Solidarity Lowell Events and ActionsNotes from the Solidarity Lowell September Meeting This includes all of the responses we received from our City Council and School Committee candidate surveys! View here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rh5NZD6jnXNk70Dz_XnlxI04j6088SPr/view?usp=sharing Immigrant Rights Subcommittee Meeting Monday, October 7th, 6:30pm, Eliot Presbyterian Church, 273 Summer St, Lowell On the agenda: debriefing from the Cultural Exchange Potluck, discussing how to proceed with a Trust Act (or similar) for Lowell, and statewide initiatives for the Safe Communities Act and Driving Families Forward. All are welcome! More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/2189555934482196/ We’re looking to start organizing a cleanup of South Common. After holding our Cultural Exchange Potluck there the past two years, we’ve found a lot of trash that needs picking up! If you’re interested in helping, please sign up below! Sign up here: https://forms.gle/pcr5vC5sy9pkVyhWA
Local Events and ActionsBen Opara Campaign Meet and Greet Thursday, October 3rd, 6:30-8:30pm, The Old Court, 29 Central St, Lowell Join us for a party celebrating School Committee candidate Ben Opara. Meet Ben and learn where he stands on important issues facing our schools. Ben Opara has been endorsed by Solidarity Lowell. More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/506022873518262/ Your Lowell, Your Vote Panel Discussion Monday, October 7th, 6-8pm, Lowell Senior Center, 276 Broadway St, Lowell Please join us for a panel discussion featuring experts on each of the two new election system options appearing on the November 5th Municipal Election ballot. The event will be moderated by Lisa Handley, Ph.D., who is a leading expert in voter data analysis and voting patterns, and has published widely in this area. Panelists include Howard Fain, Deputy Director of Policy and Research with Voter Choice Massachusetts; Tanya Ford, Executive Director of the Cambridge Election Commission for the City of Cambridge; Michael Gallagher, J.D., a founding partner of Gallagher & Cavanaugh LLP, a Lowell-based law firm; and Niko Vangjeli, Assistant City Clerk for the City of Worcester. More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/2910989709126799/
State- and National-Level Events and ActionsRally to Defend the Cambodian Community Thursday, October 3rd, 8:30am, Burlington ICE Office, 1000 District Ave, Burlington When We Fight, We Win! We are organizing to mobilize community members out to the Burlington ICE detention facility to show up and support the Cambodian community! Cambodian community members have received notices by ICE to check-in this Thursday, October 3rd, essentially, to turn themselves in, where they will face imminent detention and deportation. Carpool information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd27hCuFRztVxOzzslVCwJJs8ESuXjvK7VSZJcxNiKsRhhS0w/viewform More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/2358148117635222 Manifestación/Rally: Licenses Can’t Wait! ¡Se Acabó La Espera! Thursday, October 3rd, 5-6:30pm, Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston Join the immigrant community and allies outside the State House to demand that legislators follow through on their promises to protect immigrants in the state of Massachusetts! The undocumented community has been fighting for drivers licenses for 15 years and have STILL not seen lawmakers deliver on promises to grant access to licenses to all residents regardless of immigration status. More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/2556182637771684/
Call to Support the Cambodian Community Senator Elizabeth Warren: 617-565-3170 Sample Script: “Hello, I’m [Name] from [Address] and Solidarity Lowell. I would like to express my grave concern about the detention and deportation of Cambodian Americans who are members of our community in Lowell. Since 2017, we have seen a sharp increase in the arbitrary detention and removal of Southeast Asian American community members. This increase heavily impacts communities in Massachusetts such as those in Lowell and Lynn, which have the second and third largest Cambodian populations in the United States. I am urging you to demand that the Department of Homeland Security halt all ICE raids targeting the Cambodian community, including many long-term Cambodian American residents of Massachusetts. Thank you!” More information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V2tj0Fu4N3o-NBIiwPZcknmXB1d_yShp/view Support Election Day Registration Please contact your state representative and state senator (find yours here https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator): Rep. Thomas Golden 617-722-2263 Sen. Edward Kennedy 617-722-1630 Sample Script: “Hello, I’m [Name] from [Address] and Solidarity Lowell. As voting rights are under attack in other states, we need to strengthen the right to vote here at home. That means making sure that all eligible voters who want to cast a ballot on Election Day are able to participate. Massachusetts’s 20-day registration deadline, however, denies thousands of eligible voters the right to vote. It is arbitrary, unjust, and unnecessary, and our neighbors in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont have already done away with their voter registration deadlines. I urge you to support legislation bringing Election Day Registration to Massachusetts (S.396/H.685). Thank you!” More information: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S396 Support the Student Opportunity Act Please contact your state representative and state senator (find yours here https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator): Rep. Thomas Golden 617-722-2263 Sen. Edward Kennedy 617-722-1630 Sample Script: “Hello, I’m [Name] from [Address] and Solidarity Lowell. The Student Opportunity Act (S. 2350) will provide $1.5 billion per year in new school funding to help the students who need it the most. Please co-sponsor this along with the following amendments:
Thank you!” More information: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/s2350
Ongoing Solidarity Lowell InitiativesChelms-FED Up Postcarding Every Tuesday, 9:30-11:30am, The Java Room, 14 Littleton Rd, Chelmsford Fed up in Chelmsford? Come join us at The Java Room! We will be writing postcards for upcoming municipal elections! Information, addresses, and supplies provided, but feel free to bring your own supplies and info as well. See you there! For more information, contact Hope at hope@solidaritylowell.com Support for Asylum-Seeker Marius Marius is the Togolese asylum seeker whom the Merrimack Valley Interfaith Sanctuary Network (MVISN) is sponsoring. With generous support from people like you and MVISN member groups like ours, Marius has retained an immigration lawyer, filed an application for asylum, and successfully moved his case to the Boston immigration courts from El Paso, exponentially increasing his possibility of ultimately winning his case. He will be eligible to apply for a work permit at the beginning of November. Until Marius receives legal authorization to work, our network has committed to financially supporting him with $500/month. Can you chip in towards the $500 we need to meet our commitment to him? Any amount will be gratefully accepted. Consider becoming a “sustaining supporter” by making a recurring monthly donation, no size too small! We are also looking for folks who are interested in helping in an ongoing basis, in any of these three committees: Legal, Fundraising, and Housing. If you’re interested, please email mvisn@solidaritylowell.com Donate here: http://www.merrimackvalleyproject.org/donate-1/ (please write “asylum” in the “special notes” part of the donation form)
Join the Affordable Housing Subcommittee As a result of our recent Strengthening Our Cities workshop series and activities at meetings, Solidarity Lowell is creating a subcommittee that will focus on the topic of affordable housing. If you are interested in joining, sign up using the form below. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/RcDDqskH7bsurq4D9
Join the Elections Subcommittee Our endorsements for the 2019 election cycle have been announced, and now we need to support these candidates! If you’re interested in helping out, please contact us at the email below. If you’re interested, please email contact@solidaritylowell.com |
