CNY Solidarity Coalition

United in defense of our community and our neighbors

Community Events & Newsletter December 8 – December 15

From CNY Solidarity Coalition:

Next Meeting:  Sun. Dec. 13, 2020, 3-4 PM, via Zoom. Link Here. Last week’s meeting was postponed due to technical difficulties. The Agenda for 12/13 will be what was originally planned for 12/6: 

·       Solidarity Committees Presentation – Who we are and what we do

·       Committee meetings – all Solidarity Coalition meeting attendees are encouraged to attend a committee meeting   

Coming: 1/10/21. CNY Solidarity Annual Membership Meeting. Includes election of Coordinating Committee.

The CNY Solidarity Coalition Coordinating Committee needs to fill some empty positions that need to be filled in January. Please respond to this email if you would like to know more about this exciting opportunity!

Still time to Help Georgia Turn Blue:  Stacey Abrams’ organizing efforts will prove critical to enabling Democrats to take Georgia’s two Senate seats in the expected run-offs.  Please consider making a donation and volunteering to help her group, Fair Fight: https://fairfight.com/. Text or call Georgia voters by clicking on “Join our Fight” under the “Get Involved” heading at the bottom. 

Articles of the Week:

Let’s start with two perspectives on the Biden nominees:

Dear Joe Biden: are you kidding me? Erin Brockovich Here

The president-elect has tapped a former DuPont consultant to join his Environmental Protection Agency transition board

COMPARING BIDEN’S ADMINISTRATION PICKS TO OBAMA’S IS REVEALING Read it

For almost every role so far, Biden has chosen someone more progressive and less entrenched in Wall Street than the same official under Obama.

New Data Show Income of Top 0.1% Soared 345% While That of Bottom 90% Stagnated Over Past 40 Years 

Read it in Common Dreams

U.S. wage data released this week reveal the continuation of a trend that began at the end of the 1970s, and which has given the United States the dubious distinction of having the worst income inequality among most-developed countries. 

“It’s all a matter of political choices,” progressive economist Thomas Piketty said in a recent interview. “You can have economic justice together with economic prosperity.”

One person in the room with you has COVID-19. Here’s how long it takes to get infected

MIT researchers have built a simple tool to give clear guidelines on indoor safety in the midst of a pandemic.

WHERE TO DONATE:

If you are making year-end donations, please keep the Syracuse Peace Council in mind.  CNY Solidarity Coalition, since its inception, has benefited not only from SPC’s direct support, but especially from its years of accumulated wisdom and experience. The CNY Solidarity Coalition absolutely would not be here we are without that support.  

Now it’s our turn. SPC has historically depended on the Plowshares Craftsfair for a large portion of its operating budget. Plowshares is operating online this year (see below, and shop!) but it is unknown how much will be raised. Please consider a generous donation or ongoing pledge to support this essential voice in our progressive community! 

174 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color

From New York magazine

CNY Wish List: Looking to help? Here’s a wish list from local non-profits in CNY Read it Here

Advance Media New York assembled a list of our local non-profits’ most pressing needs to help them through the season – the CNY Wish List. 

Want to fight climate change effectively? Here’s where to donate your money. From Vox. Here

These are six of the most high-impact, cost-effective, evidence-based organizations. You may not have heard of them.

 I’ve chosen to look at groups focused on mitigation (tackling the root causes of climate change by reducing emissions) rather than adaptation (decreasing the suffering from the impacts of climate change). Both are important, but the focus of this piece is preventing further catastrophe.

EVENTS/ACTIONS CALENDAR:

From SPAARC: Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition

We need your help with a call/email campaign to the SCSD and the Board of Education in response to their meeting this past Monday. As we discussed at our meeting last night, the BOE grossly misrepresented the 4 SRO forums our coalition members put together in collaboration with the SCSD. Our voices need to be heard on the important issue of removing SRO’s from schools and we need you to contact the SCSD and BOE. 

CuseYouthBLM has put together both a call script and an email script with the contact information for the SCSD and the BOE – a link is below. We are asking you and your networks to contact at least 50 people and have them call or email. We also need you to follow-up with each person who agrees to call or email. Our goal is to have 500 calls/emails by the next BOE meeting on Wednesday, 12/9

Link to Script – https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fHKCerwWFgisHMA1S1X_1qyTlqtpXVJjXLoqKxAdASs/edit 

Link to 12/9 BOE meeting – https://go.boarddocs.com/ny/scsdny/Board.nsf/files/BVWV5N77408A/$file/News%20Release%20Business%20Mtg%2012-9-20%20with%20link.pdf

Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) — headquartered in Syracuse, NY within the unceded territory of the Onondaga Nation and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy — works to bring about a just transition to 100% renewable electricity, heating, and transportation. We are excited to announce that our small organization is growing, and we are looking for two new team members: a Deputy Policy Director and an Events and Communications Manager. We seek passionate, intelligent, and kind people who work well both independently and as part of a team, and who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get stuff done. http://allianceforagreeneconomy.org/join-agree-team

