News from surj! February 2020

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SURJ FAITH WEBINAR: ROME WILL DESTROY US 

We are excited to be offering a webinar for Christians addressing some challenging texts in the Gospel of John in the Bible that are often interpreted in ways that perpetuate anti-Judaism/anti-Semitism.  The webinar will be on February 24th at 8pmET/5pmPT.  Read more about it at the registration link here.

Invite friends on FB here

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Only internationalism can save us

frieWant to learn about how we make anti-imperialist internationalism concrete and relevant to your work? Lara Kiswani, Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, and Melanie K. Yazzie, co-founder of the Red Nation, will be in dialogue about why internationalism is crucial if we are to build movements that can win. On this call, we’ll talk about what we can learn from movements in the Global South, about what internationalism asks of those of us who live in the center of empire. We’ll look at some concrete examples of the ways organizers in the US link their local work with struggles in other parts of the world. And we will emphasize the ways that when we build internationalist movements we are connecting to a worldwide majority of people who are demanding a different world, and in fact we become part of it.

Register here: bit.ly/internationalismsurjcatalyst

Invite friends on FB here: 

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​A Black queer feminist lens Gets us all free

Join Charlene Carruthers, a strategist, writer and leading community organizer in today’s movement for Black liberation, for a conversation with SURJ. Charlene is the founding national director of BYP100, founder of the Chicago Center for Leadership and Transformation, and author of Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements. The call will highlight the importance of applying a Black queer feminist lens to all of our movement work, including the work of SURJ. Join us for this conversation as we celebrate National Women’s History Month.

Register here: bit.ly/surjcharlene
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Invite friends on FB here

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Sheriffs, White supremacy
​and organizing for collective liberation

Join this conversation about the role of sheriffs in upholding white supremacy and the strategic need to run local campaigns that can hold them accountable, or kick them out of office in our work for collective liberation. Our guest speakers are from Political Research Associates and Sheriffs for Trusting Communities.

Register here: bit.ly/surjsheriffcampaign
Invite friends on facebook here

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SURJ Electoral CAmpaign 

Join this call for chapters to get involved in SURJs electoral strategy around the country! This will be a chance to hear how your chapter can get involved in moving your family, friends, and members to vote for racial justice.  
March 9th 8 ET / 7 CT / 6 MT / 5 PT
Register here!

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Queers against pete

SIGN this letter to show that you do not want Pete Buttigieg to be the democratic nominee! 
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Queers Against Pete is a multiracial grassroots group of LGBTQIA individuals from across the country working to disrupt the narrative that Mayor Pete Buttigieg represents or has the support of queer communities. SURJ has been partnering Queers Against Pete to undermine white queer support of Pete, and stand with Black, Brown and working class LGBTQIA+ communities who would be most negatively impacted under a Buttigieg presidency. We have a clear assessment that a moderate winning the democratic nomination would weaken our chances of defeating Trump in November, and put us in a worse position if a Democrat wins the White House. Mayor Pete has been courting the LGBTQ community for the democratic nomination, but consistently supports moderate policies that disproportionately and negatively impact marginalized LGBTQIA+ communities-- including his opposition to free public college and Medicare for all, his support for increasing our already booming military budget, and his track record of of demolishing affordable housing for South Bend residents. We are reaching out to our LGBTQIA + members to ask you to consider joining 4,000 others in signing on to this Queers Against Pete letter, and share with your networks as we continue building our collective efforts to defeat Trump and win big in 2020. Follow @QueersAgnstPete to join the #QueersAgainstPete movement

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International solidarity with Wet'suwet'en

Now is the time for International Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en! Join or organize an action to support Wet'suwet'en land defense against colonial invasion and resource extraction and upholding of Wet'suwet'en law. 
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You can get a sense of what has been happening by watching this 7-minute video from the Unist'ot'en Camp, entitled "Reconciliation is Dead." Canada has no treaty with Wet'suwet'en and no legal claim whatsoever to their lands. Please reach out to us at  anticolonialsolidarity@gmail.com  if you would like support about planning an action, including talking what would be most appropriate regarding the Indigenous Peoples whose land you are on.

Here is a new Facebook page tracking upcoming solidarity actions across the globe. Check the comments section to see upcoming actions and post actions you are organizing. There are upcoming events in Ohlone Territory-San Francisco and here in Oakland, Lenape Territory-Manhattan. There are Canadian Embassies & Consulate offices all over the U.S. which could be targeted for actions. Here is a list of the offices.

Canada and industries continue to be shut down, with major actions shutting down rail lines, ports, government offices, banks, police stations and more. These actions are led by Indigenous Peoples, as well as people of color and white settler allies. The rail shutdowns are costing Canada *BILLIONS* of dollars in lost revenue and putting pressure on the Canadian government to shift their genocidal patterns and offering white settlers in Canada the opportunity to reflect on the relatively very small inconvenience they are experiencing within the perspective of the deep violence that Indigenous folks have been experiencing for centuries. 
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Some of the companies funding this pipeline are based in the U.S.! KKR is an investment firm that bought 65% of Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project and they have a San Francisco office as well as 3 other US-based locations. Help flood their phone lines and tell them to DIVEST from this genocidal project: (415) 315-3620; 555 California St 50th floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. 

You can donate, here and here.

There will be an upcoming call/webinar very soon to offer further support and connection around solidarity actions. Please email us at anticolonialsolidarity@gmail.com if you would like to be added to our mailing list for further info.  

In solidarity,
Berkley, Dylan, Griffen, Roger, Scott & Z!

Indigenous Solidarity Network

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