Hi, everyone!
Good morning, and happy Monday! This past week has not gone as many of us would have hoped, but that just makes our work even more crucial. As always, one great way to get involved and stay connected is by joining City Life/Vida Urbana at their weekly tenant organizing meetings. City Life is a 50+ year-old grassroots organization fighting for racial, social, and economic justice through direct action, coalition building, education, and advocacy. They hold meetings every Tuesday (in English) in Jamaica Plain and every Wednesday (in Spanish) in East Boston to build community and inform people about their housing rights. Let us know if you have any concerns over transportation, and we can help. If you'd like to attend a meeting with members of HOMES this week, please fill out the Google form below!
Weekly Sign Up for City Life/Vida Urbana Meetings
Get Active While Giving Back to the Community! Join Warm Up Boston as they collaborate with local rollerskating groups for their warm clothing and blanket drive. Today, they will be at the Smith Field Rink in Allston from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm with the Skate Hags! Then, on Wednesday, November 13th, they will join Boston Midweek Skate for their weekly Midweek on the Pemberton skate from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Pemberton Tennis & Basketball Courts in North Cambridge. More information can be found here.
"Warm Up Boston is a radical survival program serving, supporting, and empowering Boston’s unhoused community through solidarity rather than charity. Our mission focuses on the direct delivery of material aid and advocacy as well as on harm reduction strategies designed to prevent deaths from overdoses and transmission of infectious disease among people who use drugs and the larger community. They are accepting clean & gently used blankets, coats, sweaters, gloves, hats, and wool socks, as well as cash donations. These donated items will be directly redistributed during their weekly distros (distributions of material aid) to encampment residents and people experiencing street homelessness." They are also always in search of tent donations!
#BlackTrust: Black Utopias, Then & Now! Join the Boston Ujima Project at a free book event on Wednesday, November 13th from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at Just Book-ish (1463 Dorchester Ave) as part of their Black Trust series. The "Black Trust: Chuck Turner Arts and Lecture Series brings community together to discuss concepts which frame the relationships in a community — trust, belief, and faith. Black Trust is creating a space for people to learn, trust, and believe in each other." This event will feature Aaron Robertson, author of The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America and Stacey Sutton, Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at University of Illinois, Chicago, and co-director of Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project.
"This event explores the histories and ongoing legacies of Black utopian movements in America. Robertson will be in conversation with Stacey Sutton, whose latest body of work, Real Black Utopias, examines the infrastructure and ideology of Black-led cooperatives and solidarity economy ecosystems across cities, from Chicago to Boston. As Robertson's work meditates on how African Americans have envisioned utopia and transformed their lives, this conversation engages with their reflections on liberation, community-building, and radical social projects." More information can be found here. Please be mindful of this event's purpose when deciding whether or not to attend.
Organizing in an Age of Repression: Book Event and Panel Discussion! Join the Jewish Voice for Peace Boston on Thursday, November 14th from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at First Parish in Cambridge (3 Church Street) for a joint book event for Visualizing Palestine: A Chronicle of Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation *AND* Solidarity is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing. "In our panel discussion, Organizing in an Age of Repression, panelists (including a contributor to Visualizing Palestine and both authors of Solidarity is the Political Version of Love) will discuss the importance of narrative shift in the struggle for Palestinian liberation and share insights from cross-movement organizing in the midst of repression. Both books will be available for purchase—including a special book bundle, only available for event attendees!"
Volunteer with the Roxbury Collective! On Friday, November 15th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, spend your day with the Roxbury Collective for Housing Affordability. "Join a growing campaign for housing justice by helping us reach our friends and neighbors in Roxbury. Earn $50 worth of gift cards for a two-hour shift. There will be two shifts available, 10 AM-12 PM or 12 PM-2 PM. Additionally, if you would like to help canvas for the event, please select the canvas option in registration." Volunteers will meet at Union Capital (31 Heath Street). More information can be found here.
Resist Forced Birth Fascism! "The Men’s March to Abolish Abortion is coming to Boston. It is organized by Christian fascists and is a direct threat to the safety of our community." Join Mass Struggle and a number of other local grassroots orgs in a counter-protest rally to defend Boston against the Men's March on Saturday, November 16th at 11:00 am at Charlesgate Park (a block east of Kenmore station). Here is an excerpt from the Men's March flyer: "Boston has a rich history of abolition and it is time to stir that good moral sense in every heart and mind toward the ongoing daily mass murder of our littlest brothers and sisters. This is an opportunity for all pro-life people of good will to come together, unite publicly, and say 'NO MORE.' Let’s make the most of it and show up... it is up to you to come answer the call. We expect a strong participation of young and old to show the world that virtuous men still exist and brotherhood built on objective truth, goodness, and beauty is still possible." Come together to reject this concerning rhetoric and protect your community! More information can be found here.
Get Studious About Palestinian Liberation! Join Mass Struggle on "Sunday, November 17th at 1:30 pm for a second session of a reading and discussion on Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine as we study their class analysis of Palestine and the zionist occupation, as well as their development of a strategic line for national liberation and socialist revolution. We will be continuing from the chapter titled 'Organization and Mobilization of Palestinian Revolutionary Forces.' A free PDF of the book can be found here or here. The Lucy Parsons Center is located at 358A Centre St in Jamaica Plain. Masks will be required for this event." More information can be found here.
Interested in Getting More Involved with Local Pro-Palestine Organizing? Join JP for Palestine for their next weekly meeting on Sunday, November 17th, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm at First Baptist Church, 633 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, MA. Arrive early for a community standout beforehand in front of the church from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. "Bring flags, keffiyehs, and signs! Food and drinks to share are welcome, but please be mindful of allergies." More information can be found here.
Show Solidarity with Other Law Student Organizing Groups! Join Northeastern Law's Abolitionist Learning Zone for the November installment of their speaker series: Abolition in Praxis. They will be speaking to local organizers from Warm Up Boston and The Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending about why housing is an abolitionist issue. The speaker panel will be on Tuesday, November 19th at 6:00 pm at DK30 (click here for a map) at Dockser Hall (65 Forsyth St, Boston). "The goal of this speaker series is to continue our political education as abolitionists through a critical lens while decentering the rigid pedagogy of law school and examining how the law supports and reproduces subjugation. We hope that at the end of each iteration of the series, participants leave reassured and empowered to see abolition as an everyday practice rather than abstract discourse." More information can be found here.
Also, mark your calendars for the Abolitionist Learning Zone's screening of Holding Ground, which covers the Dudley Street Neighborhood Intitiative, on Saturday, November 23rd at 4:00 pm at the Lucy Parsons Center (358 Centre St A, Jamaica Plain). More information can be found on their Instagram.
Get Informed on Your Rights as a Renter! "Join the Roxbury Collective for Housing Affordability to learn about renting in Massachusetts! We will discuss renters' rights, the history of rent control in MA and have lots of time to answer questions. Food, childcare, gift cards and interpretation will be provided for those who attend." The event will take place on Saturday, November 23rd, from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm at the Roxbury YMCA (285 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard). More information can be found here.
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