Peace and Justice on Sat., Nov. 21 from 2 to 5 PM at the Adelphi Friends Meeting, 2303 Metzerott Rd., Adelphi, 20783. Refreshments will be served, and donations are welcomed.  The summit will be facilitated by Mary Louise Cohen, and there will be an Interactive Workshop by Claudia Smith.  RSVP to Paulette Hammond at 410-747-3811 or phamm001@earthlink.net. Go to http://www.mupj.org/.

58] – Come to Potter’s House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, WDC, on Sat., Nov. 21 from 5  to 8 PM as Many Languages One Voice (MLOV) invites you to its 5th Anniversary Fundraiser, featuring two special events to uplift Immigrant Youth Organizing in DC! Attend a very special Portrait Exhibition and Screening of RISERS, a new film and photography series featuring the District's undocumented immigrant youth by DC-based filmmaker Andy Fernandez.  The suggested donation is $15-$25 per event.  Visit www.risersdc.com!

 There will be a film and a discussion with Immigrant Youth on Tues., Dec. 1 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at the Bolivarian Hall, 2445 Massachusetts Ave, NW.  All proceeds will benefit MLOV’s Student Multiethnic Action Research Team (SMART) Youth Organizers' campaign to pass the DC Language Access for Education Act of 2015!  Visit www.mlovdc.org or go to https://www.facebook.com/events/109222909441291/

59] –On Sat., Nov. 21, the 18th Annual Human Rights Celebration will include a potluck dinner and live music from 6 to 9 PM at the Bain Senior Center, 5470 Ruth Keaton Way, Columbia 21044.  The event is sponsored by the Howard County Friends of Latin America and the Howard County Office of Human Rights. Donations are appreciated to support the artists participating in this event. Please make your check out to HoCoFoLA and mail it to PO Box 94, Columbia 21045. Email cuba_is_hope@comcast.net.

60] – Catch the two-hour show "From Uncle Tom's Cabin to Uncle Sam's Prisons," a multimedia presentation featuring a screening of the 1927 Anti-Slavery Silent Movie Classic "Uncle Tom's Cabin." While this rare critically-acclaimed movie (featuring 1920s black film star James Lowe) is shown, poems and prose by Incarcerated Men and Women are dramatically read.  Live music is performed to support the readings by accomplished and creative musicians.  All this is happening at the Western Presbyterian Church, 2401 Virginia Ave. NW, WDC, on Sat., Nov. 21 at 7 PM and stars Julian Quander. He is a singer, songwriter, and national award winner who captivates audiences all over the world with an ability to cross genres of music. Just returned from a tour of China, Julian does it all. From pop, reggae, and jazz to soul and opera, Julian has written more than 100 songs. .Go to http://www.safestreetsarts.org/.

61] -- The Washington Peace Center has a progressive calendar & activist alert! Consider signing up to receive its weekly email: info@washingtonpeacecenter.org.

62] -- If you would like to get rid of books, videos, DVDs or records, contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

63] -- Can you use any book shelves? Contact Max at 410-366-1637 or mobuszewski at verizon.net.

64] -- Join an extraordinary global campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons: http://www.globalzero.org/sign-declaration. A growing group of leaders around the world is calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and a majority of the global public agrees.  This is an historic window of opportunity.  With momentum already building in favor of Zero, a major show of support from people around the world could tip the balance. When it comes to nuclear weapons, one is one too many.

65] – A Peace Park Antinuclear Vigil takes place every day in Lafayette Park, 1601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 24 hours a day, since June 3, 1981. Go to http://prop1.org; call 202-682-4282.

Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218.  Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/.

“One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better" - Daniel Berrigan