Just a quick reminder that due to our travels, our next meeting will be Sunday, July 14, 4:30-5:45. We are following the news closely from here and look forward to getting back to work when we return. If anyone is looking for action items, try:
A Community Discussion on Police and Deadly Force – AB 392: The California Act to Save Lives
Sunday, June 30, 2 pm
San Pablo Public Library, Wildcat Community Room, 13751 San Pablo Avenue, San Pablo Panelists include: Contra Cost District Attorney Diana Becton, Richmond Police Chief Allwyn Brown, and “Uncle Bobby” Johnson (Oscar Grant Foundation).
The event is free and open to all. Sponsored by Northern California ACLU, Berkeley/East Bay Chapter. Questions: btpr88@yahoo.com
Remembering 1619 Artistic Presentation
Tuesday, August 20, 6:30 – 9 pm
SFJazz Center, 201 Franklin St., San Francisco
The Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Joanna Haigood and Zaccho Dance Theatre, actor Steven Anthony Jones, The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol, directorial consultant and dramaturg Kim Euell, and film producers Cheo Tyehimba Taylor and David Goldberg present the debut of a stirring work about 400 years of struggle, triumph, grief, excellence, and resilience experienced by people of African descent here in the United States. The Equal Justice Society’s year-long Remembering 1619 observance marks the 400th anniversary of the advent of slavery in the United States. (see article below.) More information here.
“Slavery’s bitter roots: In 1619, ‘20 And odd Negroes’ arrived in Virginia,” The Washington Post, August 24, 2018.
The first documented Africans to arrive in the English-speaking colony of what would become Virginia arrived in August 1619 on the “White Lion,” a Dutch man-of-war ship carrying enslaved cargo from the West Coast of Africa.
The arrival of the ship was reported by colonist John Rolfe who wrote: “About the latter end of August, a Dutch man of Warr of the burden of a 160 tunnes arrived at Point-Comfort, the Commandors name Capt. Jope. He brought not any thing but 20 And odd Negroes, w[hich] the Governo[r] and Cape Merchant bought for victuals.”
The “20 And odd Negroes” had been captured in 1619 from “the Kingdom of Ndongo” in Angola. They were packed with more than 350 enslaved Africans aboard the Sao Joao Baustista, a Portuguese slave ship that set sail from the coast of Africa, bound for what then was called Vera Cruz, on the coast of Mexico. Read full article here.
ACTION ITEMS
| The Mueller Report Book Club |
| Thousands of Americans are committed to reading the Mueller report — cover to cover — together. Join us! Sponsored by The March for Truth. |
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| ACLU Monitoring Local Government If you’re concerned about the Trump administration’s actions and the loss of our civil liberties, but need a way to do SOMETHING without uprooting your life, we have some easy ways you can help protect our rights. Much of the help we need can be done from your home and/or computer with just a few clicks. |
| The Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter of the ACLU is seeking your help. We are looking for local volunteers who would like to get more active in their communities by keeping abreast of what elected officials are doing and by monitoring, observing, and participating in meetings of city councils and local boards making important policy decisions. |
| Here are a few ways to get involved in this effort: 1. Look at the agendas for specific public meetings. These agendas are posted on-line on a regular basis (usually, but not always, weekly). Then notify our chapter when an issue is scheduled that deals with the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. |
| 2. Attend or watch local public meetings. Often these meetings are also broadcast live on cable television and/or streamed live or archived for internet viewing. Then notify our chapter when discussions deal with the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. |
| 3. When the ACLU identifies an issue of concern we can amplify our voice by having several volunteers attend particular meetings and provide public comment. (Note: Please do not represent yourself as an associate of the ACLU unless you have coordinated with the ACLU Chapter Board or ACLU staff.) |
| 4. Express your views on issues by meeting, calling, e-mailing, or writing to your representative. |
| Note: Please do not represent yourself as an associate of the ACLU unless you have coordinated with the ACLU Chapter Board or ACLU staff.) |
| If you are interested in participating in this effort, please e-mail barbara dilts (bdilts@redshift.com) with your contact information and which of these activities interest you.We will provide you more information and support for your involvement. |
| IMMIGRATION |
| Donate to Provide Emergency Legal Aid for Children in Camps |
| Holly Cooper, Co-director of the Immigration Law Clinic at UC Davis, is one of the few attorney with legally mandated access to some of the worst facilities where the children are being held. Her team is doing vital work, investigating, advocating and suing to help the children. Over the weekend has already been an outpouring of support for this work, and now we can add ours too. We can click here to donate to Together Rising’s fight for the rights of children in Detention camps. Information here. – From Rogan’s List, June 25 |
| From National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) |
| Donate to NIJC’s Emergency Response Fund Your donation to the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) helps fund life-changing legal services for families who face separation, community outreach to make sure our neighbors know their rights, and lawyers and legal staff to get parents out of jail and to reunite children with their families. Give now. |
| Represent immigrants and asylum seekers |
