Blog Archives

Destroy legacies of hate and Oppose War

8/28/2017

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN)

We welcome your comments below!

In solidarity,
Sage

PAGE Update

Once again, the President of the United States and racist activists are damaging the lives of people of color. The President pardoned former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who called his own jail a “concentration camp” and had been convicted of contempt of court after violating a federal order to stop racially profiling Latinos. The Trump Administration also signalled that they plan to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (known as DACA), which would put 800,000 people living in the US at risk of deportation. Trump defended his response to white supremacists’ attacks in Charlottesville. And it became clear the US will send more Americans to Afghanistan to kill and be killed.
This week we focus our actions to fight back against this racist agenda

Priority Actions

Fight for immigrants’ rights. Trump has made attacking immigrants a cornerstone of his agenda. Below, we share some immediate actions you can take to keep fighting back.
Support the DREAM act. Senators Graham and Durbin have introduced the DREAM act, which would grant legal status and a path to citizenship for DACA participants. Call your representatives to let them know you support this legislation and oppose any action to undermine DACA rights. Five Calls has a helpful script you can use.
Demand accountability for the pardon of Joe Arpaio. Arpaio is a hateful, violent man. The Phoenix New Times has put together a list of his misdeeds, including marching Latino prisoners into a segregated area surrounded by electric fencing, arresting a reporter for covering him, failing to investigate hundreds of sexual abuse cases against children, and overseeing brutal conditions in his Arizona jails where prisoners died without explanation. It’s too late to reverse the pardon, but we must ask elected officials to condemn Trump for this action.
Defund hate. The Detention Watch Network has a campaign to shut off funding to the Department of Homeland Security that detain and deport immigrants. Donate to their cause. Sign their petition calling on Congress to Defund Hate. Call or write to your representatives asking them to Defund Hate. And support their campaign on social media.
Destroy the legacy of the Confederacy. There has been a tremendous positive movement speaking out against the hate of Charlottesville. Tens of thousands of counter-protesters in Boston marched in opposition to a white supremacist rally. A group organizing white supremacist rallies, ACT for America, has cancelled 67 rallies in 36 states.
Take down Confederate statues. Confederate statues are symbols of racism and oppression; we must take them down. Since Charlottesville many statues have been taken down, including Baltimore removing statues of Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Read Bree Newsome’s op-ed in the Washington Post. Learn about the Take ‘Em Down Nola campaign, which demands that New Orleans remove symbols of white supremacy; read this profile of the Take ‘Em Down Nola campaign. Look up your home state for its Confederate statues and ask that they be removed.
Give to your local #blacklivesmatter chapter. Much of the work for racial justice happens at a local level, which makes it difficult for activists living abroad to participate. BLM and other groups fighting for justice will use your money to support the local black community. Find your local chapter and support them however you can.
Empower yourself to speak out against hate. As we saw in Boston, thousands of people speaking out against hate shows communities of color that they have allies, and humiliates white supremacists. Whether it’s going to a rally or calling out your friend’s racism, personal actions can be the most effective. Read the Southern Poverty Law Center’s guide Ten Ways to Fight Hate. And check out PAGE’s anti-oppression guide.
Oppose endless war. The President made a vague announcement about changing strategies in Afghanistan this week, and it looks likely that more troops will be sent to the country. The war in Afghanistan is now 16 years old. Afghan children have known nothing but war their whole lives.
Read up on the AUMF. After September 11th, the U.S. Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists (AUMF). This statute grants the President the authority to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those he/she determined “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. The Trump Administration is expanding the AUMF even further to allow for increased military action in Syria and other countries. Furthermore, the authority to wage these wars has been turned over by the Trump Administration to the NSA and the Pentagon, which is increasingly dangerous because it lacks congressional limits and restrictions, and leaves the defense department with unchecked powers.
Get involved with the ANSWER coalition. ANSWER was started immediately after September 11th and has consistently opposed US wars abroad, including organizing major protests prior to the Iraq war.

