May 2020 Justice News, Events and Action Alerts Update
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♦ = Immediate Action Requested ♦ = Event ♦ = News ♦ = Article
JUUstice Washington Organizational News
It’s spring and time to update your membership. Many of you may be kept from your justice work by personal hardship in these unusual times. Even if you aren’t able to work for justice now, continue to support those UU members who continue to work on your behalf. Support Us Here
As we all wait to see how the Coronavirus recovery unfolds, many more events are being arranged or changed at the last minute. We encourage you to check the JUUstice Washington calendar later in the month for postings that are submitted too late to appear in this News Update.
UUA News
♦♦ May 12, online. Join us LIVE for a special update from UU the Vote. This event will feature musicians from across the country, a message from UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, and opportunities for you to get involved and make meaningful impacts in 2020! More
♦♦ GA is Going Virtual! The UUA Board of Trustees has passed a resolution to make the 2020 General Assembly a 100% virtual event. This decision alleviates the anxiety and concern shared by many about how GA might proceed given the impact of COVID-19. It also gives the Association time to plan a more robust and rewarding virtual experience. Registration fees are also significantly reduced. More logistical info here. UU World article.
News from Our Action Teams
Refugee, Immigrant and Migrant Solidarity (RIMS) Action Team RIMS Calendar
♦ MAY 2, online. Fellowship of Reconciliation SPRING ASSEMBLY: Peace and Justice in a Time of Coronavirus. Please join us for the 22nd annual conference; this year by videoconferencing or phone. Find out how several groups and organizations are compassionately and courageously continuing to provide services in this unusually trying time, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted them and the people they serve. Featuring Deborah Cruz and Betty Deveraux of Advocates of Immigrants In Detention Northwest and Maru Mora Villalpando of La Resistencia will be speaking on behalf of ICE detainees. More
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
Climate Justice Action Team Climate Justice Calendar
♦ May 2, online. Cities Climate Action Webinar: Focus on Buildings. Buildings have a big impact on climate, and cities can shrink that impact. Find out how at this event! Join us to hear Vincent Martinez and Erin McDade, national leaders in this field, describe the work that their organization, Architecture 2030 has done with a few U.S. cities to address the buildings emissions challenge through public policies. More
♦ May 3, May 31 Online Sunrise Seattle Monthly Action Meeting. Join with local youth climate activists and their allies to brainstorm actions in this new coronavirus environment. More
♦ May 6, call. The Strengthen Local Climate Commitments (SLCC) campaign focuses on enhancing UU civic engagement in local climate transition planning. Join the monthly collaborations calls for Strengthen Local Climate Commitments (SLCC), facilitated by Doris Marlin, every first-Wednesday of the month. More
♦ May 12, online. Create Climate Justice Website Tutorial. Are you Connected? Climate Justice savvy? Amplify your Power to Change by joining together with local, state and regional groups to work for a just and sustainable future for Earth. Want to learn how to join and navigate the network? We will walk you through the site and answer your questions. More
♦♦ The Yes to East King County PUD campaign is currently collecting signatures to get a measure on the ballot in November to replace Puget Sound Energy (PSE) with a public utility district (PUD) in northeast King County. In addition to creating the opportunity to transition faster to a cleaner electrical utility district, we believe that having local control over our local power will be good for our region. More
First/American Indian Nations Solidarity (FAIN) Action Team Fain Calendar
♦♦ May 2, 10:30 am, Pancakes and Jam. Pull Together is an “unprecedented solidarity between Indigenous leaders and thousands” of allies who are organized to oppose Trans Mountain pipeline projects including fundraising for legal challenges as First Nations struggle with the courts to stop pipeline projects. “We are dipping our hands into the pools of creativity to find meaningful ways to join together in good spirits and strengthen one another’s morale during these times.” Sign up here. More info on Pull Together here.