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| As a pro bono attorney you help give voice to immigrants and refugees who are without representation. NIJC provides excellent support and guidance to attorneys who represent immigrants pro bono including asylum seekers, detained individuals, and families who were cruelly separated at the border. Learn more about being a pro bono attorney. |
| Contact your members of Congress |
| Ask your congressperson to cut funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These agencies use billions of taxpayer dollars to separate parents from their children, lock up 52,000 immigrants–including asylum seekers–in an abusive detention system, and terrorize our communities. Congress has the power to cut off funding to stop mass incarceration and family separation. Take action now.Be an interpreter |
| Most individuals whom NIJC represents require the an interpreter to prepare a detailed affidavit or to translate foreign language documents. If you are fluent in another language and would like to help, please email us. Support immigrants in detention |
| Immigrants in detention facilities around the United States are subjected to unjust confinement, leaving them isolated from their families and support systems. Help support detained immigrants and refugees by volunteering with the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI). Invite your friends and family to join you in writing letters of encouragement, visiting immigrants in local detention centers, and assisting recently-released immigrants. Learn more. |
| Stay informed Sign up for NIJC’s e-updates and action alerts to stay informed about the issues and be alerted when your voice is needed most. |
| Spread the word |
| Follow NIJC on social media. Trustworthy information is critical right now and you can help share it. |
| From Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) |
| Contribute to the Project Corazon Travel Fund so we can send more lawyers (particularly Spanish-speaking immigration lawyers) to the detention centers and refugee camps where help is desperately needed. We’ve already sent 37 and we can send dozens – even hundreds – more with your support. |
| Donate Frequent Flier Miles. Pledge your frequent flier miles to help get more lawyers to the border. If you have unused airline miles, you can pledge your airline miles to help the cause thanks to L4GG’s partnership with Lawyer Moms of America. We use these miles to help cover travel costs for pro bono attorneys. Click here to pledge your airline miles to the travel fund. |
| Immigration lawyers. If you’re an immigration lawyer and would be willing to donate your time to help asylum seekers in remote locations (but can’t afford the associated travel expenses), click here to apply for travel funding. Law firm pro bono help. If you’re a lawyer at a large law firm, ask your pro bono coordinator whether your firm is part of Project Corazon. If your firm is already a Project Corazon partner, there may be immediate opportunities for you to volunteer for our remote CFI and/or remote bond projects. If your firm would like to learn more about partnering with us, please ask your pro bono coordinator to email us at corazon@L4GG.org. |
| Project Corazon Immigrant Rights Seeks Spanish-Speaking Interviewers Without representation, the chances of asylum seekers passing a Credible Fear Interview, the first step towards being awarded asylum, could be as low as 5-10%. With the help of volunteer lawyers the odds increase to about 50%. We’ve been able to help nearly 1,000 families through Project Corazon, with lawyers traveling to the border, lawyers representing immigrants in remote proceedings, lawyers doing research, and soon, lawyers representing immigrants in bond hearings. Lawyers for Good Government Foundation make its mark in the fight against immigrants, with much, much more room to grow. We’re looking for Spanish-speaking volunteers to conduct remote intake interviews (by phone) with detained asylum-seekers. |
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| Volunteers will be asked to sign up for shifts (each shift will be approx. 4 hours) during which you will be “on call” to handle intake interviews. Sign up here. |
| The Dream and Promise Act The Dream and Promise Act, which was recently introduced in Congress, could protect and provide a roadmap to citizenship for millions of undocumented people, including recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). More information here. – From National Immigrant Justice Center. |
| Family Reunited Through HIAS/M4M Partnership Miles4Migrants is an organization that uses donated airline reward miles to help relocate and reunite families of refugees and asylum seekers. |
| “Missing Neighbors” Poster Campaign Information here. Sponsored by HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society). |
| National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)NIJC’s Ambassador Toolkit |
| NIJC’s volunteer interpreter corps.View open jobs at NIJC. |
| Write to Detained Migrants here. RiseStronger compendium of information and resources here. |
| How To Help Immigrant Kids Who Are Taken From Their Parents At The Border – Equal Justice Society article here. |
| Donation Opportunities |
| Latino Immigrant Families Together (LIFT) Fund – Donate here. RAICES is the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas. Donate here. |
| Temple Emanuel of McAllen, Texas is accepting donations via Paypal or by check (send to 4300 Chai St., McAllen, TX 78504). Please note “Refugees” on the check memo line. |
| Support Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley Respite Center through their ‘ Go Fund Me page. |
| *Border Kindness provides migrants, refugees, and the displaced with comprehensive services that include food, shelter, clothing and medical care. Our programs and interventions are designed to identify, protect and nurture the most vulnerable – including women, children, elderly and families. |
