Rally for Black Trans Lives on Tuesday, June 30



Thanks to Matlyn Drucker for sending the following announcement:

There will be a Rally for Black Trans Lives on Tuesday, June 30, at 6:30 PM at Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie. Attendees are asked to wear white. Note: Trans & non-binary meetup at 6:00. Supporters can donate $ for H2O and mask distribution by Venmo to @Mattie-Drucker.

For more information, contact Ezra Weissman at ezraweissman67@gmail.com.
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Let the Dutchess County Legislators and County Executive Molinaro know that we, the taxpayers, don't want or need a new jail!

Friends,

Here’s something concrete, useful, and simple we each can do locally on the issue of reimagining public safety in the wake of George Floyd’s murder: Let the Dutchess County Legislators and County Executive Molinaro know that we, the taxpayers, don't want or need a new jail.

The money for its cost was not justifiable to begin with.  Now with repercussions of the COVID pandemic and the call for defunding the police, this money can be used to pay for community needs.  

Making your voice heard here ranges from “quick and easy” to “more effective”. Please consider adding your voice either way or both! And, please share with a couple friends.

Best regards,
Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance (DCPAA)
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson (NLMH)
E.N.J.A.N. (End the New Jim Crow Action Network)

Quick and Easy: Add your name to the letter shown below as an individual or as an organization by July 8 to be sent to our Dutchess County legislators by clicking on the link here: 

More effective: Write your own email or letter, (or copy and paste this one), and send it to your County Legislator and County Executive by July 9th.
If you want to write to all: countylegislators@dutchessny.gov  with a cc to cmorris@dutchessny.gov (Legislature Clerk) with Public Comment in the subject line.
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For Maurice Gordon


Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson and ENJAN are sponsoring a rally and vigil on Monday, June 22 in Poughkeepsie for Maurice Gordon. Maurice, a resident of Poughkeepsie, was killed by police in New Jersey on May 23. We demand justice!
  • Meet at Mansion Square Park on Mansion Street at 7:00 PM for rally.
  • March to Post Office on Mansion Street for 8:45 vigil.
  • Bring face mask, candles, and water.
See also Facebook event.

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Juneteenth Bridge Lighting and March, Friday, June 19


Nu-Life Movement presents a Juneteenth Bridge Lighting and March, Friday, June 19. Meet at corner of Main & Market Streets in Poughkeepsie at 8:00 PM. March down to Wayras Park. 
  • Attendees must bring a candle.
  • Attendees must wear all black.
The Mid-Hudson Bridge is to be lit in BLM colors: red, yellow, and green.
See attached JPG above for more information.

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New York State Health Act

Activist Radio has the following guest on this week:

GUEST: Jeff Mikkelson, researcher and grassroots healthcare activist, talks about the campaign to get his town, Phillipstown, to pass a resolution supporting the New York State Health Act.

Activist Radio is broadcast: Thursdays 5-6 pm from WVKR 91.3 FM at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY; Sundays 4-5 pm from WIOF 104.1 FM in Woodstock, NY; and Sundays 5-6 pm from the Progressive Radio Network at PRN.FM. It will also be posted on the ClassWars website for the next six weeks. Simply click on the date to hear it.



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Miscellany News podcast

On June 9, ENJAN member and Miscellany News editor Tiana Headley released her first podcast episode The Equitable New York Act and Job Discrimination, featuring her in-depth interview of ENJAN member and NYS legislation author Brian Robinson.
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Juneteenth 2020 in Kingston

43 Gill St | Kingston

A Facebook Live Event Commemorating African-American Independence.

This online festival will engage, educate and entertain as we celebrate the rich cultural history of African Americans in this country.

Join us for this family-friendly event filled with song, dance, spoken word, history and more from various participants at locations throughout Kingston.

Bookmark this Link to Join Us at 1p this Saturday.
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Not sufficient

"Only by pausing long enough to study the cycles of oppression and resistance does it become clear that simply being a good person or not wishing black people any harm is not sufficient. Nor is voting for Democrats or diversifying police forces. In fact, those efforts have not made much of a dent in ending abusive policing or mass incarceration...

