Raleigh Activism
Jan. 23rd, 2017 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
simrobThis is a post collects information I wish I'd had upon moving to Raleigh, because a friend asked for it and I thought it might be worth collecting in a blog post. It only refers to the limited set of organizations I've had specific interaction with, it's snarky about the things I love, retweets are not endorsements.
Death Penalty Protest
Do you like holding signs? Did you attend the Women's March and think, "this moving is all well and good, but I find I'm especially into the part where I hold a sign with other people who are also holding signs"? Do you disagree with the death penalty, either because the current President has repeatedly called for the execution of five innocent men, or because it's racist in practice, or because you believe the government is too incompetent to be able to execute people who are actually guilty or without horrifically torturing people?
Every Monday from 5pm to 6pm, a group of mostly older activists, mostly from the local chapter of Amnesty International, get together outside the entrance to Central Prison and hold signs protesting execution. It's super low-key, super friendly, and super low-commitment. They leave promptly at 6pm unless someone forgets to check their watch until 6:02. I walked up to them and asked if I could hold a sign with them. They invited me to an Amnesty International letter-writing meeting after week two; I wouldn't have been able to find information about that meeting from public internet-accessible information.
Come Out And Show Them
Did you wish that the Women's March was a little weirder or a little bit artier? Did you have that phase where Adbusters was super-compelling? Do you like Dave Matthews earnestly, ironically, or really not at all but you can remember when you decided that? You should consider Come Out And Show Them, the nonprofit brought to you by the local couple that held up a signs saying "This Mailbox Was Framed!" when anti-abortion protesters stood by an abortion clinic's mailbox with a sign that said "Babies Are Murdered Here." (Though the "Weird Hobby --->" and "Bring Back Crystal Pepsi" signs are their most iconic.)
They're one of many groups trying to bring energy and focus to a series of important issues, and in Q1 2017 they're focusing on immigration, and trying to have public discussion about what it means to be a welcoming city - in a state where city governments have zero constitutional political power aside from the state government, where the party with supermajority power has made it painfully and specifically clear that cities must do everything they can to turn undocumented residents over to deportation authorities. But if that's not your cup of tea they'll be doing something else in Q2. They're the kind of group you follow on facebook, I guess.
Lillian's List
Does your favorite moment from The West Wing involve C.J.? Alternatively, did you hold out hope that Sheryl Sandberg would attend the women's march for more than the barest fraction of a second? Lillian's List is not screwing around: they want to recruit women to run for state and local office, and they want to train you to help said women. They are having luncheons and they do not have time for your dietary restrictions. There is so little time and so much to do, they are taking names, and they want you to run for office.
NAACP NC / Moral Mondays / Moral Movement
Might you rather sing than chant? Or does the idea of reclaiming the public face of Christianity from the scum who sold their souls to Donald Trump for temporal power and the prosperity gospel strike you as worthwhile? Or would you like to get arrested but not pepper sprayed and discuss literature in jail with the people you got arrested with while you're waiting for the on-call pro-bono lawyer to flag down a judge and get you bail? Or might you enjoy hanging out in the NC Senate Chamber with people who do? Do you speak to God in public, or have you ever noticed that doing so is a pretty successful tactic for the folks that appear to buy in to that sort of thing? The Moral Movement is for all of these people! It's possibly one of the most effective rainbow coalitions in recent history: multi-ethnic, urban and rural, progressive Democrats (mostly) and Republicans (a non zero amount!), religious and secular (well, secular-but-southern-enough-that-sermons-are-pretty-normal). They're prone to very long names for things, it's like the German language but for broad coalitions. You want to become a member of the NC NAACP and register with your hyperlocal NC NAACP chapter. It's a great idea to plan to attend the Moral March / Historic Thousands on Jones Street.
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood! God bless 'em, they are going to insist on providing comprehensive women's health care because it's the right thing to do, and the anti-choice people aren't ever gonna forgive them. There are a lot of opportunities here - showing up at the state house to talk to elected people, clinic escorting, talking to people in waiting rooms about their stories, and data entry among them. The barrier to entry is higher, because Planned Parenthood (and its local political affiliate Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic) have good reason to be careful about security, and the national organization has about 4 hours of curriculum they want you to get through before you start doing the stuff they really need help doing. [At the time I'm updating this, the next first-step general training is 5:30 February 9 2017.]
I timed this right because they were doing a lot of trainings for new volunteers interested in the wake of the election. If you contact me directly I can give you their coordinator's contact information, otherwise I'd sign up here and keep eyes peeled about trainings.
Raleigh Neighborhood College
As we're learning from the rogue climate fact presenters of the National Park Service, the politicians set policy, but the professional civilian service runs the government. If you've ever read a Vox article that referenced Parks&Rec, or if you wanna listen to people that are really excited about delivering the water to your house, or if you doodle "all politics is local" in notebooks when you're daydreaming, or if you want to join or start or subvert or destroy a homeowner's association, then this is a really worthwhile thing to sign up for. The curriculum involves being polite to cops and their dogs and horses, which isn't everyone's teacup. You've gotta have two hours free on Thursday night for three months, and you've gotta be a resident of Raleigh proper. My classmates were the most diverse group of Raleigh people I've interacted with while I've lived here.
