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You are here: Home / News

News

January 4, 2012 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Military Recruiter Information Sharing Opt-Out Form

Most parents are unaware that unless they opt-out of it, their high school age child’s personal information will be shared with military recruiters. This little known requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act can violate the privacy of your child without your knowing.

At the beginning of the school year, high schools are required by law to distribute information and forms on how you can opt-out of having your personal info given to the military. But in the rush of the start of school this may not happen correctly, or it may be missed in the pile of paperwork given to parents.

Download this form and return to your school or district administrator to ensure that you or your child are protected.

Military Recruiter Information Sharing Opt-Out Form

Filed Under: Reports & Publications

December 6, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

GrowMemphis Matures into Own Organization

gm_logoIt has been more than ten years since we helped plant the seeds of what is now a burgeoning local foods movement. In the summer of 2001, a lot at the corner of Douglass and Hamilton streets became the Orange Mound Community Garden. It was all the idea of Mrs. Alcine Arnett, a lifelong Orange Mound resident and Board member of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. From that original plot came the GrowMemphis Urban Garden program. It was officially launched in 2007 as a collaborative effort of the Center and three low-income neighborhoods across the city. It was all made possible by the vision of community residents and the financial support of the Assisi Foundation, Heifer Project International and Grace St. Lukes Church.

This idea that began in three communities in 2007 quickly sprouted gardens in a dozen neighborhoods by 2009 and over two dozen projects today. The organization was also fortunate to retain Josephine Alexander as its coordinator in 2009. She not only expanded the resources available to gardens considerably, but she launched important initiatives including: the Youth Market in the Mound, and the Shelby County Food Policy Working Group.

As the popularity of GrowMemphis grew we made the hard decision a few years ago to begin the process to transition it into its own organization. We felt its rapid growth and future potential would best benefit the community if it developed as its own entity. Not to say that we will not always support the work and mission of GrowMemphis, it is after all something that we helped shape these past four years. But we also know that you have to give things room to grow, literally and figuratively. GrowMemphis has already grown to prominence in the local foods movement, and we are excited about its future possibilities.

4208180524_093f9886d5The time for us to officially part ways will come at the end of this year. This is also unfortunately when Josephine leaves both organizations to become a full time farmer with her husband Randy. We are happy for her though and know that she will still be contributing to our work, just in a different way, by feeding it. This means that you will need to watch the news in the coming days as GrowMemphis makes the announcement of their next/first Executive Director.

We wish GrowMemphis the best as it moves forward in tackling food insecurity, local foods and healthy eating. We also wish Josephine the best and urge everyone to support her newest calling, Tubby Creek Farms. Also please make sure to connect with GrowMemphis through its new website, growmemphis.org.

Filed Under: News

December 6, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Dec. 17 :: 99% March :: Occupy4Memphis :: Join Us!!

99percent

On December 17th, the three month anniversary of the occupation movement, Memphians will join together and Occupy 4 Memphis.

At noon, rallies and vigils will be held at three locations, coordinated by ally groups. Participants should choose one location to converge on at noon.

  • Occupy4Memphis::Forrest Park, Union and Manasses. Issues- War at home and abroad. Organized by First Congregational Church, Veterans for Peace, and  the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.
  • Occupy the Banks:: Wells Fargo Bank, 42 S. Claybrook Street. Issues- Private Prison Divestment Campaign, CCA and Geo Group, big banks. Organized by TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Campaign, Youth for Youth, Communities United in 1 Voice/Comunidades Unidas en una Voz
  • Occupy the Streets:: Morris Park, Poplar Ave. and Manasses. Issues- Unsheltered. Organized by the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, the Homelessness Caucus of Occupy Memphis, and Manna House

_about-library-1666At 1pm Occupy the Banks will march down Union Ave. to Occupy the Streets, and then both groups will converge on Occupy4Memphis. All groups will continue together down Union to Main Street, convening at 2pm at the Occupy Memphis site at Civic Center Plaza for a General Assembly where we’ll hear from leaders of these issues. We will also have activities at the Occupy Memphis site for those who are unable or not wanting to march to occupy in their own way.

