Vigil Weds, 4-6pm ECHC; Anne Frank Fest, Oct 2-3; Dinner News!
716-332-3904 10/1/19 wnypeace.org
Dear
Friends,
We hope you had a good week, as we continue on this work of Peace Through
Justice at home and abroad.
–Holding Sheriff/Deputy Accountable
One justice victory was that a deputy sheriff was held accountable for reckless
assault, official misconduct, and falsifying business records!
Thanks to DA Flynn’s office and the courageous, clear-headed people on the
jury. No thanks to Sheriff Howard, who hung around the courtroom in uniform
conferring with the defense; and the police union whose knee-jerk blaming of
the DA seems unethical and immoral. Right and wrong should matter; guilt should
matter. Ironically, in defense of the union’s criticizing the prosecutor, the
DA reminded them of a history of defending the police and having gotten an
officer cleared of a shooting in Springville.
So we once again invite you to the Erie County Holding Center (ECHC) Vigil on
Wednesday at 4-6pm in front of the ECHC, on Delaware between Church &
Eagle, Please bring signs – and determination for real change to systemic
violence and racism! Too many deaths, too much brutality, too terrible an
administration – Sheriff Howard is yet another elected official who needs to be
impeached.
–52nd Annual Dinner – Medea; and Women’s Resistance
Revival Chorus!
Now that it’s October, our 52nd Annual Dinner is right around the
corner. We will also be making some very special awards! The Women’s Resistance
Revival Chorus of WNY will get the Alt-imate Activist Award, named for WNY
Peace Center lifelong stalwart member, organizer, and activist, Wayne Alt. The WNY
Resistance Revival Chorus has generously shared their joy of music, kindled by
founder Drea D’Nur, and always shows up when most needed! Come hear them and
honor them. Tickets are available on our website!
–The Anne Frank Project holds it social justice conference at Buff State
starting tomorrow evening, with full days of experiential learning on
collaboration and activism on Weds & Thurs, Oct 2nd (Gandhi’s
Birthday) and 3rd, (most sessions in Campbell Student Union). Please
register for this wonderful, fun, and free event at annefrankproject.com (info
and link also on our wnypeace.org website). We’ll be PeaceJamming with Roc Da
Mic/Lonnie & Co. on Weds at 3:30-5pm in the Social Hall of the Student
Union, Buff State. Bring an instrument if you play, and your free and
adventurous spirit if you think you don’t!
–And don’t forget to register for the World On Your Plate Conference,
held at Daemen College on Fri & Sat, Oct 11-12. It will be an
even-better-than-ever smorgasboard – all about food: nutrition, food politics, and
actual great food! Don’t miss it.
–Our Talking Peace radio show (on WBNY 91.3FM, streaming at
wbny.buffalostate.edu) on Monday, October 7th, when it’ll be 18
years of war on Afghanistan, we will have a very special guest – Kathy Kelly,
of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. You’ll get updates on Afghanistan and the
Afghan Peace Volunteers, and much more. Don’t miss it!
–Please join our new campaign to support the very important local airing of
Democracy Now! on WBNY. To keep it going, we need to do some fundraising. So we
ask you to send your most generous contribution to WNYPC –
online or with a check sent (and made out) to WNY Peace Center, 1272 Delaware
Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209, and write in the memo line: Friends of Democracy Now!
(or in a note with the online submission). We need to keep it on the air here
in WNY for our youth, our neighbors, and ourselves!
And remember to tune in to DEMOCRACY NOW! BROADCAST Live MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu.
–We have a great new staff member here at the WNY Peace Center: Nicole our Assistant! Nicole has a broad background in advocacy, activism, organizing, fundraising – we’re thrilled to have her on board! We also have a new consultant, helping with graphics and outreach: Shalese Foster! Shalese has lots of event planning, desktop publishing, and community involvement experience. Both these women will be a huge help as we work to #Unite! Please give them a warm welcome!
Please go to our website (wnypeace.org) calendar for plenty more listings, campaigns in the website posts, and info on our facebook page.
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, and yes Love.