Communities of Color, (In)Justice, and Multiple Pandemics: Resisting the Racism of COVID-19

Webinar 1: Resisting the Racism of COVID-19

Tuesday, December 8, 2020, 3 – 5 pm EST  REGISTER

The Democratizing Knowledge (DK) Collective presents the Webinar Series Communities of Color, (In)Justice, and Multiple Pandemics. This Series addresses the multiple pandemics facing communities of color today, from police violence to COVID-19, from environmental racism to economic injustice, to incarceration and detention.  “We can’t breathe” is both a collective reality and a rallying cry as communities work to demand accountability, and create more just and inhabitable futures. These DK webinars will bring together artists, community activists, scientists, and scholars to discuss intersecting emergencies and our visions for collective healing and political transformation.

This Webinar Series seeks to further the analysis of the current pandemic that DK laid out in our public statement (June 2020) We Can’t Breathe: Black Death, Racism, Structural Inequality and the American Viruses in Health and Higher Education at SU (http://democratizingknowledge.syr.edu/covid-19-statement.html). 

Resisting the Racism of COVID-19 looks at how the pandemic exposes and intensifies the everyday violence of structural racism. Confirmed speakers include: Carrie Mae Weems, artist-in-residence at SU and creator of Resist Covid!/Take 6; Dr. Kishana Taylor, a microbiologist and leading researcher on the intersection of COVID-19 and racism (author of That’s Racist–COVID-19, Biological Determinism, and the Limits of Hypotheses); and Crispín Hernández, a community organizer with the Workers Center of CNY who mobilizes low-wage workers employed by the region’s dairy farms.

Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN) General Meeting

Tuesday, Dec. 8  5:30 PM EST

Come to our last general meeting of this wild year! We’ll discuss our solidarity fundraising efforts and ways to plug in to our work, get updates on legislative advocacy priorities, and discuss our information security practices.
New and returning folks welcome. Please email: sirdn315@gmail.com for Zoom info

Roadmap to Reform: Re-envisioning Election Administration in New York State

Tuesday, December 8th at 6:30PM

by Brooklyn Voters Alliance

Dustin Czarny is on the panel. 

After years of calls for reform and on the heels of a massive overhaul of New York’s voting systems, there has never been a better time to reform the NY Board of Elections. Brooklyn Voters Alliance will hold a panel bringing together experts to discuss a vision and roadmap for BOE reform. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions in advance to bkvotersalliance@gmail.com.

Register Here

Virtual Tour of 200-Year-Old CNY Farmhouse with a 21st Century Geothermal Heat Pump!

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2020 AT 7 PM EST – 8 PM EST

After heating for 40 years with wood, Karen invested in a life-changing upgrade to her home and commitment to a sustainable future with improved insulation, a geothermal heat pump, and a solar array. She can now use the entirety of the home in the winter (no more sealing off sections of the house!) and her energy bills have dropped to just $20/month. The HeatSmart CNY team, Karen, and geothermal installer Halco will gather virtually for a show & tell of this amazing transformation! 

Register here

Connecting Faith, Climate, and Justice—Virtual Conversation

Tuesday, December 8  7:00 p.m ET 

Climate change does not exist as its own calamity—it is deeply interconnected with the inequities and injustices that pervade our society, both in the United States and globally.

The Union of Concerned Scientists invites you to a virtual conversation among faith leaders to learn how they have come to connect the call of faith with the need for action on climate change and racial justice.

Please register for the virtual conversation today. Contact us at events@ucsusa.org if you have questions.

Speakers:

Ken Kimmell, UCS President (Introduction)

Rev. Canon Sally Bingham, UCS National Advisory Board (Moderator)

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

Rabbi Melanie Aron

Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley

Dr. William Edelglass

Elect Heather Waters (Virtual!) Kickoff Event

Sunday, Dec. 13 at 1 PM

Join Heather and her campaign team for the official (virtual) launch!

Heather will speak about how she will help her constituents and make a positive impact on the county. The campaign team will share information about how you can help!

Heather is running for County Legislator, 10th District. The Legislature is the chief policy-making body for Onondaga County. District 10 includes much of the Town of Manlius, including Fayetteville, Fremont, Kirkville, and Minoa. The general election is November 2, 2021.

Register for the event here: https://www.electheatherwaters.com/events

SPECIAL SHOPPING SECTION

We don’t normally promote shopping here, but with a busy shopping season combined with a need to stay home, here are a few options:

1.      Support Local/Independent Businesses as much as possible. Buy gift cards, order and pick up, etc. They really need our support! Example: https://www.syracuseculturalworkers.com

2.     Don’t buy from the richest man in the world. Support independent bookstores. Shop online with Bookshop. Read about it here. Or go to https://www.onlib.org for Library Takeout or to download books, movies, etc.  