Filed Under: News

December 6, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Register Now :: Core Organizer Training:: January 20-22, 2012

GOTLogoMSPJC is offering our first Core Organizer Training in a weekend format January 20-22, 2012. If you’ve been wanting to take the training but can’t commit to the 8 week sessions, this is for you! You’ll receive the same 14 hours of training in the foundational skills of organizing, plus the many added benefits of taking the training and forming community in a more intensive setting. Read more information below and register here.

The Core Organizer Training teaches participants the foundational skills they need to be effective organizers and win on issues that are important to them. We are incorporating a new model of learning, one based on popular education and integrating experiential education. This allows people to learn in a hands-on, direct manner, while also drawing out the expertise that the individual already has within. The result is a training that is fully interactive and has direct application in each session. The Core Organizer Training is so new we highly recommend that even past G.O.T. Power graduates take this training, as completely new tools are used to teach the skills in a totally new way. Topics covered include: Intro to Organizing, Organizing your Community, Campaign Planning, Facilitating Meetings, Media, Transforming Conflict, and Direct Action.

What: Core Organizer Training. A maximum of 25 people will be trained in order for all to get individual support and for the maximum learning potential for the group.
When: Friday, Jan. 20: 6-9pm
Saturday, Jan. 21: 9am-5pm
Sunday, Jan. 22: 1-5pm
Where: Caritas Village, 2509 Harvard Avenue (map)
Cost: Sliding scale based on the individualʼs income. If your organization is sending you to the training, use the organizational budget to determine the fee. It costs MSPJC $200 per person to do the training. Fee includes over 14 hours of training, simple snacks and lunch on Saturday, and follow up support from a network of the mid-southʼs best organizers and activists.

If your annual income is…               You pay …
Less than $15,000              $30
$15,000-$25,000                $50
$25,000-$35,000                $100
$35,000-$45,000                $150
$45,000-$55,000                $225
Over $55,000                     $300

Registration:
Register online or call 725-4990.

100_0492MSPJC offers many workshops publicly, but we also offer our workshops to organizations and people working around a specific issue, with workshops tailored to meet the organization or group’s individual needs. We are able to offer one of our Core organizer workshops, or we can design a workshop to meet your organization or group’s specific needs. If you are interested in bringing MSPJC to your organization or group to do a workshop, please contact center@midsouthpeace.org.

Filed Under: News

December 5, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Youth Movement Circle:: A New Youth Organizing Movement in Memphis is Born!

The Youth Movement Circle will be coordinated entirely by its participants—all high school and college students representing youth constituencies throughout Memphis. The issues important to each constituency are the issues we will take action on using the collective power of the entire circle. Together our power is magnified. Together we make real change.

This is the mission statement for the Youth Movement Circle, a space for youth activists from organizations all across Memphis to team up to increase their organizing power. After months of planning, the Youth Movement Circle held its first meeting Saturday, December 3rd, at the National Civil Rights Museum. Eighteen youth and adults attended, each representing an organization in Memphis. The NAACP Youth Council, Stand for Children, Bridge Builders Change, Youth for Youth, the Progressive Student Alliance, and Facing History and Ourselves all sent delegates to the first meeting of what will become a space for Memphis-area youth to come together as one voice.

youth photoDespite the blocked traffic from the St. Jude Marathon, participants came eager to tell their stories and join in the movement to create real change in Memphis. The meeting started out with a chance for everyone to share a vision for his or her community, city, state, country, or world. Youth and adults spoke of a world where all undocumented students have access to education, where there is discussion amongst people of different beliefs, where youth can truly fight for their rights, where everyone has access to healthy food, where the undocumented can take action, where students and youth are represented better and more accurately in society, where a community is in place to help new immigrants adjust, where the community is informed and empowered, and where students can connect with the power of the Civil Rights Movement. Many of the participants’ visions overlapped, reinforcing the need for a space where youth can challenge injustice, not separately, but together as one cohesive and powerful unit.

The meeting then moved on to a discussion about the dynamics of power. We examined where we are on the power scale and how we can organize a movement to shift this scale. The group looked at how Occupy Wall Street is doing just that, as well as how the movement against corporate greed began. The youth then participated in a game called “Ten Chairs of Inequality,” meant to represent the unjust distribution of private wealth in the US.

