The video below asks six formerly incarcerated people what they would vote for if their voting rights were restored. Voting is one of the most fundamental rights of citizenship. Laws that declare people coming home from prison “civically dead” unfairly lock these individuals, disproportionately people of color, out of the voting booth run counter to the purpose of the reentry period.
(initiatejustice.org) GET INVOLVED in the fight to restore voting rights to people in prison and on parole in CA! 162,000 people in California cannot vote because they are in prison or on parole. This year, we are working on legislation (ACA 6 & AB 646) that will expand voting rights & we need your help! http://bit.ly/FreeTheVoteVolunteer
Check out all our “Watch Party” videos here.
- Today’s MOST SHAREABLE: The Cursed Platoon – How Hannity and Trump made a murderer into a hero
- Recently added: “What defund the police” really means.
- Recently added: Suppressed: The Fight to Vote – Full Film.
Resources
- Racial Justice resources here. Extensive BLM resources, including donation sites, onlines classes, Black-owned businesses, reading/watching lists and more.
- DACA: Go here for more information on latest ruling and what to do now. Free Citizenship fair on 7/26 an OXNARD COLLEGE.
- Community resources here. Volunteer opportunities, donations, food banks.
- County information here: Free antibody testing info., safety net resources, mortgage/rent assistance, etc..
- Emergency information: Emergency Preparedness Guide,
- Coronavirus : information, stats, tracker: here.
- Advisory: Masks are required in CA. Specific instructions here.
- Help us update info: Send “EVENT” in email header here.
Today’s events!
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; It must be demanded by the oppressed.” ~ MLK
- We’re putting up information on local protest sand actions by others we’re finding from informal sources. These listings are not endorsements nor guarantees as to time/place/type of protest or participant safety. Events can and have already been cancelled without notice.
- Protest safely in the time of pandemic and police overreaction: Go here for resources on camera apps, equipment, what to know if you’re stopped by police.
Friday 7/3- MOORPARK – Black Lives Matter Rally (5-6:30pm)
July 4th Actions!
Saturday 7/4 – VENTURA – Black Lives Matter Rally (11am)
Saturday 7/4 – FILLMORE – Black Lives Matter Rally (7:30pm)
Saturday 7/4 – SIMI – Black Lives Matter Rally (9:30am)
good morning allies✊🏿
we will persist in our pursuit for justice, truth & equity. we will intercede on behalf of the millions who are voiceless in this nation. also most importantly, we will be the love that we have been looking for ourselves🖤 please join us this 4th of july on the corners of cochran & sycamore @ 9:30 am and raise your voice for those who are unable.
“All you can possibly need or desire is already yours. Call your desires into being by imagining and feeling your wish fulfilled.”
— Neville Goddard
the secret to any success is the feeling; whatever you feel eventually begins to harden into fact.
we must feel victorious because we are victorious. winners constantly meditate on winning; not their opposition.
imagine a culture in simi valley as beautiful as vast mountains that surround it ⛰🏠⛰
visualize the seeing the justice for breonna taylor.
imagine blind eyes being opened & hardened hearts becoming empathetic.
imagine the next generation in simi valley growing up as anti-racist✊🏿✊🏽✊🏻
and so much more is possible!
Be Peaceful
Be Powerful — celebrating love.
Events to prepare for!
GET READY: Tuesday 7/7 – ONLINE/REAL WORLD – Nationwide Economic Blackout
Go to https://www.blackoutday.org for more information.
CALL TO ACTION: Although this movement is exclusively targeted at empowering and uplifting black people all over the world, we welcome ALL people of color to stand with us in solidarity. Black people alone account for an estimated 1.2 trillion dollars or more of spending in the economy annually. Together we have 3.9 trillion dollars in economic spending power. While we welcome allies who choose to stand with us, we make absolutely no apology for the fact this movement is FOR US & BY US.
GET READY: Thursday 7/2- Tuesday 7//7 ONLINE – Write email letters for the 7/8 Camarillo City Council meeting.
On July 8th, the Camarillo City Council will discuss:
- A proclamation stating that Black lives matter and
- A decision to review the contract with VC Sheriff’s for Camarillo policing.
Camarillo City Coucilmember Charlotte Craven published this article stating that, at their meeting on June 10th, fellow Councilmember Susan Santangelo proposed to “defund” the police department. Craven is asking her followers to send in letters opposing both these propositions and the local GOP is jumping in right behind her, publishing a list of unsubstantiated talking point facts.
Councilwoman Susan Santangelo NEVER mentioned “defunding the police” in the council discussions. No matter your stance on this, the bottom line is that Craven is using that phrase as a way to justify NOT reviewing the local Police Contract the city has with the VC Sheriffs – which is nearly 50% of the city budget ($18M). (VC Cities – police budgets) It is gross negligence NOT to scrutinize such a large portion of the budget and the contract that dictates that much spending, ESPECIALLY in the time of COVID and economic distress. Do not let her use this whistle to dilute the ACTUAL call to action: Review the contract! Without getting that first step passed by the council, there can be no reform in the coming months.
The Council is receiving HUNDREDS of emails supporting Craven’s racist rhetoric. WE NEED TO SEND EMAILS TOO- this is ALL HAND ON DECK! Here’s a model you can use. Email your letters here.
