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In a sense, the battle is and always has been a battle for the hearts and minds of white people in this country. The fight against racism is not something we’re called on to help people of color with.  We need to become involved as if our lives depended on it because, in truth, they do.”

“What you win in the immediate battles is little compared to the effort you put into it but if you see that as a part of this total movement to build a new world, you know what could be. You do have a choice. You don’t have to be a part of the world of the lynchers. You can join the other America. There is another America!”

- Anne Braden

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The BREATHE Act is presented by the Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives

This visionary bill divests our taxpayer dollars from brutal and discriminatory policing and invests in a new vision of public safety-a vision that answers the call to defund the police and allows all communities to finally BREATHE free.

In honor of the lives of those stolen by police and state-sanctioned violence - Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Natasha McKenna, George Floyd, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Elijah McClain, Pearlie Golden, Kayla Moore, Freddie Gray, Atatiana Jefferson, Oscar Grant, and far too many more -

We are rising up against all the ways that the criminal-legal system has harmed and failed to protect Black communities. The current moment requires a solution that fundamentally shifts how we envision community-care and invest in our society. History is clear that we cannot achieve genuine safety and liberation until we abandon police, prisons, and all punishment paradigms.

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The BREATHE Act is presented by the Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives This visionary bill divests our taxpayer dollars from brutal and discriminatory policing and invests in a new vision of public safety-a vision that answers the call to defund the police and allows all communities to finally BREATHE free.

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Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: SURJ Action Zap. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

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Looking for an easy way to plug into the work for justice and to gain community organizing skills? Our action zaps are back this spring to support the work of our partners to win racial and economic justice! Join us in monthly, one-hour gatherings where we will "zap" (call, text, or email) whomever we are pressuring that day.

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This April, Karim Golding-an undocumented Black Muslim Jamaican immigrant-began his fourth Ramadan in ICE detention at the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama, known as one of the worst immigrant prisons in the country [1].

Like that of many other Black Muslim immigrants, Karim's case illustrates the compounding effects of anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, and xenophobia in our carceral system. Back in 2006, Karim was a 21-year-old up-and-coming musician living in NYC when he was targeted and arrested by a federal task force investigating hip-hop performers as part of the federal "War on Drugs." After a mistrial, Karim was sentenced to prison. Karim appealed his sentence - and after a lack of evidence was found to support his conviction - he was re-sentenced to time served: a staggering ten years in prison.
But Karim didn't get to go straight to his family after he was finally released: his ten years in federal prison were immediately followed by a transfer to ICE detention and a threat of deportation to Jamaica - a country he has not known or seen since he was 9 years old.
While imprisoned, Karim helped break the story of the lack of proper diagnosis, medical care and treatment that incarcerated people were receiving as COVID-19 ran rampant through Etowah, blowing the whistle and getting the story in national outlets like The Intercept [2], NPR [3] and Democracy Now [4].

In the aftermath, Karim was confined to indefinite solitary confinement for over a month for simply calling on the detention center to supply COVID-19 tests and PPE to ensure safety for everyone at Etowah [5].

Karim has now tested positive for COVID-19 twice - and in a short period of time has began exhibiting serious "long-hauler" COVID-19 symptoms, alongside now suffering from liver disease, abnormally high blood pressure, depression and anxiety.
Despite being granted a stay of removal by the courts and multiple court orders to release detainees at high risk from coronavirus, ICE has refused to release Karim.6 It's clear that ICE's motivations aren't rooted in much more than anti-Black Islamophobia.
That's why during this Holy month of Ramadan and beyond, MPower Change, New Sanctuary Coalition, Freedom to Thrive, and many more have come together to ensure ICE #FreeKarim before Eid.
Send an email to interim New Orleans ICE Field Office Director Diane Witte and acting New Orleans ICE Field Office Director Josh Hartnett demanding his release NOW.
Sources:

1. " 'The Worst Place Ever' Is ICE's Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama," The Daily Beast, 08 June 2018

2. " "Burials Are Cheaper Than Deportations": Virus Unleashes Terror in a Troubled ICE Detention Center," The Intercept, 12 April 2020

3. "'A Ticking Time Bomb': Advocates Warn COVID-19 Is Spreading Rapidly Behind Bars," NPR, 28 April 2020

4. " "Horrifying Neglect": COVID-19 Deaths in ICE Custody Spark New Calls for Mass Release of Prisoners," Democracy Now, 27 May 2020

5. " Immigrants Detained by ICE Say They Were Thrown in Solitary for Requesting Covid-19 Tests," In These Times, 02 Dec 2020

Art credit: @tommyevich
By taking this action, you agree to receive emails from the organizations listed below. You can unsubscribe at any time using the instructions provided in the emails.