Continued Actions:

Start planning your #NotTooFarAwayToCall picture to help get US-Americans Abroad engaged from afar. Action Together Zurich and Americans Resisting Overseas are organizing a social media campaign called #NotTooFarAwayToCall that will launch on Sept. 6. This social media campaign will feature photos of US-Americans abroad calling their Members of Congress from locations around the world. Photos will be shared on social media with a one sentence description of the call, e.g. "Calling Senator Chris Murphy from the Great Wall of China to thank him for supporting increasing the number of overseas refugees resettled in the U.S."
Share photos between September 6th and September 14th under the hashtag #NotTooFarAwayToCall - but start taking photos now!
Questions? Get in touch with Alexandra Dufresne at Action Together: Zürich, CH.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

I had to include this from the MTV VMA awards, of all things. The article includes a transcript of remarks by Susan Bro, although I'm sure that a video link will be available soon.
Kathy Sherretts

Podcast:
Bite: W. Kamau Bell and the Case of the Racist Skittles (36 min)
At a Ku Klux Klan rally in Kentucky, comedian W. Kamau Bell was handed iced tea and Skittles, the snacks Trayvon Martin purchased the night he was killed by George Zimmerman. Bell tells us how he reacted to the overtly racist gesture—and about how certain foods can become cultural symbols.

Article:
WashingtonPost: I was detained for protesting Trump. Here’s what the Secret Service asked me. by Melissa ByrneInstead
Instead of seeing a political dissenter, they saw a national security threat.

Podcast:
Slate Magazine: Trumpcast: The Corruption of Carl Ichan (24min)
How an obscure EPA rule brought down the billionaire Trump adviser.

0 Comments

Support Charlottesville and activists fighting racism

8/21/2017

0 Comments

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN)

In solidarity,
Sage

PAGE Update

This week, the United States president sided with white supremacists, Nazis and the KKK, when he said there was “blame on both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville last weekend. His comments make it clearer than ever that our leadership is morally abhorrent, and it’s up to all of us to do the hard work of fighting racism - both the extremist racism we saw in Charlottesville last weekend, the more subtle versions that show up in our everyday lives.
This week, we continue to support Charlottesville and activists fighting racism across the United States, and we take action to defund the hateful immigrations policies funded in Trump’s budget. You can also take some photos for the upcoming #NotTooFarAwayToCall campaign, and prepare to recruit members into your PAGE group this fall.

Priority Actions

Keep Showing Up for Charlottesville. After the events of last weekend, many have made new commitments to fighting racism and dismantling white supremacy. Below, we share some immediate actions you can take; it’s also important to think about how to integrate this work into your long-term routine.

Support your hometown #BlackLivesMatter chapter. If you’re from the USA, a quick search on Google or Facebook should help you find your local BLM chapter. Like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and thank them for the important work they are doing during this time. If possible, give directly to them; you can also give directly to BLM Charlottesville.
Read-up. Watching the events in Charlottesville, some US Americans reacted by commenting “this is not who we are!” While the events at Charlottesville were tragic and shocking, the kind of racism on display last weekend is woven into the fabric of the USA. Read this short piece in Harper’s about the history of racism in the USA. See more resources in PAGE'S Anti-Oppression Guide; and if you're a white person who wants to learn to be ally consider signing up for Safety Pin Box.
Write and Publicize a Statement about your group’s commitment to fighting racism and fascism. Here’s an example from the Coalition Berlin.
Reach out to groups fighting racism and fascism in your country of residence, and look for opportunities to learn and collaborate with them.

Take action to defund hate. Trump wants to use your tax dollars to finance his anti-immigrant agenda in the government’s fiscal year 2018 budget, all while making devastating cuts to health and education. Stopping the flow of money is critical to stopping Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, and this week, we follow the lead of Detention Watch Network to do that. It’s time to stop wasting taxpayer dollars on the abusive and deadly immigration enforcement system.

More about the budget (learn even more here)
Trump’s budget contains funding to hire 500 more CBP agents and 1,000 more ICE agents, continuing an extreme expansion of the deportation force which has already grown from 2,710 agents in FY 2003 to 7,995 agents in FY 2016.
Trump’s budget massively increases immigration detention to over 51,000 people in detention every day. This means locking up the equivalent of the entire population of New Orleans over the course of a year.
Trump’s budget seeks a whopping $1.6 billion to build more of the border wall, and another billion for military hardware and surveillance technology.
Take Action:
Congress can and should act as a check on Trump’s runaway deportation machine. Call on your member of Congress to say no and vote against wasting taxpayer dollars on an abusive and deadly immigration enforcement system.
Join the social media campaign to #defundhate! Here is a social media toolkit you can share with your groups.
Sign this MoveOn petition to defund hate.

