FEATURED IN THIS WEEK’S MVCAN NEWS LETTER (4/12/19):
MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING - Sun. May 5, 5-6:30pm -
MV Community CenterIMMIGRATION/CIVIL RIGHTS TEAM MEETING - Sun. May 5
REPORT FROM MUELLER REPORT PROTEST IN SAN RAFAEL
REPORT BACK FROM APRIL MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING
SIGN ACLU PETITION AGAINST UCSF OUTRAGE
EYES ON THE PRIZE: AIRLIFT PICKS NEW GROUPS
TEDxMARIN EVENT - THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY - Thurs. April 18, San Rafael
DIXIE SCHOOL DISTRICT ACTION - Tues. April 16
HELP KEEP ICE OUT OF MARIN TRAINING - Tues. April 23
LIBRARY IMMIGRATION SERIES - BUILDING BRIDGES INSTEAD OF WALLS - April 22, 29, 30
CLOTHING SWAP FUNDRAISING FUN - Sun. April 28
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MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING - Sun. May 5, 5pm - 6:30pm
MV Community Center
99Rootz Project for Mobilizing Young Voters - Photo by Dr. Veronica Terriquez
Join us for our May 5 monthly meeting! We have an exciting agenda featuring guest speakers from 99Rootz, one of our major Airlift.fund grantee organizations.
Our guest speakers will be Alicia Olivarez and Crissy Gallardo, leaders of 99Rootz, a grassroots project that organizes young people in the small towns that surround Route 99 in California’s Central Valley. 99Rootz is part of Power California, an Airlift-sponsored network. 99Rootz works at building leadership pathways and safe growth spaces for young people. Their work includes re-connecting youth with their culture, political education, electoral organizing, and voter registration.
Working out of offices in Sanger and Merced, Alicia and Crissy know firsthand the joys and struggles young people experience in living in the Central Valley. Alicia and Crissy were both born and raised in the area, left to attend Harvard and UC Berkeley respectively, then returned to their hometowns to organize their friends and transform their communities.
Plus, the meeting will feature the MVCAN Political Action Team, upcoming events and more.
MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING
Sun. May 5 - 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto
See you there!
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IMMIGRATION/CIVIL RIGHTS TEAM MEETING - Sun. May 5
Immigration/Civil Rights Team Meeting
Sunday, May 5 - 4 pm-5pm (right before the MVCAN Monthly Meeting)
Lobby of Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto
Hear the latest on multiple active Marin Immigration/Civil Rights issues.
Protesters holding up their phones after calling the DOJ.
On April 4th nearly 200 activists showed up for the nationally organized emergency “Release The Report” rally in San Rafael. Many MVCANers rallied and marched downtown, and our own Susan Bolle, Celeste Perry, and Eileen Fisher spoke compellingly about the necessity of releasing the Mueller report.
The protest was full of energy and commitment, as captured with excellent TV coverage on the KTVU nightly news. Our event was the lead-off story on the 10pm show!
Check it out: It’s well worth watching. (The San Rafael footage starts after about 30 seconds): KTVU coverage of the San Rafael “Mueller Report” rally.
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REPORT BACK FROM APRIL MVCAN MONTHLY MEETING
Speakers at our April meeting.
MVCANers got an amazing overview of the Eco action scene from multiple perspectives last Sunday. Two remarkable, dedicated young men from the Sunrise Movement, Jon Kocher and Alex Morrison, spoke about their organization’s strategy and tactics for the Green New Deal - both locally and nationally.
Kudos to our other speakers: Max Perrey for covering state legislation and the success of Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” initiative and to Jenny Tomkins and Marilyn Price for discussing carbon footprints and carbon offsets.
Check out the comprehensive meeting slides here.
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SIGN ACLU PETITION TO STOP HEALTH CARE DISCRIMINATION
Everyone has the right to receive the health care they need, free from discrimination. Yet California’s largest hospital system “Dignity Health” routinely denies care based on Catholic doctrine. UCSF physicians are organizing to protest this denial of patients’ rights. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle -- by declining to provide care from abortions to transgender surgery — the Dignity Health system discriminates against women and LGBTQ people. See Doctors-demand-UCSF-break-ties-with-Catholic Hospitals over Abortion, Trans Care
More than 1,500 doctors and hospital staff have signed a petition opposing the partnership between UCSF and Catholic Dignity Health. The ACLU of Northern California has also taken up the matter.
You can help stop this healthcare discrimination against women and transgender patients by signing the ACLU petition “UC Hospitals: Stop Partnering With Dignity Health.”