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This April, Karim Golding-an undocumented Black Muslim Jamaican immigrant-began his fourth Ramadan in ICE detention at the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama, known as one of the worst immigrant prisons in the country [1]. Like that of many other Black Muslim immigrants, Karim's case illustrates the compounding effects of anti-Blackness, Islamophobia, and xenophobia in our carceral system.

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How would you (and your theatre) work and act differently if you were just as invested in the belonging, safety, dignity of BIPOC/PGM communities OUTSIDE of the theatre as you are in those of the folks in your audiences, on your staffs, on and behind your stages?

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If white caucus spaces are new to you:

http://paulkivel.com/resource/separatism/

If dedicated conversations about antiracism and white supremacy with white people are new to you:

https://plantedmoredeeply.wordpress.com/2020/06/28/white-beloveds-blacklivesmatter-is-not-a-trend-its-an-invitation-to-our-own-freedom-too/

https://www.showingupforracialjustice.org/white-supremacy-culture.html

We encourage all to read:

https://www.americantheatre.org/2020/12/16/change-in-the-american-theatre-begins-and-ends-outside-the-theatre/

https://www.americantheatre.org/2021/04/13/does-your-arts-organization-deserve-to-come-back/

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What would a theatre industry/sector/culture that built and sustained power for BIPOC and other marginalized communities/identities (in AND OUTSIDE OF the theatre) look and feel like?

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- Focus on what we are building towards rather than what we are negatively of defensively reacting to.
- Maintain awareness of natural or imposed power dynamics and imbalances, and name them as necessary.
- Speak from the I.
- Grant everyone permission to speak in draft (you too!).
- Make space, take space.
- Stories stay, lessons leave.
- Lower your expectations to increase presence.
- Acknowledge that this work is ongoing.

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What is line 3

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.

Why the opposition

All pipelines spill. Line 3 isn't about safe transportation of a necessary product, it's about expansion of a dying tar sands industry. Line 3 would contribute more to climate change than Minnesota's entire economy. Minnesota's own Department of Commerce found our local market does not need Line 3 oil. We need to decommission the old Line 3 and justly transition to a renewable, sustainable economy. Line 3 would violate the treaty rights of Anishinaabe peoples and nations in its path - wild rice is a centerpiece of Anishinaabe culture, it grows in numerous watersheds Line 3 seeks to cross. It's well-past time to end the legacy of theft from and destruction of indigenous peoples and territories.

What we can do

We can keep organizing, educating, and advocating to stop Line 3 and build the future we want. Legal and grassroots efforts have kept Enbridge's Line 3 destruction at bay - it was supposed to be complete in 2017. We are holding events in our homes, community centers, churches, schools, and online. We are talking to our politicians, speaking up at hearings, marching in protests, taking nonviolent direct action together, and reporting Enbridge's activity along the proposed route. We are teaching and learning from each other. We are growing food and investing in renewable energy. Wherever you are and whatever your skill set, there is a place for you in the movement to stop Line 3.

HERE IS THE MAP THAT SHOWS CAMPING PLACES ALONG THE NEW LINE 3 ROUTE + CANOE RIVER ACCESS POINTS WITH HDD RIVER CROSSINGS.

FOR Below MAP (click to enlarge)

RESIST LINE 3 WEEKLY UPDATES

with Lorenzo Serna
Get the latest on actions held to Stop Line 3, legal updates, watchdog content, upcoming events, & solidarity news from other movements we stand with

May 31: Helpful context for the Treaty People Gathering
for past weeks visit the weekly update archive

The Line 5 Pipeline threatens Tribal land, Treaty Rights in the ceded territory, the Great Lakes, and the climate. The pipeline, which is long past its lifespan, is currently pumping tar sands oil under expired permits. Despite the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's request that Enbridge remove Line 5.

Save the Great Lakes: Shut down Line 5

Two 62-year old oil pipelines are threatening the Great Lakes. Called Line 5, owned by Enbridge, a Canadian energy company, they carry 23-million gallons of crude oil daily. It passes between the state's upper and lower peninsulas along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinaw. Oil and water don't mix, and if they were to rupture, they would spill oil across the Great Lakes. Please act now and make Enbridge shut the pipeline down. Please do whatever you can. Thank you

Why is this important?

Pipe up, pipe out! Shut down Line 5. This is a Great Lakes call to action.

Banner photo by Keri Pickett

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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.

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On-Ramps for the Movement To Stop Line 3