(If you do not live in Camarillo – you can still send an email as a concerned citizen (we need to call out racism, injustice and ineptitude wherever it exists – your zipcode does not dictate if you voice matters), AND we would appreciate if you share the message with your Camarillo/Somis/Channel Islands friends (since the Cam Department is the one that serves them and the “other side” is reaching out to those communities as well).
GET READY: Thursday 7/2- Tuesday 7//7 ONLINE – WRITE email letters and comments for the removal of the Serra Statue
Read about this issue here. / Go here for information about the meeting which is happening next Tuesday, July 7th, at 6:00 pm..
UPDATE: “The Ventura Historic Preservation Committee determined on Wednesday, July 2, 2020, at a special meeting that the bronze statue of Father Junipero Serra standing in front of City Hall is not a historic landmark because it’s a replacement of the original. To view the HPC meeting, watch it here under available archive videos.”
What you can do right now before the meeting on July 7:
- Write email letters here.: council@cityofventura.ca.gov and cityclerk@cityofventura.ca.gov There are templates out there but it’s best to personalize your response.
- Write your comment on the city site here. Scroll down the topic menu and select “Public Input: Father Serra Statue.” There is a character limit on this form. You can upload and append a document.
- Sign the petition here to remove the statue and change the name of schools referring to him.
- Watch and participate: Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. Join the virtual meeting https://bit.ly/2NvYlRX or by phone 1(408) 418-9388 and use access code: 126 228 9208
For “Actions Happening Soon”, continue down past “Petitions”
Calls for Justice!
Action #1: Call your Senators and demand they cosponsor S.631 – Washington DC Admission Act – ADD-ON – “What’s the hold-up on the HEROES Act?”
Watch this video first!
HR 51/S.631are bills that reaffirm American democracy’s promise that ALL people have a say in our federal government by extending that right to the last group of people have been denied it. 700,000 Americans who live in the District of Columbia lack a voting representative in the House and have no representation in the Senate at all, despite the fact that they pay federal income taxes, serve in the military and sit on federal juries..
Note to Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL): There is no direct comparison in the nonsense you speak. Jefferson County, Alabama already has both a voting House member and 2 senators to represent their interests. That DC’s population is treated as a stateless city is what is “nuts.” Please find a 5th grader to explain this to you.
However, his rant reminds us that racist politicians have prevented D.C. from becoming a state to prevent D.C.’s Black residents, who comprise just under half the popultion, from building political power. If D.C. is granted statehood, it will be the only state in the nation to have a plurality of Black residents. HR 51 passed in the House, the first time in history. Now we need the Senate to do it’s job.
Senator-check here: Both Feinstein and Harris are supporters. Ask your friends in Red states to call their senators and tell them to do the right thing.
Minimal script for supportive senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to thank Senator [___] for their support of S.631 – Washington DC Admission Act. I also want to know what is the Senator is doing right now to help pass the HEROES Act?
Minimal script for GOP senators: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Senator [___] to support S.631– Washington DC Admission Act. It’s time to uphold the true meaning of patriotism by extending the full rights of American citizenship to the residents of Washington DC. Also, I also want to what the Senator is doing right now to help pass the HEROES Act?
Contact:
Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
and Senator Harris: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (213) 894-5000, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 355-9041, SD (619) 239-3884
Who is my representative/senator?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com
Send some postcards to ICE! – Stop these crimes against humanity now.
This past Friday, Federal Judge Molly Gee ordered ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) to, release families by July 17th who are being held in US Immigration Detention Centers as they try to seek asylum in the US. The judge knows that COVID is spreading in these centers. These families need to absolutely be released together now so they can go to their sponsors or families. The science is clear that separating children from their parents has long-term damaging psychological and health consequences for the children. For those who keep insisting on saying “All lives matter,”it’s time to step up and stop our own government from hurting children.
Send your postcards to the following ICE Authorities to let them know that there is community support for released families and to help ensure they appear for their immigration hearings. Let’s as them to do the right thing and keep these families together.
ICE Acting Director Matthew Albence
500 12th St. SW
Washington, DC 20536
ICE Deputy Field Office Director Achim
1777 NE Loop 410 15th Floor
San Antonio, Texas 78217
ICE Assistant Field Office Director Christopher George
Philadelphia Field Office
114 North 8th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
For more information and scripts, go here.
Contact information for officials, from city to the feds, here.
- Make DC a state: Call your Senators and demand they cosponsor S.631 – Washington DC Admission Act
- “NO” on throwing more money at the military: Call your senators and demand vote “NO” on S.4049 – the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
- Bounty-Hunting: What are they going to do about reports that Trump ignored or dismissed Putin-funded Taliban bounty-hunting?
- Rent is due on July 1st, and millions won’t be able to pay. Pass “HR 7301″ – Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act of 2020”. UPDATE: [H.R.7301 which waspassed by the House this week] CALL YOUR SENATORS!
- Stop Water Shutoffs!: Send a letter to your Senators today demanding a nationwide moratorium on water shutoffs.
- No more Tear Gas!: Call your legislators to make one’s right to protest safe from chemical warfare.”YES” on H.R. 7221 – “To prohibit law enforcement officers from using chemical weapons in the course of policing activities, and for other purposes.”
- Poor People’s Campaign: Call your legislators to enact the planks of the Poor People’s Campaign
- #Juneteenth – No more Excuses – Time to make Juneteenth a nation holiday. “YES” on HR 7232!
- Yes on Reparations study: CALL ACTION #2: It’s past time to make amends! “YES” on HR 40/S.1038 – Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.
- No more contributions from law enforcement unions