3.     Shop at Green America’s directory of green businesses Here

4.     Seven Sites that are Great Alternatives to Amazon for online essentials.  article from Fast Company

5.     See the special events below from some of our most progressive institutions. 

ArtRage Fair Trade Sale – Virtual Edition

November 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021

Each December ArtRage Gallery hosts a two-day fair trade sale. Your purchases support artisans around the world and small local businesses. This year we feel it’s safer to offer a virtual Fair Trade Sale.

Two ways to shop with SERRV International AS a fundraiser for ArtRage:

1. Place your order through ArtRage 

2. Shop directly with SERRV. ArtRage Gallery (The CORA Foundation) will receive 20% from your purchases 

Details Here

Syracuse Peace Council Plowshares Craftsfair Online 

Nov. 20 – Jan. 31

We are going virtual with Plowshares this year. Ten weeks of sharing, shopping, and crafts November 20-January 31, with a special weekend of online performances and live-streaming events on December 5-6 to celebrate Plowshares’ 50th Anniversary.

Plowshares Craftsfair and Peace Festival has been an SPC tradition (and major fundraiser) for 50 years! This is not the celebration we had envisioned last year, but just like everyone else, we are adapting and doing the best we can to celebrate an alternative marketplace built on cooperation, the work of our own hands, and community. Now “open” at www.plowsharescraftsfair.org.

In addition to browsing and shopping from crafters and organizations, those of you who have been to the in-person Plowshares will recognize other familiar features of Plowshares:

  • An online Marketplace where you can buy books, calendars, buttons, t-shirts, and more
  • An online Silent Auction where you can bid on a great selection of gift certificates for local restaurants and businesses
  • Live-streamed entertainment and music
  • Opportunities to talk with crafters, SPC organizers, and community members via Zoom

There will be no admission fee, but donations are gratefully accepted. Plowshares is SPC’s biggest fundraiser in the year (and frankly, we’re a bit nervous about finances). We can’t wait to “see” you there!

Three Easy Ways to Help Out With Plowshares Beforehand

1) Adopt a beautiful Plowshares Lawn sign for your lawn – we’ll put it in and pick it up. Contact carol@peacecouncil.net

2) Share the online poster. Encourage your friends and family who live further away to “visit” Plowshares. Share the facebook event for the Special Anniversary Weekend.

3) Purchase a gift card from a local business (restaurants, cafes, performing arts, health & wellness services, gift shops, etc.) and donate it to SPC to be auctioned off in our online Plowshares Silent Auction. Contact michaela@peacecouncil.net

ONGOING EVENTS:

Street Heat – Weekly Protests are back with Physical Distancing!

HANCOCK: our decade-long protests against Hancock’s piloting killer reaper drones over the Islamic oil lands continue.  6000 East Molloy Rd from 4:15 to 5 p.m. For the winter months, we will reduce our schedule:  the first Tuesday of every month: same time 4:15 to 5 p.m. Dec 1; Jan 5; Feb 2; March 2; April 6.

DEWITT: Weekly protest against IDF terrorism, maiming and killing of Palestinians. Fridays NEW TIME: 4:00 to 4:45 p.m. at Erie Blvd E and E Genesee, Dewitt. Park in the nearby mini-mall parking lot. 

            REGIONAL FARMERS MARKET: Protests are off until April. 

For more information: anntiffany6235@gmail.com

JOE GUERRIERO
WAITING FOR NORMAL: Cuba and the United States

October 22, 2020 to January 17, 2021 at ArtRage Gallery

You must make a reservation to view this exhibit in the gallery!

CLICK HERE to reserve your time to see the exhibit.

Photographer Joe Guerriero’s photography and film work does just that, reflecting more than 20 years of spending time with the Cuban people and experiencing first hand the effects of the United States’ continuing embargo of the island. He shows how the embargo affects the lives not only of Cubans but of those Cuban-Americans who still have relatives in Cuba.

COVID-19 INFORMATION:

SIRDN Covid19 Warm Line: (315) 552-1670

Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network (SIRDN)  Coronavirus-related information for farmworker, immigrant,  undocumented, day laborer, and domestic worker communities. English and Spanish-speaking operators. Text and phone.

SIRDN has also created a resource document for COVID-19 information, for immigrants and undocumented folks. English and Spanish Or use these instructions to have Google translate .

If you do not have a doctor and have questions, symptoms, or may have been exposed to COVID-19, call Upstate University Hospital’s Triage Line at 315.464.397

Onondaga County Coronaviris Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Information Page

COVID-19 Testing Hotline

Upstate University Hospital Regional Triage (COVID-19) Information Page

NYS Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Page

Peter McCarthy
pmccar1100@gmail.com

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