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The Tragedy Of Heterosexuality: IG LIVE WITH DAHLIA FERLITO (WP4BL), AUTHOR JANE WARD, AND ACTIVIST CHANELLE GALLANT

WP4BL’s own Dahlia Ferlito hosted a discussion with The Tragedy of Heterosexuality author Jane Ward and activist and movement strategist Chanelle Gallant. They discuss the intersection of relationships, sexism, racism and white supremacy, capitalism’s relationship to heterosexuality, the possibility of “queering” dominant relationship norms, race and power, and the benefits of taking action to end patriarchy from an intersectional feminist lens.

More about the book: The Tragedy of Heterosexuality explores what is wrong with heterosexuality in the twenty-first century, and what straight people can do to fix it for good. It shows how straight people have tried to mend a fraught patriarchal system in which intimacy, sexual fulfillment, and mutual respect are expected to coexist alongside enduring forms of inequality, alienation, and violence in straight relationships.

Watch the full discussion on the WP4BL Instagram here. It’s also on the WP4BL Facebook page here.

Amplification FROM SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE (SURJ) NATIONAL: SPRING 2021 UPDATE

SURJ National shares information about the work in progress and ahead:

"In 2021 we are positioned to grow our organizing at increasing scale and in strategic communities, focusing on abolition, economic justice and electoral power.

  • Abolition: Moving investments to communities for resources like health services, housing, and relief that keep our communities truly safe by divesting from policing and the carceral state.

  • Economic justice: We cannot separate the fight for racial justice from the fight for economic justice. The current system maintains wealth for the few by recruiting poor and working white people to see themselves as more aligned with those at the top than with working class communities of color. We are organizing for the long haul in strategic priority states to build bases of progressive power committed to racial justice with poor and working class white people.

  • Electoral power: In this moment of growing neofascist and white supremacist expression in the Republican Party, it is critical that we ensure Republicans do not take hold of the federal government again. Helping to build the base of progressive white voters in strategic districts and states is an essential role SURJ will play in 2022 midterm and state elections."

Read the full update online here.

Article: "The Emerging Movement for Police and Prison Abolition"

Mariame Kaba, a New York City-based activist and organizer, is at the center of an effort to “build up another world.” By Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Details: This article from professor and author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor gives a great overview of the abolition movement from the last few decades.

"These problems are not solved by armed agents of the state or by prisons, which sow the seeds of more poverty and alienation, while absorbing billions of dollars that might otherwise be spent on public welfare. The police and prisons aren’t solving these problems: they are a part of the problem."

Read the full article online at The New Yorker.

GENTLE CURIOSITY: IG LIVE WITH DAHLIA FERLITO (WP4BL) AND JULIE PLEC

Check out our Dahlia Ferlito (@WP4BL) in conversation with Julie Plec (@julieplec). They diceuss white anti-racism, guilt and shame, calling in and calling out and so much more! Watch the full IG live conversation on on Julie’s Instagram here!

#EndPoliceAssociations Conversation with Dr. Melina Abdullah (BLM-LA) and Dahlia ferlito (wp4bl)

Check out this conversation between Dr. Melina Abdullah (@blmlosangeles) and Dahlia Ferlito (@WP4BL) in conversation about Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles’s campaign to #EndPoliceAssociations. Hear about why police associations are not part of the labor movement, how they obstruct law enforcement accountability, and how you can show up to support the campaign. Due to some technical issues, this conversation is in two parts (about 30 minutes each): Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

The Word Is Resistance: SURJ Faith Podcast

"Signposts In the Wilderness" is the focus of these conversations about what can we learn from each other - from our mistakes and misperceptions, from our own places of pain and also our places of joy, healing, and hope, which might guide us in this time as white Christians working for racial justice? What ways of being and belonging, meaning-making and ministry, spiritual practices and movement practices can help us move towards God and towards community? The late Dr. Vincent Harding, elder and leader in the Black freedom movement, often spoke of “live human signposts” - people in our lives who can help us find the way towards greater wholeness and multiracial democracy. This Lent, we look towards each other, to the scripture, and to the live human signposts in each of our lives, to guide our path forward.

The latest episode is SURJ Faith's Rev. Anne Dunlap and SURJ LT member Blyth Barnow talk together. Link to the episode is here.

