News

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is coming to Memphis this Thursday and we are asking the entire community to come out and join us as we call on our local elected and appointed leaders in our criminal justice system to stay at work and not attend.

The appointment of Jeff Sessions represents a major step backwards in our criminal justice system and to positive oversight and reform efforts in police accountability. His previous remark on crime which included Memphis seeks to use our serous problems and capitalize on them to feed into fear and division and lead us further into the arms of the prison industrial complex.
Our local leaders parrot the same lines when they should be protecting us and speaking out with us.

Jeff Sessions and his President use terrorizing language and cruel policies towards our undocumented brothers and sisters, which divides families and destroys lives.
Yet our local leaders are silent on the matter or pass the buck.

Jeff Session believes that violence inflicted on our LGBTQ neighbors is not a hate crime and has a record of supporting repeatedly supported laws that criminalize LGBTQ activity, and using them to harass LGBTQ couples and individuals
Yet our local leaders are silent on the matter or pass the buck.

Untested Rape Kits is a national crisis and is a local one as well. Jeff Session voted against the Violence against Women’s Act THREE times and opposed RAPE being listed as a hate crime.
Yet our local leaders are silent on the matter or pass the buck.

This is a man whose pronounced racism urged Coretta Scott King to write the words “Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters. For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship.” …and here in the city where Coretta Scott King’s husband was murdered as we approach the 50th anniversary of his murder it is almost sacrilege that anyone who calls themselves a public servant for the people of Memphis to allow themselves to be used for a cheap media stop.

That is why we say he should not be welcomed here in the city where every issue we grapple with locally is either taking a step back or issues already ignored will continue to be ignored under a Sessions term as Attorney General.

We call on District Attorney Amy Weirich, Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham, Memphis Police Director Mike Rallings and our City and county Mayors Mark Luttrell and Jim Strickland to serve your community by staying at your jobs and do not legitimize this photo op with our presence.

We urge all of you to come and bring your issues.

This action is hosted by Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, NAACP, Sister Reach, Official Black Lives Matter, Coalition of Concerned Citizens, Memphis Grassroots Organization, Indivisible Memphis, Our Revolution901, Comunidades Unidas en Una Voz, Tennessee Young Democrats, P.E.R.L, M.B.R.U. and our community members!

Please share the Facebook event page and invite your friends and family. We are in this together!!

Join us on Thursday, May 11th, as we CONTINUE to watch the watchers!

Activists and community members fought long and hard to re-establish Memphis’ Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), to review cases deemed unsustained or unfounded by MPD’s Internal Affair. So far this year, FOUR cases have been sustained by CLERB in favor of civilian complaintants.

By ordinance, the police director has 10 days to respond publicly to these recomendations and explain what he will or will not do in response. Instead the Director waited until last Friday (14 business days later) to send his reponse, and it wasn’t encouraging.

Aside from some glaring factual errors contained within the letters, Director Rallings made it clear that he has no intention of taking CLERB’s recommendations into consideration, a slap in the face to complainants who have waited years for some semblance of justice.

We have heard the Director give frequent lip service to accountability and transparency, but his actions to the contrary speak much louder. This sends a message to the public and to police officers that this department has no interest in reform and that they will go above and beyond to protect dirty cops from oversight and accountability.

Last month, CLERB began hearing the case of Mr. Marcus Walker from 2011, when police beat and pepper sprayed him after a faulty LPR scanner flagged his car for “possible suspended license” This month CLERB will continue to hear this case.

Complainants like Mr. Walker have had to relive the traumatic experiences in the public eye, and have their character questioned as if they are the accused. They didn’t ask for that, they only asked for justice. Now, there’s not much assurance that Director Rallings will take any recommendations for reform or accountability under serious consideration. Please join us tomorrow, and help provide moral support to complainants like Mr. Walker.

Join us!  Thursday, May 11th, City Hall (125 N Main, 5th Floor)

4-6PM (Public Meeting, so come and go as you please)
#PoliceAccountability #WatchTheWatchers
****Free Parking on Mud Island Lot (Poplar & Front)****

Memphis Tent City Action brings awareness to lack of free shelters

On May 6, 2017, H.O.P.E., along side countless volunteers, leaders from other organizations like Fight for $15  and United campus workers, constructed a tent city in the middle of Morris park. The goal of the action was to increase community awareness, as well as the powers that be in Memphis, that we are in dire need of free shelters for single women, single men, LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.

