SURJ

The #StopSanQuentinOutbreak coalition is organizing a #ReleasesNOTTransfers Townhall next Saturday November 7th 2:00-3:30PM PT. Hear from formerly incarcerated organizers and community members about their experiences with reentry and why it's so important that CDCR and Governor Newsom grant #ReleasesNOTTransfers in response to the Von Staich Habeas ruling to reduce the San Quentin State Prison population by 50%.

Starting now! Come out to Montgomery St and California St in San Francisco to show up and tell these lawyers that #EveryVoteCounts.

Want to build internal resilience and practice deep listening to create a culture that calls people into the movement? Come to our next Saturday Dialogues on November 14! In the upcoming sessions, we will base our discussions on Tema Okun's work around White Supremacy Culture. On November 14, we will focus specifically on objectivity and "only one right way." Click below to register. Accessibility: Closed captioning will be offered. If possible, please let us know you plan to use Closed Captioning by emailing [email protected].

STREAMING FREE October 22nd - November 4th Only! FOLLOW ME HOME The acclaimed film, written & directed by Peter Bratt and staring Benjamin Bratt, Alfre Woodard, Jesse Borrego, Steve Reevis, Calvin Levels, and Salma Hayek. Learn more: https://www.followmehomethemovie.com/ Register to watch: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bqrj0Mi5QCifkaxmDxw9cA... Plus 3 days of transformative conversations: https://www.followmehomethemovie.com/events SPREAD THE WORD!

Yesterday we lost a beautiful elder, mentor and comrade in the struggle for racial justice, Betty Garman Robinson. Betty was a long-time member of SNCC (Studen...t Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and carried the learnings of that work into her work with SURJ. She was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the organization and was one of the founders of the Baltimore Showing Up for Racial Justice chapter. Many of us first met her at our gathering at the Highlander Center in 2015. SNCC’s powerful organizing work has greatly inspired SURJ’s work and countless other organizations in our movement. Betty is also co-author of the anthology Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC Legacy Project, bringing that work to younger SURJ leaders she worked with., and she continued as an active member of the SNCC Legacy Project. Betty was a constant and close partner and mentor to so many of us for years. She enthusiastically and humbly supported the leadership of young people. When coming through town, she would host us in her home, share a meal and stories of her life. And she always expressed such a sincere curiosity about what we knew, were learning, and expressed such confidence in our leadership. Just in the last week many of us at SURJ national had spoken with her about organizing work. Betty was engaged in our electoral work to unseat Trump, bringing her experience organizing in Georgia to help inform our work with white voters there. She also was active in supporting new SURJ chapters that are being founded in response to the uprisings this summer. Betty is someone who embodied so much of what SURJ is working to help white people in our movement to embody - a fierce commitment to racial justice, being in action and putting our bodies into the struggle, and a humble and connected leadership. She showed us what it meant to be in movement and active for a lifetime. She died with her hands still on the plow. Our hearts are with her family members, loved ones, and all those she touched directly or indirectly. She has left us so much to be proud of, look to and live into in her passing. -- Showing Up for Racial Justice National Additional ways to connect with Betty’s life and legacy from SURJ Baltimore: Oral history interview with the Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655415/ Interview with Betty Robinson on the Marc Steiner show The SNCC Organizing Model https://www.steinershow.org/pod/the-sncc-organizing-model/ SNCC Digital Archive: Betty Garman Robinson Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee Digital Archive https://snccdigital.org/people/betty-garman-robinson/

Did you know that Chevron avoids $100 million a year in corporate property taxes? This would mean an additional $3.5 million a year for our neighbors in Richmond if we pass Proposition 15. This November we have a major opportunity to ensure that low-income communities can secure funding without taxing renters, homeowners, or small businesses. Join us to let voters know that they have a major opportunity to support communities of color this election by voting Yes on Prop 15 (...Schools and Communities First)! Join us at our PhoneBanking Party Tomorrow night! https://www.facebook.com/events/970337953481227/

Prop 15: Schools and Communities First, on the November ballot, will close a critical corporate tax loophole and raise $12 billion for schools and communities Yes on 15!

SURJ Bay Area has partnered with San Francisco Rising Alliance, a local organization working to build the political power of working class communities of color, to inform voters about Prop 15 (Schools and Communities First)! This critical ballot initiative will close a corporate property tax loophole, raising $12 billion a year for schools and communities across California. Help us get the word out by phonebanking with our partners now until election day!... https://www.mobilize.us/millionvotersproject/event/291044/