Extra Actions:

Start planning your #NotTooFarAwayToCall picture to help get US-Americans Abroad engaged from afar. Action Together Zurich and Americans Resisting Overseas are organizing a social media campaign called #NotTooFarAwayToCall that will launch on Sept. 6. This social media campaign will feature photos of US-Americans abroad calling their Members of Congress from locations around the world. Photos will be shared on social media with a one sentence description of the call, e.g. "Calling Senator Chris Murphy from the Great Wall of China to thank him for supporting increasing the number of overseas refugees resettled in the U.S."
Share photos between September 6th and September 14th under the hashtag #NotTooFarAwayToCall - but start taking photos now!
Questions? Get in touch with Alexandra Dufresne at Action Together: Zürich, CH.
Recruit new members. This season might be a great time to find some new members to join the resistance.
One idea: see if your local university, English-language bookstore, or American cultural center is having a fall open house, and stop by with information about us..
This is also a great time to reach out to local organizations and activists and see if there are opportunities to collaborate later this year.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

My vacation in the US included visits to several museums and national parks. In more than one I noticed signs reminding visitors of the federal funding that allows them to operate, and asking us to contact our elected representatives to express our support for these spaces. It's easy to forget that there are serious budget decisions coming up—and cabinet appointees who are already planning for big cuts to arts funding and exploitation of protected land. So yes, drop your reps a line; remind them that we are paying attention to their actions and their statements—and the next time you are in the states, visit an art museum, go to see a dinosaur exhibit, hike in a national park.
—Kathy Sherretts

Article:
The Guardian: White House Ends Ban on Selling Bottled Water in National Parks by Jessica Glenza
National parks will no longer be allowed to ban plastic bottled water, after Trump administration officials ended a six-year-old policy put in place to curb pollution. The policy change came after just a few months of lobbying by the International Bottled Water Association.

Article:
Washington Post: Why those Confederate soldier statues look a lot like their Union counterparts by Marc Fisher.
Many of the South’s Silent Sentinels turn out to be identical to the statues of Union soldiers that decorate public spaces across the North, but for one detail: On the soldier’s belt buckle, the “U.S.” is replaced by a “C.S.” for “Confederate States.”

Article:
The Medium/The Mission: This is how your Fear and Outrage are Being Sold for Profit by Tobias Rose-Stockwell
Every time you open your phone or your computer, your brain is walking onto a battleground. The weapons are the apps, news feeds, and notifications in your field of view every time you look at a screen. Your captive attention is worth billions in advertising and subscription revenue.

0 Comments

Supporting anti-racism activists, DACA and TPS

8/14/2017

0 Comments

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN)

In solidarity,
Sage

PAGE Update

This weekend, white supremacists, Nazis and fascists marched and waged terror in Charlottesville, VA, showing the world just how active white nationalist and racist movements are in the US (see a “Hate Map” from the SPLC for more info). If you’ve living outside the US, today you may be feeling all kinds of complicated emotions about watching these events unfold from afar. Please know that wherever you are in the world, there is much you can do to support Charlottesville, and fight against racism, white supremacy and hate.

This week, we’re supporting anti-racism activists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville. We’re also joining United We Dream's campaign to protect DACA (the “Dream” act) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and showing up for immigrants threatened by the Trump administration’s embrace of white nationalism.

Priority Actions

Support Anti-Racism Activists in Charlottesville, VA.

What happened in Charlottesville? On Friday and Saturday, thousands of white nationalists held “Unite the Right” demonstrations in Charlottesville to protest the city’s plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee. They chanted “you will not replace us,” “blood and soil,” and other slogans against people of color, religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ folks. On both days they were met by counter-protesters - Black Lives Matter, religious leaders, antifascist groups, and other anti-racism activists. On Saturday, a driver rammed a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, murdering a woman and injuring at least 19 others.
Support & Fund Anti-Racism Work in Charlottesville: We may not be able to protest in person, but we can show that there is support from around the world for those most targeted by white supremacist violence. Donate to these groups - even a little bit helps!
- Charlottesville Chapter of the NAACP has been focusing on the rights and needs of Black people for decades.
- Charlottesville Pride serves Cville’s LGBTQ community through outreach, events, and advocacy.
- The Charlottesville Solidarity Legal Fund is an independent community resource that is available to all anti-racist activists in the ongoing struggle to confront and end white supremacy in Charlottesville.
- (And more here!)
Think about your own role in holding up or supporting white supremacy and other unfair power structures. How can you speak up and take other actions in your own life to make sure that equality is a reality - even if it is challenging and uncomfortable?
- Use our Anti-Oppression guide to have a conversation about white supremacy and other systems of oppression.
- White folks can also join Safety Pin Box, a subscription service which teaches white folks how to be allies in the movement for Black Liberation.
Hold a vigil or counter-protest in your country of residence. Folks across the U.S.A. and around the world are coming together to show support for Charlottesville. You might be able to collaborate with local activists working against fascism and racism and in the country where you live. If you organize to hold an event, register your event here so others can find it.

