News

The Community Police Relations (CPR) effort of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center (MSPJC) held a milestone meeting on Friday, November 16, 2012. For the first time, the CPR Community and Police core groups came together, after meeting separately for the past several months. The meeting provided a space where attendees from both the Community and Law Enforcement circles were open to share their own personal stories and experiences related to the current state of distrust between members of the two groups.  Both Law Enforcement and Community participants had many emotions about how this first combined meeting would unfold, including fear and skepticism, but after four hours of heartfelt, honest, respectful sharing, participants are hopeful about the next steps of the CPR effort.

After an opening welcome from Melissa Miller-Monie, MSPJC Coordinator of CPR, facilitator Laura Sullivan explained the context, purpose, and guidelines for the meeting, reminding everyone that we were all there to address past difficulties between the community and law enforcement and that we all have the best interests of the city and all of its people in mind.

Next, partner Playback Memphis, led by director Virginia Murphy, created a space for individual participants to share stories of their experiences with community-police relations. Through a unique combination of storytelling, improvisational theater, community and dialogue,  Playback Memphis helped CPR begin the important work of relationship-building. Community and Law Enforcement participants reflected on questions such as, ‘What inspired you to become a law enforcement officer or community activist? What experiences have led you to have the views you have of one another? What hopes do you have for the future community/police relations of Memphis?’ Everyone was very open about their experiences that relate to the barriers that cause distrust between these two groups. Playback Memphis took stories and brought them to life before the eyes of those in the audience and the impact was powerful.

The experience brought laughter and tears and feedback, and revealed that participants share a strong sense of importance of taking time to deeply listen to one another and better understand what it’s like to walk in the shoes of those with whom we often feel in conflict, a process which allowed them to feel the pain of others.

Building upon the themes and conversations drawn upon in the Playback Memphis performances, facilitator Laura Sullivan suggested some questions and concerns for everyone to address and encouraged everyone to be real about their feelings.  Members of the Community and Law Enforcement groups shared their fears, frustrations, grief, and pain over the struggles between the two groups as well as over the difficulties within each group. They also shared their gratitude that we were meeting together and speaking so honestly about the institutional, economic, social, and emotional barriers to creating trust between the two groups.

This combined meeting between Community Leaders and members of Law Enforcement was the first of its kind in our city.  While participants realize that one meeting will not lead to an overnight miracle, we view it as an important step towards building a vision and process to continue the dialogue and, ultimately, towards creating an action plan that includes solutions at all levels: political, economic, institutional, and psychological.

The next combined meeting was held on Friday, December 7 – watch for more details as we continue to work towards:

*Safety   *Security   *Solutions

For more information about bringing Community-Police Relations to your community, please contact:

Melissa Miller-Monie
Organizing Coordinator, CPR
Office: 901-725-4990
e-mail: melissa@midsouthpeace.org

a grassroots gala and banquet for the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center 

Featuring Chris Hedges & an engaging program featuring the best of local food, music, arts and movement.

Saturday :: January 19, 2013
First Congregational Church

Mr. Hedges is a Senior Fellow at the Nation Institute and notable commentator on the Occupy Movement. He is a former New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.

6:00pm – Seated Banquet :: $30/ticket
$225/table of eight
Banquet tickets include reception and full meal by Just for Lunch.

7:00pm – General Admission :: $10/ticket
suggested donation with no one turned away

*all tickets include full program*

Program includes a keynote address by Chris Hedges, a performance of Starry Road To Freedom – The life of Frederick Douglass by Darius Wallace, music from DJ No Request, an update on our work and hundreds of friends and allies to reconnect with and celebrate.

Free childcare available, must register when you purchase tickets or by calling 901.725.4990

H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community.

DIGNITY:

H.O.P.E. would like to thank Memphis landmark BBQ restaurant Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous who have to hired several H.O.P.E. members for part time work at the concession stands in the FedEx forum. We are also proud to announce that one of our members; Kayla has been promoted to be a stand leader, which gives her more shifts at a higher rate of pay. Escaping homelessness is nearly impossible for individuals who do not have a job or source of income. Even in a good economy, there are overwhelming barriers to for someone experiencing homelessness that is seeking employment at a fair wage. Opportunities like this are, unfortunately, uncommon to say the least. Congratulations to Kayla and “thank you” to the Rendezvous for providing this opportunity to our members. We also ask all of our friends and supporters to throw some business the Rendezvous’ way; either at their downtown restaurant or at their concession stands at the Fed Ex forum.

