Art by Wendy Elisheva Somerson, JVP-Seattle Co-Founder
October 20, 2020:
- ACT: TODAY: #DefundPrisonsDefendSurvivors Twitter Power Hour hosted by Survived and Punished @ 11am PT / 2pm ET. Follow @survivepunish for details!
- ACT: Palestinian students and their allies are under attack at Butler University (IN), targeted by Zionist organizations and right-wing personalities with millions of followers on social media. Help support the students by emailing Butler’s administrators now — click here and you’ll be guided through an easy 2-step process.
- DONATE: The Monica Cosby Fund is dedicated to supporting women impacted by the carceral state – those in prisons and jails, those leaving incarceration and those navigating the world after incarceration, with a goal of abolishing these systems. Abolition activist Mariame Kaba is trying to raise $25,000 for this fund for her birthday — let!
- CONNECT: Are you looking for opportunities to get involved with abolitionist efforts in your community? Explore this map of abolitionist campaigns across the US.
- DONATE: Rapid City Police (South Dakota) have torn down tipis and arrested Akićita community members for creating shelters for the unhoused relatives. Donate to the Mni Luzahan Legal Fund to support community members impacted by the raid.
Check back often -- we’ll keep the list updated!
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Earlier lists:
October 13:
Join today’s National Action Hour (12-1pm EST) and take as many of these listed actions (prioritizing the phone calls) as you can!
October 6:
- ACT: Sign the Petition: Shut Down the Irwin County Detention Center! In September, Dawn Wooten, a courageous Black woman, nurse, and protected whistleblower brought forward shocking revelations of systemic abuse of immigrants detained at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Ocilla, Georgia, as well as hazardous working conditions for staff.
- SIGN UP: JVP’s National Action Hour (October 13 @ 12pm ET)
- DONATE:
- Louisville Community Bail Fund, organized by BLM Louisville
- Eviction Prevention Fund for BIPOC MaGes, organized by Reparations Roundtable
September 23:
- ACT: Participate in the September 23rd “Facebook, Stop Censoring Palestine” Day of Action. Click “Going” on this Facebook page, and you’ll be messaged with action details. Also follow JVP’s Twitter for updates!
- LEARN: What’s your social change role? Check out the amazing compilation of resources from the first week of the free, 5-week Solidarity Semester.
September 17:
- ACT: Send an email to the Adelanto (CA) City Council demanding no expansion of the Adelanto Detention Center - let them know the whole country is watching. Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page for a sample email. Background on the recent cease and desist letter filed by local organizations here.
- LEARN: A courageous nurse at Irwin County (GA) Detention Center is speaking out about abuses, racism and COVID 19 hazards for detainees and guards. Project South and the Government Accountability Project are representing her and have filed a complaint with the DHS Office of Inspector General – read the full text here.
- DONATE: The Cameroon American Council has been tirelessly fighting for the release of the 40+ Cameroonians in ICE detention in Louisiana, many of whom are currently on hunger strike. The Council desperately needs our support to keep this work going. Learn more and donate here.
September 8:
Join JVP’s National Action Hour! Action hour list here!
September 3:
- ACT: Make a 2 minute phone call to support a hunger striker held at Lane County Jail (OR). The striker, part of a group of comrades that has been striking for 10+ weeks, was recently singled out for retaliation by jail guards.
- ACT: Support 40+ men on hunger strike at an ICE detention in Louisiana, recently ravaged by Hurricane Laura. (Action toolkit linked in tweet).
- LEARN: Yes, We Mean Literally Abolish the Police - NYT Opinion Piece by Mariame Kaba
- DONATE: Jacob Blake GoFundMe Page - established to cover Mr. Blake’s medical expenses, mental and grief counseling for his family, and to assist his family in the days to come, as they continue to seek justice. Jacob Blake was shot in the back 7 times by police officers on August 23rd.
August 7:
Join JVP’s national Action Hour (12-1pm EST) and take as many of the listed actions as you can: Action Hour Scripts Doc here!
Fill out this form to sign up for future sessions.
July 31:
- ACT: Demand ICE Free Nelly Portillo (click the link for info on how to contact the ICE San Antonio field office)
- ACT: Support incarcerated hunger strikers:
July 23:
- ACT: Sign the petition demanding the immediate release of Grace, a 15-year old Black girl jailed for “not keeping up with her schoolwork” during the pandemic. Check out this thread on Twitter for more info on how to take action.
- LEARN: Read about the BREATHE Act, a visionary bill that divests our taxpayer dollars from brutal and discriminatory policing and invests in a new vision of public safety - from the Electoral Justice Project of the Movement for Black Lives.
- DONATE: Bail out protestors arrested in Portland. Visit the GoFundMe page for daily updates on new arrests. Learn more about the protests - and what you can do to help - here.