Amplification: NOlympics LA

KNOCK.LA has a new article out that details the harm the 2028 Olympics would bring to Los Angeles and our communities. "The 2028 Olympics Will Expand Policing And Surveillance In LA. Starting Now" read more here.
There are also talking points for WP4BL on COPPSC (California Olympic and Paralympic Public Safety Command), available here. See particularly the section "What are the questions we would like asked at Tuesday's City Council meeting.”
Be sure to visit and share the website PICK A SIDE LA, a resource about the 84 games and police militarization available here.
Finally, check out this NOLympics Instagram post regarding LAPD requesting a mass hiring as well as highlights from above items available here.

A PARENTS & CAREGIVERS GUIDE TO ONLINE RADICALIZATION

A new tool from the Southern Poverty Law Center: BUILDING RESILIENCE & CONFRONTING RISK IN THE COVID-19 ERA: A PARENTS & CAREGIVERS GUIDE TO ONLINE RADICALIZATION. Whether you live with a young person or now work virtually with youth, radicalization to extremism is something we all should be concerned about. Extremists looking to recruit and convert children are predators. Like all forms of child exploitation, extremist recruitment drives a wedge between young people and the adults they would normally trust. Radicalization is a problem for our entire society, from the innocent people it victimizes to the family bonds it breaks apart. Read the full guide here.

Black& Podcast: Organizing in Biden-Harris' America with Ivette (JusticeLA) and Dahlia (WP4BL)

The black& podcast focuses on current events and social issues through the lens of race and racism. The progeny of a long line of civil rights activists, authors, and lecturers, biracial, millennial, brother-sister duo, Johnathan and April Perkins speak candidly about racism, white people, and what to do next. April and Johnathan speak largely to white people who are looking to dismantle racist systems. In this episode, WP4BL’s own Dahlia Ferlito and JusticeLA’s Ivette Alé speak with the hosts about antiracist organizing under this administration. Listen here on Apple podcasts or on the hosts’ website here.

#StopLine3 webinar

In case you missed it, you can download a recording of the January 26th #StopLine3 webinar here or watch here on YouTube. A note: the ASL interpreters are not visible on the recording. The organizers are sharing this version now, and hope to share a version in the coming weeks with closed captions added. Click here for more information on the movement to Stop Line 3.

Responding To White Supremacist Violence: A securitized Communities Perspective On Domestic Terrorism

Excerpt: "Instead of doubling down on a flawed system through the expansion of counterterrorism authorities that are duplicative, misguided, and harmful, we should advance solutions that promote public safety while protecting civil rights and civil liberties. Federal, state, and local governments all have important roles to play in this effort.” Click here to read the full article.

Resources on Incarceration, Indigenous Peoples, and Access to Land

Details: Please check out a series of resources provided by Joel Garcia (bio here) on the intersection of incarceration, land, and Indigenous peoples. This is a compilation of perspectives of mostly California Indigenous women and femmes from their lived experiences.

  • Indigenous Insights About Policing (an ASA 2020 Freedom Course). This virtual panel discussion features Sarah Deer (Muscogee (Creek) Nation), Dian Million (Tanana Athabascan), Stephanie Lumsden (Hupa), and Sandi Pierce (Seneca). The session was moderated by Shannon Speed (Chickasaw). View the video on YouTube here.

  • Reproductive Justice, Sovereignty, and Incarceration: Prison Abolition Politics and California Indians by Stephanie Lumsden. Read the article here

  • Investigating Indigeneity within Incarceration: Healing Lodges in the Canadian Media by Natalia Manning. Read the report here

  • Stolen Freedom: The Ongoing Incarceration of California’s Indigenous Peoples by Morning Star Gali. Read the article here

  • Check out the works of Stormy Ogden and Luana Ross. More information on them can be found here

  • Read Bad Indians by Deborah Miranda. More info here.

Watch the teaser trailer for “The Dirty Divide”

Location: available online here
Details: Paul Freedman, an Emmy and Peabody award winning artist, has for years worked to document the amazing work of the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), and to amplify the vibrant voices of Skid Row, Los Angeles. He has just released a teaser trailer to his upcoming film “The Dirty Divide,” which documents both the beauty of the people of Skid Row, and the violence of poverty.

Organizing White Men for collective liberation

Join Organizing White Men for Collective Liberation (OWMCL) and Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) for a mass meeting to discuss patriarchy, whiteness, and how we organize white men into our movements for justice. We know the Right is extremely effective at organizing white men– an effectiveness that has deadly outcomes. How can we offer compelling alternatives and a sense of belonging to out-organize the Right? Register here.
For more: website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages and posts!

