February 1st, 2021

News, Events & Updates

• Dr. King calls for a revolution of values in his speech given at Riverside Church in New York City, April 4th, 1967

News

• Jackson County – COVID-19 Statistics
• State of Oregon – Vaccine Rollout
• Oregon Organizers Over Halfway to $57,000 For Imprisoned Firefighters
• Some People Never Have to Worry About Being Evicted
• Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – Biden to Extend New Start Treaty

Events

Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane

• Countering White Nationalism in 2021 & Beyond – Feb. 3rd

Deconstructing Whiteness

• Rogue Reads: Tulsa Massacre – Historical Through-Line – Feb. 6th
• Dear White Folks 2: How to be ANTI-RACIST – Feb. 7th

Southern Oregon Climate Action Now

• Monthly Meeting: Climate Action 2021 – Obstacles and Opportunities 
• Transit Equity Day 2021: State of Transit Equity in Oregon – Feb. 4th
• Government Action Group Meeting   – Feb. 8th

K.A.W.S. – Keeping Ashland Women Safe

• Speak True, Stand Firm – Building Equity & Combating Racism – Feb. 12/13th

Southern Oregon Citizens Climate Lobby

• Monthly meeting featuring General Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation. All welcome. – Feb. 13th

Rogue Valley Health Care For All Oregon

• COVID-19 Vaccination Forum – Issues Surrounding Vaccination – Feb. 7th

Rogue Valley Housing Solutions

• How do we recover from disaster? – Recover and Rehouse – Feb. 2nd

Crossing Party Lines – Save America Live

• What Does Anti-Racism Mean? CPL Book Club Selection – Feb. 3rd
• Movie Night – Divided We Fall – Feb. 8th
• CPL Film Club Selection & Conversation – The Best of Enemies – Feb. 13th

Rural Organizing Project

• Building Rural Communities Safe from State Violence – Feb. 10th

Civil Liberties Defense Center

• Who’s watching the cops? – Feb. 4th

No More Deaths and La Coalición de Derechos Humanos

• Left to Die: Border Patrol, Search & Rescue, and the Crisis of Disappearance – Feb. 3rd

Updates

• Families Belong Together – Petition to Fix Broken Immigration Policies
• Message from Pam Marsh – Oregon State Representative  
• Recent Address on the Insurrection by Dr. Larry Ward, Peace House Peacemaker Awardee

I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization that brought us together, Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam. The recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: “A time comes when silence is betrayal.” That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.

The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one’s own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexing as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty. But we must move on.

L.A., with New York, is the U.S. billionaire and homeless capital, and a
leading U.S. COVID hot spot. The hospitals are jammed and front-line
health workers are overwhelmed. But such distress and death have not
stopped the rich from flaunting their millions. Their home sales are not
secret. They are widely publicized, as the wealthy are clearly not worried
that people will rise up in anger against this outrage.

READ FULL ARTICLE

In the first few weeks of 2021, there have been two new and significant developments in bilateral and multilateral nuclear policy.
The first global treaty to ban nuclear weapons, the Treaty on the Prohibition of  Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), went into force on January 22, 2021. And on January 26^th the United States and Russian agreed to extend the bilateral cap on U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for five additional years.

Key Points: 

• The extension of New START is welcomed as it prevents backsliding on nuclear disarmament.  It’s a welcome start to the new U.S. administration, but additional steps will now be needed to make progress on disarmament.
• Since the United States and Russia first agreed to this current cap on nuclear arsenals in 2010, the international community has negotiated, adopted, and brought into force a treaty banning nuclear weapons: nuclear weapons are illegal under international law.
• Throughout the time the New START agreement has been in place, Russia and the United States have spent billions each year to build new nuclear weapons systems. This is now banned under international law.
• With the New START quickly extended and the TPNW in force, the groundwork has been paved for significant disarmament advances in the coming four years. The nine nuclear armed states have no excuses not to walk that path.
• Simply staying at the current nuclear weapon levels will not be enough to protect the world from this catastrophic threat. With the TPNW in force, there is a new international standard. Russia, the United States and all nuclear-armed nations must take active steps to move towards compliance with this international treaty and join it. 

Extending New START is an important action by these two countries, especially after four years of the Trump administration withdrawing and undermining arms control agreements. However, it’s important to remember that it is not a disarmament step – it’s simply an extension of the current levels of nuclear arsenals. There is still much work to be done.

ROGUE READS:
TULSA RACE MASSACRE: HISTORICAL THROUGH-LINE 

DATE:  Saturday, February 6, 2021

TIME:  1:00 – 2:30 PM

RSVP:  To receive the Zoom link please register through JCLS, here.

Join Rogue Reads as they observe the 100th anniversary of this critical event and walk through the history, representation in media, and the residual impacts that continue to manifest today. This online program will explore the parallel Black history in Oregon and how events of the past have impacted on the present.

