In the words of Linda Sarsour, co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March, “Allyship is being in community with those who are the most directly impacted. It’s about attending organizing meetings in their spaces. It’s about showing up in their communities when they need you most.”
This week Community Outreach calls on CNY Solidarity members and friends to step away from the keyboard and to come out to join with those in our community who are most impacted by violence, exploitation, disenfranchisement, and marginalization. Building relationships takes time but so does transformation.
As Border Patrol and ICE dominates more public space in our community and threatens more of our neighbors, we urge people to get involved with the Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network, a group that is shaping a statewide and national conversation on the way that citizenship undermines people’s freedom and dignity. The SIRDN needs more hands, eyes, and ears.
We also enthusiastically highlight an invitation to a community togetherness fundraiser at the Boys & Girls Club on Saturday, May 12, organized by Deka Dancil. Starting an hour later, the OG’s Community Violence Prevention Walk training offers a chance to literally get in the streets to build community.
There is no shortage of exciting ways to engage this upcoming calendar – from traveling to Albany for the right to drivers licenses or with the Poor Peoples Campaign, to supporting an open house for RISE, to hearing live poetry and music, to learning about the evolving new health paradigm, and to supporting birth justice, among many others. We hope to see you.
Now, on to your calendar
COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENT CALENDAR FOR MAY 8 – 15
Rally in Solidarity with Dolores!
Tuesday May 8th 8 – 11 AM Buffalo Federal Detention Facility 4250 Federal Dr. Batavia
We rally again to support Dolores! Her previous trial date at the Federal Detention Center was rescheduled last December for this May. We continue to stand in solidarity with Dolores and hope that at this trial date a request for asylum will be granted to her. Stand in solidarity with Dolores! Keep families together! Stop deportations now!
After fleeing abuse in Mexico, Dolores settled in Wayne County with her young daughter as a single Mom more than 13 years ago. As a valued worker on an apple farm, a community leader of farmworker women, worker rights advocate and active Board member of two organizations, Dolores deserves to stay in Wayne County with her young daughter where she has made her home. She has represented farmworker women and testified at conferences in the US including at Harvard and Washington, DC, helps her fellow farmworkers in need, and contributes to her community. In 2014, when Dolores was stopped for a minor traffic violation, State Police turned her over to immigration authorities and she was placed in deportation proceedings.
SCSD Board of Education Annual Organizational Meeting
Tuesday May 8th 4 PM – 5 PM Syracuse City School District 725 Harrison St, Syracuse
he Syracuse City School District Board of Education will hold its annual organizational meeting and its regular scheduled business meeting on TUESDAY, May 8, 2018 at 2:30 p.m. at the Syracuse City School District Board Room, 725 Harrison Street, Syracuse, New York.
Please note: While the meeting will begin at 2:30 PM with a call to order, be advised that the Board plans to vote on immediately entering into executive session at that time. The Organizational Meeting will take place after such Executive Session concludes, at approximately 4:00 PM, immediately followed by the business meeting and consideration of all remaining agenda items. The public is invited to attend.
Documents which will be the subject of discussion during the business meeting will be available prior to the meeting, at http://boarddocs.cnyric.org/ny/scsdny/Board.nsf/Public
Syracuse Peace Council’s Street Heat
Tuesday May 8th 4:15 PM – 5 PM East Genesee St and Erie Blvd East in Dewitt
Saturday May 12th 9 AM – 9 :45 AM by Regional Market Main Entrance Syracuse
Tuesday May 15th 4:15 – 5 PM Hancock Airbase, opposite main gate, 6000 E. Molloy
The Syracuse area hosts Hancock Air National Guard base where the Guard’s 174th Attack Wing conducts drone assassination and target identification missions using MQ-9 Reaper drone in Afghanistan and probably elsewhere. Syracuse Peace Council’s Street Heat holds a monthly presence outside Hancock Airbase to call for an end to the illegal and immoral killing of human beings by weaponized drones, which are piloted remotely from the base.
Join us! Signs provided or bring your own progressive signs. Contact for questions (315) 478-4571
Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network Bi-weekly Meeting/Reunion Quincenal
Tuesday May 8th 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM 2013 E Genesee St, Syracuse
Bi-weekly meeting. Anyone interested in joining is welcome. We will be meeting in the common area on the second floor. Wheelchair accessible. Please do not wear any fragrances. Spanish translation can be provided.
New Student Housing and Neighborhood Impact
Tuesday May 8th 7PM – 8:30 PM Nottingham High School 3100 E Genesee St, Syracuse
Commissioner of Neighborhood & Business Development for the City Of Syracuse, Stephanie Pasquale will present on the new student housing developments on the East Side of Syracuse and the potential impact. Many neighborhood groups will be attending, and we hope to begin a community wide dialogue about these new housing options and their potential affect on the area.
