Mid-South Peace & Justice Center

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Bring Back Our 31 Crosstown!

GREETINGS TRANSIT WARRIORS!

The RIDER newsletter is currently under construction. We apologize for our absence and for the bad formatting. We will be back to normal by the end of the week!

In the mean time:

Join ATU Local 713 and the Memphis Bus Riders Union as we launch our campaign to restore the 31 Crosstown!

The Memphis Bus Riders Union and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 713 are launching a new campaign with a petition to restore the 31 Crosstown, a historic bus route eliminated by Memphis Area Transit Authority in 2013. The two groups represent hundreds of MATA drivers and riders who say that “the route was a lifeline” for under served neighborhoods in North and South Memphis.

The campaign hopes to revive MATA’s ridership by restoring the service that current riders want. Willie Barber, Business Agent for Local 713 says that public opinion of MATA can be repaired by reinstating the 31.

“Any bus rider will tell you how important this route is. MATA’s own reports show the 31 Crosstown had the third highest daily ridership of all the routes, about 2,600 passengers a day. Because it went into the neighborhoods of Riverside and New Chicago, areas where many households have no vehicle, and connected those residents with resources as well as other major routes in Midtown.” he said.

 

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Join the Fight to Save Bus Service!

This month, MBRU will NOT be meeting at the Cossitt Library. Instead we’ll be joining ATU Local 713 at a town hall meeting to discuss how bus cuts and route consolidation negatively affect underserved communities in Memphis. The town hall will take place from 11 AM to 1:30 PM at Gaston Community Center, 1046 South Third Street.  
Thousands of citizens in Memphis rely on bus service to get to school, work, medical care, and other daily needs. In the past decade, the removal of bus routes like the 31 Crosstown have disproportionately affected low-income and historically black neighborhoods like New Chicago and Riverside, where the need for public transit is most pressing.
“Any time you remove infrastructure from a community, you kill the neighborhood, and then you force people into poverty. We need transportation, and we need these communities to be vibrant.” –ATU local rep Terry Moss
ATU Local 713 represents MATA’s bus and trolley operators, mechanics, laborers, and information specialists. We partnered with ATU this past April for our #BusCrisis campaign seeking more city funding for new buses, which resulted in a $7.5 million increase for MATA’s budget this fiscal year. Now, we’re setting our sights on restoring bus service in areas like North and South Memphis, where cuts have most affected quality of life for black residents.
“It’s just a lose-lose situation for the public when we’ve got to get out theres and routes are constantly being cut.” –ATU local rep Fred Williams
We hope to see you there!

*Remember that we are NOT meeting at Cossitt Library this month. Please help spread the word!

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Finally, Justice for Gobal Ministries!

Finally, Justice for Global Ministries Foundation!

Federal Agents Execute Search Warrant at Global Ministries Foundation Headquarters & Other Properties (click the previous link to read the Commercial Appeal article)

We have been warning our leaders about this….‪#‎DryKatrina‬

Consider that this relocation is going on at the SAME TIME as hundreds of tenants from the Warren and Tulane apartments are also receiving vouchers as well. Significant numbers of residents from Warren,Tulane and Foote are still struggling to find alternative housing..and for what? As we warned…consider the absurdity that we are preparing to destroy hundreds of units of housing during a potential housing crisis.

We call for a delay in the planned demolition of Foote homes until all residents at FOOTE,WARREN AND TULANE have been able to safely relocate and further that such demolition be delayed until the promised 448 NEW units of HUD subsidized housing replacing Warren and Tulane is set up and online.

Gentrification is not just a word..but it’s a form of economic oppression that has REAL and lasting negative impact on the lives of families….and usually families of color.‪#‎RenterPower‬!

-Renters Rights Project

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Get Out the Vote Workshop

How can you and your neighbors effectively organize to make sure the candidates are embracing your issues? At the GOTV training you will learn how to organize a Get Out The Vote operation in your own neighborhood.