Mutual Emotional Support:

This month, H.O.P.E. member Tommy Burchett died unexpectedly of a heart attack. We met Tommy during the outreach for the 100 Homes campaign and he became a fixture at H.O.P.E. meetings. Tommy had serious untreated mental illness and was a good candidate for receiving housing and wraparound services through the Community Alliance for the Homeless’ 100 Homes program. Tommy was gentle and kind and deserved better than dying alone on the street. Everyone and everything dies but no one has to die this way. The Manna House and H.O.P.E. will be announcing a memorial service later this month to honor Tommy.

Solidarity:

Homelessness is grim issue for transgendered individuals. One in five transgendered individuals experience homelessness as a result of either discrimination based on their identity or because of rejection by family. In addition, the services for transgendered folks who are experiencing homelessness are severely limited. They are often turned away from shelters and experience discrimination when seeking housing or other supportive services.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance, hosted in Memphis by Perpetual Transition, is a day set aside, once a year to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. H.O.P.E. member Claudell “Toni” Whitfield served as the keynote speaker for this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance and spoke of the need for us all to stand together and fight discrimination and injustice wherever we find it. H.O.P.E has many LGBT members and stands in full solidarity of our transgender brothers and sisters.

Self Determination:

H.O.P.E. members have met every Monday at the Memphis Center for Independent Living, over the past several months to develop a business plan and bylaws for a worker owned and operated tee-shirt printing co-op. This month, H.O.P.E. members are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a ten thousand dollar grant from the Sparkplug Foundation to help us get the equipment and supplies necessary to get this project up and running in a professional capacity. This business venture will be owned and operated by our members who are currently or formerly experiencing homelessness.

H.O.P.E. members involved in the Street-Wise Ink project have been attending workshops to learn the skills of silk-screening and several of our members have design skills, which will be utilized in this project.  Street-Wise will be creating a retail line of original shirts as well as offering a wholesale service. Please consider Street-Wise Ink for your t-shirt needs.

Feeding the Movement:
H.O.P.E would like to once again thank Just for Lunch and Trolley Stop Market for making a commitment to donate meals each month for our weekly H.O.P.E. meetings at The Manna House! There are lots of ways to feed the movement, and we would like to thank all of our allies for their continued support.

If you are interested in how you can support the work of H.O.P.E. members, please contact Paul Garner @ 901.725.4990 or paul@midsouthpeace.org
and don’t forget to like us on Facebook for more H.O.P.E. updates!

MSPJC knows that oppression affects all of us, and it’s only through looking at these hurts that we can heal ourselves and our society so that we can build a truly just and peaceful community. It is with this understanding that MSPJC’s training program, G.O.T. Power, has been offering a series of anti-oppression workshops facilitated by Laura Sullivan this fall.

Laura does an amazing job of offering important theory to be able to cognitively understand these oppressions, while also offering a safe and confidential space for individuals to do some healing work around how these oppressions have affected them personally. Due to the intimacy of these workshops, participation is limited to 8 or 10 people. We will continue to offer these and more anti-oppression workshops in 2013.

Did you know that there’s such a thing as oppression of activists? Ever had someone put you down because you failed to meet their expectation of your activist nature? As with all forms of oppression, it can be internalized too. Ever beat yourself up for not doing enough? These are examples of topics that are addressed in the Emotional Support for Activists workshop. We’ve all heard of activist burn-out. This workshop also encourages self-care so that we can do this important work for a lifetime, while maintaining a healthy balance. This workshop will be offered again on December 12th from 6-9 at the Memphis Center for Independent Living. Space is limited to 8 people. Register here to join us.

Empowerment for Women was offered twice in November. This workshop particularly focuses on ‘internalized sexism’—the ways that we internalize the messages of sexism and act them out, often hurtingourselves and other women. It also addresses the relationship between interpersonal and institutional sexism, and the role of socioeconomic issues in women’s oppression. Within this framework, topics are addressed that match participants’ interests which may include reclaiming physical space, interrupting sexism, body image and appearance issues, overcoming competition, addictions to food and other substances, and more. Email gio@midsouthpeace.org to be put on a wait list for the next Empowerment for Women workshop after the first of the year.