♦♦ MAY 3, 1:00 pm, Online Showing of the film Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code, followed by a presentation by Steve Newcomb, a legal scholar and one of the world’s foremost authorities on the doctrine of Christian discovery. Steve authored Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery. Washington State leaders Jonathan Newfeld and Deb Cruz, who are also working on dismantling the Doctrine, will join Steven. Poster More
♦ NW tribal fisheries leader dies from COVID-19.. A Yakama tribal member and leader of Celilo Village, a fishing community on the Columbia River, died Friday night from COVID-19 complications, officials announced Saturday. Bobby Begay was lead fish technician for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and “was dedicated to his family, the Celilo community, salmon, the river and tribal culture,” the commission said in a post to its Facebook page, which went on to say: “He was a bridgebuilder who connected many groups and individuals across cultural divides. His example of intertribal brotherhood embodied the hopes and values envisioned by tribal leaders from the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce tribes when they came together to form CRITFC.” Read more here.
Racial Justice Action Team Racial Justice Calendar
♦♦♦ May 2, 2020 Seattle Sunrise Movement Anti-oppression Training on Zoom. This training will build on many of our hub’s critical conversations about equitable and anti-racist climate justice work. We’ll focus on why Sunrise needs to build a multi-racial, cross-class movement to win a Green New Deal; the five levels of systemic oppression; and what it looks like to see our work through a lens of liberation. More Sign up here
♦♦♦ May 8, Deadline to Register for 350.org black-led BIPOC Climate Leadership Program. The COVID-19 crisis is exacerbating pre-existing inequities, especially among Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. It’s critical that we build power now to confront these inequities – which are now determining who lives and who dies. As part of 350.org’s 3-year strategic plan, we’re building a Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) base of frontline communities hit hardest by climate change. More
♦ !! Cancelled Due to Coronavirus!! The Pacific NW White Privilege Symposium, scheduled for May 15-16 in Shoreline WA.
Economic Justice Action Team Economic Justice Calendar
♦♦ Support funding for SNAP. As conversation begins for the 4th Coronavirus relief package, Faith Action Network needs your voice to urge your members of Congress to prioritize funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).The exponential rise in unemployment, hunger in our state and nation has skyrocketed and food lines continue to grow. FAN joins a strong, interfaith, national coalition in working against rising hunger during COVID-19. Talking points and more information
Legislative Advocacy Legislative Advocacy Calendar
♦ In the coming weeks, JUUstice Washington board members Kelly Thompson and Doug Mackey will be reaching out by phone to members of the Legislative Advocacy listserv to bring contact information up-to-date and clarify how members’ interests and relationships to legislators and staffs can refine our collective responses to the legislative agenda. This is the time to build relationships and strategies for a productive fall legislative session. Thank you in advance for your input.
Featured Film Online My Mother Was Here May 11, 2020 online
♦♦ Please join Meaningful Movies Port Townsend and our special guest filmmaker Rustin Thompson on Monday, May 11, at 6:30 PM for an online screening of the award-winning, locally produced, and very personal My Mother Was Here. Donna is 84-years old. Quietly stubborn, she is estranged from all surviving members of her family, except for one — her son, the filmmaker — who rarely visits her. When her health begins to fail, she calls on him. More Registration Required
While many Meaningful Movies® site showings have been cancelled due to coronavirus, you can view movies on your own online and join in online discussions. Please check out the Meaningful Movies® Website for information about specific films and times.
Featured Flash Stances, Rallies and Vigils
As this update is published, due to Covid-19 stay-at-home and social distancing rules, normally scheduled protests, vigils, flash stances and rallies are on hiatus. Stay tuned to the JUUstice Washington calendar for changing details.
Wellness for Justice Activists
This Earth Day: Our breath, our life, our world.
I sensed that I was not just one human being breathing, but that the Earth was breathing me. I was reminded that I depend on the earth to breathe, to be alive. The world’s forests and the ocean’s phytoplankton produce the very oxygen that enables my survival. The food I eat is harvested from the Earth and is a combination of plants, sunshine, water, nutrients, and the efforts of many human hands. The water I drink flows from a river that is fed by rain and purified using tools that were derived from human ingenuity. And in turn, I breathe out carbon dioxide that feeds trees and phytoplankton, recognizing that I am part of a much larger system that’s dependent on reciprocity. I have a vital role to play in keeping that system in balance and have set an intention to live lightly and reduce my impact. Meditation allows me to reflect, with wonder and gratitude, on the intimate connection I have with this incredible living planet and all living things.