Madeline Estes

≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈ Please Let Us Know What You Think ≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈•≈

The Training Department of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center (G.O.T. Power) would like to hear from the movement community. We want to know what you think about us and how we could better support your work or group! Please take a couple minutes to complete this short survey. This survey is for everyone, whether you have attended a workshop or not! Feel free to list your name or remain anonymous.

G.O.T Power Survey

Upcoming Workshops and Trainings

Online Registration will open soon. For question regarding registration, please email to GotPower@midsouthpeace.org

G.O.T Power Calendar 2018!

Grassroots Organizer Training for Power (GOT Power), Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s training program, is committed to building our community’s capacity through building skills in grassroots organizing, providing support to people doing community work and offering oppression awareness and liberation education.

Our method of education is Popular and Direct Education. Direct education means education that directly confronts and challenges the current system of injustice, which includes traditional education. Rather than traditional education, which gives all the expertise to textbooks and teachers, Direct Education invites the expertise of the people themselves. Direct Education is about liberation and empowerment — going to the direct source of wisdom: the community itself!

Please contact us to get more information and schedule a training in your group or community. Fees are negotiable, scholarships are available and donations for scholarships are greatly appreciated.

Trainings can be designed specifically for established groups, organizations, campaigns, coalitions, etc. Comprehensive weekend workshops on specific organizing skill sets, issue or community-specific formats are available.

Trainings in Spanish are also available. All trainings are offered in English or Spanish as requested. We work and collaborate with bilingual trainers and facilitators.

G.O.T Poder – Entrenamientos en Español

For more information visit G.O.T.Power or write to GotPower@midsouthpeace.org

The Memphis Bus Riders Union is a grassroots organization fighting for accessible, affordable, and equitable public transit in our city. Our members are people who depend on MATA and supporters, and our work is essential for highlighting the racism and classism present in Memphis’ grossly inadequate bus system. 

Happy New Year, transit warriors! Before we celebrate 2017 at the Anniversary Gala, we’ll be hard at work planning for the year ahead. Our first meeting of the year will be on January 13th from 12 to 2 PM, at the Memphis Center for Independent Living (1633 Madison)! You can get there on the #2 bus route. Because the Cossitt Library is closed for renovations, keep an eye on our newsletter for upcoming meeting locations!

We’ll also be downtown this Monday, January 15th, at 9 AM for the annual MLK Day Parade! Dr. King’s legacy includes important work around the racism and classism of public transit in the South, and we’re happy to come out and celebrate that legacy every year. We’ll meet at the little park on Main Street & A.W. Willis, next to the North End Terminal. Find the Teamsters’ event page on Facebook here.

In the past week, MBRU has been following the current fight around Kroger.  Kroger has recently announced the closing of two stores in South Memphis and Orange Mound, communities that have also suffered from insufficient bus service. Without these stores, many people will have to travel farther for things like fresh produce, and these closings show how many parts of our city have little or no access to the resources they need to thrive. Please support the efforts of residents organizing in these communities! Follow this event page by JUICE Orange Mound to hear about what residents there are planning.

Finally, if you haven’t taken Memphis 3.0’s Transit Vision survey, you can find it here! We want to make sure that the voices of bus riders are heard as the City prepares a long-term plan for MATA services. 

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MBRU holds meetings on the 2nd Saturday of each month. If you have any questions, or you’re interested in joining our work, contact organizer Justin Davis at justin@midsouthpeace.org. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see more updates!

Throughout 2018, The Klondike Smokey City Community Outreach Team will focusing on arming the KSC Neighborhood with Rights and Policy Awarenesses that will address the immediate needs of their families which will also address the outside barriers that directly affect students attendance, behavior, and course performance.

The Whole Child Strategy is an initiative that focuses on how to solve the growing trend of poor attendance, behavior and course performance.  Whole Child is dedicated to working with communities to develop capacity and identify resources and long-term sustainable solutions necessary to ensure that students arrive at school ready to learn and succeed. The Klondike Smokey City Neighborhood is the pilot for the Whole Child Strategy initiative. To lead the efforts, Whole Child has formed an implementation Team, (The I-Team),  informally know in the Klondike Smokey City Neighborhood as the Community Outreach Team. The team is made up of a Neighborhood Facilitator, a Neighborhood Meeting Specialist and a Neighborhood Organizer.