All of this set the stage for the most important part of the meeting—a chance for the youth to speak about the problems they see in society. The issues named could all be traced back to one simple truth: a youth voice is sorely lacking in the discussions that decide the future of these same youth. From broad issues of inequality to specifics like passing the Dream Act, the group covered it all. The list, which includes the new Tennessee Voter Photo ID law, prison privatization, and the racial divides amongst youth, is a testament to why the Youth Movement Circle exists: youth know the problems that ail our society and are eager to do something about them.

Join the movement and stay connected by joining our Facebook group. Next meeting is set for January 7th. Look for more details soon!

Filed Under: News

December 4, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

2011 Memphis Homeless Survival Guide & StreetWatch

The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is thrilled to announce the completion of the 2011 Memphis Survival Guide (MSG.) MSG is a an updated version of our handheld user-friendly directory of all homeless service providers, runaway services, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, shelter and meal services offered in the City of Memphis.

Prison12_sizedThe guide also includes information on the Memphis/Shelby County Emergency Housing Partnership (260-HOME) as well as a daily schedule of meal services, including some maps and pictures to aid clients in finding the services that they need. We have included information about our friends at Food not Bombs and our discussion group for the homeless who are victims of harassment. As well as Grassroots Organizing Training (G.O.T. Power) program in hopes of helping the homeless to be able to effectively advocate and organize on their own behalf.

In the coming weeks, we will be working to distribute 5000 copies of this guide to various service providers, church congregations, neighborhood and community organizations and directly to those directly homeless themselves in the coming weeks.

This includes organizations and local government agencies who’s work also interacts with those who are unsheltered. This includes the Shelby County Public Defender’s office, Shelby County Division of Corrections, General Sessions Pre-Trial Services, Memphis Emergency Medical Services, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, and the American Red Cross.

Not only will this guide help those in need find the services they require, but we also feel it will help service providers by reducing the time they have to spend calling, searching and directing client groups that are outside of their scope of service to other providers. The clients will already know which providers do what and when.

Special thanks to Mairi Albertson with Memphis Housing and Community Development, and Nancy Bailey of the University of Memphis Tiger graphics. Peace and Justice Center Staff and interns, Gio Lopez and Jeremy Herman. Thank you all very much for your hard work.


StreetWatch Initiative

StreetWatch is a project of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center and a team from the Homelessness Caucus of Occupy Memphis to document potential cases of police harassment and highlight the harsh realities of life on the streets of Memphis.

This team of volunteers are all individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness and in the coming weeks, videos of observed instances will be uploaded to our YouTube channel.

This also serves as a potential joint organizing opportunity for H.O.P.E. and Occupy Memphis in preventing/combating the rumored upcoming police sweep of those experiencing homelessness in the Downtown/medical district area that happens almost every holiday season.

Filed Under: News

November 29, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Comprehensive Retribution and Rehabilitation Program Report

This report was prepared by the MSPJC led Coalition Against Private Prisons in 2005 takes an initial look at the costs of privatization of services in the criminal justice system in Shelby County and looks at opportunities to be fiscally responsible by stopping future privatization and returning currently privatized services to public control.

Comprehensive Retribution and Rehabilitation Program Report

Filed Under: Reports & Publications

November 28, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

People First: Binghampton – Fighting Blight with Art

heidelberg-project4-500x375People First is a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center supported partnership with residents and activists working in the Binghampton community to raise voter turn out during elections and assist in long term resident-driven grassroots community organizing after the elections end.

For the past four months our team of activists and Binghampton residents have been canvassing door to door, talking with …residents and neighbors about the issues that they care about. Moving forward People First seeks to engage and organize residents from all races and religions across the Binghampton community to collectively address the needs of the neighborhood as well as ensure all redevelopment efforts in the area have real front end resident and community input. We have already hosted a candidate forum, a neighborhood BBQ and have just finished our second monthly meeting with area residents, talking about issues of the community and planning long term organizing for positive action….but..it’s not all about meetings…it’s about building community.