Ending Racism- Building Alliances between White People and People of Color was offered in November and on December 2nd. Racism is a pervasive oppression that hurts everyone, and our city is especially affected. This workshop provides a chance to learn about the role of emotional hurts in installing and perpetuating racism, and will give a chance to do some sharing and emotional healing around this important issue. Email gio@midsouthpeace.org to be put on a wait list for the next Ending Racism workshop to be offered after the first of the year.

A Growing Divide

Harassment of people experiencing homelessness is sadly an all too common occurrence in our city, and each incident is a tragic and outrageous reality our brothers and sisters on the streets face.

H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community. Our group has been meeting at the Manna House every Thursday night from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. for almost a year now. For our members, H.O.P.E. meetings are a safe space to share thoughts, ideas and struggles in a secure, supportive environment. While we regularly talk about the harassment of individuals experiencing homelessness by law enforcement, we have never had an instance at our meetings when that safe space was violated by MPD until Thursday Nov.15.

H.O.P.E members have participated “Know your Rights” workshops on situations like this before and complied with presenting their identification when asked. H.O.P.E. members calmly asked the officers if they were being detained or arrested, and asked for the names and badge numbers of Officers Anderson and Smith.  Officer Anderson aggressively replied, “You can have my badge number, it’ll be on the ticket I’m about to write you,”. 

 The officer then wrote three citations for “Obstructing a Sidewalk” to H.O.P.E organizer Paul Garner, H.O.P.E. member Edward Jackson and H.O.P.E. organizer and Disability advocate Marian Bacon of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. The officers in question ignored Ms.Bacon’s request to sit down as due to her disability as she cannot stand for long periods of time without intense pain. Officer Anderson also was incredible rude and aggressive to Ms. Bacon and accused her of being a prostitute claiming to know her from around the neighborhood.

The experience was deeply upsetting for all of our members but especially so for Ms. Bacon who actually has in the past acted as a trainer for the Memphis Police department’ Crisis Intervention Team, which responds to calls for individuals who have mental illness issues.

On Friday November 16th our members  filed official complaints with MPD over this incident and the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center will support our members and join them in court on Jan 14th of 2013 to fight these bogus charges and police harassment against our people. While this may seem outrageous or hard to believe to some people, for our members and many others, it’s just another Thursday night in Memphis.

Please join us for an annual tradition of friends, fellowship and family and a new celebration as we open our doors at our new office to the community. The Open House & Holiday Party will take place on Thursday November 29 from 5-9pm at our new offices at 3573 Southern Ave, near the University of Memphis. This year we are excited to co-host this event with our shared space partners GrowMemphis and the TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

We are firing up the grill and bringing plenty of beer and wine. Bring a snack or side if you can, but make sure to come regardless. There will be music, opportunities to learn about the issues and tours of the new space. Our ED is whipping up his famous Triple Threat Axis of Evil Eggnog. That is sure to give you some cheer.

Please join us and take this opportunity to celebrate our work together this year and celebrate the spirit of resistance that keeps our movement alive.

LOCATION DETAILS: We are located east of Highland on the south side of the tracks. Please click here for a map of the location. Once you arrive please park in the rear. If lot is full, street parking is available on Brister St. If you are taking MATA the 35 will drop you at Southern and Highland. Cross over to the south side of the tracks and walk east.

Thank you so much to all of you who made the ninth Gandhi-King Community Conference possible at BRIDGES this year.

It was amazing to have so many organizations and activists together at GKC and showing the projects and campaigns they represent. 

These organizations that are working tirelessly for social justice in Memphis had the opportunity to present the issues that are affecting our community and the work they are currently doing to improve them.

IgniteAction presentations were done by the following:

• Community-Police Relations, presented by Melissa Miller-Monie, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center
• Community Led Development, presented by Dr. Ken Reardon, Vance Avenue Collaborative
• Education Reform, presented by Mark Sturgis, STAND for Children – Memphis
• Equality, presented by Rebecca Terrell, CHOICES & Anne Gullick, TN Equality Project
• Healthcare, presented by Dr. Manoj Jain
• Homelessness and Poverty, presented by Paul Garner, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center
• Immigration Reform, presented by Gabriela Marquez-Benitez, TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition

These presentations were followed by People’s Movement Forums, where participants had the opportunity to go in-depth into the issue that most interested them and learn how they could get connected with others and take action on that particular issue.