The purpose of the I-Team is to promote civic engagement by developing strategies to recruit diverse members of the community for the purpose of participating in the neighborhood meetings, as well as create awareness about  Whole Child Strategy Inc. Starting in the month January, the team will  focus on Community capacity building through a Know Your Rights and Policy Awareness Series that will marry the needs of the community and the immediate needs of the families. The goal is to let community members see that attending monthly neighborhood meetings will not be a waste of their time.

During the September 2017 Neighborhood Meeting, the participants compiled a list of barriers that contribute to the attendance problem. One outside barrier that was unanimously agreed upon was transportation. To give a solution to this barrier, we are inviting representatives from Shelby County Schools, The Achievement School District, The Bus Riders Union and RyeCatcher to give meeting participants information that can aid in a solution for the transportation issue. Representatives from SCS, the ASD and the BRU will share transportation options and Arthie of RyeCatcher will present the need and benefits of asset mapping. With the information presented during the January 25th meeting attendees will be equipped with the information they can use to obtain more routes for school bus pick up as well as restore the routes to the 31.

The KSC Neighborhood meetings are at Dave Wells Community Center every 3rd Thursday of every month. Keep an eye out in the newsletter for more information about the project. If you have any questions, or you’re interested in joining our work, contact organizer Cassandra M. Smith at cassandra@midsouthpeace.org.

The Juvenile Justice Project of Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is looking for adults with court ordered community service who have a passion for the future of our youth. Get all of your hours taken care of through canvassing, PTA/PTO meetings, teaching young people their constitutional rights, and so much more!

We are also looking to build a youth council for young people interested in influencing the future of Hickory Hill. If you are in middle or high school and have a passion for the future of your neighborhood and community we are looking for you. We hope this council will be a combination of youth who have been involved with the juvenile justice system as well as other interested teens. This is a great way to get service hours and make a difference.

The JJP is working with Juvenile Court to build networks of churches and organizations to address our high number of youth offenders and the lack of opportunities for court ordered community service, specifically in the areas of Hickory Hill & Bartlett. We believe that youth are the solution, not the problem so we work with these teens to help them find their place in their​  communities through transformative service opportunities. Studies continue to show that punitive measures often lead to a continued life of crime as opposed to seeking more rehabilitative opportunities, MSPJC firmly adheres to the idea of working with those most affected by the issues. Help us build a better Memphis and partner with our youth.

If this interests you contact Faith Pollan at faith@midsouthpeace.org or at 901-725-4990.

The end of the year is quickly approaching. It is a time for reflection, and a time for recommitment to the movement for Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice. As we close out 2017 (and what a year it has been), many are finishing up last minute shopping and charitable giving. Many of us are  looking forward to taking some well deserved time for rejuvenation, to prepare for the work ahead, so that we can be energized, despite the challenges we know 2018 will bring.

There’s still time to give a few gifts that don’t necessarily come in bows or festive wrapping. Here’s a list of 5 gifts you can give Peace & Justice before the end of 2017.

1. Give The Gift Of HOPE, Help Feed the Movement!

Each and every week, members of Homeless Organizing for Power & Equality (HOPE) meet at Memphis Center for Independent Living (1633 Madison Avenue) to fellowship, share their struggles, and plan ways the group can raise the issues of those most affected by Memphis’ unaddressed housing crisis. For many groups and organizations offering free food at meetings is a nice bonus for their attendees, but for H.O.P.E. it is a necessity, due to the fact that most often the meal offered at H.O.P.E. meetings may be the only meal they will have that day.

You can help by committing to making a monthly donation of  prepared foods one of our weekly Wednesday meetings. Don’t have time to cook or buy prepared foods and bring them to our meeting space? We also accept monetary donations towards this cause. As always, all forms of donations are completely tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Also, BIG Thanks to Marcos Pizza on Madison Ave for feeding the movement once a month by providing pizza! If you would like to discuss how you can offer support to HOPE please call Tamara @ 901-254-5964 or email tamara@midsouthpeace.org.

