“Justice is what love looks like in public, just like tenderness is what love feels like in private.” —Cornel West
Peace House invites you to come rethink what love and leadership look like in these times of struggle and uncertainty.
Join us for the long weekend spanning Valentine’s Day and President’s Day to learn together, sing together, and find new ways to protect our neighbors and show love for our community.
We’re hosting events in two locations: Peace House in Ashland, and the library in Medford.
MEDFORD LIBRARY EVENTS
Friday, February 13th, 6-8pm: Noncooperation 101
Words like authoritarianism, fascism, and autocracy are all being thrown around a lot these days. How does this moment in the U.S. compare to authoritarian take-overs in other places? We’ll talk about the current authoritarian threat, then share stories of noncooperation and how nonviolent noncooperation has been used to push back against anti-democratic forces.
Open to all, no registration required. See more event details.
Saturday, February 14th, 11am-2:30pm: Intro to Security Culture
What’s encryption? Why use Signal? How do you gauge when to share information with others and when to withhold it? Learn some of the basics of security culture, and how keeping your own information secure and safe can help protect others in your community.
Open to all, no registration required.
Saturday, February 14th, 3-5pm: Free Families : Songs and Community Building for Migrant Justice Now
Come sing together and learn how to weave song, healing cultural practice, and community-building. Bring your voice (yes, even those of you who don’t think you can sing—we want you here!) and your heart for migrant justice. Hosted by Lu Aya of Songs in the Key of Resistance and The Peace Poets.
Open to all, no registration required.
(These events are not sponsored or endorsed by the library.)
PEACE HOUSE IN ASHLAND EVENTS
Saturday, February 14th, 12-2pm: 4th Amendment Workplace Ashland Team Launch
Join Coalición Fortaleza’s 4th Amendment Workplace campaign for a potluck lunch and volunteer orientation! Space is limited, please sign up in advance.
POSTPONED – Monday, February 16th, 10-2pm: Economic Noncooperation and ICE: A Workshop and Strategy Session
Note: We are postponing this session to be in solidarity with the Day Without an Immigrant Action taking place in Medford! We will be rescheduling soon. If you’d like to get registration info for the next time, send an email to meg@peacehouse.net.
Boycotts, strikes, tax resistance — these are just a few of the nonviolent noncooperation tactics movements have used around the world to disrupt authoritarian forces. We’ll break down the mechanics of these tactics and look at how they might be deployed against the violent excesses of ICE in our current moment.
In this workshop we’ll share stories from global movements, review concepts like the pillars of support and basics of campaign strategy, then dig into creative campaign design ourselves to see what actions we might take together here in Oregon.
Workshop space is limited. To try and build a group bringing diverse viewpoints and experience levels, we are asking folks to fill out an application to participate. We’ll begin sending out acceptances on a rolling basis starting February 5th.
If you have difficulty accessing the form please email with your interest to meg@peacehouse.net.
Monday, February 16th, 5-7pm: From President’s Day to July 4th: A Talk and Community Brainstorm
This July 4th will be the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and we’re expecting an escalation in fascist rhetoric and pressure to narrowly define citizenship and patriotism. How can we find ways to push back on this culture of authoritarianism in the lead-up to July 4th? How do we honor our democratic ideals while recognizing the long history of harm in the U.S? What are alternative ways we can observe our interdependence and love of the land on July 4th?
One-part presentation, one-part community brainstorming of ways to collectively observe July 4th this year.
MORE MEDFORD EVENTS
Many of our community partners and friends are also hosting events this weekend! Here are a few of the other happenings on our radar:
Join Unite Oregon and others in showing your support for all the immigrants in our community.
MORE ASHLAND EVENTS
Saturday, February 14th, 3-5pm: Jobs With Justice Valentine’s Day Party
Can’t make it to Medford our community song event? Consider joining the Jobs with Justice crew at Pioneer Hall and learn how to help out with their community meals and more!
Sunday February 15th, 6pm: The Power of Song with RV Peace Choir
Listen to the Rogue Valley Peace Choir perform with three other regional peace choirs in a mega-concert! Donations suggested but not required. Performance is at SOU Recital Hall, 450 S. Mountain Ave.
Also check out the Saturday evening performance and talent show at Wesley Hall: https://roguevalleypeacechoir.org/event/multi-choir-dinner/