H.O.P.E  won’t rest until we get the leaders in Memphis to listen to our outrage! We chose to do this action in conjunction with the Beale Street Music festival as a protest to it. We feel that between all of the money spent on BSMF and the potential Harbor Town dog park, could and should be rerouted to funding services for people experiencing homelessness in Memphis. We received a great response online as well as from passerbys that came through to see our tent city. However since it was at the same time as the music festival, we didn’t get much media coverage as we wanted. This being said, we plan to follow-up this action with several visits to City Hall to put more pressure on the council. Now is the time to get involved! Please look out for updates on when we will be attending the council meetings and show up with us to stand up for the unsheltered of Memphis!

Update: This workshop has reached capacity, but we are now accepting waiting-list only participants. In the event that someone cancels, individuals on the waiting-list in the order in which they reached out to us will be offered the former participant’s slot.

Community Organizing Skills Training explores with the participants the foundational skills to be organizers and create systematic change in a group or community, keeping nonviolence as a foundation.
This training will build knowledge and experience of core organizer skills in a hands-on, direct manner, while also drawing out the expertise that the group has within. The result is a training that is fully interactive and has direct application in each session.

Who should attend this Community Organizing Skills Training?
Experienced and less-experienced organizers,  activists, community leaders and any other people who wants to learn what ‘community organizing’ is about.

Topics covered include:
Intro to Organizing, Campaign Planning, Facilitating Meetings, Working with Media and Intro to Nonviolent Direct Action.

Where:  Location to be determined.

When: Friday, June 23: 6-9pm;

Saturday, June 24: 9am-5pm and

Sunday, June 25: 2-6:30pm

≈•≈•≈•≈•≈ No partial attendance allowed ≈•≈•≈•≈•≈

Cost*: If your annual income is:

Less than $15,000 You pay: $30

$15,000-$25,000: $50

$25,000-$35,000: $100

$35,000-$45,000: $150

$45,000-$55,000: $225

$55,000-$65,000: $300

Over $65,000: $375

Organizational Budget over $65,000: $375

Sliding scale based on the individual’s income.
If your organization is sending you to the training, use the organizational budget to determine the fee.
Please consider that it costs MSPJC $200 per person to do the training.
Fees includes 14+ hours of training, simple snacks, light breakfast and lunch on Saturday, materials and follow up support from a network of the mid-south best organizers and activists.

To get your name on the waiting list please email Gio Lopez. Her email is listed below.

*Some scholarships may be available, please request scholarship application by email or phone.
Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

For more information call 901-725-4990 or email to gio@midsouthpeace.org

Job Title: Organizing Coordinator
Reporting to: Organizing Director

Background:

Founded in 1982, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center (MSPJC) is a membership-based organization dedicated to organizing, strategizing and acting to educate and train new community leaders to drive campaigns of their own for racial, economic, environmental and social justice. We work to build the capacity of disenfranchised communities to organize movements that shift power and dismantle oppression

The Youth Organizer is responsible for coordinating various aspects of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center’s Juvenile Justice Project (JJP), with the goal of reducing youth recidivism in the Hickory Hill & Bartlett areas by eliminating barriers to young people completing their court ordered community service. This includes direct outreach and engagement to Identify, recruit and retain Churches, Community Organizations, Schools, Community Centers, etc as partners that will act as service sites for young people with with unserved court ordered community service hours. The Youth Organizer is also responsible for coordinating multiple conferences with workshop opportunities for both project partners and youth that will engage participants in education around topics like developing community organizing skills. This is a full time salaried position, 40 hours a week. Applicants must be competent in basic computer and communication skills. Knowledge of Excel, Word, Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, and prior experience in community organizing is a plus. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required. The position reports directly to the Organizing Director.

 

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Identify, recruit, & retain Service Site Partners for the JJP that will provide meaningful service opportunities for young people.

• Develop promotional materials for JJP.

