Archives for August 2014

H.O.P.E. is once again teaming up with Community Alliance for the Homeless for Project Homeless Connect 5, and we need YOU to volunteer!

Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014
8am-4pm
Cook Convention Center (255 N Main Street)

To volunteer please sign up, here!
or call 901-527-1302, Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm
*must be 18 or older to volunteer

 

Support efforts to end homelessness by volunteering for the fifth installment of this massive outreach and service event to break down barriers that make it difficult to leave homelessness. 1,000 people needing help are expected to attend; we need just as many volunteers!

Services Anticipated:
Medical and Vision (limited), Housing counseling and placement, Employment services, Benefits (Food Stamps, Medicaid, etc.), Social Security, Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Veterans Benefits and services, Food, HIV/AIDS testing, counseling and support, IDs, Barber Shop, Legal assistance, Donated Goods

Memphis United is a coalition of organizations working on criminal justice reform and police accountability. The murder of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO has catalyzed solidarity demonstrations all over the world.

Locally, Memphis United has been advocating for police accountability for months, with the recent victory of reinstating the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) in Memphis. We have continued this work in the wake of Michael Brown’s murder with our own solidarity actions and a renewed effort to make Memphis a safer, more peaceful community.  In the coming months, Memphis United will advocate for:

• A more effective CLERB
• Resolution for the rape kit backlogs
• Sensitivity training for MPD officers and the adoption of a community policing model
• Body cameras for MPD officers and dashboard cameras for MPD vehicles
• Ending police and private security harassment and demilitarizing private security and public law enforcement

To see some of the recent media coverage we’ve received, check out the links below: 

Video: Memphis United Calls for Police Accountability

Video & Slideshow: 230 Rally for Peace, Police Accountability

Article: Memphis Organization to Host Meeting on Police Accountability

Video: Rally for Ferguson Lines Major Memphis Street

Article: Cohen & Memphis Activists Turn Attention to Ferguson

Video: Local Groups Prep for Ferguson Protest Today

Video: Memphis Residents Plan Action after Michael Brown Shooting

Video: Advocates Call for More Cameras on MPD Officers and Cars

Video: Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board Reinstated

Video: Memphis Joins 100 Cities in Peaceful Demonstration

Article: Organization Looks to Improve Police Review Board

Video: Does the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board Exist? 

Video: Activists Want to Improve MPD’s Accountability

Video: Group Calls for Civilian Oversight of Memphis Law Enforcement

Video: Effort Underway to Revive Enforcement Review Board

To get involved with Memphis United, check out our Facebook page, or contact Memphis United Organizing Coordinator Marquita Bradshaw at marquita@midsouthpeace.org or 901-725-4990.

Making National Connections

On August 7^th, MBRU Co-Chair and MATA Board Member, Shelia Williams, was featured along with other transit justice leaders from around the nation on a national audio conference at 2pm CST to discuss strategies for connecting people to work through expanding public transit. Be on the lookout for our follow up report on the conference.

To read more about Shelia’s journey to the MATA Board, check out this Commercial Appeal article.

MATA Bus Riders Transit Plan

In July, MBRU began the process of gathering input for a Bus Riders Transit Plan. MATA will be presenting service changes, cuts and potentially, fare hikes this fall. MBRU will simultaneously provide a riders plan, with recommendations for new routes in underserved neighborhoods, shelters and other transit infrastructure. Through August we’ll be hitting the road, surveying riders’ needs and talking with neighborhood groups to gather the input needed for a rider-focused transit plan. We want to be sure that as plans for service changes develop, MATA is informed by the knowledge and experience of riders.

A Tragic Loss

Following a tragic incident that resulted in the death of bus rider, Semaj, aka James Gray, MATA’s private security at the Hudson Transit Center (formerly the North End Terminal) has been transitioned to a new company.  (R.I.P. Semaj, photo credit Pete Gathje)

MBRU has kept a watchful eye on the new company, Ambassador Worldwide Protection Agency.  We are pleased that there are now female guards on duty. But to prevent the violence that occurred at the hands of the last security company, MBRU is working with the MATA Board to develop new policies of oversight and accountability that will bring issues with security to the Board for review.  See some of the media coverage on our work here.

Workshop Recap:
The Storyteller as Activist

On Tuesday, July 29^th, Elaine Blanchard shared her gifts, skills, and passion with participants of the workshop, The Storyteller as Activist, as she revealed how the effectiveness of storytelling is in the listening and connection we make with others.  Activists have stories to tell, stories rooted in a need for justice. As Elaine says, “As we become a community of storytellers, we improve our relationships and construct a safer place for all of us to call home.”

We are very thankful for this collaboration. Stay tuned for future workshops with Elaine.  You can learn more about her and her work here.

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Upcoming Workshop, September 11th
Founding and Funding Your Grassroots Group

Led by former MSPJC Director, Jacob Flowers

I want to register!

In this workshop you will have the opportunity to learn the process, skills and actions you can use to establish and financially sustain your grassroots organization. The session will begin with an in-depth look at the mission, vision and values from which you are organizing, and end with concrete actions that you can take to fund your work sustainably over the long term.

Join us to learn how you can found and fund your organizing group to be successful from the beginning.

Date:            Thursday, September 11^th
Time:            6pm – 8pm (please be on time)

Location:       450 Mulberry St., Links Education Center,
National Civil Rights Museum
Wheelchair accessible

Cost:             $20-$45 Sliding scale.

Registration online or by phone is required to attend. Minimum 10 and maximum 25 participants.  Some scholarships may be available. Request a scholarship application by email or phone.  Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

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New Workshop. Coming September 18th
Privilege and Oppression Awareness
In this workshop participants will have the opportunity for recognizing privilege and oppression in themselves, in a safe space, as a first step to combat them.

I want to register!

Date:            Thursday, September 18^th
Time:            6pm – 8:30pm (please be on time)

Location:       450 Mulberry St., Links Education Center,
National Civil Rights Museum
Wheelchair accessible

Cost:             $20-$45 Sliding scale.

Register here!

Registration online or by phone is required to attend. Limited to the first 8 people who register.  Some scholarships may be available. Request a scholarship application by email or phone.  Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

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New Workshop. Coming September 30th
The Labor Liberation Workshop

In this workshop we’ll explore the complexities of the labor movement in intersection with people’s diverse identities as workers and how they identify their personal histories and lives with the history of labor movement.

Who can attend this workshop? Workers, students, union members, and anyone who wants to learn about the labor movement! It’s for Everyone who would like to learn about their identity as a worker and how they can identify as a part of the labor workshop.

REGISTER HERE!

Date: Tuesday, September 30
Time: 6p.m. – 8p.m. Please, be on time.

Location: 450 Mulberry St Memphis TN 38103  Links Education Center, National Civil Rights Museum. Wheelchair accessible

*Minimum 12, maximum 20 participants who register.

Cost: $20-$45 Sliding scale.

Registration online or by phone is required to attend.
REGISTER NOW
Some scholarships may be available. Please request a scholarship application by email or phone.
Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

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For more information on anything happening with G.O.T. Power, MSPJC Training Department, please contact Training Director Gio López at gio@midsouthpeace.org or call the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center at 725-4990.

G.O.T. Power, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s training program, is committed to building our community’s capacity building skills in grassroots organizing, providing support to people doing community work and offering oppression awareness and liberation education.