RAPID RESPONSE TEAM ACTION LIST FOR JUNE 2, 2021

The RRT (Rapid Response Team) Action List compiles action items from the week and upcoming events into one place. If you would like to add anything to the weekly update, please send it to Dee Halzack at dee@solidaritylowell.com.

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE FOR THE SAFETY OF YOURSELF AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

Solidarity Lowell Events and Actions

Save the Date: Solidarity Lowell General Meeting

Sunday, June 27, 5:30pm

Support for Asylum-Seeker Marius

Donations are needed to assist Marius, 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. Until Marius receives legal authorization to work, our network has committed to financially supporting him with $500/month. Please chip in towards the $500 we need to meet our commitment to him. Any amount will be gratefully accepted.

Donate here: http://www.merrimackvalleyproject.org/donate-1/ (please write “asylum” in the “special notes” part of the donation form)

Local Events and Actions

Please sign the petition for justice on state-backed killings in Cambodia

https://www.change.org/p/cambodians-together-we-fight-to-end-impunity-justice-for-state-backed-killings-in-cambodia
Details are inside. You may sign the petition anonymously if you need to.

March for Moses

Saturday June 5, 12:00-2:00pm (rain or shine)
850 Lawrence Street, Lowell

Demand justice for Moses Harris, who disappeared during an encounter with the police. No police report has been made public as of publication date. Although Moses’ body has been found, there are still a lot of questions that have not been answered. Deaths involving police should be investigated by an independent body, not the police department involved in the incident. Meet near where Moses went missing and march to the Lowell Police Headquarters (JFK Plaza/Arcand Drive).

For more information, contact CAJE on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CAJE.LowellMA

State-level Events and Actions

Driving Families Forward Phone Bank

Wednesday, June 2, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
RSVP here for link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0vfuCqqzwuHd1b_273I8El3WBv48-4p8WU

Join the Driving Families Forward Coalition to phone bank for the Work and Family Mobility Act, which will enable all qualified state residents to obtain a driver’s license or identification card regardless of immigration status.
(h/t Driving Families Forward Coalition)

Third Safe Communities Act Campaign Under Way

Wednesday, June 9, 6-8pm
The third campaign for Safe Communities is well underway! The Massachusetts Safe Communities Act (S.1579 and H.2418) has now been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Safety, which will hold a public hearing on the bill sometime this year, likely this fall.

Thanks to public activism, there are 75 House cosponsors, and 20 Senate cosponsors. That’s half the Senate, and nearly half the House!

With a new legislative session, a new House Speaker, a new Public Safety Committee, and near-majority support, the SCA campaign is continuing its momentum from last session.

But a supermajority of House and Senate votes will be needed to overcome an expected Governor’s veto. That’s two-thirds of each chamber: 107 House votes and 27 Senate votes.

Please join the Coalition in June for a virtual Phone Bank to mobilize constituents in swing districts to call their legislators! Register below, and they’ll contact you with details, and provide training and support throughout. Don’t forget to invite your friends—you can create your own phone bank party!

Sign up here for Wednesday, June 9, 6pm to 8pm: http://bit.ly/SCAPhone609
Sign up here for Wednesday, June 23, 6pm to 8pm: http://bit.ly/SCAPhone623

Solidarity Lowell is a volunteer group of community members of Greater Lowell working toward social justice by defending the human rights, dignity, and equality of all persons against all forms of hate and discrimination.

Visit the Solidarity Lowell website: http://solidaritylowell.com

For more events not listed here, visit the full Events calendar: https://solidaritylowell.com/events/

To join our postcarding efforts to write to legislators on issues of interest , please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/h2V7gJ1e2WbY9dKU9

For volunteer opportunities, visit our Volunteer page: https://solidaritylowell.com/volunteer-opportunities/

For positive news visit Solidarity Lowell Upbeat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/326202548419687

View the notes from our May meeting:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11R4df87hbYo-QU4z2w9KfS6hKgIioap_ExnEi3cS7OE/edit?usp=sharing

Watch the video from our May meeting:
https://youtu.be/L0drAWMW630
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