Protect DACA and TPS!

Background Info - Why is DACA under threat? Five years ago, 800,000 immigrant children were granted legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. In addition, over 300,000 immigrants, mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti, are protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Far right Republicans, led by ten states (TX, AL, AR, ID, KS, LA, NE, SC, TN, WV) are now threatening to sue the Trump administration if it does not end DACA and TPS by September 5th.
- What is DACA? On June 15th, 2012, President Obama created DACA by executive action to provide temporary legal protection to undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States as children, have lived in the U.S. for over 5 years, are enrolled in school or have a high school education or GED, and have no criminal background. You can read more about DACA here.
- What is TPS? Temporary Protection Status (TPS) provides temporary immigration status to eligible nationals from designated countries. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 shifted responsibility from the states and transferred authority to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). TPS is designated to certain countries because of conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics, etc. You can read more about TPS here.
Join United We Dream’s Day of Action on August 15th!
- Call your Member of Congress and tell them you support DACA and TPS! Ask them to stand up for childhood arrivals and co-sponsor the DREAM Act (S1615) and the American Hope Act (HR 3951).
- If you are in the States, attend a town hall or meet with your MoC in person. Join a demonstration near you!
- Organize an event wherever you are - a teach in, film screening, letter writing/phone banking event, demonstration on August 15th - and register your event here.
- Take to social media - tweet and post your opposition to ending DACA and TPS! Here is a great toolkit with sample tweets, posts, and graphics you can use.
- Follow and support these organizations: Black Alliance for Just Immigration and United We Dream.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts
I had something else prepared this week, but the awful weekend events in Charlottesville Virginia have left me speechless. I was moved by this piecefrom Dahlia Lithwick, a Slate correspondent who lives there.

Podcast:
NPR, All Things Considered: A Reformed White Nationalist Speaks Out on Charlottesville (8 min)
Christian Picciolini says he was a "lost and lonely" teenager when he was recruited by a white nationalist group. Picciolini immersed himself in the organization's ideology and by age 16, he had emerged as the leader of a group called the Chicago Area Skinheads.

Article:
Quartz: A New Colossus, The story behind the Statue of Liberty’s unexpected transformation into a beacon for refugees and immigrants by Thu-Huong Ha
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free… here is a brief history of how that poem came to become synonymous with the Statue of Liberty and this country’s assimilation of immigrants.

Article:
Politico: Interest in U.S. diplomatic corps tumbles in early months of Trump by Daniel Lippman and Nahal Toosi (10 min read)
The president’s comments thanking Putin for expelling American diplomats from Russia because it would save the U.S. “a lot of money” stunned and disappointed the State Department rank-and-file, and could further dissuade people from joining the diplomatic corps.

0 Comments

RECLAIMING TIME for Immigrant and Trans Rights

8/7/2017

0 Comments

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN)

In solidarity,
Sage

PAGE Update

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the discriminatory actions and manipulative distractions of the Trump administration. This week, Rep. Maxine Waters gave us a new refrain for cutting through the nonsense, when she reclaimed her time from a stalling Trump Secretary. Let’s follow Rep. Maxine Waters’ example and direct our energy to the important fights.

This week, we focus on immigration, under threat by the RAISE Act (under which Trump wouldn’t qualify for a Green Card). We'll also take action against the prison industrial complex. Trans folks’ basic rights are under threat – let’s step up for them. For motivation, check out Mykal Kilgore’s gospel remix of Rep. Waters’ wisdom.

