Census; Women’s March; Early Voting
716-332-3904 | Sunday, October 4th 2020 | wnypeace.org
We want to start by again emphasizing the importance of completing the 2020 Census. (Read here about how a low census response could affect our communities in WNY.) Although the courts barred the Trump administration from ending census data collection on 9/30, the Secretary of Commerce announced that self-response and field data collection will conclude on 10/5 – that means TOMORROW is the last day! If you have not yet completed your household’s census, visit 2020census.gov to do so ASAP and remind your friends and family!
We also want to remind you to make your voting plan well in advance of Election Day – specifically for early voting. All active registered voters in Erie County are eligible to cast an early voting ballot – you do not have to do anything more! Starting 10/24, there will be 37 early voting locations in Erie County which you can just walk into to cast your vote. If you are concerned about voting in person, please see more details here on requesting an absentee ballot – there is still time! And if you or someone you know is interested in becoming a poll worker, find more information here.
The WNYPC is proud to host WNY’s upcoming Women’s March on October 17th at Niagara Square. Join us for a rally to stop violence against women (including economic injustice, misogyny, telling women what they can and can’t do with their bodies, etc.), BIPOC, and the planet! Will feature speakers (including local community leaders Dominique Calhoun; former Erie Co. Legislator Betty Jean Grant, head of We Are Women Warriors; and more), musical performances (including Roc Da Mic with Peacejam; and Queen City Feminist Chorus), and sharing information about early voting. Cosponsors welcome! Email assistant@wnypeace.org if YOU are interested in co-sponsoring, speaking, or performing!
The WNYPC also continues to emphasize the importance of Collective Nonviolent Direct Action (CNDA), especially as we prepare for the aftermath of an election with a president who has openly stated that he may not respect the results. Please see our CNDA study events and resources before the first of two biweekly sessions of the CNDA ‘First Steps’ on 10/10 and 10/24.
Lastly, a reminder that tickets are on sale for our 53rd Annual Fundraiser: ‘An Evening with Dr. Cornel West’ on Monday, November 9th at 7pm! Please visit our event page bit.ly/wnypeace_cornelwest to watch the promo video featuring Dr. West, find additional details, and buy tickets to either the theatre or Zoom live broadcast! We see now more than ever that come November, we will be in great need of his post-election guidance.
We know that there is a lot going on right now, we really do. Remember to pace yourselves – we’ll get through it, together! Unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word, as Dr. King said.
Please see details and much more below, including special and regularly scheduled events this week, plus campaigns, fundraisers, and more at wnypeace.org, on our Facebook page, Twitter (@wnypeace), and Instagram (@wnypeace)!
Peace, thanks, solidarity, and yes – love!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS
Find more details and additional special events on our Event Calendar at
SUNDAY, 10/4 (TODAY!)
All day – Submit a support letter on behalf of the WNY Youth Climate Council! These letters highlight the power of our community supporting climate action in WNY, and will be submitted to the Buffalo Common Council and their Community Development Committee tomorrow (Mon, 10/5). Email Emily Dyett (Grow WNY) or the WNYYCC for copies and to submit. YCC co-organizer, Sonja Carlson, will be representing us this Tuesday at the next CDC meeting on 10/6 at 1:00PM and has been given 3 minutes to give testimony to support the Climate Emergency Resolution. This closed Zoom meeting will be posted to their Facebook afterwards, so please check out their page for the following weeks Common Council meeting on Facebook Live for the opportunity to post virtual “in person” comments on our DCE campaign.
2pm – #HALTsolitary / NYCAIC monthly meeting. On Zoom (Meeting ID: 942 909 6816, Passcode: Aubry). Agenda items include: 1. Hear about the NY Senate hearing of Sep 22; 2. Make plans for taking the replica cell to various places in October; 3. Hear what happens on Thu 10/1, when the county legislature will discuss a resolution in support of HALT, and plan next steps on the county front; 4. Discuss possibilities for influencing debates or candidate forums for state legislature (e.g. in races to replace outgoing Senators Jacobs and Ranzenhofer, and outgoing Assembly Members Ryan and Schimminger), or of being part of a coalition to organize one or more such debates.
4pm – Riverside Salem UCC program on RBG. On Zoom (Meeting ID 363 944 0486 with Password 058812). Videos/interviews featuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg will start the discussion – if you have anything to share, please pass it along to Rev. Cathy Rieley-Goddard at cathriego@gmail.com.
MONDAY, 10/5
All day – Census due! See details above.
4:30pm – We Keep Us Safe Rally. At Niagara Square, Buffalo. See the Facebook event page for more details. Hosted by Eve Shippens, De’Jon Hall, and David Louis.
TUESDAY, 10/6
3pm – Webinar: Everyone Counts. On Zoom – register here. Join this session to learn our thinking on how to protect democracy before, during and after the election with a particular focus on how pressure can be applied to key institutions. Presenters: Nicole Carty, PowerLabs and Anthony Torres, ASO Communications. See event post here for suggested readings to help learn what actions Trump might take and how you and/or your organization can prepare and respond.
7pm – Webinar: The Praxis of Consistent Anti-Oppression: Moving Forward by Going Backwards? On Zoom – register here. Julia Feliz is the founder of Sanctuary Publishers, a unique vegan book publisher dedicated to raising the voices of nonhumans and other marginalized communities. A non-binary, AfroIndigenousBoricua born and raised on the island of Puerto Rico and then planted in Florida, Julia is a resource activist committed to consistent anti-oppression across all movements – human and nonhuman. This webinar is presented in conjunction with Niagara University’s Social Justice Speaker Series, supported by Burning Books of Buffalo.
