Racial Justice Upcoming Events

What's Next: Moving Into the Great Turning WWFOR Fall Retreat, November 21, 2020

Register Here

We want every member of CARW’s base to be meaningfully engaged in the fight for collective liberation and to have a growing sense of political home. After the election, we’ll be launching neighborhood-based cohorts all over Seattle and south King County. 

If you’ve been looking for a way to deepen your involvement with CARW and build a community of shared values, this is your opportunity.

We’ll connect you with a group of your neighbors for a series of facilitated conversations to excavate internalized white supremacy, grapple with core tensions of white anti-racist practice, and build a shared political analysis. These cohorts will run loosely from Election Day to Inauguration Day and will meet twice a month from mid-November through late January for a total of six sessions. All sessions will include an action component, aligned with the latest demands from King County Equity Now and Decriminalize Seattle. If you’re interested in participating, please sign up through this form by Sunday, Nov 8. 

We want abolition now. We want every member of CARW’s base engaged in the struggle for Black liberation, indigenous sovereignty, migrant justice and a more equitable world in a way that stretches them, teaches them, and feeds them. We’re grateful to be in community with you all.

In Solidarity, CARW

PeaceKeeper Training: Sun, Nov 1, 2-4pm Join CARW and others for a peacekeeper training ahead of the election. If you would like to be trained, or freshen up your skills, please join us! We’ll meet at Pratt Park basketball court (201 20th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144). This training is hosted by CARW,  Washington Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Valley and Mountain and 350 Seattle. The training will be facilitated by Rev Sekou of Valley and Mountain (militant non-violent civil disobedience) and Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites (de-escalation). Sponsored by WA PPC, this will be similar to previous trainings with new information regarding de-escalation. Topics covered will include: know your rights, safety tactics at a protest, and a mix of strategic and tactical info. Mask up! Bring water, a snack, and anything else you may need. Wear comfortable clothes (lots of movement). Prepare for rain!

We are proud of the ways our Faith continues to #SideWithLove and be present to the World. We are in the final days before a historic election and we want to offer you an opportunity to provide Faithful Witness at The Polls. Whether your congregation is a polling site or is interested in offering some warmth and kindness at undoubtedly tense polling stations, we have ideas for how we can offer faithful responses that are at the heart of Side With Love. You can view the 30 minute webinar here. What does it mean to continue to “harvest our power” when we are tired or overwhelmed? There's no magical fix, but knowing you are NOT alone and that others can help find the answers helps. Join Side With Love on Monday Movement Moments for a 30-minute check-in and highlights of what’s happening across the country and ways you can get involved. Monday Movement Moment Nov. 2,9 at 9:30am PT. You can watch past episodes here.

Documenting the Struggle:  A Conversation with Filmmaker Stanley Nelson

Recording Available now – go to online link to view.

Conversation with filmmaker Stanley Nelson on his acclaimed Civil Rights films.  American Experience and WORLD Channel tonight for a conversation with filmmaker Stanley Nelson and American Experience Executive Producer Cameo George on the ongoing struggle for civil rights in America. The discussion includes clips from three of Nelson's films— The Murder of Emmett Till, Freedom Riders, and Freedom Summer — as well as Q&A from audience.

• The Murder of Emmett Till - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/till/
• Freedom Riders - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomriders/
• Freedom Summer - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/freedomsummer/

How can organizers of nonviolent mass protest actions help ensure those actions won't be "hijacked", and thus made less effective, by violent flanks, outside groups, and covert provocateurs?  How can we help ensure that health guidelines are followed during protests, to minimize the risk of harm from a deadly virus? Basic Training for Peace Teams: Keeping Non-Violent Discipline October 25, 6:30 to 8:30 pm     Dr. Tom Hastings, of Portland State University Conflict Studies Program and Adam Vogal of Portland Peace Team will provide a Zoom training on basic peacekeeping and de-escalation theory and skills to keep mass protests nonviolent. This training is designed for those who want to be trained to serve in a "peace team."

This Saturday, September 26th from 5-8pm, Sunrise Seattle will be holding a hub strategy session. If you have an interest in helping our hub to craft a strategy for the months leading up to January 2021, we would love for you to join us! You can register here.

Why: We’ve done amazing work since Sunrise Seattle began, especially in the last few months. In order to continue showing up for the uprising for Black Lives and other movements across the city and organizing our generation, and do it even bigger and better over time; we need to unify our work around a long-term strategy.  We need a clearer vision for how the Seattle hub will work towards building people power, political power, and the people’s alignment for a Green New Deal this fall, and Sunrise National just released a toolkit to help us do just that.

How: We'll be having a participatory session open to our entire hub, and we're also setting up systems for everyone to give input without having to make the meeting. To facilitate that, we're sharing the agenda for the strategy session, a shorter version of the Sunrise National Fall Strategy Guide, and an example strategy so every member can be involved and propose strategies. 

There will be 3 more days for people to develop proposals for strategies or specific goals. These proposals will be discussed in the first strategy session to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and develop our hub strategy and goals.

Once we have a first draft of our hub's strategy, it will be posted in the #strategic_planning_session channel on our Slack, and hub members will have a week to provide feedback in that Slack channel before our second strategy session, where we'll incorporate any feedback and come up with a final strategy. (Slack is a messaging tool we use to share ideas and collaborate - everyone is welcome to join.)