2. Send the Mayor a Christmas Carol For The Cause

Mid-South Peace & Justice Center has been working for months to get answers from the Strickland Administration concerning a database that may contain your protected healthcare information.
The City now says that there is no written policy on MPD’s practice of placing “hazard indicators” or “premise advisories” on addresses at certain locations that MPD deems “hazardous.” Last week, we placed “Community Hazard Indicator” placards at the headquarters for both the Memphis Police Department and the Mayor, declaring them HAZARDS for failure to be transparent and accountable to the public.

The City should release a policy that governs this practice and ensures that the public knows how their private information is being used by the department.

Make sure the Mayor doesn’t forget this over the holiday break! Just copy & paste the christmas carol below in an email to jim.strickland@memphistn.gov . If you’re feeling particularly festive, call and sing it to him: (901) 636.600:

We Want A Hazard Policy For Memphis
(to the tune of I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas)

We want a Hazard Policy for Memphis!
Only a detailed policy will do!
No talking points–no hyperbole–
A detailed Hazard Policy is what we need to see!

We want a Hazard Policy for Memphis!
To protect our private health-care info too!
There’s not a policy, but there really ought to be,
Release one for the sake of account-a-bility!

We want a Hazard Policy for Memphis!
We’ve been waiting far too long it’s true!
To ensure there’s no abuse, we need to know the truth
Release a policy at once, no need to be obtuse!

Release a Hazard Policy for Memphis
a process for appeal, We’d like to see!
We want a Hazard Policy for Memphis,
Cause We deserve account-a-bility!

3. You Can’t Go Wrong With Pizza!

Pizza Rev is helping Mid-South Peace & Justice Center RAISE SOME DOUGH!
On Saturday, December 23rd, 20% of your restaurant purchases will support MSPJC if you just mention Mid-South Peace & Justice Center at the register.

This fundraiser is valid at both Memphis Pizza Rev locations, but during lunch hours at the Wolfchase location, we’ll also be selling NECESSARY TROUBLEMAKER ($25) and OTHER MSPJC T-SHIRTS ($20).

The Wolfchase Pizza Rev is across from the Wolfchase Mall. You can find it in between AT&T and Chick-fil-A — in the same shopping center as Best Buy.

The address of the second Pizza Rev location is 6450 Poplar Ave.

Invite your friends to this event on facebook!

4. Rosa ‘Round The Corner! Give The Gift of Tickets!
Join the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center this January as we celebrate 36 years of people-powered change, with a keynote address from organizer, journalist, scholar, and former Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Rosa Clemente.

Rosa has been a prominent figure in Black and Latinx struggles throughout her long career. From her central role in the world of hip-hop activism, to her research on Black and Brown liberation movements, to her Vice Presidential run in 2008, Clemente understands that we should be fighting for social change on all fronts. According to legendary rap artist and activist Chuck D, “Rosa speaks from the heart with truth, fire, and passion. She is one of this generation’s most important political voices and community organizers.”

On January 13, 2018, help us kick off the new year at First Congregational Church as we continue to do what we’ve always done: engage, organize, and mobilize for a better Memphis. Tickets are on sale now–get yours TODAY!

Get Tickets TODAY: https://midsouthpeace.org/event/living-legacy-nonviolence-2018-anniversary-gala/

Become a Sponsor: https://midsouthpeace.org/sponsor-living-legacy-nonviolence-2018-anniversary-gala/

5. Give the Gift of Justice!

Have you considered giving a donation to Mid-South Peace and Justice Center in honor of those on your gift list? When you do, we’ll send your loved one a personal holiday card to inform them of the contribution you made in their name along with information about MSPJC!

This holiday season choose the gift that gives back!

Use this link for easy and purposeful holiday shopping:midsouthpeace.org/donate

Simply follow the link above, choose a donation amount, choose the in honor of option, then input the recipient of the holiday card’s name and address. It’s that easy!

Everyone please take a moment to watch the video, Puerto Rico Rising, sent to us by Rosa Clemente about the current state of the families in Puerto Rico post Hurricane Maria. As of Dec. 4th, the death toll has been reported that over 1,000 women, children, and men have died POST Hurricane Maria, and that number is still expected to rise due to the lack of aid, support, and accurate reporting.