We were reminded that what affects some of us, may indeed also affect all of us. Here is where solidarity plays a very important role in our lives.

Working together is how we, the people, will build a better city to live in.

Following a break for lunch, the conference expanded this opportunity for learning and sharing new skills through a selection of workshops including Nonviolent Communication, Media 101, Yoga and Meditation, Emotional Support for Activists, and Film Making for Justice. 

We learned the following things: If we want such changes to occur, we will have to prepare our community for this by socially waking it up to these realities. We also must actively be putting into practice the knowledge being collected from our experiences as we come together in serving our Memphis community.

“Our goal is to create a beloved community and 

this will require a qualitative change in our souls 

as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”

                                Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This year’s Gandhi-King Conference has brought tremendous feedback from the participants, presenters, panelists and facilitators who contributed their talents. We thank you so much.

And also, this year, the Gandhi-King Youth Conference had a tremendous participation. From different schools, 350 Youth gathered for having this unique experience of peace and justice.

This opportunity in 2012 to have under one roof all of these great organizations, effective activists and exceptional members of our community empowered us then and even now to continue the legacy of Mahatmas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

For more information about the Gandhi-King Community Conference visit Gandhi-King Community Conference.

VOTE! We at the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center want to remind you to make sure that you exercise your right to vote. Tomorrow, November 6th is election day and while most eyes will be focused on the Presidential election there are two very important ballot initiatives that need your support.

We are urging you to VOTE YES on the GAS TAX and SALES TAX. It makes sense for us to ensure that vital services in our community are funded and supported. We are there year round to make sure that our tax dollars are used to benefit those that need it most. This is the time to make sure our communities have the resources to build community. Please review the info below and make an informed choice.

VOTE YES! ON THE CITY OF MEMPHIS GAS TAX.  ONE CENT MAKES SENSE!

The Memphis City Council voted to place on the ballot a referendum for a 1¢ cent tax per gallon of gas purchased within the city of Memphis. If it’s approved, the tax could provide as much as $3 million to MATA as a guaranteed source of revenue for local public transit. This small tax would amount to a mere $10.00 per year for a person who drives 20,000 miles a year at 20 miles to the gallon.

These funds will be used by MATA to improve service along the eight most used routes: the 52, 10, 8, 50, 56, 32, 43 and 39 buses. This will also result in cutting down on waiting times along the eight major routes and improved services during peak hours.The funds also would be used to improve bus shelters and hire additional drivers for MATA plus, a service for riders with disabilities that prevent them from using the fixed routes.

The 1¢ Gas tax referendum is supported by the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, the Memphis Bus Riders Union,The Sierra Club, Memphis Center for Independent Living, ADAPT of Tennessee, Latino Memphis, the League of Women Voters  and the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee.

So get out the vote. To see if you are a registered voter and to find your voting precinct, please visit the links below.

VOTE YES FOR EDUCATION, VOTE YES FOR THE COUNTY SALES TAX.

Early Voting has has ended, but you can still cast your vote FOR 30 million dollars to improve public education in Memphis and Shelby County on Nov. 6th by voting FOR the Shelby County Sales Tax Referendum.

Stand for Children is coordinating Election Day turnout for the campaign. They need volunteers to work with on election day to talk to voters and pass literature at the polls. This is a great opportunity to take a direct action for our schools and students. A few simple words from you to a voter could make the difference in this election. “Vote for OUR schools! Vote for the Sales Tax Referendum” that’s all it takes.

Not everyone realizes that half of the sales tax is guaranteed by state law to go to public education. This will equal 30 million more annually for our schools, about $200 more per student in Shelby County.

Here’s how you can help!

Just  have a hour or two, or a lunch break?

• Volunteer for at your voting precinct or any polling site. Just let us know and we will get you literature and a sign. Or, we can assign you to a priority location.

 Can you work all day? (6:30am-7:00pm)

• You will be assigned a polling location for ALL DAY
• You will receive a volunteer and lunch stipend
• You are asked to attend a training session on Monday November 5 at 6PM at the Stand for Children Office, 915 McLemore, Suite 201
• On Election Day we ask you to be at your polling station from at 6:30AM

You all will be the difference in this election; and, these dollars will make a real difference in our schools.