Please join the #strategic_planning_session channel on our Slack! The channel will be a place where people can discuss strategy, view other proposals, and build off each others’ ideas. Even if you can't come to the strategy session, you can develop proposals or explain your vision for our hub this fall in that channel, and your contributions will be taken into consideration during our planning session.

Excited but unsure of how to draft your own strategy proposal?: The Sunrise National fall strategy guide is a great resource for drafting your own proposals. In addition, our Trainings Team put together a document explaining the Act-Recruit-Train cycle that Sunrise uses, our theory of change, and key questions to keep in mind when drafting a proposal for a strategy or goal. 

On September 30th, Demos and Boston University Center for Antiracist Research will host The Other Swing Voter: Visioning Forward virtual convening from 8 am to noon PT. THE OTHER SWING VOTER is defined as voters who oscillate between voting and not voting (or voting third party). These voters are predominantly young, Black and Latinx, and they must be at the center of antiracist electoral organizing strategies, power-building, and policy analyses. During this afternoon of political education, Black and Latinx grassroots political organizers, as well as researchers and policymakers, will detail how to build cross-sectoral relationships that allow knowledge sharing, analysis, and the development of freedom-forward strategies for organizing and sustaining this voting bloc. More information and program.

REGISTER TO JOIN

How, during an unprecedented pandemic, can we educate all children equitably—with closed schools, disruptions in food assistance, and lack of internet access for home-learning affecting some far more than others? Especially now, how can we not?

Believing that educational equity is a moral imperative, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church has asked Dr. John B. King, Jr., former US Secretary of Education, to address the needs and possibilities for accessible, equitable educational opportunities for low-income and otherwise disadvantaged children and youth, especially those of color. We invite you to join us on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, 4-5:30 pm. PT for this free, virtual event.

Register

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr. Join Interfaith Power & Light to view Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek, an award winning film about the unjust impact of climate change on an historic black community, and attend an IPL webinar to learn ways we can practice being allies in the fight for safe and healthy black communities. Click here to watch a preview and purchase a ticket for the film and webinar. Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek follows the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who moves home to coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Over the course of a decade, Derrick and his neighbors stand up to powerful corporate interests and politicians and face ordeals that include Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil disaster in their struggle for self-determination and environmental justice. Watch a preview and purchase your ticket to view this critically acclaimed film online August 2 through August 4 and attend the webinar. The webinar will be at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern on August 5 with filmmaker Leah Mahan and Derrick Evans. Moderated by Susan Stephenson, the conversation will center around the disproportionate impacts of climate change on black and brown communities. We’ll also hear updates on the fight to achieve environmental justice for Turkey Creek and learn measures we can all take through policy and direct action to create more just systems and healthier communities. $20 for an individual ticket. You will receive the link to view the film and the password, plus access to the webinar. $50 for a congregational screening ticket. You will receive a link for up to 150 members of your congregation to view the film for free and attend the webinar. Click here to purchase. Funds will go to support climate justice for Turkey Creek and to reimburse the small independent film team. May justice and mercy prevail, Sarah Paulos Community Engagement and Program Manager Interfaith Power & Light

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  The Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites is MOBILIZING to DEFUND the SPD by 50% and REINVEST IN BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES. We have until July 17th to influence the city budget. As a people who have historically benefited from the institution of police, we have a responsibility to advocate for its abolition. We are MOBILIZING TOGETHER to DEFUND the SPD by 50%  and REINVEST IN BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES This work is not done!  If you have been following the news lately, you likely know that Mayor Durkan is on the offensive.  She has proposed a 20% budget cut, even though if we can maintain a veto-proof majority in city council, she has very little power to implement that proposal. SO, it is imperative that we keep pressure on our Council Members to hold to their commitment.  The pro-police folks are organizing as well. They're planning on using our tactics to try to flip Council Members votes.   Our action is to keep up the calls and emails! They matter- don't let up and give the pro-police folks the phone lines!  Only a quarter of our Phone Zap spots are filled for today - so sign up. And make the calls even if you don't sign up!  Below you will find all of the city council members contact information!  

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The WA Low Income Housing Alliance works toward the opportunity for all Washington residents to live in safe, healthy, affordable homes in thriving communities. They sponsor a weekly webinar to highlight work and provide action points on these issues. Examples of recent/coming meetings: Marc Dones  joined us July 1st to share about the newly formed Center on Housing Justice, an arm of the National Innovation Service that will focus on dismantling structural racism inside our nation’s housing and homeless service systems, and redesigning toward an equitable future! On July 8th, we'll be joined by Lowel Krueger from the Yakima Housing Authority and Amber Johnson from SNAP to discuss how COVID-19 is impacting their tenants. If you would like to submit a question ahead of the call, please use this form to do so! We will do our very best to answer your questions during the call or in follow-up correspondence. You can register for the call at this link, or by clicking the button above. After registering, you should receive a confirmation email with the call-in information and a password. If for some reason you do not, please email John at johns@wliha.org to make sure you get it.

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Food is a basic need, and healthy local food should be a fundamental right. At the heart of the food system is the seed.  Our current food system is so broken - in most all ways. Join Backbone for two events, this Friday and next Wednesday. We will talk about the effects of racism and colonization on our food system and how those oppressive systems relate to growing a garden and saving your seeds.  

Scroll down for detailed info on each virtual event and to register.

A wonderful opportunity!

We need volunteers