Putting Puerto Rico Back On The Map
Puerto Rico is experiencing a devastating humanitarian crisis. However, the mainstream news media has all but neglected the story, with data from Media Cloud, a database that collects news published on the Internet every day, showing that the devastation in Puerto Rico is getting relatively little attention from digital and cable news outlets compared to its coverage on Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. (Read More)

The Current Narrative
In Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory of 3.4 million, the people are hungry, homeless and dying. The situation is dire, and, per San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, with many towns without potable water, communication or transportation to major cities, it is only getting worse. Despite this reality, the federal government and mainstream news media alike have alleged that the situation is getting better, that it is a “good news story,” as Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke described it just last week.

There is nothing “good” about the disaster plundering Puerto Rico. This is a crisis of many facets: humanitarian, environmental, economic and political. (Read More)

What’s Missing
There is a public health crisis due to the precarious conditions in hospitals and the threat of epidemics stemming from contaminated water. Cities, towns and neighborhoods outside the metropolitan area have been abandoned. What is missing from many of those reports is coverage from the western part of the island and concrete information of plans and immediate, achievable initiatives to move the country ahead, as well as an ongoing plan. Explanations are necessary for why relief has been so slow and insufficient.

The Team
We have put together a team of Puerto Rican and Latinx journalists and media professionals to tell these unreported stories from an independent lens, to investigate why efforts to reach, house, feed and clothe Puerto Ricans are unsuccessful, to highlight the conditions in the western part of the island, to hear the people’s response to the slow and inadequate aid from the U.S. and to obtain information on plans for relief and rebuilding. (Read More)

What Will We Deliver
Together, the team will travel the small island and speak with the people devastated and the local organizations offering relief to guarantee several deliverables:
• We will work with various outlets, including The Intercept, Truthout, mitú, The Root, GRIT Tv, Rising Up and more, to push news items about unreported municipalities
• Make an educational and social media toolkit
• Produce a 15-minute short film on the crises, which will also act as a fundraising tool for a feature-length project
• Produce a full-length documentary, to be produced under Clemente’s Know Thy Self Productions, looking at the island’s progress, or lack thereof, over time and how the people’s politics about its colonial status may shift as a result.

How can YOU help? 
Watch the documentary centering the community of Loiza: Puerto Rico Rising, share it with your network of friends, family, and/or community partners, and donate to support the work of the journalists on the ground bringing awareness to the devestation and need of the families in Puerto Rico.

Video: http://pronthemap.com/

Donation Link: https://www.gofundme.com/reportreimaginerevive-puerto-rico

https://midsouthpeace.org/2017/12/08/2471/

https://midsouthpeace.org/2017/11/13/2467/

The Memphis Bus Riders Union is a grassroots organization fighting for accessible, affordable, and equitable public transit in our city. Our members are people who depend on MATA and supporters, and our work is essential for highlighting the racism and classism present in Memphis’ grossly inadequate bus system. 

Wanna learn about transit justice? Come to our meeting THIS Saturday, November 11, from 12 to 2 PM! This month, we’ll hear from Innovate Memphis about long-term plans for MATA, update folks on our 31 Firestone outreach, and talk about the work of riders unions across the country. We’ll meet at the Cossitt Library, 33 S. Front Street–you can get there on the #4, 12, 13, or 39 bus. Hope to see you there!

This past Friday, MBRU did a service plunge with the Kinney Economic Justice Program at Rhodes College! We took a ride on the new 31 route and talked about our work and the current state of Memphis transit. Kinney is the center for community service at Rhodes, and students work on a wide range of issues–from Hunger & Homelessness to Mentoring & Education. We look forward to working more with Rhodes students in the future!

We also got to see ourselves on the big screen at Indie Memphis! Robert Rowan followed one of our co-chairs in the middle of the 31 Crosstown campaign for his short film, “Get Off the Bus.” The whole night featured short films by Memphians that speak to the social forces affecting our city. Thanks for taking an interest in our fight! We’ll let people know if the film becomes available for public viewing.
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MBRU holds meetings on the 2nd Saturday of each month. If you have any questions, or you’re interested in joining our work, contact organizer Justin Davis at justin@midsouthpeace.org.