Hannibal B. Johnson, author of “Black Wall Street 100: An American City Grapples with its Historical Racial Trauma”, will examine what happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921 when pre-existing hate and discrimination in the United States erupted and resulted in the destruction of a Black-owned downtown area and explore how it continues to impact our nation today.

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DEAR WHITE FOLKS 2: HOW TO BE ANTI-RACIST 

DATE:  Sunday, February 7, 2021

TIME:  11:00 AM

RSVP:  Please register at https://tinyurl.com/yyk4gky6

‘Dear White Folks 2: How To Be Anti-Racist’ will take place via Zoom. This workshop can be taken standalone if you have not been to the first ‘Dear White Folks’ workshop. It will also be facilitated by Danielle LoPresti and Akeel Williams.

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Climate Action 2021:  Obstacles and Opportunities viewed through the lens of the 2020 election

The first Southern Oregon Climate Action Now General Meeting for 2021 will offer a discussion of the prospects for meaningful climate action at the federal, state and local levels.

We greet 2021 with optimism.  Our optimism stems from:

• We will have a federal administration that accepts science and acknowledges the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will also have both a House and Senate controlled by those accepting climate science and understanding the urgency for action.
• In Oregon, state agencies will be developing plans to address Governor Brown’s Executive Order 20-04 establishing an Oregon Climate Action Plan, even as other relevant legislative proposals are emerging.
• At the local level, November elections resulted in an increasing number of regional city council members conscious of the climate crisis and ready to take local action to address it.

Registration Link [No charge, but you must register]
(After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link to join the meeting.)

Government Group

Monday, February 8 from 2:00 to 3:30 via Zoom
Link to SOCAN Calendar Event

Thanks to Governor Brown, Oregon state agencies are developing plans to achieve meaningful greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon sequestration in the state. Members of this group are engaging with the statewide Oregon Climate Action Plan coalition to promote agency efforts. We will also be promoting relevant legislative proposals.

Contact Alan Journet if you are interested in federal and state action and are not on the current email list.

We have established a County and City project that will start meeting in February. Contact Lorrie Kaplan if you are interested in this project.

Diane Randall, featuring General Secretary of Friends Committee on National
Legislation, will speak about the status in Congress of greenhouse gas reduction legislation. To receive the Zoom link, send a request to Ken Deveney at kenndev@yahoo.com.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonpartisan grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. It focuses on fee-and-dividend legislation as holding the greatest promise for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In order to generate the political will necessary for passage of the Energy

Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, it trains and supports volunteers to build
relationships with elected officials, the media and their local community. There are more than 600 CCL local chapters across the United States.

Building Rural Communities Safe from State Violence 

Wednesday, February 10, 6:30-8 pm PST

Human dignity groups that make up the ROP network have been hard at work dismantling collaboration between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local law enforcement for decades. The network has recently been making major strides holding rural police and sheriffs accountable for not breaking Oregon’s sanctuary law by using local resources to enforce federal immigration policy while upholding the demands coming from the Movement for Black Lives. Groups are working to create community-based alternatives to policing, successfully ousting corrupt sheriffs, and are building pressure to meet the demands for justice for those harassed and killed by police. What’s working and where do we go from here? Register here to join the conversation by phone or computer!

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January 2021

Dear friends and neighbors,

While the start of a new year didn’t solve all of our problems, I’m optimistic. As difficult as 2020 was, our response to multiple crises demonstrated that we can meet whatever challenges come our way with resilience, tenacity and compassion. As the 2021 legislative session begins, I’m hopeful that the legislature will act quickly and decisively to spur recovery. And, with the inauguration of a new administration in Washington, we have good reason to hope that our country and our state will begin moving toward a more sustainable and equitable future that truly celebrates diversity and fosters unity.

Still, it is undeniable that the pandemic and wildfires have affected every aspect of our lives.  The most vulnerable among us have suffered the most. Low-income workers and people of color have been disproportionately affected by the public health crisis and resulting economic fallout. Small businesses have struggled to pay their bills and keep their employees. Our legislature will need to take bold and even transformative action to ensure that every resident and community across the state shares in a robust recovery.

Given the pandemic, much of the 81^st legislative session will be conducted virtually—including all committee hearings. While I yearn for the day when we can safely open the Capitol, virtual operation will be a boon for those of us who live hundreds of miles from Salem. Until now, Southern Oregon residents who wanted to participate in a legislative hearing were forced to spend four hours (each way) on the freeway for the opportunity to speak for five minutes in front of a committee. Virtual hearings mean that anyone will be able to testify on a bill or policy from the comfort of the kitchen table or office via a computer or telephone. I’m confident that electronic and audio testimony will become a permanent part of the legislative process.

As always, please stay in touch. Under the circumstances, this legislative session promises to be critical to the health and welfare of families and communities. Your feedback, questions, comments and criticism will help us to get it right.