• Regularly attend community events relevant to the constituency of the JJP as a means of networking and recruiting new partners.

• Provide regular updates about the progress of the JJP through social media bulletins and e-mail newsletters.

• Set up meetings to explain methods and goals of the JJP to potential Service Site Partners (Churches, Community orgs, etc).

• Assist Service Site Partners in developing ideas, concepts for “outside the box” community service projects.

• Generate database of Service Site Partners with all relevant contact info and service descriptions.

• Map Service Site Partners as a means of aiding Juvenile Court in placing young people with recruited Service Site Partners in proximity to their home addresses to eliminate mobility barriers.

• Coordinate and organize conference events to connect service partners and young people to community resources, and engage participants in community organizing workshops, as well as brainstorming sessions on alternative, neighborhood based community service projects.

 

GENERAL STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES:

Minimum Qualifications:

• All candidates must have a “can do” attitude, enjoy a fast-paced environment, be highly organized without losing sight of larger objectives, and be committed to justice and equality for all people across issues,identities, and communities.

• Excellent writing, verbal and interpersonal skills, including public speaking;

• Demonstrated ability to forge productive and healthy collaborations;

• Understanding and enjoyment of multifaceted advocacy that combines legislative strategy, grassroots organizing, media relations, policy analysis and coalition-building activities;

• Ability to think “big picture” as well as to translate ideas into realistic, actionable plans;

• Commitment and desire to work in a multi-cultural environment where diversity based on race, ethnic origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, physical ability, family status and other characteristics is an important and practiced value;

• Able to handle and appropriately prioritize multiple tasks in a timely and efficiently manner;

• Keen analytical skills, attention to detail, and ability to take initiative;

• Ability to collaborate on projects with staff from other departments, and a high level of personal investment in contributing to the priorities of the organization as a whole;

• Willingness to travel and work evenings and weekends as projects demand it;

• Experience developing and managing work plans as well as training, supervising, and developing interns and volunteers is preferred;

Demonstrated experience with local issues in Memphis is strongly preferred, specifically any experience with the criminal justice system and law enforcement is desirable.

Salary and Benefits:

Annual salary of $32,500 depending on experience for full time employment. Includes benefits including health care stipend,vacation, and sick leave.

The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is an equal opportunity employer. People of color, women, and transgender people are encouraged to apply.

To Apply:

Please forward via email a letter of interest, resume, and three references to Brad Watkins at (Brad@midsouthpeace.org).

Please include “Organizing Coordinator Position” in the subject line. Deadline: May 26th 2017, or until filled.

Join us on Thursday, May 11th, as we CONTINUE to watch the watchers!

Activists and community members fought long and hard to re-establish Memphis’ Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB), to review cases deemed unsustained or unfounded by MPD’s Internal Affair. So far this year, FOUR cases have been sustained by CLERB in favor of civilian complaintants.

We learned that as of Thursday, April 13, 2017, letters were sent to Memphis Police Director, Michael Rallings, outlining CLERB’s findings and recomendations in theses cases. By ordinance, the police director has 10 days to respond publicly to these recomendations and explain what he will or will not do in response.

Last Friday marked 10 full business days since the last CLERB meeting, when we were told these letters had been sent. By next Thursday’s meeting it will have been 19 full business days. In the meantime, we will be working to learn if Director Rallings has indeed complied with City Ordinance. The complainants in all of these cases have waited long enough, most of them years for some sort of answers, and we expect a satisfactory response by the next CLERB meeting.

Join us! Next Thursday, May 11th, City Hall (125 N Main, 5th Floor)
4-6PM (Public Meeting, so come and go as you please)
#PoliceAccountability #WatchTheWatchers
****Free Parking on Mud Island Lot (Poplar & Front)****

Dia Sin Inmigrantes La Huega Rally

On May 1st, meet us at Clayborne Temple at 5 PM to march to the National Civil Rights Museum. On this day immigrants and allies should not go to work, school or buy anything. We are going to make it clear that this country cannot function without immigrants. This is only the beginning of our struggle for permanent protection, dignity and respect.

Estaremos teniendo un rally por el dia sin inmigrantes que da inicio a una temporada de boycotts y huelgas.

For more information click here.