Int’l Day of Action for Yemen; Stop Line 3; WNYPC Q1 Meeting
Sunday, January 24th, 2021
We trust you are reading this after tonight’s Bills game (hopefully celebrating a good outcome!). We hope you are feeling a bit revitalized this week with Trump now (finally) out of office and nuclear weapons becoming officially illegal under international law. However, we know there is still plenty of work ahead of us – including some very important initiatives this week.
Tomorrow is “World Says No to War on Yemen” Global Day of Action. People around the world are called upon to protest – just says after the U.S. presidential inauguration and one day before Saudi Arabia’s ‘Davos in the Desert’ Future Investment Initiative.
- Join the Stop the War Coalition, CODEPINK, Action Corps, Yemeni Alliance Committee, and other partner organizations/groups on Zoom and/or Facebook at 2pm EST for the livestreamed international rally. Hear from Dr. Cornel West, Danny Glover, Jeremy Corbyn, Aisha Jumaan, and other guest speakers to discuss the crisis in Yemen and actions that can be taken to stop the war. Use this action toolkit to participate and promote this important cause! #YemenCantWait
- If you missed last week’s Talking Peace live-taping, you can catch it airing on WBNY 91.3 FM tomorrow at 1pm. ED Vicki was joined by Aisha Jumaan, President of the Yemen Relief & Reconstruction Foundation, and Kawthar Abdulla, Leader Organizer, Yemeni Alliance Committee’s NYC Chapter. Tune in for a discussion on the current situation in Yemen and the involvement of external actors – including, especially, the US; personal stories and current needs; tomorrow’s International Day of Action, and what you can do to help!
On Tuesday at 6:30pm EST, join Winona LaDuke, Co-founder of Honor the Earth as she speaks about the fight to stop Line 3 and a just transition from the current fossil fuel economy. Line 3 is a proposed pipeline expansion to bring nearly a million barrels of tar sands per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. It was proposed in 2014 by Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company responsible for the largest inland oil spill in the US. Enbridge seeks to build a new pipeline corridor through untouched wetlands and the treaty territory of Anishinaabe peoples, through the Mississippi River headwaters to the shore of Lake Superior. For more details and how to register, see below.
Lastly, we’d like to remind you that the WNY Peace Center’s first 2021 Quarterly Membership Meeting is just one week away! We will look back at 2020 – with an overview of some our successes, plus plans for this year. We have some important announcements, so please plan to join us on Zoom (full details below).
Please see details and much more – including special and regularly scheduled events this week (LASC planning meeting tomorrow!) – 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
MONDAY, 1/25
11 AM – Buffalo Common Council Police Oversight Committee Meeting. On Facebook Live. To review the items under discussion for this and all Council Meetings, visit the meeting portal at buffalony.gov/meetings. For any concerns or questions regarding this meeting or any item under discussion, please feel free to email councilstaff@city-buffalo.com.
2 PM – “World Says No to War on Yemen” global call to action and online rally. On Zoom – register here. See above for details and social media toolkits.
7 PM – Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) monthly task force planning meeting. On Zoom – email LASC Chair, Dr. Terry Bisson, at bisson@canisius.edu for the link. Agenda to include: Bolivia LASC/ROCLA 2/3 event led by Bolivia Quaker Education Fund and Vickey Kaiser (Fredonia); Chiapas LASC/ROCLA 3/3 event (rescheduled from 1/6) led by Bill Jungels and Tom Potts; reports on recent local vigils; Roswell Park-Cuba connection, etc.
TUESDAY, 1/26
6:30 PM – Stop Line 3 with Winona LaDuke. On Zoom – register here. ASL interpretation will be provided. See above and stopline3.org, welcomewaterprotectors.com for details. Co-sponsored by Indigenous Women’s Initiative (IWI); Nekanęhsakt: Friends of Ękwehęwę; PUSH Buffalo; Burning Books; and WNY Peace Center.
WEDNESDAY, 1/27
~7:15 PM – Talking Peace weekly taping. On Facebook Live. With host Vicki Ross, WNYPC ED; so graciously recorded by Think Twice Radio: Home of the Future! Special episode on local and international policing/criminal justice reform. Featuring community activists Dominique Calhoun, Cortez Foster, and Myles Carter in the first hour; Martin Gugino, Donna Robinson, and Miles Carter in the second hour.
SUNDAY, 1/31
2 PM – WNYPC 2021 Q1 Membership Meeting. On Zoom (Meeting ID: 830 6281 4288 and Passcode: 912302).
UPCOMING REGULARLY SCHEDULED EVENTS
Find more details and additional weekly/monthly events on our website at
wnypeace.org/wp/regularly-scheduled-events
MONDAYS
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 by Think Twice Radio: The Home of the Future!
WEDNESDAYS
3pm – Weekly Vigil and March Against the Death Penalty. From the Robert L. Jackson Courthouse to the ECHC. Please bring your own signs.
4pm – Prisoners’ Rights weekly vigil: No More ECHC Deaths! at the Erie County Holding Center. Please bring your own signs.
THURSDAYS
5pm – Immigrant & Refugee Justice (IRJ) weekly vigil: End Ice Terror! Outside the Delaware North Building. Please bring your own signs.
FRIDAYS
2pm – Environmental Justice weekly vigil: No Nuclear Waste over the Peace Bridge! At Front Park. Signs on hand.
SATURDAYS
12 pm – Women in Black weekly vigil. At Elmwood & Bidwell. Signs on hand.
CAMPAIGNS BY ISSUE AREA
Find more details and additional campaigns and fundraisers at
wnypeace.org/wp/current-campaign
wnypeace.org/wp/organizing-in-wny
Environmental Justice & Indigenous Rights
– Call MN Governor Tim Walz at 651-201-3400 to urge him and other officials (e.g., Congressman Keith Ellison) to stop Line 3. Visit the Water Protectors website for information on needed donations and coming out to put your body on the line to protect Mother Earth, the waters, and the creation. Donations (physical items and/or monetary) also gratefully received at Burning Books (420 Connecticut St, Buffalo, 14213 – open daily, 11am – 7pm) or to Nekanehsakt’s PayPal. #DefendTheSacred #WaterIsLife
– Join the West Valley Action Network and support the full cleanup of one of WNY’s most dangerous radioactive pollution problems. Help protect our drinking water, environmental, and community! Join in proactively protecting our region from the long-lasting, deadly nuclear and hazardous waste at the West Valley site. Please also contact all of your legislators – local, state, and federal – to urge full covered cleanup with extensive monitoring!
Policing & Criminal Justice Reform
– Please support the Cariol Horne Whistleblower Fund!
– Contact ECDA John Flynn’s office (by phone: 716-858-2424 and by web: https://www2.erie.gov/da/) urging him to:
- drop all charges against Willie Henley! If you are able, please also contribute to Willie’s lawyer fee funds at gofundme.com/f/willie-henley-lawyer-fee
- re-visit the Buffalo 5 case (indictment no. 41-413)! Three of the original Buffalo 5 remain living and are seeking a complete exoneration and clearing of their names. Please also see the change.org petition and GoFundMe.com campaign.
- give Deyanna Davis more freedom while she’s in house arrest! Visit linktr.ee/deyannadavis for a petition, fundraiser, and more information.
– 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 demand that the police budget is reallocated 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. NEW! You can also share your ideas and priorities for changing the Buffalo Police Department through this survey by Free the People WNY.
#UNITEtheStruggles | #OneLove | #WeShallOvercome | #SiSePuede