Dear Indivisible Kensington,
Lots of information to share.
Postcards for Yes on Prop 50: Thanks to those of you who came forward so quickly to write postcards for the Yes on Prop 50 campaign. We’re sorry we didn’t have names for everybody who wanted them. We hope you’re aware that you don’t have to wait for us to organize postcard writing campaigns. There are numerous organizations that you can contact as an individual to sign on to a campaign and receive names/addresses, etc. Check out:
1. Commit to Democracy (we frequently join their postcard campaigns)
2. Vote Forward, for more names specifically for Yes on Prop 50 campaign
More on the Yes on Prop 50 Campaign: Our friends in the Kensington Democratic Club are mounting a local campaign to educate the Kensington community about the importance of a yes vote on Prop 50 and to mobilize Kensington Democrats to vote on November 4. They see passage of Prop 50 as the best chance we have to take back the House and block the MAGA agenda. If you’re interested in joining their campaign, please attend their membership meeting, Tuesday, September 30, 7:00 pm. There will be a campaign update from Joe Summers of the Contra Costa Central Labor Committee, and they’ll discuss KDC’s canvassing and tabling operations and an October 14 Yes on Prop 50 fundraiser. Click here to join via Zoom.
October 18 No Kings2 Mass Mobilization: Once again, we’ve signed on as a co-sponsor of the IEB-led mobilization in downtown Oakland. People will gather at 12:00 pm in Wilma Chan Park and then march to the Lake Merritt amphitheatre for speeches, music, food and fun. Bring your family, your friends, and your signs.
Some of us will be marching with the Grandmothers Group from Indivisible East Bay. This group has provided ongoing support for immigrant rights at the Concord Immigration Court and the Adopt-a-Corner at the Fruitvale Home Depot. For the march, the group will have a banner to march behind, buttons that identify themselves as Grandmothers for Immigrant Justice, and will be wearing mostly white. You do not need to be a grandmother to join them. If you’re interested, please contact Patsy Jones at pawjones1@yahoo.com.
It would be enormously helpful if people could distribute flyers to their neighbors, their friends, and in other places, such as BART stations or shopping areas. The IEB organizers are asking particularly for people to distribute flyers at the West Oakland BART station. The flyer is attached and all you have to do is print a bunch of copies (black and white is fine). If you do distribute flyers, let us know how it goes. Hope to see you there.
Fight for Free Speech Roundtable: Thanks again to all of you who helped make this a successful event. Here’s a brief summary:
1. There were about 50-60 people who came, many of whom had not previously been involved with Indivisible.
2. David Snyder of the First Amendment Coalition talked about the litigation his organization has conducted to hold California governmental agencies accountable and transparent and prevent them from withholding information from the public. For more information about their work go here. He stressed the importance of getting involved on the local level, such as with city councils and boards of education, while still keeping an eye on the national level.
3. Catherine Lhamon from Berkeley Law put the present period of censorship and repression in a historical context to make the point that these periods don’t last forever because courageous people continue to speak out and organize. In response to numerous questions about the UCB disclosure of 160 names to the US Office for Civil Rights for investigations stemming from last year’s pro Palestinian demonstrations, she explained that, while it was entirely appropriate for that office to investigate charges of discrimination at schools and universities, those investigations should focus on institutional action, not individual action, and that it was NOT appropriate to disclose names. She encouraged those of us who are concerned about this to write directly to UC President Miliken (President@ucop.edu), Chancellor Lyons (Chancellor@berkeley.edu) and General Counsel Robinson (charles.robinson@ucop.edu).
4. Dorothy Lazard, former Oakland librarian and writer, talked about the important role libraries play in building and maintaining community and the various social and economic challenges they face. She encouraged us to support adequate funding for libraries and to volunteer with our local library’s literacy or tutoring programs. Attached is a summary of her comments that she prepared and asked us to share.
And finally, for those interested in volunteering as tutors, here are two organizations suggested to us by one of the attendees:
1. Children Rising – In person reading and math tutoring for 2nd and 3rd grade Oakland.
2. Harbor House – In person or virtual after school tutoring for Oakland students.
If you’re interested, you can contact the organizations directly or reach out to Beth at beth.thomsen@gmail.com.
We hope all of the above provides you with options for “doing something”, whatever doing something means for you.
In Solidarity,
Barbara and Robin
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Resistance Through Persistence
IndivisibleKENSINGTON
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