Labor is "getting its mojo back"

Activist Radio has the following guest on this Thursday (5 - 6 pm):

GUEST: Steve Hoffman, labor activist in the Washington Federation of State Employees, and former Freedom Socialist Party candidate for US Senate from Washington state, talks to us about the return of the strike, and how labor is "getting its mojo back." 

https://socialism.com/fs-article/the-return-of-the-strike-labors-ranks-are-getting-their-mojo-back/

The interview can be heard live on Vassar College Radio 91.3 FM, or streamed from https://classwars.org. It will also be aired this Sunday on WIOK 104.1 in Woodstock (4 - 5 pm), and from the Progressive Radio Network PRN.FM (5 - 6 pm). In addition, the interview will be available on the ClassWars.org website for the next ten weeks. Simply click on the date to hear it.

Thanks,

Fred

Activist Radio

Alternatives to Incarceration authored and supported by Dutchess County Democratic Caucus

https://www.change.org/p/dutchess-county-democratic-caucus-alternatives-to-incarceration

We Stand With Nikki website

https://westandwithnikki.com

Support of Nicole Addimando

The Vassar College Black Student Union is hosting a rally in support of Nicole Addimando on Feb. 10 (tomorrow). She is being sentenced to life in prison tomorrow at 1:00pm and students are rallying with the Nicole Addimando Defense Committee at 12pm in front of the Dutchess County Courthouse (10 Market Street). 

Participants are encouraged to dress as warmly as possible in as much purple as they can -- umbrellas, scarves, hats, posters, you name it. They're intending to have the group stay outside until 2pm (weather permitting) to march and sing songs, but everyone's presence is important for however long they're able to stay (even if it's just 20, 30 minutes). There will also be a vigil at 4:30 for Chris Grover, Addimando's partner and father of her 2 children, at Christ Episcopal Church (20 Carroll St., a 10 min walk from the courthouse). Recommended parking is in the garage by the courthouse (41 Civic Center Plaza) or at Christ Episcopal Church (20 Carroll Street).

The students' FB Event for the rally is here. A zine put together by students that gives a brief overview of Nicole's case is here. 

With gratitude, 
Karina Norton 
she | her | hers
2020 Senior Class Council VP
Black Students' Union Co-President

Freedom for Chuck Sims Africa

One of the great open wounds of the black liberation struggle of the 1970s has finally been healed with the release of the last member of the Move 9, the group of radicals rounded up in a Philadelphia police siege in 1978 and held behind bars for more than four decades.

Chuck Sims Africa, 59, walked free from the Fayette state correctional institution in La Belle, Pennsylvania, on Friday morning. The youngest of the incarcerated group, he has been in custody since shortly after he turned 18.

His freedom marked his reunion with his family for the first time in almost 42 years. It was also historic, as it closed a chapter that had remained unfinished since the black power movement erupted in the late 1960s.

Alongside the Black Panthers, Philadelphia’s Move organisation was central to the volatile and at times violent struggle for black equality that lasted until the 1980s.

MORE: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/07/chuck-sims-africa-move-9-freed-philadelphia

New York Civil Liberties Union

Our office has been busy with the legislative session and fighting to defend the new bail law. We are working to defend the new bail law against fear mongering and misleading statements. There are many ways that you can help us!

Postcards: We have developed a postcard campaign that aims to get more letters to elected officials who are feeling the pressure to roll back on bail reforms. I’ve attached an electronic version of the postcard that you can print out. We are also happy to send you 5-10 postcards. Just email me and we’ll get that started. I’ve also attached a toolkit for writing postcards and for hosting an event yourself!

Phone calls and social media: The attached CallScripts.pdf gives sample scripts and instructions for calling your legislators and Gov. Cuomo. You can also use your Facebook or Twitter account to speak on this issue. Remember to tag your legislators!

Sample tweets: 1. Fear mongering will not work. Bail reform is here to stay. We’re not going backwards. 2. Bail reform will change the lives of thousands of LEGALLY INNOCENT New Yorkers. We can’t go backwards. 

  

Also you can retweet from our page https://twitter.com/NYCLU

Check out our Facebook page and share the posts related to bail.

Day of Action in Albany. On February 12^th, we’ll be back in Albany to meet with legislators and stand against the rollbacks. This is an important way for us to get in person meetings with legislators and their staff.  Please RSVP at this link.

Talk to your networks. Use the attached one pager “Facts About the New Bail Law” and this opinion from the Times Union for talking points and answers to some hard questions people might be asking. (Be careful, there may be a video that automatically plays when you click the link!) Remind people that people are innocent until proven guilty!

Thank you for all you do, and as always please contact us with questions!

Shannon and Lucia