The City of Memphis elections for Mayor, City Council and City Court Clerk are but a few months away and across the city candidates for office are gearing up their campaigns and seeking your support.

  • How can you and your neighbors effectively organize to make sure the candidates are embracing your issues?
  • How can you and your community create your own agenda and how can you and your community turn out the vote to ensure victory?
  • How can you and your community most effectively support the candidate of your choice?

At the GOTV training you will learn how to organize a Get Out The Vote operation in your own neighborhood.

You will receive training in all the basic skills that you will need to be able to effectively..

  • Register Voters
  • Door-To-Door Canvassing
  • Phone Banking
  • Precinct Organizing

Your community’s vote is part of your community’s power. Use it and the candidates will come to you seeking YOUR SUPPORT.

Date: Thursday, July 30th

Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Please be on time.
Location: 450 Mulberry St. Memphis, TN 38103  Links Education Center, National Civil Rights Museum. Wheelchair accessible
Cost: $20-$45 Sliding scale.

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For Know Your Rights Theatre, Memphis United collects surveys from over 600 young people

Over this summer, we facilitated 30 Know Your Rights Theatre workshops with hundreds of young people across the city of Memphis.

These free workshops educate young people about their rights and demystify encounters with law enforcement.  By teaching young people how to safely and respectfully interact with police, our programming makes our community safer for both civilians and police.  And unlike traditional education that lectures students but does not engage them, Know Your Rights Theatre lets students participate in the lesson, which makes them want to learn and helps them retain what they learn.

How do we know Know Your Rights Theatre works so well?

We have gathered more than 600 evaluations by young people aged 5-19 who participated in our workshops.

Here are some things young people told us about Know Your Rights Theatre:

— “I liked that the students were able to participate instead of them just lecturing us.”

— “I like the fact that they broke down our rights with a visual.”

— “It was relevant to things happening currently.”

— “It actually showed through skits how we could use our rights.”

— “[I learned] statements such as ‘Am I being detained?’ and ‘I will exercise my right to remain silent.’”

— “It was entertaining, yet educational.”

We hope to expand this programming into the fall.  Please contact us to schedule a workshop for your organization.

Memphis United is a project of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.  To sustain our work, please click here. 

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Mark Your Calendars! Summer Public Workshops

Community organizer training is about unveiling the mainstream power dynamics that exist to keep marginalized people “in their place,” and then realizing that we have the power to bring those dynamics into balance.
We can’t and shouldn’t sit back and wait for those in authority to make changes for us. We know best what our communities need. The most powerful and lasting way for change to occur is by doing it ourselves.
Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s training program,Grassroots Organizer Training for Power, expands our community’s capacity to create social change through building skills in grassroots organizing, providing support to people doing community work, and offering oppression awareness and liberation education.
What can we offer you?
  • Trainings and workshops can be designed specifically for any kind of group in a variety of formats including comprehensive weekend workshops on specific issues and skill sets.
  • Trainings in Spanish are also available upon request. We work and collaborate with bilingual trainers and facilitators.
  • Click HERE to see the wide variety of workshops and trainings we offer.
  • Training and workshop fees are negotiable, scholarships are available, and donations for scholarships are greatly appreciated.

 

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Memphis United contacts CLERB complainants

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This week, Memphis United mailed 176 letters to people the City of Memphis referred to the Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board between 2011 and 2013 — when the board did not exist.   

There are more individuals who we will contact in the coming weeks.  These individuals are part of a larger “backlog” of people the city referred to a nonexistent board.  All of these people deserve a fair shot at justice.  That means having a CLERB with the power to hold law enforcement accountable; that means subpoena power.

Last year, Memphis United won our campaign to reinstate the board and strengthen it with a subpoena process.  But now the subpoena process is in danger of being removed through a substitute ordinance by Councilman Worth Morgan.