#Unite! #OneLove
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Events this week:
Anne
Frank Project: Social Justice Festival
October 2 @ 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
At SUNY Buffalo State, Campbell Student
Union, Social Hall. You’ll be glad if you come out for any part of this free
2-day festival on Collaboration and Activism for Social Change! Registration
& Schedule link(s) below. (Of note, WNYPC’s PeaceJam will collaborate with
Roc da Mic is at 3:30pm on Oct 2 in the Social Hall. The organic music creation
by all attendees will be collaboration in action through music-making and
jamming together. If you play an instrument, please feel free to bring it!)
To register:
No More Deaths! – Vigil at Erie Co Holding Center
Weds, Oct 2 @ 4:00 pm – 6 pm
Please join with the WNYPC’s Prisoners’
Rights Taskforce at this regular Wednesday vigil at the Erie County Holding
Center (Delaware & Church). It will be bigger than usual as there’s been
yet another death – reportedly a suicide – at the Alden Facility also under the
auspices of Sheriff Howard’s Dept. Furthermore, as reported by by the Buffalo News on
Sunday 9/22/19 (front page), dear brother Connell Burrell died due (about a
month ago) due to medical malpractice.
Sheriff Howard is (yet another) elected official who needs to be impeached.
Come ahead – All are welcome. Grieving families will be joining us, and people
with related lived experience are more than welcome! Please, too, bring signs.
Cosponsored by Brothers Doing Better, Buffalo AntiRacism Coalition (BARC),
Prisoners Are People Too, and more in process.
Myanmar/Burma – Peace & Justice Issues
October 2 @ 6:00 pm
At First Presbyterian Church, Symphony Circle, Buffalo. Rev. Thang Van Lian, a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Myanmar, as an “international peacemaker” and witness to the power of nonviolence, will speak. General public forum with panel discussion involving academics, community, and faith leaders on Myanmar/Burma-related issues.
Anne Frank Project: Social Justice Festival
October 3 @ 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
At SUNY Buffalo State, Campbell Student
Union, Social Hall. You’ll be glad if you come out for any part of this free
2-day festival on Collaboration and Activism for Social Change! Registration
& Schedule link(s) below.
Communities across the world grapple with conflicts, challenging discussions,
and injustices that often remain ignored. When these important stories fall
silent, communities break apart, and individuals are left alone. There is an
opportunity within this struggle to unite and rebuild. AFP 2019 will examine
unique ways in which people solve problems through the art of collaboration. In
the Anne Frank Project there is a specific philosophy that relates to this
year’s theme: We agree we cannot do it alone. Whether we work across
disciplines, neighborhoods, or countries, we need each other to manage
conflicts, embrace challenges and stand strong in the face of injustice. In
honor of Anne Frank’s would-be 90th birthday this June, we encourage activists,
artists, performers, and community leaders to share methods, practices, and experiences
that ask people to come together to engage for change.
More info:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54206433e4b02b7c37f3dae7/t/5d6e63c768abb200013e1d4f/1567515592173/AFP+2019+Online+Program+EE+%28004%29.pdf
To register:
https://buffalostate.wufoo.com/forms/m1w2cl8l0cv9t3z/
Community Police Speakout
October 3 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
At Delevan Grider Community Center, 877 E Delevan Ave, Buffalo, NY 14215. Organized by WIN, Tapestry-4H Youth C.A.N. “Our goal is to improve the relationship and address misunderstanding between the police and the community. We plan on doing this by having a public speak out to inform people on both perspectives through art and interactive
REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS One Struggle, One Vision, One Love:
Talking
Peace with the WNY Peace Center Radio Show on 91.3FM, WBNY. Mondays, 1-3pm.
Call-in show with Vicki Ross hosting. Also streaming on-line at wbny.buffalostate.edu.
Very Special Guest Kathy Kelly,
Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, with updates on Afghanistan and
the Afghan Peace Volunteers, and much more!
Postcard Tuesdays –9:30-11am, at the Daily Planet Café on Hertel
Avenue, just east of Starin. Come to write your viewpoints on current issues to
your Congressional reps and various bank presidents about current injustices. Organized by StandUpWNY (writing
materials/postcards provided).
Buffalo Nekanesakt. Indigenous support group/allies. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays, 6:30-8pm. At Burning Books, 420 Connecticut Ave. All are welcome!! Reading group for the Great Law of Peace meets on the last Tuesday of the month.
Prisoners’ Rights Taskforce – Wednesdays 4-6pm protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). All are welcome. Please bring signs.