Plant Based Nutrition and Evolving Medical Paradigms
Wednesday May 9th 7 PM Onondaga Free Library 4840 W Seneca Turnpike
Ted, Barnett, M.D., founder of Rochester Lifestyle Medicine, will give a free lecture on “Plant-Based Nutrition and Evolving Medical Paradigms.” Dr. Barnett, a radiologist, is described as the “high tech doctor with the low tech solutions.”
Co-sponsored by People for Animal Rights and Syracuse Vegans Meetup Group. More info: (315)488-PURR (7877) between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Thursday May 10th 6 PM – 8 PM 302 Burt Street, Syracuse
Want to learn more about RISE and the communities that we help empower in Central New York? Join us on May 10 from 6 to 8 PM at the RISE Center (302 Burt Street) for our first Open House of the Year! Enjoy cuisine, culture, and community with the RISE Family!
Urgent Birth Justice and Doula Reimbursement Meeting
Thursday May 10th 6:30 PM – 8 PM Onondaga Free Library 4840 W Seneca Turnpike, Syr
The New York State Department of Health has announced an initiative from the commissioner to reduce mortality rates and birth disparities particularly in infants and women of African descent. This initiative also includes a proposal to reimburse doulas thru Medicaid. While this is exciting news – recognition of high mortality rates and funding for community lead solutions- we MUST ensure that our work is front and center in ALL phases of this proposal.
Village Birth International has been an active member of the statewide coalition -New York Coalition for Doula Access or NYCDA- along with others across the state who are driving policy to ensure YOU are centered in this effort. We are committed to making sure families and birthworkers are the leaders in planning as well as implementation of this initiative.
This Thursday please join our open forum for all birthworkers, community people and families, not just current doulas, but anyone committed to true reproductive justice and birth justice work for our families
Solidarity with the Gaza #GreatReturnMarch
Friday May 11th 4 – 5 PM corner of Erie Blvd and East Genesee Street in Dewitt
On March 30, 30,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip began six weeks of sit-ins and demonstrations to demand their internationally recognized right of return to the villages they were displaced from in 1948, which lie just a few miles away, totally inaccessible to the residents of the besieged coastal enclave.
The Palestinians participating in the Great Return March are continuing to march — and around the world, people are joining in solidarity actions to show our support for justice for the Palestinian people.
Israel is expecting to act with impunity, as it has so many times in the past. It is past time for us to demand accountability. Join us in the streets every Friday until May 15 — and take a moment to contact our Congresspersons to let them know they must hold Israel accountable for it’s merciless murder of Palestinian demanding their rights: http://org.salsalabs.com/o/641/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=22949
Community Togetherness Fundraiser
Sat May 12th 12 PM – 2:30 PM at Central Village Boys and Girls Club 212 Van Buren St
The Boys and Girls Club at Central Village will be hosting a fundraiser with raffles, food, and fun in order to pay for our end of the year trip to DC for educational opportunities. Participants will receive two raffles at the door after a $2 entry fee in which they can win:
So please spread the word and join us for an awesome event. Can’t make it? Sponsor a community center family for $10! Families from the Central Village Boys & Girls Club, Dunbar center, and Wilson Park center will receive free entry to the event plus $10 free raffle tickets with your sponsorship. Contact Deka Dancil at (315) 412-8661 or Jeff Eysaman at (315) 235-8958 for more information.
On the Ground with OGs Community Violence Prevention Walk Training
Saturday May 12th 1 PM – 3 PM Hopps Memorial CME Church 1110 S State St, Syracuse
Free community training to walk with the OGs Against Violence. Community building is the healthiest and most important form of violence prevention we can conceive. After participating in these one of these trainings, community and ACTS members will participate in scheduled walks with Clifford Ryan and other OGs in city neighborhoods.
Ghana Be Great Fundraiser at ArtRage featuring Signature Soul
Saturday May 12th 7 – 9 PM at ArtRage Gallery 505 Hawley Avenue Syracuse
Signature Soul is invited to travel to Ghana this July with the Gage Foundation International Girl Ambassadors for Human Rights.
Please join us for a fundraising show where we will share our poetry and our plans for cultivating creativity across continents!
All proceeds will go towards our travel costs and vaccinations.
Sliding Scale: $10-$25 At the door
Pre-sale tickets are available by emailing signaturesoul.love@outlook.com
If you are unable to make it to the shows, please consider sharing/supporting our GoFundMe campaign! https://www.gofundme.com/signature-soul-visits-ghana-2018
Monday May 14th 11 AM – 1 PM Albany State Capitol
The Green Light NY Coalition is mobilizing to Albany to say the time is NOW to pass the Drivers Licenses Bill A10273! The coalition, made up of directly affected community members, advocates, and allies, have been organizing around licenses for years. New York is behind 12 other states and the benefits in public safety, economics and community integration are clear. The time is now to pass the bill and we are calling on everyone in the community from across the state to join us in Albany and send the message to our legislators loud and clear: Our communities can not wait, our economy can not wait, pass the GREEN LIGHT NY BILL NOW!