To sign the petition, go Here
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EYES ON THE PRIZE: AIRLIFT PICKS NEW GROUPS
We have some exciting updates from AIRLIFT, which is MVCAN’S fundraising project for grassroots groups.
For the last 3 months the Airlift team has been meeting with advisors, reviewing options, and interviewing leaders of prospective grassroots groups to fund. We've decided to support two new groups in each of the 5 must-win battleground states for taking back the presidency: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona.
Read more about them all at Airlift.fund and find out what you can do to contribute to making victory a reality in 2020! If you have been making a monthly contribution, in order to contribute to these new groups, please cancel and begin a new monthly contribution.
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TEDxMARIN EVENT - THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY - Thurs. April 18, San Rafael
MVCAN members have a special invitation to attend an exciting TED TALK event in Marin with Harvard Scholar Lawrence Lessig and political satirist Will Durst on “The Future of Democracy.”
Thurs. April 18, 7:30 pm - 9 30 pm
Angelico Hall, Dominican University
50 Acacia Ave, San Rafael
MVCAN members will get a special insider discount on tickets, because we are a partner organization for the event, With our VIP discount it is only $24.50 (plus ticket fees).
Note: This TED event is expected to sell out in advance!
Lawrence Lessig will speak about the corruption at the heart of American politics, caused by the dependence of candidates on funding from the tiniest percentage of citizens. That’s the argument at the core of his life long work about Democracy. Fundamentally cross-partisan, and incredibly hopeful, Mr. Lessig conveys a roadmap for a democracy we could reclaim.
Will Durst, who will be opening the event, is acknowledged by peers and press alike as one of the premier political satirists in the country. The New York Times calls him “possibly the best political comic in the country.”
Join in this timely TEDx event. It promises to be an inspiring and even humorous look at the Future of Democracy
For further details, see here.
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CHANGE THE NAME “DIXIE” SCHOOL DISTRICT ACTION - Tues. April 16
As once-glorified monuments to Confederate Civil War generals are taken down across the South, “white nationalism” is rising, and the “Dixie" School District in San Rafael is still clinging to its ill-chosen name. Historical records show that Dixie School District was named for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Starting in 1997, and again in 2003 and in 2013, community members have asked the “Dixie” School Board to change the name that symbolizes slavery in America and racial inequity in Marin County.
The current Change the Name campaign has brought national media attention to Marin. To see various articles about this issue and add your name to a list of public supporters for the name change go here.
The campaign has gained tremendous support from Representative Jared Huffman, State Senator Mike McGuire, County Supervisors, the Mayor of San Rafael, and nearly all leaders who have expressed themselves.
On Tuesday, April 16, the “Dixie” School Board will meet to VOTE officially on whether to change the racially offensive name “Dixie.”
To express your support for a name change, please call or email members of the Dixie School Board:
Brad Honsberger, Board President, (415) 637-3623 brad.honsberger@gmail.com
Alissa Chacko, Board Vice President, (415) 507-0650 achacko@dixieschooldistrict.org
Brooks Nguyen, Board Clerk, (415) 729-5121 bnguyen@dixieschooldistrict.org
Marnie Glickman, (415) 259-7121 marnie.glickman@gmail.com
Megan Hutchinson, (415) 422-2652 mhutchinson@dixieschooldistrict.org
Another great way to show your support is to come to the Dixie School Board Meeting on April 16, 6:00 PM, and speak your truth for 2 minutes!
Location: 80 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael
(Check the district website to confirm location 24 hrs before meeting.)
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HELP KEEP ICE OUT OF MARIN TRAINING - Tues. April 23
Help prevent the unjust treatment of undocumented workers in Marin by ICE. Early this year, Rustic Bakery was forced to lay off a substantial portion of its workforce as a result of an audit conducted by ICE. It was a shocking and gut-wrenching outcome for Rustic Bakery's management and employees, some of whom had been with Rustic Bakery for as long as 14 years.
ICE Out of Marin is working to keep our immigrant friends and neighbors safe by protecting their workplaces. One of the most effective ways to safeguard Marin workplaces from attacks by ICE is to ensure that employers know their rights and the rights of their employees.
ICE Out of Marin and the YWCA of San Francisco and Marin are offering a two-hour training session for employers about ICE I-9 audits.
ICE Out of Marin Training
Tues. April 23, two identical sessions offered: 10am-12pm and 6pm-8pm.
Alcohol Justice
24 Belvedere Street, San Rafael
Please RSVP:
10am-12pm training: Sign up here
6pm-8pm training: Sign up here
Your support in getting the word out about this ICE training workshop is critical to its success. Please spread this information to help keep Marin County's immigrants safe.