We’re asking people to contact their City Council representatives — in particularDistrict 5 Councilman Worth Morgan, Worth.Morgan@memphistn.gov, (901) 636-6786) — and tell them that taking the time to understand the language of the ordinance is worth it to ensure that CLERB has the power to hold law enforcement accountable.

Memphis United is MSPJC’s criminal justice reform project.  Our victories include the reinstatement of a civilian law enforcement review board.  But we need your help.  Please click here to sustain our work toward law enforcement accountability.  

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Victory! Millions for MATA Buses and Services

City council got a standing ovation for unanimous approval of the fy 2017 operating and capital budget, which includes $7.5 million increase for MATA.
This additional funding will help add new buses to the system and prevent further service cuts! We’ve never seen a budget approved so quickly.
Thank you all for your emails and phone calls and meetings with Mayor Stricland and the City Council. A special thank you to the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 713, The Memphis Advisory Council For People With Disabilities, the Memphis Transportation Advisory Committee, Innovate Memphis, and the Sierra Club and Lifeline to Success for pushing this issue into the spotlight, and thank you Councilmembers Edmund Ford Jr., Berlin Boyd, Martavius Jones, Janis Fullilove and Mayor Jim Strickland for showing critical support for our public transit system.
This is a good temporary fix that will stave off cuts to service. However, we must continue as a city to push for increased funding from all levels of government to ensure that public transit works for all who need it.

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Community Organizing Skills Training

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 is fully interactive and has direct application in each session.  We train using popular education and integrating experiential education, allowing people to explore in a hands-on, direct manner, while also drawing out the expertise that the individual already has within.

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 organizer’ is about.

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

Where: 1000 South Cooper St. Memphis Tn 38104 – First Congregational Church Conference Center

When: Friday, May 27:  6-9pm
Saturday, May 28:  9am-5pm
Sunday, May 29:   2-6:30pm

****** No partial attendance allowed ******

Cost: Sliding scale ($30-$375) 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.

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

 

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Global Ministries Foundation’s bonds downgraded again

Thanks to our brave tenant organizers, Global Ministries Foundation may finally be held accountable for the unlivable conditions of its subsidized housing properties.

S&P Global ratings reviewed GMF’s 2014 and 2015 financial statements and its housing portfolio.

The findings of this review prompted the agency to downgrade ratings on 23 GMF bonds including those for Goodwill Village, Serenity Towers, and Madison Towers.  

This is the second time this year S&P has lowered ratings on GMF’s bonds.

As WREG reports:

A ratings analyst said based on their review, the events at Warren and Tulane weren’t “isolated.”

The report read, “We believe there’s a heightened risk that HUD could decline the renewal of, or even terminate one or more of GMF’s Section 8 HAP contracts besides Warren and Tulane.”

S&P also said GMF’s financial position will likely get worse considering the need for substantial repairs at so many complexes.

The ratings agency conducted its own site review at several GMF properties and noted poor conditions at a number of locations.

Just last week, the bank that serves as the trustee for bondholders filed a lawsuit against the non-profit in federal court.

Senator Marco Rubio visited GMF’s troubled Eureka Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida and called for a criminal investigation.

“We are glad to finally see some badly needed oversight and accountability.  But we all know that Global Ministries Foundation is the tip of the iceberg of an entire system of corruption within the site-based Section 8 housing network,” said Mid-South Peace and Justice Center Executive Director Brad Watkins.

“We need several things.  From HUD, we need increased oversight and more diligent inspections.  Further, we need a renewed investment in the capacity of local code enforcement and a robust tenants’ rights and organizing movement.  We are in this for the long haul.  But sadly, there are many more Richard Hamlets out there,” Watkins said.

While we applaud recent legal actions against GMF, we know that none of this would have happened without the work of our brave tenant organizers at Warren, Tulane, and Serenity Towers apartments.  Please support our Tenants Rights Project here to ensure that this work continues.

Want to help transform your community? Join our monthly giving program #MyMSPJC Sustainers!