Resist Militarism! Taskforce – regular monthly planning meeting third Weds of the month, at Isaías González-Soto Branch (formerly Niagara Branch) Library, 280 Porter Ave, Buffalo 14201; 5-6:30pm.
Interfaith Peace Network, 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 9:15am at 1272 Delaware Ave, Buffalo NY 14209 entrance and parking round back.) Breakfast potluck, planning/publicizing, & discussion.
Vigil for
Victims of ICE Terror – Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of (@250)
Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not
stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE #CLOSETHECAMPS
#NeverAgainIsNow
Buffalo Youth Climate Strike –
all are welcome 2-3pm at Niagara Square for a youth-led rally to stand up for
People and the Planet, and radical change to mitigate and avert climate
catastrophe. Bring signs! See you there! This week runs 2-5pm (see above!)
Environmental Justice Taskforce – Vigil to Protest the Shipments of VERY Dangerous Radioactive Liquid from Canada coming over the Peace Bridge. Fridays 2-3pm, Front Park at Vermont & Busti, Buffalo. Signs welcome and also usually available.
Stop The Violence Coalition – 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month; 6pm, United Way Building, Delaware and Summer Sts.
Women In Black – Nonviolence vigil, Bidwell and Elmwood. Saturdays, Noon-1pm. Signs also available. (and you don’t need to be a woman or dress in black)
Of note: Little Africa Culture Club, 356 S. Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY. African Drumming Sundays, 12-2pm.
We shall overcome #Unitethestruggles #Loveislove #PowerWITH-NOTPowerOver
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More listings on calendar and in previous email posts.
To subscribe, go to http://wnypeace.org/wp/weekly-news-sign-up/ or write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “subscribe” in subject line.
To unsubscribe, write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “unsubscribe” in subject line. (Sorry for occasional delays!)
Please submit possible listings for consideration to weeklynews@wnypeace.org.
The time is now, and we are the people we’ve been waiting for.
And remember to tune in: DEMOCRACY NOW! IS NOW BEING BROADCASTMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu.
**********
Below are
– more event listings (see also calendar & facebook page);
– Taskforce items and campaigns; and
– regularly scheduled events – all in that order.
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COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
* ECONOMIC JUSTICE
The WNY Poor
People’s Campaign meets 2nd Mondays, 6pm at Raqs Solidarity, 322 Amherst St.,
Buffalo, NY.
The UAW strike at General Motors is entering its third week, and workers on the
line need our support. After abruptly canceling workers’ health coverage when
the strike began, GM was pressured into reinstating it. Now we need to keep the
pressure on GM to reach a fair contract. GM pays its CEO Mary Barra $22 million
a year – 240 times their average worker –
and the company brought in $35 billion in North America in the last 3 years. It
can afford to meet workers’ demands for better pay and benefits and to keep
plants open.
Show your support at any of these Western New York picket locations:
Tonawanda Engine New York
2995 River Rd
Buffalo, NY 14207
Lockport Components
200 Upper Mountain Rd
Lockport, NY 14094
* EDUCATION & HUMAN RIGHTS
New York
State’s Dignity for All Students Act (aka DASA or The Dignity Act) seeks to
provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe
and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting,
harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school
function. More information at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/dignityact/
BOE Meetings
Board of Education meetings begin at 5:30 pm and are held in room 801 at City Hall, unless a venue change is previously announced. These sessions are open to the public. A schedule of upcoming board of education meetings can be found at https://www.buffaloschools.org/Page/85931.
More information on Buffalo Public Schools can be found at https://www.buffaloschools.org.
* ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
No Nuclear Waste over the Peace Bridge
Join us every Friday from 2 PM to 3 PM at the corner of Busti Ave and Vermont St. in Buffalo NY. Vigil against the shipment of high level LIQUID radioactive spent fuel from Chalk River Ontario to Aiken South Carolina. If any of it spills out, it will be next to impossible to clean.
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Action Alert re Stone Dam Road Pipeline: go to wnypeace.org/environmental-justice/
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– NAPL/Northern Access Pipeline (proposed to take fracked gas from PA through WNY) is looming again, as the fossil-fuel-profiteers never give up!! However, si, se puede! SeeNorthern Access Pipeline Information for more info.
* IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE JUSTICE
Vigil for Victims of ICE Terror – Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE
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__
Vive la Casa, shelter for people awaiting documents and/or sanctuary, still desperately needs personal hygiene products and of course, CASH. The recent large influx of refugees has put the facility under real stress. Please give generously.
jrchc.org/vive
(Checks to Jericho Road/VIVE) 50 Wyoming St., Buffalo, NY 14211, 892-4354.
* LATIN AMERICAN SOLIDARITY
Latin American Solidarity Committee website: http://www.lascwny.org/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/LASC-wny/143873822377380/
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Vigil for Victims of ICE Terror Thursdays, 5-6pm, ICE building on the corner of Delaware and Chippewa. Bring your signs and spirit of Solidarity. We will not stay silent! #EndICETerror #FamiliesBelongTogether #AbolishICE
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Other Latin American Solidarity news:
Invest in
the children of farmworkers! A donor has agreed to match gifts given through
Rural and Migrant Ministry board members through the end of the year. Contact
the Rural and Migrant Ministry for more details. www.ruralmigrantministry.org.
Venezuela Sanctions Petition
After the attempted assassination of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, your help is requested. Please sign the petition to end US and Canadian sanctions: https://afgj.salsalabs.org/campaigntoendusandcanadasanctionsagainstvenezuela/index.html.
The
civilians and general populations are the ones to pay for this kind of foreign
policy. The US government needs to stop penalizing the common people and
destabilizing other countries. Please sign and share. Many thanks to Shontae
Cannon-Buckley for her work on this issue!
–
Cuba—IFCO/Irma Relief (same address) Phone: 212-926-5757. Please give
generously – the situations continue to be terrible for many!!
-Chenalhó, Chiapas—Humanitarian crisis
If you would like to help, go to weaving-for-justice.org
* PRISONERS’
RIGHTS
SPECIAL VIGIL Wednesdays 4-6pm – Too Many Deaths! Too much brutality! Weekly
protest/vigils at the Erie County Holding Center (Delaware & Church). All
are welcome. Malpractice and maltreatment under the current administration. Deaths
at Erie Co Holding Center now at least 26 over Sheriff Howard’s tenure –
outrageous!! Please bring signs. Vigil with concerned citizens as well as
family members of victims of the maltreatment perpetuated in this system.
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Please join us in promoting the H.A.L.T. Solitary Confinement campaign. Please call your State Senators and ask them to cosponsor and vote for the bills S. 4784. (You can also thank the representatives who passed it in the Assembly!)
Other Ways you can help:
– Sign the petition to support the HALT Solitary Confinement Act: https://goo.gl/HLwqbK
– Encourage your organization to endorse the HALT Solitary Confinement Act: https://goo.gl/forms/FM2F6DZAcPZp1co32
* RACIAL JUSTICE
Monthly meetings announced on our website calendar. Stay tuned.
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THE CARIOL HORNE WHISTLEBLOWER FUND – The Western New York Peace Center has created a fund for the purpose of supporting police officers who face reprisals from their department from choosing to strictly uphold their oath to protect and serve the community. gofundme.com/cariol-horne-whistleblower-fund. The Peace Center has named this fund after Cariol Horne who saved the life of a citizen, but was fired just prior to earning her 20-year pension. Our goal is to encourage good police officers in following their moral conscience if and when it conflicts with the infamous blue wall of silence.
We are glad that Mayor Brown has made marijuana arrests the lowest law enforcement priority, so people are no longer being arrested for small amounts of marijuana! Thank you, Mayor Brown!! This will go a long way to improving racial justice!
Each Police District has a Chief and Community Police Meeting. We encourage people to go to them and communicate freely on issues of concern. See wnypeace.org calendar for listings,
and/or call your District and ask when & where the next Chief and Community Police Meeting will be held.
* RESIST MILITARISM!
Resist Militarism! Joint Meetings with Veterans For Peace #128, are 3rd Wednesdays of the month, 5-6:30pm at At Isaías González-Soto Branch Library (formerly Niagara Branch Library, 280 Porter Ave, Buffalo 14201).
(Future dates unless otherwise stated: 8/21, 9/18, 10/16, 11/20, 12/18.)
October 7th – 18 years war on Afghanistan: Talking Peace with the WNY Peace Center Radio Show on 91.3FM, WBNY. Mondays, 1-3pm. Call-in show with Vicki Ross hosting. Also streaming on-line at wbny.buffalostate.edu. Very Special Guest Kathy Kelly, Coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, with updates on Afghanistan and the Afghan Peace Volunteers, and much more!