We cannot achieve racial justice and create a secure and thriving democracy without also transforming our economic systems. James Baldwin knew this back in 1972 when he wrote:
'The necessity for a form of socialism is based on the observation that the world’s present economic arrangements doom most of the world to misery; that the way of life dictated by these arrangements is both sterile and immoral; and finally that there is no hope for peace in the world so long as these arrangements obtain.' "
- Michelle Alexander

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/opinion/george-floyd-protests-race.html 
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No Way to Treat a Child Campaign


-Tuesday, June 16 from 7-8 PM. “Children in Detention,” an introduction to the No Way to Treat a Child Campaign. A ZOOM panel featuring Kwame Holmes, PhD, Scholar in Residence, Human Rights Program, Bard College, and Shaina Low, U.S. Advocacy Officer at Defense for Children International, Palestine, will discuss systemic mistreatment, abuse and arrest of Black American and Palestinian youths in the US and Israel. We recommend two short films, "Arrested for Being Black” (13 min) and “Detaining Dreams” (21 min) as resources to watch ahead of time. Sponsored by Jewish Voice For Peace - Hudson Valley, Mideast Crisis Response, Veterans For Peace, and Women in Black - New Paltz. Contact: mecr@mideastcrisis.org or 845 876-7906.

Please register in advance for this meeting:

Short films:


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Demonstration on Monday , June 8

Southern Dutchess Resist is sponsoring a demonstration on Monday , June 8, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Polhill Park (corner of South Ave. and Main St.), Beacon. We are calling for the Beacon City Council to DEFUND THE POLICE! 

Right now, Beacon spends about 25% of its entire budget on the police. That is money that could go to vital programs our city needs.

What this moment has shown is that, at a time of mass inequality, a viral pandemic, and crumbling infrastructure, police departments across the country are radically overfunded. They have been allowed to accrue massive amounts of power over our representatives and over our communities. We must meet this moment and make clear what our priorities are: PEOPLE, NOT POWER.

Bring signs like "Defund the Police!", "Defund & Reinvest!", "A Budget is a Moral Document"...etc. The focus is specifically on defunding, divestment, and reinvesting in our community.

See you there!

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Sunday, June 7, at 4:00 P.M.

Community Prayer Walk on Sunday, June 7, at 4:00 P.M. beginning at Mansion Square Park in Poughkeepsie and walking to Waryas Park (1.5 mi.).
  • Join us as we pray for our family, community & nation!
  • Participants must wear a mask.
  • NO PRAYER, NO PEACE
For more information, contact (845 area code):
  • Sonia: 220-8035
  • Michelle: 232-3686
  • Regina: 546-3145
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Rhinebeck to hold Black Lives Vigil June 14

You are invited to participate in a demonstration to commemorate Black lives lost to police brutality and institutionalized racism. This will take place in the village of Rhinebeck on Flag Day, June 14, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.  Our intention is to create a visual that challenges people to consider what that flag means in these harrowing times and how we can grow and change into an America that represents all people equally. We have taken the name for the event, They Too, Are America, from the Langston Hughes poem I too, Sing America, which keeps central to its theme a message of hope and progress.

Our hope is to bring these issues to light in the community of Rhinebeck in a way that acknowledges our emergence from a pandemic and respects the vulnerability of local businesses, while employing our right to peacefully gather and protest. The idea is that, starting at the intersection of Route 9 and East Market Street, participants will begin a line that stretches north, each holding a sign with the name of a victim of police brutality. We will stand six feet apart, wearing masks, and allow drivers and pedestrians to see how long that list of names is as they pass out of town. ...

Here is the Sign-Up Sheet where participants can sign up for a name. 

Thank You,

Laura Kufner & Sophie Greller
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Pass meaningful police transparency laws

New York has failed to pass meaningful police transparency laws for years while officer misconduct has been routinely protected under the auspices of state law. 
Today we join our partners at Communities United for Police Reform and urge you to take action to put an end to to this. Police, like every other branch of government, must be held to the highest standards of accountability, no exceptions. Call your state representatives and ask them to immediately return to session and:
  1. End police secrecy and repeal 50-a (A2513/S3695), which shields the personnel records of police officers, firefighters, and corrections officers.
  2. Pass the Police Statistics and Transparency (STAT) Act (S1830/A05472), which requires police departments to record and report demographic and geographic data on enforcement of low-level offenses.
We realize that strengthening public disclosure laws are but a piece of a broader justice framework and will not solve for the brazen misconduct we saw in New York over the last few days. It is, however, a step towards greater accountability. 
In solidarity,
Susan Lerner & the team at CCNY
Not sure who to call? Look up your state legislator here.
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