The details of the event are still in the works. This is a grassroots campaign and we are fundraising to ensure that the people from all corners of the state who are dedicated to this campaign can be in Albany. Everyone must sign up and/or make a donation on Eventbrite, bit.ly/GreenLightNY5-14
NY Poor People’s Campaign Action / Somebody’s Hurting Our People
Monday May 14th 11 AM – 4 PM Albany, New York
RSVP: bit.ly/nyppcweek1
New York is one of over 30 states across the country and in Washington, DC heading to their state capitals on May 14 to force a serious national examination of the enmeshed evils of systemic racism, systemic poverty, ecological devastation and the war economy. Join us in nonviolent moral fusion direct action as we show our elected leaders we will no longer allow attention violence to keep poor and disenfranchised people down.
Join us in Albany, NY at 2:00 p.m. for a Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival rally and demonstration. The first week’s theme is “Somebody’s Hurting Our People: Child poverty, Women, and People with Disabilities.”
If you are interested in engaging in nonviolent direct action as part of the demonstration, you must attend a pre-training at 11 am. Click here to register:https://www.actionnetwork.org/events/week-1-albany-non-violent-moral-direct-action
You do NOT have to risk arrest to attend this event.
For more information and to join our email list, visit bit.ly/nyppcweek1
Syracuse Lead Prevention Coalition – May Meeting
Monday May 14th 6 PM – 7:30 PM 500 W Genesee St, Syracuse
Syracuse has one of the nation’s highest rates of lead exposure for children. Our monthly meetings have brought together concerned citizens, non-profit workers, elected officials, and other community organizers.
This month we will be developing an action plan, and discussing the path forward with coalition building. We will be joined by Legal Services CNY, and hear about their efforts canvassing and community outreach.
Please come join us and build the political to create long term, sustainable change.
Nakba Rally and Teach-In – Syracuse
Tuesday May 15th 4 PM – 5 PM James M Hanley Federal Building 100 South Clinton St.
Join a community demonstration and teach-in to observe the 70th anniversary of the Nakba and to call for justice for the Palestinian people.
Every year on May 15, Palestinians and their allies around the world mark the Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, referring to the violent expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland to establish the state of Israel. Between 1947 and 1949, at least 750,000 out of 1.9 million Palestinians were made refugees beyond the borders of the state.
As long as the US government continues to shower Israel with $3.8 billion annually in military aid, people of conscience must speak out against the crimes sustained with our tax dollars. To achieve peace, the Israeli state and government officials must be held accountable for their crimes. We must push Congress to implement sanctions against Israel until it ends the occupation of Palestinian lands and recognizes the full rights of Palestinians, including the rights of refugees to return to their homes.
Reading Group: Road to Wigan Pier
Tuesday May 15th 6 PM – 8 PM at Syracuse DSA.
We are meeting to discuss the Road to Wigan Pier by socialist author George Orwell, the next book our reading group will tackle. For this meeting we will only read Part I or pp. 4-108 in this free pdf: https://libcom.org/files/wiganpier.pdf
You don’t have to be a member to participate. Join the discussion!
Trees in Trouble – Film Screening and Discussion
Tuesday May 15th 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM at ArtRage Gallery 505 Hawley Ave, Syracuse
Presented as part of The Gifford Foundation “What If…” Film Series in partnership with Onondaga Earth Corps
Trees in Trouble tells the story of America’s urban and community forests: their history, their growing importance to our health, economy and environment – and the serious threats they now face. Through stories of everyday people on the frontlines of change, the film will show how community-wide efforts can save and protect our urban forests for future generations. Designed for audiences of all ages, Trees in Trouble inspires viewers to take action, and points towards first steps.
Trees in Trouble tells the story of Cincinnati’s response to the threat to its trees posed by the emerald ash borer. However, the film’s message is not limited to southern Ohio: across the country, from Massachusetts to San Diego, Minneapolis to Charleston, thousands of communities face the same threat: valuable and beloved trees being killed by non-native insects or diseases.
Please save the date for:
Our next CNY solidarity coalition meeting will be held Sunday May 20th 3-5PM at Central Village Boys and Girls Club on Van Buren – hope to see you!
Kathy Kelly from Voices of Creative Nonviolence July 16th All Saints Church
Also, if you haven’t already please sign the I 81 resolution. http://rethink81.org/take-action
Like and follow ReThink81 on facebook.
If you would like to add your event or fundraiser to the weekly community outreach event calendar, please email the information in 100 words or less to Marianna.kaufman@gmail.com by Monday mornings at 9am.