Upcoming Events – People First – Blight Art Project

This committee is working to recruit artists, volunteers and seeking painting supplies to covert the vacant,boarded up house at 2514 Harvard into a beautiful  artistic expression of the Binghampton community.

This committee met met Monday November 28th and Monday December 5th to  begin the initial planning work for this project. The core idea was originally to turn the house into a mural of sorts, but later was decided that due to the subjective nature of art..that this ran the risk of alienating area residents which is the opposite intention of this project. Thus it was decided to take a simpler approach.

The core idea is to pain the exterior of the house, and use the boards over the windows and doors to paint windows looking inside a home where a family might live. To create an image replacing a blighted vacant with a house lived in by a family. Thus the artists involved would be able to focus on the various views inside this conceptual home in their own style while painting the rest of the exterior in a manner that would make the place attractive objectively to the community as a whole.

We are currently working to recruit more artists, volunteers and are seeking paint and painting supplies, ladders, scaffolding, rags and drop cloths to covert the vacant,boarded up house at 2514 Harvard into a beautiful expression of the Binghampton community.

We have set a TENTATIVE DATE for this action for Saturday Dec 10th from 10am-4-5pm. that will also involve cleaning of trash and debris from the property as well and possibly patching a gap in the rear fence.

Those interested in volunteering in this project should contact Brad Watkins, Organizing Director at brad@midsouthpeace.org   Or call at 901-725-4990. check us out on our Facebook page.

Filed Under: News

November 28, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Join the movement :: Become a Member

flyercoverAs a community this is a time that we give thanks for the gifts we have in our life. One gift that we are particularly thankful for is the gift of resistance. For almost 30 years we have given voice and cultivated power amongst those that wish to resist injustice and work for peace.

This work is featured in a cover story in this week’s Memphis Flyer. We like the title, “Peace, Justice & the Mid-South Way” because it represents the unique approach to community building, grassroots activism and nonviolent resistance that grounds our work at the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.

If you are already a member we thank you and ask that you consider forwarding this message on to five friends. If you are not a member, I am writing to ask that you become a member and join our work. We cannot do it without you!

When our community stands together and speaks with a clear unified voice change happens. Make a difference and transform our community.

Join the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center!

There is no minimum amount for membership. We value your participation above all else.

Benefits of Membership

  • A membership card and member bumper-sticker to show your commitment to the community.
  • The opportunity to be heard on issues you care about; we help you connect with otherswho care about the same issues, so that you can form coalitions to become stronger.
  • Assistance of trained community organizers who know how to help you win.
  • Access to reputable research and the information you need to move forward on your issues.
  • Leadership development opportunities; as a member you can take part in trainings and national conferences that prepare you to take action both locally and nationally.
  • Newsletters, action alerts, and fact sheets on our current issues.
  • A voice in setting the direction of the MSPJC. We believe in a hands-on approach to running our organization. Every member has a vote at our Annual Meeting.
  • The power that comes from thousands of members standing together and fighting for justice.

Become a member now and join this movement that is engaging, organizing and mobilizing our community for the positive changes that we want to see in our community!

NEW-LOGO-4WebWe know that the only way we will achieve social change is by building movements comprised of those that are most affected by social problems in our society. This is why it is so important for you to become a member. It is not just about raising money, it is about building an inclusive organization that is representative of all the communities in Memphis. While politicians argue with each other and focus their attention on everything but the needs of low-income communities, we are training and organizing grassroots leaders to lead campaigns of social, economic, and racial justice. We are working to build a movement of those that suffer the most, yet have the least input in decisions that directly affect their lives. That’s why movement building is a permanent effort: in both good times and bad, we always need to build the next push for change—leader by leader, community by community.

Become a leader, represent your community. Join the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center!

In our 2010 Program Report you will see the positive effect that your contributions have in our community. For almost 30 years we have been engaging and training grassroots community leaders to lead campaigns of racial, economic, environmental and social justice.

Will you become a member and join our work building a movement for positive social change in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee and across this nation?

Peace in the struggle for justice!

Jacob Flowers
Executive Director

Filed Under: News

November 18, 2011 by Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

Dolores Huerta – 2011 Gandhi-King Conference

Filed Under: Videos

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