Nearly ten thousand people demonstrate in May 2021 in San Francisco in solidarity with the people of Palestine. Brooke Anderson Photography / AFSC
Economic Activism Program, Oakland
Standing in solidary with the people of Palestine
Nearly 10,000 people took to the streets of San Francisco recently in solidarity with the people of Palestine and against on-going Israeli settler-colonialism and violence. AFSC’s Palestine Activism Program has compiled this list of resources for awareness and action. See Investigate’s list of corporations complicit in the military attacks on Gaza.
On May 19, AFSC allies presented a shareholder resolution which we helped draft to the Northrop Grumman annual shareholder meeting with explicit concerns about Israel’s use of the company’s weapons in war crimes, as well as the company’s complicity in Homeland Security surveillance. The resolution won 22.35% of the votes, which is considered high.\
On May 21, we sent out letters to the six major U.S. weapons companies asking them to stop sales to Israel. We helped draft and organize this initiative, which was spearheaded by Investor Advocates for Social Justice. We succeeded in getting 36 institutional, faith-based, and individual investors with $22.4 billion in assets under management to sign these letters to the companies.
Pan Valley Institute (PVI), Fresno
Author to discuss how nations deal with their difficult pasts
PVI invites you to register for the June 3 book presentation “Remembering Violence: How Nations Grapple with their Difficult Pasts.” Author Robin Maria DeLugan will explore how museums, monuments and commemorations are bringing new attention to 1930’s violence linked to 20th-century authoritarianism. Dr. DeLugan is a sociocultural anthropologist whose research focuses on nation-states, nation-building, social memory and national belonging.
Roots for Peace (R4P) Program, Los Angeles
Connecting with the spirit of our abolitionist ancestors
From Instagram: “Tending to the compost process has revealed the need for us to honor both the life and death cycle, as well as our agency to grieve, to breathe, and to understand. Just like decomposing matter, we are also transforming, evolving, and rebirthing. Learning to see ourselves—our regeneration—as a vessel for the spirit of our ancestors. Trusting that we’re moving with their spirit of abolition and that our liberation and joy is connected to them—and to the spirits of generations to come….”
Lupe Salazar receives farm fresh eggs from Feliz and Alonso
for her food pantry Photo: Ashley Roux Trujillo
People of the Land Program, Albuquerque
Farm to Foodbank still going strong
“Over a year ago when AFSC Mew Mexico started Farm to Food Bank, we didn’t know how long the pandemic would last and didn’t imagine the need would still exist in the spring of 2021,” writes Sayrah Namaste of AFSC. Sayrah tells the story of how small farmers Ashley Trujillo and Serafina Lombardi were able to provide their organic, farm-fresh eggs to a food pantry thanks to county support and generous donors to AFSC. Such food assistance is critical in a state with the nation’s second highest unemployment rate.
Juana Armijo is interviewed on Telemundo.
Immigrant Rights Program, Denver
Former farmworker tells lawmakers what the job is really like
A long-time leader with Not1More Deportation, a project of AFSC Colorado, Juana Armijo recently gave compelling testimony to federal and state lawmakers regarding the horrific conditions faced by farmworkers, including long hours, wage theft, lack of clean water and bathrooms, and sexual harassment. Congress is currently considering the Farm Workforce Modernization Act that would expand exploitive guestworker programs, and Colorado state legislators are working on the Agricultural Workers Bill of Rights that would give farmworkers the right to organize and overtime pay.
Oregon #FreeThemAll car caravan (photo by Beth Ronk)
Project Voice Immigrant Rights Program, Oregon-Washington
Caravans bring messages of hope to mothers in detention
As part of AFSC’s recent #FreeThemAll actions from May Day to Mother’s Day, Pedro Sosa organized eight car caravans to convene at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, one of the country’s largest ICE facilities. Activists there read aloud 500 letters collected from 10 cities in Oregon to let mothers inside know they were not forgotten. View more photos from ally Beth Ronk.
Pedro Rios on AFSC Facebook Live from Tijuana
US-Mexico Border Program, San Diego
As immigrants seek refuge, the US clings to “monuments of hatred”
“The border fence and all the infrastructure around it, like the concertina wire and the Border Patrol agents—these are all monuments to hatred,” says Pedro Rios of AFSC in this LA Times article. Pedro writes about migrant mothers risking everything for their children and reports from the Chaparral, an encampment of migrants in Tijuana.
Healing Justice Program, Oakland
Police demilitarization, Racial Justice Act for All move forward
John Lindsay-Poland of AFSC reports that in April, the Berkeley City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to oversee and make transparent militarized police equipment used for crowd control and SWAT operations, regardless of whether the equipment came from the Pentagon. Fatimeh Khan of AFSC adds: “During our recent Racial Justice Act for All Week of Action, volunteers and co-sponsors lobbied virtually with dozens of offices in the California Assembly. During the Week of Action, co-sponsors held a ‘Power Hour’ over Zoom. The bill has made it out of Assembly Appropriations and is headed for a floor vote.”
67 Sueños, Oakland
Free Our Kids coalition hosts Youth Coach Ups in Alameda County
From Instagram: “We are continuing with our monthly Youth Coach Ups (YCU). Our April YCU was very informative, and we had some dope conversations around power. Make sure y’all don’t miss out and register to attend our next monthly YCU. If you are a youth interested in getting involved, this is the space.” Also, be sure to check out Town Youth Voices, episode three of podcast Radio 67.
Enrique Alan Olivares-Pelayo (Rebecca Sasnett, Arizona Daily Star)
Arizona Program, Tucson
Justice organizer honored as “outstanding graduating student”
Caroline Isaacs of AFSC says she’s pleased to share this amazing piece that recently ran on the front page of the Arizona Daily Star featuring Enrique Olivares-Pelayo, ReFraming Justice Organizer with AFSC. Enrique graduated from the University of Arizona summa cum laude and was awarded the Provost Award for an “outstanding graduating student who showed perseverance, above-average scholastics, and contributed to the UA community.”
Short takes
Register now for AFSC’s webinar The Power of Economic Activism on June 16, 4pm PT, focusing on grassroot strategies to influence large corporations…. Join AFSC staff at Friends General Conference June 27 to July 3. Participate in the “Quakers, Blacks, and Abolition” or “Decolonizing the Future” immersive workshops or join us for one of four afternoon events…. Check out AFSC’s latest Alumni Newsletter, the spring edition of Quaker Action, and AFSC’s 2020 Annual Report…. Read General Secretary Joyce Ajlouny’s article about Palestine, these thoughts about the Gaza ceasefire from Jehad Abusalim, and this letter to President Biden from Haneen Shat.
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