New Report: Using Terrorism Laws Against The Proud Boys Isn't The Answer

Date & Time: Now and ongoing
Location: Check out this website and guide
Details: From our friends at Vigilant Love: Recently, Vigilant Love had the honor of partnering with Dr. Nicole Nguyen of the University of Illinois-Chicago to produce a report on the dangers behind governmental initiatives that claim to target white supremacy. The report highlights the ways the Countering Violent Extremism program (CVE) focuses on individualized white supremacy while ignoring the reality that white supremacist violence is a result of long-standing, institutional racism foundational to the United States. The report also argues that policing white supremacists can't be done without increasing state tools of white supremacy like surveillance and policing, which disproportionately harm Black communities, indigenous communities, and communities of color en masse.

Ultimately, this report hopes to shed light on the legal impact domestic terrorism legislation claiming to target white supremacy will ultimately have on social justice movements. The report was written by Dr. Nicole Nguyen, who has written extensively about national security, war, and their impact on youth and communities of color, and Yazan Zahzah, our Community Organizer for Vigilant Love. Read the report here.

Hold The Line-A Guide to Defending Democracy

Date & Time: Now and ongoing
Location: Check out this website and guide
Details: The list of potential and real challenges we face is long. Whether it’s cuts to the US Postal Service; malfunctioning voting equipment; voter suppression; misinformation; intimidation at the polls; violence among political supporters; or the President improperly using the powers of the executive branch and possibly refusing to accept defeat; we are witnessing ongoing actions that destroy our democracy bit by bit.

We the People need to prepare ourselves to take on these threats swiftly, strategically, and in ways that protect the Constitution and restore accountability. This guide is designed to help people from all walks of life take action to ensure that the election is free and fair, and that the results are respected. There is a role for everyone in this effort, and your help is needed. Check out this website and guide: https://holdthelineguide.com/

Essie Justice Group's Report - Prisons, Patriarchy and a Pandemic: Our Lives on the Line Report and the Impact of COVID-19 on Women and their Incarcerated Loved Ones

Please read the Essie Justice Group report "Lives on the Line: Women With Incarcerated Loved Ones and the Impact of COVID-19 Behind Bars". As soon as COVID-19 hit, we knew our incarcerated loved ones’ lives were on the line. Because carceral facilities are designed to obscure their own violence, we put out a public call to people with incarcerated loved ones to shed light on what was happening behind bars during COVID-19 and its impact on incarcerated people and women with incarcerated loved ones. Based on data collected from over 700 women with incarcerated loved ones nationwide, our report makes clear that what is happening with COVID-19 behind bars is a humanitarian and public health disaster with tremendous impacts on the mental and physical health of incarcerated people and women with incarcerated loved ones.acism, fascism and anti-fascim. Enjoy!
This is a collaboration


Published to this page before Sunday, August 30, 2020

SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE: NEW TV SHOW: THE GET TOGETHER, EPISODE 1

Date & Time: Recorded Monday, August 24, 2020
Location: Online video recording
Details: New from SURJ: "The Get Together"! A TV show where we'll discuss race and racism today and what it has to do with white people’s struggle to keep food on the table and pay their bills. Co-hosted by two red-headed femmes, Evelyn and Chanelle, who both come from families that know what it’s like not to have enough. First episode is Monday-- spread the word!
Contact: whitepeople4blacklives@gmail.com with questions


Ending Extreme Sentencing: The Road towards Abolition

Recent demands to defund the police and shift resources away from law enforcement to community-led alternatives have gained steam across the country. We are witnessing a contemporary civil rights movement that will fundamentally alter the role and landscape of policing in the United States. What we are not seeing, however, is similar momentum to defund and abolish prisons. Police are the first point of contact for almost everyone who is impacted by...continue reading here.


Published to this page before Sunday, August 1, 2020

#DefundPolice Toolkit

Check out this toolkit from the Movement 4 Black Lives that lays out all the steps you need to wage an effective campaign, offers resources on community alternatives, and discusses potential pitfalls.



Published to this page before Sunday, July 28, 2020

Common Question about Police and Prison Abolition and Responses

Check out this resource from Dean Spade to help you respond to common push back or inquiry about what to do if we didn't have jails, prisons or police. Common questions include: What about murderers, sociopaths or dangerous people? What about public safety? and more.


Recording of Patriarchy, Police and Prisons WP4BL IG live event

Check out the recording of this important #femme4femme conversation on the impact of prisons and policing on women and femmes with Ivette Alé (Dignity and Power Now and Justice LA) and Laura Coholan (WP4BL) and here are the resources mentioned in the event.