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LIBRARY IMMIGRATION SERIES - BUILDING BRIDGES INSTEAD OF WALLS - April 22, 29, 30
The Mill Valley Library is having an April series, "Views and Voices: Immigration: Building Bridges Instead of Walls." On April 22, at Mill Valley Library the April immigration series will feature the stories of immigrant youth in Marin. In addition, Lauren Markham, author of The Far Away Brothers, discusses the story of the Flores twins' experience from El Salvador to Oakland.
Immigration Stories and Film
Mon. April 22 - 7pm to 9pm
Mill Valley Public Library - Creekside Room
375 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley
Additional dates for the immigration series at the library will be: April 29 and 30. See details below.
April 29:
The Views & Voices Book Club will feature Markham's book, Far Away Brothers, described by the New York Times as 'impeccably timed, intimately reported and beautifully expressed. Other featured selections include Exit West by Moshin Hamid and The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui. Read the featured selections or one of your choosing related to immigration before the discussion. Register here.
April 30:
Mill Valley Library is partnering with film director Jean-Michel Dissard and Tamalpais High School to share the stories of local immigrant students. Dissard visits the Library on April 30th with a public presentation featuring stories from immigrant students who are attending Tam High. Register here
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CLOTHING SWAP FUNDRAISING FUN - Sun. April 28
You can support one of MVCAN’S local grassroots partners Sister District Marin at an upcoming fundraiser. Nationally, Sister District Project mobilizes for the candidates running in key swing state-level races. Marin Sister District has been assigned two candidates to support: Virginia House of Delegates candidates Karen Mallard (Virginia Beach) and Phil Hernandez (Norfolk) for 2019.
Marin Sister District is starting to fundraise with a clothing swap on April 28 from 1-4 . Should be fun! Who doesn’t love a clothing swap!? MVCAN members are invited to donate clothes. Everyone has stuff in their closet they haven’t worn in years. Here’s a great way to do good on multiple fronts – clean out your closet and help takeover the Virginia State House and fight gerrymandering!
CLOTHING SWAP
Sun. April 28, 1-4pm
Entrance to the Swap on April 28 is $20 and you can leave with as many clothes as you can carry!!
Clothes can be dropped off at Lisa Bennet’s house in Sausalito at 91 Marin Ave or by contacting Barb Miller in Novato to make arrangements for a drop off or pick up. Contact bemiller249@gmail.com.
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JOIN AN ACTION TEAM
WANT TO GET MORE INVOLVED in a specific issue or support area? Much of MVCAN's work is done in one of our 10 awesome action teams. Click the team name to read their latest news and find their next meeting.
Civil Rights/Immigration battles for justice and fair treatment of women, immigrants, working people and followers of all faiths.
Communications works on strategy, branding, messaging and program development for MVCAN. They are looking for bright ideas and people who want to make them happen.
Eco Warriors are engaged in change at the local, state and national levels, to impact the CA carbon tax, climate change, and community outreach and action.
The Economic Action team runs AIRLIFT, our first national project. AIRLIFT funnels money to grassroots groups in winnable 2018 districts. These are seriously vetted groups that work all year round in their communities–they get tangible results without blowing through millions of dollars. Read about Airlift in the Huffington Post .
Electoral is still celebrating the incredible outcome of the 2018 Midterms. Over the past 2 years, our dedicated group of volunteers called, texted and canvassed voters in our focus CA Congressional Districts along with NV & AZ. They helped win all 7 of the 7 flippable CA Congressional Districts, along with the Senate seats in NV & AZ. As we look to 2019, we are weighing many options which include strengthening the position of our newly elected CA House Representatives, voter registration drives and the state level elections in November--and of course, the Special Congressional Elections which will result in Trump Cabinet members being fired and replaced with Congressional Republicans.
The Events team creates special events to engage our friends and neighbors to take political action with MVCAN.
Health Care is forging ahead after their successful fight over the repeal/replace of ACA.
Tech supports MVCAN through technology.
Women's Rights fundraises and canvasses for NARAL and Planned Parenthood; supports women in public office(s); and engages in local, state and federal legislation for women's protection and rights.
NEW TO MVCAN?
Visit MVCAN.org to learn about the organization and strategies, join a team, read past MVCAN newsletters, and gain helpful Resistance tools.
WANT TO VOLUNTEER YOUR SKILLS OR TALENTS?
Numerous positions and jobs are available – one-time or ongoing. Contact volunteer@mvcan.org.
Thank you for all you do!
– June, Bernard, Eileen, Rebecca, and everyone at MVCAN
MVCAN News brought to you by June, Annie and Eileen
