Fall begins next week, so don't miss these opportunities to get outdoors during the last few days of summer! Participate in the Jericho walk at the Burlington ICE facility today, support the student climate strikes in Lexington and Boston this Friday, or march to protect democracy this Saturday. Prefer indoor activities? Contact your legislators, attend a fundraiser, or read a good book! This issue of the Muster has something for everyone.
Fall is a busy time, so don't forget to bookmark our homepage and website calendarto get the latest news. We'll be adding and updating events and actions frequently until the next Muster comes out three weeks from now on October 7.
MEET WITH US IN SEPTEMBER!
Join us next week at our MI Book Club Meeting on September 25, or our Weekday Warriors Meeting on September 27. We'll also also be collecting signatures for the ranked choice voting ballot question, supporting the Student Climate Strike on September 20, rallying for election security on September 23, and registering new citizens to vote on September 24. Make plans to join us and mark your calendar now for our next monthly Activism Evening on Monday, October 14!
Register New Citizens to Vote
Tuesday September 24, 11:00am-noon
Malden High School, 77 Salem St.,Malden Join us at this voter registration event for new citizens organized by MIRA. We'll help newly sworn-in citizens fill out voter registration forms. All materials—clipboards, forms, and pins—are provided. No prior experience necessary—MIRA will provide training. We'll also be visiting Rep. Katherine Clark's new district office in Malden after this event. Let us know if you plan to join us.
MI Book Club Meeting
Wednesday September 25, 7:15-8:45pm
Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Road,Lexington Come share information about a favorite book and help us decide what books to read this fall. We'll also be revisiting On Tyranny, the book we discussed at our first meeting two years ago. New members are always welcome and we provide a summary of the book for those who haven't had a chance to read it yet. RSVP here.
Collect signatures this fall. Sign up here to collect signatures with other MI membersand we'll get you everything you need. You can also collect signatures on your own by signing up directly with the ballot campaign here. Find locations across the state where volunteers are already planning to collect signatures here.
Stop by the new regional field office in Concord at 199 Sudbury Road(2nd Floor) and meet Dan Costello (Middlesex County Field Organizer), Monica Burke (Statewide Organizer), and other members of the campaign team.
Also pledge to attend the RCV hearing at the State House this fall (date/time TBD). Sign up here.
DEMAND THE SENATE PROTECT ELECTION SECURITY
Mitch McConnell is trying to prevent our nation from taking action on Election Security. But we have a chance to win $600 million to secure our elections by the Congressional funding deadline at the end of September. The House has already passed a bill calling for this funding for our top election security needs, so the target is McConnell and the Senate. On Tuesday, September 17, join us and other groups across the country in a nationwide day of action to Secure Our Vote!
Call your Senators at833-413-5906 and urge them to pass the $600 million House funding bill for election security. You’ll be given talking points and then be connected to the Capitol Switchboard.
Write a letter to the editor. Election security doesn’t get enough press, and when it does it gets lost in the noise. Enter your zip code into this super-helpful tool that will identify the newspapers in your area and provide a template for your letter!
Pass this information on. These actions, like the problem they’re addressing, are national. Even deep red states have officials who care about their elections. Even deep blue states have officials who need to hear how important the issue is. Let your family, friends, and contacts in other states know how they can participate and why they should.
