Fall Activities – Showing up for Elections
Imagine that all of these state fair goers are progressive voters that we can mobilize! Now that Labor Day is upon us, there is lots of work to be done. The dynamics of the election have changed a lot since our last newsletter, and there’s a new sense of opportunity, replacing the tepid resignation many people felt.
The fall weather that (we hope) is on the way promises crisp clear days and nights. Let us try to make our vision of the next four years clear and our encouragement of voters crisp and effective. Check out options below for volunteer activities and chances to focus on the embodied nature of oppression and liberation.
In this issue:
- Join SURJ National Electoral work in Wisconsin
- Learn about Disability Justice
- How is Whiteness Embodied in Us?
Voter Outreach with SURJ National in Wisconsin
SURJ National will be working in six swing states for the presidential election. We’re putting the most focus in Wisconsin, where we’ll have folks on the ground to knock on doors. We’ll be going hard in the River Falls area in Congressional District 3—a very important district in the state. Please join us!
If you can’t make the whole time from 1-7pm, that’s ok, still sign up!
Door-knocking in Western Wisconsin! · Showing Up for Racial Justice
Reading for Disability Justice
Community Connections book club at the Minneapolis Public Library Washburn branch is reading Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha for September.
From the cover: “Award-winning writer and longtime activist and performance artist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha explores the politics and realities of disability justice, a movement that centers the lives and leadership of sick and disabled queer, trans, Black, and brown people, with knowledge and gifts for all. Care Work is a mapping of access as radical love, a celebration of the work that sick and disabled queer/people of color are doing to find each other and to build power and community, and a tool kit for everyone who wants to build radically resilient, sustainable communities of liberation where no one is left behind. Power and passionate, Care Work is a crucial and necessary call to arms.”
Here’s info if you’d like to join us!
Politicixed Somatics for White-bodied People
Starts Oct. 3rd. After that, meets Monday evenings!
Politicized Somatics for White-bodied People: Practices and Community for Embodying our Racial Justice Values is a cohort-based learning experience co-facilitated by Rachel Svanoe Moynihan and Rosey Lowe. White folks in our community can use this opportunity to learn how systems of domination manifest in and between our bodies—specifically the patterned ways in which white bodies have been conditioned to move and relate around race.
Together we will grow our capacity to really be with the grief and shame of our people’s history and present. Through this, we will develop relationships and practices that can help us move through our stuck patterns and shift towards greater alignment with our deeply held values. As we become more resilient in the face of discomfort, feedback and uncertainty, we become more able to take risks, use our power towards repair, and cause less harm – making our community safer for everyone.
There is a charge for these workshops. See registration links below.
Here are the full dates + details and you can register here! Registration deadline is Sept. 9th.
Questions? Contact Rachel Svanoe Moynihan at racheljoysomatics@gmail.com.
Interested in future groups? Fill out this form.
Volunteer with SURJ-TC
SURJ-TC works as a local chapter for SURJ National. Our work is local and so are our volunteers. Within this volunteer-driven culture, we strive always to make our work as transparent and non-hierarchical as we know how while holding ourselves accountable to organize white people to build the political will to end white supremacy and implement our theory of change (i.e., self-education, action, and calling in more white people).
We welcome volunteers in our working groups and teams and can offer a variety of tasks and areas of interest. Currently we have the following opportunities available:
- SURJ-TC Communications Working Group is looking for volunteers to help with monthly email set-up and social media posting support.
If you’d like to find out more or are interested in other ways to get involved, email showingupforracialjusticemn@
Donate Today: Support SURJ-TC and Community Action
SURJ-TC is now able to accept online donations via PayPal! Visit our donate page and click the “donate” button to set up your one-time or recurring donation!
How will your donation be used? We are an all-volunteer group, and your donations will be put to good use, to help our chapter cover things like:
- Compensating BIPOC partners for their time reviewing SURJ-TC curriculums
- Supplies and shipping costs for movement projects
- Occasional chapter program costs
- Basic monthly operating costs such as Zoom, our database, e-newsletters and action reminders, and our website.
| JOIN US! |
| SURJ-Twin Cities Chapter: Learn more – SURJ-TC is a Minnesota chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. White people have been told for years by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) activists that we need to educate and organize our own people. So that’s what we try to do. Learn more at www.surjtc.org. SURJ-TC is one of 150 chapters and affiliates nationwide. Learn about SURJ National at surj.org. Looking forward to seeing you soon! |