Madeline Estes

“WE WANT SHELBY COUNTY TO TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTION:

1. Immediately take back Shelby County’s request for the U.S. Department of Justice to end its federal monitoring of Shelby County Juvenile Court.

2. Strengthen the community oversight group and seek input from the broader community on ending the court’s discrimination against black children.

3. Appoint a new county settlement agreement manager (to replace the manager who recently retired) who will report progress directly to the Shelby County Commission.

4. Continue to monitor and collect data as required in the original agreement with the DOJ. Publish the data in an easily accessible and understandable format.”

Read the full campaign and signt the petition here.

Show up and show out for increased bus service at MATA’s upcoming board meeting! On Tuesday, June 27 at 3:30 PM, the MATA board will be voting on upcoming service changes, including the new 31 Firestone route that will serve North Memphis and Midtown. Come out and speak in favor of the 31 Firestone, which brings MBRU closer to obtaining our goal of reinstating the full 31 Crosstown Route! Board meetings are held at MATA Headquarters, 1370 Levee Rd.

After working on your skills at the GOT POWER training, come party with us at the annual Juneteenth celebration! MBRU will also be co-sponsoring United Campus Workers’ Juneteenth Celebration this Saturday, June 24 from 5-8 PM. Come down to the IBEW Union Hall at 1870 Madison Ave. for food, fellowship, and music with our friends and community partners!

We’re coming together to celebrate the defeat of slavery–the greatest human and economic rights victory in this country’s history!
Food, fellowship and music! Bring a side dish & BYOB.

With special guest speaker Ashley Henderson, co-director of the Highlander Center, and leader in the Movement for Black Lives. 

Want to learn more about Juneteenth? http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-is-juneteenth/
Contact UCW organizer Jayanni if your organization or group would be interested in co-sponsorship!jayanni@ucw-cwa.org

Children are welcome and childcare will be provided by Memphis Advocates for Radical Childcare.

Help us in supporting a long time member and volunteer, Tommy Foster. Your generous donation can help relieve Tommy’s overwhelming medical debt!

As those of us who know him can tell you (and who doesn’t know Tommy?) he is a multimedia artist and endlessly creative entrepreneur. He brought Java Cabana to the Cooper-Young neighborhood along with his First Church Of Elvis Impersonators and the Viva Memphis Wedding Chapel where he solemnized over 500 marriages. He’s also the father of Memphis artist and activist Bennett Foster.

Tommy has stage 4 Metastatic (it has spread from where it originated) poorly differentiated (this means it is immature, this is not something we favor) adenocarcinoma (the type of cells in that are cancerous) and has spread to the bone.

Recently, Tommy’s cancer spread to his liver.

Though he has undergone chemo, raditation and an experimental treatment, including Keytruda fusions at the West Clinic, they have had no effect. He finished a 3rd round of radiation on his pelvis in May. He is no longer able to walk without a walker, or drive a car, let alone earn an income. Medical bills from treatments and high prescription costs are piling up, and Medicare doesnt come close to covering these expenses.

Tommy wants to thank you all for the love you’ve shown him throughout this battle. He will keep fighting with your continued support.

To make a donation to help the Foster family please click the link below:
https://www.gofundme.com/tommy-fosters-medical-fund

Help us welcome Faith Pollan, the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center‘s newest team addition!

Faith Pollan was born in Lakeland, FL and grew up in Memphis. She graduated from Christian Brothers University in 2012 with a Bachelors in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. Faith became involved with the Green Party of Shelby County as well as phone banking efforts for Tami Sawyer during the 2016 election cycle. She has served as the events committee chair for the Memphis Feminist Collective since the winter of 2016. In the fall of 2016, Faith formed the Mid-South Reproductive Rights Coalition in an effort to better unify volunteer efforts for local sexual health organizations. She recently joined the MSPJC team as a community organizing coordinator as part of the Juvenile Justice Project.

MATA Public Input – New 31?

“MATA is hosting a public meeting tonight at the Benjamin Hooks Library to gather your input on new service changes, including a partial restoration of the 31 Crosstown. MBRU will be there to speak on the record in favor of the new 31, and of expanding the proposal to fully restore service.

If you are not able to attend, you can still help. Please send your comments for the full restoration of the 31 Crosstown to MATA’s transit planners via email, post, or phone!

(Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1826288477699188/)

We also have a general meeting coming up on June 10th, from 12-2 PM at the Cossitt Library! We’ll be discussing the ongoing 31 campaign and our plans for the summer. Hope you can make it!”

PERL has a general interest meeting TOMORROW, May 25 from 6-7 at the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center.

We welcome anyone to attend, especially if you have concerns about sexual violence in the community. At the meeting we will work on our community action plan to hold the Memphis Police Department accountable for its handling of sex crimes.

To RSVP for PERL’s General Meeting on Facebook, click here.

Also, don’t forget about PERL’s bi-weekly peer support group meetings, open to all victims of sexual assault and rape, happening at the same location @ 6PM. Below is the schedule for these particular meetings.

On May 23, MBRU held a “31 Crosstown Lobby Day” at City Hall, where we presented more than 2,000 petition signatures (and counting!) to the Memphis City Council. Members of the City Council have shown a lot of support for the route, and Councilwoman Swearengen even called it “a slap in the face” of citizens not to bring the route back. Thank you to all our members and allies who showed up, showed out, and helped with rides!

Coming up, we’ll be taking our campaign to the Benjamin L. Hooks Library on May 31, where MATA will hold an input meeting for their latest proposed service changes from 5-7 PM. Come out, speak out, and show your support for the full restoration of the 31 Crosstown! If you are not able to attend, you can still help. Please send your comments for the full restoration of the 31 Crosstown to MATA’s transit planners! You can contact them via email at: publiccomments@matatransit.com

To RSVP via the Facebook event page, click here.