SUPPORT THE YOUTH-LED CLIMATE STRIKE & WEEK OF ACTION
Participate in this international event, planned by and featuring youth, highlighted in the U.S. by the participation of Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish student who held the first strike by herself in 2018. There are over 2500 strikes planned in more than 120 countries! Students have held the previous climate strikes, but are urging adults to join them this month to support their concerns.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20
LEXINGTON CLIMATE STRIKE
We'll be joining with Lexington GWAC and other groups in a march at 9:30am from the Battle Green to the LHS football field where we'll support the Lexington Climate Strike, organized by LHS students, from 10 - 11:00am. Students will talk about their climate concerns and proposed actions. Get more details on the LHS students' climate strike website and RSVP here. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
BOSTON CLIMATE STRIKE
After the Lexington event, consider going into Boston for the Boston Climate Strike. There will be a Rally at City Hall Plaza starting at 11:30, followed by a March to the State House at 1:00pm and action at the State House from 1:30-2:30pm. See the Boston Strike webpagefor the complete schedule and other info. RSVP here and/or donate here.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
CLIMATE CATASTROPHE TOUR KICKOFF
Join 350 Mass at 1:00pm on the State House steps in Boston for the start of their Climate Catastrophe Tour, part of their Climate Strike Week of Action. They'll be protesting the Baker administration's approval of permits for the Fore River Compressor Station in Weymouth and will then march to South Station. See this link for more details and to RSVP.
PROTECT IMMIGRANTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
JERICHO WALK AT BURLINGTON ICE OFFICE
Join local faith leaders and community members from 1-2:00pm at 1000 District Ave (behind the Burlington Mall) for their monthly Jericho Walk, an act of solidarity to bring down the walls of our unjust immigration system, that is open to people of all or no faiths. If you bring signs, please make them supportive of immigrants, and refrain from signs explicitly endorsing or condemning any political candidate or official. See this link for more details.
SEPTEMBER 18 and 22
MAINE MATTERS CAMPAIGN KICKOFF
Our friends at Swing Left Greater Boston will be canvassing in southern Maine on three Saturdays this fall (9/28, 10/13, and 11/2) to help flip the Senate. Get more information or sign up here for online information session this Wednesday, September 18 at 8pm or for the campaign kickoff rally and training at Activist Afternoons in Cambridge, this Sunday, September 22 at 4pm.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
FUNDRAISER FOR CAROLYN BOURDEAUX (GA07)
Meet Carolyn Bourdeaux, who is running for Congress in Georgia’s 7th District, at this Lexington fundraiser hosted by one of our members. This race is expected to be one of the most competitive house races in 2020. Carolyn narrowly lost in 2018 by 433 votes and the Republican incumbent is retiring rather than face her again.Get more details and RSVP hereordonate here.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
FUNDRAISER TO #DITCHMITCH IN 2020
Our fellow Indivisible groups on Cape Cod and the Islands have raised $15,000 at a series of fundraisers this summer to support Kentucky Indivisibles who are working to flip the Senate seat currently held by Mitch McConnell. The final event will be held on Martha's Vineyard on September 21, from 4-6pm. RSVP here. Can't make the fundraiser? Donate directly to IndivisibleKY here.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
BOSTON BBQ TO #DITCHMITCH
Swing Left is holding a Ditch Mitch BBQ in Union Square, Allston/Boston this Sunday afternoon. Enjoy Blue Ribbon BBQ (vegan, too), tapas, delectable sides, and assorted libations, all while raising funds for Kentucky's next Democratic senator! RSVP here. Can't attend? You can donate here. All donations will go to Senator Mitch McConnell's post-primary opponent.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
FUNDRAISERS FOR REP. DEBBIE MUCARSEL-POWELL
Our friends at Force Multiplier are hosting two events where you can meet Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), an environmental champion anda co-sponsor of the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act. Help hold this vulnerable seat and turn out the vote in an important high-stakes state. You can register here for the afternoon event(2:30-4:00pm) in Wellesley or register here for the evening event (5-6:30pm) in Brookline with special guest Rep. Katherine Clark.
MARCH FOR OUR DEMOCRACY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
WE THE PEOPLE MARCHES
All across the country, We the People will be marchingto be seen and heard, to remind our elected officials that they work for us, because the current regime is a threat to our democracy and values, and to demand accountability.
Click here to see all of the places you can march! You can join our friends from Concord Indivisible who will be participating in the Washington, DC march or join fellow Indivisibles from Andover at their march at 10am at Shawsheen Square (intersection of routes 28 and 133).
