Archives for September 2012

Almost a month ago, 23 Latino Community Members and strategic allies from Memphis,  Jackson, and Nashville, TN came to the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center to attend the grassroots organizing training named, “GOT PODER.”

It was not the first time that Mid-South Peace and Justice Center has conducted this training with the Latino Community, but was actually a third event for M.S.P.J.C.  More trainings focused on local communities in need, have also been planned.

Presently, the Latino community of Memphis and surrounding areas are working very hard to stop disenfranchisement laws.  They have been learning that the most effective way to stop these laws is to be organized.  History has been teaching us this, not only with the Civil Rights movement of the 1960‘s but also the Chicano Movement, the Grape Strike lead by Cesar Chavez, and a most recent movement that struggles with laws dehumanizing immigrants.

In 2012, Memphis is no exception to this struggle.  While most people could say that Memphis is not like Arizona or Alabama in regard to discriminatory laws such as SB1070, 287G or HB 56, etc.;  it is accurate to say that every year TN legislators are tempted to implement a copycat proposal of those bills.  The common ground of such bills is to prohibit undocumented families from having access to housing, education, work and critical public services*.

In response, members of the Latino community, whether documented or not, and their allies are educating themselves in how to be organized, promote equality, and practice solidarity in the stand against discrimination.

*For more information about TN immigrant issues please visit the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition website www.tnimmigrant.org)

Following the GOT PODER Training, several attendees participated in the organization of a multi-cultural immigrant celebration named “Memphis Unafraid“ welcoming the Undocubus* to Memphis.  This was a bus with approximately 30 undocumented immigrants traveling from Arizona to North Carolina giving a simple but very important message: “We are the undocumented- without papers and without fear”.

• *For more information about The Undocubus visit www.nopapersnofear.org

The Undocubus riders were encouraging undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows of fear and take action for their own human rights, as well as vicariously the rights of others being represented culturally.

After a cultural celebration full of dance, poetry, theater, music and storytellers, three Memphis-Latino community members joined the Undocubus on their journey.  Two of those were Raul Venegas and Jose Salazar; both of whom also had been part of Got PODER and Core Organizing Training.  The third was Daniel Marquez- father of  West TN organizer Gabriela Benitez for T.I.R.R.C. (TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition).

One of the several stops for the Undocubus riders was Knoxville, TN.  This is a city that has been threatened by anti-immigrant laws and whose Sheriff had once refused discussion with the immigrant community.  The Undocubus riders, allies and community members let their voices be heard with a Nonviolent Direct Action blocking an intersection close to the Sheriff office.

Four people were arrested, with one of those being Marcela Lou- another participant of GOT PODER training.  This was the first time in history that Latino community members, consisting both of documented, undocumented and immigrant allies were arrested in a Nonviolent Direct Action (N.V.D.A.) in this state.

Following further discussion with these courageous participants of the Undocubus and the N.V.D.A. in Knoxville, TN and hearing of the impact GOT PODER has had on them for taking action has encouraged M.S.P.J.C. to continue the work of training people and training communities for social justice for all.

The M.S.P.J.C. training staff would love to serve your group or organization. Please contact allison@midsouthpeace.org to talk about how we can create a training that meets your groups’ needs.

We also have trainings in Spanish.

Ofrecemos Entrenamientos en Español, por favor contacte  a gio@midsouthpeace.org

(H.O.P.E.) is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently or have formerly experienced homelessness. Fresh off the heels of victory in our ROAD HOME campaign, where H.O.P.E. won more than $500,000 of County funding for homeless and veterans issues this organization is eager to continue the fight for our people.

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Dignity & Self-Determination: A “Street Wise” Co-op

One of H.O.P.E.’s long-term projects is the formation of Street-Wise Ink, a worker-owned tee shirt printing co-op to facilitate part time income sources for its members. H.O.P.E. members have been attending workshops where they are being trained in silkscreen printing to create t-shirts for organizations, church youth organizations, political campaigns and grassroots organizing groups. This service will be fully owned and operated by the members themselves.

H.O.P.E. members involved in the co-op have also been attending regular weekly meetings to discuss the business aspect of running a co-op; drafting by-laws, a feasibility study, and business plan, as well as discussing membership dues, pay structure, and branding. Most recently, the co-op has been designing and printing shirts for the Mid-South Peace and Justice center to sell at the Cooper-Young festival on Saturday, September 15.

If you are interested in contributing your support to this project, please contact Paul Garner @901.725.4990

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Solidarity: “H.O.P.E. for 100”

In July, H.O.P.E. joined as a member of the Memphis/Shelby Homelessness Consortium. The Consortium is made up of more than 40 member agencies, led by the Community Alliance for the Homeless, a nonprofit that provides planning, technical assistance and service coordination to public and private agencies working to end homelessness in Shelby County.

H.O.P.E. member Robbie Howard is the group’s official representative on this body and has been attending the committee meetings for Outreach & Chronic Homelessness.  Back in May, H.O.P.E. secured $510,000 in the county budget for homeless services. $250,000 of these funds is set aside to provide early outreach and In-home case management and wrap around services for 100 of the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in our city. These are individuals who are projected under current conditions to die within the next two years without housing and services. These funds will bridge the gap for these individuals moving into permanent supportive housing until their Medicare benefits are processed. Now, H.O.P.E. and the Community Alliance for the Homeless need your help. We are seeking volunteers to assist in street outreach to identify 100 unsheltered individuals who qualify for these services and get them off the street by Christmas of 2012. If you are interested in assisting in this process, please register here.

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Mutual Emotional Support: H.O.P.E. For Steve :: Update!

H.O.P.E is pleased to announce that we have raised enough funds to help our member, Steve pay his rent for the month of September! We would like to thank everyone who has made a contribution to help Steve in his time of need. Thanks to you and the generosity of other H.O.P.E. supporters, we were able to raise enough funds to keep Steve in his place and off the streets for another month while he awaits the start of his disability benefits. H.O.P.E. is committed to ending homelessness here in Memphis and across the US, however we realize that if we can keep one individual from falling through the cracks of society, it is just as important as addressing the systemic issues of inequity that cause homelessness.  We appreciate your continued support in this struggle and want you to know that by answering the call, you have made a huge difference for Steve by not only giving him the security of a roof over his head, but also the piece of mind that he is not alone in his personal struggle for a brighter future. Steve will continue to work with H.O.P.E. to advocate for himself and others who are caught in similar situations. Please spread the good news to your friends and family!