Vote FOR the County Sales Tax, Vote FOR our Schools!

Email memphis@stand.org if you can help in any way!

Am I registered?

http://www.voteshelby.com/index.aspx?nid=87

Precinct Locator
http://www.voteshelby.com/index.aspx?NID=122

Community-Police Relations (Reconciliation) – CPR  

In many communities in our city, relationships between community members and members of law enforcement have deteriorated to the point of breakdown.

Some issues that are contributing to the mistrust between the two groups are:

*incidents of police harassment, making threats, racial profiling

*police officers being arrested for crimes and intense media coverage of these arrests

*some areas experiencing high degrees of violence, including gang violence

*negative feelings towards police conveyed within families inter-generationally

We have empathy for the people involved on all sides, from the officers that wake up each day to go out to provide a helping hand to those in need and to deal with real criminals, to those who have been victims of crime, those whose loved ones have been victimized, and to the family members that have lost loved ones in these conflicts..

To address these issues in a holistic fashion, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is facilitating a new and innovative project, Community-Police Relations (CPR), working first with a pilot group of community members and a pilot group of law enforcement officers to discuss and work to change the barriers to having good relationships between both groups.

We are working to improve community-police relations by:

*creating a safe space for dialogue about the real issues involved in relationships between the community and law enforcement

*building security for our communities that is based upon tactics that are determined by the communities themselves

*putting forth the solutions that will enable positive relations between the community and law enforcement

This project is not only about dialogue and healing; it is also about moving beyond healing process so that our community can re-engage in setting the agenda for how we deal with the problems we face.  It is about reconciliation that leads to empowerment.  We are here to make a change!

With the police department and community organizations in full support, the CPR effort has thus far brought together concerned community members and concerned police officers for an initial series of meetings. These meetings have involved the two groups meeting separately, discussing their experiences and sharing their feelings about the difficulties in the relationship between the two groups, and also offering initial suggestions as to how the difficulties can be addressed and how we can begin to rebuild trust between the two groups. Next month, the two groups will be brought together for the first joint meeting, where a real, direct dialogue will start that addresses some of the different perspectives and experiences, and that sheds some light on the barriers that have prevented parties from hearing each other and from working together in the past.

It will take more than law enforcement representatives and community liaisons to address our city’s need for reconciliation between community members and law enforcement.  We need your voice – we are listening!

Following this series of joint meetings between representatives of the community and of law enforcement, we will begin to take the dialogue and healing process out into other communities in the city.  CPR will be looking for host sites for community meetings in 2013.  The host sites will invite interested participants to learn more about community-police relations and this project and to be a part of proposing solutions to the problems that have contributed to the strained relations which currently exist.

The forums between community and law enforcement, and subsequent community meetings, will lead ultimately to a series of suggestions for change – in other words, an action plan that can be implemented city-wide to ensure positive relationships between communities and police.  This action plan will evolve organically from the input and dialogue between people on various sides of the issue and may involve political, institutional, psychological, social, and economic dimensions.

How can you help?

Learn more about the Community-Police Relations and the reconciliation effort.  Sign up to host a forum in 2013!

For more information, please contact CPR organizer Melissa Miller-Monie atmelissa@midsouthpeace.org or (901) 725-5490

On September 28-30th, ten grassroots community groups from across the city came together for the Movement Building Training, hosted by MSPJC. This exciting training was facilitated by two national organizations, Center for Community Change and Green for All.

The MSPJC training team worked hard collaborating with them in designing the curriculum to fit the needs of the groups present, and what transpired was a dynamic weekend in which new, powerful connections were made and lots of important internal work was done within each attending organization as well.

Groups had the chance to develop powerful narratives to tell others who they are and why they’re doing the work. They also had an opportunity to do campaign planning and develop an action plan of tactics to reach a specific goal they’re working towards. We also did lots of important big group learning and connecting. Many people present said they had never been in a training before where they felt so much support, like we were a family. Groups present included: Memphis Center for Independent Living/ADAPT, Tennessee Equality Project, Memphis Bus Riders Union, H.O.P.E., Comunidades Unidas, Women’s Action Coalition, Grow Memphis, M3, Change Memphis, Vance Avenue Collaborative, and S.O.L.I.D.S. This was a huge power building opportunity, and we are thrilled that we’re already seeing new collaborations and engagement from many of the groups which were present.