| *Border Angels advocates for human rights, humane immigration reform, and social justice with a special focus on issues related to issues related to the US-Mexican border. Border Angels engages in community education and awareness programs and serves San Diego County’s immigrant population through various migrant outreach programs. |
| LEGAL HELP NEEDED AT THE BORDER RAICES Needs Volunteers. Use this form to sign up for more information. |
| Lawyers Needed for Humanitarian Relief to Migrants From Good Ally Collaborative |
| No More Deaths Lawyers: Volunteer with SIFI (Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, led by the Southern Poverty Law Center) |
| Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) |
| Sign up to volunteer remotely or in-person.Attorneys and Paralegals Needed to Help Immigrants Oppressed by ICE |
| CARA Family Detention Project American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). More Information here. |
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| GUN CONTROL ADVOCACY |
| March for Our Lives Students Gun Safety Policy Indivisible California StateStrong Guide for Preventing Gun Violence. |
| OrganizationsEvery Town for Gun Safety |
| Sandy Hook Promise Students Demand Action |
| Moms Demand Action The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence |
| Giffords Guns Down |
| RECURRING EVENTS |
| Voter Registration for New Citizens Swearing In Ceremony |
| Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, OaklandWednesday, July 17, 10 am – noon |
| Wednesday, July 17, 2 – 4 pm Help brand new Americans activate their citizenship by registering to vote. From countries all over the world, they pour out of the Paramount Theater after taking the oath of allegiance to their new homeland. We welcome them with an offer to register to vote. Look for a row of ironing boards on both sides of the entrance. No experience is necessary – we will train on site. |
| Please plan to arrive on time for the session you signed up for so we can do a training and distribute the volunteers between the two stations. NOTE: If you plan to drive, allow 30-45 minutes to look for parking which fills up very early. The Paramount Theatre is 1/2 block from the 19th St. BART station. This is an outdoor standing event so please be prepared to stand for up to 2 hours and dress according to the weather (casual is fine) |
| Register here. Make sure you are picking the morning or afternoon session you want to attend. You can sign up for either or both. |
| Indivisible Group Meetings |
| Indivisible East Bay All Member Meeting Last Sunday of the month, 1-3 pm, Sports Basement, 2727 Milvia Street, Berkeley |
| Information here. |
| Indivisible Berkeley Monthly General AssemblyCertain Sundays of the month, 7:30-9 pm |
| Berkeley Finnish Hall, 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley Information and next meeting information here. |
| Indivisible SF General Meeting |
| Some Sundays, 3:30-5:30pm Manny’s, 16th and Valencia Streets, SF |
| Indivisible SF information here. Check their events page for meeting dates. |
| ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) ACLU Voter |
| Nationwide voter mobilization effort through phone banking and texting. Sign up here. |
| Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter Monthly meeting-Third Wednesday of most months, 7 pm |
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| Sweet Basil Thai restaurant, 1736 Solano Avenue, Berkeley |
| Come early if you’d like to eat dinner with us. Barbara Dilts bdilts@redshift.com More information about this and chapter here. |
| Know Your Rights trainings by Antonio Medrano, Chair of the Berkeley/North East Bay Chapter – For schedule of trainings go to Chapter Facebook page. |
| List of other ACLU chapters here. |
| Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club Meeting Fourth Thursday of themonth, 6-9 pm (potluck at 6, meeting at 6:45) Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland Information here. |
| Barbara Lee Staff Office Hours Every 1st & 3rd Thursday, 2-5 pm 1470 Fruitvale Ave, Oakland. Staff only – Rep. Lee not in attendance. |
| Week to Week Politics Roundtable and Social Hour – Mondays, 5:30 pm wine-and-snacks social, 6:30 pm program The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, Dates, information and tickets ($0 members-$20) here. |
| PHONE BANKS, TEXT BANKS, POSTCARDS AND OTHER THINGSA report from a meeting with Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris by a member of 13 Pages, Oakland Indivisible Group: Calls from constituents help our senators fight for justice. Every call is tallied by zip code. We can call several times a day and each call is tallied separately. The more we call, text. and e-mail the louder our voices are heard. We can speak about more than one issue in the same call. Sen. Dianne Feinstein email, (415) 393-0707; DC: (202) 224-3841) Sen. Kamala Harris email, (415) 355-9041; DC: (202) 224-3553 |
| Democracy Action phone banks on current issues. Information here. |
| Action Checklist for Americans of Conscience (Jen Hoffman) weekly Action Checklist. Rogan’s List/RiseStronger – A comprehensive weekly digest of news and actions. Sign up here. |
| Wall of Us – Four concrete acts of resistance curated and personalized for you each week. Sign up here. |
| One Thing You Can Do (OTYCD) Postcards for America website. Postcards for America Facegroup here. |
| Indivisible Berkeley page lists actions you can take from the comfort of your home! We recommend making a habit of taking one action per day or one action per week. |
| Action for Introverts. https://resistancelabs.com/volunteer/text/ |
| DEMONSTRATIONS AND PROTESTS North Berkeley demonstration demanding higher taxes for the super-rich & big corporations |
| Mondays 5-6 pm, near the top of Solano Ave by the Oaks Theater, Berkeley |
| Come sing with OCCUPELLA or just hold a sign. RAIN CANCELS! |
Indivisible Elmwood 