PAGE Priority Actions

Immigration Action 1: Oppose the RAISE Act.
- Background Info: Last week, Republican Senators Tom Cotton (AR) and David Perdue (GA) presented their anti-immigrant bill (S354), aka the RAISE ACT, with President Trump. This bill aims to cut legal immigration to the United States in half by implementing a merits-based system over family reunification, and eliminating some immigration programs. The Southern Poverty Law Center considers it part of the white nationalist agenda. Read more about the hateful, exclusionary bill here.
- The Bill Basics: Major changes to the current immigration system under the RAISE ACT include:
  - Elimination of family reunification visas for extended family members and adult family members.
  - Elimination of the “diversity visa program” (a.k.a. “green card lottery”), which awards 50,000 visas each year.
  - Decreasing the number of refugees offered permanent residency to 50,000 a year.
  - Elimination of federal benefits for new green card holders for five years after their arrival to the US.
- Take Action:
  - Call and/or write your Senator to let them know you oppose the RAISE Act.
  - Sign petitions against the act from the NILC Immigration Justice Fund and the Council on American Islamic Relations’ (CAIR). And if you have money to give, donate it to them.
Immigration Action 2: Divest from the Immigration Detention System
- Background Info: The United States is the world’s largest incarcerator of both prisoners and immigrants. Many of the prisons and immigrant detention centers in the U.S. are owned and operated by for-profit corporations, such as Geo Group and Core Civic. This immigration detention system operates under a Congressionally-mandated quota system requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to keep detention centers filled – and profits high. Read more about the history of U.S. immigration detention here.
- The Current Crisis: Detained immigrants, both documented and undocumented, have suffered from human rights violations in private detention centers, including lack of access to medical care, lack of access to lawyers, no family contact, sexual abuse, physical and mental abuse, and solitary confinement. Since 2003, 265 people have died in custody of ICE and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
- Trump’s Plan: The Trump administration is ramping up efforts to expand immigrant detention centers - and private prison companies are profiting. The Geo Group, who donated millions to Trump’s inaugural campaign, recently won a $110 million government contract to build a new detention center in Texas.
  - Take Action:
    - Stop financing immigrant detention! Tell Wells Fargo and JPMorgan & Chase you want them to divest from private prisons/detention centers. If you bank with them, stop! And let them know why.
    - Support Detention Watch Network, a coalition of litigators, advocacy organizations, faith-based organizations, immigrants, and activists. Join the campaign to #defund hate!
    - Talk to your legislators and advocate! DWN provides a great toolkit you can use to organize your group around this issue.
Bonus Action: Act FOR Trans Folks’ Basic Rights and Oppose US Militarism
The Basics: The Internet went crazy when Trump tweeted out the ban on trans folks serving in the military. However, many trans advocates criticized calls for protest against Trump’s action, saying that protests should focus instead on the violence, harassment, and denial of basic rights, housing, job opportunities, and healthcare faced by trans folks across the country. Furthermore concentrating on issues of “tolerance” within the US military obscures the violence - physical, economic, sexual, and psychological - this force inflicts on people around the world
Take Action
- Read up on selective outrage and our failure to support trans communities, from No Justice No Pride, a collection of activists fighting for justice and equality within the LGBTQ movement.
- Donate to the Trans Women of Color Collective.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts

Greetings from Trumpsylvania.

I have been watching the evening news every night with my mom, and I see why most folks have only the broadest sense of what is going on in Washington. Even without the influence of Fox News, folks sooner or later quit trying to follow or understand all the changing and contradictory stories. No amount of explanation and background material is going to make them care MORE about a topic that is already giving them a headache.

In the spirit of curing my own headache, I want to pass along my new favorite thing: The emails from Donald Trump Jr. to Rob Goldstone, who set up the controversial meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russians, could potentially be used as evidence of collusion with Russia — or they could be the lyrics of a soulful and mellow summer ballad. If It’s What You say, I Love It by Spirit Giants (3:41 min)

Video:
Late Night with Seth Meyers: The Check In: Trump and Religion (9:37 min)
A look at President Trump's spiritual advisor, and his evolving views on religion, faith and the separation of church and state.

Article:
Moyers&Co: Taking on the Private Prison Industry’s Corporate Backers by Sarah Jaffe
Activists are trying to combat both the accelerated tracking and detaining of immigrants and the use of for-profit prisons to hold them by targeting the big banks that prop up for-profit prison companies.

Article:
Washington Post: At EPA museum, history might be in for a change By Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis
The EPA museum features the agency’s work over 4½ decades, with exhibit topics such as regulating carbon dioxide emissions and the Paris climate accord. On a recent tour of the exhibit, an official said that climate displays are slated to be removed, and that a display on coal may be added.

0 Comments

you did it!

Destroy legacies of hate and Oppose War

Support Charlottesville and activists fighting racism

Supporting anti-racism activists, DACA and TPS

RECLAIMING TIME for Immigrant and Trans Rights

resist the madness!

Archives

Categories