July 14:
Join JVP’s national Action Hour, 12-1pm EST -- take as many of the listed actions as you can!
Fill out this form to sign up for future sessions.
July 7:
- ACT: Sign the petition: Defund the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington DC)
- ACT: Sign up for JVP’s national member phone bank to defund the police and challenge Israeli annexation. July 14, 12-1pm EST
- Learn: Defund the Police: A 4-Day Crash Course (July 13-16) Join Sunrise Movement, Mijente, Dream Defenders, Critical Resistance, AfroSocialists and Socialists of Color Caucus, and Southerners on New Ground, as we deepen our understanding of abolition and learn how to turn the mandate to “Defund the Police” into tangible action in our communities!
(multiple slot options available on each day)
June 25:
- ACT: #DefundPolice Toolkit - a resource created by the Interrupting Criminalization initiative, a member of the Movement for Black Lives. Sections of the toolkit include What is #DefundPolice?, How to #DefundPolice, Common #DefundPolice Demands Across the Continent, and more
- LEARN: Watch the recording: Celebrating Juneteenth: An Abolitionist Perspective on Movements for Black Liberation of the Past and Present - a conversation with Charlene Carruthers and Marc Lamont Hill, organized by Critical Resistance
- ATTEND: Incarcerated Black Lives Matter: A Community Education Webinar - June 30 @ 6-7:30pm EST - hosted by the Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) campaign. Registration: bit.ly/rapp-webinar
June 17:
- ACT: Sign up to take action this Friday, Juneteenth, with the Movement for Black Lives and explore existing events here.
Description: In response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless other Black people who have been killed at the hands of vigilanties or law enforcement, millions have taken to the streets with a clear and distinct call to end police violence and to defund police. Combined with COVID-19 and four years of Trumpism, Black communities are demanding: justice; accountability; a divestment from policing; and an investment in healthy, sustainable communities. To honor our ancestors and to lay a path to freedom for future generations, we are calling for the sixnineteen mobilization on Juneteenth weekend, June 19–21, 2020. We invite you to join us by taking action from home, in your community, or in Washington, D.C.
- LEARN: Explore and review the follow-up materials (including slides, articles, recording, etc.) from Friday’s webinar On the Road With Abolition: Assessing Our Steps Along the Way
June 12, 2020:
- ACT: Sign A Letter to Demand Divestment from Police and an Investment in Black Communities from the Movement for Black Lives
- ATTEND: June 12: Webinar: On the Road With Abolition: Assessing Our Steps Along the Way - How can we assess which proposals to support or to oppose in our organizing? What are some abolitionist proposals? Join Dean Spade, Woods Ervin & Kamau Walton from Critical Resistance, K Agbebiyi from Survived and Punished NY and Mariame Kaba from Project NIA and Survived & Punished to discuss these questions and more. Join us for this conversation to deepen our shared analysis and to discuss how we use abolition as a politic, practice and framework to move us toward liberation and self-determination. REGISTER HERE. (If registration is closed, you can view the livestream of the webinar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHdg4dqBMyk)
- LEARN: #8toAbolition Platform - Explore the different parts of this website, familiarize yourself with the different aspects of the initiative, and reflect on these questions: What remains confusing to you? What do you want to learn more about? What is exciting? We will continue to uplift and discuss #8toAbolition within JVP in the coming weeks.
- DONATE: to #MAP4Youth: Mutual Aid Projects for Youth, to support young Black, brown, trans, and queer leaders develop and implement mutual aid projects in their communities.
June 11, 2020:
- ACT: Send an email to your city council members (and as many other councils as you’d like) calling for cuts to local police budgets and for investment in communities: https://defund12.org
June 6, 2020:
- ATTEND: National Call about the current resistance and how we can show up In Defense of Black Lives, organized by The Rising Majority, the Movement for Black Lives, and local organizers - Saturday, June 6, 10am PT / 1pm ET
- DONATE: to Black Trans Organizations & Funds, to support for the long-term and in this time of uprising.
June 5, 2020:
- ATTEND: The Fire this Time: Race at a Boiling Point - 1pm PT/4pm ET - A discussion with Robin D. G. Kelley and other leading critical voices thinking, differently, together about the structural conditions and explosive events shattering our times, and mobilizing in response.
- ACT: Movement for Black Lives Week of Action (June 1-5)
June 3, 2020:
- ATTEND: 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT - Join a call just for JVP Action supporters with three of our endorsed candidates: Samelys López (NY-15), Ihssane Leckey (MA-04) and Ilhan Omar’s (MN-05) team. This is one of many ways that we can lend support during this moment of change – by building a Congress that is accountable to movements. REGISTER HERE.
June 1, 2020
- DONATE: List of bail funds from across the country, continuously updated.
- LEARN: Read the 'policing timeline' from Critical Resistance