“The Declaration of Human Rights Article 6 gives every human being the right to exist. The impact of centuries of racial hatred, although in this case targeting people of African descent, affects all of our lives in all communities and it has visited us in the senseless loss of human life; lives that cannot be replaced. We are in sympathy with the families of those who were taken and share a deep commitment, as a call to action, to expand our work and to the re-education of all people to root out the inhumanity of racism. This instance is one that lets us know that we cannot take for granted the efforts to advance the belonging of all in the human family.”
~L’Merchie Frazier, Co-Director, Transformative Action Project
Transformative Action Project and its parent organization, Violence Transformed, acknowledge the collective trauma that these murders have visited upon the Black community along with all marginalized populations. There is no correct way to process extremist violence and deadly racism. But, in a world where the personal and political interlock, and inner work is necessary for outer transformation— it is crucial that we make time and space to process.
Take action with us this week. Here are some ways to get involved:
Anti-Racist Organizing in the Suburbs (AROS)
Talking to Family about Race – June 16th & July 12th, 6:30-8:00 PM
Join CCI staff and community for a two-part workshop on speaking to family members about race and anti-racism.
Will you help us with this project?
CCI is collaborating with Maine groups and organizations to map out efforts, and resistance to those efforts, to implement the Maine Native American (LD 291) and African-American History (LD 1664) mandates into K-12 schools throughout the state. We are in the beginning stages. If you would like to support this project in some capacity, please fill out this form.
To get involved in AROS, or to learn more about bringing AROS into your community, fill out this form or contact the AROS coordinator at jake@communitychangeinc.org.
Action Items from SURJ Boston
Action Needed TODAY (Thursday, 5/19/2022) for the Moratorium Bill!
The Moratorium Bill language has been added to the House Bond Bill, and legislators are voting on it today! We need everyone to call their state reps today and ask for them to support the bill with no amendments! Click here for a script. After today, there will still be work needed to get the language added into the senate version and for the entire house to vote on it.
Push a Housing Justice Legislative Agenda
The critical housing budget amendments did not make it to the State Representative’s budget, but stay tuned to take action for critical housing justice legislation in the Senate’s Budget. Click here to take action.
SURJ Boston Weekly Action Hours, Wednesdays 12-1 PM – SURJB facilitators guide participants through calls, emails, petitions, fundraisers and more. They will provide context on the many calls to action and insight on how each action item is related to the larger fight for racial justice. Sign up here.
White People Challenging Racism
White People Challenging Racism (WPCR) is a 10-hour workshop set over the course of 5 weeks designed to deepen participants’ understanding of systemic racism and to give them the skills and support necessary to confront racism in their own spheres of influence. The course culminates in each participant designing an action plan and sharing it with their peers to ensure accountability. You can read more about the workshops here. Registration is currently open for an upcoming workshop and a new, WPCR Part 2 course for those who completed an initial WPCR workshop. Sign up here for these classes. (Note: the workshops are virtual and you do not need to be in the specified town to participate.)
Boston Knapsack Anti-Racism Group
Knapsack is a space where folks from all backgrounds come together and build community through engaging in discussions and actions to recognize and disrupt internalized and institutionalized racism. These discussions are a powerful way to build anti-racism muscles, normalize speaking out against injustice, and to move from a passive to an active role in fighting for a more just world. Knapsack has multiple meetings per week– browse them and sign up here.
Above call to action resources compiled by Community Change, Inc.
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