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Stand Up for Global Peace
The world is facing a 25-year peak in violent conflict. It is the main cause of human suffering today – trapping millions of civilians in conflict and uprooting 66 million people from their homes. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, violence containment costs the world $14.3 trillion each year. There must be another way.
Over the past two years, a coalition of peacebuilding, humanitarian, and faith-based organizations have drafted a bill that would address the root causes of violence and fragility. The resulting legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate as the Global Fragility Act (H.R. 1580/S.727). This bill would require the U.S. government – in collaboration with civil society – to develop a 10 year strategy to enhance stability and to reduce violence and fragility around the world.
We know that too much foreign assistance and Pentagon spending is spent on treating the symptoms of violence instead of its causes. By passing this law, the U.S. will be able to more effectively prevent violence around the world and reduce its enormous cost on families.
Today, hundreds of faith advocates will lift up the Global Fragility Act as part of their lobby day ask for the annual Ecumenical Advocacy Days. It is important for YOU to add your voice as well. Together, we CAN build a more Just and Peaceful World for All! Take action today to support the Global Fragility Act of 2019! https://p2a.co/Mc4rH0c
For more information: Global Fragility Act
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Know about the King’s Bay Plowshares? 7 courageous and compassionate Catholic Workers who went to largest submarine base in the world Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in St. Mary’s, Georgia on April 4th, 2018. They went to make real the prophet Isaiah’s command to “beat swords into plowshares”. Read their story athttps://www.kingsbayplowshares7.org/. Also https://www.facebook.com/Kingsbayplowshares/.
Donate, help
us organize on their behalf, and agitate and pray for their acquittal. They
face very serious charges of up to a decade of prison time, just for reminding
our government of the illegal and foolhardy nature of our nuclear weaponry.
Their trial in Georgia will start on October 21 – all are welcome! Check out
the above websites for more info.
Please call our Senators and Congresspersons to urge them to make sure that the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes the amendments passed by the House to . . .
repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.
prohibit military force in or against Iran.
support an end to the Korean War.
prohibit support to and participation in the war on Yemen.
prohibit the sale of air-to-ground munitions, used in the conflict in Yemen, to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
prohibit funds from the Special Defense Acquisition Fund to aid Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates if such assistance could be used to conduct or continue hostilities in Yemen.
prohibit funding the transfer of weapons to Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates under the emergency authority of the Arms Export Control Act.
prohibit funding for missiles noncompliant with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
support extending the New START Treaty, and prohibit the use of funds to withdraw from New START.
require that the U.S. military provide Congress with the cost and the national security benefits of every foreign military base or foreign military operation.
require the EPA to designate all PFAS (chemicals with which military bases poison ground water) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
require the EPA to revise the list of toxic pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to include PFAS.
prohibit DoD funding to house any foreign nationals who are in the custody of and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
study potential cost savings with respect to the nuclear security enterprise and force structure.
study cost increases for the W80-4 nuclear warhead life extension program and prevent $185 million from being obligated or expended until the study is completed.
prohibit the use of funds for an exhibition or parade of military forces and hardware.
prohibit the use of funds from being obligated or expended at properties owned by the President or that bear his name.
amend the current statutory prohibition on members of Congress contracting with the federal government to include the President, Vice President, and any Cabinet member.
codify a Department of Defense policy to report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System service members who are prohibited from purchasing firearms.
If you’d prefer to send an email to your senators, please do so.
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#Unitethestruggles #Loveislove #PowerWITH-NOTPowerOver
***********
More
listings on calendar and in previous email posts.
To subscribe, write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “subscribe” in subject
line.
To unsubscribe, write to weeklynews@wnypeace.org with “unsubscribe” in subject
line. (Sorry for delays!)
Please submit possible listings for consideration to weeklynews@wnypeace.org.
The time is now, and we are the people we’ve been waiting for!
And remember to tune in: DEMOCRACY NOW! IS NOW
BEING BROADCASTMONDAY-FRIDAY, 8AM-9AM (LIVE) ON WBNY 91.3FM. Hear it over the
radio or streaming live at wbny.buffalostate.edu.
***********
Si, se puede! We shall overcome. #UnitetheStruggles
Peace, Thanks, Solidarity, and yes Love.