DISCUSS A GOOD BOOK
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
MI BOOK CLUB MEETING
Our MI Book Club meetings are back! Join us at the Lexington Community Center at 7:15pm to help us decide what books to read this fall. We'll also be revisiting On Tyranny, the book we discussed at our first meeting two years ago. New members are always welcome and we provide a summary of the book for those who haven't had a chance to read it yet. RSVP here.
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
LEXINGTON COMMUNITY BOOK READING KICKOFF
Lexington's Community Coalition invites you to join them at Cary Memorial Library at 7:00pm to learn how to work together to dismantle prejudice and racism. At this first kickoff event, which is free and open to all, speakers will talk about why people are reading White Fragility, outline key themes in the book, and describe future events where people can talk about White Fragility in more detail. See this link for more information.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2
SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOK GROUP
Lexington's Social Justice Book Group, which meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00pm at Cary Memorial Library, will be discussing The Line Becomes a River, Dispatches from the Border. If you missed our Book Club discussion of this book last year, here's another chance to learn more about the human impacts of our broken immigration system from the perspective of a former Border Patrol agent. Free and open to all.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29
PROTECTING DEMOCRACY BY PROTECTING THE VOTE
The Cambridge Public Library Foundation is hosting a special conversation about how voter suppression is impacting democracy. Speakers include Professor Carol Anderson, author of One Person, No Vote, Professor Lawrence Lessig of Harvard Law School, and Professor Rachel Cobb from Suffolk University, who will moderate the discussion. There's a reception at 6pm, followed by the program at 7. RSVP here by October 2 for this free event.
LOBBY FOR GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Sickened by the epidemic of gun violence in this country and frustrated that Mitch McConnell is refusing to take up legislation in the Senate? Join us at the State House to lobby our legislators to take action at the state level.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2
MOMS DEMAND ACTION STATE ADVOCACY DAY
Join with Moms Demand Action to lobby your legislators for firearms safety bills. Gather in Room 437 at the State House starting at 10:30am. The program begins at 11am, then everyone will break into groups to visit with legislators to advocate for the bills. RSVP here and you will receive info on the bills ahead of time.
HELP PASS THE ROE ACT
The legislature needs to hear from supporters of the ROE Actfrom across the state. Here's what you can do:
Send postcards to our legislators and/or fellow MA residents asking them to support the ROE Act. We'll have postcards at our meetings this monthor you can email us to get postcards to fill out on your own. You can send a postcard to your legislators using this link or write postcards at Caffe Nero in Concord with our friends from Concord Indivisible on September 17 from 7-9:00pm. RSVP here.
Volunteer for other ROE Act Coalition actions such as making calls to MA constituents from home or at phone banks in September. Sign up here.
PROTECT RIGHT WHALES
The North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) is a critically endangered species that is dying at an extreme rate. There are less than 400 in existence, and 2% of the population has died off this summer. The majority of NARW die due to entanglements and ship strikes. 85% of NARW have entanglement scars. It's time for us to adopt rope-less gear as a solution to this problem. MA lobstermen should not use technology from the 1800s to fish in the 21st century. Please sign this petition to urge the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association to test rope-less gear as whales are dying at a critical rate.
URGE CONGRESS TO DEFUND HATE
The biggest fight on immigration in Congress this year will be over funding. The Dept. of Homeland Security has spent more than four billion dollars this fiscal year expanding immigration detention to implement Trump’s border and immigration policies. Newly released documents show that ICE is now attempting to raid FEMA, the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration, and many other agencies to compensate for its massive overspending, going after $271 million in funding to expand detention beds, implement cruel policies that endanger asylum seekers, and tear children away from their families, homes, and life-saving healthcare.
Last week, Minuteman Indivisible participated in the national #DefundHate Week of Action, to urge Congress to reduce funding for ICE and CBP. Together with our friends from Concord Indivisible, we organized a #DefundHate walk from Boston to Concord and received support from our state legislators and many people we met along the way.