WEDNESDAY, 10/7
7pm – Webinar: Brazil, Bossa Nova, & Bolsonaro – Democracy or Delusion? On Zoom. Professor Costa de Moraes, a native of Brazil, will discuss the recent history, culture and politics of Brazil, including the policies of its current right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, who seems to have modeled his leadership style after Donald Trump. He will also describe the many ways in which COVID-19 has impacted Brazil, which has by far the highest number of cases and deaths in Latin America. This is a collaborative virtual presentation of the Rochester Committee on Latin America (ROCLA) and the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC), Buffalo, NY.
8pm – Webinar: Conversations on Equity & Justice – the Struggle for Racial Justice & Voting. On FacingHistory.org – register here. Free and fair elections are the foundation of all democracies. The US Voting Rights Act of 1965 established protections for all Americans, especially for Black Americans. However the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v Holder dismantled key elements of the Voting Rights Act and voter suppression efforts are ongoing across the country. Please join this dialogue with Dr. Carol Anderson; professor, historian, and National Book Critics Circle Award winner, exploring the history of the fight for African Americans’ voting rights as part of the struggle for racial justice in the United States.
SATURDAY, 10/10
12pm – Making Herstory: Celebration of Cariol’s Law. At Niagara Square, Buffalo.
3pm – Collective Nonviolent Direct Action biweekly study session with the WNYPC. At Niagara Square, Buffalo. Please review the preparatory materials at bit.ly/wnypeace_cnvda.
SATURDAY, 10/17
2 pm – Women’s March: Stop Violence Against Women, BIPOC, & the Planet. At Niagara Square, Buffalo. Will feature speakers, music, plus information about voting; see above.
UPCOMING REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS
Find more details and additional weekly/monthly events on our website at
wnypeace.org/wp/regularly-scheduled-events
MONDAY, 10/5
1pm – Talking Peace (WNYPC radio show). On WBNY 91.3 FM or streaming online at wbny.buffalostate.edu. Insights on peace and justice with the WNYPC. At the moment, the show is being pre-recorded at Think Twice Studios. This week’s episode features: 1-2 pm Dr. Mike Niman, Author and Buffalo State Media Study Professor; 2-3 pm Christian Parra, Community Organizer for Citizen Action of NY. Hosted by Vicki Ross, WNYPC Executive Director, and Jim Anderson, National VP of Peace Action NYS.
TUESDAY, 10/6
6:30 PM – Nekanęhsakt: Friends of Ękwehęwę Meeting (hybrid). At Armory Park outside behind the Isaias Gonzalez-Soto Branch Library (corner of Porter Ave & and Niagara Street), Buffalo. Please bring a mask and practice physical distance. We will also have phone-in option in addition if we get rained out or if you want to phone in to the meeting. Phone Number: 605-475-4825 and Access Number: 1075707.
WEDNESDAY, 10/7
3pm – Weekly March Against the Death Penalty. From the Robert L. Jackson Courthouse to the ECHC.
4pm – Prisoners’ Rights weekly vigil: No More ECHC Deaths! at the Erie County Holding Center.
THURSDAY, 10/8
5pm – Immigrant & Refugee Justice (IRJ) weekly vigil: End Ice Terror! Outside the Delaware North Building.
FRIDAY, 10/9
2pm – Environmental Justice weekly vigil: No Nuclear Waste over the Peace Bridge! At Front Park.
SATURDAY, 10/10
12 pm – Women in Black weekly vigil. At Elmwood & Bidwell.
CAMPAIGNS BY ISSUE AREA
Find more details and additional campaigns and fundraisers at
wnypeace.org/wp/current-campaign
wnypeace.org/wp/organizing-in-wny
Criminal Justice and Policing
– Now that Cariol’s Law has passed the Buffalo Common Council 8-1 (!!!), please contact Mayor Brown asking that he sign it into law. Phone: 716-851-4841; email: mayor@city-buffalo.com; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
– Contact ECDA John Flynn’s office urging him to drop all charges against Willie Henley!
By phone: 716-858-2424 and by web: https://www2.erie.gov/da/. If you are able, please also contribute to Willie’s lawyer fee funds at gofundme.com/f/willie-henley-lawyer-fee
– Buffalo needs LEAD now! We recently saw a clear example of how the current way police respond to community members with mental health issues fails our community. This entire situation could have been avoided with Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), a program that offers an alternative to arrest or hospitalization: diverting individuals into intensive management so their underlying needs are addressed. Learn more about LEAD here and SHARE WIDELY!
– Support the repeal of 50-A, a NYS secrecy law that blocked police misconduct and disciplinary records from being released to the public, including victims of police brutality. This legislation is under attack from police unions across the state, including the Buffalo Police Department (BPD) union.
- Urge your local legislators (contact info here) and ask them to make sure that the City of Buffalo is strenuously working to uphold the repeal. The city is lukewarm, and the issues with the BPU are feeding the problem.
- Send a copy of the petition calling for open access police misconduct to your legislators by texting SIGN YKNGJA to 50409
- Join the social media campaign calling for police transparency and records justice! #RecordsJustice #StoptheShadowRepeal #PoliceAccountabilityNow
– Support the demand that the police budget is defunded to invest in traffic calming infrastructure and take BPD out of traffic enforcement all together. Please fill out the questionnaire shared by Fair Fines + Fees to participate in a budgetary process that aims to make positive changes to the City’s budget.
– If you are a social worker or mental health professional, sign the WNY Agents of Change open letter to Mayor Brown re: working with the BPD https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdl7e9RVOCBP98dEbXU5o9xwuLW19oehzs49rluaplNftNvmA/viewform?fbzx=9022798637391376894
#UNITEtheStruggles | #OneLove | #WeShallOvercome | #SiSePuede