Death Penalty Protest
Do you like holding signs? Did you attend the Women's March and think, "this moving is all well and good, but I find I'm especially into the part where I hold a sign with other people who are also holding signs"? Do you disagree with the death penalty, either because the current President has repeatedly called for the execution of five innocent men, or because it's racist in practice, or because you believe the government is too incompetent to be able to execute people who are actually guilty or without horrifically torturing people?
Every Monday from 5pm to 6pm, a group of mostly older activists, mostly from the local chapter of Amnesty International, get together outside the entrance to Central Prison and hold signs protesting execution. It's super low-key, super friendly, and super low-commitment. They leave promptly at 6pm unless someone forgets to check their watch until 6:02. I walked up to them and asked if I could hold a sign with them. They invited me to an Amnesty International letter-writing meeting after week two; I wouldn't have been able to find information about that meeting from public internet-accessible information.
Come Out And Show Them
Did you wish that the Women's March was a little weirder or a little bit artier? Did you have that phase where Adbusters was super-compelling? Do you like Dave Matthews earnestly, ironically, or really not at all but you can remember when you decided that? You should consider Come Out And Show Them, the nonprofit brought to you by the local couple that held up a signs saying "This Mailbox Was Framed!" when anti-abortion protesters stood by an abortion clinic's mailbox with a sign that said "Babies Are Murdered Here." (Though the "Weird Hobby --->" and "Bring Back Crystal Pepsi" signs are their most iconic.)
They're one of many groups trying to bring energy and focus to a series of important issues, and in Q1 2017 they're focusing on immigration, and trying to have public discussion about what it means to be a welcoming city - in a state where city governments have zero constitutional political power aside from the state government, where the party with supermajority power has made it painfully and specifically clear that cities must do everything they can to turn undocumented residents over to deportation authorities. But if that's not your cup of tea they'll be doing something else in Q2. They're the kind of group you follow on facebook, I guess.
Lillian's List
Does your favorite moment from The West Wing involve C.J.? Alternatively, did you hold out hope that Sheryl Sandberg would attend the women's march for more than the barest fraction of a second? Lillian's List is not screwing around: they want to recruit women to run for state and local office, and they want to train you to help said women. They are having luncheons and they do not have time for your dietary restrictions. There is so little time and so much to do, they are taking names, and they want you to run for office.
NAACP NC / Moral Mondays / Moral Movement
Might you rather sing than chant? Or does the idea of reclaiming the public face of Christianity from the scum who sold their souls to Donald Trump for temporal power and the prosperity gospel strike you as worthwhile? Or would you like to get arrested but not pepper sprayed and discuss literature in jail with the people you got arrested with while you're waiting for the on-call pro-bono lawyer to flag down a judge and get you bail? Or might you enjoy hanging out in the NC Senate Chamber with people who do? Do you speak to God in public, or have you ever noticed that doing so is a pretty successful tactic for the folks that appear to buy in to that sort of thing? The Moral Movement is for all of these people! It's possibly one of the most effective rainbow coalitions in recent history: multi-ethnic, urban and rural, progressive Democrats (mostly) and Republicans (a non zero amount!), religious and secular (well, secular-but-southern-enough-that-sermons-are-pretty-normal). They're prone to very long names for things, it's like the German language but for broad coalitions. You want to become a member of the NC NAACP and register with your hyperlocal NC NAACP chapter. It's a great idea to plan to attend the Moral March / Historic Thousands on Jones Street.
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood! God bless 'em, they are going to insist on providing comprehensive women's health care because it's the right thing to do, and the anti-choice people aren't ever gonna forgive them. There are a lot of opportunities here - showing up at the state house to talk to elected people, clinic escorting, talking to people in waiting rooms about their stories, and data entry among them. The barrier to entry is higher, because Planned Parenthood (and its local political affiliate Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic) have good reason to be careful about security, and the national organization has about 4 hours of curriculum they want you to get through before you start doing the stuff they really need help doing. [At the time I'm updating this, the next first-step general training is 5:30 February 9 2017.]
I timed this right because they were doing a lot of trainings for new volunteers interested in the wake of the election. If you contact me directly I can give you their coordinator's contact information, otherwise I'd sign up here and keep eyes peeled about trainings.
Raleigh Neighborhood College
As we're learning from the rogue climate fact presenters of the National Park Service, the politicians set policy, but the professional civilian service runs the government. If you've ever read a Vox article that referenced Parks&Rec, or if you wanna listen to people that are really excited about delivering the water to your house, or if you doodle "all politics is local" in notebooks when you're daydreaming, or if you want to join or start or subvert or destroy a homeowner's association, then this is a really worthwhile thing to sign up for. The curriculum involves being polite to cops and their dogs and horses, which isn't everyone's teacup. You've gotta have two hours free on Thursday night for three months, and you've gotta be a resident of Raleigh proper. My classmates were the most diverse group of Raleigh people I've interacted with while I've lived here.
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Date: 2017-01-25 01:34 pm (UTC)